Digital Commons Network^™

Does Body Mass Index Influence Intraoperative Costs And Operative Times For Open Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion? A Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Analysis, Danyal A. Quraishi, Advith Sarikonda, Dwight M. Self, Emily Isch, Steven R. Glener, Arbaz A. Momin, Ashmal Sami, Nicholas Clark, Joshua Pelta-Heller, Srinivas Prasad, Ashwini Sharan, Jack Jallo, James Harrop, Alex R. Vaccaro, Ahilan Sivaganesan

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of obesity has raised concerns about its impact on surgical outcomes and healthcare costs. This study evaluates the influence of Body Mass Index (BMI) on intraoperative costs and operative times during open Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) procedures using a Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) approach.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 279 patients who underwent TLIF between 2019 and 2022. Patients were categorized into 5 BMI cohorts: healthy weight (BMI 18.5-24.99), overweight (BMI 25.0-29.99), Class I obese (BMI 30.0-34.99), Class II obese (BMI 35.0-39.99), and Class III obese (BMI >40). Intraoperative costs were calculated using …

Volume Cxliv, Number 9, January 17, 2025, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Analyzing And Mitigating The Risks Of Patient Harm During Operating Room To Intensive Care Unit Patient Handoffs., Nara Regina Spall Martins, Edson Zangiacomi Martinez, Cláudia Marquez Simões, Paul Barach, Maria José Carvalho Carmona

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Patients continue to suffer from preventable harm and uneven quality outcomes. Reliable clinical outcomes depend on the quality of robust administrative systems and reliable support processes. Critically ill patient handoffs from the operating room (OR) to the intensive care unit (ICU) are known to be high-risk events. We describe a novel perspective on how risk factors associated with the process of patient handoff communication between the OR and the ICU can lead to flawed communication, degraded team awareness, medical errors, and increased patient harm. Data were collected from two semi-structured focus groups using a five-step risk management approach at a …

Blue Notes, January 17, 2025 (Issue 2025-01), Illinois State University, Department Of Chemistry

Blue Notes

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of Chemistry

Chemical Damping Of The Motion Of A Piston: Irreversibilities Arising From Nonequilibrium Conditions On The Chemical Potential, David S. Corti, Mark J. Uline

Faculty Publications

We revisit the thermodynamic analysis of an isothermal ideal gas mixture enclosed within a cylinder and separated from the surrounding atmosphere by a movable and frictionless piston. When equilibrium conditions based on the chemical potentials of one or more species in the mixture are not satisfied at all times, which occurs for example for a chemical reaction with finite and non-zero reaction rates in the forward and reverse directions and for mass transfer of one species across a permeable membrane occurring at a finite and non-zero rate, an irreversibility is necessarily introduced into the system with a resulting increase in …

Ud In The News Jan. 10-17, University Of Dayton

News Releases

Business Insider, La Vanguardia in Spain and Catholic outlets nationwide interviewed UD faculty. Several regional and local outlets highlighted UD's Choose Ohio First award from the state of Ohio.

Big Data Management Within Multi-Objective Optimization Modeling For Sustainable Food Production, Breanna Paige Modica

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Producing enough food to feed a growing human population without further degrading the environment through unsustainable natural resource use is a global issue. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the extent to which big data management of environmental impact sources, assessment methods, and allocation methods in multi-objective optimization (MOO) modeling affect the consistency and predictability of sustainable food animal feed management practices at the farm level. Representation theory, the theory of effective use of information systems, the dynamic capabilities view, and the natural resource-based view were used to describe the necessity of accurately representing and managing …

Elementary School Teachers’ Perspectives Regarding Handwriting Fluency And Writing Proficiency In Elementary Students, Sofia Doyle For Scott Doyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed in this study is that the majority of students nationwide demonstrate low writing proficiency and handwriting fluency. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary school teachers’ perspectives regarding handwriting fluency and its role in the overall writing skills of elementary students. This study was grounded in Piaget’s cognitive learning theory. Four research questions focused on teachers’ perspectives; two questions focused on factors that contribute to low achievement in handwriting and writing proficiency and two questions asked teachers about their experiences with the strategies they used to support students in handwriting and writing achievement. …

