Digital Commons Network^™

Psychological Impacts Of Covid-19 On Older Adults, Maria Coletta Angiolillo

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

No abstract provided.

Measuring Effectiveness In Community-Based Palliative Care Programs: A Systematic Review, Erin Vernon, M. Courtney Hughes, Monica Kowalczyk

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Community-based palliative care (CBPC) serves seriously ill individuals by integrating care for symptom and stress relief with local health care systems. This review provides the first systematic review of the literature to date on the effectiveness of CBPC programs and includes their measures of success, challenges faced, and characteristics of the populations served. A systematic review on CBPC program effectiveness was conducted across four electronic databases for academic articles published through August 2021. PRISMA reporting guidelines were followed throughout this review, study quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and results were summarized in a narrative synthesis. The …

The Impact And Outcomes Of Sustainable Intensification Initiatives In Six Countries On Women, Men, And Other Social Groups: A Literature Review, Katherine A. Snyder, Emanuel Sulle

Faculty of Arts & Sciences, East Africa

This study reviewed over 160 papers and reports in sustainable intensification, with a focus on the target countries of Malawi, Ghana, Ethiopia, Laos, Bangladesh and Nepal. It collected literature by carrying out searched with both scopus and google scholar with specific key words and combinations. This search focused on target regions and countries as well as social equity. Under “sustainable intensification”, we obtained a list of 5493 papers. Sustainable intensification and gender yielded 58, SI in Sub-Saharan Africa produced 545. Country by country the papers were fewer and when gender and social equity were included, the number of papers were …

Early Detection Of Mental Health Through Universal Screening At Schools, Jihye Kim, Dong-Gook Kim, Randy Kamphaus

Georgia Educational Researcher

Depression, anxiety, and stress are common mental health problems among adolescents. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found that students who suffer from mental health problems (e.g., ADHD, anxiety, or depression) tend to manifest school and social problems. It is urgent to identify and intervene early to help children with mental health problems to improve their life outcomes. Unfortunately, research has shown that a significant proportion of children who suffer from behavioral or emotional problems remain unidentified because their symptoms are too mild to be noticed through casual observation by caregivers and teachers. As a result, their symptoms continue to develop …

Distributional Consequences And Regulatory Analysis, Richard L. Revesz, Samantha P. Yi

Faculty Articles

Distributional analysis has been a formal part of the regulatory state since 1993, when President Clinton directed agencies to consider the distributional consequences of significant regulations alongside the cost-benefit analysis of these regulations. President Obama reaffirmed and somewhat expanded this commitment. And both Presidents Clinton and Obama expressed particular concerns with distributional consequences in the environmental area, underscoring their respective commitments to environmental justice. Despite the undoubtedly good intentions embodied in these pronouncements, the analysis of the distributional consequences of regulations has never gotten off the ground. Unlike cost-benefit analysis, it has not become a meaningful part of the analysis …

Improving The Heat Tolerance Of Vulnerable Corals Through Their Algal Symbionts, Cathryn M. Bowling

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Tropical coral reefs are one of the most impressive and diverse ecosystems on the face of the earth. Found in warm, tropical waters around the globe, these reefs are major supporters of the immense biodiversity of the area. The health of coral reefs is highly influential on the overall health of the entire ecosystem. In recent years, intensifying climate change has resulted in an accelerated rise in seawater temperatures and the frequency and severity of coral bleaching. Coral bleaching occurs in response to harsh environmental conditions that cause corals to enter a period of extreme stress. During this time, corals …

Other Topics

Virginia Journal of Public Health

Efforts to improve employee health for cardiovascular and metabolic conditions: A systematic review of weight-management outcomes

Carolyn Faith Hoffman, Debora Goldberg, J. Mary Louise Pomeroy, Kathleen Butler, & Ali A. Weinstein

Impacts on The Quality of Life for Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

Jade Craig & Christine Booker

Substance Abuse and Rapid Access to Firearm Among College Freshman

Bita Khoshhal, Samantha Karon, Matthew E. Rossheim, Pamela Trangenstein, Cara Frankenfeld, Niloofar Ramezani, Lawrence J. Cheskin, & Alison E. Cuellar

Addressing Child Abuse and Neglect: Empowering Medical Students to be Part of the Solution Through Clinical and Community Engagement

Angela Liu, Diana …

Economic Security Of Older Women In Maine, Kimberly I. Snow Mhsa, Elizabeth Gattine Jd, Sammy-Ellie Mackinnon Msw

