Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing Multimorbidity Prevalence And Adverse Outcomes In Ethnically And Culturally Diverse Sub-Populations In India: Gaps, Opportunities, And Future Directions, Preeti P. Zanwar, Robyn Taylor, Tanisha G. Hill-Jarrett, Elena Tsoy, Jason D. Flatt, Zunera Mirza, Carl V. Hill, Arokiasamy Perianayagam

Pacific Faculty Work

India is a large middle-income country and has surpassed China in overall population, comprising 20% of the global population (over 1.43 billion people). India is experiencing a major demographic shift in its aging population. Chronic diseases are common among older adults and can be persistent over the life course, lead to the onset of disability, and be costly. Among older adults in India, the existence of multiple comorbid chronic conditions (i.e., multimorbidity) is rapidly growing and represents a burgeoning public health burden. Prior research identified greater rates of multimorbidity (e.g., overweight/obesity diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and malignancies) in minority …

Does The Transcultural Problem Really Matter? An Integrated Approach To Analyze Barriers To Ehealth Smes’ Development, Guoqing Zhao, Jana Suklan, Shaofeng Liu, Carmen Lopez, Lise Hunter

Plymouth Business School

Purpose In a competitive environment, eHealth small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) barriers to survival differ from those of large enterprises. Empirical research on barriers to eHealth SMEs in less prosperous areas has been largely neglected. This study fills this gap by employing an integrated approach to analyze barriers to the development of eHealth SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data through semi-structured interviews and conducted thematic analysis to identify 16 barriers, which were used as inputs into total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) to build interrelationships among them and identify key barriers. …

Black Male Counselors’ Experiences Navigating Client-Initiated Microaggressions In Cross-Cultural Therapeutic Dyads, Crystal Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black male counselors working in the United States often face a unique set of challenges as the history of racism, discrimination, and prejudice that has plagued the United States also occurs in therapeutic spaces. Recent research has brought awareness to the existence of client-initiated microaggressions in therapy, but training on how to adequately address those microaggressions is lacking. Black male counselors have reported issues with knowing how to protect their own needs and maintaining a positive therapeutic relationship with their clients while addressing these microaggressions as they are required to hold space for their clients despite any emotional distress or …

The Experience Of Correctional Officers Who Have Witnessed Inmate Suicide, Amanda Michelle Burrell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Correctional officers are tasked with supervising individuals in custody. Their duties are plentiful and include responding to critical incidents, such as inmate suicide. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experience of correctional officers in the United States who have witnessed inmate suicide. Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping was used to guide this study. Participants included eight correctional officers within the United States who have witnessed inmate suicide. These participants were selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Virtual, semi-structured, audio recorded interviews were conducted with participants. Data were analyzed using Braun and …

Metabolomic Profiles In Jamaican Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jan Bressler, Manouchehr Hessabi, Amirali Tahanan, Megan L Grove, Tanja Gangnus, Vasanta Putluri, Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, Nagireddy Putluri, Katherine A Loveland, Mohammad H Rahbar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with a wide range of behavioral and cognitive impairments. While genetic and environmental factors are known to contribute to its etiology, the underlying metabolic perturbations associated with ASD which can potentially connect genetic and environmental factors, remain poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a metabolomic case-control study and performed a comprehensive analysis to identify significant alterations in metabolite profiles between children with ASD and typically developing (TD) controls.

Objective: To elucidate potential metabolomic signatures associated with ASD in children and identify specific metabolites that may serve as biomarkers for the disorder. …

Urban-Rural Differences In School Districts' Local Wellness Policies And Policy Implementation Environments, Rebecca A Seguin-Fowler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Higher rates of obesity in rural compared to urban districts suggest environmental differences that affect student health. This study examined urban-rural differences in districts' local wellness policies (LWPs) and LWP implementation environments. Cross-sectional data from two assessments in Texas were analyzed. In assessment one, each district's LWP was reviewed to see if 16 goals were included. In assessment two, an audit was conducted to identify the presence of a wellness plan (a document with recommendations for implementing LWPs), triennial LWP assessment, and school health advisory councils (SHACs) on the district website. Rural districts' LWPs had a smaller number of total …

Dissolved Nickel Speciation At The Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study (Bats) Site, Caitlyn E. Parente

