Digital Commons Network^™

Invasive Methicillin-Susceptible And Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections In The Pediatric Population: Prevalence And Management Outcomes, Khalifa M. Binkhamis, Ibrahim A. Alhezam, Hassan A. Alabdullatif, Othman M. Alabdullah, Omar Y. Alkadhi, Nawaf M. Alrefaei, Abdullah S. Almayah, Fatema A. Juma, Sarah S. Alangari

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: Infections by invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are associated with higher morbidity and mortality compared to methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infections, and have increased significantly in both healthy children and children with chronic illnesses. In our study we aimed to estimate the prevalence of invasive MSSA and MRSA among invasive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infections in the pediatric population and measure the association between management outcomes and methicillin resistance in these infections.

Methods: We conducted an observational, analytical, retrospective cross-sectional, chart-review study of pediatric patients (aged ≤16 years) admitted to King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia …

Prevalence Of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease Among Individuals With Celiac Disease In A Primary Care Setting In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Mansour I. Alrasheed, Hussam Jnaid, Faisal K. Alrasheed, Tarfah R. Alsharidi, Abdulelah I. Alrasheed, Sarah A. Alobaid, Norah A. Sulaiman

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: Celiac disease (CD) is a prevalent autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten consumption, leading to an immune response that damages the small intestine. Research shows a link between CD and autoimmune thyroid disorders (AITD). This study seeks to determine the prevalence of AITD among adult and pediatric patients with CD in the primary care setting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study reviewed electronic health records of individuals diagnosed with CD from January 2016 to December 2023 at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre. Collected data encompassed patient demographics, diagnostic approaches, thyroid function assessments, thyroid autoantibody profiles, …

Magnitude Of Abdominal Solid Organs Injuries Among Patients With Pelvic Fracture At King Abdullah Hospital, Bisha City, Saudi Arabia, Ali Ibrahim Alshehri, Mohammed Jalawi Karkaman, Nawaf Amer Alsoiry, Naif Abdulaziz Alqarni

Saudi Medical Journal

Objective: To access the magnitude of these injuries in patients with pelvic fractures at King Abdullah Hospital, Bisha, Saudi Arabia. Abdominal solid organ injuries are life-threatening and results in adverse health effects particularly to patients with pelvic fracture.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional retrospective hospital-based study that reviewed a total of 236 medical records of patients with abdominal organ injuries and pelvic fractures at King Abdullah Hospital, Bisha, Saudi Arabia. Cleaned data was coded and analyzed with the use of SPSS version 23 to drive key insights.

Results: The study comprised of 236 patients in total. Approximately 38 (16.1%) patients had …

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Regulation To Alleviate Sickle Cell Disease Severity: A Promising Therapeutic Approach, Shahanas Chathoth

Saudi Medical Journal

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Chronic anemia, hemolysis and vasculopathy are the most common symptoms that arise from hemoglobin (Hb) polymerization, which is the primary event of SCD. The above process can lead to erythrocyte sickling. Therapeutic options for SCD remain limited, and novel therapies are still being evaluated for their effectiveness in particular populations. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a significant bioactive sphingolipid, acts as a potent signal mediator, modulating several cellular functions. The potential role of erythrocyte-S1P in enhancing SCD severity has been previously reported by multiple studies. Therefore, the present review …

Colorectal Cancer Screening In Saudi Arabia: Current Challenges And Future Directions, Abdulrahman A. Aljabri, Abdulrahman G. Alharbi

Saudi Medical Journal

Colorectal cancer has become a major public health concern in Saudi Arabia. It is the most prevalent cancer among men and the third most prevalent among women. Although screening for people aged 45-75 is recommended by national recommendations, screening uptake is still below 10%, and less than 1% of older persons have a colonoscopy. With regional differences that vary from age-standardized rates of 3.2 per 100,000 in Jouf to 21.8 per 100,000 in Riyadh among men, approximately 29% of cases are detected at late stages. Therefore, we assessed the epidemiological, social, and health-related systemic structures preventing effective colorectal cancer screening …

Prevalence Of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae In Intensive Care Units In Saudi Arabia: A 10-Year Systematic Review, Shadi A. Zakai

Saudi Medical Journal

Objective: To synthesize research on the prevalence and distribution patterns of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) across Saudi Arabia. It also seeks to evaluate molecular resistance profiles, identify associated risk factors, assess antimicrobial susceptibility, and examine infection control strategies within these critical care settings.

Methods: A systematic analysis was conducted, including cross-sectional, retrospective, and genomic studies from various tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The review focused on epidemiological trends, molecular characterization of CRE strains, clinical correlates, and the outcomes of implemented intervention strategies.

