Digital Commons Network^™

Does Integration Of Centor Criteria Reduce The Use Of Point Of Care Testing In The Management Of Patients Presenting With Sore Throat In Primary Care?, Hodan Ali Fnp-C, Msc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Sore throats are one of the most prevalent health issues frequently encountered in primary care settings. Viruses, including Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Influenza virus, are commonly implicated as the leading cause of sore throat cases. While bacterial infections represent only 5–15% of sore throat cases, antibiotic prescriptions remain prevalent in bacterial and viral instances. Clinical decision tools like the Centor Criteria (CC) were developed to aid in identifying patients at higher risk of Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection.

Objective: The purpose of the Quality Improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the impact of the CC tool in reducing …

Reducing Rates And Improving Care Of Incarcerated Pregnant People In Georgia Through The Georgia Women's Care Act: A Policy Analysis And Advocacy Project, Allegra Renee Crews Walker Msn, Cnm

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Maternal mortality rate and the rate of incarcerated women are significantly higher in the U.S. than in comparable nations, with Georgia's rates exceeding the national average. The U.S. and Georgia do not meet the internationally accepted standards for women in prisons, the Bangkok Rules. The Georgia Women's CARE Act seeks to reduce rates of incarcerated pregnant individuals by allowing sentence deferment, alternative sentencing, and eliminating or reducing cash bail when appropriate. The bill also establishes standards for tracking pregnant incarcerated women through federal and state prisons and jails.

Aims: This policy analysis and advocacy project aims to bring awareness …

Foraging Habitat Associations Of Cryptic Foliage-Roosting Bats Across An Urban Gradient In Central Coast California, Bethany Schulze

AES Theses

Hoary bats and western red bats are foliage-roosting species which may be sensitive to habitat loss due to urban expansion. Habitat use by bats has mostly been studied during summer periods, but habitat use during migratory and winter periods can inform conservation strategies for these sensitive species. We aimed to determine habitat use for foraging activity across an urban-natural habitat gradient for hoary and western red bats during fall and spring migration, winter, and to determine if there is seasonal sexual differentiation in habitat use. We captured bats using mist nets at urban and natural habitats and compared sex ratios. …

Information Literacy: How Students Search For & Verfiy Health-Related Information On Social Media, Isabel Sousa

Honors Projects in Communication and Language Studies

Today, younger generations utilize social media to access what they perceive to be reliable and accurate information, yet there are some concerns regarding validity and the ease of which students share information. This thesis evaluates how undergraduate students search for and verify information seen on popular social media platforms and analyzes the proficiency of their information literacy skills. The data collected will be used in determining which social media platforms are most frequently used and trusted by students, which types of sources are used in verification of this information if verified at all, and their perception of information literacy. The …

Open Repository @ Binghamton Monthly Additions And Top Downloads - March 2025, Caitlin Holton

Library Created Resources

Newly added work in the Open Repository @ Binghamton (ORB) from 3/1/2025-3/31/2025. Top downloads from same time frame.

Precision Drug Dosing And Disease Risk Prediction: Advanced Deep Learning Artificial Intelligence Approaches For Precision Medicine Using Structured Electronic Health Records Data, Bingyu Mao

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Advancements in precision medicine increasingly rely on data-driven approaches to improve clinical decision-making. This work presents three interconnected studies that leverage deep learning, reinforcement learning, and comparative modeling to address key challenges in precision drug dosing and disease risk prediction. Together, these contributions offer novel computational frameworks that enhance model performance, improve dosing strategies, and guide model selection for clinical predictive tasks.

To improve individualized vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), the first study introduces PKRNN-2CM, a novel deep learning framework that integrates a two-compartment pharmacokinetic (PK) model with recurrent neural networks (RNNs). While one-compartment models are commonly used in clinical …

Identifying Bacterial Infection In Alaskan Small Mammals, Dorothy Sherer

2025 Research and Creative Activity Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Tutoring And Its Impact On Mitigating Covid-19 Reading Learning Loss In A Rural Title I School District For 3rd Grade Students, Julie Nicole Goodin

Student Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study evaluated the impact of a tutoring program on third-grade students' reading achievement, focusing on rural Title I schools. The research used the Kellogg Logic Model to assess the program's short-term outcomes. It analyzed universal reading data for one hundred and three third-grade students and gathered the perspectives from nineteen stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and administrators. The researcher assessed the long-term outcomes by analyzing data on third-grade students' overall academic reading growth and by examining the stakeholders' perceptions of the program's effectiveness. The themes for the study from the participants included the benefits of tutoring, bus transportation, use …

