Digital Commons Network^™

Typing Proficiency Among Physicians In Internal Medicine: A Pilot Study Of Speed And Performance, Alain Petter, David W Bates, Antoine Garnier

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background

Electronic health records (EHRs) are widely implemented and consume nearly half of physicians' work time. Despite the importance of efficient data entry, physicians' typing skills—potential contributors to documentation burden—remain poorly studied.

Objective

This study aims to evaluate the typing skills of physicians and their associations with demographic characteristics and professional roles.

Methods

This cross-sectional pilot study included a convenience sample of physicians (residents, chief residents, and attending physicians) from the internal medicine division of an academic hospital. Participants completed a 1-minute typing test under supervised conditions. The primary outcome was raw typing speed, measured in words per minute (WPM). …

Transdiagnostic Correlates Of Family Accommodation In Anxious Youth, Hannah N Sansone, Daphne M Ayton, Amanda Palo, Abigail E Candelari, Wayne K Goodman, Andrew G Guzick, Eric A Storch

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Anxiety disorders are common in children and cause significant impairment. Family accommodation, which refers to behavioral changes that family members make to temporarily alleviate a child’s anxiety, has been linked to child anxiety symptom severity. Although emotional vulnerabilities for anxiety such as emotion dysregulation, anxiety sensitivity, and distress intolerance have been associated with family accommodation, research concerning the relationship between these constructs among anxious youth is limited. We hypothesized that these variables would be uniquely and positively associated with family accommodation and would moderate the relationship between anxiety symptom severity and family accommodation. Treatment-seeking child–parent dyads (N = 90; …

Traumatic Brain Injury In Pregnancy: A Single Level I Trauma Center Experience, Spyridoula Tsetsou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is less common in pregnancy than in the general population; however, it poses significant challenges in diagnosis and management. These include the potential teratogenicity of medications, radiation exposure from imaging modalities, physiological changes associated with pregnancy, and obstetric complications that may arise. Although there are general guidelines for trauma in the obstetric patient, they are not specific to TBI, and most recommendations are based on low-level evidence or institutional experiences.

We conducted a retrospective review of the hospital trauma registry over a 10-year period. We included all the patients admitted to our neurosurgical intensive care unit …

Is Bedtime Use Of Kratom (Mitragyna Speciosa) A Sleep Aid Or Disruptor? Examining Its Daily Effects And Individual Differences, Christopher D Verrico, Ynhi T Thomas, C Austin Zamarripa, David H Epstein, Kirsten E Smith

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a psychoactive botanical native to Southeast Asia increasingly used in the U.S. for various self-reported benefits, including sleep improvement. However, empirical evidence concerning kratom’s effects on sleep is limited. Here, we examined the association between bedtime kratom use and self-reported sleep outcomes in naturalistic settings across consecutive days, while also exploring sex and chronic pain status as potential moderators. A secondary analysis was conducted using the data from a 15-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of 357 U.S. adults who reported regularly using kratom. Participants made daily reports of their bedtime kratom use and …

Complexity And Health Care Utilization In Infant Eskd, Poyyapakkam R Srivaths, Sarah J Swartz, Shweta S Shah

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Key Points:

1. Infant ESKD is associated with significant health care utilization including hospitalizations, subspecialty care, and financial expenditures.

2. Further investigation of health care utilization in infant ESKD can help guide the appropriate allocation of resources to support care delivery.

Background: Dialysis in neonates with ESKD is often associated with multiple comorbidities and the need for more intensified dialysis regimens. With recent advances in prenatal interventions and infant-specific KRT, survival of neonates with ESKD has improved over the past decade. Little is known, however, about the impact on the health care system of improved survival in this population. Our primary aim …

Liver-Specific Expression Of Hiv-1 Viral Protein R Causes Hepatic Steatosis And Glucose Intolerance In Male Mice, Sean M Hartig, Mark A Herman, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Jordan E Lake

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is increasingly recognized in people with HIV (PWH), with both HIV and antiretroviral therapy contributing to liver damage and glucose intolerance. However, the role of viral proteins derived from reservoirs in this process remains unclear.

