Digital Commons Network^™

Mental Health Impacts Of Racism And Limited Diversity In Christiansburg, Virginia, Shuchi Sanyal

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Goal Statement

In this portfolio, I identify and address the prevention needs of racially and ethnically marginalized adolescents in Christiansburg, Virginia, examining how racism and limited diversity affect mental health and proposing culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate prevention strategies.

Significant Findings

Adolescents of color in predominantly White, semi-rural communities face racial isolation, microaggressions, and limited culturally responsive supports, increasing risk for anxiety, depression, and identity-related distress. Using a social-ecological framework, findings show that individual vulnerability is influenced by school climates, relationships, and community norms that may minimize racialized experiences. Protective factors include relational safety, identity affirmation, mentorship, and trauma-informed practices. Evidence-based …

The Evaluation Of Therapeutic Communication In Competency Based Nursing Education, Tracy J. Perron, Chelsea Lebo, Mary Louise Thomas, Romy Zemer

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Therapeutic communication is an essential part of nursing care. Therapeutic communication (TC) is the process of using verbal and nonverbal communication to connect with patients.TC is holistic, patient-centered and involves aspects of the physiological, psychological, environmental and spiritual care of the patient. Poor communication in the healthcare setting can lead to poor patient outcomes such as, decreased adherence to treatment, patient's dissatisfaction, inefficient use of resources and even death. Studies have shown that nurses lack communication skills due to a variety reasons from inadequate training, the lack of understanding of the importance of patient-centered communication, and the increased generational use …

What Is Your Preference? Creating A Healing Culture Through Employee Feedback, Julia W. Millspaugh, Mildred Ortu Kowalski, Sunnie A. Mortimer, Catherine C. Errico

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Stress levels are high for healthcare employees. The negative impact of employee burnout is well-documented within healthcare (Shanafelt et al., 2020; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2022). A healthy work environment that optimizes the health and wellbeing of nurses is paramount to providing quality care to patients (Mabona et al., 2022). There is an immediate need for brief, feasible, and rapidly scalable interventions while at work to promote wellbeing for our healthcare workers (Putrino et al., 2020). There is no singular tool or one-size-fits-all approach that holds the answer to wellbeing. Wellbeing …

Responding To Workplace Violence, Penny A. Sauer

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Workplace violence against healthcare workers has increased in the past five years (pre-pandemic) (Brigo et al., 2022; Odes et al., 2023; Sari et al., 2023), with no indication that the violence will return to pre-pandemic levels. In the United States, two nurses are assaulted in the acute care setting every hour (ANA, 2022), but this number is likely much more significant as 40%- 80% of WPVs go unreported.

WPV has been a persistent problem in healthcare for decades. The World Health Organization, Joint Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and many professional practice organizations have statements and recommendations about …

The Escape Room Challenge: Integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Initiatives To Promote A Healthy Work Environment, Teresa D. Welch

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Academic nurse leaders nationally face the constant challenge of incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives and promoting healthy work environments (HWE) standards with limited resources. This presentation describes a professional development offering for academic nurse leaders via an “escape room” approach.

An escape room is a themed challenge event where players collaborate to find clues, complete tasks, and solve various puzzles. The aim is to achieve a specific, time-bound goal, usually to escape from somewhere. Escape rooms help participants develop the knowledge, experience, and skills to overcome complex challenges (Parker & Welch, 2021; Adams et al, 2018; Brown …

Resilient Grid Architectures For High Renewable Penetration: Electrical Engineering Strategies For 2030 And Beyond, Ehab Bayoumi

Mechanical Engineering

The global shift toward decarbonized power systems is driving unprecedented penetration of variable renewable energy sources, especially wind and solar PV. Legacy grid architectures, built around centralized, dispatchable synchronous generation, are ill-suited to manage the bidirectional power flows, reduced inertia, and new stability constraints introduced by inverter-based resources. Existing research offers deep but fragmented insights into individual elements of this transition, such as advanced power electronics, microgrids, or market design, but rarely integrates them into a coherent architectural vision for resilient, high-renewable grids. This review closes that gap by synthesizing technical, architectural, and institutional perspectives into a unified framework for …

Child Care Costs In The Mountain West, 2025, Cason Noll, Isabelle G. Graham, Mohit Pande, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet reports child care affordability and cost data for the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report, “Child care costs in the United States,” highlights data on the differences in child care affordability across the United States. This fact sheet presents data on the percentage of annual income required to afford infant care for a minimum-wage worker, a typical child care worker, and a median family with children based on state-level income data for each Mountain West state. This fact sheet also reports annual costs, including college, …

Spartan Daily, February 11, 2026, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2026

Volume 166, Issue 9

Spectrum, Volume 56, Issue 2, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: College of Health Professions Appoints Associate Dean -- Learning the Law Hands On -- Growing Together with Figure Skating -- SHU Flag Football’s Rapid Growth -- Pioneers Use Resilience in Current Season

The History Of Mythlore, Janet Croft

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

A PLAN TO PUBLISH A JOURNAL representing the interests of the members of The Mythopoeic Society was announced in 1968 by the late Glen GoodKnight, who founded the society in 1967.