Institutionalizing Normality: Disability, Productivity, And Higher Education, Ashley Dirzis

Student Theses

This thesis examines how capitalism and neuronormative domination shape the structures and values of academic institutions, affecting faculty, students, and research subjects alike. By privileging productivity, conformity, and efficiency in the pursuit of income, universities often marginalize those who diverge from normative standards of thinking, behavior, and embodiment, particularly disabled individuals. Drawing on Marta Russell’s Disability and Capitalism and the shaping of disability by capitalist systems, Robert Chapman’s notion of the "Empire of Normality" and Jay Dolmage’s concept of the retrofit from Academic Ableism, this paper analyzes how academia reinforces ableist norms. It explores the realities and barriers that …

2025 Medical Student Research Day Abstracts, George Washington University

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences research showcase is designed to highlight the breadth of research and scholarly activity that students have accomplished during their education at The GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences. All students are invited to present research regardless of the area of focus. Abstract submissions represent a broad range of research interests and disciplines, including basic and translational science, clinical research, health policy and public health research, and education-related research.

This is an opportunity for all students to showcase their work through poster sessions and selected oral presentations. Awards will be …

Patient-Centric Benefit-Risk Evaluation Of Ticagrelor In Combination With Aspirin In Acute Ischemic Stroke Or Transient Ischemic Attack: Door Analyses Of The Thales Trial, Lucia Sanchez-Gonzalez, Toshi Hamasaki, Scott Evans

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

Dirty Water, Breanna Booker, Michael S. Sinha

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

There are tens of thousands of unregulated industrial substances manufactured and used in the United States. This Article focuses on three specific to plastic and its manufacturing process: microplastics, phthalates, and BPAs. These substances have been attributed to many known health harms and potentially more that have yet to be identified. The research is still nascent and continues to evolve, but what we do know is who is creating the problem. From big oil companies and plastics manufacturers, to creators of textiles and tires, to investors who all contribute to the problem, how can we hold these accountable for the …

A Mechanistic Understanding Of The Effect Of Staphylococcus Aureus Vras Histidine Kinase Single-Point Mutation On Antibiotic Resistance, Liaqat Ali, Salima Karki, Gunavanthi D. Boorgula, Amir Mekakda, Brittnee Cagle-White, Shrijan Bhattarai, Robert Beaudoin, Aryanna Blakeney, Sanjay Singh, Shashikant Srivastava, May H. Abdelaziz

Pharmacy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bacterial genomic mutations in Staphylococcus aureus have been detected in isolated resistant clinical strains, yet their mechanistic effect on the development of antimicrobial resistance remains unclear. Resistance-associated regulatory systems acquire adaptive mutations under stress conditions that may lead to a gain-of-function effect and contribute to the resistance phenotype. Here, we investigate the effect of a single-point mutation (T331I) in VraS histidine kinase, part of the VraSR two-component system in S. aureus. VraSR senses and responds to environmental stress signals by upregulating gene expression for cell wall synthesis. A combination of enzyme kinetics, microbiological, and transcriptomic analyses revealed the mechanistic effect …

Duty To Care And Job Turnover Intention In The Post-Pandemic Nursing Workforce, Cathleen A. Lopez

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Natural and human-made disasters are increasing in number and intensity. In 2020, approximately 688.3 million people required assistance from disaster response personnel. During a disaster or pandemic, nurses must weigh their personal and/or family safety against the ethical code of caring for others. The purpose of this convergent mixed-methods study was to examine duty to care and job turnover intention of registered nurses working in patient-facing roles. A convergent mixed method design was used to address research questions by employing the Nash Duty to Care Scale (NDCS) and the Turnover Intent Scale (TIS-6). Open-ended survey questions were used to explore …

Neutrophil Inflammatory Death Regulation By Bacterial Type Iii Secreted Effectors, Arianna D. Reuven

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Yersinia and Pseudomonas use a T3SS to secrete effectors into host cells that inhibit phagocytosis and modulate immune responses, such as inflammasome activation. Inflammasomes promote the activation of the proinflammatory protease caspase-1. The activation of an inflammasome sensor in response to a signal or ligand initiates the assembly of the inflammasome leading to activation of caspase-1 which cleaves GSDMD and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 into their mature forms. As neutrophils are recruited in large quantities to sites of infection, they are excellent candidates to drive inflammasome dependent responses. Neutrophils have been shown to produce multiple inflammasomes, like pyrin and …

