Digital Commons Network^™

Antihypertensive Medications And Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence For Specific Medication Use, Osvaldo J. Laurido-Soto, Alejandra Camacho-Soto, Irene M. Faust, Kassu M. Beyene, Aaron Katz, Jordan A. Killion, Brad A. Racette

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Criterion And Convergent Validity Of Plasma Biomarkers In Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease: Initial Findings From Leads, Dustin B Hammers, Kyle Womack, Erik Musiek, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Alzheimer's Disease Stage 1 And 2: Biology, Diagnostics, And Treatment, Suzanne E. Schindler, Sarah M. Hartz, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Plasma P-Tau217 And Apoe Genotype: Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease Staging, Ann M Stowe, Ellen Binder, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Plasma phosphorylated tau (p-tau)217 levels and apolipoprotein E (

METHODS: We measured

RESULTS: Plasma p-tau217 was 57% higher in subjects with at least one

DISCUSSION: Plasma p-tau217 demonstrated elevation in the

Establishing Demographic-Based Normative Values For Neurofilament Light Chain And Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein In Serum And Plasma Samples, Tyler L Borko, Salim Chahin, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Interpretation of neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels in blood requires reference ranges from healthy cohorts, accounting for demographic features.

OBJECTIVE: To compare serum and plasma NfL and GFAP in healthy individuals, accounting for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI).

METHODS: Adolescents through older adults were recruited at Colorado community events and a senior clinic. A neurologist reviewed self-reported medical histories. Paired serum and EDTA plasma samples were assayed using the Quanterix SR-X Simoa Neuro 4-Plex. Log-linear models estimated percent change per year of age, per BMI unit, and sex ratios. GFAP used …

Effect Of A Pregnancy Lifestyle Intervention Embedded Into A Home Visiting Program On Child Neurodevelopment, Sarah S Farabi, Rosemary Bass, Amit Mathur, Cindy Schwarz, Candice Woolfolk, Richard Stein, Samuel Klein, Debra Haire-Joshu, Alison G Cahill

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Maternal obesity is associated with a higher risk of abnormal child neurodevelopment. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a lifestyle intervention embedded into a home visiting program, Parents as Teachers (PAT), on 18-month neurodevelopment in the offspring. Pregnant women (9-15 weeks) of African American Race, 18-45 years old, first-trimester BMI 25.0-45.0 kg/m

The Role Of Home Visiting In Addressing Postpartum Care Gaps: Evidence From A Large Community Sample, Aishwarya Vijay, Allison Kemner, Karen Hoerchler, Abigail Edwards, Jeannie C Kelly, Rachel G Tabak, Mark D Huffman, Zainab Mahmoud

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BackgroundMaternal mortality in the United States has doubled over the last two decades, primarily due to cardiovascular disease, with more than half of deaths occurring postpartum. Despite national calls to action, attendance at postpartum clinic visits remains low. The role of alternative care delivery strategies, such as home visiting, remains insufficiently studied.ObjectiveTo describe postpartum clinic visit attendance among participants in a large national home visiting program, identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with attendance, and examine how timing and duration of enrollment relate to postpartum follow-up.DesignWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of pregnancy episodes among mothers enrolled in the Parents …

Strategies To Optimize Skill Acquisition And Prevent Skill Decay For The Air Transport Clinician, Mckayley Green, Aaron J Lacy, James L Li, John E Schneider

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Participatory Systems Modeling In Implementation Research: Exploring Benefits, Facilitators, And Future Needs, Natalie Riva Smith, Jennifer L Cruz, Jessica Gannon, Stephanie Mazzucca-Ragan

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Implementation science increasingly uses participatory systems modeling (PSM) approaches to handle the complexity inherent to implementation science issues. To support the process of integrating PSM with implementation science, we aimed to understand and explicate the benefits, facilitators, and future needs of applying PSM to implementation research.

METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 23 researchers (n = 18) and practitioners (n = 5). We purposively sampled participants and identified additional participants through recommendations. Interviews were inductively analyzed. Key concepts were identified via iterative description, comparison, and conceptualization.