Methods: Adeno-associated virus (AAV) constructs encoding a control protein or HIV-1 viral protein R (Vpr) driven by the thyroxine-binding globulin promoter were administered to male mice (n = 5 per group) fed regular chow or a high-fat diet (HFD). Young adult mice underwent intraperitoneal glucose tolerance testing and magnetic resonance imaging, followed by euthanasia. Liver and adipose tissues …

Volumetric Differences Of Thalamic Nuclei Are Associated With Posttrauma Psychopathology, Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Previous investigations of whole thalamus and thalamic nuclei volumes in posttrauma psychopathology have been sparse and limited in scope and have yielded inconsistent results. To address this, volumetric estimates of whole thalamus and thalamic nuclei were obtained from structural brain magnetic resonance imaging scans from 2058 participants across 20 worldwide sites in the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) working group.

Methods

Thalamic volumes were compared in trauma-exposed participants with PTSD (n = 238), major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 184), and comorbid PTSD+MDD (n = 618) and in trauma-exposed …

U-Shaped Relationship Between White Blood Cell Counts And Incident Hypertension In Military Young Adults: The Chief Study, 2014–2020, Kun-Zhe Tsai, Chia-Wei Hong, Yun-Chen Chang, Wei-Chun Huang, Xuemei Sui, Carl J. Lavie, Gen-Min Lin

Faculty Publications

Background

Systemic low-grade inflammation, which is characterized by increased counts of blood leukocytes (white blood cells, WBCs), can lead to hypertension, while reduced WBC counts caused by the use of some substances, e.g., alcohol, can also lead to hypertension. However, there have been no studies on the association between WBC counts and the risk of hypertension in young adults.

Methods

This cohort study conducted in Taiwan included a total of 2351 military personnel who were aged 18–39 years, were free of baseline hypertension and were followed up for incident hypertension from 2014 to the end of 2020. Resting blood pressure …

What Community Members With Chronic Illness Teach Future Healthcare Professionals In A Longitudinal Interprofessional Education Program: A Focus Group Study, Rachel White, Maria Brucato, Amber King, Anne B. Mitchell, Nethra S. Ankam

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Nearly 50% of Americans have at least one chronic illness. Preparing future healthcare providers for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) and person-centred care through community-based interprofessional education (IPE) can improve outcomes for this growing population. Partial programme theories predict that patients' participation as teachers in health professions education contributes to students' development of patient-centredness. Role theory asserts that behaviours are shaped by assigned roles; therefore, community members with chronic illness who assume roles of health mentors in an IPE curriculum are predicted to teach students about their patient experiences. Yet, this teaching outcome and the lessons health mentors teach in …

Combined Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance And Ph Testing In Infants And Young Children-A Narrative Review, Rochelle Sequeira Gomes, Sheeja Abraham, Michael Favara, Amy J. Sloane, Zubair H. Aghai

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in infants and young children, and thediagnosis and characterization of the disease continues to evolve in recent times. The typicalsymptoms thought to be related to GERD in young children are often nonspecific andubiquitous, underscoring the need for diagnostic testing in patients who have severe symptomsor complications related to GERD. Combined multichannel intraluminal impedance and pHtesting (MII-pH) is a diagnostic tool that can be used to study the frequency andseverity of gastroesophageal reflux. Compared to other diagnostic devices, MII-pH hasthe advantage of detecting both acidic and alkaline reflux events, as well as allows the study …

Criminal Court's Disability, Zohra Ahmed

Faculty Scholarship

Do criminal courts meaningfully accommodate psychiatric disability? A review of competency proceedings across the United States suggests not. In competency to stand trial proceedings, criminal court actors offer a narrow vision of psychiatric disability that excludes many defendants. Ultimately, the institutional context of criminal court undermines even the meagre accommodations that the competency framework provides.