Patient-Centric Approaches For Antipsychotic Medication Research: An Application Of The Desirability Of Outcome Ranking (Door) And Global Benefit-Risk (Gbr) Score, Alexander K. Thiersch, Kristal L. Taylor, Stephanie A. Rolin, Megan G. Flores

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

Refining Data Presentation In Data And Safety Monitoring Boards Reports: An Example From A Clinical Trial Evaluating Antifungal Therapy In Pediatric Uncomplicated Candidemia (Count), Qihang Wu, Yixuan Li, Lijuan Zeng, Brian T. Fisher, William J. Steinbach, Scott R. Evans, Toshimitsu Hamasaki

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

Making Super Soldiers: Command Authority And The Implications Of “Getting To Yes”, Christopher J. Lin

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

The capability and will to enhance soldiers’ minds and bodies for warfare have existed throughout the centuries and across nations, from Ancient Greek hoplites partaking in wine before battle to calm nerves, to American servicemembers consuming amphetamines to remain awake during long-range reconnaissance missions in the Vietnam War. With advancements in biomedical technology, certain types of enhancements entail modifications with varying degrees of permanence to enhance battlefield performance. This Article explores the historical context and contemporary developments of biomedical enhancements, with a focus on the longstanding deference to military command authority regarding issues of individual autonomy. By examining the impacts …

Eating The Fat Of The Land: The Work Of Coxiella Burnetii To Traverse Intracellular Lipid Landscapes, Charlie Porto

Theses & Dissertations

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular pathogen and the causative agent of Q fever in humans. With primary hosts in livestock ruminants, C. burnetii is endemic globally, presenting significant health risks to agricultural workers and herd health at large. Numerous wild animal reservoirs exist, increasingly threatened by expanding livestock ranges. Furthermore, with a low infectious dose through aerosol transmission, the CDC considers C. burnetii a potential bioweapon, though in humans a large amount of infections persist subclinically, occasionally progressing to pneumonia and hepatitis with chronic infections leading to endocarditis.

The parasitic life cycle of C. burnetii is biphasic, a small …

Revealing The Truth: The Consequences Of Failed Drug Campaigns And The Dehumanization Of People Suffering From Addiction, Caycie Trotter

MFA Theses Exhibitions Final Papers

View the Digital Exhibition of Revealing the Truth

The war on drugs began on June 17, 1971. Many campaigns and projects were launched to help fight this war, including D.A.R.E. and "Just Say No," which were among the first and most popular initiatives. Revealing the Truth: The Consequences of Failed Drug Campaigns and the Dehumanization of People Suffering from Addiction is a thesis exhibition show and paper that explores these failed campaigns and highlights their lasting effects, including the dehumanization of people struggling with addiction, widespread misinformation, and the amplification of abuse. These effects have shaped how our government deals …

Electronic Resources Updates - 2025 Q1, Brigitte Galauner, Gregg Harris

Electronic Resources Quarterly Updates

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Group B Streptococcus Management For Optimal Maternal And Neonatal Health Outcomes At Neighborhood Health, Ashvita Vasireddy, Cora Macpherson

GW Research Showcase 2021-2026

No abstract provided.

A Systems Theory Of Tort Law: Reevaluating The Case Against “Regulation By Litigation”, Timothy D. Lytton

Missouri Law Review

For decades, critics of tort law have argued that lawsuits are a poor substitute for government regulation. These detractors compare the institutional capacities of courts and agencies, and they conclude that litigation is ineffective, inefficient, and illegitimate as an alternative to notice-and-comment rulemaking. In response, this Article asserts that characterizing tort law and administrative regulation as alternatives obscures their interdependence. By using systems theory to model this interdependence, the Article argues that any fair-minded assessment of tort litigation’s contribution to regulatory governance requires understanding it as part of a system. Ignoring the systemic impacts of tort litigation overlooks the subtle …

