Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Fast-Food Consumption, Residential Fast-Food Exposures, And Urinary Essential Trace Heavy Metals In Colorectal Cancer (Crc) Outcomes., Jeevan Adhikari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a public health concern. Within the United States (US), fast-food consumption and environmental exposure to heavy metals have increased. The impact of fast-food consumption frequency from fast-food restaurants, residential fast-food exposures, and urinary essential trace heavy metals in relation to CRC outcomes have not yet been rigorously evaluated in the US. Methods: Within the LEAPS-CRC study, we used geographic information systems (GIS) and logistic regression to study the association of fast-food consumption, residential proximity to a fast-food outlet, and urinary essential trace metals with CRC incidence. Additionally, within Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR) CRC cases, the …

Genetic Identification Of A Rapidly-Adapting Low-Threshold Mechanoreceptor Innervating Fungiform Papillae., Thomas Alexander Myers Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mechanosensory innervation of the oral cavity enables us to detect the texture and location of the foods we consume. Our goal was to find a genetic identifier for a mechanoreceptive subtype. Toward this goal, we examined neurons expressing the neurotrophin receptor TrkC, parvalbumin (Pvalb), and the glutamate transporter Vglut3. Because different papilla types contribute to food detection in different ways, we examined the innervation patterns of these neuron subtypes. We found that Pvalb+ and Vglut3+ neurons were fungiform papilla specific, where TrkC innervated both papilla types. We examined the anatomy of the three genetic populations, finding that the Pvalb+ neurons …

Preparing Confident Elementary Mathematics Teachers: Addressing Anxiety, Building Fluency, And Strengthening Practice., Amber Diamond Pendleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, presented in three articles, examines how elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) experience and develop as mathematics learners and future educators when methods coursework deliberately integrates mathematical reasoning with affective supports. Collectively, the studies investigate how research-informed instructional design may help address mathematics anxiety (MA), mathematics teaching anxiety (MTA), procedural fluency, and instructional practice. The first article, written for practitioners and elementary mathematics teachers, illustrates how well-established instructional routines, such as number talks and student work analysis, can be facilitated to support procedural fluency in multiplication. Using classroom vignettes, this article highlights instructional moves that make structure visible, promote strategy …

Characterizing Hexavalent Chromium Neurotoxicity Across Laboratory Models., Samuel Thomas Vielee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and potent toxicant. Exposure to Cr(VI) in drinking water is primarily associated with cancers, inflammation, and hepatotoxicity; however, recent studies have identified Cr(VI) as a neurotoxicant in rodent and cell culture models. The literature suggest chromium accumulates in the brain, induces widespread neurodegeneration, and alters rodent behaviors. Despite these data, we lack a detailed and consistent assessments of Cr(VI) neurotoxicity across models, and interactions between aging and Cr(VI) neurotoxicity are not reported in the literature. In this dissertation, we characterize Cr(VI) neurotoxicity across 3 laboratory models: Sprague-Dawley rats, Caenorhabditis elegans, and …

Exposure To Pm2.5 And Aging., Daniel Chris Gomes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inhalation of fine airborne particulate matter (PM_2.5) is an environmental risk factor for numerous health disorders, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). While several studies have shown that PM_2.5 exposure can induce oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammation, the underlying mechanisms that translate these effects into systemic pathology remain poorly understood. Some recent studies have shown that PM_2.5 exposure can lead to telomere shortening in leukocytes, but the generality of this outcome and contribution to endothelial dysfunction has not yet been fully explored. We hypothesized that PM_2.5inhalation accelerates cellular aging and senescence in both circulating peripheral …

Residential Segregation And Breast Cancer In Louisville: Impact Of Race And Contextual Factors On Advanced-Stage Diagnosis, Delayed Treatment, And Disease-Specific Mortality., Toheeb Ajani Mustapha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Female breast cancer (BC) remains the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. Despite advances in detection and treatment, substantial inequities in BC outcomes persist, driven in part by structural forces such as residential segregation. This dissertation examined the relationship between residential segregation, BC outcomes, and key contextual factors in Louisville, Kentucky. Using data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry, American Community Survey, CDC’s Population-Level Analyses and Community Estimates, and the National Neighborhood Data Archive, the study tested two hypotheses: (1) higher Black/low-income segregation is associated with elevated risks of adverse BC …

A Multilevel Analysis To Evaluate Variability In Sdoh Clusters Within Rurality And Its Effects On Cancer-Specific And All-Cause Mortality In The Us., Stephie Ann Abraham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social determinants of health (SDOH) factors have consistently been shown to impact all-cause and cancer-specific mortality. Area-level SDOH factors that coexist to form “high-risk” clusters are more prevalent in rural than urban areas. However, heterogeneity within rural and urban areas may contribute to variations in SDOH factors that could influence higher mortality rates and is not considered in other studies. The primary objective of this study was to utilize ecological and individual-level data to determine if the composition of SDOH clusters within counties in the rural-urban continuum contributes to differences in all-cause (AC) and cancer-specific mortality rates of lung and …