Executive Summary: Quality Improvement Initiative Reducing Er Readmissions Among Homeless Individuals With Schizophrenia Using Integrated Care, Chiamaka Nnah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This evaluation of the effectiveness of a quality improvement initiative project aimed to reduce ER readmissions and improve medication adherence among homeless individuals with schizophrenia by implementing an integrated care model. These individuals face substantial barriers to healthcare, including housing instability and limited access to resources, leading to frequent ER visits that strain healthcare systems. Addressing this issue is essential for nursing practice to optimize resource use and improve patient outcomes. The project examined whether a coordinated approach integrating medical and social services could lower ER visits and enhance adherence to treatment. Statistical analyses showed that postimplementation medication adherence increased …

Shifting Perspectives: Valuing Art For Its Usefulness, Not Just Its Aesthetics, Morgan Hatfield

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Art is everywhere. From paintings, to entertainment, even to gardening and architecture, art is an essential part of society and culture. However, art can frequently be trapped in its own bubble, seen as something of not much use to “real” professionals such as physicians, therapists, or scientists. This line of thinking discredits the flexibility of art. It is only through the analysis of art’s impact on society that one can see the broad array of disciplines that art can affect and thus see the true value of art. Focusing primarily on visual art, I seek to place a value on …

School Travel Behaviors In Rural Communities: Pandemic-Related Impacts, Kevin Chang, Xinyi Li, Ahmed Abdel-Rahim

CSET Project Reports

The global pandemic, which started around early 2020, significantly disrupted life for many families, and the trip to and from school was not immune to these disruptions. Parents and children alike made travel adjustments depending on their preferences with regard to personal health and safety, social distancing, and aversion to risk. Each school district and individual school also made decisions with regard to in-person or remote learning during this period of uncertainty. In this study, the research team examines how the pandemic affected school transportation for hundreds of families across the Pacific Northwest. An online survey was developed and administered …

Lumen-Apposing Metal Stent Placement In Severe Sepsis Secondary To Afferent Limb Syndrome, Nicholas Noverati, Faisal Kamal

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

To Be Or Not To Be Included In The S&P 500: Cost Of Debt Implications, Matthew Faulkner, Tracie Frost, Stoyu I. Ivanov

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Purpose: We examine the changes in a firm’s cost of debt after it is included in or removed from the S&P 500. The extant literature on index composition focuses on the cost of equity and lacks an understanding of the impacts on a firm’s cost of debt capital upon inclusion in or removal from a major stock market index. Therefore, we address the following question: Does a firm’s cost of debt change around its inclusion in or removal from the S&P 500? Design/methodology/approach: We develop two hypotheses based on the research question and use univariate and multivariate fixed-effects analyses to …

Viroporin Activity Is Necessary For Intercellular Calcium Signals That Contribute To Viral Pathogenesis, J Thomas Gebert, Francesca J Scribano, Kristen A Engevik, Ethan M Huleatt, Michael R Eledge, Lauren E Dorn, Asha A Philip, Takahiro Kawagishi, Harry B Greenberg, John T Patton, Joseph M Hyser

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Viruses engage in a variety of processes to subvert host defenses and create an environment amenable to replication. Here, using rotavirus as a prototype, we show that calcium conductance out of the endoplasmic reticulum by the virus encoded ion channel, NSP4, induces intercellular calcium waves that extend beyond the infected cell and contribute to pathogenesis. Viruses that lack the ability to induce this signaling show diminished viral shedding and attenuated disease in a mouse model of rotavirus diarrhea. This implicates nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) as a virulence factor and provides mechanistic insight into its mode of action. Critically, this …

A Comparison Of Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy In Transmission Scanning Electron Microscopy With Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy, Jennifer L.W. Carter, Tugce Karakulak Uz, Jeffrey S. Pigott

Faculty Scholarship

The objective of this work was to explore the capabilities of a field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM) equipped with a transmission scanning electron detector (TSEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to identify nanoscale chemical heterogeneities in a gas atomization reaction synthesis (GARS) steel sample. The results of this analysis were compared to the same study conducted with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with EDS mapping. TSEM-EDS was performed using the standard spectral analysis approach, i.e., pixel-by-pixel identification of elements from the spectra, and a new principal component analysis approach to detect regions of similar spectra before identifying elemental …

