Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Cybersecurity Strategies Used To Protect Personal Health Information From Cyberattacks When Using Telemedicine, Samara Torres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The healthcare industry has been impacted by an increase in cybersecurity breaches because of cyberattacks when using telemedicine. It is crucial that information technology (IT) managers in the private healthcare industry protect personal health information (PHI) to uphold patients’ right to privacy, maintain their trust, prevent legal ramifications, and to comply with government regulations. This qualitative pragmatic research used the integrated system theory (IST) as a road map to explore effective cybersecurity strategies used to protect PHI in telemedicine. The participants were seven IT managers in the private healthcare industry within the United States who had experience with cybersecurity strategies …

Staff Education To Improve Mental Health Knowledge Among Critical Care Staff, Ashton Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental health literacy is increasingly recognized as a critical component of nursing practice, particularly in high-acuity environments. At a local healthcare organization, leadership identified a gap in staff education related to mental health, contributing to elevated incidences of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), burnout, and diminished patient outcomes. In response, I conducted this Doctor of Nursing Practice project to evaluate whether a structured educational intervention could enhance mental health knowledge and competency among critical care staff. Participants completed pre- and postintervention assessments to evaluate core concepts in mental health awareness and clinical application, with supplementary qualitative feedback gathered to …

Reforming The Indian Bar: The Limits Of Technological Solutions, Varsha Aithala, Karthik Suresh

Articles

A majority of Indians do not have effective access to legal services, despite the constitutional promise of access to justice. There are two intertwined reasons for this: the unavailability of a sufficient number of good quality lawyers, and the high costs of accessing legal services. The Indian legal profession is highly unequal, with ‘prestige’ being the currency of upward professional mobility. The professional regulator, the Bar Council of India, simply lacks the capacity to regulate quality. As a consequence, clients lack the information to access lawyers, and to understand the outcomes they desire from them, and the fees they have …

The Impact Of Interactive Classroom Interior Design On Student’S Perceived Well-Being: A Case Study Of Egyptian Language Schools In Cairo., Dalia Moati, Tasneem Gamal, Rodina Mostafa, Yara Farrag

Architectural Engineering

The impact of classroom interior design on students’ perceived well- being, encompassing cognitive, physical, and social aspects, is substantial. While there is increasing evidence supporting the importance of individual interior elements such as lighting, colour, and furniture, most research examines these factors separately, neglecting their combined effects. This research seeks to examine how an integrated approach to interactive classroom interior design through flexible seating areas, ergonomic furniture, natural lighting, colours psychology, acoustics, and thermal comfort influences student well- being (physical, social, and cognitive). The research explores the most effective combinations of design components in fostering a positive and supportive learning …

Birth Outcomes In The Hispanic Population In The United States: Trends, Variation, And Determinants (2011–2021), Yanchao Yang, Sota Fuji '27, Thinh Nguyen '26

Business Analytics Faculty Publications

Infants born to mothers who self-identify as Hispanic account for a substantial and growing share of births in the United States, yet limited research has examined disparities in birth outcomes across Hispanic origin subgroups. This study aims to document trends and identify important factors associated with Cesarean section (C-section), low birth-weight, and prematurity within the Hispanic population. We use data from the National Vital Statistics System (2011–2021), covering nearly all U.S. births. We compare outcomes across Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Black mothers and further disaggregate by Hispanic origin (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central/South American, and Other/Unknown). We use logistic …

Effects Of Ambient Temperature On Nox Emissions From Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles Measured In Utah, Amber L. Gurecki Allen, Darrell B. Sonntag, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

This study investigates the effects of ambient temperature on NOx (NO + NO2) emissions from model year 2011 and later heavy-duty (HD) diesel vehicles. Emission measurements were collected in Perry, Utah, using the Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test (FEAT) remote sensing device. Data were limited to model year 2011 and later to focus on vehicles likely equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, which control tailpipe NOx emissions and are shown to be temperature sensitive. HD diesel vehicles measured in the winter of 2020 had consistently higher NOx emissions than those measured in the summer of 2023, most significantly for vehicles …

Opioid Overdose Bystander Assistance And Harm Reduction In Pennsylvania, Walkirya Peralta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bystanders play a vital role in reducing opioid overdose deaths by administering naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of opioids when used promptly. With opioid-related fatalities considered a public health emergency in the United States, increasing public access to naloxone and education on overdose prevention has become a key strategy in harm reduction. Research shows that these efforts effectively lower overdose deaths in affected communities. As part of this public health approach, many states allow individuals to obtain naloxone without a prescription through standing orders at pharmacies and community programs. Additionally, legal protections such as Good Samaritan laws …

Impact Of Mining Activities On Land Use Land Cover (Lulc) Using Geospatial Techniques In The Obuasi Municipality, Jonathan Arthur Quaye-Ballard, Samira Naa Yemoley Nsiah, Jephthah Marfo Nimoh, Titus Tienaah, Tina Dzigbordi Wemegah, Precious Adwoa Okyere

Publications

Introduction: Sustainable development, which balances economic, social, and environmental factors to meet the needs of the present and future generations, is a collective responsibility. Rapid population growth and intensification of socio-economic activities are causing significant changes in Land Use Land Cover (LULC), directly impacting ecosystem services, biodiversity, and climate. The Obuasi community is already facing environmental degradation and health problems due to gold mining.

