Digital Commons Network^™

Judicial Lustration In Backsliding Democracies: Causes And Solutions For Publication, Collin Mcdonnell

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Eco-Humanitarianism: A Political Ecological Framework For Humanitarian Resilience, Roksanna Keyvan

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Export Processing Zones: Misguided Vehicles Of Globalization, Isabella Calise

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of A Geopolitical Policy—Case Study Of “Korea Limitation Order” Upon The Cultural Entertainment Industry In China, Zhilin Li

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

This paper examines the impact on the South Korean Cultural Entertainment Indus- try(CEI) of China’s “Korea Limitation Order”. In November 2016, Beijing restricted South Korean artists from holding concerts and the broadcast of South Korean TV dramas and banned cooperation between the two countries in the entertainment in- dustries. This paper focuses on the effect this had on exports of cultural products and relating industries from Korea, and how Korea was able to adjust to this geopolitical shock. I examine exports from Korea to China, Japan, and the United States using data from Cultural Entertainment Industry Products Exports, such as …

Development Analysis Of South Africa: Potential Impacts Of The Democratic Alliance’S Presence In The New Coalition, Mitchell Susswein

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Does Bilingualism On Resumes Affect Callback Rates?, Autumn Halfpenny

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

I study the influence of bilingualism in Spanish on the likelihood of receiving a callback for female customer service positions in the Chicago area. Data are collected from sixteen unique resumes submitted to 131 different job postings in an audit study, with applicants differing in bilingual ability. Bilingualism in Spanish significantly in- creases the likelihood of a callback by 17.86%-25.4%, implying bilingualism is valued in customer service roles. This suggests that bilingualism in Spanish may increase job prospects. While previous research studies this using observational and survey data, I use an audit study design with resumes to obtain causal results. …

Housing Construction In Washington, Dc: A Spatiotemporal Perspective, Willem Ells

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Pandemic School Closures On Standardized Testing Outcomes: Evidence From Connecticut, Michael Manieri

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

During the Covid-19 pandemic, schools around the nation closed to prevent the virus’s spread. Following these closures, students’ performance on standardized exams worsened. Using a two-way fixed effect model with district and year fixed effects, I examine if the use of non-traditional schooling modes (i.e. hybrid and virtual) during the pandemic is associated with lower ELA and Math proficiency rates in Connecticut public schools. I find that Connecticut public school districts’ Math and ELA pass rates on the annual Smarter Balanced exam significantly decreased as they used higher levels of virtual and hybrid education. The magnitude of this decrease was …

Beyond Their Nutritional Value, School Meal Programs Support Agricultural And Food Transition Toward Sustainability By Creating Multi-Sectoral Values In France, Sylvie Avallone, Sophie Nicklaus, Céline Giner, Juliana Cohen, Stéphane Verguet

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

The COVID pandemic has highlighted the essential role of school meal programs, not only for education but also for children’s nutrition. In France, school meals are shaped by ambitious policies to ensure their safety and nutritional quality, while promoting sustainable eating practices and awareness of environmental and agricultural challenges. In this article, we used the case study of France to discuss the multi-sectoral value of these programs. The economic value of school meals in France amounts to €8.2 billion annually, of which 2.8 billion are dedicated to food purchases. Since 2022, the EGAlim and Climate and Resilience laws require canteens …

Addressing Psychosocial Barriers To Participation In People Experiencing Homelessness: An Occupational Therapy Workshop, Preston Bender, Steven M. Gerardi, Lacey Spark

Summer 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Despite the occupational therapy (OT) profession's emphasis on holistic, person-centered care, many OT practitioners and students report feeling a lack of self-efficacy and preparedness to navigate the complex psychological, social, and systemic barriers that hinder occupational participation in people experiencing homelessness (PEH). This capstone project aimed to address the perceived unpreparedness among clinicians through the creation of an 8-hour interactive educational workshop aligned with Experiential Learning Theory. The content is grounded in the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and informed by the Bridging the Transition from Homelessness: A Social Justice Framework (BTTF), trauma-informed care (TIC), harm reduction, and diversity, equity, …

Quality Improvement Project The Impact Of Targeted Education And Training On The Use Of Rapid Mood Screener Tool On The Rate Of Mood Disorders Detection Among Psychiatric Providers, Oluwatobi Adeleke