Competency proceedings are the constitutional accommodations available to disabled defendants if they can establish that they are unable to consult with their lawyers or if they do not have a rational or factual understanding of the proceedings against them. After a finding of incompetency, the …

Benchmarking Age-Gates, Katharine B. Silbaugh

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines how legal actors—particularly legislators, judges, and attorneys—invoke chronological age to justify the application of legal rules to adolescents. In doing so, they often rely on comparisons to existing “age-gates,” treating these thresholds (such as ages 18 or 21) as self-justifying reference points. Age 18, marking the legal transition from childhood to adulthood, and age 21, the former age of majority and current sales age for certain controlled substances, serve as especially powerful rhetorical anchors in age-based legal reasoning. These anchor points shape how legal actors advocate for or against particular age thresholds, often substituting analogy for substantive …

The Sports Parent's Predicament, Katharine B. Silbaugh

Faculty Scholarship

Youth sport enjoys a favored status in American culture, encouraged by policymakers and local communities, pursued by parents, and remembered through rose-colored lenses by adults. Most lawyers are familiar with Justice Harry Blackmun’s ode to the magical qualities of baseball in Flood v. Kuhn, in which he took the liberty of running through his own memories of scores of baseball legends.¹ Congress and presidents want children to continue in sport.² Many in the health field argue that sport is important because exercise is important, and sport is treated as the natural manifestation of exercise.³ An enormous number—perhaps …

Unemployed Black/African Americans With Disabilities’ Treatment Acquisition For Substance Use Disorder And Serious Mental Illness, Jennifer M. Cook, Lee Za Ong, Melissa Deroche, Zevida A. Jones, Kaela Schneider

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Black/African Americans with disabilities who live with substance use disorder and/or serious mental illness are an underserved population in mental health treatment. We conducted a quantitative analysis using the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 317) to identify treatment trends and interpreted results using DisCrit and the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. We offer discussion and implications to increase service access for this population.

Natriuretic Peptide Cut Points For Heart Failure Classification In Individuals With And Without Obesity, Sophie M Nemeth, Emily S Lau, James L Januzzi, Thomas J Wang, Daniel Levy, Chiadi E Ndumele, Elizabeth Selvin, Christie M Ballantyne, Bruce M Psaty, John S Gottdiener, Jorge R Kizer, Christopher R Defilippi, Norrina B Allen, Rudolf A De Boer, Sanjiv J Shah, Jennifer E Ho

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The 2022 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/Heart Failure Society of America guidelines introduced elevated natriuretic peptide (NP) levels as a criterion for defining stage B heart failure (HF), or pre-HF, to identify individuals at greatest risk for future HF. Given the known NP deficiency in obesity, we aimed to assess whether a single NP cut point would disproportionately up-classify individuals with versus without obesity to stage B HF.

Methods: Participants free of HF from 5 community-based cohorts were included. We examined the reclassification of individuals to stage B HF using the 2022 versus 2013 guidelines, stratified by obesity …

Optimization Of A Mobile Imaging System To Aid In Evaluating Patients With Oral Lesions In A Dental Care Setting, Ann M Gillenwater, Nadarajah Vigneswaran, Rebecca Richards-Kortum

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Significance: Oral cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage even though the oral cavity is easily accessible for examination. There is a need for tools to support early detection and help non-expert clinicians make appropriate referral recommendations.

Aim: We aim to evaluate a mobile detection of oral cancer (mDOC) smartphone-based autofluorescence imaging system by collecting data in a representative, low-prevalence population and optimizing a referral algorithm suitable for deployment in community dental settings.

Approach: Data were collected from patients at a community dental clinic using the mDOC system, which captures white light and autofluorescence images. A multi-input deep learning …

Factors Associated With Medication Adherence Among Patients With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd), Cesar A Soutullo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioral health condition that impacts 5% to 8% of children and 2.5% of adults worldwide. The symptoms of ADHD are effectively managed with medication, yet patients with ADHD may inconsistently take their medication. We assessed medication adherence among patients with ADHD and identified factors associated with medication adherence that may be utilized to optimize adherence.

Method: This is a retrospective, observational study among patients aged 4 years and older with a diagnosis of ADHD at primary care and multispecialty outpatient clinics during May 2021 to May 2023. We assessed sociodemographic characteristics, stratified by …

Better Digital Contracts With Prosocial Friction-In-Design, Brett Frischmann, Moshe Y. Vardi

Faculty Publications

Contract law is supposed to enable people to reach genuine agreements and cooperate. If this ideal was ever a reality, the rise of mass market contracts and boil­erplate rendered it pure fiction. Modern consumer contracts are incomprehensible to most people. No one reads them anyway.

