Digital Commons Network^™

Optimization Of Optical Nanosensor Response For The Detection Of Anthracyclines Using A Binary Machine Learning Classifier, Myesha Thahsin

Dissertations and Theses

Pharmacokinetic variables such as interindividual variation in metabolizing and eliminating drugs makes dose selection of chemotherapeutic anthracyclines difficult. One potential solution to determining dosing levels of an anthracycline is the development of non-invasive sensors to monitor their pharmacology in vivo. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have substantial potential for in vivo sensor development, as they exhibit near-infrared fluorescence in the tissue-transparent window and a robust response to their local environment. An emerging method for evaluating and optimizing SWCNT sensor response is through machine learning. In this study, anthracyclines Daunorubicin, Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, Mitoxantrone and Idarubicin, were used to interrogate 12 SWCNT preparations …

The Effect Of Social Stratification On College Students' Academic Performance & Progress, Detrenyona Nekebra Chester

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study is to understand the variables of social stratification, academic performance, and academic progress and how those variables affect a student’s decision to drop out of college. The researcher selected participants for this study from the database at a 4-year private HBCU located in the northern part of Jacksonville Florida. Many students enrolled in college encounter outstanding tuition balances that threaten their ability to obtain adequate housing and remain actively enrolled in college. The researcher explored social stratification as measured by high school Title I status, academic performance as measured by overall institutional …

Assessment Of Consumer’S Knowledge And Practices On Pesticide Residues Reduction In Tomatoes In Mvomero, Morogoro Region, Tanzania, Sambwe Fundikira, Emmanuella Selestine, Safiness Msollo

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Pesticides are important components of agricultural production but the consumption of crops treated with pesticides, even in small quantities, can accumulate in the human body and cause health problems. Therefore, consumers’ knowledge and practices on reduction of these residues is essential however, there is scant of information on consumers’ knowledge and practices on pesticide residues reduction in tomatoes in Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Mvomero District in Morogoro region among 280 randomly selected consumers. Questionnaires were administered through face-to-face interviews to assess knowledge and practices on the reduction of pesticide residues in tomatoes before consumption. Data were analyzed …

Réponse De Deux Variétés De Riz (Oryza Sativa L.) À L’Application De Faibles Doses De Phosphate Soluble Sur Les Hyperdystric Ferralsols En Zone Forestière Humide De Côte D’Ivoire, Brahima Kone, Jean-Fabrice Akouemaho Dominique Adanve, Rachidatou Sikirou, Koné Aminata

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Subject description. Yield response of NERICA 1 and WAB 56-104 to low doses of soluble phosphorus fertiliser on hyperdystric Ferralsol in Côte d'Ivoire forest zone. Objective. To assess tow rice varieties (NERICA 1 vs. WAB 56-106) yield responses to soluble phosphate fertilizer, different rates were applied on hyperdystric Ferralsol in humid forest zone of Côte d’Ivoire. Methods. The responses of rice varieties NERICA 1 and WAB 56-104 to the rates of 0; 2.5; 5; 10 and 60 kg P ha- 1 as Super Triple Phosphate (STP) were evaluated through grain yield and agronomic efficiency of P in 2001 and 2002 …

Effect Of Simulated Drought And Rainfall Fluctuation On Seedling Growth Of Two Savannah Trees Species In Sudan: An Experimental Exploration, Ismail A. E. Elzaki, Ahmed A. H. Siddig, Emad H. E. Yasin, Abdelmoniem A. Attaelmnan, Nasradeen A. H. Gadallah, Ahmed M. M. Hasoba, Mustafa A. Nasreldeen, Yousif E. Yagoub, Kornél Czimber

