Digital Commons Network^™

The Benefits And Challenges Of Conducting Individual Video-Based Telehealth Psychotherapy With Adults: A Systematic Review, Michael Scarlata

Theses and Dissertations

Objective. A systematic review was conducted to provide clinicians, patients, professional organizations, and researchers with an understanding of the benefits and challenges of conducting psychotherapy via telehealth. Furthermore, this review examined the implications of these benefits and challenges to provide recommendations for practice. Methods. Data was collected from three electronic databases, including quantitative peer-reviewed, English-language articles published between 2018 and 2023, studying adult participants engaging in synchronous psychotherapy. A narrative synthesis was used to integrate the data. Results. Findings from 35 studies included 91.4% demonstrating benefits and 22.9% challenges. Key benefits included clinical effectiveness, a strong therapeutic alliance, and high …

An Examination Of Emerging Technologies In Supply Chain Management And Their Impacts On Efficiency In The Automotive Industry, Wafaa A. Barakat

Theses and Dissertations

The automotive supply chain sector is facing immense transformation, particularly with the emerging digital technologies in supply chain management. This paper examines the emerging technologies in supply chain management and their impacts on efficiency in the automotive industry. This research strives to examine the underlying aspects of the automotive supply chain integration in United States companies. For the study, there is the application of the exploratory study. The reason is that there is no vivid perspective of the characteristics and the scope. The study design used is a qualitative analysis of 10 automotive personnel from different multipliers of the automotive …

The Black Experiences Of Education In The Southern United States Of America: Retracing The Geographical Impacts Of Family, History, And Society On Academic Achievement, Chanel L. Fort

Theses and Dissertations

In today's global digital knowledge economy, we need learners to achieve academically toward the expectations of the future of work. Therefore, academic achievement is critical. Yet, academic achievement disparities exist globally. In the United States of America, the Black-White academic achievement gap has persisted since the beginnings of the achievement movement in 1970. The widening gaps of interest for this study focused on the U.S. Black-White achievement differences in the Southern U.S. states. The study analysis was quantitative and used t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression as the statistical analysis techniques, analyzing the parent, family, community, and regional relationships with Grade …

Heat Shields And Friendship Bracelets: Features That Enable Effective Employee Resource Groups, Kevin Sakamoto

Theses and Dissertations

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a potentially powerful means of addressing inequalities and improving working conditions for underrepresented groups in organizations. However, little attention has been given to the motivation of employees who voluntarily donate their time in support of their ERG. The fact that membership in ERGs often coincides with a social identity group (e.g., Asian American) adds a dimension not associated with other non-formal groups (e.g., softball team) within an organization, and may increase the potential for ERGs to achieve valued outcomes. Drawing from academic literature on Social Identity Theory (SIT), employee voice, and activism, this qualitative study …

Parental Engagement In Distance Education: A Phenomenological Study Of Middle School Parents’ Perspectives During Unanticipated School Closures Due To Covid-19, Williams Alberto Olmedo

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic, a significant disruptor of traditional educational environments, has led to a notable shift in parental involvement in children’s education, particularly in middle schools. This study, therefore, delves into the dynamics of parental engagement during remote learning, focusing on the challenges parents faced and the strategies they employed to support their children's academic needs. The research questions aimed to understand how parents adapted their involvement in their children’s education during the pandemic, and the study also scrutinized successful communication strategies between parents and schools.

