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Look For Opportunities To Increase Continuity Of Care In Medical Education, Hannah Ward Md

Faculty Development Tips

No abstract provided.

A Randomized Study To Examine The Ability Of A Caffeine-Based Energy Drink To Impact Energy Expenditure, Fat Oxidation, And Cognitive Performance, Joesi Krieger, Alex Schrautemeier, Anthony M. Hagele, Connor Gaige, Olivia Mennemeyer, Sydney Tolbert, Joshua Iannotti, Chad Kerksick, Chris Noonan, Petey Mumford

Faculty Scholarship

Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of acute and 28-day supplementation with a caffeine-based energy drink on energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and cognitive performance.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 33 males and 27 females (27 ± 8 years, 26.7 ± 2.2 m/kg2) consumed a caffeinated energy drink (200 mg; CAF) or placebo (PLA) for 28 days. Indirect calorimetry assessed energy expenditure and fat oxidation at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after ingestion on day 1 and 28. Cognition assessments (Dynavision reaction, Serial Sevens, Trail Making Test A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B)) were performed at 0, …

Differences In Total Daily Energy Expenditure Across Field Sports: A Narrative Review, Brenen Skalitzky, Jennifer Fields, Margaret T. Jones, Chad Kerksick, Andrew Jagim

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Differences in total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) across sports, sex, and skill level support the need for sport- and athlete-specific energy intake recommendations. The purpose of the current review was to examine TDEE and related markers of energy expenditure across field-based team sports. A secondary aim was to evaluate physical activity levels (PAL), calculated as TDEE divided by resting metabolic rate (RMR), and their utility in estimating energy needs within team sports.

Methods: The review was limited to studies that included the field-based team sports of rugby or soccer and reported energy expenditure data using doubly labeled water …

A Model For Training Management System Implementation In Higher Education, David J. Rowe

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an era where innovation and adaptability are critical to institutional success, the practical training and development of employees in higher education organizations have become essential. This study examined stakeholders’ perceptions of cloud-based Training Management System (TMS) implementation within California Higher Education systems, including both the California Community College (CCC) and the California State University (CSU). Although a TMS offers substantial benefits for administering training programs, large systems face challenges due to uneven adoption across campuses, leading to inefficiencies, regulatory non-compliance, and hindered workforce development. This research identified and evaluated technology, organizational, and environmental critical success factors influencing TMS implementation …

Synthesis Of Antibody Functionalized Polyaniline/Polystyrene/N-Gqds Composite Fibermats For Sweat Based Cortisol Biosensing Applications, Ashwin James

Honors Theses

Noninvasive, wearable biosensors capable of detecting stress biomarkers in sweat require electrodes that are flexible, conductive, insoluble in water, and highly sensitive at low concentrations of analyte. In this work, bovine serum albumin blocked and anti-cmab immobilized nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots integrated polyaniline/polystyrene composite fibermat electrodes (BSA/Anti-Cmab/N-GQDs/PANI/PS electrodes) were synthesized and evaluated as a potential platform for an electrochemical cortisol biosensor in sweat based systems. Polyaniline was utilized in order to provide electrical conductivity, while polystyrene served as a carrying polymer for mechanical support and its hydrophobicity. Composite fibermats were manufactured through Forcespinning™, followed by a secondary polyaniline graft …

A Decision Support System For Global Vaccine Funding: Data-Driven Proposal Scoring, Epidemiological Risk Modeling, And Portfolio Optimization, Ashutosh Kumar

Theses

Global health financing must continually stretch limited immunization resources across competing priorities, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, plays a central role in this landscape. This work reframes Gavi’s funding decisions as a multi-objective portfolio optimization problem that jointly considers health impact, equity, cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and epidemiological interdependence. To operationalize this approach, this study develops a decision support system grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory, treating each proposal as an asset characterized by expected return and risk. Proposal returns are estimated through a heterogeneous data-fusion pipeline that generates quantitative, multi-objective scores aligned with Gavi’s strategic priorities, while epidemiological risk is quantified using …