Perceived Organizational Support Of High-Performance Support Staff Members In Professional Soccer Organizations., Erica B. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore perceived organizational support among high-performance support staff (HPSS) within professional soccer organizations. Specifically, this study examined how HPSS define organizational support, identified factors that shape their perceptions, explored organizational challenges they experience, and analyzed how those challenges intersect with their perceptions of support. Organizational Support Theory (OST) and its central construct, Perceived Organizational Support (POS), served as the theoretical framework guiding this study. OST assumes employees form global beliefs about the extent to which their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being. To address the study’s purpose, a basic interpretive …

Orientation Or Disorientation? A Critical Content Analysis Of Refugee Cultural Orientation Curriculum., Amanda Jean Lacey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cultural Orientation (CO) is a free, legally mandated, multi-session program intended to provide refugee newcomers ages 18-65 with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to integrate and achieve self-sufficiency in the United States. Despite occurring at a critical time in the resettlement process, there has been almost zero scholarship analyzing the content or efficacy of domestic CO curriculum. This dissertation addresses that gap by performing a Critical Content Analysis (CCA) on The Road Ahead (TRA), the de facto official CO curriculum promoted through the Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange (CORE). Framed by a postcolonial perspective and informed by the …

A Comparision Of Teachers' Ratings Of Published Versus Ai-Generated Descriptions Of Evidence Based Practices In Education., Lora T. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The persistent gap between educational research and classroom practice continues to limit teachers’ use of evidence-based practices (EBPs), despite strong empirical support and federal mandates encouraging their implementation. A key barrier to closing this research-to-practice gap is the limited accessibility, usability, and perceived relevance of traditional research dissemination formats. With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools capable of summarizing and restructuring complex information, this study examined whether AI-generated practitioner-oriented descriptions of an EBP would be rated differently from a published practitioner article on the same practice. Using an experimental cross-sectional survey design, 70 in-service teachers were randomly assigned …

An Exploration Of Factors Associated With Sport Fan's' Choice Of Ticketing Platforms., Jacob Owsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined key experiential and demographic factors associated with sport consumers’ choice of online ticketing platforms. The research applied the technology acceptance model (TAM) to examine how trust, official sponsorship, user interface design, and price consciousness are associated with consumers’ choice between different online ticketing platforms.. Data were collected from 312 adult sport consumers in the United States through an online survey distributed across six Reddit communities focused on ticketing or research activities. Participants included individuals who bought tickets to professional sports events and attended these events during the last 12 months. The expert review process and two …

Integrating Due Process Into Large Language Models., Joshua Paul Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the ability of large language models (LLMs) to recognize due process issues. Due process is a legal concept focused on the protection of the individual during interactions with government when life, liberty, or property are being impacted. Due process presents both substantive and procedural aspects that are challenging to incorporate into generative artificial intelligence. Through assessing model performance, creating benchmarking techniques, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and fine-tuning, this work seeks to measure due process recognition performance and improve performance in identifying due process issues. The results of evaluating larger parameter LLMs such as from Google, Meta, and OpenAI …

Understanding Social And Cognitive Influences In Medical Students' Learning Processes For Step 1: An Interpretivist Case Study., Ashley Elaine Triplett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative interpretivist case study explores, at a singular institution, medical students’ perspectives on the social and cognitive factors influencing the learning process as students prepare for the Step 1 examination. While prior research regarding medical students Step 1 preparation have focused primarily on wellness, stress, and career outcomes, limited studies have examined medical students' lived experiences to navigate what occurs during the learning process while they prepare for this critical exam. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, this dissertation draws on fourteen student interviews, seven that passed Step 1 on their first attempt, and seven that failed. Findings reveal …

The Important Of Female Coaches: What Barriers They Face, Why They Stay, And What Can Be Done To Attract More., Hayley E. Yourous

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After the passage of Title IX, there has been an increase in the number of females participating in sports; however, the same cannot translate to women in coaching or leadership positions (Acosta & Carpenter, 2014; Hart et al., 1986; LaVoi & Baeth, 2018). The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of females who had served as head coaches in the high school setting with at least eight years of experience as a head coach. The NCAA (2022) reported in 2020 that female coaches accounted for 41.3% of female teams' head coaches, both intercollegiate and …