Data was collected through interviews with 11 middle school participants to understand how parents …

Faculty Support And Resource Seeking, A Collective Experience Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective, Amber Victoria Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to capture collective faculty experiences of adapting to teaching entirely or partially online during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The literature suggests that emergency remote teaching (ERT) was only a temporary stopgap for higher education institutions and faculty to move instruction online early in the pandemic (Hodges et al., 2021). Before the initial move to being entirely online in March 2020, higher education institutions had already lagged compared to other industries in providing digitally driven, outcomes-focused business models (Gallagher & Palmer, 2020). Therefore, it is no surprise that higher education leadership, faculty, and staff faced …

A Narrative Discourse On Large Global Corporations And Modern Slavery In Complex Supply Chains, Bonnie Nixon

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation asks to what extent, if at all, large global corporations are addressing modern slavery in their complex supply chains. Many companies publicly report that they are addressing human rights topics such as modern slavery in their complex supply chains using traceability, transparency and accountability frameworks and tools, public communications, stakeholder dialogue, auditing, etc. The researcher explored narratives in academic, governmental, corporate, and non-governmental organization reports, media publications, websites, and videos to determine whether the corporations are addressing modern slavery in complex supply chains. Using systematic review methods and tools, the researcher also analyzed medical and engineering profession ethical …

From Virtual Gaming To Virtual Teams: Best Practices For Leading Diverse Virtual Teams In A Global Organization, Tianshi Hao

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates virtual leadership within video game environments and its transferability to real-world virtual team management. Employing quantitative ethnography and epistemic network analysis, the study explores the leadership behaviors observed in MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) and OFPS (Online First Person Shooting) game genres, drawing parallels with global virtual team management in corporate settings. The findings reveal that Squad-Based Game Leaders (SGLs) and Organizational-based Game Leaders (OGLs) employ a mix of authoritarian and democratic leadership styles to navigate both the tactical and strategic demands of their teams. SGLs focus on tactical decisions utilizing real-time data and player feedback …

The Impact Of Online Course Enrollment Of First-Year Student Engagement And Campus Life, Ruth Y. Lopez

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the impact online classes have on first-year student engagement and campus life at the University of North Florida. By using Alexander Astin’s theory of student involvement, this study examines the pattern of student engagement over time for first-year students enrolled in four quartiles of online classes. The study will focus on the level of engagement around (1) the utilization of five selected on-campus facilities and (2) student participation in six selected on-campus signature events and activities. The study also explores the meaningful ways these four student groups enrolled in online classes …

Gender Equity: The Perception Of Career Advancement In Higher Education, Whitney K. Washington

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women have made many strides in many industries, yet a gendered leadership gap still exists. On many college and university campuses, women are the top degree earners, but they are not represented in executive leadership roles in higher education. The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine university staff perception of career advancement by investigating how independent variables—demographics, challenges and barriers, diversity management, career planning, work-life balance, and pay—are related to the dependent variable—careeradvancement. The study explores the perception of career advancement as a factor that may explain the gendered leadership gap. This study answers the following research questions: …

Rhetorical (Re)Inscription Practices Among Black Intercollegiate Football Participants In The Era Of Name, Image And Likeness, Mikayla Beaudrie

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When intercollegiate athletic participants were permitted the right to profit off of their name, image and likeness (NIL), the landscape of college sports was fundamentally changed. This qualitative explanatory case study investigated one consequence of that change: the discourse of amateurism. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has historically identified participants in the athletic programs it oversees with the word “student-athlete.” In the years since the word was first introduced, its meaning has generally been static. In short, the linguistic sign “student-athlete” has been signified in and by the discourse to reflect the amateur status of collegiate sport participants, emphasizing …

A New Perspective On Teacher Attrition And Retention: What Can Be Learned From Teachers That Continue In The Profession, The Stayers?, Haley M. Vogel

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological research study focuses on closing the divide between ongoing teacher shortages created by labor market cycles and teacher attrition with retention practices that keep qualified teachers in K-12 public schools. The literature review of this study identified a gap in research related to teacher shortages. Significant research exists around why teachers leave the profession, however, research related to why teachers stay is limited. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand the lived experiences (Moustakas, 1994, van Manen, 2023, Creswell & Poth, 2018) of K-12 secondary public-school teachers continued decision to remain in the profession. The …