RESULTS: Engagement with people in the system was typically focused in earlier …

Immortalization And Characterization Of Schwann Cell Lines Derived From Nf1-Associated Cutaneous Neurofibromas, Hua Li, Angela Hirbe, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant condition in which patients are heterozygous for a disruptive pathogenic variant in the NF1 gene. The most characteristic feature of the condition NF1 is the neurofibroma, a benign, multi-cellular tumor which initiates when a cell of the Schwann cell lineage gains a somatic pathogenic variant of the other NF1 allele. Neurofibromas developing at nerve termini in the skin are termed "cutaneous" neurofibromas (cNFs), while those developing within larger nerves are termed "plexiform." Most patients develop cNFs beginning in late childhood or early adulthood, continuing throughout life at variable rates. Some patients may …

Bridging The Gap: How Sociodemographic Factors Shape Adults’ Decisions To Pursue Hearing Aids, Logan Lorié

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Despite hearing aids becoming more accessible to adults with hearing loss, hearing aid uptake rates remain low, partly due to sociodemographic factors that influence an adults’ decision to pursue amplification. This study systematically reviewed research on how sociodemographic factors – to include age, gender, socioeconomic status, education level, race/ethnicity, and military status – contribute to the decision-making process. This review guided an analysis of these variables using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a large public health database. To ensure enough hearing aid users were included in the analysis, NHANES data were combined across survey cycles from 1999 …

Comics In The Classroom: Social Science Teachers' Lived Experiences With Comic Art In Instruction, Robert W. Mcintosh

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This qualitative descriptive phenomenological study explored secondary social science teachers’ lived experiences with comic art in classroom instruction. Existing research suggests that comic art, including comic books and graphic novels, can support student engagement, content understanding, visual literacy, and critical thinking; however, less is known about how teachers experience and make decisions about using comic art in social science education. Framed by Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Social Cognitive Theory, the study treated comic art as a representational instructional technology and examined how teacher confidence and the context of their experience shaped its use. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews …

Human-Centered Governance Of Climate Resilience: Integrating Sustainability, Equity, And Mental Health, Chelcee A. Pangerl

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how sustainability and resilience are defined, implemented, and experienced across three levels of climate governance: household perception, community experience, and federal policy. Climate resilience is often evaluated through infrastructure performance, emissions targets, restoration timelines, and preparedness systems, yet these measures do not fully capture how residents experience uncertainty, support, equity, and mental health. To address this gap, the dissertation develops and applies the Integrated Policy Framework for Sustainability and Resilience (IPFSR). IPFSR organizes six domains into three functional categories: policy outcomes, human-centered dimensions, and implementation mechanisms. Sustainability and operational/physical resilience are treated as policy outcomes; mental health …

Discrete Element Modeling Of Granular Soils: Critical State Behavior Applied To Impact Pile Driving, Esteban Patino Marin

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis investigates the use of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to study two complementary aspects of granular soil mechanics: critical state behavior of granular materials and dynamic response of driven piles in sand, both of which are governed by the same particle-scale mechanisms of dilation, contraction, and fabric evolution.

The first examines the critical state behavior and fabric anisotropy of granular soils through DEM simulations of direct shear, direct simple shear, and true triaxial tests. Sphere-cluster particles representative of a uniform sand are used in two assemblages of approximately twenty-five thousand and one hundred twenty-five thousand spheres to evaluate …

Two Papers Exploring Cognitive Fit Theory And Data Visualization In Accounting, Kelly Wellman

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how data visualization design influences judgment and decision making in accounting using cognitive fit theory as a unifying framework. As visualization tools such as dashboards, Excel, Tableau, and Power BI become increasingly prevalent, understanding which design choices improve performance has become critical. The first paper provides a structured literature review of cognitive fit theory from 1991 through 2025, synthesizing research across accounting and related disciplines and tracing its evolution from early graph vs tables comparisons to mor recent work incorporating task complexity, individual differences, and design-specific features. The review identifies key gaps, including limited attention to difference …

Contested Air: Politics, Prejudice, And Radio Broadcasting In New York State, 1925-1928, Sebastian Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis examines the intersection between radio broadcasting as the "new media" of the 1920s and American political culture of the period, using New York Governor and 1928 Democratic presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith as a case study. Smith entered 1925 as a political lone wolf and left the year as a triumphant victor set to take the presidency. Building on the work of Smithian scholars, this thesis illuminates how Smith’s radio use remained central to this political transformation. Smith found in radio an apt space to bypass Republican opposition and mobilize the body politic through direct engagement, which, in …

Emotional Support Friends: Creating Social Impact Through Art And Polite Humor, Kenyari Gil Rosario

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis aims to provide new imagery to the conversation of mental health and neurodivergence. It does this through forms of soft sculpture, digital paintings, marker drawings, and community murals. Inspired by the practices of Keith Haring, iconographic characters are used to portray common struggles and coping habits of mental conditions in an endearing light. With the goal of social impact, this project is affiliated with the non-profit organization Providing Autism Links and Support (P.A.L.S). This partnership has given the community an opportunity to share their compassion through art and donations and uses art as a means of social impact …

Essays On Network Resilience: Enhancing Network Resilience Through Network Governance Structure, Process, Environment, And Leadership, Hanvit Kim