Wooster Magazine: Spring 2025, Caitlin Paynich Stanowick

Wooster Magazine: 2021-2030

In the spring 2025 Wooster magazine, alumni share insights from their fields for the lifelong learners The College of Wooster inspires. Creative graduates including Kent Sprague '14, Kathryne Hall ’99, Scott Doty ’97, and Will Strohmeyer ’19 share techniques from behind the scenes, keyboard, and camera. Lisa Skeens ’88, David Roney ’21, Brenda Major ’72, Martin Danial ’05, and Grace Bouker ’21 illuminate meaning behind approaches and processes in health-related fields. Other features showcase how alumni involvement expands the Wooster community, the 50^th anniversary of Freedlander Theatre, and the dedication of The Piper sculpture. Oak Grove features a new …

The Acth Test Fails To Diagnose Adrenal Insufficiency And Augments Cytokine Production In Sepsis, Dan Hao, Qian Wang, Misa Ito, Jianyao Xue, Ling Guo, Bin Huang, Chieko Mineo, Philip W. Shaul, Xiang An Li

Physiology Faculty Publications

The adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) test diagnoses relative adrenal insufficiency (RAI) or critical illness–related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI). Initially, guidelines recommended corticosteroid/glucocorticoid (GC) therapy for septic patients with RAI, but later trials did not show a survival benefit, leading to updated guidelines that abandon targeting RAI or CIRCI. Recent studies with an RAI mouse model showed a clear survival benefit from GC therapy in mice with RAI, suggesting that inconclusive GC clinical trials might be due to issues with the ACTH test rather than targeting RAI. To investigate, we performed the ACTH test in septic mice. Interestingly, the ACTH test identified most …

Llm-Ie: A Python Package For Biomedical Generative Information Extraction With Large Language Models, Enshuo Hsu, Kirk Roberts

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Despite the recent adoption of large language models (LLMs) for biomedical information extraction (IE), challenges in prompt engineering and algorithms persist, with no dedicated software available. To address this, we developed LLM-IE: a Python package for building complete IE pipelines.

Materials and methods: The LLM-IE supports named entity recognition, entity attribute extraction, and relation extraction tasks. We benchmarked it on the i2b2 clinical datasets.

Results: The sentence-based prompting algorithm resulted in the best 8-shot performance of over 70% strict F1 for entity extraction and about 60% F1 for entity attribute extraction.

Discussion: We developed a Python package, LLM-IE, …

Death Becomes Us: The Consumptive Body In Nineteenth-Century Gothic Literature, Jennifer Marie Mcmahon

All NMU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the impacts of nineteenth-century tuberculosis epidemics on gothic literature published between 1842 and 1872. In this period of time, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United States and in Europe, killing an estimated one in seven people. Using theoretical lenses of psychoanalysis and material ecocriticism, this project considers borders between material bodies—specifically those between bacterial agents and humans—to be illusory and socially constructed. The first chapter focuses on the ways in which representations of tuberculosis, and its associated entanglement with the environment, appear in the work of two authors from the United States: Edgar …

Rocscholar Annual Report 2024, Lisa Buda

Rochester Regional Health authored publications and proceedings

RocScholar is the institutional repository (IR) for Rochester Regional Health (RRH) and is managed by the Libraries at RRH. It provides storage and access for RRH’s research and scholarly activity. This report highlights the repository’s fourth year of implementation.

Advancing Pandemic Response: Integrated Strategies For Testing, Prediction, And Bias Mitigation, Tianshu Gu

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with prior outbreaks such as SARS and Ebola, has revealed critical gaps in global pandemic preparedness, emphasizing the need for integrated approaches to infectious disease management. This dissertation addresses three key areas of pandemic response: developing scalable screening strategies, constructing reliable predictive models, and mitigating demographic biases in artificial intelligence (AI) models used for healthcare decision-making.

The first study introduces a global screening strategy designed to optimize resource use and increase testing capacity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where resources are limited. This study leverages pooled testing methods, where multiple samples are combined into …

The Lived Experience Of Acute Stroke Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (Aprn) Working In Expanded Roles: A Mixed Methods Study, Terri-Ellen Kiernan

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction. Nurse practitioners have made credible gains through the six decades since inception to cover the growing need for outpatient family care. Nurse practitioners are now working in all aspects of medicine by continuing to fill gaps with healthcare needs that persist due to physician shortages. Stroke neurology is a medical specialty plagued by a shortage of physician specialists in hospital acute care which can limit acute stroke diagnosis and treatment capabilities. Stroke nurse practitioners (SNP) are vascular neurology trained specialists who fill relatively new hospital roles to assume traditionally physician-based responsibilities in an expanded role. This study aims to …