The Perceptions Of Black Women In Principalships On Navigating And Negotiating The Racial Contexts Of Their Equity-Focused Leadership: A Q Methodology Study, Easter M. Brown

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One consequence of the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruling regarding desegregation of American public schools has been the destabilization of Black educators’ legacy of school leadership (Tillman, 2004). The effects of these failures continues to be problematic in US public education. Students of color account for over half of all P-12 enrollments, in contrast to the disproportionate lack of diversity among its teaching and leadership rosters (Frankenberg, et al., 2019; NCES, 2018, 2022). The stagnant rate at which American schools have diversified principal leadership since Brown v. Board (1954) begs the question of how equipped schools are to …

Exploring Parental Engagement In A Family Stem Program Leveraging Social Media Spaces, Valentina Bongiovanni

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Family Take-home STEM Toolkit Program offers families the opportunity to engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning by utilizing the informal environments of the home and program-dedicated social media groups. This initiative provides a frame for this research, as parental engagement in the context of this early childhood program is explored through the lens of the Ecologies of Parental Engagement (EPE). This theoretical model understands engagement as the mediation of space and capital (Barton et al., 2004) and guides this study to further explore parental perceptions concerning the social media space activated with the STEM Toolkit Program. …

Investigation Of Autosegmentation Techniques On T2-Weighted Mri For Off-Line Dose Reconstruction In Mr-Linac Workflow For Head And Neck Cancers, Brigid A Mcdonald, Carlos E Cardenas, Nicolette O'Connell, Sara Ahmed, Mohamed A Naser, Jiaofeng Xu, Raed J Zuhour, Shane Mesko, Alexander Augustyn, Samantha M Buszek, Stephen Grant, Bhavana V Chapman, Alexander F Bagley, Renjie He, Abdallah S R Mohamed, John Christodouleas, Kristy K Brock, Clifton D Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: In order to accurately accumulate delivered dose for head and neck cancer patients treated with the Adapt to Position workflow on the 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-linear accelerator (MR-linac), the low-resolution T2-weighted MRIs used for daily setup must be segmented to enable reconstruction of the delivered dose at each fraction.

Purpose: In this pilot study, we evaluate various autosegmentation methods for head and neck organs at risk (OARs) on on-board setup MRIs from the MR-linac for off-line reconstruction of delivered dose.

Methods: Seven OARs (parotid glands, submandibular glands, mandible, spinal cord, and brainstem) were contoured on 43 images by …

Protein-Centric Omics Analysis Reveals Circulating Complements Linked To Non-Viral Liver Diseases As Potential Therapeutic Targets, Yingzhou Shi, Hang Dong, Shiwei Sun, Xiaoqin Wu, Jiansong Fang, Junming Han, Huixiao Wu, Luna Liu, Wanhong Wu, Yang Tian, Guandou Yuan, Xiude Fan, Chao Xu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the causal correlation between complement components and non-viral liver diseases and their potential use as druggable targets.

METHODS: We conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess the causal role of circulating complements in the risk of non-viral liver diseases. A complement-centric protein interaction network was constructed to explore biological functions and identify potential therapeutic options.

RESULTS: In the MR analysis, genetically predicted levels of complement C1q C chain (C1QC) were positively associated with the risk of autoimmune hepatitis (odds ratio 1.125, 95% confidence interval 1.018-1.244), while complement factor H-related protein 5 (CFHR5) was positively associated with the risk …

Clic1-Mediated Autophagy Confers Resistance To Ddp In Gastric Cancer, Zhen-Liang Nong, Kun Zhao, Ye Wang, Zhu Yu, Cong-Jun Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gastric cancer has been a constant concern to researchers as one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. The treatment options for gastric cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with advanced gastric cancer. Cisplatin (DDP) has been approved as a critical chemotherapy drug to treat various kinds of solid tumors. Although DDP is an effective chemotherapeutic agent, many patients develop drug resistance during treatment, which has become a severe problem in clinical chemotherapy. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of DDP resistance in gastric cancer. The results show that intracellular …

