Digital Commons Network^™

Prenatal Education For Black Mothers And Their Support Persons As An Intervention For Improving Initiation Of Breastfeeding, Sandra King

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The benefits of breastfeeding are commonly known; however, the rates of exclusive breastfeeding among the Black community are less than those of other ethnic groups. Providing breastmilk or formula to an infant is an individual decision. Influential factors such as cultural background, employment status, socioeconomic status, level of education, and availability of support from family members and health care providers correlate with the method a mother chooses to feed her infant. Increasing breastfeeding initiation immediately after birth is a necessary precedent for uptake in the exclusivity of breastfeeding.

Purpose: This Doctor of Nursing Practice project aims to improve prenatal …

Implementation Of A Diabetes Self-Management Education Program In The Rural Health Care Setting To Improve Glycemic Control In The African American Adult Population, Patricia Jackson

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a significant epidemic health problem worldwide. Furthermore, with the generality of T2DM-associated complications increasing, individuals living with chronic diseases must be competent in self-management to prevent long-term complications (CDC, 2021). Therefore, this Project Investigator aims to decrease the reported home glycemic control and improve diabetes self-management education among African American individuals in rural healthcare using the DSMEP tool.

Purpose: The purpose of the DNP project was to implement and assess the Diabetes Self-Management Education Program (DSMEP) effect on African American individuals in the rural health …

Developing An Outdoor Learning Area And Guidebook For The Elementary Grades, Jordyn Kern

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that outdoor education has major benefits for school-age children (Yildirim & Akamca, 2017). These benefits include increased academic success, better social-emotional development, better physical development, and better mental and physical health (Suttie, 2018). The guidebook designed for this project focuses on how to increase those five things in children across the country. The goal of the guidebook is to increase outdoor education within classrooms throughout the United States and eventually, the world. The guidebook is geared towards elementary school teachers but can be adapted to fit any grade, time frame, and experience level of the teacher. The …

A Menu About Me: A Next Generation Science Standards Aligned 9-12 Life Science Curriculum Adapted For Students With Limited Or Interrupted Formal Education, Madeline Carras

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

In order to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world, it is imperative that thinkers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives are supported in the development of their scientific skills and voice. However, very few, if any, high school life science curricular resources are available that are specifically adapted with the assets and needs of students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) in mind. The widely adopted Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are uniquely designed to center the learner’s authentic thought process and pre-existing funds of knowledge–a framework which also happens to be aligned with the strengths of SLIFE …

A Sense Of Place In Environmental Education: A Forest Ecology Curriculum, Samantha Selter

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project discusses the definition of a sense of place as it pertains to environmental education to present the influence of people-to-place relationships in developing environmental stewardship and pro-environmental behavior. Researchers across the fields of geography, environmentalism, and psychology have long identified places as being important to how people see the world and how they act in different places. Fostering place attachment and place meaning within environmental curricula can advance environmental understanding and responsibility through the use of local ecology and problem solving of environmental issues. The curriculum unit within this project focuses on invasive species and uses this environmental …

Ong-Term Effects Of Developmental Exposure To Oxycodone On Gut Microbiota And Relationship To Adult Behaviors And Metabolism, Zhen Lyu, Robert R. Schmidt, Rachel E. Martin, Madison T. Green, Jessica A. Kinkade, Jiude Mao, Nathan J. Bivens, Trupti Joshi, Cheryl S. Rosenfeld

Biomedical Sciences

Opioid drugs are commonly prescribed analgesic to pregnant women. Direct exposure to such drugs may slow gut motility, alter gut permeability, and affect the gut microbiome. While such drugs affect gut microbiome in infants, no study to date has determined whether developmental exposure to such drugs results in longstanding effects on gut microbiota and correspondingly on host responses. We hypothesized developmental exposure to oxycodone (OXY) leads to enduring effects on gut microbiota and such changes are associated with adult neurobehavioral and metabolic changes. Female mice were treated daily with 5 mg OXY/kg or saline solution (control [CTL]) for 2 weeks …

Physical Activity And Breast Cancer Prevention Among Asian American Women, Jingxi Sheng

Theses and Dissertations

Asian Americans (AsAm) comprise about 7% of the United States population and are the only racial group for whom cancer is the leading cause of death. Breast Cancer (BrCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in this population, with the highest incidence in the age of 45-49 years, which is 30 years younger than for non-Hispanic Whites. The incidence of BrCa has been increasing for over three decades in AsAm.

Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable protective factor for BrCa. Unfortunately, AsAm women have a low PA prevalence of meeting PA recommendations. The increased BrCa risk, younger age at diagnosis, …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Providing Social And Medical Resources To Recently Discharged Patients Experiencing Malnutrition, Theresa Tellez, Melissa Faura Rd, Ldn, Ann Flickinger Ms, Rd, Ldn, Kimberly Procaccino Mba, Rd, Ldn

Research Scholars

No abstract provided.

Abortion Rights And Disability Equality: A New Constitutional Battleground, Allison M. Whelan, Michele Goodwin

Washington and Lee Law Review

Abortion rights and access are under siege in the United States. Even while current state-level attacks take on a newly aggressive scale and scope—emboldened by the United States Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey—the legal landscape emerging in the wake of Dobbs is decades in the making. In this Article, we analyze the pre- and post-Roe landscapes, explaining that after the Supreme Court recognized a right to abortion in Roe in 1973, anti-abortionists sought to dismantle that right, first …

Drive Leg Ground Reaction Forces And Rate Of Force Development Over Consecutive Windmill Softball Pitches, Erin R. Pletcher, Kenzie B. Friesen, Gretchen D. Oliver, Mita Lovalekar, Keith Gorse, Takashi Nagai, Chris Connaboy

Department of Exercise Science Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Windmill softball pitching is a highly skilled movement, combining whole body coordination with explosive force. Successful pitching requires sequential movement to transfer energy produced by the lower extremity to the pitching arm. Therefore, drive leg ground reaction force (GRF) and the time over which a pitcher can develop force during push off, defined as rate of force development (RFD), is essential for optimal performance. The aim of this study was to examine GRF and RFD in the drive leg during the windmill softball pitch, as well as pitch velocity, throughout a simulated game.

METHODS: Fourteen softball pitchers (17.9±2.3 years, …

Interventions For Stoma Care For Children With A Tracheostomy To Prevent And Reduce Wound Complications: A Systematic Review, Nisha Laila Ms, Shalini G. Nayak, Judith Noronha

Manipal Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences

Introduction: In the paediatric population, pressure and friction-related wounds secondary to the tracheostomy-related tubes and ties are frequently encountered and require special attention. Tragic complications of tracheostomy-related pressure ulcers result in additional infections, poor quality of life, and prolonged hospitalization of children. Taking an evidence-based approach to this current problem, a concrete question was formed for PICO, “what are the evidence based interventions for stoma care for children with a tracheostomy to prevent and reduce wound complications?” Objective: The objective of this systematic review is mainly to synthesize reports of articles on interventions of stoma care for children with a …

Worldwide Consequences Of Covid-19 On Research In Stem, Michelle Hoang, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

A global public health emergency like the Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic requires accurate and timely data collection in the research community. High-impact research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been prioritized in the fight against COVID-19. The present study analyzed the consequences of COVID-19 on STEM research and the collaboration between research institutions and industries worldwide. It was noted that COVID19 had caused significant delays in non-COVID-19-related research projects and the onset of several remote studies. Most importantly, researchers in the STEM fields directed their attention and expertise to help mitigate virus transmission, treat patients, and …

The Apoe Ε4 Allele Association With Cholesterol Related Phenotypes In The Mexican American Population, Stephanie Lozano

Theses and Dissertations

Diseases linked to high cholesterol have been well studied and several diseases-associated candidate genes have been suggested. Among these, the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) gene associated with lipid metabolism and lipid-related traits was reported in the non-Hispanic population. There are three types of alleles APOE ε2, ε3, and ε4. The APOE ε4 allele has been identified as a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In recent years, there have been limited studies regarding the association between the APOE gene and hypercholesterolemia in the Mexican American population. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate …

How Music Can Be Integrated Into Life Science Teaching In A Way That Enhances Scientific And Musical Learning In Middle School, Erin Hustad

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that students who learn interdisciplinary content lessons in school have a better understanding of the interconnectedness of the world they are entering. This paper, and the resultant project, focus on the interconnectedness of science and the arts, eventually ecology and music, in order to teach students both scientific and musical concepts. The project was created using backwards design, in order to ensure students have long term learning outcomes that center both science and music. Students first experience the scientific process and reflect on the similarities between scientific inquiry and artistic processes. Students then explore ecosystems and music …

