Digital Commons Network^™

Person-Centred Interventions To Improve Patient-Provider Relationships For Hiv Services In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Laura K Beres, Ashley Underwood, Noelle Le Tourneau, Christopher Galloway Kemp, Gauri Kore, Lauren Yaeger, Jingjia Li, Alec Aaron, Claire Keene, Deepthi Priyanka Mallela, Banda A A Khalifa, Aaloke Mody, Sheree Renae Schwartz, Stefan Baral, Chanda Mwamba, Kombatende Sikombe, Ingrid Eshun-Wilson, Elvin H Geng, Marie-Claude C Lavoie

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Person-centred care (PCC) has been recognized as a critical element in delivering quality and responsive health services. The patient-provider relationship, conceptualized at the core of PCC in multiple models, remains largely unexamined in HIV care. We conducted a systematic review to better understand the types of PCC interventions implemented to improve patient-provider interactions and how these interventions have improved HIV care continuum outcomes and person-reported outcomes (PROs) among people living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries.

METHODS: We searched databases, conference proceedings and conducted manual targeted searches to identify randomized trials and observational studies published up to January …

Magdm Model Using Single-Valued Neutrosophic Credibility Matrix Energy And Its Decision-Making Application, Jun Ye, Rui Yong, Wanlu Du

Neutrosophic Systems with Applications

This paper aims to develop a MAGDM model using single-valued neutrosophic credibility matrix (SVNCM) energy in a SVNCM scenario. To do it, first, SVNCM energy and its score function are presented as a conceptual extension of existing single-valued neutrosophic matrix (SVNM) energy. Then, a MAGDM model is developed in terms of SVNCM energy and its score function in a SVNCM scenario and also its decision algorithm is provided to solve MAGDM problems with SVNCMs. Finally, the developed MAGDM model is applied in the school site selection problem as an actual example, then the comparative investigation of the decision results in …

Coarctation Duration And Severity Predict Risk Of Hypertension Precursors In A Preclinical Model And Hypertensive Status Among Patients, Arash Ghorbannia, Hilda Jurkiewicz, Lith Nasif, Abdillahi Ahmed, Jennifer Co-Vu, Mehdi Maadooliat, Ronald K. Woods, John F. Ladisa Jr.

Mathematical and Statistical Science Faculty Research and Publications

BACKGROUND:

Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) often leads to hypertension posttreatment. Evidence is lacking for the current >20 mm Hg peak-to-peak blood pressure (BP) gradient (BPGpp) guideline, which can cause aortic thickening, stiffening, and dysfunction. This study sought to find the BPGpp severity and duration that avoid persistent dysfunction in a preclinical model and test if predictors translate to hypertension status in patients with CoA.

METHODS:

Rabbits (n=75; 5–12/group) were exposed to mild, intermediate, or severe CoA (≤12, 13–19, ≥20 mm Hg BPGpp) for ≈1, 3, or 22 weeks using dissolvable and permanent sutures with thickening, stiffening, contraction, and endothelial …

Innovation In Targeted Violence And Terrorism Prevention: Phase Ii Summary Report, Joel Elson, Erin M. Kearns

Reports, Projects, and Research

This report provides summary findings for data collection efforts in Phase II of the entitled FY21 TVTP grant. In Phase II, the primary aims were to 1) use insights from Phase I to create a chatbot aimed to improve and increase tips reporting and 2) validate the chatbot's efficacy. Importantly, major technological advancement - namely generative chatbots like ChatGPT - occurred between the time this project was proposed in 2021 and data were conducted for this report in 2023. To be responsive to these developments and changing needs associated with them, we developed and tested multiple chatbot systems beyond what …

Government Misinformation Platforms, Janet Freilich

Faculty Scholarship

There is a harmful mismatch between how information published by the government is perceived-as highly trustworthy-and the reality that it is often not. This Article shows that the government frequently collects information from third party private entities and publishes it with no review or vetting. Although this information is riddled with errors and inaccuracies, scholars, policymakers, and the public treat the information with unwarranted confidence because it derives from the government. Further, institutional imprimatur (and consequent trust) attaches to information even tangentially associated with the government and to information where the government explicitly disclaims review.