Leveraging Ancestral Recombination Graphs For Scalable Mixed-Model Analysis Of Complex Traits, Jiazheng Zhu, Georgios Kalantzis, Ali Pazokitoroudi, Árni Freyr Gunnarsson, Hrushikesh Loya, Han Chen, Sriram Sankararaman, Pier Francesco Palamara

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent algorithmic advances have enabled the inference of genome-wide ancestral recombination graphs (ARGs) from large genomic cohorts, providing detailed models of genealogical relatedness along the genome. These inferred ARGs can complement genotype imputation by capturing the effects of unobserved variants, but their use in large-scale linear mixed-model analyses has been computationally prohibitive. Here, we develop methods that leverage the ARG to perform genotype-matrix multiplications in sublinear time and implement scalable randomized algorithms for mixed-model analyses. We introduce ARG-RHE, a randomized Haseman-Elston approach for estimating narrow-sense heritability and performing region-based association testing using ARGs, enabling parallel analysis of multiple quantitative traits. …

Correction: The Hsp90-Myc-Cdk9 Network Drives Therapeutic Resistance In Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Fangfang Yan, Vivian Jiang, Alexa Jordan, Yuxuan Che, Yang Liu, Qingsong Cai, Yu Xue, Yijing Li, Joseph Mcintosh, Zhihong Chen, Jovanny Vargas, Lei Nie, Yixin Yao, Heng-Huan Lee, Wei Wang, Johnnelson R Bigcal, Maria Badillo, Jitendra Meena, Christopher Flowers, Jia Zhou, Zhongming Zhao, Lukas M Simon, Michael Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Identifying Alzheimer's Disease Progression Subphenotypes Via A Graph-Based Framework Using Electronic Health Records, Yu Huang, Jie Xu, Zhengkang Fan, Yu Hu, Xing He, Aokun Chen, Yuxi Liu, Rui Yin, Jingchuan Guo, Steven T Dekosky, Michael Jaffee, Manqi Zhou, Chang Su, Fei Wang, Yi Guo, Jiang Bian

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding the heterogeneity of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and identifying distinct progression pathways is critical for improving diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and prevention. Motivated by this need, this study aimed to identify disease progression subphenotypes among patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD using electronic health records (EHRs). We developed a novel approach that combines a graph neural network (GNN)-based framework with time series clustering to characterize progression subphenotypes from MCI to AD. We applied the proposed framework to a real-world cohort of 2,525 patients (61.66% female; mean age 76 years), of whom 64.83% were Non-Hispanic White, 16.48% Non-Hispanic …

Third-Party Effects On Intergroup Trust: The Role Of Punishment/Compensation And Group Regulatory Focus, Xiaowei Geng, Jie Cui, Jie Wang, Feng Zhang, Wei Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Intergroup trust refers to a collective prediction and belief among members of one group regarding those of another in intergroup interactions. It plays an important role in avoiding intergroup conflicts, and thereby sustaining social development. This study was designed to investigate the effects of third-party punishment and compensation, as well as group regulatory focus, on intergroup trust. The findings revealed that, at both individual and group levels, prevention-focused groups exhibited higher levels of intergroup trust than promotion-focused groups under third-party compensation conditions. In contrast, under the third-party punishment conditions, promotion-focused groups displayed greater trust than prevention-focused groups, although this difference …

Identification Of Gene Signatures Of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease In Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Via Whole Transcriptome Sequencing, Chaitanya Karimanasseri Bse, Pongsakorn Choochuen Md, Phd, Yotsawat Pomyen Phd, Hien Dang Phd

Phase 1

Introduction
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. While the only curative treatment for PDAC is surgical excision of the tumor, often surgery is ineffective due to early metastasis to other organs. A better understanding of PDAC’s risk factors would contribute to earlier PDAC diagnoses and thus more effective surgical resections before metastasis occurs.

One pathology related to PDAC is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a metabolic disease leading to triglyceride accumulation in the liver. MASLD is known to cause worse PDAC outcomes versus non-MASLD PDAC. Further elucidating the mechanism through which MASLD increases …

Mapping The Pathology Competencies For Medical Education (Pcme) To The Sidney Kimmel Medical College’S Jeffmd Gi Curriculum, Emma Sanders, Alexander Macnow, Md, Mhpe

Phase 1

Introduction/Purpose: Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s competency-based curriculum, JeffMD, is structured around SMART objectives. However, evaluation of the alignment of these objectives against the PCME, a collection of graduation competencies published by the Association for Academic Pathology, has not yet been performed. This study investigated how comprehensively the GI/Liver block of the JeffMD curriculum addresses the corresponding PCME learning objectives, thereby piloting a pathology curriculum map and allowing evaluation of this curriculum.