Digital contracting involves design features that amplify traditional boilerplate harms and create others. For example, digital contracting is too cheap; low marginal costs lead to overexpansion in scale and scope. To make matters worse, the loss of autonomy from repeat engagement with digital contracting systems is pernicious. People become increasingly predictable and programmable as digital …

Decoding Influence: Cosmetic Industry Strategies, Media Beauty Standards, And Their Mental Health Impact On Generation Z Consumers, Tatiana Avila Velasquez

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This research explores the complex relationship between cosmetic industry marketing strategies, media-driven beauty standards, and the mental health of Generation Z consumers. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods, the study examines how frequent exposure to curated beauty ideals and persuasive advertising shapes self-esteem, confidence, and personal identity among young adults. Through surveys and in-depth interviews, the research highlights the evolving nature of cosmetic use, revealing how early engagement with beauty products often stems from social conditioning and personal insecurities. Participants describe a shift from using cosmetics as a means of concealment to embracing them for creative expression and self-care. However, …

Changes In Alcohol Consequences And Food Addiction Symptoms Over Time In A Diverse Sample Of Emerging Adults With Histories Of Heavy Drinking, Mary Takgbajouah

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

During Emerging Adulthood (EA; 18-29), alcohol use (AU) peaks and eating disorders tends to have their onset. While AU typically decreases by the end of EA, this can be a time of increased isolation and lead to problematic, ongoing use with significant, negative consequences, such as depression, anxiety, or poor sleep. Research has noted similarities between disordered overeating and substance use, resulting in the conceptualization of food addiction (FA). Less is known about trajectories of FA, particularly during EA. Trait impulsivity, a tendency to act without planning or thinking of potential consequences, is associated with problematic AU and FA. Research …

Decomposition And Excavation Of War Memories And Massacres In Na Hong-Jin’S The Wailing, Grace Jung

BCES: Faculty Publications

This chapter examines Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin’s The Wailing (2016) as an allegory of South Korea’s unresolved colonial and Cold War traumas, arguing that the film’s deliberate ambiguity, cacophony, and generic instability reflect the difficulty of recovering histories of violence that have been suppressed, erased, or inadequately mourned. While scholarship on South Korean zombie cinema has frequently interpreted the zombie through neoliberal capitalism, economic crisis, contagion, and social alienation, this chapter locates the Korean zombie within a longer history of civil war, massacres, sexual violence, and authoritarian state repression. Drawing on Heonik Kwon’s concept of Cold War “decomposition,” the zombie …

Hooks For Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4dee) Teaching With Differing Audiences Of Nonmajors, Sara E. Scanga, Vikki L. Rodgers, Loren B. Byrne, Justin R. St. Juliana, Jon M. Honea, Erica S. Tietjen, George Middendorf

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Nonmajors (i.e., undergraduate students not majoring in the natural sciences) constitute a majority of United States college graduates and are a large potential audience for courses with ecology content. However, nonmajors may be unmotivated to learn about ecology because they perceive it to be uninteresting and irrelevant to their everyday lives or career goals. Although the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework can be adapted for nonmajors courses as a starting point to improve student engagement, we suggest that nonmajors ecology instructors also use ecology hooks as effective gateways to 4DEE that will motivate and deepen student learning. Selecting and developing …

Trickle-Down Coordination: The National Security Advisor’S Role As The Strategic And Operational Planner Of The Dod-Dos Interagency Relationship, Fabio S. Van Loon

Journal of Strategic Security

Forging a coherent U.S. foreign policy requires the competent management of the inter-agency framework. Defining strategy at the cabinet level and ensuring its implementation at the operational level, the National Security Advisor must act as an honest broker of the inter-agency process. This article will examine the role of three National Security Advisors from the Nixon, Carter and George W. Bush administrations, and study two examples of operational success and failure, highlighting the importance of the strategic-operational link. The author concludes by recommending a National Security Council (NSC)-led inter-agency framework that drives consensus-based strategic planning and mandates operational coordination through …

The Element Of Surprise: Highly Maneuverable Satellites And Ssa, Simone L. Montandon

