Digital Commons Network^™

Gamification Via App-Based Rewards Systems: Behavioral Changes And Effects On User Interactions, Eric Michael Halfacre

Research Papers

User retention and consistent engagement can be difficult with many applications vying for our limited time and attention. Finding innovative ways to draw in new users while appealing to current users also causes many developmental and marketing hurdles. Incorporating games, especially for those who have grown up with a controller in their hands, can be an incentive to gamify activities that award users just for participating. These processes can incentivize and reinforce participatory habits to better the users' lives or can also be a detriment with unforeseen effects.

This research aims to analyze and assess game-based systems used to change …

Almost Like Being There: Embodiment, Social Presence, And Engagement Using Telepresence Robots In Blended Courses, Karen G. Hickenbottom

Education Dissertations

As students’ online learning opportunities continue to increase in higher education, students are choosing not to come back to campus in-person for a variety of personal, health, safety, and financial reasons. The growing use of video conferencing technology during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed classes to continue, but students reported a sense of disconnectedness and lack of engagement with their classes. Telepresence robots may be an alternative to video conferencing that can provide learning experiences closer to the in-person experience, which also provides a stronger sense of embodiment, social presence, and engagement in the classroom. This study explored the use of …

Generation Status, Ethnic Identity, Colonial Mentality, And Enculturation In Filipino Americans, Kamille Patricia Urmaza La Rosa

Dissertations

Filipino Americans’ psychological experiences pertaining to their generation status, ethnic identity, enculturation, and colonial mentality are rarely studied in counseling psychology due to inconsistent disaggregation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA&PI) data (Agbayani-Siewert, 2004; Espiritu, 2003; Nadal et al., 2010; Okamura, 2013). Literature suggests that the study of these constructs related to their mental health can guide more culturally informed care for this historically excluded population (David & Nadal, 2013; Nadal, 2020). The current study used an exploratory design to test six research hypotheses and accomplish the following: examine relationships between the constructs, investigate intergenerational differences, validate a measure …

Recruiting Vulnerable Populations Using Social Media: Implications For Nursing Research, Abbey Jo Klein, Alyson Hanish

Posters and Presentations: College of Nursing

No abstract provided.

Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Malaria Control Program At The Epidemic Treatment Center Of Regional Hospital Of Kindia, Guinea, Mohamed Keita

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

The impact of infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics on the health systems could be alarming especially when there is an overlap in clinical manifestations of two infectious conditions. Despite the remarkable progress in reducing the burden of malaria in Africa since 2000, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the malaria control program. This paper describes the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the health service delivery in Guinea and its consequences on malaria control programs before and during the COVID 19 pandemic. This paper aims to assess the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the malaria control program between …

Interrogating Race And Place-Based Inequities In Hiv And Covid-19, Rohan Khazanchi

EMET Projects

Over the last four years, I have developed a research focus examining the intersections of race, place, and health. My M.D. Honors Thesis reflects a snapshot of these efforts. In this collection of brief research reports, I leverage area-based measures to investigate structural inequities in three contexts: the HIV epidemic in our hyperlocal community, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and clinical trials for novel COVID-19 therapeutics. I apply novel social epidemiologic tools to measure and explore disparate outcomes. And, in reflecting upon my findings, I discuss concrete implications for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers alike.

Chapter 1: Neighborhood-Level Deprivation …

The Role Of Medical Language In Patient Care: Designing An Educational Session On The Use Of Non-Stigmatizing Language, Daniel Dooling

EMET Projects

No abstract provided.

Applying The Vulnerability Stress Adaptation Model To Romantic Relationships Of Couples Raising A Child With Asd, Hillary Katherine Schiltz

Dissertations (1934 -)

Cross-sectional evidence indicates that raising a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with strain on caregivers’ romantic couple relationship, yet many couple relationships thrive (Hock et al., 2012; Markoulakis et al., 2012). Research on general population samples highlights changes in couple romantic relationships across short and longer periods of time (e.g., Karney & Bradbury, 1997); little is known, however, about how the relationships of couples raising a child with ASD unfold and which couples are at greater risk for deterioration than others. According to the Vulnerability Stress Adaptation (VSA) Model, couple romantic relationships are directly shaped by how …

Conditional Risk For Ptsd Traumatically Injured Latinx Sample: Cultural X Biological Model, Claire Maria Bird

Dissertations (1934 -)