Methodology: The study assessed the spatial extent and intensity of mining activities in the Obuasi Municipality on the LULC and predicted future LULC changes due to mining activities using geospatial techniques. The LULC changes were analysed …

Not-So-Secret Authentication: The Syncbleed Attacks And Defenses For Zero-Involvement Authentication Systems, Isaac Ahlgren, Rushikesh Shirsat, Omar Achkar, George K. Thiruvathukal, Kyu In Lee, Neil Klingensmith

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Zero-involvement authentication (ZIA) offers a promising solution for autoprovisioning large IoT device networks by enabling devices to extract identical authentication keys from ambient environmental signals without user intervention.

However, we demonstrate that existing ZIA systems leak critical information during key negotiation when they exchange synchronization messages over public wireless channels.

Our novel passive attack, SyncBleed, exploits these leaked messages to reconstruct ZIA-generated keys, successfully cracking approximately 50% of keys in under one second in our testbed experiments.

To address this vulnerability, we introduce TREVOR (Time shift REsistant VEctor ExtractOR), which generates nearly identical bit sequences from environmental signals without exchanging …

Idiopathic Atraumatic Renal Hemorrhage: A Case Report, Tabitha Ranson, Gregory Ruddy, Zachary Ostapowicz, Leah Joyner

Student Publications

Introduction: Wunderlich syndrome (WS) is a rare condition characterized by spontaneous, atraumatic renal hemorrhage. It often presents with non-specific symptoms and is typically diagnosed through computed tomography (CT). The most common presentation of WS includes the Lenk triad, which consists of flank pain, a palpable flank mass, and hypovolemic shock. If diagnosis and treatment are delayed, WS can rapidly progress and lead to unfavorable patient outcomes.

Case Report: A 65-year-old male presented to the emergency department with severe sudden-onset left flank pain with subsequent CT angiogram demonstrating an actively bleeding left renal hematoma. The patient was managed conservatively with …

Unilateral Facial Paralysis With Facial Nerve Enhancement On Mri In A Patient With Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Case Report, Aaron Creswell, Abigail Zaratan, Darius Shahbazi, Shahin Shahbazi

Student Publications

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) represents a spectrum of inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathies. Several variants have been reported with distinct symptom profiles. Cranial nerve involvement is relatively common, but it most often presents as bilateral facial nerve palsy at onset. We describe the case of a 66-year-old man who initially presented with extremity paresthesia that rapidly progressed to leg weakness and hyporeflexia. The diagnosis of GBS was confirmed by cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and he was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. Following treatment, however, he developed facial hemiplegia, which was associated with facial nerve enhancement on MRI. This case represents one of the few reports of …

Quantum Pseudorandom Primitives Beyond Pseudorandom States, Chuhan Lu

Dissertations and Theses

Quantum pseudorandomness is an emerging research area. Ji, Liu, and Song defined pseudorandom states (PRSs) and pseudorandom unitaries (PRUs) as quantum analogs of pseudorandom generators and pseudorandom functions. A unitary oracle separation result between one-way functions and PRSs/PRUs, established by Kretschmer, suggests that certain quantum primitives may remain secure even if classical cryptography is compromised. This insight has spurred extensive work on quantum pseudorandomness and its applications in quantum cryptography.

Many constructions of PRSs have been established under standard assumptions, yet building a secure PRU was a long-standing open problem. This dissertation aims to narrow the gap between PRSs and …

Projections Of Lightning‐Ignited Wildfire Risk In The Western United States, Dmitri A. Kalashnikov, John T. Abatzoglou, Frances V. Davenport, Zachary M. Labe, Paul C. Loikith, Danielle Touma, Deepti Singh

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cloud‐to‐ground (CG) lightning is a major source of summer wildfire ignition in the western United States (WUS). However, future projections of lightning are uncertain since lightning is not directly simulated by most global climate models. To address this issue, we use convolutional neural network (CNN)‐based parameterizations of daily June‐September CG lightning. CNN parameterizations of daily CG lightning occurrence at each grid cell use fields of three thermodynamic variables—ratio of surface Moist Static Energy (MSE) to 500 hPa saturation MSE, 700–500 hPa lapse rate, and 500 hPa relative humidity. Applying these parameterizations to the Community Earth System Model version 2 Large …

Effects Of Cryoprotective And Mitochondrial Stabilizing Agents On Vitrified Bovine Oocytes, Allison Hoang

LSU Master's Theses

Oocyte vitrification success is highly dependent on cryoprotectant agent (CPA) choice as well as possible additives that could help preserve mitochondrial membrane potential (mMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and calcium homeostasis within the cell. It is a delicate balance between levels needed for proper oocyte function and activation and levels needed to induce apoptotic pathways. The results of oocyte cryopreservation determine the eventual oocyte viability and subsequent fertilization and embryo development.