Methods: In this study, a curriculum map was created of all learning events covered within the JeffMD GI/Liver block. Each learning event was cross-matched with competencies within the gastrointestinal …

Interviewing Rural Primary Care Physicians To Inform Learning Objectives For A Rural Health Curriculum, Luke May, Caleb Gayman, Robert J. Motley, Md, Mhcds

Phase 1

Introduction/Purpose: Pennsylvania has a large rural population with too few physicians to meet medical needs. The Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) at SKMC works to address the shortage of primary care physicians in rural Pennsylvania. To adequately prepare future rural physicians, this project sought to obtain input from practicing PSAP graduates to inform learning objectives for a future curriculum intervention for preclinical PSAP students.

Methods: The target learner population is preclinical PSAP students at SKMC. A codebook was generated based on SKMC Graduation Competencies. Semi-structured interviews with PSAP graduates were conducted via video call, focused on those graduates practicing primary …

Interviewing Rural Primary Care Physicians To Inform Learning Objectives For A Rural Health Curriculum, Caleb Gayman, Luke May, Robert J. Motley, Md, Mhcds

Phase 1

Introduction/Purpose: There is a significant shortage of physicians in rural Pennsylvania. Programs like the Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) at SKMC aim to address this gap by providing support and guidance for medical students who grew up in rural areas and hope to return to practice in a rural area. This project focuses on identifying rural health topics and modes of delivery recommended by practicing primary care physicians to inform new learning objectives (LOs) for a future curriculum intervention for first and second-year medical students.

Methods: SKMC PSAP graduates practicing in rural areas were interviewed using semi-structured interviews that included …

Artificial Intelligence In Case-Based Learning: A Survey Of Student Current Practices In Small Group Self-Directed Learning Pedagogy, Clarice Pamplona, Joshua Kim

Phase 1

Introduction: Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to become an essential clinical tool, its incorporation into the undergraduate medical curricula is disproportionately lacking. Notably, limited research remains on medical student use and perspective on AI, specifically within small-group learning settings. This study explores AI use and perspectives among medical students within Case-Based Learning (CBL) groups at Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) with the aim to establish a formal AI curriculum.

Methods: The population studied includes the Class of 2028 at SKMC. An anonymous Qualtrics survey was distributed within the class Group Me between April and May 2025, exploring student demographics, …

Agent-Based Modeling Of Cellular Dynamics In Adoptive Cell Therapy, Yujia Wang, Stefano Casarin, May Daher, Vakul Mohanty, Merve Dede, Mayra Shanley, Eleonora Dondossola, Ludovica La Posta, Rafet Başar, Katayoun Rezvani, Ken Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Adoptive cell therapies (ACT) leverage tumor-immune interactions to cure cancer. Despite promising phase I/II clinical trials of chimeric-antigen-receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cell therapies, molecular mechanisms and cellular properties required to achieve clinical benefits in broad cancer spectra remain underexplored. While in vitro and in vivo experiments are essential, they are expensive, laborious, and limited to targeted investigations. Here, we present ABMACT (Agent-Based Model for Adoptive Cell Therapy), an in silico approach employing agent-based models (ABM) to simulate the continuous course and dynamics of an evolving tumor-immune ecosystem, consisting of heterogeneous "virtual cells" created based on knowledge and omics data observed …

Precision Chemotherapy In Biliary Tract Cancer Moving From Empiric Intensification To Biomarker-Guided Treatment: Editorial On "Molecular Determinants Of Outcome To Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, And Nab-Paclitaxel In Patients With Advanced Btc", Sung Hwan Lee, Ahmed O Kaseb, Ju-Seog Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

The End Of Means-End Scrutiny, Francesca Procaccini

Duke Law Journal

It is black-letter law that courts apply means-end scrutiny to evaluate laws that burden constitutional rights. Not anymore. Discreetly and pervasively, the Supreme Court has ousted means-end scrutiny from constitutional law. It has done so through a series of smaller and seemingly unconnected doctrinal incursions, including the introduction of history and tradition tests, the transformation of equality doctrines, and the embrace of formalist rules to govern constitutional law.

