Digital Commons Network^™

Evolution Of Agricultural Emissions Calculations In Australia: Methodological And Calculator Refinements And Their Impact On Western Australia’S Agricultural Carbon Footprint, Christophe D'Abbadie

Climate Science Published Reports

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting is fundamental to positioning Australian agricultural products competitively in global markets, enabling supply chain stakeholders to make informed decisions, and understanding the trade-offs between market demands, policy requirements, consumer expectations, and intergenerational responsibilities.

Recent methodological refinements to emissions methodologies have enhanced the accuracy of GHG accounting in Western Australian (WA) agriculture. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has collaborated in these improvements through collaborative research with universities and federal agencies and advocacy for Western Australia-specific emission factors.

Methodological refinements have improved the accuracy of WA agricultural emissions estimates by 6% overall, providing …

Ideate-Lung02: A Phase 3 Study Of Second-Line Ifinatamab Deruxtecan In Patients With Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer, Taofeek K Owonikoko, Lauren Byers, Ying Cheng, Hidetoshi Hayashi, Luis Paz-Ares, Maurice Pérol, Haichuan Hu, Meng Qian, Cecilio Roi Garcia, Juliette Godard, Mei Tang, Charles M Rudin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) have poor prognosis and limited treatment options beyond first-line therapy. B7 homolog 3 (B7-H3) is minimally expressed in normal tissues but highly expressed in SCLC. Ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd), a B7-H3-directed antibody-drug conjugate, has demonstrated promising efficacy and a manageable safety profile in various tumours, including SCLC. IDeate-Lung02 is a global, randomized, open-label Phase 3 study of ~540 patients with relapsed SCLC. Adults with one prior line of platinum-based systemic therapy, ECOG performance status 0-1, and ≥1 measurable lesion (per RECIST 1.1) are eligible for study participation. Patients with asymptomatic untreated or previously treated …

Multiomic Random Forest Toxicity Modeling Of Radiation Esophagitis, Saurabh S Nair, Ramon M Salazar, Ting Xu, Alexandra O Leone, Zhongxing Liao, Laurence E Court, Joshua S Niedzielski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: Radiation esophagitis (RE) is a major dose-limiting toxicity resulting from radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Multiomic features may provide additional predictive value for high-grade RE compared to traditionally used clinical and dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters. We aimed to investigate the utility of multiomic features in improving RE toxicity prediction models.

Materials and methods: Of the 179 NSCLC patients considered, 27 patients (15.08 %) were found to have toxicity ≥grade 3 RE per CTCAE v5.0. A total of 343 CT- and PET- based radiomic and dosiomic features were extracted. Four toxicity prediction models were created using clinical …

Quantitative Evaluation Of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient In A Large Multi-Unit Institution, Joshua P Yung, Yao Ding, Ken-Pin Hwang, Carlos E Cardenas, H Asher Ai, Lucas Mccullum, Natalie A West, Clifton D Fuller, R Jason Stafford

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and purpose: Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and their calculated apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has grown with applications across multiple anatomical sites and settings across diagnostic and oncologic therapy settings, necessitating characterizing its quantitative performance across multiple scanners. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the quantitative accuracy of DWI and their calculated ADC values across a fleet of MRI systems using a NIST-traceable diffusion phantom.

Materials and methods: Three NIST/QIBA DWI phantoms were imaged with protocols provided with the phantom on a multi-vendor fleet of 23 clinical MRI scanners. User-directed regions-of-interest …

A Comparative Study Of Clinically Used Fast Monte Carlo Dose Engines For Proton Therapy, Sherif M Gadoue, Narayan Sahoo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Several fast Monte Carlo (MC) codes have been implemented and used to simulate proton transport and calculate patient doses in proton therapy. The resulting dose is typically compared to full MC codes, rather than other fast MC codes.

Purpose: The primary goal of this study was to compare the gamma pass rates (GPRs) of dose calculation from different fast MC codes to evaluate the accuracy of the computation and modeling among these codes.