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Climate change scenarios project that several regions, especially in dryland areas of sub-Saharan Africa, will undergo increasing aridity and, subsequently, expanding land degradation. The study aims to investigate the effect of two drying treatments on establishing and growing Hashab (Acacia senegal) and Boabab (Adansonia digitata) in nursery conditions. Through a 2×2 factorial experiment, seedlings grown in a mixture of silt and sand soil (2:3) were treated by irrigation intervals of one or two liters every three days for 14 weeks to simulate rainfall fluctuation patterns. Seedling germination rate, leaf number, stem height, and diameter were measured …

Major Biotic Stresses Affecting Maize Production In Kenya And Their Implications For Food Security, Faith Njeri Njeru, Angeline Wambua, Edward Muge, Geert Haesaert, Jan Gettemans, Gerald Misinzo

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a staple food for many households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and also contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP). However, the maize yields reported in most SSA countries are very low and this is mainly attributed to biotic and abiotic stresses. These stresses have been exacerbated by climate change which has led to long periods of drought or heavy flooding and the emergence of new biotic stresses. Few reports exist which compile the biotic stresses affecting maize production in SSA. Here, five major biotic stresses of maize in Kenya are presented which are attributed to …

Grizzly Bears And Humans At Alpine Moth Sites In Wyoming, Usa, Erika A. Nunlist, Dan Tyers, Andrew Pils, Bok F. Sowell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Army cutworm moths (Euxoa auxiliaris; moths) are an important seasonal higher elevational food source for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis; bears) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, USA). Increased human interaction with bears at moth sites is an important management issue because of the potential for displacing bears and the concern for human safety. Managers will need better information regarding human–bear interactions at high-density moth sites that are also accessible to humans to mitigate potential conflicts. In the summers of 2017 and 2018, we studied human–bear interactions at 2 of the most human …

Lessons From Vietnam: Informing Refugee Policy In Haiti And Afghanistan From Post-Vietnam United States Policy, Davis Lovvorn

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Provider Racial Concordance And Medical Mistrust In Pediatric Dentistry, Chinelo Eke

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Studies have drawn varying conclusions on the importance of a racially concordant patient provider relationship. Medical mistrust has continued to garner attention as healthcare enterprises thread equity, diversity and inclusion throughout their organizational policies, practices and systems.

Methods: Parents/caregivers of pediatric patients at VCU Pediatric Dentistry were invited to participate. Surveys included questions about demographics, racial concordance, language preference, and the validated Group-Based Medical Mistrust Scale.

Results: A total of 246 guardians completed the survey. For guardians, 40% reported Black or African American, 31% Hispanic, and 19% Caucasian. Seventy-one percent of guardians reported speaking English, 18% Spanish, and 11% …

The Age And Primary Reason For The First Dental Visit In Children With Special Health Care Needs, Amanda Dickerson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The aim of this project is to evaluate the average age and primary reason for the first dental visit among patients with special health care needs as well as to examine socioeconomic factors and other barriers related to children with special health care needs accessing care.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey that was distributed to caregivers of children with special health care needs. Study data was collected through REDCap, a secure web-based survey application. The inclusion criteria for participating in the survey included having a child with a special health care need that presented for a recall or …

Home Disruption And Substance Use: The Moderated-Mediating Role Of Family Conflict And Stress Among Racial-Ethnic Minoritized College Students, Geovani Muñoz

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted first-generation college students who identify as racial-ethnic minorities (REM). Aside from the academic and health repercussions caused by COVID-19, little is known if home disruptions have increased substance use for REM college students. Specifically, increased home disruptions may directly relate to substance use and indirect relationships through increased family conflict and stress. Therefore, this master's thesis examined the direct relationships between home disruption and substance use. I also examined the relationships between home disruption and family conflict, as well as home disruption and stress. Further, I also investigated the relationships between family conflict and …

Exploring The Effect Of Early Motor Delay And Physical Therapy Interventions On The Parent-Child Relationship, Rebecca Molinini