Disability & Aging

The Economic Security of Older Women in Maine: Data Report provides a snapshot of how women compare to men on measures such as wages and income, caregiving status, living arrangements, and rates of disability—factors that can impact Maine women's ability to meet their needs with the resources they have. The report, compiled by staff at the University of Southern Maine's Cutler Institute, informs an initiative led by the Maine Women's Lobby Education Fund and the Maine Council on Aging to identify gaps and pathways to support the health and economic security of older Maine women and all Mainers, now and …

Annual Report: Nebraska Extension In Lancaster County, January 1, 2022 Through December 31, 2022

Lancaster County, Nebraska Extension: Reports

Lancaster County Extension information from 2022. Contents include:

1) About Extension - Lancaster County Extension mission statement, overview and impact reports;

2) Staff and Programs - staff directory and Extension Educator annual program summaries;

3) Financials - summaries of 2021-2022 budget expenditures and fiscal year 2022-2023 budget; and

4) Media - website and social media information, samples of our Nebline newsletter and local newspaper articles.

Barriers To Summer Food Service Program (Sfsp) Implementation Before And After Covid-19: A Qualitative, Collective Case Study, Masoomeh Hajizadeh Oghaz, Falah N. Rashoka, Megan S. Kelley

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: SFSP, as a federal food assistance program, could ensure that children have sufficient nutritious food during summer. According to a 2016 USDA report, only 0.4–0.6% of eligible children participated in this program in Nebraska, which makes for one of the lowest SFSP participation rates in the U.S. This study aims to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted SFSP implementation in urban and rural settings across the state.

Conclusions: Insights from this study may inform the development of policies that expand food access to vulnerable families. On the organizational level, this includes providing participating kids and their parents …

Reproductive Resilience Of Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes, Krithika Venkataraman

Student Theses and Dissertations

Female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes impose a severe global public health burden as vectors of viruses that cause dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika, and parasites that cause lymphatic filariasis. Under optimal environmental conditions, Aedes aegypti females have access to human hosts that provide blood proteins required for egg development, conspecific males that provide sperm required for fertilization, and freshwater in natural or manmade containers that serves as an egg-laying substrate suitable for offspring survival during larval and pupal stages. As global temperatures rise, Aedes aegypti females are faced with climate challenges like intense droughts and intermittent bouts of precipitation, which …

Transcriptomic And Proteomic Studies Of Intercellular Communication Between Melanocytes And Keratinocytes In Human Skin, Gabriella Stephanne Spitz-Becker

Student Theses and Dissertations

The epidermis is a stratified epithelium composed of multiple cell types. Keratinocytes are the most prevalent cells in the epidermis and provide the barrier function of the skin. Interspersed amongst the keratinocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis are melanocytes, the pigment producing cells of the epidermis. Melanocytes produce melanin pigment which resides in melanosomes, organelles that are transferred to keratinocytes. In my thesis work, I focused on identifying downstream results of intercellular communication between melanocytes and keratinocytes for each of these cell types. I characterized the transcriptomes of human melanocytes and keratinocytes that were freshly derived from human …

Characterization Of A Novel Sensing Mechanism Governing Antigenic Variation In P. Falciparum, Victoria M. Schneider

Student Theses and Dissertations

Plasmodium falciparum expresses a multi-copy gene family called var in the intraerythroyctic stages of its life cycle in a mutually exclusive manner. var genes encode the chief antigenic and virulence determinant of P. falciparum, PfEMP1, and switching between active genes results in antigenic variation, allowing the parasite to evade the human immune system and cause chronic infections. The molecular mechanisms that control activation and silencing of individual var genes, as well as coordination of the switching process, presently remain incompletely defined. P. falciparum contains only ~60 var gene family members in its genome. Consequently, the question remains as to how …

Intestinal Cd4+T Cell Responses To Food, Ainsley Lockhart

Student Theses and Dissertations

During routine digestion and absorption of food, massive quantities of diet-derived polypeptides pass through the intestine. The intestinal immune system must maintain tolerance to these dietary antigens while still protecting against pathogens and noxious agents. Oral tolerance, a robust mechanism whereby oral administration of antigen results in both local and systemic tolerance to that antigen, is a key component of this critical homeostasis. Oral tolerance requires CD4⁺ T cells including specifically regulatory T cells (Tregs), however the role of intestinal CD4⁺ T cells and the T cell repertoire in a physiological response to food protein remains largely unexplored. …