This Article highlights the ubiquity …

Characterizing Modulators Of Protease-Activated Receptors With A Calcium Mobilization Assay Using A Plate Reader, Jacob T. Derousse, Chris Dockendorff

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Changes in calcium concentration in cells are rapidly monitored in a high-throughput fashion with the use of intracellular, fluorescent, calcium-binding dyes and imaging instruments that can measure fluorescent emissions from up to 1,536 wells simultaneously. However, these instruments are much more expensive and can be challenging to maintain relative to widely available plate readers that scan wells individually. Described here is an optimized plate reader assay for use with an endothelial cell line (EA.hy926) to measure the protease-activated receptor (PAR)-driven activation of G_αq signaling and subsequent calcium mobilization using the calcium-binding dye Fluo-4. This assay has been used to …

Bootstrapping For Estimating The Conservative Kill Ratio Of The Surrogate To The Pathogen For Use In Thermal Process Validation At The Industrial Scale, Arshpreet Kaur Khattra, Surabhi Wason, Kevin Thompson, Andy Mauromostakos, Jeyamkondan Subbiah, Jennifer C. Acuff

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

A surrogate is commonly used for process validations. The industry often uses the target log cycle reduction for the test (LCR_Test) microorganism (surrogate) to be equal to the desired log cycle reduction for the target (LCR_Target) microorganism (pathogen). When the surrogate is too conservative with far greater resistance than the pathogen, the food may be overprocessed with quality and cost consequences. In aseptic processing, the Institute for Thermal Processing Specialists recommends using relative resistance (D_Target)/(D_Test) to calculate LCR_Test (product of LCR_Target and relative resistance). This method uses the mean values …

Vol. 7, No.2 Cover

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

No abstract provided.

“Just Suffering. That’S It!”: Perspectives Of Tobacco Farming Households On Tobacco Growing And Alternatives In Mozambique, Raphael Lencucha, Benedito Cunguara

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

Tobacco is viewed as an important cash crop for farmers in Southern Africa and many countries around the world. This analysis explores the perspectives of farmers who are growing tobacco in Mozambique. The main aim of this analysis is to describe the perspectives of tobacco growers on the conditions of tobacco growing and their perspectives on possible alternatives. This analysis is situated in relation to efforts by countries like Mozambique to implement Article 17 of the WHO FCTC, which outlines the need for governments to support alternatives to tobacco growing.

This study applied a qualitative description methodology to explore the …

Fostering Lgbtq Spirituality: A Campus Case Study, Tracy Morin

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The importance of spirituality in the lives and identities of LGBTQ students is sufficiently documented in extant scholarship to encourage campus leaders to consider spiritual support in their efforts to improve campus climate (Birch, 2011; Gold & Stewart, 2011; Love et al., 2005; Means et al., 2016; Pryor et al., 2017), but there is minimal research to gauge whether, where, and how this consideration is being enacted. Even the Campus Pride Index, the nation’s premier resource for ranking the LGBTQ-friendliness of colleges and universities, does not consider support for spirituality in their campus assessment criteria. The purpose of this study …

The Impact Of Marriage Equality Among Taiwanese Lgbtq+ Individuals In Relationships: The Mediating Role Of Minority Stress And Relationship Satisfaction, Chia Po Cheng

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019, however, the impact of marriage equality on Taiwanese LGBTQ+ individuals’ mental health remains understudied. There were three major purposes of this study: (1) It explored what demographic background related to the value of the importance of marriage for LGBTQ+ individuals in relationships; (2) Using the framework of minority stress, this study investigated whether marital status was related to mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, and overall mental health) among Taiwanese LGBTQ+ individuals in relationships. In addition, this study explored the mediating role of minority stress (heterosexist experiences, internalized homophobia, …

Reimagining Schoolwide Social And Emotional Learning Implementation In The Urban Setting: A Case Study Of A Massachusetts Elementary School, Molly Helene Duffy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

For social and emotional learning (SEL) initiatives to have the greatest positive impact on students, they must be implemented schoolwide. There is an urgent need for schools to shift away from traditional SEL frameworks toward transformative SEL (TSEL). TSEL program implementation cannot be done in isolation; rather, it must be fueled by a shared vision and dedication to team learning. To conduct this study, the researcher employed the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Guide to Schoolwide SEL and Senge’s learning organization as a theory of change. The study sought to uncover gaps in schoolwide SEL implementation in …

P300 Event-Related Potential Responses To Self-Relevant Stimuli, Jordan Razzak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature has suggested an apparent P300 sensitivity to self-relevant stimuli. To further explore this relationship, we asked participants to submit 10 photos, each of a particular category (e.g. footwear, plants), to be used as either targets or distractors in a given condition of an oddball task. Furthermore, we attempted to see whether the effect of self-relevance on the P300 could be induced in a participant by allowing them to study a set of unique photos which would then be used as targets. Our analysis suggested that P300 amplitude elicited in response to self-relevant stimuli used as targets was statistically …