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional availability (EA) or the ability of the parent-child dyad to engage emotionally and partake in congruent and mutually enjoyable interactions, is essential for familial health and well-being. EA is considered the “connective tissue” of healthy parent-child relationships and is associated with secure attachment, maternal mental health, and children’s adaptive development. Most evidence supporting the integral role of EA on healthy outcomes is supported by typically developing populations in which adults present with a social or biological risk factor such as experiencing past traumas of adversities with mental health. In line with the transactional model of development, children are equal …

Family-Based Support As Social Determinants Of Health Protective Factor On Depression Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bisola E. Duyile

Theses and Dissertations

All parents experience challenges in their caregiving roles (Barańczuk & Pisula, 2020). However, parents raising a child/children with disabilities experience different social barriers (Oliver, 1996) that may also contribute to additional stressors in their caregiving role (Tomeny, 2016). Although these parents, on average, have reported greater symptoms of depression than parents of typically developing children, research shows that parents who reported receiving social support had lower symptoms of depression and stress (Das et al., 2017; Singh et al., 2017). Through the social determinants of health (SDOH) framework (ODPHP, 2022), the present study investigated informal/family-based support and its protective impact on …

Sleep And Health Behaviors In A Safety-Net Primary Care Setting, Sahar Sabet

Theses and Dissertations

Nearly half of all premature deaths in the United States are attributable to preventable and modifiable health risk behaviors. For decades, the leading behavioral health contributors to morbidity and mortality are tobacco use, physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption. Medication adherence is a relatively less studied yet critical interrelated health behavior that is tied to health and treatment outcomes. Sleep, an important pillar of health, is a daily and modifiable behavior that shows promise as a health behavior facilitator. Better understanding the dynamics of these modifiable health behaviors is essential for the improvement of health promotion, particularly among underserved populations (e.g., …

Stage-Structured Predator-Prey Interactions In A Warming World: A Case Study In Riverine Rock Pools, Andrew T. Davidson

Theses and Dissertations

Warming can impact predator-prey interactions through a variety of mechanisms. For example, warming can both alter the rate at which predators consume prey and the rate prey develop through vulnerable life stages. Thus, the overall effect of warming on consumer-resource interactions will depend upon the strength and asymmetry of warming effects on predator and prey performance. Here, we describe the consequences of these asymmetrical responses to temperature by first developing a simple stage-structured modeling framework, then applying that framework to predation of American rock pool mosquito larvae, Aedes atropalpus, by several common predators in riverine rock pools. We then …

Underrepresentation Of Black Participants In Drug Court: Reasons Reported For Non-Admission In Six Jurisdictions, Kathryn J. Genthon

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the beneficial impacts of drug court participation, access to these programs may not be equitable across racial groups. The reasons behind racial disparities in access to these programs are not well-documented in the current literature. This study investigates disparities in access to drug court and the possible reasons they occur. Chi-square tests are used to assess for disparities in admissions between Black and White individuals referred to drug court. Additional statistical analyses addressed the association of sex and age with admission to provide a broader picture of the impact of a variety of demographic characteristics on admission to drug …

A Standardized Pipeline For Isolation And Assembly Of Genomes From Symbiotic Bacteria In Whole Louse Genomic Sequence Data., Mohammad Mikail I. Bala

Theses and Dissertations

Many insects are known to harbour intracellular and heritable bacteria (endosymbionts), which provide their hosts with adaptive traits. Whole insect gDNA shotgun sequencing projects often sequence the genome of endosymbiont, in addition to the insect’s genome. There are approximately 600 whole genome shotgun libraries from insects available on the public repository (NCBI), which can be mined to obtain endosymbiont genomes. The assembly and annotation of endosymbiont genomes can contribute towards the exploration of their role as obligate symbiotic partners. However, de novo assembly of an endosymbiont genome, continues to be challenging, when the host and/or enteric bacterial gDNA is present …