In this study potential permeating cryoprotectant combinations were explored such as ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG) or EG in combination with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Also, the …

Investigation Of Co-Current And Counter-Current Multiphase Flow In Upstream Drilling And Production Applications, Hazem Fleifel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the domain of upstream Petroleum Engineering, the dynamics of co-current and counter-current multiphase flows present huge challenges, significantly impacting the efficiency of associated processes. This study investigates two specific applications concerning these flow behaviors, involving both laboratory experiments and transient computer simulations. This work investigates two distinct well control and production enhancement processes, involving multiphase flow dynamics: the bullheading kill procedure and liquid-assisted gas lift (LAGL).

The first topic (Topic 1) explores the bullheading process, a type of well control methods, by challenging the traditional understanding that gas removal efficiency increases monotonically with injection pump flow rate. Through 1D …

Murmurations Of Modular Forms And P-Power Coefficients, Debanjana Kundu, Katharina Müller

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We extend the work of N. Zubrilina on murmuration of modular forms to the case when prime-indexed coefficients are replaced by squares of primes. Our key observation is that the shape of the murmuration density is the same.

Pfkfb3 Activates Cad To Enhance De Novo Pyrimidine Synthesis For Cell Growth, Qingen Da, Yongfeng Cai, Qian Ma, Qiuhua Yang, Yapeng Cao, Yaqi Zhou, Dingwei Zhao, Zhiping Liu, Jiean Xu, Junming Quan, Liang Zhang, Rui Wang, Xuejun Jiang, Xiao Liu, Kunfu Ouyang, Zhen Han, Jikui Liu, Tao Wang, Chunxiang Zhang, Neal L Weintraub, David J R Fulton, Jun Zhao, Mei Hong, Zigang Li, Yuqing Huo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Aerobic glycolysis, termed the Warburg effect, is one of the aberrant metabolic pathways in highly proliferating cells. Glycolysis provides glycolytic metabolites to support the generation of biomass, such as nucleotides, amino acids, and lipids. Research on the direct interactions between glycolysis and other metabolic pathways is an emerging field that has garnered significant interest. Phosphofructokinase-2/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) activates glycolysis by synthesizing fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F2,6BP), which allosterically activates the rate-limiting enzyme 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase (PFK-1). In this study, we found that PFKFB3 directly interacts with and regulates the phosphorylation of carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase (CAD), the enzyme catalyzing the first three …

'What The World Would Be’: How Creating A Shared World Through Collaborative Roleplaying Helps Us Deal With Real-World Challenges, Pablo Muslera

Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry

A creative prose artefact and critical exegesis illustrate how roleplaying games explore community and identity. A prose dramatisation of a cooperative TTRPG (table top roleplaying game) juxtaposes the collaboratively imagined world, and the reality from which it is an escape. Themes of gender identity, isolation, precarious work and fluctuating health are explored within the timeframe of the Covid outbreak in Adelaide mid-2020, with the roleplaying session serving as a respite from insecure work and health challenges, while supporting creative agency and the expression of meaningful selfhood through collaborative play and problem-solving. This reflects a broader phenomenon of the increased popularity …

The Monstrous Other: Exploring Negative Representations Of Queerness In Genre Cinema, Mark Gambino

Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry

The following literature review is an extract from my SAE University College Masters thesis, Disrupting negative representations of queerness in genre cinema, conferred in September 2024. The project explored representations of the queer Other in film horror, through artefact-exegesis, with the creative artefact, horror film Shadows, interrogating the coding of trans / queer characters as the ‘monstrous Other’ in the horror film genre, and how this notion can be subverted and transcended.

Pigments, Bridge Of Disciplines, Candace Gwyther

Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry

What follows is an excerpt from Pigments: The Bridge of Disciplines, a practice-based Masters thesis exploring the intersection of oil painting and ceramics through shared material processes. The literature review grounds the research in theories of Meshwork, Play, Bricolage, and Path making, framing an interdisciplinary approach that challenges traditional boundaries and fosters new modes of creative expression.