Perceptions And Practices Of Imaging Personnel And Physicians Regarding The Use Of Brain Mri For Dementia Diagnosis In Uganda, Stephen E. Jones, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Introduction Diagnosing dementia remains challenging in low-income settings due to limited diagnostic options and the absence of definitive biomarkers. The use of brain MRI in the diagnosis of dementia is infrequent in Uganda, and even when it is used, subtle findings like mild regional atrophy are often overlooked, despite being crucial for imaging diagnosis. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and practices of imaging personnel and physicians regarding the use of brain MRI as a diagnostic approach for dementia in Uganda. Methods This was an exploratory qualitative study involving radiologists, technologists, senior house officers and …

The Mcdonaldization Of Academic Sociology, J. Michael Ryan, George Ritzer, Hermann Strasser

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Marketing With A Social Conscience: Strategic Windows For Aligning Societal Marketing With Corporate Identity, Christopher Agyapong Siaw

Plymouth Business School

PurposeThis study proposes a conceptual framework for strategically integrating societal marketing (SM) into corporate identity to effectively represent a firm’s SM programs to stakeholders. The framework is crucial for firms to align their SM efforts with their identity in a manner that minimizes, if not eliminating, the accusations of dishonesty, such as greenwashing, brownwashing, or greenhushing.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on corporate identity theory and synthesizing the literature on SM, the study identifies three levels of corporate identity (strategic, operational, and functional) and three dimensions of SM’s alignment with business objectives (direct, indirect, and remote). Subsequently, the study develops a conceptual framework based on …

Investigating Student Experiences With Math Anxiety, Wendy Elaine Davis

Student Theses and Dissertations

Math anxiety is a fear of math-related activities. The problem addressed in this study is the lack of understanding of the link between math anxiety and math performance. Students and educators are affected by math anxiety. The fear of math can also affect individuals when completing real-world activities such as filing taxes, calculating sales discounts, or computing percentages. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to investigate how students who self-identify as having math anxiety perceive its effects on their mathematical performance. It also sought to identify types of events or academic experiences that contribute to math anxiety. The …

Fort Hays State University Tiger Weekly, January 17, 2025, University Relations

Tiger Weekly Newsletters

No abstract provided.

First-Generation African American College Graduates’ Interpretations Of Poverty And Well-Being, Shermanda Bellsora Whitfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of first-generation African American graduates of postsecondary institutions has grown, as many individuals perceive degree completion as a way to overcome socioeconomic barriers. The problem was that some first-generation African American college graduates face economic challenges postgraduation, living at or below the poverty level. It was unclear how this condition affected their quality of life. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand how African American first-generation college graduates interpreted and made meaning of their experiences related to their financial status and personal well-being. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems was the theoretical framework. Data were collected through semi-structured …

Impact Of Leadership Characteristics Of Empowerment And Support Of Employee Growth On Job Commitment And Turnover Intent Of Nurses In Ghana, Ernest Addai Duah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior studies have examined leadership style and its relation to healthcare employees’ performance; however, few Ghanaian studies have focused on using characteristics of leaders and their relationship to job commitment and turnover intention among nurses and midwives in the 10 regions of Ghana. The objective for this quantitative correlation study was to examine whether leadership characteristics have a relationship with job commitment and turnover intent among hospital nurses in Ghana, where Upper East was the region of focus. Servant leadership theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The study addressed the relationship between leadership characteristics of empowerment, …

Perceptions Of Encouragement For Native American Women To Persist In Doctoral Programs, Venicia Mayo Burton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study is the underrepresentation of Native American women in doctoral programs in the United States. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how encouragement in terms of support, confidence, hope, and advice received from family and tribe, friends and social circles, and faculty and college administrators influence the persistence of Native American women in their doctoral journeys. The conceptual framework for this study is the psychosociolcultural theory (PSC) to help examine the psychological, social, and cultural influences on the educational experiences of minority students in an educational setting. Data from eight interviews …

Desktop-Scale Robot Tape Manipulation For Additive Manufacturing, Nahid Tushar, Rencheng Wu, Yu She, Wenchao Zhou, Wan Shou