Caregiving To Older Adults With A Physical Limitation: Evidence From The Mexican Health And Aging Study, Carlos Díaz-Venegas, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Rebeca Wong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many older adults face physical limitations to performing activities of daily life (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily life (IADLs) and seek help performing them. In Mexico, family caregivers, especially spouses and adult children, traditionally take care of older adults. However, a detailed characterization of the care received has not been thoroughly provided. We sought to identify socioeconomic, demographic, and health-related differences in receiving help among older adults reporting physical limitations.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using the 2012 wave of the Mexican Health and Aging Study, we provided information on adults aged 60 and older who reported …

A Coalition-Driven Examination Of Organization Capacity To Address Food Insecurity In Greater Houston: A Qualitative Research Study, Jemima C John, Jennifer Gonzalez, Sara-Grace Chan, Heidi Mcpherson, Jennifer N Aiyer, Esperanza Galvan, Nicole Browning, Shreela V Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Economic and social hardships have worsened food insecurity, particularly among low income and racial-ethnic minority groups. Given the core goal of the 150+ member Houston Health Equity Collective (HEC) to reduce food insecurity by 5% in 2025, we explored member organizations' capacity and challenges faced in screening and responding to food insecurity through care coordination efforts.

METHODS: A twice-administered Qualtrics XM survey (Provo, Utah) with 76 organizations, followed by five focus groups with 22 of these organizations, explored reach and response efforts to food insecurity. Qualitative assessments lasted between 0.5 to 1.5 h, were audio-recorded, cleaned, coded, and thematically …

Observed And Perceived Benefits Of Providing Physical Activity Opportunities In Elementary Schools: A Qualitative Study, Timothy J Walker, Derek W Craig, Christopher D Pfledderer, Michael C Robertson, Paula Cuccaro, Keisey Fumero, John B Bartholomew

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Schools play an important role in promoting physical activity for youth. However, school-based physical activity opportunities often compete with other academic priorities, limiting their implementation. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore elementary school teacher and staff perspectives on providing physical activity opportunities and how they impact students and learning.

METHODS: We partnered with a school district in Texas to conduct semi-structured individual interviews. We used a purposeful sampling approach to recruit elementary teachers and staff knowledgeable about the physical activity opportunities provided at their school. Interviews included questions about participant opinions of providing physical activity opportunities …

Semiparametric Regression Modeling Of The Global Percentile Outcome, Xiangyu Liu, Jing Ning, Xuming He, Barbara C Tilley, Ruosha Li

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

When no single outcome is sufficient to capture the multidimensional impairments of a disease, investigators often rely on multiple outcomes for comprehensive assessment of global disease status. Methods for assessing covariate effects on global disease status include the composite outcome and global test procedures. One global test procedure is the O'Brien's rank-sum test, which combines information from multiple outcomes using a global rank-sum score. However, existing methods for the global rank-sum do not lend themselves to regression modeling. We consider sensible regression strategies for the global percentile outcome (GPO), under the transformed linear model and the monotonic index model. Posing …

Effect Of "Maccog" Tcm Tea On Improving Glucolipid Metabolism And Gut Microbiota In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes In Community, Biyue Hu, Tongtong Yin, Jiajia Zhang, Minjing Liu, Hang Yun, Jian Wang, Renmei Guo, Jie Huang, Yixia Zhou, Hongyan Meng, Li Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: This work aimed to observe the effect of consuming Chinese herb tea on glucolipid metabolism and gut microbiota in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS: Ninety patients with T2DM were recruited from a community and randomly divided into the control group (CG) and intervention group (IG). CG maintained conventional treatment and lifestyle, and IG accepted additional "maccog" traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) tea (mulberry leaf, radix astragali, corn stigma, cortex lycii, radix ophiopogonis, and gynostemma) for 12 weeks. Glucolipid metabolism, hepatorenal function, and gut microbiota were then measured.