Adaptive Design Solutions For Golfers With Arm Impairment, Samuel Hao-Yu Wang

Theses

Golf is a game of precision, focus, and enjoyment for everyone, regardless of age, physical condition, or experience. However, for many people with disabilities, full participation in the game can be challenging. This project created an inclusive golfing experience for players with physical disabilities by assisting them with specific actions required in golf. The goal was to design solutions that reduce limitations caused by impairments, enabling players to enjoy the game with greater freedom. The United States Disabled Golf Association recognizes 14 sport classes of physical impairments, categorizing competitors by different types and levels of disability. This project focused on …

Unmasking Corruption And Bribery Using Predictive Analytics, Maha Salem

Theses

The initiative (Unmasking Corruption and Bribery Using Predictive Analytics) aims to identify employees in government sectors who commit corruption and bribery by addressing issues such as the lack of transparency, fairness, equality, and public trust, as well as weakened loyalty and poor reputation. This project focuses on data analytics and predictive modeling to detect suspicious or high-risk employee behaviors related to corruption and bribery. The main objective is to reduce these unethical activities in government sectors, strengthen integrity, and promote transparency and public trust through predictive capabilities. It also seeks to raise awareness about how serious and harmful these crimes …

The Role Of Technology In Modernizing Prison Management Systems, Essa Anwahi

Theses

This thesis examines the role of technology in modernizing prison management systems and improving operational efficiency, security, and decision-making. It explores how digital technologies and data analytics can address challenges in traditional prison management, such as inefficient processes and limited data utilization. The study highlights the potential of technology-driven solutions to enhance system performance and support more effective management practices within correctional facilities.

Optimizing Human Resource Decisions: Predicting Promotions Using Data Analytics, Mohammad Khalid A Mohammad Abdulrahim

Theses

Proper and objective selection of high potential employees to promote them is a major dilemma in the Human Resources (HR) department, more so in sensitive and hierarchal environments in the public sector where subjectivity is likely to take place. This paper is based on this ubiquitous issue, and it seeks to develop, experiment, and examine a clear and equitable machine learning model that can forecast the possibility of an employee to get a promotion according to organized past HR records. The technique was solid preprocessing, alleviation of extreme class imbalances on the basis of the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE), …

Security Vulnerabilities In Cloud Storage: A Comparative Study Of Google Drive, Dropbox, And Onedrive, Sultan Majid Alshamsi

Theses

In recent years, use of internet has increased manifold. People have started creating more data, and instead of saving it locally, people have started preferring storing it “online”. Companies are also following the same path to maintain accessibility and availability of their data. Thus, data has become a central part of our lives. People, companies, and institutions rely heavily on cloud storage solutions these days for managing their data. Some of the main cloud storage solution are Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. These are sophisticated solutions developed by tech giants, and general expectation of the public is that these solutions …

Work And Play In Tandem: A Brief Study Of Familiar Silhouettes In The Contemporary Workplace, Tanisa Bose Samaddar

Theses

This thesis addresses the limitations posed by conventional office furniture, and its impact on human psychological and physiological well-being. Drawing upon literature that delves into the topics of neuroscience of play, environmental psychology, and emotional sustainability, the thesis seeks to solve these issues through design modifications. It aims to understand how brief, movement-focused breaks can help rejuvenate executive functioning, uplift mood, and encourage bursts of social interaction. A five-stage prototyping process, thumbnail sketches, clay models, 3D modeling, full-scale drawings, and iterative Fusion360 refinements, later Tandem was born. By requiring at least two users to operate its see-saw mode, Tandem counteracts …

A Comparative Analysis Of Machine Learning And Deep Learning Models For Human Activity Recognition Using Wearable Sensor Data, Fares Shaban

Theses

Wearable sensors have become vital for health monitoring, evaluation of sport performance, and recognition of activities of daily life in Human Activity Recognition (HAR). With the combination of machine learning and inertial sensing, new possibilities for the collection of data pertaining to human motion in daily life have emerged. Nevertheless, problems remain to be resolved in the field of modeling in relation to tradeoffs in classification. The focus remains on imaging, signal variability, and sensor noise. This study aims to determine the usefulness of Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data for activity recognition and compares classical machine learning methods with a …