First Evidence Of Microplastic Inhalation Among Free-Ranging Small Cetaceans, Miranda K Dziobak, Andreas Fahlman, Randall S Wells, Ryan Takeshita, Cynthia Smith, John Weinstein

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Plastic is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant, resulting in widespread exposure across terrestrial and marine spaces. In the environment, plastics can degrade into microparticles where exposure has been documented in a variety of fauna at all trophic levels. Human epidemiological studies have found relationships between inhaled microplastics and oxidative stress and inflammation. Previous studies of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have reported prevalent exposure to plasticizing chemicals (e.g., phthalates) as well as particle loads in gastrointestinal tracts, but exposure from inhalation has not yet been studied. The objective of this study was to determine if inhalation is a viable route of microplastic …

Combination Chemotherapy Optimization With Discrete Dosing, Temitayo Ajayi, Seyedmohammadhossein Hosseinian, Andrew J Schaefer, Clifton D Fuller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chemotherapy drug administration is a complex problem that often requires expensive clinical trials to evaluate potential regimens; one way to alleviate this burden and better inform future trials is to build reliable models for drug administration. This paper presents a mixed-integer program for combination chemotherapy (utilization of multiple drugs) optimization that incorporates various important operational constraints and, besides dose and concentration limits, controls treatment toxicity based on its effect on the count of white blood cells. To address the uncertainty of tumor heterogeneity, we also propose chance constraints that guarantee reaching an operable tumor size with a high probability in …

Spatial Multiplexing And Omics, Julienne L Carstens, Santhoshi N Krishnan, Arvind Rao, Anna G Sorace, Erin H Seeley, Jared K Burks

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Much like solving a game of Clue, understanding physiological mysteries involves answering who, what, when, and where. Multi-omics approaches delve into cellular and molecular identities (the who and what), while longitudinal data collection addresses the when. Spatial dimensions address the where. This Primer discusses current technologies enabling quantification across biological scales, emphasizing the importance of retaining the spatial dimension of that data. We outline experimental design considerations, including targeted versus untargeted approaches, sample types, biological scale, and four main classes of molecule detection. Spatial analytics are explored, covering questioning approaches, analytical platforms, image segmentation and sampling. Example applications, reproducibility considerations, …

Usp22 Overexpression Fails To Augment Tumor Formation In Mmtv-Erbb2 Mice But Loss Of Function Impacts Mmtv Promoter Activity, Xianghong Kuang, Andrew Salinger, Fernando Benavides, William J Muller, Sharon Y R Dent

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Ubiquitin Specific Peptidase 22 (USP22), a component of the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 Acetyltransferase (SAGA) histone modifying complex, is overexpressed in multiple human cancers, but how USP22 impacts tumorigenesis is not clear. We reported previously that Usp22 loss in mice impacts execution of several signaling pathways driven by growth factor receptors such as erythroblastic oncogene B b2 (ERBB2). To determine whether changes in USP22 expression affects ERBB2-driven tumorigenesis, we introduced conditional overexpression or deletion alleles of Usp22 into mice bearing the Mouse mammary tumor virus-Neu-Ires-Cre (MMTV-NIC) transgene, which drives both rat ERBB2/NEU expression and Cre recombinase activity from the MMTV promoter resulting …

Facilitating Clinical Information Extraction With Synthetic Data And Ontology Using Large Language Models, Yan Hu, Huan He, Qingyu Chen, Xiaoqian Jiang, Kirk Roberts

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The rapid growth of unstructured clinical text in electronic health records necessitates robust information extraction systems, yet their development is hindered by the scarcity of high-quality annotated data. This study explores the potential of large language models to generate synthetic data for clinical named entity recognition and examines its impact on model performance. We propose a novel framework that integrates self-verified synthetic data generation with domain-specific semantic mapping using SNOMED-CT. By leveraging GPT-4o-mini for synthetic data creation and refining its quality through iterative verification and anomaly detection, we systematically evaluate the influence of synthetic data quality and quantity on fine-tuning …