Methods: Two GPU codes and one CPU MC code were commissioned to model our clinical proton beamline at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The …

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts As Mediators Of Tissue Microenvironment Remodeling In Cancer, Fernanda G Kugeratski, Emily J Kay, Sara Zanivan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a multifunctional cell population of solid tumors that substantially remodel the tumor microenvironment (TME). The combination of single-cell and spatial technologies with elegant mouse models and analysis of patient samples is enabling unprecedented advances in the characterization of CAF origins, heterogeneity, and functions within the TME. As such, the field is now evolving to delineate tissue-specific subpopulations of CAFs, their markers, and the biological context in which each subset presents with a tumor-promoting or a tumor-restraining function. In this timely review, we discuss recent advances in CAF biology in the context of emerging areas of interest …

The Access Assembly: Learning Together, Building Friendships, And Strengthening Our Leadership Capacities, Chandra Turpen, Brianne Gutmann, Robert P. Dalka, Gina M. Quan, Mackenzie Carlson, Joel C. Corbo, Gabrielle Jones-Hall, Megan Marshall Smith, Devyn E. Shafer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Founded in 2014, the Access Network brings together nine student-centered, university-based programs that pursue systemic change towards a vision of a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible STEM community. Leaders at the Network-level and program-level are either current students (undergraduate or graduate) or young faculty and professional scientists, many of whom started out as student leaders in Access programs. Over the last 9 years, Access has brought people together (virtually or in-person) for an annual event called the "Assembly." Student leaders who attend the Assembly appreciate community-building and networking opportunities that help them build capacity for leading local site programming. …

Insect Pests Of Wheat In North India: A Comprehensive Review Of Their Bio-Ecology And Integrated Management Strategies, Gurveer Singh, Neelendra K. Joshi

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a vital food crop for majority of the world's population. However, its yield potential is significantly threatened by insect pests, which adversely affect production, quality, and overall food security. The diverse array of insect pests throughout wheat's growth stages necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their interactions with wheat cultivation. This review critically assesses the diversity, biology, ecology, and management strategies of major insect pests in North India, including aphids, termites, pink stem borer, gram pod borer, armyworm, and brown wheat mite. These pests infest wheat at various growth stages, posing significant challenges to sustainable production. …

Strengthening Connections: Downtowns & Trails In Barrington, Nh, Shannon Rogers Ph.D., Nathaniel B. Bernitz, Patricia Prescott

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Reducing Aspiration Pneumonia By Implementing An Enhanced Oral Care Toolkit, Jennifer London

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Oral care is essential for reducing bacteria and preventing aspiration pneumonia. The risk of aspiration pneumonia increases when protocols are not followed. In 2024, a regional hospital in the Midwest United States spent approximately one million dollars on the preventable healthcare-associated infection known as aspiration pneumonia. A pre-project chart audit of 100 random patient charts on a medical/surgical step-down unit revealed that only 1 of the 100 charts had oral care documented as completed.

Aim of the Project: The primary aims of this project were to increase nursing documentation of oral care by 50% and to decrease …

Implementing Pain Reassessment Workflow To Improve Timely Pain Management In Hospice Patients: A Quality Improvement Project, Oluremi Omodara

All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Problem: Timely pain reassessment is a vital component of hospice care, directly influencing the quality of life for patients. Despite the high prevalence of pain, which affects 55% of hospice patients due to disease progression or adverse drug reactions, only 51% of those reporting moderate to severe pain at admission receive a documented reassessment. The gap highlights an organizational issue in pain management stemming from the absence of a clearly defined period and workflow for reassessment.

Aim of the Project: The aim of the quality improvement (QI) project was to improve compliance with pain reassessment documentation within 48 hours …

Eccentricity In Binary Black Hole Mergers, Katelyn J. Wagner

Theses

Recent studies have shown that orbital eccentricity may serve as an important indicator of dynamical assembly as a formation channel for binary black holes. In contrast to binaries that evolve in isolation and circularize through long-term gravitational radiation, dynamically assembled binaries, such as those formed through gravitational encounters in dense stellar environments, may retain measurable eccentricity up to the point of merger. Because eccentricity leaves a distinct imprint on gravitational-wave signals, it provides a powerful observational handle on the astrophysical origins of compact binaries. Detecting this signature requires sensitive and accurate modeling of gravitational-wave signals, particularly as binaries enter the …

Noise Law, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The rumble of traffic, the drone of air conditioners, the blast of construction equipment. These are the mundane sources of noise pollution that we all experience but rarely think about. Or, if we do think about noise pollution, we don't think of it as a central piece of federal environmental law. This Article, however, demonstrates that noise law is, or was, central to American environmental law, and it offers insights into how environmental protection and administrative governance work today.