RESULTS: After the intervention, the decreases in fasting plasma glucose …

Large-Scale Exome Array Summary Statistics Resources For Glycemic Traits To Aid Effector Gene Prioritization, Sara M Willems, Natasha H J Ng, Juan Fernandez, Rebecca S Fine, Eleanor Wheeler, Jennifer Wessel, Hidetoshi Kitajima, Gaelle Marenne, Xueling Sim, Hanieh Yaghootkar, Shuai Wang, Sai Chen, Yuning Chen, Yii-Der Ida Chen, Niels Grarup, Ruifang Li-Gao, Tibor V Varga, Jennifer L Asimit, Shuang Feng, Rona J Strawbridge, Erica L Kleinbrink, Tarunveer S Ahluwalia, Ping An, Emil V Appel, Dan E Arking, Juha Auvinen, Lawrence F Bielak, Nathan A Bihlmeyer, Jette Bork-Jensen, Jennifer A Brody, Archie Campbell, Audrey Y Chu, Gail Davies, Ayse Demirkan, James S Floyd, Franco Giulianini, Xiuqing Guo, Stefan Gustafsson, Anne U Jackson, Johanna Jakobsdottir, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Richard A Jensen, Stavroula Kanoni, Sirkka Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, Man Li, Yingchang Lu, Jian'an Luan, Alisa K Manning, Jonathan Marten, Karina Meidtner, Dennis O Mook-Kanamori, Taulant Muka, Giorgio Pistis, Bram Prins, Kenneth M Rice, Serena Sanna, Albert Vernon Smith, Jennifer A Smith, Lorraine Southam, Heather M Stringham, Vinicius Tragante, Sander W Van Der Laan, Helen R Warren, Jie Yao, Andrianos M Yiorkas, Weihua Zhang, Wei Zhao, Mariaelisa Graff, Heather M Highland, Anne E Justice, Eirini Marouli, Carolina Medina-Gomez, Saima Afaq, Wesam A Alhejily, Najaf Amin, Folkert W Asselbergs, Lori L Bonnycastle, Michiel L Bots, Ivan Brandslund, Ji Chen, John Danesh, Renée De Mutsert, Abbas Dehghan, Tapani Ebeling, Paul Elliott, Epic-Interact Consortium, Aliki-Eleni Farmaki, Jessica D Faul, Paul W Franks, Steve Franks, Andreas Fritsche, Anette P Gjesing, Mark O Goodarzi, Vilmundur Gudnason, Göran Hallmans, Tamara B Harris, Karl-Heinz Herzig, Marie-France Hivert, Torben Jørgensen, Marit E Jørgensen, Pekka Jousilahti, Eero Kajantie, Maria Karaleftheri, Sharon L R Kardia, Leena Kinnunen, Heikki A Koistinen, Pirjo Komulainen, Peter Kovacs, Johanna Kuusisto, Markku Laakso, Leslie A Lange, Lenore J Launer, Aaron Leong, Jaana Lindström, Jocelyn E Manning Fox, Satu Männistö, Nisa M Maruthur, Leena Moilanen, Antonella Mulas, Mike A Nalls, Matthew Neville, James S Pankow, Alison Pattie, Eva R B Petersen, Hannu Puolijoki, Asif Rasheed, Paul Redmond, Frida Renström, Michael Roden, Danish Saleheen, Juha Saltevo, Kai Savonen, Sylvain Sebert, Tea Skaaby, Kerrin S Small, Alena Stančáková, Jakob Stokholm, Konstantin Strauch, E-Shyong Tai, Kent D Taylor, Betina H Thuesen, Anke Tönjes, Emmanouil Tsafantakis, Tiinamaija Tuomi, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Understanding Society Scientific Group;, Matti Uusitupa, Marja Vääräsmäki, Ilonca Vaartjes, Magdalena Zoledziewska, Goncalo Abecasis, Beverley Balkau, Hans Bisgaard, Alexandra I Blakemore, Matthias Blüher, Heiner Boeing, Eric Boerwinkle, Klaus Bønnelykke, Erwin P Bottinger, Mark J Caulfield, John C Chambers, Daniel I Chasman, Ching-Yu Cheng, Francis S Collins, Josef Coresh, Francesco Cucca, Gert J De Borst, Ian J Deary, George Dedoussis, Panos Deloukas, Hester M Den Ruijter, Josée Dupuis, Michele K Evans, Ele Ferrannini, Oscar H Franco, Harald Grallert, Torben Hansen, Andrew T Hattersley, Caroline Hayward, Joel N Hirschhorn, Arfan Ikram, Erik Ingelsson, Fredrik Karpe, Kay-Tee Kaw, Wieland Kiess, Jaspal S Kooner, Antje Körner, Timo Lakka, Claudia Langenberg, Lars Lind, Cecilia M Lindgren, Allan Linneberg, Leonard Lipovich, Ching-Ti Liu, Jun Liu, Yongmei Liu, Ruth J F Loos, Patrick E Macdonald, Karen L Mohlke, Andrew D Morris, Patricia B Munroe, Alison Murray, Sandosh Padmanabhan, Colin N A Palmer, Gerard Pasterkamp, Oluf Pedersen, Patricia A Peyser, Ozren Polasek, David Porteous, Michael A Province, Bruce M Psaty, Rainer Rauramaa, Paul M Ridker, Olov Rolandsson, Patrik Rorsman, Frits R Rosendaal, Igor Rudan, Veikko Salomaa, Matthias B Schulze, Robert Sladek, Blair H Smith, Timothy D Spector, John M Starr, Michael Stumvoll, Cornelia M Van Duijn, Mark Walker, Nick J Wareham, David R Weir, James G Wilson, Tien Yin Wong, Eleftheria Zeggini, Alan B Zonderman, Jerome I Rotter, Andrew P Morris, Michael Boehnke, Jose C Florez, Mark I Mccarthy, James B Meigs, Anubha Mahajan, Robert A Scott, Anna L Gloyn, Inês Barroso

