Digital Commons Network^™

From The Classroom To The Computer, Tina S. Herzberg, Laura M. Hooks

Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina

This article investigates the increased use of technology to provide distance education within the School of Education at the University of South Carolina (USC) Upstate. Interestingly, graduate education programs have been receptive to distance learning and now offer various courses each semester via distance education. This has allowed the university to provide flexibility and attracted graduate students throughout the Upstate region. Currently, there is a need for faculty in undergraduate programs at USC Upstate to explore if and how methodology courses could be developed as distance education courses while maintaining academic integrity.

Analysis Of Traditional Wisdom For Ecological Sustainability In Tanzania: A Case Study Of Metaphorical Source Domains In Pangwa Ritual Texts, Winne Stephen Mtega, Angelus Mnenuka

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Campaigns for ecological sustainability have gained a great currency in the contemporary academic discourse. Nonetheless, from time immemorial, Africans have pushed the ecological sustainability agenda through cultural taboos and regulated resource harvesting. Many African societies have embedded ecological consciousness in daily life expressions, and have intricately expressed it through literary and ritual texts. This study focuses on ecological awareness in the ritual texts of the Pangwa community. It analyses how environmental domains—such as land, seeds, and fruits—serve as the basis for metaphors in the Pangwa community to prove the use of wisdom to promote and sustain ecological practices (ecocriticism). The …

Ecosystem-Based Flood Disaster Risk Reduction In The Little Ruaha River Basin, In The Southern Highlands Of Tanzania, Mawazo Ghambi, Tiemo Romward Haule

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Ecosystem-based approach that integrates floods and environmental risk management is believed to reduce flood disaster risk while providing socio-economic and environmental benefits to floodplain occupants. This study examined the socio-economic and environmental benefits of the ecosystem-based approach in managing flood disaster risk in the Little Ruaha River Basin in the southern highlands of Tanzania. The study involved 157 participants and employed the mixed research design to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, direct field observation and Focus Group Discussions were used to collect primary data, whereas documentary review was used to collect secondary data. Findings revealed that …

Enhancing Staff Knowledge And Confidence In Depression Screening Using The Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Melkamzer Chari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Depression is a serious public health concern affecting over 280 million people globally and leading to significant morbidity and mortality if left undetected and untreated. At the local organization, leadership identified inconsistent depression screening as a practice problem among nursing staff. Thus, the purpose of this doctor in nursing practice (DNP) project was to determine if an educational intervention focused on depression, the importance of depression screening, and the use of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) increased knowledge and confidence among nursing staff working in a local organization. Fifteen participants volunteered to participate in the project. The average age was …

Larvicidal Activity Of Β-Asarone And Acorus Calamus Linn. (Sweet Flag) Extract Against Aedes Aegypti (Dipotera: Culicidae): Enzyme Inhibition, Midgut Histopathology, And In Silico Analysis, Rizal Subahar, Surya Dwira

Indonesian Journal of Medical Chemistry and Bioinformatics

Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae), the primary vector of dengue, poses a significant public health threat in tropical and subtropical regions. Botanical insecticides and phytochemicals such as β- asarone, derived from essential oils,offer a promising alternative to synthetic larvicides. The rhizome of Acorus calamus L. (sweet flag), traditionally known for its neuroprotective and antioxidant properties, contains β-asarone as its principal bioactive constituent.This study evaluated the larvicidal efficacy of β-asarone and A. calamus rhizome extract against Ae. aegypti larvae, focusing on detoxification enzyme inhibition, midgut histopathology, and in silico molecular interactions.Third- and fourth-instar larvae were exposed to β-asarone and crude extract at …

Ionic Liquid Pilocarpine Serves As Therapeutic Cosolvent And Permeation Enhancer For Glaucoma Medication, Ashish Trital, Lei Xu, Burhan Ates, Tzu Chen Wang, Vimalin Mani, Hu Yang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The efficacy of hydrophobic ocular drugs is significantly hindered by their low bioavailability, for which poor water solubility is a major contributing factor. In this work, we synthesized pilocarpine-derived ionic liquid [Pilo-OEG] Cl (PO) and evaluated its cosolvent properties for the codelivery of the hydrophobic antiglaucoma drug brimonidine (BM) for glaucoma therapy. Pilocarpine was quaternized with 2-[2-(2-chloroethoxy) ethoxy] ethanol in a one-pot reaction to yield PO, and its structure was confirmed using ¹H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy methods and further characterized for its rheological property and thermal stability. The HET-CAM assay and cell viability study showed that PO was …

Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman Disease Misdiagnosed As Granulomatous Dermatitis: A Diagnostic Pitfall, Sri Naidnur, Jamie Hedrick, Smaran Marupudi, Kara Asbury, Kelly Maedo, Bryan Gammon, Rick Lin

School of Medicine Publications

Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman disease (CRDD) is an uncommon non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis that may occur without systemic involvement and lacks specific clinical features. We report a 17-year-old female with a slowly enlarging chest lesion initially diagnosed as granulomatous dermatitis on a 4-mm punch biopsy. The lesion was treated as an inflammatory process without improvement. Complete excision revealed a multinodular dermal and subcutaneous infiltrate of large histiocytes demonstrating emperipolesis, confirming CRDD. Systemic evaluation was negative. The initial limited biopsy did not capture defining features, delaying diagnosis.

Persistent nodular lesions that fail to respond to therapy should prompt reconsideration and more representative tissue sampling. …

Sanctified Consumption, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The answer to 'how much is enough?' is inevitably 'more.' We never get off the hedonic treadmill."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­a responsible attitude toward material possessions from In All Things, an online hub that offers insight into maintaining and faithful and orthodox  Reformed Christian worldview while fearlessly engaging in every aspect of contemporary life – until all is made new.

Sanctified Consumption

The Sortee Guidelines For Data And Code Quality Control In Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, Joel L. Pick, Bethany J. Allen, Benedicte Bachelot, Kevin R. Bairos-Novak, Jack A. Brand, Barbara Class, Tad Dallas, Pietro B. D'Amelio, Erola Fenollosa, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Dylan G. Gomes, Matthew J. Grainger, Thomas Guillemaud, John Christian, Ruby Krasnow, Malgorzata Lagisz, Sebastian Lequime, Daniel S. Maynard, Shinichi Nakagawa, Rose E. O'Dea, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

Open data and code are crucial to increasing transparency and reproducibility, and in building trust in scientific research. However, despite an increasing number of journals in ecology and evolutionary biology mandating for data and code to be archived alongside published articles, the amount and quality of archived data and code, and subsequent reproducibility of results, has remained worryingly low. As a result, a handful of journals have recruited dedicated data editors, whose role is to help authors increase the overall quality of archived data and code. There is, however, a general lack of consensus around what a data editor should …

An Ensembled Two-Phase Deep Learning Approach For A Psychiatric Disorder Detection, Prajna Paramita Debata, Midhun Chakkaravarthy, Brojo Kishore Mishra

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Computational Psychiatry represents a burgeoning realm within scientific inquiry, delving into the intricate interplay of neurobiology within the brain. The escalating prevalence of mental illness underscores the urgency to confront this challenge. Among the prevalent disorders, Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder loom large, affecting a significant portion of the population at some point in their lives. However, pinpointing psychiatric disorders poses a formidable challenge. Genetic predispositions significantly influence the development of mental illnesses, with intriguing overlaps observed among certain disorders. This convergence complicates accurate diagnosis. Here, a deep learning approach is considered for significant gene biomarker identification and classification of Schizophrenia …

Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo Cuvier) Jaw, Nicholas D. Burchett, Jade Mells, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

No abstract provided.

Blue Shark (Prionace Glauca) Jaw, Nicholas D. Burchett, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

No abstract provided.