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Here I present the first depth profiles of dissolved nickel (DNi) speciation over an annual cycle at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site in the North Atlantic. Seawater samples were collected in March, May, August, and November 2019 and analyzed for labile DNi using competitive ligand exchange-adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE-AdCSV). Labile DNi was measured by CLE-AdCSV as the fraction of DNi that exchanges with an added competitive ligand in an overnight equilibration. Results revealed two distinct fractions of DNi present throughout the water column: a labile fraction, and a strongly organically complexed (i.e., non-labile) fraction. More than 50% …

Reimagining Rural Readiness: Examining The Challenges Of The Rural Working-Class In Education, Todd Dugan

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT Rural students comprise nearly half of all students enrolled in public schools in the nation. With increasing amounts of students living in poverty, rural school districts are combatting many issues but with less resources than urban and suburban school districts. In addition, new Federal and state regulations continue to be enacted, sometimes to the detriment of students from rural working-class backgrounds. The research design consisted of a collection of memories from the author, who grew up in a rural working-class family and spent a career teaching and leading schools from this demographic, in an autoethnographic journal narrative format. To …

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support And Psychological Well-Being: Perspectives Of Turkish Faculty Members, Ünal Deniz, Cihan Kocabaş

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: The purpose of our quantitative correlational study is to investigate the relationship between the perceived organizational support of faculty members and their psychological well-being.

Methods: Our study included 450 faculty members from state universities in Istanbul who were selected using a simple random sampling method. We used descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and linear multiple regression analyses.

Results: We found that faculty perceptions of organizational support and psychological well-being vary according to academic title and tenure and are not different by gender. Perceived organizational support significantly predicted psychological well-being while controlling for gender, academic title, and tenure.

Conclusions: Ensuring …

Investigating The Impact Of Food Tourism Vlogger Entrepreneurs' Language Characteristics On Audiences' Attitude And Behaviours, Wei Hutchinson, Elmira Djafarova, Shaofeng Liu, Mahmoud Abdelrahman

Plymouth Business School

Purpose: Despite entrepreneurial linguistic style gaining increased attention in entrepreneurship studies, the field for digital vlogger entrepreneurs still lacks a comprehensive understanding of how linguistic patterns enhance audiences attitude and behaviour. This study aims to propose a conceptual model of “language-mental imagery-attitude-behaviour model” that leads to the examination of rich sensory language style of food travel vlogger entrepreneurs and its persuasive effect on audiences' attitude and behavioural intention. Design/methodology/approach: The present study utilises a stimulus-based survey method that involves a sensory-rich vlog script extracted from a high social media engagement authentic vlog. Data are collected through an online questionnaire distributed …

Do Focused Interests Support Word Learning? A Study With Autistic And Nonautistic Children, Sudha Arunachalam, Amelia Steele, Taisha Pelletier, Rhiannon Luyster

Emerson Authors, Researchers, & Creators

Although focused interests are often associated with a diagnosis of autism, they are common in nonautistic individuals as well. Previous studies have explored how these interests impact cognitive, social, and language development. While some research has suggested that strong interests can detract from learning (particularly for autistic children), newer research has indicated that they can be advantageous. In this pre-registered study, we asked whether focused interests support word learning in 44 autistic children and a vocabulary-matched sample of 44 nonautistic children (mean ages 58 and 34 months respectively). In a word-learning task administered over Zoom, children were exposed to an …

Public Health Insurance: An Approach To Mitigate The Burden Of Diabetes In Low Resource Settings, Jideuma I. Egwim, Namgyal Kyulo, Hadi Danawi, Aaron B. Mendelsohn

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a significant public health concern globally as well as in Owerri, Nigeria. The deleterious effects of diabetes have been linked to poor glycemic control. According to the International Diabetes Federation, poor glycemic control is reflected in glycosylated hemoglobin levels greater than 7.0%, which are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Studies have shown a dramatic rise in diabetic complications in Nigeria, particularly in Owerri. However, evidence is lacking on specific risk factors associated with poor glycemic control among diabetes mellitus patients in Owerri. There is a gap in the literature regarding the association between health insurance …

Chronic Abdominal Discomfort Syndrome (Cads): Defining And Discussing A Novel Diagnosis, Mayank Gupta, Anand S. Patil, Ahish Chitneni, Michael E. Schatman, Hemant Kalia, Timothy R. Deer, Dawood Sayed, Amol Soin, Ganesan Baranidharan, Peter Staats, Leonardo Kapural, Phani Ashok Attaluri, Paul Verrills, Sudhir Diwan, Danielle Levin, Nimisha Halder, Alaa A. Abd-Elsayed