This Article provides a complete and interconnected critique of the numerous doctrinal transformations that together comprise the larger constitutional revolution of ending means-end scrutiny. It tracks how this upheaval now touches nearly …

Supervising The Omnipresent Casino: Evaluating The Role Of State And Local Regulation In Stemming Youth Addiction To Sports Gambling, Matthew Connor Flink

Duke Law Journal

Since 2018, state legalization of sports betting and the industry’s corresponding proliferation has driven an epidemic of youth addiction. Current state legislation and regulations do little to combat youth addiction. Many legal scholars emphasize the value that a federal regulatory regime would provide to reign in youth sports betting. This Note explores the value that state and local government can have in the sports gambling space. To illustrate the unique importance of state and local legislation and regulation of sports betting, this Note analogizes to another addictive product with a history of youth addiction: nicotine.

Nicotine has been a regulatory …

Balancing Acts: Gender Parity Law And Cultural Boundaries In Senegal, Seulgie Lim

All Faculty Scholarship

This article investigates the intersection of global gender equality norms with local contexts, focusing on Senegal’s implementation of the 2010 gender parity law. Despite the global trend towards electoral gender quotas, the effectiveness and societal acceptance of these measures vary significantly. Through a critical examination of existing literature on gender quotas and an analysis of the parity law’s reception in Senegal, this article explores the nuanced dynamics between legislative measures and societal norms. It argues that, while gender quotas can enhance women’s visibility in politics, deeply ingrained cultural and religious norms may undermine the more substantive impact of such legislated …

Three-Dimensional Versus Two-Dimensional Echocardiographic Assessment Of Left Atrial Volume And Deformation In Children, Alexander J Kiener, James Croft, Krista N Harris, Ankona Banerjee, Aura A Sanchez, Xander H T Wehrens, Anitha Parthiban, Xiaotian Gao, Tam T Doan, Minh B Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Left atrial (LA) volume and function are important for assessing pediatric diastolic dysfunction (DD). Three-dimensional echocardiographic (3DE) LA assessment may overcome limitations and assumptions inherent in two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE).

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of children under 18 years of age with structurally normal hearts, using transthoracic 3DE apical volume datasets. LA volumetric function and phasic deformation analyses were performed using 3DE (GE, EchoPAC 4DLAQ v206, near fully-automated) and 2DE (TomTec, TTA2.51, CPA, manual) was performed by three operators and processing time was collected. Agreement and reproducibility was assessment for each modality.

Results: Fifty patients (median age 12.8 …

2025 State Of Nonprofits And Philanthropy Annual Report, Tessa Tinkler, Cristina Sanchez-Kerr, Laura Deitrick, Eo Hanabusa, Bryan Cardenas, Timothy Nelson, William Piper

State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy in San Diego

The 2025 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy in San Diego examines how federal policy changes, funding volatility, and rising community needs are reshaping the region’s nonprofit sector. Drawing on survey data from nonprofit leaders and employees, public opinion polling, and financial and employment analysis, the report provides an early assessment of the sector’s financial health, workforce capacity, and its role as a primary access point for services such as housing, food, education, healthcare, and the arts. It highlights mounting pressures on nonprofit infrastructure alongside the sector’s enduring strengths in public trust, collaboration, advocacy, and shared investment strategies that will shape …

Community Participatory Co-Design And Development Of A Digital Diabetes Prevention Education Program For Hispanic Families With Obesity: Mixed Methods Study, Sandra Mihail, Marbelly Partida, Lizette Villanueva, Debbe Thompson, Teresia M O'Connor, Salma M Musaad, Maria J Redondo, Erica G Soltero

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Digital health interventions (DHIs) can extend the reach of disease prevention interventions; however, few are evidence-based, theoretically grounded, or developed for high-risk youth and families. Co-design approaches engage end users in the design and development of the DHI, which can lead to increased accessibility and engagement.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the adaptation of an evidence-based diabetes prevention program for remote, digital delivery.

Methods: The adaptation of the in-person intervention was guided by a modified Inclusive Digital Health Intervention Design to Promote Health Equity framework and conducted in collaboration with Hispanic adolescents (n=23) with obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile) …

Final 2022 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling: Ur-28 Site Evaluation Summary Report, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Premenstrual Syndrome, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, And Dysmenorrhea In Nursing Students: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, And Evidence-Based Recommendations, Sabyasachi Maity, Bharathi Gadad, Hansapani Rodrigo, Seham Noorani, Ayesha Usman, Chloe Lark, Mona Attarpour, Ivy Mageto, Lucas Schwartz, Nikhilesh Anand

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Menstrual disorders—including premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and dysmenorrhea—are highly prevalent among women of reproductive age and are associated with impaired academic performance, psychological distress, and reduced social functioning. Nursing students are particularly vulnerable due to the combined demands of intensive academic schedules and clinical training, yet prevalence estimates and institutional responses remain inconsistent.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines and registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251109363). PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL Ultimate, and APA PsycINFO were searched for studies published between 2016 and 2025. Eligible studies reported prevalence or …