Gadolinium Nanoparticles: Emerging Platforms Beyond Imaging For Drug Delivery And Theranostics, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Rajesh Vadlapatla, Ajoy Koomer, Heyam Zayed, Paris Marabut, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Gadolinium nanoparticles (GdNPs) have gained increasing attention as multifunctional metal-based nanoplatforms that extend far beyond their traditional use as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Their specific magnetic properties, tunable physicochemical features, and tunable biocompatibilities with biocompatible coatings give them great potential as drug delivery and theranostic applications. They offer greater stability, lower systemic toxicity, and more surface modification options compared to molecular gadolinium chelates. The functionalized GdNPs not only show excellent properties as drug carriers for their specific indications but also serve as agents in various imaging modalities with superior therapeutic efficacy by means of radio sensitization and magnetically …

Destabilization Or Clarification: The Potential Impact Of Chiles V. Salazar On Nifla And Other First Amendment Jurisprudence, Zhihan Xu

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

In 2019, the Colorado General Assembly passed the Minor Conversion Therapy Law (MCTL), a statute which prohibits mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy for minors. Three years later, Kaley Chiles, a licensed professional counselor and addiction counselor, filed a pre-enforcement challenge and sought a preliminary injunction, alleging that the MCTL improperly abridges her First Amendment right to free speech. Colorado challenged her claim, arguing that the MCTL merely regulates professional conduct and only incidentally (and permissibly) burdens speech. Chiles v. Salazar will decide whether the MCTL is a speech restriction or professional regulation, and, if it is a …

Gastrointestinal Symptoms After Sport-Related Concussion In Irish Athletes, Emma Finnegan, Ed Daly, Katherine Hunzinger, Lisa Ryan

Department of Exercise Science Faculty Papers

Background/Objectives: Sport-related concussion (SRC) elicits multi-systemic symptoms, including nausea, fatigue, and cognitive changes. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are not well captured in current concussion assessments and may be under-recognised in clinical follow-up. GI disturbances may influence intake tolerance and day-to-day fuelling during post-SRC recovery. This study investigated the prevalence and severity of self-reported GI symptoms in Irish athletes after their most recent SRC, examined sex-based patterns, and evaluated the rationale for integrating GI symptom checks into standard concussion tools (e.g., SCAT6) and post-injury monitoring. Methods: An online survey was completed by recreational, competitive, and elite athletes who retrospectively self-reported concussion history, …

The Mediterranean Diet As A Protective Factor Against Tobacco-Induced Lung Cancer: Insights From The Italian Population, Morgan V. Roundy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and the third among women in Italy, representing a major public health concern. This ecological, cross-sectional study examined and analyzed regional patterns of smoking prevalence, Mediterranean diet adherence, and age-adjusted lung cancer incidence across Italy, stratified by sex, using publicly available regional and macro-regional data and accounting for age structure and air quality. Smoking prevalence and lung cancer incidence were higher among males than females nationwide, although regional lung cancer patterns did not consistently mirror smoking prevalence, particularly among females. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low across …

Breaking Into Hiv-1'S Epigenetic Vault: Cure Strategies To Eliminate The Viral Reservoir, Joanna Jones, Chelsea Gunderson, Brian Wigdahl, Michael Nonnemacher

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a retrovirus that integrates into the host cell's DNA as a provirus. Transcription from the provirus is regulated in large part by cellular proteins and epigenetic factors. These may be repressive or permissive to productive infection. The host factors that regulate this balance are therefore attractive targets for HIV-1 therapeutics. Indeed, proviral chromatin is the focus of two of the current HIV-1 cure strategies. "Shock and Kill" uses latency reversal agents to open the provirus's chromatin, promoting high levels of gene expression that induce the killing of infected cells. "Block and Lock" uses …

Doc 2026-13 Proposal For Pre-Licensure Bachelor Of Science In Nursing (Bsn-Nurs), University Of Dayton. School Of Education And Health Sciences

Senate Documents

The University of Dayton  Nursing Program prepares students to practice as Baccalaureate generalist  nurses through a rigorous and transformative liberal arts and sciences curriculum  in concert with nursing courses that are in alignment with the American  Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials. Upon completion,  students earn a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN), are eligible to take the  NCLEX (RN licensure exam), and are prepared to transition to practice as a  licensed registered nurse.