Student Publications

In this article, we propose a new diagnostic paradigm known as Chronic Abdominal Discomfort Syndrome (CADS). Patient’s presentation centers around chronic abdominal pain not explained by acute pathology with or without accompanying dyspepsia, bloating, nausea and vomiting among other symptoms. The pathophysiology is noted to be neurogenic, possibly stemming from visceral sympathetic nerves or abdominal wall afferent nerves. Diagnosis is supported by signs or symptoms traversing clinical, diagnostic and functional criteria. Included is a tool which can assist clinicians in diagnosing patients with CADS per those domains. We hope to facilitate primary care physicians’ and gastroenterologists’ utilization of our criteria …

Characterizing Multimorbidity Prevalence And Adverse Outcomes In Ethnically And Culturally Diverse Sub-Populations In India: Gaps, Opportunities, And Future Directions, Preeti Zanwar, Robyn Taylor, Tanisha Hill-Jarrett, Elena Tsoy, Jason Flatt, Zunera Mirza, Carl Hill, Arokiasamy Perianayagam

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

India is a large middle-income country and has surpassed China in overall population, comprising 20% of the global population (over 1.43 billion people). India is experiencing a major demographic shift in its aging population. Chronic diseases are common among older adults and can be persistent over the life course, lead to the onset of disability, and be costly. Among older adults in India, the existence of multiple comorbid chronic conditions (i.e., multimorbidity) is rapidly growing and represents a burgeoning public health burden. Prior research identified greater rates of multimorbidity (e.g., overweight/obesity diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and malignancies) in minority …

Understanding Unique Employability Skill Sets Of Autistic Individuals: A Systematic Review, Amy Jane Griffiths, Rachel Torres, Raquel Delgado, Amy E. Hurley-Hanson, Cristina M. Giannantonio, Wallace Walrod, Zachary Maupin, John Brady

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In recent years, several publications and media outlets have highlighted how the skills and interests of autistic individuals may benefit organizations. However, there is scant empirical research on the topic. The present study's authors conducted a systematic review to find which potential employability skills, strengths, and interests of autistic individuals available research has highlighted. Data extraction methods identified 51 papers related to skills in this population. The skill sets autistic individuals may possess and the research behind these findings were organized, evaluated, and summarized. Based on these findings, investigators discuss implications for employment counseling and future research.

Ape-Gen20: Expanding Rapid Class I Peptide-Major Histocompatibility Complex Modeling To Post-Translational Modifications And Noncanonical Peptide Geometries, Romanos Fasoulis, Mauricio M Rigo, Gregory Lizée, Dinler A Antunes, Lydia E Kavraki

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The recognition of peptides bound to class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) receptors by T-cell receptors (TCRs) is a determinant of triggering the adaptive immune response. While the exact molecular features that drive the TCR recognition are still unknown, studies have suggested that the geometry of the joint peptide–MHC (pMHC) structure plays an important role. As such, there is a definite need for methods and tools that accurately predict the structure of the peptide bound to the MHC-I receptor. In the past few years, many pMHC structural modeling tools have emerged that provide high-quality modeled structures in the general case. …

Nanofibrous Multidomain Peptide Hydrogels Provide T Cells A 3d, Cytocompatible Environment For Cell Expansion And Antigen-Specific Killing, Viridiana Leyva-Aranda, Shailbala Singh, Maria J Telesforo, Simon Young, Cassian Yee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

T cells have the ability to recognize and kill specific target cells, giving therapies based on their potential for treating infection, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. However, the advancement of T cell-based treatments has been hindered by difficulties in their ex vivo activation and expansion, the number of cells required for sustained in vivo levels, and preferential localization following systemic delivery. Biomaterials may help to overcome many of these challenges by providing a combined means of proliferation, antigen presentation, and cell localization upon delivery. In this work, we studied self-assembling Multidomain Peptides (MDPs) as scaffolds for T cell culture, activation, …

Toward Generalizable Machine Learning Models In Speech, Language, And Hearing Sciences: Estimating Sample Size And Reducing Overfitting, Hamzeh Ghasemzadeh, Robert E Hillman, Daryush D Mehta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Many studies using machine learning (ML) in speech, language, and hearing sciences rely upon cross-validations with single data splitting. This study's first purpose is to provide quantitative evidence that would incentivize researchers to instead use the more robust data splitting method of nested