Usp22 Overexpression Fails To Augment Tumor Formation In Mmtv-Erbb2 Mice But Loss Of Function Impacts Mmtv Promoter Activity, Xianghong Kuang, Andrew Salinger, Fernando Benavides, William J Muller, Sharon Y R Dent

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Ubiquitin Specific Peptidase 22 (USP22), a component of the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 Acetyltransferase (SAGA) histone modifying complex, is overexpressed in multiple human cancers, but how USP22 impacts tumorigenesis is not clear. We reported previously that Usp22 loss in mice impacts execution of several signaling pathways driven by growth factor receptors such as erythroblastic oncogene B b2 (ERBB2). To determine whether changes in USP22 expression affects ERBB2-driven tumorigenesis, we introduced conditional overexpression or deletion alleles of Usp22 into mice bearing the Mouse mammary tumor virus-Neu-Ires-Cre (MMTV-NIC) transgene, which drives both rat ERBB2/NEU expression and Cre recombinase activity from the MMTV promoter resulting …

Aging-Related Biomarker Discovery In The Era Of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors For Cancer Patients, Abdullah Al-Danakh, Mohammed Safi, Yuli Jian, Linlin Yang, Xinqing Zhu, Kangkang Yang, Jianjun Zhang, Deyong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Older patients with cancer, particularly those over 75 years of age, often experience poorer clinical outcomes compared to younger patients. This can be attributed to age-related comorbidities, weakened immune function, and reduced tolerance to treatment-related adverse effects. In the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) era, age has emerged as an influential factor impacting the discovery of predictive biomarkers for ICI treatment. These age-linked changes in the immune system can influence the composition and functionality of tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) that play a crucial role in the cancer response. Older patients may have lower levels of TIICs infiltration due to age-related immune …

Single-Cell Rna Sequencing Analysis Identifies Acute Changes In The Tumor Microenvironment Induced By Interferon Α Gene Therapy In A Murine Bladder Cancer Model, Alexis R Steinmetz, Morgan Pierce, Alberto Martini, Come Tholomier, Ganiraju Manyam, Akshay Sood, Burles A Johnson, Bogdan A Czerniak, Byron H Lee, Chinnaswamy Jagannath, Seppo Yla-Herttuala, Nigel R Parker, David J Mcconkey, Colin P Dinney, Sharada Mokkapati

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Nadofaragene firadenovec (Ad-IFNα/Syn3) is now approved for BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer (BLCA). IFNα is a pleiotropic cytokine that causes direct tumor cell killing via TRAIL-mediated apoptosis, angiogenesis inhibition, and activation of the innate and adaptive immune system. We established an immunocompetent murine BLCA model to study the effects of murine adenoviral IFNα (muAd-Ifnα) gene therapy on cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment using a novel murine equivalent of Nadofaragene firadenovec (muAd-Ifnα).

Methods: Tumors were induced by instilling MB49 cells into the bladders of mice; luciferase imaging confirmed tumor development. Mice were treated with adenovirus control (Ad-Ctrl; empty vector), or muAd-Ifnα …

Mouse Models Of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia And Richter Transformation: What We Have Learnt And What We Are Missing, Maria Teresa Sabrina Bertilaccio, Shih-Shih Chen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although the chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treatment landscape has changed dramatically, unmet clinical needs are emerging, as CLL in many patients does not respond, becomes resistant to treatment, relapses during treatment, or transforms into Richter. In the majority of cases, transformation evolves the original leukemia clone into a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Richter transformation (RT) represents a dreadful clinical challenge with limited therapeutic opportunities and scarce preclinical tools. CLL cells are well known to highly depend on survival signals provided by the tumor microenvironment (TME). These signals enhance the frequency of immunosuppressive cells with protumor function, including regulatory CD4