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Genome-wide association studies for glycemic traits have identified hundreds of loci associated with these biomarkers of glucose homeostasis. Despite this success, the challenge remains to link variant associations to genes, and underlying biological pathways.

Methods: To identify coding variant associations which may pinpoint effector genes at both novel and previously established genome-wide association loci, we performed meta-analyses of exome-array studies for four glycemic traits: glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, up to 144,060 participants), fasting glucose (FG, up to 129,665 participants), fasting insulin (FI, up to 104,140) and 2hr glucose post-oral glucose challenge (2hGlu, up to 57,878). In addition, we performed network …

Application Of Implementation Mapping To Develop Strategies For Integrating The National Diabetes Prevention Program Into Primary Care Clinics, William B Perkison, Serena A Rodriguez, Fernanda Velasco-Huerta, Patenne D Mathews, Catherine Pulicken, Sidra S Beg, Natalia I Heredia, Pierre Fwelo, Grace E White, Belinda M Reininger, John W Mcwhorter, Roshanda Chenier, Maria E Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is considered one of the most prevalent and preventable chronic health conditions in the United States. Research has shown that evidence-based prevention measures and lifestyle changes can help lower the risk of developing diabetes. The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) is an evidence-based program recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; it is designed to reduce diabetes risk through intensive group counseling in nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral management. Factors known to influence this program's implementation, especially in primary care settings, have included limited awareness of the program, lack of standard clinical processes to facilitate …

Understanding The Influence Of Atomizing Power On Electronic Cigarette Aerosol Size And Inhalation Dose Estimation, Jinho Lee, Wei-Chung Su, Inkyu Han

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although many studies have estimated the inhalation dose of aerosols emitted from electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), the association between the atomizing power and inhalation dose of e-cig aerosols has not been fully examined. The aim of this study was to determine the mass and inhalation doses of e-cig aerosols and their association with the atomizing power of vaping devices. Size-segregated aerosol masses were collected using an 11-stage cascade impactor and the deposition dose in the human respiratory tract was estimated using the size-segregated aerosol mass. The results showed that an increase in atomizing power was positively associated with the amount of …