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder that develops in some people following a traumatic event. Latinx communities in the U.S. are at greater risk of developing this disorder and experiencing more severe and chronic symptomology. This population has also been found to experience greater levels of dissociative experiences – possibly explaining the increased conditional risk for PTSD in this ethnic group. It remains unclear what may be connecting the experience of peritraumatic dissociation to heightened PTSD risk. The current study sought to address this gap in the literature by examining peritraumatic dissociation and the interplay between sociocultural and …

Quantitative Multidimensional Stress Assessment From Facial Videos, Lin He

Dissertations (1934 -)

Stress has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of an individual and is a growing concern for society, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facial video-based stress evaluation from non-invasive cameras has proven to be a significantly more efficient method to evaluate stress in comparison to approaches that use questionnaires or wearable sensors. Plenty of classification models have been built for stress detection. However, most do not consider individual differences. Also, the results for such models are limited by a uni-dimensional definition of stress levels lacking a comprehensive quantitative definition of stress. The dissertation focuses on building a …

Exploring Relationships Between Depression Self-Stigma And Trust In Primary Care Provider On Willingness To Seek Help, Tana Karenke

Dissertations (1934 -)

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and/or loss of interest that effects an individual’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Depression can diminish one’s social functioning, interpersonal relationships, personal care, and work productivity. Despite the availability of various treatments for depression, roughly 34% of people suffering from depression symptoms do not seek treatment. Significant barriers for seeking help for depression symptoms include the stigma of mental illness and a lack of trust in healthcare providers; however, there is a paucity of research exploring the relationship between mental illness stigma and the role of trust in …

Impact Of Corrosion Inhibitors And Metals On Antibiotic Resistance In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Lee Kimbell

Dissertations (1934 -)

Drinking water distribution systems are important for transporting clean drinking water. Antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in drinking water may pose risks to human and environmental health. Aging infrastructure such as metal pipes can experience significant corrosion, which can have impacts on the chemical and microbial water quality inside of drinking water systems. Chemicals are commonly added to drinking water to prevent corrosion (i.e., corrosion inhibitors). The metal pipe materials and corrosion inhibitors containing metals may have impacts on the bacteria and ARGs in drinking water systems. This research investigated the presence of ARGs in real-world …

Intertextuality And Sociopolitical Engagement In Contemporary Anglophone Women’S Writing, Jackielee Derks

Dissertations (1934 -)

My project examines contemporary Anglophone women’s rewriting to locate an emerging mode of intertextuality that defies existing literary categories. Together, the writers in my project present a new and formally innovative intertextuality that rebels against available terminology and requires new ways of reading. This project centers authors from a variety of historical contexts, including the African diaspora and former British colonies, whose intertextuality is grounded in the interrogation of Western forms and conventions. I argue that the rewritings of Ali Smith, Helen Oyeyemi, and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne deploy intertextuality to recuperate women’s experiences while interrogating the mechanisms responsible for their …

Pituitary Adenylate Cylase-Activating Polypeptide Receptor: Multiple Signaling Pathways Involved In Energy Homeostasis, Brian Maunze

Dissertations (1934 -)

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) exerts pleiotropic effects on ventromedial nuclei (VMN) of the hypothalamus and its control of feeding and energy expenditure through the Type I PAC1 receptor (PAC1R). However, the endogenous role of PAC1R’s in the VMN and the downstream signaling responsible for PACAP’s effects are unknown.To determine the endogenous role of PAC1Rs and signaling that may explain PACAP’s pleiotropic effects, we knocked down VMN PAC1Rs and pharmacologically inhibited PKA, PKC and PAC1R trafficking. Knocking down PAC1Rs increased meal sizes, reduced total number of meals, and induced body weight gain. Inhibition of either PKA or PKC alone …

Born In Defiance: The Public Career Of Virgil C. Blum, S.J., William M. Fliss

Dissertations (1934 -)

This study examines the life of the American Jesuit priest, political scientist, and political activist Virgil C. Blum (1913-1990). Blum was a leading Catholic advocate for public funding for children attending non-public schools, expressed most clearly through his writings and his leadership in Citizens for Educational Freedom (CEF), a parental lobby founded in 1958. In 1973 Blum founded the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Modeled on the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, the Catholic League opposed what it saw as an entrenched anti-Catholicism in U.S. society, and it sought to protect the religious freedom of the nation’s Catholic …

As We Trudge Through: An Autoethnography Of My College Experience, Destiny R. Samuel , '22

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

No abstract provided.