Modeling Economic Effects On Climate Change, Ahmed Abdulqader

Theses

Climate change represents one of the most critical challenges facing the global economy today. While environmental impacts receive considerable attention, the economic implications are equally significant and require rigorous quantitative analysis. This thesis investigates the relationship between climate change and major economic indicators including GDP growth, inflation, trade balances, and employment across 50 countries from 1990 to 2023. The research employs a comprehensive multi-methodological approach combining panel data econometrics, time-series analysis, and machine learning techniques. Fixed-effects and random-effects panel regression models reveal statistically significant relationships between climate-related disaster frequency and economic performance. Specifically, disaster count demonstrates a positive coefficient of …

A Ux Approach To Improving Patient Experience In Healthcare, Lingxin Sun

Theses

Doc Ease is a UX research and design project that addresses the emotional and functional difficulties patients experience before visiting a doctor. Through user interviews, competitive analysis, and design iteration, this project identified key user pain points such as unclear appointment processes, lack of trust, and pre-visit anxiety. The resulting mobile app offers clear booking tools, visual doctor information, medication reminders, and an emotional wellness module to help patients prepare with confidence. The project contributes to the field of healthcare UX by integrating functional usability with emotional care, proposing a design framework that centers patient experience in both logic and …

Beyond Detection: A Batch-Based Ai Framework For Temporal And Event-Correlated Trend Analysis Of Misinformation On Social Media, Vishnu Tejas Vijayaraghavan

Theses

The rapid spread of misleading information on social media influences public behaviour and complicates crisis communication. Although transformer models such as BERT accurately detect misinformation at the post level, most studies analyse posts in isolation and overlook howmisinformation fluctuates over time or responds to major events. This study addresses that gap by developing an end-to-end analytical workflow that integrates BERT-based classification with temporal aggregation, topic clustering, anomaly detection, and event alignment. The analysis uses 10,700 COVID-19–related tweets (6,420 training, 2,140 validation, and 2,140 testing). Because timestamps were unavailable, synthetic timestamps were assigned using an evenly spaced date range between 1 …

Hyaluronic Acid Loaded With Aloe Vera-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A New Bioactive Approach For Fibrotic Scarring, Maria Camila Ceballos Santa

Theses

Disruptions in wound healing can result in pathological outcomes ranging from chronic nonhealing wounds to excessive fibrotic scarring. Hypertrophic scars and keloids are hallmarks of this dysregulation, characterized by abnormal collagen deposition, persistent myofibroblast activation, and disorganized extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress play central roles by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage essential macromolecules and sustain pro-inflammatory signaling, while promoting the transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts and the excessive production of ECM proteins, such as collagen and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). This fibrotic cascade leads to tissue stiffness, contractility, and disfigurement, affecting the well-being of …

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Physical Activity And Prosocial Behavior Among Rural Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Lagged Mediation Analysis Of Psychological Resilience, Dawu Huang, Xin Xiong, Peiyi Wang, Juan Xu

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: Although physical activity benefits youth development, little is known about how it is related to prosocial behavior over time, especially among structurally disadvantaged groups such as rural left-behind children in China. This longitudinal study examined the bidirectional relationship between physical activity and prosocial behavior and the mediating role of psychological resilience.

Methods: A total of 612 children (Grades 5–6; approximately 10–12 years old; 50.5% male) from three schools in Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province, completed measures of physical activity, psychological resilience, and prosocial behavior at three time points over 6 months.

Results: Crosslagged mediation structural equation modeling revealed reciprocal pathways: …

A Qualitative Examination Of Peer Navigation For Smoking Cessation In People With Hiv, Garrett S. Stang, Bianca Camacho, Megan Pinkston, Karen Tashima, Christopher W. Kahler, Patricia A. Cioe

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: People with HIV (PWH) are disproportionately affected by cigarette use, with a 40-60% prevalence rate. They achieve relatively low cessation rates following traditional interventions and often confront compounded challenges related to social factors. HIV care services have integrated Peer Navigators (PNs) into clinical care for many years, but not in the context of smoking cessation. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of PWH on a novel smoking cessation intervention that integrated PNs as part of a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Methods: This qualitative examination was conducted among PWH who smoke cigarettes and who participated in …