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 6, Number 7, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Steven L. Fullerton

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

Élaboration Du Tableau De Bord A3 Des Indicateurs Relatifs Aux Adolescents Et Du Tableau De Bord Des Écarts Entre Les Sexes, Lauren Woyczynski, Christina Misunas, Md. Irfan Hossain

Adolescents and Young People

L'Atlas des Adolescents pour l'Action (A3) est une suite d'outils qui résume la vie et les besoins des adolescents du monde entier afin de promouvoir une prise de décision fondée sur des données probantes. Grâce à ses données accessibles et faciles à saisir en un seul clic, l'A3 comble le fossé entre les décideurs et les données factuelles afin d'éclairer les politiques et les programmes. Le tableau de bord des indicateurs relatifs aux adolescents et le tableau de bord des écarts entre les sexes sont deux tableaux de bord simples mais dynamiques qui donnent un aperçu de la vie des …

Soybean Management For Seed Composition: The Perspective Of U.S. Farmers, Andre F. Borja Reis, Luiz Rosso, Dan Davidson, Peter Kovacs, Larry C. Purcell, Frederick E. Below, Shaun Casteel, Hans J. Kandel, Seth Naeve, Sotirios V. Archontoulis, Ignacio A. Ciampitti

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

The soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] compositional quality is mainly provided by the seed concentration of protein and oil. These traits are critical for sustaining global use, and although there is demand for high protein soybean, no mechanism to differentiate production is in place. At the opposite end of the supply chain, farmers are remunerated on a mass basis without having any incentive regarding seed composition. This study evaluated farmers' perspectives and knowledge on soybean quality and their propensity to adopt quality improvement technologies. Farmers from the main U.S. producing regions (n = 271) were investigated with a …

Simulating The Impact Of Crop–Livestock Interaction On Crop Performance Using Dssat, Teerath Rai, Sandeep Kumar, Thandiwe Nleya, Gerrit Hoogenboom

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

An integrated crop–livestock system (ICL) can help with enhancing soil quality and crop productivity, ultimately increasing farm income. Field experiments that evalu- ated the impact of cover crops (CCs) and grazing on crop productivity have shown mixed results primarily because of a relatively short duration of the crop–livestock system. Dynamic crop models can help to simulate the long-term impact of soils and crop management on crop yield. The objectives of the current study were to develop a simple simulation methodology for crop–livestock interaction using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) and to evaluate the perfor- mance of CC …

In-Between Cultural Expectations And Medical Recommendations: Mothering Discourses Among Nigerian Women On Facebook, Oluwaseyi Esther Ambrose

Master's Theses (2009 -)

One critical health concern that hinders a child’s survival and growth in Nigeria is child mortality. Yet, the factors responsible for the high child mortality rates are preventable, and many can be traced to cultural beliefs and traditional practices related to mothering and childcare. Previous research, however, especially that used social media as its focus, rarely included the perspectives of mothers. Hence, this study examines myths, cultural beliefs, and traditional practices surrounding mothering and child-rearing among Nigerian mothers via a Facebook group, Ask the Pediatricians (ATP). Through a textual analysis of mothers’ discourses on the ATP group, the study reveals …

Occupational Therapy Newsletter, Summer 2022, Occupational Therapy Department

News, Magazines and Reports

Highlights: Letter from Department Chair and Program Director Dr. Sharon McCloskey -- 20th year program celebration slideshow -- Alumna Anastasiya Akay advocates for orphans in Ukraine -- Faculty focus on Amanda Wheeler (PhD, OTR/L) -- Dr. Sheelagh Schlegel (DrHSc, MPH, OTR/L, CHES, CAPS) facilitates patient simulations -- Dr. Lola Halperin (Ed.D., OTR/L) presents at the ConnOTA and AOTA conferences and participates in the Dean's Speaker Series -- Dr. Sharon McCloskey (Ed.D., MBA, OT/L, DipCOT, CTP) presents "Understanding the Impact of Trauma and ACE's on Learning and Participation in Schools" -- Pilot social simulation training program for occupational therapy students -- …