Mitophagy-Mediated Regulation Of Ros Homeostasis During Hsc Activation Contributes To Cell Fate, Amber Lynne Smith

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The ability of hematopoietic stem cells to self-renew and differentiate is required for the maintenance of all blood lineages under basal physiologic conditions and in response to inflammatory stress. The degradative capacity of the autophagy-lysosomal system is a determinant of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) activation status with low autophagy predicting activation of HSCs, and autophagy deficiency causing the spontaneous loss of quiescence and HSC exhaustion. Although an increase in mitochondrial activity has been suggested as the cause of HSC depletion in autophagy-defective models, the contribution of mitophagy to HSC function remains to be elucidated. Here, we capitalized on the observation …

A Rodent Animal Model For Forelimb To Lower Jaw Reorganization In Primary Somatosensory Cortex (Si) Barrel Field, Violeta Pellicer Morata

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The goal of this study is to examine mechanisms underlying cortical reorganization in rat primary somatosensory (SI) cortex that follows forelimb deafferentation. The majority of human patients suffering from limb loss or brachial plexus avulsion injury, as well as patients that receive brachial plexus anesthesia, report phantom limb sensations/pain which are often associated with cortical reorganization. Patients with upper-limb deafferentation report sensations of the missing hand during tactile stimulation of the face, and this phenomenon has been termed hand-to-face remapping. We sought to develop a rodent model of deafferentation; our model system is the rat SI cortex barrel field present …

Targeting Protein Degradation To Uncover Novel Oncoprotein Drivers Of Acute Leukemia, Fatemeh Keramatnia

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer and the second most common acute leukemia in adults, arises from clonal expansion of undifferentiated lymphoid precursor cells in bone marrow. Despite the extensive knowledge on its cytogenetic and molecular biology, ALL treatment remains highly challenging especially after relapse. Conventional chemotherapy has shown significant improvement in overall survival rates of pediatric patients up to 90%, however, treatment failure due to ALL relapse occurs in 15-20% of the cases. On the other hand, adults and elderly patients with ALL are considered difficult to treat populations with the 5-year overall survival of 30–40%. …

Predictors Of Hyperkalemia And Outcomes Of Dyskalemia In Us Veterans With Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease Transitioning To Dialysis, Ankur Dashputre

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Background: The kidneys play a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis of serum potassium levels (K+). Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at a higher risk of experiencing dyskalemia events (i.e. hyper- and hypokalemia; especially the former) and thus future adverse outcomes. Currently, there is a dearth of literature on prediction models for hyperkalemia and the effects of dyskalemia on outcomes such as incidence of ischemic stroke and short-term hospital/emergency room (ER) utilization in an advanced CKD population transitioning to dialysis. Objectives: Using a nationally representative sample of US veterans with advanced CKD transitioning to dialysis, in the pre-dialysis …

The Relationship Of Child Health And Parenting Stress To Child Neurocognitive Development, Nancy Alise Farrell

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Problem. Although the United States rates high in economic resources, the neurocognitive development (NCD) of children falls behind many other developed nations. Levels of parenting stress may be linked to sociodemographic factors such as the high incidence of poverty in children or health disparities in children, which in turn may affect NCD in children. Using the data from an observational, longitudinal cohort study of a diverse population could provide information related to parenting stress, child health, and related factors to guide and support interventions with families and policies to improve child NCD. Aims. The overall aim of this study was …

Developing Targeted Therapies For T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Jianzhong Hu

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children, and risk-adapted chemotherapies have dramatically improved the outcomes of this disease. Compared to B-cell ALL, T-cell ALL (T-ALL) is more aggressive and has worse outcomes from chemotherapy. There is a great unmet need to develop biomarkers and novel targeted therapies for this type of cancer. Working together with internal and external collaborators, we performed a large-scale pharmacotyping assay in over 300 primary ALL samples. By combining pharmacotypying and genomic profiling of these samples, we identified a substantial T-ALL population that showed strong response to dasatinib, a known ABL1 …

Immunomodulatory Roles Of The Lysosomal Sialidase Neuraminidase 1, Leigh Ellen Fremuth

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Background Sialic acids are key sugar moieties located at the non-reducing terminals of glycan chains on glycoproteins and glycolipids. By virtue of their location, they influence the functions and biochemical properties of the macromolecules they are bound to. Removal of sialic acids in mammalian cells is carried out by four sialidases, which are differentially expressed and localized in distinct subcellular compartments. Neuraminidase 1 (NEU1), the most abundant and ubiquitous of the four sialidases, functions primarily in the acidic environment of the lysosomes, but can hydrolyze substrates at the plasma membrane, at least in certain cell types. The enzyme initiates the …