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As disasters become more complex, their impacts often cascade across interdependent systems, creating failures that extend beyond any single organization or sector. Because such crises cut across organizational and sectoral boundaries, effective response depends not only on the capacity of individual organizations but also on the resilience of interorganizational networks. Yet despite the growing importance of networked coordination in disaster response, the concept of network resilience remains underdeveloped in the literature, with limited consensus on its definition, measurement, and determinants. This dissertation addresses that gap by systematically examining what network resilience is, how it can be conceptualized and assessed, and …

Ignition Delay Time Measurements Of Natural Gas/Ammonia Mixtures At Gas Turbine Operating Conditions, Zachary A. Morris

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Natural Gas/Ammonia (NG/NH₃) fuel blends are a promising route to reduce CO₂ emissions from gas turbines while leveraging existing NG infrastructure, but their autoignition behavior at elevated pressures is not yet well constrained. This work reports high-pressure shock tube ignition delay time (IDT) measurements for NG/NH₃/Air mixtures at gas turbine-relevant conditions. Experiments were performed at pressures of 5, 10, and 25 bar, temperatures from 1500 to 2100 K, with equivalence ratios of Φ = 1.0, 1.2, and 1.4, and argon-diluted fuel compositions spanning pure NH₃ to NG-rich blends. Experiments were carried out in two …

Come And See: Exploring Complex Dynamics And Abjection Through A Southern Gothic Family Portrait, Lenee N. Peterson

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

“COME AND SEE: Exploring Abject Theory Through a Southern Gothic Family Portrait” examines the artist’s complex familial upbringing through the visual and narrative traditions of Southern Gothic art. Drawing upon abject theory and the cultural references of folk horror and Southern Gothicism, this thesis positions the family portrait where intimacy, trauma, and cultural inheritance collide. The project argues that direct confrontation with abjection can foster recognition, shared experience, and the possibility of collective healing. Grounded in practice-based research, this work functions as a critical and creative response to familial strain shaped by scarcity, social oppression, and emotional precarity. Through a …

A Sensory Ecology Of Fear: Moonlight-Mediated Predation Risk And Foraging Behavior In Neotropical Electric Fish, Chiu Lok Poon

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Animals must forage to acquire energy for survival and reproduction, yet foraging exposes them to predators. This creates a trade-off between energy intake and safety, wherein the perception of predation risk alone can alter activity patterns. Within this trade-off, risk, energetic needs, and sensory adaptations vary, shifting the balance and favoring different foraging strategies. Using Neotropical electric fish as a study system, I investigated how foraging under predation risk is shaped across biological scales, including environmental dynamics, interspecific sensory differences, activity-timing mechanisms, and intraspecific variations. These nocturnal fish emit continuous electric signals to sense their environment, allowing non-invasive monitoring of …

Exercise-Induced Muscle Swelling And Impedance Changes Of The Elbow Flexor, Sofea Smith

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a non-invasive method that assesses body fluid distribution using impedance (Z), resistance (R), reactance (Xc), and phase angle (PhA). These values have previously been used to interpret cellular health and fluid shifts. Acute muscle edema known as a “pump,” has been reported during and after resistance training exercise and the extent to which bioelectrical properties of the muscle tissue are affected during this process remains relatively unexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess changes in EIM during exercise-induced muscle swelling via resistance training. Thirty-one resistance-trained adults (male=21, female=10; age=23.4±6.5 years, BMI=26.17±3.04 kg/m2) …

Site Use And Demographic Changes In A Northwest Atlantic Sea Turtle Foraging Ground, Ryan C. Welsh

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

and site fidelity, making mortality difficult to distinguish from redistribution. We developed a behaviorally explicit framework to separate true mortality from changes in availability caused by movement and redistribution. We evaluated this problem for juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) captured at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant intake canal on Florida’s Atlantic coast using a multi-decade capture–mark–recapture record spanning 1977 - 2023. Hidden Markov Models classified individuals into latent habitat-use strategies (Nomadic, Resident, and Transient) based on capture timing and body size. Across both species, these strategies captured consistent differences in site fidelity and recapture …

Examining Patient Safety Culture Trends In U.S. Healthcare Through A Multi-Year Analysis, Hassan Alabdullah

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Patient Safety Culture (PSC) is recognized as a cornerstone of healthcare quality and a key determinant of patient outcomes. Despite the Institute of Medicine’s early calls to establish safety-oriented systems, evidence on the long-term stability of PSC in U.S. hospitals has remained limited. This dissertation addresses this gap through a multi-year evaluation of PSC using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC v1.0) and advanced statistical methods. Drawing on one of the largest national datasets—comprising over 993,000 healthcare providers from 1,601 U.S. hospitals across three survey cycles (2013–2020)—the study employed a longitudinal repeated cross-sectional design. Analyses combined descriptive statistics, …

First-Principles Insights Into Electronic And Magnetic Structure At Hybrid Interfaces And Low-Dimensional Materials And Reaction On Surfaces, Bushra Ashraf

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Low-dimensional materials and transition metal surfaces/interfaces provide complementary platforms for understanding how dimensionality, symmetry, spin–orbit coupling (SOC), and interfacial charge transfer/hybridization jointly control electronic structure, emergent magnetism, and surface reactivity. Using first-principles modeling with experimental comparisons, this work aims to establish interfacial structure–property relationships across low-dimensional systems.