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Optimal mood disorder (MD) management outcomes are associated with accurate and timely diagnosis. Yet, MD misdiagnosis, particularly Bipolar I, is an unfortunately common problem. Rapid assessment or screening tools offer effective diagnostic assessment interventions for faster diagnosis without compromising effectiveness. Still, their administration is constrained by providers’ knowledge and competence limitations. The Rapid Mood Screener (RMS) is a rapid screener for MDs, including Bipolar I, with well-established specificity, accuracy, and reliability. Provider training and education on RMS implementation can be effective in addressing the challenges providers encounter in the tool’s administration. Here, through a pre-post quasi-experimental design, this quality improvement …

Quality Improvement Project Implementing Test Anxiety-Reducing Methods In Senior-Level Nursing Students, Ashley Brooke Gray

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Test anxiety is a common occurrence among university students, particularly nursing students. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project was to address the problem of test anxiety among senior-level nursing students and the lack of faculty intervention in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. This DNP project aimed to increase awareness of test anxiety among nursing students and provide faculty development training on identifying symptoms, utilizing the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS), and implementing test anxiety-reducing measures in the classroom. The DNP student provided training to senior-level nursing faculty in integrating relaxation methods, …

Quality Improvement Project Evidence-Based Practice For The Use Of Lower Fio2 Concentration Amongst Pediatric Anesthesia Providers, Brittany Raines

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Hyperoxia during pediatric anesthesia is linked to postoperative pulmonary complications such as atelectasis and oxidative lung injury. Despite strong evidence supporting the use of lower inspired oxygen concentrations (FiO2), many providers habitually administer 100% oxygen during induction and emergence due to tradition and lack of formal guidelines. This quality improvement project aimed to reduce unnecessary hyperoxia by educating pediatric anesthesia providers on evidence-based FiO2 titration strategies. Guided by Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and Lewin’s Change Theory, a quasi-experimental one-group pretest/posttest design was employed. Sixteen certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and physician anesthesiologists completed baseline surveys, participated in a targeted educational …

Remote Running Gait Analysis Using Smartphone Video And Monocular Pose Estimation: A Feasibility Study, Luke Vankeersbilck

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Running is a common form of exercise that comes with many health benefits; however, many people stop exercising because of the high injury risk. Running injury is connected with biomechanical risk factors. Yet, these risk factors often show inconsistent and conflicting results across studies, largely due to small sample sizes limiting statistical power. Low subject numbers may be partly due to the time requirements of traditional motion capture. Monocular pose estimation offers a promising alternative by using machine learning to track body landmarks from a single camera. This study evaluated the feasibility of remotely collecting running biomechanics data using …

Association Between Weather Variables And Fascial Space Infections Of The Head And Neck: A Retrospective Chart Review, Teresa E. Fowler, Ryan F. Bloomquist, Jeffrey N. James

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The incidence of fascial space infections of the head and neck has long been suggested to correlate with weather patterns, though objective evidence is inconsistent, and a causative effect is difficult to prove. One issue in the existing literature is that correlations between space infections and weather patterns have been assessed in only a few climates, so data from additional regions is needed. The purpose of this study is to understand whether head and neck infection rates correlate with weather patterns in a humid subtropical climate, adding to the current literature derived largely from temperate environments. METHODS: In this …

Foster Kinship Program Evaluation, Eduardo Cabral-Terrazas, Jamilah Mcgrue, Andrea Rangelova, Jeffrey Vanderlaan

Public Policy and Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Foster Kinship, a Nevada-based nonprofit, operates under the belief that “When children cannot be with their parents, they should be with their family” (Foster Kinship, 2022). It supports kinship caregivers, who often take in children during a crisis, in navigating the foster care system. The organization’s Kinship Navigator Program offers training, case management, and licensing support to kinship caregivers, enabling them to access financial assistance and other benefits. However, many caregivers who complete the training do not finish the licensing process, limiting placement stability and access to resources for the children. Understanding why kinship caregivers trained through the Foster Kinship …

Gamete Size Is Essential For Understanding Sex And Sexual Selection In Humans, Animals, Plants, And Algae But Configurations Of Sex-Linked Traits Are Practically Important For Understanding Sex, David A. Frederick

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

"First, I briefly highlight recent discussions of sex and how they contrast with a gametic central understanding of sex in the executive order. I then provide some background on why gametes have been central to defining sex across species in evolutionary biological sciences. Understanding this perspective is important because it helps understand the competing frames people are using when they talk of sex as binary instead of as a spectrum or a multidimensional configuration of traits. The gametic central framing is essential for understanding sex and sexual selection across species, whereas the multidimensional configuration framing is practically useful in medical, …