The Regulation Of Lab-Grown Meat Under Existing Jurisdictional Authority, Kate Sollee

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Comparing Prairie Management Methods’ Effects On Three Native Texan Grasses, Stephanie Howell

2022 Fall Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

The Texas Blackland Prairie habitat is under extreme threat. Currently, only 1% of the original prairie remains. Restoration efforts across the state have aimed to address these concerns. This research set out to test the efficacy of the methods used to restore prairies regarding three grasses. Big Bluestem, Andropogon gerardii, Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Indiangrass, Sorghastrum nutans, were surveyed to establish their species abundance on two fields in North Texas. Based on their abundance and the history of each field, conclusions were drawn on the efficacy of the maintenance. Seeding was found to be inconsequential for A. gerardii and …

An Exploratory Study Of Future Plans And Preferences For Long-Term Services And Support For Older Kenyan Immigrants, Lenah Chepngetich Langat

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Quality of life and client’s satisfaction with Long-term Services and Support (LTSS) in later life are influenced by care preference and timely plans. Ethnic, and racial disparities in the use of both informal formal and formal LTSS are reported. Consequently, the diversity in LTSS decision-making has gained attention in research and policy with a predominant focus on migration background, acculturation, and ethnicity. However, LTSS preference data for older Kenyan immigrants are homogenized into the African Americans block without the acknowledgment of their inherent cultural and ethnic diversity. The development of culturally competent, effective, and responsive policies across the LTSS continuum …

Factors Affecting The Sex Ratio Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Fetuses In Arkansas, Jorista Garrie, Ralph Meeker

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Health of the mother is known to affect the sex-ratio of the offspring in sexually dimorphic mammals. Both density-dependent and environmental factors (conditions at present, or seasonal conditions the year before) could impact the health of the mother. There are however two opposing hypotheses for whether a mother in good health should invest more in a strong son (that can father many offspring) or in a daughter (that can stay in the same area and use good resources). Fetuses from 1,208 female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were collected over a 10-year period (2002-2012), across 75 counties in Arkansas. …

Occupation And Time-Use: The Narratives Of One Individual With Tetraplegia, Amanda Balser

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Successful health-management habits of individuals with tetraplegia have correlated with better quality of life and occupational engagement. Objectives: Little is known about the experience of time-use during these practices and the influence these routines have on participation in other meaningful occupations. This study aimed to explore the stories an individual with tetraplegia has about time-use in health management practices, influences on time-use, and feelings about quality of life and life satisfaction. Methodology: Narrative inquiry was used to explore the stories of time-use of one individual living with tetraplegia. Findings: Eleven interpretive stories were thematically represented illustrating the complexity of …

Effects Of Clipping Of Flight Feathers On Resource Use In Gallus Gallus Domesticus, Renee Garant, Bret W. Tobalske, Neila Bensassi, Nienke Van Staaveren, Dan Tulpan, Tina Widowski, Donald R. Powers, Alexandra Harlander-Matauschek

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Ground-dwelling species of birds, such as domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), experience difficulties sustaining flight due to high wing loading. This limited flight ability may be exacerbated by loss of flight feathers that is prevalent among egg-laying chickens. Despite this, chickens housed in aviary style systems need to use flight to access essential resources stacked in vertical tiers. To understand the impact of flight feather loss on chickens’ ability to access elevated resources, we clipped primary and secondary flight feathers for two hen strains (brown-feathered and white-feathered, n = 120), and recorded the time hens spent at elevated resources (feeders, …

Evaluation Of The Extrapulmonary Benefits After Initiation Of Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor In Pediatric Patients, Sara Frey Pharmd, Shae Duka Mph, Lauren Greenawald Do, Katelin Kimler Pharmd, Bcpps

Department of Pharmacy

No abstract provided.

Big Data For Epidemiology: Applied Data Analysis Using National Health Surveys, Tiffany B. Kindratt

Mavs Open Press Open Educational Resources - Archive

The book includes details on how to analyze public-use data from five common national health surveys using SAS statistical software. It is an essential resource for future epidemiologists and other public health professionals! [Visit the books' Pressbooks page to download the OER in other formats or to access an updated web version of it. https://uta.pressbooks.pub/bigdataforepidemiology/]

Decapod Sentience: Broadening The Framework, Cecilia De Souza Valente

Animal Sentience

A framework for studying sentience in decapods is of great value, but how high a cost (in suffering) to each individual decapod (or any animal) is warranted for collecting scientific evidence of sentience? The lack of evidence for some of the target article’s proposed criteria surely results from the fact that research is focused mainly on biomedical studies, ecotoxicology, and commercial production, with decapod sentience and welfare seen as only a secondary research topic. I draw attention also to the possibility of a wider framework that includes all felt experiences, from suffering to pleasure.