Second Amendment Realism, Michael R. Ulrich

Cardozo Law Review

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court declared a constitutionally protected individual right to keep and bear arms. Subsequently, the scope of the right has been hotly debated, resulting in circuit splits and lingering questions about what, exactly, the right entails. Despite these splits, the Court has denied certiorari to the myriad gun cases to land on its doorstep. But the balance of the Court has shifted and, so too, has its willingness to hear these cases. Among the most pressing questions in Second Amendment jurisprudence is the constitutionality of public carry restrictions. With the Court set …

The Firearm Preemption Phenomenon, Rachel Simon

Cardozo Law Review

Forty-five states have adopted express preemption statutes curtailing or entirely prohibiting local gun regulation, and several jurisdictions now threaten localities with penalties for violating such restrictions. These measures have been remarkably effective in reducing the breadth and variety of gun laws nationwide, but their consequences have only just begun to attract attention. Public debates over guns tend to center on the Second Amendment while overlooking state-level obstacles to local lawmaking, and the scholarship on state-local preemption lacks an analysis devoted exclusively to the gun-policy space.

To fill these gaps, this Article provides a comprehensive account of the firearm preemption phenomenon. …

Deterring Illegal Firearms In The Community: Special Needs, Special Problems, And Special Limitations, Geoffrey S. Corn

Cardozo Law Review

Gun violence is no longer just a crime-control problem in the United States; it is a public health crisis. This crisis is most acute in densely populated and economically challenged communities. The threat of becoming the intended or innocent victim of gun violence in these communities has become so pervasive that it only seems to make the headlines when the numbers are truly shocking to the general public. Sadly, these numbers have become the norm for the residents of these communities. Government bears a responsibility to leverage every lawful measure to mitigate this safety hazard, no differently than it does …

The Status Of The Nebraska Healthcare Workforce: Update 2022, Hyo Jung Tak, Nicole Carritt, Marlene Deras, Bedant Chakraborty, David Palm, Ronnie D. Horner

Reports: Rural Health

Ensuring access to health care in rural communities has been a long-standing challenge for state and federal policymakers, including within Nebraska.

To inform initiatives and policies to address these challenges, timely and accurate data on the health care workforce in the state are needed. The rapidly changing health care system has resulted in substantial changes in state and federal health policies, economic growth, demographics, population health, and many other factors that have likely impacted the evolution and distribution of the health care workforce across Nebraska. Therefore, the report, commissioned by the Nebraska Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program in collaboration …

How Covid-19 Has Affected Staffing Models In Intensive Care: A Qualitative Study Examining Alternative Staffing Models (Seismic), Ruth Endacott, Susie Pearce, Pamela Rae, Annette Richardson, Suzanne Bench, Natalie Pattison

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

Atmospheric Transport Of Microplastics During A Dust Storm, Sajjad Abbasi, Mahrooz Rezaei, Farnaz Ahmadi, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Dust storms are common events in arid and semi-arid regions that have a wide range of impacts on the environment and human health. This study addresses the presence, characteristics and potential sources of microplastics (MPs) in such events by analysing MPs deposited with dust particles in the metropolis of Shiraz, southwest Iran, following an intense storm in May 2018. At 22 locations throughout the city, MP concentrations on a number basis ranged from 0.04 to 1.06 per g of dust (median = 0.31 MP g−1). Particles were mainly fibrous, with a mean diameter of about 20 μm and >60% under …

Ethnic Studies: 2021-2022, Department Of Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies Department Newsletters

Message from the Chair, Ethnic Studies via Multiple Generations: Their Stories, Three generations of Ethnic Studies Scholars making connections, Yanet López (Class of 2011), Ashley Valentin Gonzalez (Class of 2023), More Than Enough, THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY CONTINUES FOR RACHEL FREEMAN, Ethnic Studies Alum '09, USD Women of Impact 2021, Congratulations to Dr. May C. Fu!, Ethnic Studies Faculty Congratulations to Dr. Josen Masangkay Diaz, Critical Race Theory Presentations: Fall 2021 / Spring 2022, Demystifying Critical Race Theory, Reclaiming Our Past, Reimagining Our Future, Congratulations to the Class of 2022! Words from our Ethnic Studies Seniors: Sarah Babar, Mia Godoy, Sydney …