Tracing Sars-Cov-2 Clusters Across Local Scales Using Genomic Data, Leke Lyu, Mandev Gill, Guppy Stott, Sachin Subedi, Cody Dailey, Gabriella Veytsel, Magdy Alabady, Kayo Fujimoto, Ryker Penn, Pamela Brown, Roger Sealy, Justin Bahl

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A quantitative understanding of local transmission dynamics is essential for designing effective prevention strategies. In this study, we developed a computational workflow to identify viral introductions and trace locally circulating clusters. We analyzed over 26,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes and their associated metadata, collected between January and October 2021, to explore introduction and local dispersal patterns in Greater Houston, a major metropolitan area known for its demographic diversity. Our analysis identified more than 1,000 independent introduction events, resulting in clusters of varying sizes. The majority of introductions originated from domestic sources, while international introductions occurred earlier and were associated with larger cluster …

Molecular Inflammatory Expression Profiles Associated With The Frequency Of Pain In Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease, Lana Mucalo Katunaric, Shuang Jia, Ashima Singh, Mark F. Roethle, Julie A. Panepinto, David C. Brousseau, Martin J. Hessner, Amanda M. Brandow

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Pain is the most common complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). The underlying biology of SCD pain is not well understood, which is a barrier to novel, effective analgesic and preventive therapies. A wide variability in the phenotypic expression of pain exists among individuals with SCD, despite the inheritance of a similar defective hemoglobin gene. This interindividual pain variability further complicates the ability to understand the biology and effectively treat pain. We sought to discover a biological signature comprising differentially expressed genes unique to SCD that could differentiate between individuals with varied pain frequency. We conducted plasma-induced transcription analysis from …

Educating Health Care Workers To Reduce Stigma And Create A Supportive Environment For Individuals With Substance Use Disorder, Rosette Nakiyemba Wakanabo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This doctoral project was a staff education project aimed at addressing a critical practice problem within nursing related to stigma faced by individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) in health care settings. The practice-focused question guiding the project addressed whether structured education and skill building could reduce stigma among health care workers toward patients with SUD. The purpose of this project was to enhance health care workers’ understanding of stigma and to equip them with practical tools and strategies to foster inclusive, empathetic, and effective care environments. The training was delivered in a workshop format that combined evidence-based strategies with …

South Carolina Alternative Route Teacher Pipeline Report For 2023–24, Svetlana Dmitrieva, Brian Cartiff, Angela Starrett

Reports

This report presents a detailed analysis of South Carolina’s alternative route teacher workforce for the 2023–24 academic year, with a focus on preparation and retention. As part of SC TEACHER’s ongoing commitment to providing statewide educator workforce profiles, this publication, along with SC TEACHER’s broader research, offers timely, actionable data to inform educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

The findings presented here are based on educator-level data provided by the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) for 2023–24, along with longitudinal data from the 2019–20 through 2022–23 academic years. The 2023–24 analyses reflect a sample of 5,079 educators affiliated with state-approved …

Assessing The Muc5b Promoter Variant In A Large Cohort Of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease, Carlos Rosa-Baez, Carlos Rangel-Pelaez, Inmaculada Rodriguez-Martin, Martin Kerick, Alfredo Guillen-Del-Castillo, Carmen P Simeon-Aznar, José Luis Callejas, Alexandre E Voskuyl, Alexander Kreuter, Oliver Distler, Susanna M Proudman, Mandana Nikpour, Nicolas Hunzelmann, Jeska K De Vries-Bouwstra, Ariane L Herrick, Yannick Allanore, Lorenzo Beretta, Maureen D Mayes, Christopher P Denton, Shervin Assassi, Javier Martin, Marialbert Acosta-Herrera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: The common gain-of-function variant rs35705950, located in the promoter of MUC5B gene, has been strongly associated with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) of different aetiology, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and rheumatoid arthritis-associated ILD (RA-ILD). In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of this variant and its nearby single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the largest cohort of systemic sclerosis-associated ILD (SSc-ILD) to date.