Characterization Of Hyperoxia-Induced Lung Injury In Adult Female Rats, Abraham G. Taye

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening lung disease that results from direct or indirect insults to the lung, leading to air-blood barrier damage, pulmonary edema, hypoxemia, and multi-organ failure. Hyperoxia, or exposure to high fractions of oxygen, is used as a life-saving therapy to improve blood oxygenation in patients with ARDS. However, it can also worsen lung injury by inducing excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), primarily from mitochondria, and by contributing to the progression of ARDS. Rat exposure to hyperoxia is a well-established animal model of clinical ARDS that replicates key clinical features. Clinical and preclinical …

Structural Insights Into Host-Pathogen Interactions Of Coronaviruses And Alphaviruses, Lucas Adams

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The co-evolution of virus and host may partly be understood in terms of “cross-recognition”; that is, as a virus evolves to recognize and infiltrate a suitable cellular environment, the host reciprocally has evolved to recognize and thwart such an invasion. While this interplay is complex, audacious structural biologists may reduce it to discrete physical interactions between the virus and specific host factors, such as cognate receptors (i.e., viral recognition of host) or antibodies (i.e., host recognition of virus). These interactions underlie basic features of viral infection, including cellular tropism and antiviral immunity, as well as critical phenomena of viral evolution, …

Quality Of Prenatal Care, Provider Preference, And Preeclampsia Among African American Women In Georgia, Lyteasha Bass

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women experience disproportionately high rates of preeclampsia in the United States; however, the contributions of prenatal care provider type, health care access, and quality of care to this disparity were insufficiently defined. Guided by the quality health outcomes model, this quantitative case-control study used primary data to examine associations between these factors and the occurrence of preeclampsia among African American women age 18–40 who had given birth within the previous 5 years in Georgia. Descriptive statistics and binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. Prenatal care quality was measured using the Quality of Prenatal Care Questionnaire (QPCQ), …

Emotional And Psychological Well-Being In Early Postmenopausal Women: A Phenomenological Study, Marjorie F. Leon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how early postmenopausal women experience and navigate emotional and psychological well-being during the postmenopausal transition. Although menopause has been widely examined as a biological process, women’s lived emotional and psychosocial experiences during the early postmenopausal period remain underexplored in psychological research. Conceptually informed by Engel’s biopsychosocial model, this study examined how biological, psychological, and social factors intersect in shaping resilience, identity, and coping during this transitional life stage. Thirteen women within 5 years of menopause onset participated in semi structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase reflexive …

Glycative Stress Disrupts The Mitochondrial-Lysosome Axis And Promotes Geroconversion In Aging Cardiomyocytes, Diana Bou-Teen, Simonas Valiuska, Elisabet Miro-Casas, Chiara Rubeo, Elena Bonzon-Kulichenko, Zuzana Nichtova, Celia Fernandez-Sanz, Javier Inserte, Antonio Rodriguez-Sinovas, Begoña Benito, Eduard Ródenas-Alesina, Jesús Vázquez, Ignacio Ferreira-González, Marisol Ruiz-Meana

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Aging is a major risk factor for heart failure, yet the molecular mechanisms linking cardiac aging to the inflammatory pathophysiology of heart failure remain elusive. Mitochondrial dysfunction and defective organelle quality control are emerging hallmarks of the aging heart, but their biochemical underpinnings are poorly defined. Using comprehensive glycomics, we found that cardiac mitochondria from physiologically aged mice (≥ 20 months) are the major intracellular reservoirs of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), derived primarily from the chemical attack of some α-oxoaldehydes on proteins. This was associated with mild mitochondrial dysfunction and structural remodeling. Lysosomes in aged hearts were enlarged, more …

Draft Intermediate (60%) Remedial Design Report Blacktail Creek Riparian Actions Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit Of The Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site Silver Bow County, Montana, Hydrogeologic, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

School-Based Human Service Professionals’ Perceptions Of The Relationships Between Black Families And Southern Schools, Vanessa Faye Barnhill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The experiences that Black parents had in school have been found to influence how they view and interact with schools and the challenges and barriers related to their child’s education attainment. It is important to understand school-based human service professionals’ perceptions about the relationship that Black families have with Southern schools and suggestions these professionals have about promoting better communication and understanding with Black families. The purpose of this qualitative generic study was to examine school human service professionals’ perceptions about the relationship that Black families have with schools and to gather suggestions about how they could promote communication and …