In the 1970s, during the height of environmental activism and policymaking, lawmakers recognized noise as a serious pollutant alongside issues we …

Using Latent Patient-Centered Fear Extinction Profiles To Guide Treatment In Pediatric Ocd, Katherine M Ingram, Eric A Storch, Daniel A Geller, Brent J Small, Sabine Wilhelm, Joseph F Mcguire

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: While exposure with response prevention (ERP) is the frontline treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), not all patients benefit. Impairments in extinction learning are implicated in pediatric OCD's etiology and treatment, with impaired pre-treatment extinction learning associated with worse ERP outcomes. However, available methods for assessing patients' difficulties with fear extinction are costly and underdeveloped. In response, we used person-centered profiles to characterize latent fear extinction patterns among youth with OCD, and investigated the degree to which scores on common rating scales correspond to profile membership.

Methods: Youth with OCD (n=98) completed a diagnostic clinical battery followed by a …

Sustained Response To Pan-Braf Inhibitor Plixorafenib (Fore8394, Plx8394) In A Young Adult With Neurodegenerative Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, Joanna S Yi, Kathleen S Mccarthy, Kate Mazur, Rebecca Kudlaty, Terry Armstrong, Nilesh Desai, Stacie Peacock Shepherd, Daniel Zinn, Jessica Velazquez, Brooks Scull, Carl Allen, Kenneth Mcclain

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Examining The Relationship Between Dysphagia, Eating-Related Symptoms, And Diet Quality Among Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients During Critical Stages Of Cancer Survivorship: The U-Dine Study, Beatrice Manduchi, Vlad C Sandulache, Ji Yun Tark, Shreela Sharma, Ruosha Li, Emily Roller, Andrew Bevelhimer, Katherine A Hutcheson, Marcia C De Oliveira Otto

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Diet quality is a modifiable factor impacting treatment outcomes in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), yet the effect of dysphagia and self-reported eating-related symptoms remains unclear. This study examined their associations with diet quality in OPC patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with two parallel cohorts from MD Anderson Cancer Center and Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center as part of the Uncovering the Long-Term Impact of OPC and Dysphagia on Dietary Quality and Nutrition Among Cancer Survivors (U-DINE) Study. Participants at varying survivorship stages (prediagnosis, 3-6 and 18+ months posttreatment) were assessed for dysphagia (DIGEST scale) and six …

Complexity And Health Care Utilization In Infant Eskd, Ashna R Pudupakkam, Michael C Braun, Catherine Joseph, Poyyapakkam R Srivaths, Sarah J Swartz, Shweta S Shah

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Key Points:

1. Infant ESKD is associated with significant health care utilization including hospitalizations, subspecialty care, and financial expenditures.

2. Further investigation of health care utilization in infant ESKD can help guide the appropriate allocation of resources to support care delivery.

Background: Dialysis in neonates with ESKD is often associated with multiple comorbidities and the need for more intensified dialysis regimens. With recent advances in prenatal interventions and infant-specific KRT, survival of neonates with ESKD has improved over the past decade. Little is known, however, about the impact on the health care system of improved survival in this population. Our primary aim …

Traumatic Brain Injury In Pregnancy: A Single Level I Trauma Center Experience, Hector Fuentes Plata, Nisha K Dabhi, Shankar P Gopinath, Spyridoula Tsetsou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is less common in pregnancy than in the general population; however, it poses significant challenges in diagnosis and management. These include the potential teratogenicity of medications, radiation exposure from imaging modalities, physiological changes associated with pregnancy, and obstetric complications that may arise. Although there are general guidelines for trauma in the obstetric patient, they are not specific to TBI, and most recommendations are based on low-level evidence or institutional experiences.