Methods: Samples were collected from blood/saliva, followed by DNA extraction and genotyping using SNP arrays. Data for rs35705950 and additional 903 variants within 100 Kb were obtained using genomic imputation. Subsequently, we tested their …

Video-Based Intervention To Reduce Treatment And Outcome Disparities In Adults Living With Stroke Or Transient Ischemic Attack (Virtual): Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Munachi Okpala, Chigozirim Izeogu, Mengxi Wang, Charles Green, Gabretta Cooksey, Thuy Nguyen, Sarah Cohen, Latonya Bryant, Daphne C Hernandez, Elmer V Bernstam, Michael Gonzales, Rhonda Conyers, Olasimbo Chiadika, Kristin Varacalli, Sean I Savitz, Jose-Miguel Yamal, Anjail Z Sharrief

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities in post-stroke blood pressure (BP) control persist, and effective interventions to address post-stroke care inequities are needed. We designed a randomized comparative effectiveness trial to evaluate the Video-based Intervention to Reduce Treatment and Outcome Disparities in Adults Living with Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (VIRTUAL) model of care for post-stroke BP reduction.

Methods: The study will enroll 534 stroke survivors in a randomized trial to receive either the VIRTUAL intervention or enhanced standard care. Individuals with ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) are enrolled before hospital discharge and randomized (1:1) to VIRTUAL …

Extracellular Vesicles For Clinical Diagnostics: From Bulk Measurements To Single-Vesicle Analysis, Hai Linh Tran, Wenshu Zheng, David A Issadore, Hyungsoon Im, Yoon-Kyoung Cho, Yuanqing Zhang, Dingbin Liu, Yang Liu, Bo Li, Fei Liu, David Tai Wai Wong, Jiashu Sun, Kun Qian, Mei He, Meihua Wan, Yong Zeng, Ke Cheng, Tony Jun Huang, Daniel T Chiu, Luke P Lee, Lei Zheng, Andrew K Godwin, Raghu Kalluri, Steven A Soper, Tony Y Hu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in intercellular communication, signaling pathways, and disease pathogenesis by transporting biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids derived from their cells of origin, and they have demonstrated substantial potential in clinical applications. Their clinical significance underscores the need for sensitive methods to fully harness their diagnostic potential. In this comprehensive review, we explore EV heterogeneity related to biogenesis, structure, content, origin, sample type, and function roles; the use of EVs as disease biomarkers; and the evolving landscape of EV measurement for clinical diagnostics, highlighting the progression from bulk measurement to single vesicle …

2025-08-12 Minutes, Morehead State University. Staff Congress.

Staff Congress Records

Staff Congress meeting minutes from August 12, 2025.

Computational And Mathematical Modeling Of Microbial Community And Host Responses To Microbiota-Directed Complementary Foods Administered To Children With Acute Malnutrition., Steven J. Hartman

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Globally, millions of children suffer from undernutrition, with stunting affecting 150 million and wasting nearly 50 million under five years old. Current interventions have shown limited effectiveness in mitigating long-term consequences such as stunted growth, cognitive deficits, and immune dysfunction. Through this body of work, I investigated the efficacy of a microbiota- directed complementary food (MDCF-2) as a next generation therapeutic food to combat childhood stunting. Across two randomized controlled trials involving Bangladeshi children with either moderate acute malnutrition or post-severe acute malnutrition, MDCF-2 significantly outperformed standard ready-to-use supplementary foods (RUSF), leading to significantly improved ponderal and sustained linear growth …

Pd-1 Inhibition For Relapse After Allogeneic Transplantation In Acute Myeloid Leukemia And Myelodysplastic Syndrome, John M Magenau, David G Frame, Mary Riwes, John Maciejewski, Sarah Anand, Attaphol Pawarode, Anamarija M Perry, Marcus Geer, Thomas Braun, Monalisa Ghosh, Pavan Reddy

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Relapse of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) remains the primary source of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). Targeting programmed death-1 (PD-1) for reversing T-cell exhaustion and restoring the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect may have logistical advantages over donor lymphocyte infusion. In a prospective phase 1B clinical trial, pembrolizumab was administered every 3 weeks to 16 patients with AML (n = 12) and MDS (n = 4) in relapse after HCT to assess graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), clinical response, and survival. The median time to relapse after HCT was 5.5 months and the median pretreatment bone marrow …

Eltrombopag In Combination With Immunosuppressive Therapy In Pediatric Severe Aplastic Anemia: Phase 2 Escalate Trial, Akiko Shimamura, Alexey Maschan, Carolyn Bennett, Sujith Samarasinghe, Jason E Farrar, Chi-Kong Li, Nongnuch Sirachainan, Bunchoo Pongtanakul, Patcharee Komvilaisak, Ludmila Zubarovskaya, Jennifer A Rothman, Kelly Walkovich, Taizo A Nakano, Alison A Bertuch, Anabela Ferrao, Rukhmi Bhat, Rabi Hanna, Kathleen Overholt, Jessica Boklan, Tze Fang Wong, Qinxia Wang, Patrick Urban, Brigitte Strahm, Winfred Wang, Adrianna Vlachos, David A Williams