What Will It Take To Keep You? A Phenomenological Investigation Of Teacher Career Decisions In Title I Elementary Schools., Tonya Nicole Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the factors influencing teachers’ decisions to remain in or leave Title I elementary schools in Kentucky. Grounded in Herzberg’s Motivation–Hygiene Theory, the study examined the interplay of intrinsic motivators and extrinsic conditions that shape teacher satisfaction, commitment, and attrition. Twelve current Title I teachers participated in semi-structured interviews designed to capture their lived experiences and perceptions of work in high poverty contexts. Analysis revealed a balance of pull factors—such as purpose, relationships, and supportive leadership—and push factors—including workload, resource limitations, and inadequate administrative support. Leadership quality emerged as the central variable mediating these forces. Teachers …

Building Bridges: An Appreciative Inquiry Approach To The Development Of Professional Learning To Enhance Teacher–Student Relationships For Students With Emotional Behavioral Disorders., Renee Renz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Positive teacher-student relationships are essential to student success yet are often difficult to create and maintain with students identified with Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Students with EBD frequently struggle with emotional regulation and disruptive behaviors, making relationships and trust both essential and challenging. This study addressed the need for professional learning that equipped educators with strategies to build and maintain positive relationships with students with EBD in secondary school settings. Guided by a participatory action research design, this study used Appreciative Inquiry as a framework for engaging expert secondary teachers from Kentucky in co-constructing professional learning. Appreciative Inquiry focused on …

The Autonomic And Arrhythmogenic Effects Of Gestational E-Cigarette Exposure., Brittany Rachelle Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. E-cigarettes (e-cigs) have been shown to be pro-arrhythmic in both human and male rodent studies; however, little is known about how e-cig use impacts patients with a predisposed heightened risk for arrhythmias, including pregnant women. Both pregnancy and e-cig use have independently been shown to increase heart rate, diminish heart rate variability, and increase ventricular premature beats, which is suspected to be due to sympathetic dominance. Importantly, β-blockers have been shown to reduce sympathetic activity, reduce heart rate, increase HRV, and reduce arrhythmias. Thus, the use of β-blockers may help prevent adverse health effects driven by sympathetic dominance from …

Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes: From Discovery To Clinical Application., Lewis Clayton Chew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the evolution of TIL therapy from its discovery to clinical application, focusing on its use in treating metastatic cancer. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT), particularly TIL therapy, has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional treatments like chemotherapy. This review article traces the historical development of TILs, highlighting key experiments and clinical trials that have shaped its understanding and application as a therapeutic strategy for patients with metastatic and difficult to treat cancers including melanoma. Importantly, this article highlights recent advancements, including the FDA approval of Lifileucel, and explores emerging strategies to enhance therapeutic efficacy of TILs through …

Be Yourself: Life History Of Gay K-12 Educators In Kentucky And Their Lived Experiences., Kevin L. Garner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative life history study explored the lived experiences of gay male educators navigating authenticity, visibility, and advocacy in K–12 schools across Kentucky. Using Queer Theory as the primary framework, complemented by Queer Pedagogy, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and Minority Stress Theory, the research examines how social, institutional, and political contexts shape the professional lives and identity expression of gay men working in educational settings. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten participants, each sharing life narratives that illuminated the intersection between personal authenticity and professional identity within politically and religiously conservative environments. Through reductive analysis and thematic …

Source Code: A Trade-Related Barrier To The Right To Repair, Anthony D. Rosborough

Reports & Public Policy Documents

In recent years, conflicts between software access restrictions and Right to Repair (R2R) legislation have become a growing concern for policymakers and repair advocates around the world. Consumers have come to increasingly depend on electronic devices that integrate sophisticated hardware and embedded software. When those devices break or require maintenance, owners often lack the software or software-based tools required to fix them. In some cases where replacement parts and information may be readily available, device software and software-integrated tools present a barrier to independent repair. In response, legislators in both the United States and the European Union have been enacting …

Isolated Dc-Dc Converter For An Ev Microgrid, Oscar Yu, William Leiker

Electrical Engineering

This product is a redesign of a DC-DC buck-boost converter which utilizes a new topology, the flyback converter, for use in an electric vehicle (EV) as a microgrid. The main driver behind the redesign is to provide electrical isolation between elements in the microgrid. The EV microgrid consists of the battery, motor, external DC and AC ports, and the power electronics (DC-DC converter and AC-DC inverter) which were designed and built in previous senior projects. Using EV’s as microgrids can help relieve stress from the main power grid caused by charging electric vehicles. Implementing EV’s as a microgrid enables the …

Articulator Volume 31, Issue 4

Metro Denver Dental Society Articulator Magazine

The 4^th Quarter 2025 of the MDDS Articulator Magazine offers a preview of the 2026 Rocky Mountain Dental Convention, taking place January 22–24 in Denver. The collection spotlights RMDC speakers and the future of dentistry, from the rise of AI and the shift toward integrated whole-health care to the hidden challenges of chronic illness, and a commitment to preserving natural dentition. The articles challenge dental professionals to rethink assumptions, embrace interdisciplinary collaboration and adopt more personalized and evidence-driven approaches to care.