School of Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Advancements in additive manufacturing and robotic automation have enabled diverse fabrication techniques using various materials. However, small-scale tape placement for three-dimensional (3D) printing remains underexplored, with most research focused on large-scale composite manufacturing using carbon fiber prepreg tapes. This work presents an innovative, automated, and cost-effective tape placement system that extends traditional methods beyond carbon fiber prepreg. We developed a customized tape print module (TPM) integrated with a robotic arm, enabling precise and versatile tape placements. Our system supports non-linear toolpaths, complex patterns, and controllable placements on multi-plane surfaces, creating overhangs without support. We demonstrate circuit printing with copper tape …

Artificial Intelligence For The Detection Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia From Microscopic Blood Images; A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Feras Al-Obeidat, Wael Hafez, Asrar Rashid, Mahir Khalil Jallo, Munier Gador, Ivan Cherrez-Ojeda, Daniel (Centro De Investigación De Salud Pública Y Epidemiología Clínica Simancas-Racines, , Universidad Ute, Quito, Ecuador , Universidad Ute, Quito, Ecuador

All Works

Leukemia is the 11th most prevalent type of cancer worldwide, with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) being the most frequent malignant blood malignancy in adults. Microscopic blood tests are the most common methods for identifying leukemia subtypes. An automated optical image-processing system using artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been applied to facilitate clinical decision-making. To evaluate the performance of all AI-based approaches for the detection and diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Medical databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched until December 2023. We used the “metafor” and “metagen” libraries in R to analyze the different models used …

Student Reflections On A Summer School To Achieve Sdg 12: A Case Study, Una Beagon, Janet Mckennedy, Ruchita Jani, Brian Bowe, Margaret Morgan, Rosalind Henry

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

No abstract provided.

Recommendations For Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration For Early Career Dissemination And Implementation Researchers: A Multi-Phase Study, Hannah G Lane, Sallie D Allgood, Julie Schexnayder, Hayden B Bosworth, Ana A Baumann, Allison A Lewinski

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Dissemination and implementation (D&I) scientists are key members of collaborative, interdisciplinary clinical and translational research teams. Yet, early career D&I researchers (ECRs) have few guidelines for cultivating productive research collaborations. We developed recommendations for ECRs in D&I when serving as collaborators or co-investigators.

METHODS: We employed a consensus-building approach: (1) group discussions to identify 3 areas of interest: "Marketing yourself" (describing your value to non-D&I collaborators), "Collaboration considerations

RESULTS: Forty-four D&I researchers completed the first survey, 12 of whom attended one of three focus groups. Twenty-nine D&I researchers completed the second survey (

CONCLUSIONS: Research collaborations are essential in …

First-Generation African American College Graduates’ Interpretations Of Poverty And Well-Being, Shermanda Bellsora Whitfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of first-generation African American graduates of postsecondary institutions has grown, as many individuals perceive degree completion as a way to overcome socioeconomic barriers. The problem was that some first-generation African American college graduates face economic challenges postgraduation, living at or below the poverty level. It was unclear how this condition affected their quality of life. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand how African American first-generation college graduates interpreted and made meaning of their experiences related to their financial status and personal well-being. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems was the theoretical framework. Data were collected through semi-structured …

Executive Summary: Quality Improvement Initiative Reducing Er Readmissions Among Homeless Individuals With Schizophrenia Using Integrated Care, Chiamaka Nnah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This evaluation of the effectiveness of a quality improvement initiative project aimed to reduce ER readmissions and improve medication adherence among homeless individuals with schizophrenia by implementing an integrated care model. These individuals face substantial barriers to healthcare, including housing instability and limited access to resources, leading to frequent ER visits that strain healthcare systems. Addressing this issue is essential for nursing practice to optimize resource use and improve patient outcomes. The project examined whether a coordinated approach integrating medical and social services could lower ER visits and enhance adherence to treatment. Statistical analyses showed that postimplementation medication adherence increased …

Depictions Of United States Military Domestic Violence Found On The Internet, Erica Ann Pearson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military domestic violence (MDV) is an issue in the United States. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how the mainstream media and published government content depicts MDV on the internet, and whether those narratives/video transcripts contained any agenda to generate influence. Ragas’ agenda-setting theory was used as a framework for this study. Agenda-setting is a communication specific phenomenon directed to influence individuals or organizations, based on what public relations practitioners present to the public. There are two research questions in this study. The first is: How do mainstream media narratives, and government documents depict survivors and …