Understanding Community College Student Perceptions Of Academic Advising, Benjamin Umbarger, Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate community college student perceptions of academic advising for 12 first-time first-generation (FTFG) General Studies students attending a rural southeastern community college. The phenomenological research approach was utilized to better understand participant experiences by exploring participants' perceptions through their lived experiences. Applying purposeful sampling techniques, five females and seven males were identified, with 11 classified as full-time students and one classified as part-time. One-on-one interviews and focus group were conducted in-person or virtually, using Zoom and Microsoft Teams, with each participant to better understand student perceptions of their initial academic advising …

Exploring Available Information On The Gut-Brain Axis And Alzheimer’S Disease For Clinicians Making Dietary Recommendations: A Scoping Review, Megan Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease that requires interprofessional collaboration. Pharmacological options are currently ineffective, increasing the need for preventative strategies to combat the rise of AD. Considerations of gut-targeted interventions have increased as a key component in the prevention of AD, based on the understanding that the state of the gut microbiome can impact cognitive function through the pathway known as the gut-brain axis.

Methods: This scoping review explored information on the gut-brain axis in persons with AD. A comprehensive search was conducted in November 2023. Forty reviews and 13 human studies were analyzed.

Results: There …

Enhancing Resources For Individuals Diagnosed With Parkinson’S Disease In Northeast Arkansas, Tinsley Clark

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The doctoral capstone experience and project aim to provide the same holistic approach to all PD clients to ensure that every client’s needs are being met to improve occupational performance and QOL. The literature strengthens the need for the Doctoral Capstone project to address disease-specific interventions, interprofessional collaboration, and access to local resources such as support groups and a disease-specific boot camp program.

Forming The Foundation For Success In Occupational Therapy Doctorate Students, Danielle Harris

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

Create a preparatory bootcamp for incoming occupational therapy doctorate students to provide education on studying methods, coping strategies, stress management, occupational balance, and mindfulness practices to prepare students and promote their success within the occupational therapy doctorate program.

Bucks For Better Mental Health: Supporting Community College Students, Ansley Simmons

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstones

The main project for the doctoral capstone project was to create a professional development course to educate faculty and staff on how to best support student mental health on campus.

2024 Commencement Program, Columbia College Chicago

Commencement Programs

The commencement program of the 2024 Columbia College Chicago graduation ceremonies.

How Does A Supervisor's Training And Experience Relate To A School Counselor's Development Of Knowledge And Skills, Timothy M. Conway

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study and the literature demonstrate an overwhelming need for clinical supervision, but there is still a paucity of research on school counseling supervision. Clinical supervision in counseling requires at least three aspects: 1) clinical supervisors received formal training; 2) the belief that clinical supervision has strong effectiveness on supervisees' competence; and 3) a mental health professional provides supervision. School counselors continue to reference a need for supervision, but most notably, a gap for clinical supervision. School counselors are mostly supervised by principals, who reference their shortcomings in supervising the clinical skills of school counselors. Without effective supervision, school counselor's …

Exploring Graph Neural Networks In Reinforcement Learning: A Comparative Study On Architectures For Locomotion Tasks, Gaukhar Nurbek

Theses and Dissertations

Deep Reinforcement learning (DRL) has gained importance in optimizing control policies, while Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) offer a robust approach for modeling complex relationships within systems represented as graphs. This thesis investigates the integration of DRL and GNNs to optimize control policies for robotic tasks, with a focus on locomotion. It compares static and dynamic GNN architectures for control policy predictions, revealing their strengths and limitations in adapting to locomotion predictions. The study assesses the impact of model structure complexity on GNNs' predictive capabilities, showcasing how intricate model structure can maximize GNNs' potential in capturing spatial and relational dependencies when …

Risk Factors For Blunt Cerebrovascular Injury In A Cohort Of Pediatric Patients With Cervical Seat Belt Sign, Daniel A Najar, Marylou Cardenas-Turanzas, Jadeyn King, Manish N Shah, Charles S Cox, Irma T Ugalde

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

Background: Blunt cerebrovascular injury (BVCI), injury to the carotid or vertebral arteries, may result from forces involving seatbelts. Although previous studies have not found a seat belt sign to be a significant predictor for BCVI, it is still used to screen patients for BCVI.