Weight Management Among Postpartum African-Born Immigrant Women In Texas, Ethel Emehel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The growing population of postpartum African-born immigrant women has contributed significantly to the high burden of obesity and poor maternal health outcomes in the state of Texas; however, there is little research on this population. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of weight management among postpartum African-born immigrant women in Texas based on the concepts of the health belief model. Semistructured interviews sparked the life experience of postpartum weight management of African-born immigrant women ages 18–45 who had a baby within the last year and suffered postpartum overweight or obesity. Interviews were audio-recorded …

Anxiety, Depression, Immunity, Quality Of Life, And Cannabis In Appalachia, Matthew Ian Frazier Ostrander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As decriminalization of cannabis in the United States increases, understanding how cannabis use may alter physical and mental health is important. The Appalachian Mountain region is an area with poor support systems, stigma against mental health, and historic drug use problems, resulting in residents being more vulnerable to societal change. The theoretical framework for this research is psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), which is the study of the interconnections between psychology, neurology, and immunology as a holistic approach to health. Via SurveyMonkey, 160 participants completed the study, and data were based on self-reporting of cannabis use patterns in relation to anxiety, depression, immunity, …

The Effects Of Delayed Initial Bathing In Newborns, Danielle Nitzachon

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Delayed bathing of the newborn infant for twenty-four hours after birth can decrease potential newborn complications such as hypoglycemia, hypothermia, and improve the infants skin integrity and breastfeeding rates. The primary purpose of this literature review was to examine the health benefits of delaying initial bathing in newborns for twenty-four hours. A comprehensive review of the literature was performed using peer-reviewed, research articles from multiple databases focusing on delayed infant bathing after birth and health benefits. 15 articles met the inclusion criteria and answered the research questions. Two studies showed the effects of vernix caseosa on improved skin integrity and …

Prism-19, Center For Complex Operations

PRISM (Full PDF Issues)

This special issue of PRISM is about the different perceptions and reactions to COVID-19 as people and governments experienced the disease, and their diverse understanding of its implications for national and international security.

An Integrated, Holistic Approach To Supporting The Wellbeing Of The Contemporary Social Services Workforce, Julia Moore

DSW Capstone Projects

Despite nearly 40 years of research regarding the effects of psychological distress among the social services workforce, there remains a lack of congruity among scholars and experts regarding the definition and epidemiology of the distinct constructs, including secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Current literature on these phenomena indicates that a lack of empirical methods for scientifically studying outcomes regarding effective prevention and intervention strategies have stalled efforts to advance the field of secondary trauma and create practical approaches to protecting the workforce serving trauma-exposed clients. This capstone project is focused on understanding the current literature regarding …

An Examination Of Diabetes Prevention Program Translations For Eastern Kentucky, William H. Robinson

DSW Capstone Projects

This capstone project examined translations of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) that have been adapted to improve cultural competency and analyzed the potential application of these adaptations to serve communities in Eastern Kentucky. Findings in the project were synthesized using the Ecological Validity Model (EVM) posited by Bernal et al. (1995) and the RE-AIM framework developed by Glasgow et al. (1999). EVM and RE-AIM have been used in other systematic literature reviews of the DPP and provide a framework for conceptual analysis and practice application of the findings. This project recommends changes in public health policy and social work …

Evaluation Of Hemp Seed Meal As A Fish Meal Replacement Through Growth And Digestibility Trials In Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis), Anthony Sample

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Demand for seafood has continued to increase despite a stagnation in global wild-caught fisheries. Aquaculture has met this demand but suffers from numerous sustainability issues because of dependence on fish meal, which is unsustainable, sparking nutritional research into alternatives. Hemp seed meal has shown promise as an alternative due to its sustainable production and nutritional qualities. This study evaluated hemp seed meal as an alternative to fish meal through growth and digestibility trials with Morone saxatilis. A seven-week growth trial was conducted within a recirculating aquaculture system using a total of two control diets (commercial and constructed) and six …