Hkc03 - Leading A Horse To Water: Understanding The Potential Consequences Of Ordeals In Subsidized Tariff Pricing, Evan Plous Kresch, Carlota Loran Lopez

Oberlin College Kasper Economics and Business Working Paper Series

Water utilities attempting to balance widespread network access with financial stability in providing services often employ Increasing Block Tariffs (IBTs), where volumetric rates increase nonlinearly with water consumed. The widespread adoption of IBTs by utilities across the world is partly attributed to their ability to cross-subsidize smaller monthly users; however, this often leads to the undesirable outcome that large poor households are shifted into higher tariff blocks. To address this, water utilities often adopt a“social tariff”, with significantly lower rates specifically targeted at poor households. However, most of these social tariff policies require households to opt-in or apply to the …

The Impact Of Supply Chain Structure Diversification On High-Quality Development: A Moderating Perspective Of Digital Supply Chains, Fei Song, Mark Wu, Ruizhi Liu

Business Faculty Publications

This study examines how supply chain structure diversification drives high-quality enterprise development in the digital economy. Using panel data from Chinese listed non-financial firms (2009–2023), we find that diversification of both suppliers and customers significantly improves firms’ total factor productivity (TFP), and the results remain robust after controlling for endogeneity. Mechanism analyses show that diversification enhances innovation capability, sustainability performance, and risk resilience, while digital supply chains strengthen these effects by improving information flow and coordination. Heterogeneity tests reveal that the impact is greater for firms with higher operational efficiency, cultural synergy, and information transparency. Overall, the findings highlight that …

The Icj’S Advisory Opinion On Climate Change, Maria Antonia Tigre, Maxim Bönnemann, Antoine De Spiegeleir

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This open-access edited volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the International Court of Justice’s 2025 Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change, one of the most consequential developments in international climate law since the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Bringing together leading scholars and practitioners from across public international law, human rights law, environmental law, and global governance, the book examines how the Court reframed climate change as a matter of binding legal obligation rather than political discretion.

The contributions explore the Opinion’s articulation of state duties under treaties, customary international law, and general …

Separation-Of-Powers Lochnerism, Andrea Scoseria Katz

Fordham Law Review

One hundred and twenty years ago, in 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered one of the single most notorious opinions in history, striking down a New York labor law for violating the right to contract—a right found nowhere in the text of the Constitution. Though the era of Lochner v. New York is well past us, the judicial impulses that gave rise to the case remain. With a new champion in the Roberts Court, Lochnerism is alive and well, deployed in a new context to redefine the relationships between the president, Congress, federal agencies, and the courts.

Bringing together two …

Equality In Sentencing Mitigation, John B. Meixner Jr.

Fordham Law Review

As guilty-plea rates have skyrocketed, sentencing has become an increasingly important part of criminal procedure. With judges often wielding significant discretion at sentencing, a key question is how judges interpret mitigation: evidence about the defendant’s background or the case that supports a reduced sentence. Past empirical research—both experimental and in real-world cases—indicates that mitigation plays an important role in determining sentences. But does mitigation help everyone, or does it reinforce inequalities that frequently infect other areas of criminal procedure? Do low-income Black defendants with appointed counsel benefit from sentencing mitigation as much as wealthier White defendants with private attorneys? Do …

The Equal Pay Act’S Hidden Loophole: Eliminating Prior Compensation As A “Factor Other Than Sex”, Madeleine Bol

Fordham Law Review

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA or the “Act”) prohibits employers from engaging in sex-based wage discrimination. The Act includes four exceptions that allow an employer to circumvent liability, the last of which allows for pay disparities when the “differential [is] based on any other factor other than sex.” The language of this exceedingly broad exception raises questions among courts on what “other than sex” entails—specifically, whether a court can rely on an employee’s prior compensation to justify a pay disparity between employees of the opposite sex. This Note examines how federal circuit courts have interpreted this catchall exception. …

An Arendtian Politics Of Life, Kamryn M. Carter

Senior Theses

As defined in The History of Sexuality (1978), Michel Foucault’s concept of biopolitics focused on a specifically modern phenomenon in which biological processes are used to regulate populations. This concept has been influential in modern analyses of the state such as that of Giorgio Agamben, who sought to both correct and complete biopolitics with his concept of homo sacer as part of his analysis of the concentration camp. This thesis brings the theory of biopolitics into conversation with Hannah Arendt’s politics of life. It seeks to determine the degree to which biopolitics — as seen in the work of Michel …

Book Review: O’Connor, P. (2024) A ‘Proper’ Woman? One Woman’S Story Of Success And Failure In Academia. Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York: Peter Lang., Lisa Moran

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

This short article presents a review of Professor Pat O’Connor’s recent book, A ‘Proper’ Woman? One Woman’s Story of Success and Failure in Academia (Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York: Peter Lang.