What Are Mycorrhizal Traits?, V. Bala Chaudhary, E. Penelope Holland, Suw Charman-Anderson, Aidee Guzman, Lukas Bell-Dereske, Tanya E. Cheeke, Adriana Corrales, Jessica Duchicela, Cameron Egan, Pushpa G. Soti

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Highlights

• Applying trait-based approaches to ecological research on mycorrhizal symbioses broadens ecological inferences, but there is no single unified framework to unite disparate language, terminology, and methods across the many multidisciplinary scientists studying mycorrhizas.
• We propose an inclusive framework for trait-based mycorrhizal ecology aimed to stimulate scientists around the world to collect and use more mycorrhizal trait data, particularly in understudied areas. This would widen our understanding regarding the ecological role of mycorrhizal symbioses at individual, species, community, and ecosystem scales.
• Analyzing how mycorrhizal symbioses fit within existing trait definitions highlights significant theoretical and empirical knowledge gaps, novel questions, and …

Biomarkers Of Nanomaterials Hazard From Multi-Layer Data, V Fortino, Pas Kinaret, M Fratello, A Serra, La Saarimäki, A Gallud, G Gupta, G Vales, M Correia, O Rasool, J Ytterberg, M Monopoli, T Skoog, P Ritchie, S Moya, S Vázquez-Campos, R Handy, R Grafström, L Tran, R Zubarev, R Lahesmaa, K Dawson, K Loeschner, Eh Larsen, F Krombach, H Norppa, J Kere, K Savolainen, H Alenius, B Fadeel, D Greco

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractThere is an urgent need to apply effective, data-driven approaches to reliably predict engineered nanomaterial (ENM) toxicity. Here we introduce a predictive computational framework based on the molecular and phenotypic effects of a large panel of ENMs across multiple in vitro and in vivo models. Our methodology allows for the grouping of ENMs based on multi-omics approaches combined with robust toxicity tests. Importantly, we identify mRNA-based toxicity markers and extensively replicate them in multiple independent datasets. We find that models based on combinations of omics-derived features and material intrinsic properties display significantly improved predictive accuracy as compared to physicochemical properties …

Disease Burden And Management Of Crigler-Najjar Syndrome: Report Of A World Registry, Sem J Aronson, Norman Junge, Mediha Trabelsi, Wided Kelmemi, Aurelie Hubert, Karlla W Brigatti, Michael D. Fox, Robert J De Knegt, Johanna C Escher, Virginia M Ginocchio, Raffaele Iorio, Yan Zhu, Figen Özçay, Fakher Rahim, Mortada H F El-Shabrawi, Eyal Shteyer, Angelo Di Giorgio, Lorenzo D'Antiga, Federico Mingozzi, Nicola Brunetti-Pierri, Kevin A Strauss, Philippe Labrune, Ridha Mrad, Ulrich Baumann, Ulrich Beuers, Piter J Bosma

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Background and Aims Crigler-Najjar syndrome (CNS) is a disorder of bilirubin conjugation leading to brain damage and death without treatment. Although cohort studies of limited size have been published, uncertainty about outcome, co-morbidities, occurence of liver fibrosis and treatment outcome remains. With this worldwide cohort study, we aim to add substantial knowledge to the previously published data.

Methods Anonymized retrospective data of CNS patients were collected in a web-based registry platform.

Results Clinical data of 221 CNS patients (46% female, severe phenotype n = 209) were collected. At the time of analysis, 59 CNS patients were deceased. Mean serum total …

Governing For Transformative Change Across The Biodiversity-Climate-Society Nexus, Unai Pascual, Pamela D. Mcelwee, Sarah E. Diamond, Hien T. Ngo, Xuemei Bai, William W. L. Cheung, Michelle Mei Ling Lim, Nadja Steiner, John Agard, Camila I. Donatti, Carlos M. Duarte, Rik Leemans, Shunsuke Managi, Aliny P. F. Pires, Victoria Reyes-Garcia, Christopher Trisos, Robert J. Scholes, Hans-Otto Portner

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Transformative governance is key to addressing the global environmental crisis. We explore how transformative governance of complex biodiversity–climate–society interactions can be achieved, drawing on the first joint report between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to reflect on the current opportunities, barriers, and challenges for transformative governance. We identify principles for transformative governance under a biodiversity–climate– society nexus frame using four case studies: forest ecosystems, marine ecosystems, urban environments, and the Arctic. The principles are focused on creating conditions to build multifunctional interventions, integration, and innovation across scales; coalitions of …