Results: The findings indicate a high and steadily increasing prevalence of CRE, often exceeding …

Plasma-Induced Transient Poration Enables Biomolecule Delivery To Adherent Cells, Yongsong Huang, Julia Nelson, Ayomide Samson Oluwajoba, James Kurdi, Ravi S. Kane, Andrei G. Fedorov

Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies IX [2026]

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Ms-Based Workflow For Ptm Profiling Of Aav Capsid Proteins To Support Bioprocess Monitoring And Development, Patricia Alves, Mateus Tomás, Carvalho B. Sofia, Gomes-Alves Patrícia, Gomes A. Ricardo, Alexandre M. Bruno

Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies IX [2026]

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Gmp-Compatible Fluoropolymer Closed Culture Systems For Manufacturing And Controlled Aggregation Of Stem Cell-Derived Pancreatic Progenitors For Diabetes Cell Therapy, Praveen Pedabaliyarasimhuni, Balaji Ramachandran, Will Yoon, Demetry Prezelj, Lyne Khair, Nicolas Drolet, Katie Campbell, Corinne A Hoesli

Advancing Manufacture of Cell and Gene Therapies IX [2026]

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Infectious Causes Of Acute Febrile Illness In Belize, 2020-2022, Adrianna Maliga, Shannon E Ronca, Russell Manzanero, Roberto Melendez, Sarah M Gunter, Allison Lino, Joy Mackey, Andres Espinosa-Bode, Beatriz Lopez, Rafael Chacon-Fuentes, Freedom M Green, Oluwadara Okeremi, Sarah Strobel, Daniel P Rehm, Flor M Muñoz, Loren Cadena, Melissa Diaz-Musa, Francis Morey, Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez, Gerhaldine Morazan, Kristy O Murray

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Acute febrile illness (AFI) surveillance networks can play a key role in identifying emerging pathogens and promoting global health security, especially for vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries. In January 2020, the Belize AFI Surveillance network was formed, and 5,643 participants were enrolled over the first 3-year period across 11 participating public hospitals. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction testing for vector-borne pathogen detection and BioFire® diagnostic testing for respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens, the causes of illness were examined in relation to 54 pathogens in these participants. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, surveillance was expanded to detect …

Cash Or Crash: Return To Player Percentages And Expected Value Of Crash Games, Robert H. Scott Iii, Mikhail M. Sher, Jonathan Daigle

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Crash games are a new type of casino game offered on some online gambling sites. The first crash game was created by the online cryptocurrency casino Bustabit. Other cryptocurrency casinos started offering their own versions of crash games. Now mainstream online casinos have developed their own crash games—notably Rocket by DraftKings. Crash games are easy to learn and play. They offer the opportunity to increase your bet by many hundreds of multiples—though, as we show when deriving expected values, these outcomes are rare. In this paper, we study the history of crash games and calculate theoretical values of crash game …

Mitigating Salmonella In Poultry Using Probiotics: Mechanisms, Challenges, And Opportunities, Oluwaseun D. Adeyemi, Samuel N. Nahashon

Food and Animal Sciences Faculty Research

The global poultry industry continues to face significant challenges due to Salmonella infections, which pose severe public health concerns and economic losses. Recently, the reemergence of antimicrobial resistance has led to the restriction of antibiotic use in poultry, especially as growth promoters, thus accelerating the search for sustainable alternatives. Among these, probiotics have gained attention as potential candidates for improving poultry health and mitigating Salmonella colonization in the gut. This review summarizes the key mechanisms through which probiotics exert anti-Salmonella effects, including competitive exclusion, production of antimicrobial substances, reinforcement of the intestinal barrier, and modulation of host immune responses. Commonly …

Funding Resilience Or Missing The Mark? An Analysis Of Rrf Allocation And Climate Risk Alignment In Italian Municipalities, Giulio Breglia, Mariagrazia D’Angeli, Giacomo Gazzellone

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

Natural hazards are an increasing concern, placing disaster preparedness and mitigation at the forefront of policy agendas. In this context, Italy’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) has allocated €3 billion for explicit disaster prevention, with a primary focus on hydrogeological risks such as floods and landslides. This study evaluates the geographical and thematic distribution of resilience-related funding, examining whether financial resources have been effectively targeted toward municipalities with the highest exposure to environmental hazards. Using a clustering classification, we identify substantial disparities in the allocation of resilience funds, revealing that municipalities with relatively low risk levels often receive disproportionately high …

Development Of An Aav-Based Gene Therapy For The Ocular Phenotype Of Friedreich's Ataxia., Heyu Tang, Siddhant Gupte, Emily Xu, Kaitlyn R Calabro, Hannah Friend, Sean M Crosson, Diego Fajardo, Zachary Kostamo, Hangning Zhang, James J Peterson, Fangyu Lin, Zbynek Kozmik, Cathleen Lutz, Sanford L Boye, Shannon E Boye