We conducted a retrospective review of the hospital trauma registry over a 10-year period. We included all the patients admitted to our neurosurgical intensive care unit …

Analyzing The Learning Curve Of Vnotes Sacrocolpopexy By The Cumulative Summation Test: A Cohort Study, Wenyu Liu, Nannan Sun, Yuejiao Zhang, Yuyan Li, Weihao Lai, Youjun Zhou, Xiaoming Guan, Juan Liu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The learning curve of transvaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic sacrocolpopexy (vNOTES-SC) in the treat of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is critical yet underexplored. Our objective is to describe the learning curve and surgical complications of vNOTES-SC, taking into account the factors that affect operative time and evaluate the long-term follow-up outcomes of this surgery.

Methods: We conducted a hospital-based cohort study involving patients who underwent vNOTES-SC from June 2017 to May 2024. All surgeries were performed by a single surgeon with over 20 years of surgical experience. This study employed cumulative summation test (CUSUM) analysis to quantify the learning …

Decolonizing Citation Matters, Cruz Medina

English

In her 2016 dissertation on citation practices, Elizabeth Frances Bergeron Chamberlain interviews then-editors Kelly Ritter and Jonathan Alexander about the trends in citation practices of submissions to College English and College Composition and Communication. Bergeron Chamberlain notes that the editors observed that newcomers to the field tended to include too many citations; conversely, Chamberlain cites Paul Kei Matsuda and Christine Tardy’s article “Voice in Academic Writing,” which finds the opposite: a lack of citations was attributed to newcomers in the field (Chamberlain 2016, 91). Chamberlain concludes, “Indeed, if insiders universally feel that newcomers are citing ‘wrong,’ it suggests that we …

Pfas Exposure And Postoperative Weight Regain In Adolescents After Bariatric Surgery: Findings From The Teen-Labs Study, Brittney O Baumert, Elizabeth Costello, Zhenjiang Li, Justin R Ryder, Thomas Inge, Todd Jenkins, Stephanie Sisley, Stavra A Xanthakos, Douglas I Walker, Nikos Stratakis, Damaskini Valvi, Scott M Bartell, Angela L Slitt, Rohit Kohli, Sarah Rock, Michele A La Merrill, Sandrah P Eckel, Max T Aung, Rob Mcconnell, David V Conti, Lida Chatzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Weight regain following bariatric surgery remains a clinical challenge, with limited understanding of contributing environmental factors. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), persistent chemicals linked to metabolic dysfunction, may influence long-term weight trajectories. This study aimed to evaluate associations between PFAS exposure and changes in BMI, percent weight loss, and waist circumference among adolescents after bariatric surgery.

Methods: We included 186 adolescents (mean age: 17.1 years; 76.3% female; 72.0% White) from the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) cohort who underwent surgery between 2007 and 2012. Anthropometric measurements were collected at baseline and 6, 12, 36, and 60 months post …

A Spanish-Language Adaptation Of The Brief Wisconsin Inventory Of Smoking Dependence Motives Among Mexican And Mexican-American Adults Who Smoke, Yessenia Castro, Jose E. Velasquez, Zully C. Guerra, Tatiana Londoño, John R. Moore, Nazanin M. Heydarian

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Introduction: The smoking pattern of Latino smokers differs from non-Latino white smokers such that physical dependence may not be a strong motivator for smoking among Latinos. Multidimensional measures of dependence may be more useful, but there is a lack of psychometrically sound multidimensional Spanish-language measures. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language adaptation of the Brief Wisconsin Inventory of Dependence Motives (Brief WISDM) for use among Spanish-speaking Latino smokers in the U.S.

Methods: 287 Spanish-speaking Mexican-origin smokers in the U.S. responded to a revised set of Spanish Brief WISDM items. Confirmatory factor analyses and model trimming procedures were …

The Access Assembly: Sharing Ideas And Enabling Informed Adaptations, Brianne Gutmann, Chandra Turpen, Robert P. Dalka, Mackenzie Carlson, Joel Corbo, Gabrielle Jones-Hall, Megan Marshall Smith, Devyn Shafer

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Founded in 2014, the Access Network brings together nine student-centered, university-based programs that are pursuing systemic change towards a vision of a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible STEM community. Network and program leaders are primarily students (undergraduate and graduate) and early-career faculty, many of whom started out as student leaders in Access programs. Over the last nine years, Access has brought people together (virtually or in-person) for an annual event called the “Assembly.” The environment and structures at the Assembly enable the sharing of ideas, excite people to translate those ideas to their local programs, and create space for …