Journal of Strategic Security

Military, commercial, and civil space missions rely on accurate space situational awareness (SSA) to avoid collisions and inform the analysis of the threat environment. Historically, man-made objects in space have been highly predictable because their trajectories were mostly constrained within the orbit they occupied. However, fast-paced progress in engine/thruster technology, energy efficiency, and on-orbit servicing and refueling have allowed satellites to maneuver often and quickly within their lifespan. This added an element of unpredictability that adds further uncertainty to an operational environment that is already highly uncertain. This paper argues that solving this issue will require pursuing continued custody of …

Identifying Signatures Of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Through Structured Analytic Techniques, Joshua S. Pierson, Ms, Dss

Journal of Strategic Security

Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena (UAP) penetrate sovereign airspace and sea space with such proliferation that often national security entities are left baffled with how to detect, identify, and respond to such actions. Since World War II, these phenomena were reported to pace aircraft, maneuver at high speeds in an erratic fashion and increase speed to hypersonic velocity when starting from stasis. The study of UAP is shrouded in stigma, perplexing government mishaps, and academic inquiry focusing on the material aspects of UAP, leaving a gap in determining the exhibited capability and intent of these phenomena. The use of structured analytic techniques …

Ai-Enabled Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis Of Emerging Threats And Countermeasures In Global Security, Shai Farber

Journal of Strategic Security

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming terrorist methods and counter-terrorism strategies, with far-reaching effects on global security. This paper examines how terrorists use AI for new attack tactics, propaganda, and coordination, while also evaluating the ethical, legal, and strategic challenges AI introduces into counter-terrorism. Through a systematic literature review and qualitative analysis, the study identifies key trends in AI's impact on security dynamics, highlighting its role in blurring the lines between peace and conflict. An analytical framework is proposed to navigate the complex landscape of AI-driven asymmetric warfare, providing practical insights for policymakers and researchers. The study …

Detecting Drone Threats At Stadiums And Public Venues: Overview, Operational Considerations, And Technical Implementation, Nathan P. Jones, John P. Sullivan, George W. Davis Jr.

Journal of Strategic Security

This article overviews the issue of drone threats to stadiums and public venues. It provides emergency managers and those defending this critical infrastructure with an overview, operational considerations, and a discussion of the technical implementation for defending these sites from drone threats through detection. It provides a discussion of the current limitations of countermeasures and legal frameworks relevant to drones. Throughout, this article uses real drone detection data from the Astroworld concert incident (November 2021) as a notional case study to illustrate the type of drone detection data emergency managers will contend with and what can be gleaned from it. …

Management Of Recurrent Metastasis Of Renal Cell Carcinoma To The Parotid Gland After Nephrectomy., Kathryn Collins, Emily Cushing, Alex Ellerhorst, Christopher Selinsky

Oncology Articles

Renal cell carcinoma accounts for 90% of malignant renal tumors, with common metastases to the lungs, bones, and brain. Head and neck metastases are uncommon, and the parotid gland is an exceedingly rare site (0.5%). Recurrent metastasis to bilateral parotid glands has been reported in the literature, but recurrent metastasis to the ipsilateral gland has not. This is a case about a 69-year-old female who presented to our clinic with the chief complaint of a slowly enlarging left neck mass. She had a history of clear cell renal cell carcinoma treated with nephrectomy 15 years prior. An MRI reviewed from …

Redbird Scholar, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Fall 2025), Illinois State University, Office Of The Vice President For Research And Graduate Studies

Redbird Scholar

No abstract provided.

Addressing Climate Vulnerability And Policy Gaps Of Heat Waves In Upper Egypt: The Case Study Of Al-A’Qaab Village In Aswan, Eman Abdullah

Theses and Dissertations

Heatwaves are currently one of the most dangerous climate hazards globally. Egypt is experiencing an increase in the intensity and frequency of heatwaves, which affects health, economy, infrastructure, and the ecological system. Upper Egypt is one of the most vulnerable regions in Egypt to rising temperatures, particularly in Aswan Governorate. The risks of heat waves are increasing vulnerability among vulnerable groups, such as women and low-income individuals. However, there is a clear gap in protection policies against heat waves, along with a lack of studies examining the effects of heat waves on individuals in Aswan. Accordingly, this thesis aims to …