METHOD: First, the significant impact of different cross-validations on ML outcomes was demonstrated using real-world clinical data. Then, Monte Carlo simulations were used to quantify the interactions among the employed cross-validation method, the discriminative power of features, the dimensionality of the feature space, the dimensionality of the model, and the sample size. Four different cross-validation methods …

Dyspnea (Breathlessness) In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neuron Disease: Prevalence, Progression, Severity, And Correlates, Carolyn A. Young, Amina Chaouch, Christopher J. Mcdermott, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Suresh K. Chhetri, Kevin Talbot, Timothy Harrower, Richard W. Orrell, Joe Annadale, Oliver C. Hanemann, Antonio Scalfari, Alan Tennant, Roger Mills

Peninsula Medical School

Objective: Dyspnea, or breathlessness, is an important symptom in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease (ALS/MND). We examined the measurement properties of the Dyspnea-12. Methods: Rasch analysis enabled conversion of raw Dyspnea-12 scores to interval level metric equivalents. Converted data were used to perform trajectory modeling; those following different trajectories were compared for demographic, clinical, symptom, and functioning characteristics. Logistic regression examined differences between distinct trajectories. Results: In 1022 people, at baseline, mean metric Dyspnea-12 was 7.6 (SD 9.3). 49.8% had dyspnea, severe in 12.6%. Trajectory analysis over 28 months revealed three breathlessness trajectories: group 1 reported none at baseline/follow-up (42.7%); …

High Response Rate With Extended Dosing Of Cemiplimab In Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Samantha Bowyer, Victoria Casado Echarren, Brian Stein, Marie Beylot-Barry, Sophie Dalac, Brigitte Dréno, Michael R Migden, Axel Hauschild, Chrysalyne D Schmults, Annette M Lim, Suk-Young Yoo, Anne J Paccaly, Apostolos Papachristos, Jenny-Hoa Nguyen, Emmanuel Okoye, Frank Seebach, Jocelyn Booth, Israel Lowy, Matthew G Fury, Alexander Guminski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Cemiplimab (Libtayo

METHODS: In this open-label, phase II trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02760498), the cohort of patients ≥18 years old with advanced CSCC received cemiplimab 600 mg intravenously Q4W for up to 48 weeks. Tumor measurements were recorded every 8 weeks. The primary endpoint was objective response rate by independent central review.

RESULTS: Sixty-three patients with advanced CSCC were treated with cemiplimab. The median duration of follow-up was 22.4 months (range: 1.0-39.8). An objective response was observed in 39 patients (62%; 95% CI: 48.8% to 73.9%), with 22% of patients (n

CONCLUSIONS: Extended dosing of cemiplimab 600 mg intravenously Q4W …

Methodological Advances In Patient-Centered Rare Disease Research: The Uthealth Houston Turner Syndrome Society Of The United States Research Registry

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Many different clinical specialists provide care to patients with Turner syndrome (TS), who have highly variable clinical manifestations. Therefore, a national TS registry is essential to inform a cohesive approach to healthcare and research. In 2015, the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States (TSSUS) created the Turner Syndrome Research Registry (TSRR) to engage directly with community participants who voluntarily provide longitudinal data about their experiences with TS. TSRR projects are collaborative partnerships between people with TS, TSSUS, and researchers.

RESULTS: To ensure that registry workflows conform to the data privacy choices of participants, TSSUS collaborated with UTHealth Houston …

Metabolomic Profiles In Jamaican Children With And Without Autism Spectrum Disorder, Manouchehr Hessabi, Vasanta Putluri, Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, Nagireddy Putluri, Katherine A Loveland, Mohammad H Rahbar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition with a wide range of behavioral and cognitive impairments. While genetic and environmental factors are known to contribute to its etiology, the underlying metabolic perturbations associated with ASD which can potentially connect genetic and environmental factors, remain poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a metabolomic case-control study and performed a comprehensive analysis to identify significant alterations in metabolite profiles between children with ASD and typically developing (TD) controls.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate potential metabolomic signatures associated with ASD in children and identify specific metabolites that may serve as biomarkers for the disorder. …

Tolkien And The Relation Between Sub-Creation And Reality (2023), Edited By Guiseppe Pezzini And Eden O'Brien, John Wm. Houghton