The Gamification Of Banking, Colleen Baker, Christopher K. Odinet

Faculty Scholarship

Gamification is coming to banking. This phenomenon is already gain-ing ground in advertising, healthcare, manufacturing, and, more recently, with the GameStop and AMC meme stock saga in securities trading. The idea behind gamification is to make transactions seem fun, playful, and even casino-like in order to elicit habit-forming, addictive-like effects with consumers. This Article argues that the rise of financial technology (“fintech”) firms and their ever-growing business relationships with incumbent financial institutions has created the necessary conditions for gamification to take hold in the banking sector. In order to explore this observation, we undertake a study of current examples of …

The Sec Proposed Cybersecurity Infrastructure Rules And New Disclosure Requirements, Neal F. Newman, Lawrence J. Trautman, Brian Elzweig

Faculty Scholarship

In addition to regulation of securities market issuers, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is also responsible for regulation of those entities that provide the networks, either electronic or physical, that enable the functioning of our securities markets. On February 9, 2022, the Commission published a Release for Cybersecurity Risk Management for Investment Advisers, Registered Investment Companies, and Business Development Companies containing proposals that, if adopted, would establish a new cybersecurity incident reporting and disclosure regime and require registered investment advisers (“advisers”) and investment companies (“funds”) to implement policies and procedures designed to address cyber risks. The comment period for …

African American Female College Students’ Experiences At Predominately White Institutions, Sh'nita Louise Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American women who attend predominantly White institutions (PWIs) have historically encountered systemic challenges that include racial isolation, microaggressions, a lack of cultural understanding, and insufficient institutional support. These barriers often impact their sense of belonging, academic persistence, and overall success. I aimed to explore the lived experiences of African American women who graduated from PWIs to understand how these women navigate institutional structures and sustain their academic journeys. I aimed to examine the unique challenges and supports experienced by African American women, and to identify factors that contribute to or hinder their persistence and success at their PWI. The …

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, School Culture, And School Leadership, Virginia Lorean Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study was a qualitative instrumental single holistic case study as outlined by Robert Stake in

1995. It focused on three research questions. The goal was to gain perspectives from teachers

and a principal on teacher retention and the culture of a campus. The emotional level of the

principal was evaluated on social awareness, self-awareness, relationship management, and self-

management by the principal taking part in an emotional intelligence assessment. The single

holistic case study approach was used, which had six phases of analyzing the data. The results

were then compared to the teachers’ interviews and surveys that were …

Professor Perspectives: Inclusion Of Students With An Intellectual Disability In Transition Programming On A College Campus, Melissa Jane Massey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) are often unemployed or underemployed compared to students who do not have ID. Transition or postsecondary programming for students with ID has increased in recent years in response to the U.S. federal requirement for special education professionals to complete transition plans before students turn 16. The requirement for transition planning in Texas is age 14, and the ARD committee including the student and parent come together to develop goals for future planning. Transition plans include information on future employment, future independent living skills, and agency connections that students with ID may need to access to …

"Are We Okay?": Exploring Departmental Leadership Behavior In Higher Education Organizational Crises, Melody Y. Zuniga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored how faculty in higher education institutions experienced their department leaders during organizational crises. With academic department leaders often appointed with little training for the role’s administrative challenges, they can be underprepared when a crisis befalls their institutions. A qualitative narrative design allowed 10 social work faculty from nine Christian institutions across the United States to share their stories of navigating internal and external crises. Data collection occurred primarily through semistructured interviews, with questions allowing for narrative elements of time, place, and sociality to emerge. Through reflexive thematic analysis, findings revealed four themes in faculty’s experiences with …

Advancing Medical Education With Lifestyle Medicine: A Comprehensive Program Evaluation Using The Kirkpatrick Framework, Shanna L. Mello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examined how a U.S. national lifestyle medicine residency curriculum influenced resident learning and practice using a program evaluation paradigm with a convergent mixed methods design guided by Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model. The problem addressed was the persistent gap between evidence for lifestyle interventions and the limited preparation residents receive to deliver lifestyle counseling in routine care. The purpose of the study was to evaluate changes in residents’ reactions, learning, and clinical behaviors and to identify early patient-level signals and the implementation conditions that enabled or constrained behavior change. Quantitative methods analyzed archived pre- and posttraining surveys from 148 …