Objective: This study aims to determine risk factors for BCVI within a cohort of patients with seat belt signs.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using our institutional trauma registry and included patients younger than 18 years with blunt trauma who both had a computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the neck performed and had evidence …

Vmed 531: Introduction To Animal Welfare A Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective Scholarly Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Amy Walton

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark portfolio documents course design, student learning, and reflection of teaching methods for VMED 531 Introduction to Animal Welfare. This one credit hour course provides an overview of animal welfare topics and assessment through a veterinary medical lens. Participants are first year veterinary students that have been accepted into Professional Program of Veterinary Medicine (PPVM). This course creates a foundational knowledge base regarding animal welfare topics and fosters critical thinking with how veterinary treatments, surgeries, and animal-use practices influence animal welfare. The ability to utilize critical thinking skills and science-based evidence to create a sound solution is essential regarding …

Short Analysis Of Emma Watson's 'He For She' Speech, Emma Darocha

Comm-entary

This case study examines power imbalances within organizations. Like many freshmen, a college student in a new state found himself yearning for a sense of belonging. He made the decision to join a fraternity on campus, but this group did not provide him with this sense of community. Instead, he was hazed and left paralyzed from the pledging process. I decided to conduct my case study on a story that involves hazing on a college campus since, regrettably, it still happens frequently in our nation. Having discussions about these situations can help raise awareness and provide information so that no …

Integer Representations Of Classical Weyl Groups, Hasan Arslan, Alnour Altoum, Mariam Zaarour

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this paper, we define a mixed-base number system over a Weyl group Dn , the group of even-signed permutations. We introduce one-to-one correspondence between the positive integers of the set {1, · · · , 2n−1n!} and elements of this group, after constructing the subexceedant function associated with the group. Thus, the integer representations of all the classical Weyl groups are now completed. Furthermore, we present an inversion statistic on the group Dn by using a decomposition of a positive root system of this reflection group. This inversion statistic is compatible with the length function on the group Dn …

Dynamics Of Compositions Of Some Lotka–Volterra Mappings Operating In A Two-Dimensional Simplex, Dilfuza Eshmamatova, Farrukh Yusupov

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In a number of applied problems (immunology, epidemiology, virology, etc.), there is a need to study the dynamics of the trajectories of the compositions of the Lotka–Volterra mappings. In this paper, some variants of these compositions are considered, in particular, the dynamics of the trajectories of the compositions of the Lotka–Volterra mappings acting in a two-dimensional simplex, with transitive tournaments, which can be applied in the study of these processes. Cards of fixed points are constructed for compositions and the characters of fixed points are studied.

Conformal-Projective Transformations On Statistical And Semi-Weyl Manifolds With Torsion, Adara M. Blaga, Antonella Nannicini

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

We show that statistical and semi-Weyl structures with torsion are invariant under conformal-projective transformations. We prove that a nondegenerate submanifold of a semi-Weyl (respectively, statistical) manifold with torsion is also a semi-Weyl (respectively, statistical) manifold with torsion, and that the induced structures of two conformal-projective equivalent semi-Weyl (respectively, statistical) structures with torsion on a manifold to a nondegenerate submanifold, are conformal-projective equivalent, too. Also, we prove that the umbilical points of a nondegenerate hypersurface in a semi-Weyl manifold with torsion are preserved by conformal-projective changes. Then we consider lightlike hypersurfaces of semi-Weyl manifolds with torsion and we describe similarities and …

Warped Product Pointwise Hemislant Submanifolds Whose Ambient Spaces Arenearly Para-Kaehler Manifolds, Sedat Ayaz, Yilmaz Gündüzalp

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

In this article, we explain pointwise slant, pointwise hemislant, and warped product pointwise hemislant submanifolds whose ambient spaces are nearly para-Kaehler manifolds. Also, we obtain several theorems and examples. Subsequently, we get some results concerning the inequality.

Existence And Uniqueness Of Continuous Solutions For Iterative Functional Differential Equations In Banach Algebras, Khaled Ben Amara

Turkish Journal of Mathematics

This paper is devoted to studying the existence and uniqueness of continuous solutions of the following iterative functional differential equation   d dt   x(t) − h ( t, x[1](t), . . . , x[n](t) ) f (t, x[1](t), . . . , x[n](t))   = g ( t, x[1](t), . . . , x[n](t) ) , t ∈ J, x(0) = x0. By using of Boyd-Wong’s fixed point theorem and under suitable conditions, we establish the existence and uniqueness of a continuous solution.

Resilience To Supply Chain Disruptions: An Investigation Of The Roles Of Innovativeness And Green Supply Chain Management Practices During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lindsay Givens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The number of global supply chain disruptions is increasing at an alarming rate. These disruptions vary in terms of source, duration, and scope, but all pose major threats to the continuity of firms worldwide. Because of this increase in turbulence, there has been heightened interest in recent years surrounding the development of firm-level resilience to such disruptions. The supply chain sustainability research stream is relatively well-developed; less is known, however, about specific strategies for strengthening resilience. This study aims to contribute to the resilience literature by examining the viability of innovativeness and the adoption of green supply chain management practices …