Her4 And Egfr Activate Cell Signaling In Nrg1 Fusion-Driven Cancers: Implications For Her2-Her3-Specific Versus Pan-Her Targeting Strategies, Hibiki Udagawa, Monique B Nilsson, Jacqulyne P Robichaux, Junqin He, Alissa Poteete, Simon Heeke, Yuji Shibata, Shingo Matsumoto, Kiyotaka Yoh, Shogo Okazaki, Takashi Masuko, Igor Odintsov, Romel Somwar, Marc Ladanyi, Koichi Goto, John V Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: NRG1 gene fusions are clinically actionable alterations identified in NSCLC and other tumors. Previous studies have reported that NRG1 fusions signal through HER2 and HER3 but, thus far, strategies targeting HER3 specifically or HER2-HER3 signaling have exhibited modest activity in patients with NSCLC bearing NRG1 fusions. Although NRG1 fusion proteins can bind HER4 in addition to HER3, the contribution of HER4 and other HER family members in NRG1 fusion-positive cancers is not fully understood.

Methods: We investigated the role of HER4 and EGFR-HER3 signaling in NRG1 fusion-positive cancers using Ba/F3 models engineered to express various HER family members in …

Sustained Pain And Macrophage Infiltration In A Mouse Muscle Contusion Model, Ibdanelo Cortez, Caitlyn M Gaffney, Caitlin V Crelli, Eric Lee, James M Nichols, Syed Mehdi, Andrew J Shepherd

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction/aims: Prior studies have emphasized the role of inflammation in the response to injury and muscle regeneration, but little emphasis has been placed on characterizing the relationship between innate inflammation, pain, and functional impairment. The aim of our study was to determine the contribution of innate immunity to prolonged pain following muscle contusion.

Methods: We developed a closed-impact mouse model of muscle contusion and a macrophage-targeted near-infrared fluorescent nanoemulsion. Closed-impact contusions were delivered to the lower left limb. Pain sensitivity, gait dysfunction, and inflammation were assessed in the days and weeks post-contusion. Macrophage accumulation was imaged in vivo by injecting …

Emerging Therapeutic Options For Follicular-Derived Thyroid Cancer In The Era Of Immunotherapy, Naimah Turner, Sarah Hamidi, Rim Ouni, Rene Rico, Ying C Henderson, Sayan Alekseev, Mark E Zafereo, Stephen Y Lai, Sang T Kim, Maria E Cabanillas, Roza Nurieva

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although most follicular-derived thyroid cancers are well differentiated and have an overall excellent prognosis following treatment with surgery and radioiodine, management of advanced thyroid cancers, including iodine refractory disease and poorly differentiated/undifferentiated subtypes, is more challenging. Over the past decade, better understanding of the genetic drivers and immune milieu of advanced thyroid cancers has led to significant progress in the management of these patients. Numerous targeted kinase inhibitors are now approved by the U.S Food and Drug administration (FDA) for the treatment of advanced, radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) as well as anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC). Immunotherapy has also …

Phospholipid Metabolic Adaptation Promotes Survival Of Idh2 Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells, Tatsuya Morishima, Koichi Takahashi, Desmond Wai Loon Chin, Yuxin Wang, Kenji Tokunaga, Masao Matsuoka, Hitoshi Takizawa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Genetic mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene that result in a pathological enzymatic activity to produce oncometabolite have been detected in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. While specific inhibitors that target mutant IDH enzymes and normalize intracellular oncometabolite level have been developed, refractoriness and resistance has been reported. Since acquisition of pathological enzymatic activity is accompanied by the abrogation of the crucial WT IDH enzymatic activity in IDH mutant cells, aberrant metabolism in IDH mutant cells can potentially persist even after the normalization of intracellular oncometabolite level. Comparisons of isogenic AML cell lines with and without IDH2 gene mutations …