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a rare, life-threatening disease with acquired pancytopenia and hypocellular bone marrow. ESCALATE evaluated eltrombopag in combination with immunosuppressive therapy (IST) in pediatric patients (aged 1 to < 18 years) with relapsed/refractory (R/R) or treatment-naïve SAA. The eltrombopag starting dose was 25 mg/d for patients aged 1 to < 6 years and 50 mg/d for patients aged 6 to < 18 years; dose modifications (maximum dose, 150 mg/d) were allowed to achieve a target platelet count of 50 × 109/L to 200 × 109/L. Eltrombopag was administered with cyclosporine A, with or without horse antithymocyte globulin, for 26 weeks and could be extended if clinically beneficial. Fifty-one patients were treated (R/R SAA, n = 14; treatment-naïve SAA, n = 37). Data were analyzed overall and as 2 cohorts: R/R and treatment-naïve cohorts. The overall response rate (ORR; per North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium criteria) at 26 weeks was 54.9% in both cohorts combined and 71.4% and 48.6% in the R/R and treatment-naïve cohorts, respectively; most responders had sustained responses after discontinuing eltrombopag. Among baseline transfusion-dependent patients, 66.7% and 76.7% achieved red blood cell and platelet transfusion independence, respectively, with rates of 70% and 80% for the R/R cohort and 65.6% and 75.8% for the treatment-naïve cohort, respectively. The most common treatment-related adverse events were abnormalities in liver function tests, including increased bilirubin (43.1%), alanine aminotransferase (37.3%), and aspartate aminotransferase (33.3%). Eltrombopag with IST showed a trend toward a favorable ORR in the R/R cohort, with no new safety signals.

Non-Isolated Tetralogy Of Fallot (Tof+): Exome Sequencing Efficacy And Phenotypic Expansions, Julia Volpi, Xiaonan Zhao, Nichole Owen, Tia Evans, Muriel Holder-Espinasse, Nayana Lahiri, Eleanor Sherlock, Gemma Poke, Jeroen Breckpot, Koen Devriendt, Bjorn Cools, Alfredo Brusco, Giovanni Battista Ferrero, Enrico Grosso, Pradeep Vasudevan, Sara Loddo, Antonio Novelli, Maria Cristina Digilio, Aafke Engwerda, Marrit Hitzert, Alison Male, Lucy Bownass, Ruth Newbury-Ecob, Zosia Miedzybrodzka, Ruth Armstrong, Sally Ann Lynch, Gunnar Houge, Shiyi Xiong, Seema R Lalani, Jill A Rosenfeld, Pamela N Luna, Chad A Shaw, Daryl A Scott

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect (CHD). TOF may present in isolation or in conjunction with one or more non-cardiac congenital anomalies or neurodevelopmental disorders (TOF+). Uncertainty regarding the efficacy of various genetic testing strategies, and an incomplete understanding of the genetic causes of TOF+, may lead to hesitancy in recommending genetic testing, particularly, clinical exome sequencing (cES). Here, we analyzed cES data from 131 individuals with TOF+. A definitive or probable diagnosis was made for 31 individuals, yielding a diagnostic rate of 23.6% (31/131). One individual received three diagnoses. Commercially available CHD panels …

Bclaf1 Restrains Stress Responses In Hematopoietic Stem Cells To Support Expansion And Repopulation, Stephanie J Crowley, Wei Yang, Lynn S White, Jun Wu, Yanan Li, Haley Schmidt, Kyunghee Choi, Jeffrey A Magee, Jeffrey J Bednarski

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) rapidly expand during fetal development and after stress. Here, we identify B-cell lymphoma-2-associated factor 1 (BCLAF1) as a regulator of HSC repopulation activity, with roles in the expansion of fetal HSCs and hematopoietic reconstitution after stem cell transplantation. Using mice with hematopoietic-specific and inducible deletion of Bclaf1, we find that BCLAF1 promotes fetal HSC development but is dispensable for the maintenance of adult HSCs at steady state. Loss of BCLAF1 in either fetal or adult HSCs significantly impairs their self-renewal and multilineage reconstitution activity after stem cell transplantation. Single-cell RNA sequencing of fetal hematopoietic progenitors reveals …