An Open-Source System For Efficient Clinical Trial Support: The Comet Study Experience, Jonathan Clutton, Robert Neal Montgomery, Dinesh Pal Mudaranthakam, Erin M Blocker, Ashley R Shaw, Amanda N Szabo Reed, Eric D Vidoni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Exercise clinical trials are complex, logistically burdensome, and require a well-coordinated multi-disciplinary approach. Challenges include managing, curating, and reporting on many disparate information sources, while remaining responsive to a variety of stakeholders. The Combined Exercise Trial (COMET, NCT04848038) is a one-year comparison of three exercise modalities delivered in the community. Target enrollment is 280 individuals over 4 years. To support rigorous execution of COMET, the study team has developed a suite of scripts and dashboards to assist study stakeholders in each of their various functions. The result is a highly automated study system that preserves rigor, increases communication, and reduces …

Plasma Protein Biomarkers Of Healthy Dietary Patterns: Results From The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study And The Framingham Heart Study, Shutong Du, Jingsha Chen, Hyunju Kim, Maura E Walker, Alice H Lichtenstein, Nilanjan Chatterjee, Peter Ganz, Bing Yu, Ramachandran S Vasan, Josef Coresh, Casey M Rebholz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Molecular mechanisms underlying the benefits of healthy dietary patterns are poorly understood. Identifying protein biomarkers of dietary patterns can contribute to characterizing biological pathways influenced by food intake.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify protein biomarkers associated with four indexes of healthy dietary patterns: Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015); Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010); DASH diet; and alternate Mediterranean Diet (aMED).

Methods: Analyses were conducted on 10,490 Black and White men and women aged 49-73 y from the ARIC study at visit 3 (1993-1995). Dietary intake data were collected using a food frequency questionnaire, and plasma proteins were quantified using …

Application Of Implementation Mapping To Develop Strategies For Integrating The National Diabetes Prevention Program Into Primary Care Clinics, William B Perkison, Serena A Rodriguez, Fernanda Velasco-Huerta, Patenne D Mathews, Catherine Pulicken, Sidra S Beg, Natalia I Heredia, Pierre Fwelo, Grace E White, Belinda M Reininger, John W Mcwhorter, Roshanda Chenier, Maria E Fernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is considered one of the most prevalent and preventable chronic health conditions in the United States. Research has shown that evidence-based prevention measures and lifestyle changes can help lower the risk of developing diabetes. The National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) is an evidence-based program recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; it is designed to reduce diabetes risk through intensive group counseling in nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral management. Factors known to influence this program's implementation, especially in primary care settings, have included limited awareness of the program, lack of standard clinical processes to facilitate …

Examining Neighborhood-Level Hot And Cold Spots Of Food Insecurity In Relation To Social Vulnerability In Houston, Texas, Ryan Ramphul, Linda Highfield, Shreela Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Food insecurity is prevalent and associated with poor health outcomes, but little is known about its geographical nature. The aim of this study is to utilize geospatial modeling of individual-level food insecurity screening data ascertained in health care settings to test for neighborhood hot and cold spots of food insecurity in a large metropolitan area, and then compare these hot spot neighborhoods to cold spot neighborhoods in terms of the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index. In this cross-sectional secondary data analysis, we geocoded the home addresses of 6,749 unique participants screened for food insecurity at health care locations participating in CMS's …

Resilience In Early Second Career Stem Teachers Employed In Public Secondary Schools, Donald Selway

Theses and Dissertations

A troubling shortage of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) teachers exists in the United States. One solution to increase STEM teachers involves recruiting STEM professionals to transition from industry to K-12 teaching. Research indicates that fostering resilience is one way to help new STEM teachers’ retention and persistence in the field. This study explored individual and programmatic factors that increase early career and early second career K-12 STEM teachers’ resilience. Moreover, this research examined how strategic initiatives and programs assisted STEM professionals to build resilience as they transitioned into K-12 STEM educators.

This study utilized mixed-methods design to …