Uncovering Hidden Prognostic Patterns In Colorectal Cancer Histology Using Unsupervised Learning: A Computational Pathology Study, Wen-Tong Zhou, Yong Liu, Gang Yu, Kuan-Song Wang, Chao Xu, Jonathan Greenbaum, Chong Wu, Lin-Dong Jiang, Christopher J Papasian, Hong-Mei Xiao, Hong-Wen Deng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer mortality globally, yet current histopathological diagnostics capture only limited features. This study aimed to discover subtle, prognostically significant histomorphological patterns in CRC tissues using unsupervised deep learning. We developed a framework integrating convolutional neural networks with deep clustering, trained on 23,341 image patches from 493 patients. We identified 30 distinct histomorphological clusters from CRC tissue images. Through univariate and multivariate survival analyses, three clusters (Cluster13, Cluster19, and Cluster24) were consistently associated with patient prognosis. These clusters were integrated with clinical factors (T stage, N stage, and differentiation degree) to construct a …

Telemedicine As A Gateway To Early-Phase Oncology Trials: Lessons From 14,000 Patients And Future Directions For Global Access And Equity, Carlos Torrado, Clark R Andersen, Lei Kang, Amanda L Brink, Taiwo Adesoye, Hung Le, Clover J Patterson, Anna Poullard, Jessica A Osburn, Harold N Tan, Mohamed A Gouda, Sheena Charles, Gabriele E Urschel, Tin-Yun Tang, David S Hong, Stephane Champiat, Aung Naing, Apostolia M Tsimberidou, Ecaterina E Dumbrava, Sarina A Piha-Paul, Jordi Rodon, Timothy A Yap, Paula R Pohlmann, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Siqing Fu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Telemedicine expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its role in early-phase oncology trials remains uncertain. We evaluated its impact on recruitment, enrollment, equity, and access in a large phase I program.

Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients seen for first consultation in the MD Anderson Phase I Program (2016-2023). Recruitment (consent) and enrollment (treatment initiation) were compared by visit type, race/ethnicity, and geography across pre-pandemic (2016-2019), pandemic (2020-March 11, 2023), and post-public health emergency (PHE; March-December 2023) periods. A chart review of 400 patients validated findings.

Results: Of 14,085 patients, 7,247 were evaluated post-pandemic, with 36% (n …

Using 2d Lidar To Investigate Swash-Level Gravel Barrier Dynamics, Robert Jones, Nieves Valiente, Chris Blenkinsopp, Mark Davidson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Pan-Cancer Evolution Signatures Link Clonal Expansion To Dynamic Changes In The Tumor Immune Microenvironment, Xinyu Yang, Wei Liu, Geoff Macintyre, Peter Van Loo, Florian Markowetz, Peter Bailey, Ke Yuan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cancer is an evolutionary process characterized by profound intratumor heterogeneity (ITH), which can be quantified using in silico estimates of cancer cell fractions (CCFs) of tumor-specific somatic mutations. We demonstrate a data-driven approach based on CCF distributions to identify 4 robust pan-cancer evolutionary signatures from 4,146 tumors across 17 cancer types in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). These signatures define a continuum of cancer cell fractions reflecting neutral evolution, clonal expansion, and clonal fixation. Correlating evolutionary signatures with mutational and biological programs reveals that tumors enriched for clonal expansion and fixation are associated with immune evasion and distinct changes in …

Unraveling Metabolic Determinants Of Isoniazid Susceptibility In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Erin Rilu Wang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) causes the disease tuberculosis (TB) and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide by an infectious agent. Furthermore, the emergence and evolution of drug resistance has significantly hindered global health efforts to combat this deadly epidemic. Thus, there is a critical need for development of new antibiotics with unique mechanisms of action and design of novel strategies for optimizing the efficacy of existing therapeutic regimens. It is estimated that 10.7% of new infected and 27.2% of previously treated TB cases are resistant to the frontline antibiotic isoniazid (INH), a central component of TB chemotherapeutic regimens. …