Strained Pd adlayers on 2H-MoS₂(0001) provide a controlled platform to separate strain-driven exchange from interface-induced quenching in an itinerant d-electron metal. Although expansive strain promotes magnetism in free-standing Pd, strong Pd–MoS₂ hybridization and charge transfer suppress the monolayer moment and leave a narrow thickness window where magnetism re-emerges in …

Experimental And Numerical Study On The Stability Limits Of Ammonia And Ammonia/Hydrogen Flames Inside A Toroidal Jet-Stirred Reactor, Guillermo Alberto Barrios Cadenas

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Ammonia’s (NH₃) properties as a carbon-free hydrogen carrier, its phase characteristics, and its wide global infrastructure present a solid case as a potential surrogate for carbon-based aviation fuels. Delivering a zero-emission NH₃-based engine requires careful integration and optimization of the combustor and thermal management systems, a process that requires high-fidelity chemical reacting models experimentally validated through the use of simplified combustors. This study investigates NH₃ fundamental combustion characteristics at conditions relevant to aviation gas turbines using a newly constructed toroidal jet-stirred reactor (TJSR) facility. Lean blow-off (LBO) experiments were carried out for NH₃ blends …

An Integrated Framework For Last-Mile Delivery Optimization Using Reinforcement Learning And Social Media-Based Traffic Prediction In Underdeveloped Megacities, Vasanth Bhat

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Supply chain management has become increasingly critical as transportation costs rise and urban delivery systems place additional pressure on already congested networks. Last-mile delivery—the movement of goods from distribution centers to end users—represents the most expensive and operationally complex segment of the logistics process, particularly in underdeveloped megacities characterized by unpredictable traffic, limited infrastructure, and sparse real-time data. This dissertation proposes an integrated framework for optimizing last-mile delivery in such environments by combining social media–based traffic intelligence, machine learning, and deep reinforcement learning. The framework leverages unstructured, real-time data from social media platforms to enhance traffic prediction and incorporates these …

Developing The Whole Child: A Retrospective Ethnographic Case Study Of Prosocial Learning Efforts At One Elementary School, Bevan Brown

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

An alarming trend among elementary-aged students in the United States exhibiting significant deficits in social-emotional competency development has intensified since the Covid-19 pandemic. Challenges in developing competent prosocial skills in the elementary-aged years have been associated with difficulties in emotional regulation and social interactions, which can result in compromising school readiness and long-term academic success. Existing school infrastructure provides a vehicle for early intervention, specifically in supporting students with poor social and emotional wellbeing. Thus, the need for innovative pedagogical and instructional approaches that address the complex challenges of the 21st century has become increasingly essential. Coordinated approaches to prosocial …

The Bite Model And Multi-Level Marketing: How Monat Propagates, Lilly D. Cheung

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study aims to understand how MONAT Global Corp, a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company, utilizes rhetoric that aligns with Steven Hassan’s BITE Model of Authoritarian Control. Hassan is a cult expert and cult survivor whose work primarily explains undue influence and thought control with BITE representing Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional control. The MLM MONAT is a haircare brand that operates through a recruitment-and-sales-based hierarchy, in which sellers sign up and work under one another in a layered marketing structure. To meet quotas and maintain ranks, representatives will use rhetorical strategies to recruit new sellers beneath them in their ‘downline’ …

Detonability Limits Of Liquid Fuel Cloud, Khaoula Chougag

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Detonation-based propulsion systems are of significant interest owing to their high thermodynamic efficiency, rapid energy release, and favorable entropy production relative to deflagration-based systems. Liquid fuels offer practical advantages in storage and volumetric energy density, making them attractive candidates for next-generation detonation engines. This dissertation investigates the detonability characteristics of liquid hydrocarbon fuel clouds through three interconnected studies conducted in a turbulent shock-tube environment using high-speed imaging and pressure diagnostics. The first study maps the detonability limits of monodisperse n-dodecane clouds by systematically varying droplet diameter (5-50 μm) and O₂/N₂ oxidizer composition at equivalence ratios spanning ϕ = 0.8-2.0. Results …