Next-Generation Terrorism: Understanding Agentic Ai Systems And Potential For Malign Use, Alexis D'Amato, Ares Boira-Lopez, Emma Theobald, Meg Shercliffe, Jack Rygg, Samuel Hunter, Joel Elson

Reports, Projects, and Research

The call for an increased understanding of artificial intelligence in the U.S. AI Action Plan (The White House, 2025), in tandem with the growing use of AI by terrorist organizations (see Theobald et al., 2025), motivates our effort to provide clarity around the emerging technologies. In doing so, we define and distinguish the features of agentic AI and provide several case studies to illustrate the nefarious use of these tools. Although the current base rate for this type of use is low, we forecast hypothetical use cases given previous examples of terrorists adopting technology and outline the malign use of …

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Sixty-Sixth Annual Commencement, December 2025, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Illinois State University

One Hundred and Sixty-Sixth Annual Commencement

December 2025

Synergistic Effect Of Acacia (Cassia Siamea) Leaves Extract In Green Synthesis Of Ag/Tio2 Nanostructures For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Joseph Adebanji, Gabriel Alamu, Khadijat Babalola, Ayodele Abiodun, Oludele Adegboyega, Hakeem Oyeshola, Oluwaseun Adedokun, Yekinni Sanusi

Journal of Applied Sciences and Nanotechnology

The green-synthesized silver-titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO2) nanocomposite was successfully produced in this study by the synergistic effects of the Cassia siamea leaf extract. In the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, the absorbance improved when the nanoparticle was incorporated into TiO2. The energy gap of the composite reduced as the absorbance increased. Numerous functional groups in the formation of NP were detected by FTIR, and their possible role in NP formation was suggested. The synthesized nanoparticles and nanocomposites were found to be crystalline with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) studies. The average crystallite size of the nanoparticle was 3.95 nm compared to nanocomposite …

Multiple Bursts Of Speciation In Madagascar’S Endangered Lemurs, Kathryn M. Everson, Luca Pozzi, Meredith A. Barrett, Mary E. Blair, Mariah E. Donohue, Peter M. Kappeler, Andrew C. Kitchener, Alan R. Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Carlos J. Pavón-Vázquez, Ute Radespiel, Blanchard Randrianambinina, Rodin M. Rasoloarison, Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona, Christian Roos, Jordi Salmona, Anne D. Yoder, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Dietmar Zinner, David W. Weisrock

Biology Faculty Publications

Lemurs are often cited as an example of adaptive radiation, as more than 100 extant species have evolved and filled ecological niches on Madagascar. However, recent work suggests that lemurs lack a hallmark of other adaptive radiations: explosive speciation rates that decline over time. Thus, characterizing the tempo and mode of evolution in lemurs can reveal alternative ways that hyperdiverse clades arise over time, which might differ from traditional models. We explore lemur evolution using a phylogenomic dataset with broad taxonomic sampling that includes the lorisiforms of Asia and continental Africa. Our analyses reveal multiple bursts of diversification (without subsequent …

Carbon Sequestration And Greenhouse Gas Emission Dynamics Of Forage Sorghum Cultivars In Southern Texas, Kusalika Madushani Kularathna

All Theses

Carbon sequestration is one of the major strategies for removing atmospheric carbon dioxide and fixing it in the soil and plants. The research study focused on the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas dynamics of three different forage sorghum cultivars: Sugar Graze Ultra (annual), PSH20TX01 (perennial seeded), and PSH09TX15 (perennial rhizomes), in Southern Texas, where each cultivar had nine plots. The field study was conducted over two growing seasons, in 2024 and 2025, at the Prairie View A&M University research farm. Three different fertilizer rates, recommended, half-recommended, and zero fertilizer rates, were applied. Soil greenhouse gas emissions were measured using a …