The Impacts Of Climate Change On Blackeye Goby, Rhinogobiops Nicholsii, Stress Responses, Reproduction, And Offspring Fitness, Alora Yarbrough

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Along with warming and sea level rise, the increasing intensity of ocean acidification (OA) and hypoxia events in coastal environments is of large concern as climate change progresses. Weakened immune function, altered reproductive output, reduced aerobic scope, and hyperventilation are just some of the ways OA and hypoxia negatively affect fish. Under stress, such as OA or hypoxia, fish will produce the hormone cortisol to maintain homeostasis, so cortisol concentration can be used to determine the relative stress an animal is experiencing. This study evaluated the stress response of adult female blackeye gobies under both acute and chronic exposure to …

Fabrication Of Polymeric Microparticles Loaded With Zoledronic Acid To Treat Osteoarthritis, Yohely Maria Espiritusanto

Theses - ALL

Osteoarthritis (OA), a disease caused by wearing and tearing of articular cartilage, affectsover 32.5 million Americans. Synovial inflammation is now recognized as a major contributor to OA progression and pain. Activated synovial macrophages in an OA joint are believed to play a major role in low grade inflammation found in OA. Bisphosphonates such as zoledronic acid (ZA) are known to induce apoptosis specifically in macrophages and several of them are being evaluated as a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug in clinical trials. However, ZA is rapidly cleared from the joint after systemic or localized direct injection into the joint. In this study …

Effects Of Frankincense Compounds On Infection, Inflammation, And Oral Health, Cassio Luiz Coutinho Almeida-Da-Silva, Nallusamy Sivakumar, Homer Asadi, Anna Chang-Chien, M. Walid Qoronfleh, David M. Ojcius, Musthafa Mohamed Essa

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Boswellia trees, found throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa and Asia, are the source of frankincense oil. Since antiquity, frankincense has been traded as a precious commodity, but it has also been used for the treatment of chronic disease, inflammation, oral health, and microbial infection. More recently, the bioactive components of Boswellia trees have been identified and characterized for their effects on cancer, microbial infection (especially infection by oral pathogens), and inflammation. Most studies have focused on cell lines, but more recent research has also investigated effects in animal models of disease. As natural products are considered to …

Targeting Mutated Kras And Galectin-1 In Pancreatic Cancer, Ana Izavelle Martinez Bulnes

Theses and Dissertations

The poor patient survival rate in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a challenge. KRAS activating point mutation on codon-12 is found in 70–95 percent of PDAC patients, and no progress in inhibiting KRAS has been obtained thus far. KRASG12D is a transcription factor that controls cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Recent preliminary and published research indicates that Galectin-1 (Gal-1) levels are high in both PDAC and stromal cells, which modulates tumor microenvironment and metastasis. As a result, we created a new combination treatment for PDAC that targets both proliferation and metastasis in PDAC by targeting mutant KRASG12D and Gal-1. This …

Effects Of Nutrient Enrichment On Mangrove And Saltmarsh Habitats, Elena A. Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient over-enrichment is a global threat to coastal and marine environments. Yet, system-specific attributes of estuarine and coastal ecosystems may result in large differences in their sensitivity and susceptibility to such threat. In tropical latitudes, plant species adapted to low-nutrient habitats generally have nutrient-conservation mechanisms that acquire, use, and internally recycle nutrients efficiently. Thus, a major challenge for managers and decision makers is to develop a predictive and holistic understanding of how nutrient loading alters ecosystem functions and therefore ecosystem services. The objective of the present research is to document short and long-term effects of persistent nutrient …

Sports Nutrition- And Strength And Conditioning-Based Interventions To Bolster Health And Human Performance In Male And Female Tactical Personnel, Harry Paul Cintineo

Theses and Dissertations

Military and law enforcement personnel are required to possess sufficient physical and cognitive fitness to perform their official duties. Tactical athletes must have fast reaction times (RT), high levels of various aspects of muscular performance, including power, strength, and endurance, as well as high anaerobic and aerobic capacities. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate acute sports nutrition and chronic strength and conditioning strategies to improve health and human performance in tactical athletes, including law enforcement officers, active-duty military service members, and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and midshipmen.

The first study tested the effects of a combination …