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by John Wm. Houghton, of Tolkien and the Relation between Sub-Creation and Reality (2023), edited by Guiseppe Pezzini and Eden O'Brien

The Differences Between Traditional Terrorism And Contemporary Terrorism And Its Implications For Global Security, Shimaa Samir Muhammad Hussein

The World Research of Political Science Journal

The phenomenon of international terrorism has developed with the development of humanity and the development of means of communications and armament technology. To produce new generations of terrorist organizations that differ in terms of structure, goals, and tactics from the first generations, and with the development of the generations of terrorist organizations, their repercussions have also developed on the various levels, whether on the political, economic, or social levels, and not only on the security and military levels. research question is : What are the differences between traditional terrorism and contemporary terrorism, and what are the repercussions of contemporary terrorism …

Revisiting The Role Of Superpower Leverage In Resolving Secessionist Wars: The Case Of Sudan, Khalid Ahmed

The World Research of Political Science Journal

As a greater number of sub-national groups demand secession, as is the case in the Horn of Africa, conflict mediation theories are without concrete principles with which to respond. Paradoxically, while mediation theories argue that peace is best guaranteed by superpower leverage, as it ensures the commitment of belligerents to signing and implementing peace agreements; separatist groups actively enlist the support of superpowers in their quest for secession. This article critically analyses superpower mediation and how it affects the negotiations, and the resolution, of secessionist wars. Two shortcomings are explored: First, secessionist wars are not accorded appropriate consideration in the …

The Dialectic Between The Use Of Force And The Law In International Relations: Managing The Crisis Of Activating The Mechanisms Of International Humanitarian Law In The Arab- Israeli Conflict Studying The Gaza War 2023, Hader Hassan Hassan Dawoud

The World Research of Political Science Journal

This research seeks to study the impact of the rules of the use of force in international relations in accordance with the rules of international law on the idea of collective security under the policies of competition and permanent international balances of power in the Security Council and the effectiveness of their application between the theoretical text and practical reality, applied to the study of the state of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the effectiveness of international rules in managing the war crisis in Gaza 2023, in order to provide an analysis of the texts of the rules of international law …

The Psychology Of Crimes Of Terrorism, Mohamed Ezzat Mostafa Sallam

The World Research of Political Science Journal

Recently, countering the crimes related to terrorism has grown to be of great concern in several countries. The combat of terrorism is a strategic goal in order to maintain national security, especially with reference to the economic, social, and political ramifications encountered whilst doing so. Such criminal behavior may extend beyond the borders of one country, targeting the human right to safely live anywhere. Based on the fact that every human behavior has its motives and ends, the criminal behavior behind the crimes related to terrorism has its motives and ends as well. This highlights the significance of the study …

Civil And Criminal Liability Of The Coroner, Mohamed Abdelhamed Gaflan

The World Research of Political Science Journal

From studying the topic of civil and criminal liability of the coroner, it becomes clear that this liability may be for medical errors as a result of the coroner’s exercise of his work. The work of a forensic doctor is different from that of a specialist human doctor. The rules of liability established for a doctor’s error are unified and do not differentiate between one specialty and another within the medical specialties, despite the apparent discrepancy between the work of each of them and their limitation to default liability.

International Humanitarian Law And Some Obstacles To Application, Nafea Aly

The World Research of Political Science Journal

This research paper deals with the topic of international humanitarian law and some of the obstacles to its application in wars and armed conflicts. International humanitarian law aims, through its rules, requirements and mechanisms, to mitigate the effects of wars and international or non-international armed conflicts, through the protection it has approved for some specific categories from the effects of wars, whether the category of civilians not participating in the fighting, prisoners, or wounded and sick combatants, and prohibiting the use of some types of Weapons in combat. In addition to protecting children from recruitment into combat...etc. The thing that …

European Judicial Interpretation Of The Right To Freedom Of Belief, Ahmed Mohamed Ali Hussein

The World Research of Political Science Journal

Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) guarantees freedom of belief and its expression. However, the wording of that article was stated in a general manner and did not include detailed provisions explaining the right under study, but rather provided broad frameworks of the right. Therefore, the European Court of Human Rights, as the judicial body entrusted with monitoring the implementation of the right, guaranteed freedom of belief and its expression. The provisions of the Convention clarify all the elements of the right to freedom of belief, the practices it includes, and the restrictions imposed on it, …