Overdose Education And Naloxone Distribution In Jails, Timothy Hunt, Carrie B. Oser, Peter D. Friedmann, Nicole Mack, Peter Balvanz, Bridget Freisthler, Redonna K. Chandler, Karli Hochstatter, Daniel R. Harris, La Shawn Glasgow, Lauren D’Costa, Mary R. Russo, Barry Eggleston, Arnie Aldridge, Paul Bellair, Allyson G. Cogan, James L. David, Nabila El-Bassel, Dawn Goddard-Eckrich, Steve Gomori, Holly Hagan, Steve Hanson, Ja Nae Holloway, Elizabeth N. Kinnard, Charlie Knott, Michael W. Konstan, Sharon L. Walsh, Patricia A. Lebaron

Sociology Faculty Publications

Background: Opioid-related overdose is the leading cause of mortality among individuals recently released from incarceration in the U.S. Naloxone is an FDA-approved opioid antagonist medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. Despite evidence of its acceptability and effectiveness at reducing the risk of opioid overdose death after release from incarceration, only an estimated 25% of US jails provide naloxone upon release. This study examines the effectiveness of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) Communities That HEAL (CTH) intervention on enhancing access to overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) in participating jails in Kentucky, New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio. Methods: Communities were …

The Importance Of Contextually Specific Support Relationships In Implementing Programs To Link People To Medication For Opioid Use Disorder (Moud) Treatment During Reentry From County Jails, Margaret Mcgladrey, Marisa Booty, Susannah Stitzer, Hannah K. Knudsen, Sharon L. Walsh, Michael Goetz, Hallie Mattingly, Michelle Lofwall, Laura Fanucchi, Devin Oller, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Carrie B. Oser

Sociology Faculty Publications

Background: This study uses the Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model (PRISM) and Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) model to describe how features of jail contexts are associated with the number of people linked to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and sustainment of jail linkage programs implemented in Wave 1 of the HEALing Communities Study in Kentucky (HCS-KY) from 2021 to 22. The HCS-KY is part of a parallel-group, cluster-randomized wait-list controlled trial examining the effects of supporting wide-scale implementation of evidence-based practices to reduce opioid overdose deaths. One strategy involved implementation of MOUD linkage programs within …

Drivers Of Racial Differences In C-Sections, Adriana Corredor-Waldron, Janet Currie, Molly Schnell

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Black mothers with a trial of labor are 25 percent more likely to deliver by C-section than non-Hispanic White mothers. The gap is largest among mothers with the lowest risk and is reduced by only one-fifth when controlling for observed medical risk factors, sociodemographic characteristics, hospital, and physician or medical practice group. Remarkably, the gap disappears when performing a C-section is more costly due to a concurrent pre-labor C-section limiting surgical resources. This finding is consistent with provider discretion—rather than differences in unobserved medical risk—accounting for persistent racial disparities in delivery method. The additional intrapartum C-sections that occur among low-risk …

State Of California Cannabis Reporting, University Of Mississippi – National Center For Cannabis Research And Education

California

No abstract provided.

Associations Between Trait Mindfulness And Distress In Fertility Patients: Evidence From Two Clinical Samples, Amanda Dillard, Brian Meier, Todd Williams, Michael Wolfe, Mili Thakur

Psychology Faculty Publications

Women who experience fertility problems often report high levels of distress. Trait mindfulness, or the tendency to be present-minded and accepting of one’s thoughts and feelings, could offset this distress. Aims: In two cross-sectional studies, we tested if fertility patients who were higher in trait mindfulness were lower in psychological distress as measured by anxiety and depressive symptoms, fertility-specific distress, and anticipated negative emotions. Method: Study 1 (N = 324; Age M = 34.3; 90% White) included women who had recently sought treatment for fertility problems, and Study 2 (N = 102; Age M = 32.9; …

“Narrative Medicine Saved My Life”: Writing Is A Verb As Well As A Noun, Marian M. Maccurdy, Sarah Robinson

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Dedicated to Professor Peter Elbow 4/14/1935 – 2/6/2025

I, Marian, began my career as a graduate student in medieval literature who had a teaching assistantship to fund her degree. As a graduate student I lived in a world that saw writing as a noun, something done and finished, not as a verb, a process that shows us a world that is as ever-changing as we are. But as a writing teacher I found myself sliding into the world that writers inhabit, and