Faculty Research 2026

Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is a leading form of hereditary ataxia caused by autosomal recessive mutations in frataxin (FXN). GAA triplet repeat expansions lead to lower levels of FXN expression, abnormal influx of iron into mitochondria, and damage to the nervous system. Patients typically present before the second decade with loss of muscular function, speech impediments, and cardiomyopathy. At later stages, vision loss typically manifests. Work is under way to develop gene therapies that address the cardiac and CNS manifestations, but their routes of administration do not lead to efficient transduction of the retina. The purpose of this study was to …

Development Of An Aav-Based Gene Therapy For The Ocular Phenotype Of Friedreich's Ataxia., Heyu Tang, Siddhant Gupte, Emily Xu, Kaitlyn R Calabro, Hannah Friend, Sean M Crosson, Diego Fajardo, Zachary Kostamo, Hangning Zhang, James J Peterson, Fangyu Lin, Zbynek Kozmik, Cathleen Lutz, Sanford L Boye, Shannon E Boye

Faculty Research 2026

Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is a leading form of hereditary ataxia caused by autosomal recessive mutations in frataxin (FXN). GAA triplet repeat expansions lead to lower levels of FXN expression, abnormal influx of iron into mitochondria, and damage to the nervous system. Patients typically present before the second decade with loss of muscular function, speech impediments, and cardiomyopathy. At later stages, vision loss typically manifests. Work is under way to develop gene therapies that address the cardiac and CNS manifestations, but their routes of administration do not lead to efficient transduction of the retina. The purpose of this study was to …

A Case Of Dislocation And Successful Reduction Of A Right Anterior Shoulder Inside A Space Suit: Considerations For Future Protocols, Samuel Beger, Curtis Lowery, Nicolas Heft, Amran Asadi, Brandon Trapp, Jaime Mateus, Alejandro Garbino

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Shoulder dislocations are prevalent on Earth and pose unique challenges in spaceflight and spaceflight training, particularly during extravehicular activities (EVAs). This case report describes a 50-year-old male who experienced an anterior shoulder dislocation while performing an emergency egress exercise in a SpaceX EVA suit. The report describes the medical thought process, the operational constraints, and the reduction techniques employed to achieve a successful shoulder reduction without fully removing or damaging the suit. NASA estimates a high likelihood of shoulder injuries during long-duration lunar missions, emphasizing the importance of suit designs and rescue protocols. Quick and effective medical intervention is crucial, …

On The Need Of Pluralism And Common Ground In Sla, Simona Pekarek Doehler, Steven L. Thorne, Soren W. Eskildsen, Marije C. Michel

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hyperbolic claims that SLA is in crisis (!), that a unifying theory is overdue, or that research must be oriented toward pedagogy have resurfaced once again—most recently in the response by Lantolf et al. (2025) to the Special Issue on Synergies in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLA/T) (Atkinson et al., 2025). Our own position is diametrically opposed to such claims.

Theoretical And Conceptual Approaches To Journalism Education, August E. Grant, Jeffrey S. Wilkinson, G. Nathan Carnes

Faculty Publications

Many journalism programs embrace the teaching hospital model because of its practical approach, employing working journalists as journalism educators. However, critics contend a more conceptual model of journalism education is needed. This essay explores the literature on journalism education models and seeks to integrate the teaching hospital and entrepreneurial journalism approaches with the revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning. Combined, these models provide a solid theoretical foundation for practical, applied journalism education. This essay applies these four models to journalism education, yielding a matrix of dimensions that can guide the creation or modification of curricula as well …

Competitive Advantage Strategies For Independent Restaurant Owners, Bobby Mccrary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Independent restaurant owners often face challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage, resulting in poor business performance and loss of profitability. Identifying practical competitive advantage strategies is essential for independent restaurant owners to surpass five years of business operations. Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective competitive advantage strategies independent restaurant owners used to sustain operations beyond five years. Purposeful sampling was used to select four independent restaurant owners located in Wichita, Kansas, who sustained operations beyond five years through competitive advantage strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and from …

Multimodal Education To Improve Metabolic Monitoring Knowledge Among Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, Tania Alfonso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) staff education project was a multimodal educational intervention to improve outpatient psychiatric nurse practitioner (PNP) knowledge of metabolic monitoring guidelines for patients prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). The project addressed low adherence to national monitoring standards that contribute to increased cardiometabolic risks associated with SGAs. The project question was: Does staff education regarding metabolic monitoring guidelines improve nursing knowledge as compared pre- to posteducation? The purpose was to enhance PNP knowledge of metabolic monitoring guidelines. Guided by the Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice (JHEBP) model, I conducted a focused literature search and identified 28 peer-reviewed articles …