Orchestrating Brilliance In The Recording Studio: Mixing Music To Record Music, Adrian Carroll

Imaginings: creative practice and inquiry

This paper is a report on a heuristic inquiry into music recording practice and workflow to arrive at the essence of experience. Through professional reflection on a music recording, we investigated the recording process and student experience; this was used to identify, explore and expose tacit professional practice. The central theme that unfolded revealed benefits in mixing music during a recording session. Other themes of workflow efficiency, and emotional expression, also emerged from the data collection. The research culminated in a creative synthesis in the form of a research question: Can live studio recordings be a viable option for artists, …

Montserrat Developments Impacting Local Coral Reefs, Emma I. Bartholomew

2025 Symposium

Montserrat is a small island in the Caribbean, and over half of the island is in the exclusion zone because of the active volcano, Soufrière Hills. In that half was the old capital, Plymouth, which has since been abandoned, and its old port. The old port was getting less reliable and accessible, so they decided to build a new port in Little Bay, closer to the seat of government in Brades. This study explored how the addition of the new port impacted the corals in that area. We explored several different bays and recorded the diversity and health of the …

Transforming Leadership Behaviors And Thriving Through The Storm In A High Reliability Organization, Rajveer Kaur, Jiji Andrews, Kambree Baxter

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

The structural inequities have affected critical care nurses, health care worker’s health and well-being (Durrah et al, 2022; Wells, S., 2024). Prioritizing nurse wellbeing has been formed to improve psychologically safe work environments associated with positively decreasing barriers in patient outcomes within the workforce (Wells, S., 2024). Authentic leaders developed patient advocacy, trusting relationships with their employees to increase the access to proper nursing services to enhance the ability to thrive at work ( Alhalal et al, 2024a; Durrah et al, 2022). Authentic leadership tool was introduced to design interventions and policies specifically for nurse manager’s authentic leadership style to …

A Warm Welcome: Creating A Welcoming Environment For Nursing Student Clinicals Using A 3t Approach, Jeanine E. Gangeness, Sarah Heim, Linnea Benike

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Establishing a welcoming clinical learning environment for nursing students is important as it has been shown to positively impact student learning, sense of security and belonging, recruitment, and development of professional caring behaviors. The first clinical day is often riddled with anxiety for nursing students. Clinical units today have higher acuity patients, staff nurses with fewer years of experience, and rapid adoption of new technologies and processes when compared to the past. These factors necessitate a renewed approach to how nursing students are introduced to clinical care. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to explore the impact …

Stand Up! [Book Review], Amanda Harrison

Disability in LIS (DisLIS)

Tori Sharp’s graphic novel Stand Up! follows best friends Clay and Kyle as they navigate the end of middle school, the school play, first crushes, and their podcast. This feel-good story offers an affirming and relatable escape for LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse middle-grade readers.

Work-Life Balance Strategies For Nurse Faculty To Reduce Burnout, Jacqueline Williams, Joely Goodman, Sarah Ball, Trevor Woodward, Christine Young, Elizabeth Flott, Kara Morgan

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2022), nurse faculty vacancy rates continue to increase, threatening the ability to educate future healthcare professionals (Darnell et al., 2020; Gazza, 2022). Due to the shortage of qualified educators, faculty in academia are expected to fulfill multiple roles, thus increasing workload demands (Singh et al., 2019). With increased workload expectations, faculty require frequent adaptation to maintain a healthy work-life balance (Poole & Spies, 2021; Singh et al., 2019).

Previous research in academia has found correlations between work-life balance and emotional exhaustion, well-being, job retention, educator burnout, and job satisfaction using …

Social Capital In The Workplace For New Graduate Nurses: Maximizing Recruitment And Retention, Faye Ari Inumerables, Jennifer Emilie Mannino, Lisa A. Lumley, Kenya Williams, Pamela Watters, Fadjana Joseph, Kimberly Campbell-Taylor, Jennifer Hahl, Kathy Leistner, Mary Stevenson

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Background: Given the widespread nursing shortages, prioritizing nurse recruitment and retention efforts is essential. Understanding the impact of new graduates' initial experiences on their decision to accept and remain in their roles is essential for educators, recruiters, and healthcare system administrators to gain valuable insights. Purpose: This study aimed to examine a national sample of new graduate nurses’ first job experiences through the lens of social capital. Theoretical Framework: Social capital (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988; Putnam, 1994) asserts that social relationships create valuable networks that serve as resources to their members, extending reciprocal benefits for individuals and the organization, building …

Reshaping Workplace Well-Being: The Journey To Human Connection, Heike Doody, P. Ann Blaney

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

As healthcare continues to evolve in post-Covid environment, nurse leaders face increasing challenges with guiding teams, improving engagement, and promoting overall wellbeing. Increasing work engagement is an important indicator of workforce sustainability and wellbeing (Schaufeli, 2021). Leaders foster a culture of wellbeing, safety, and support for employees in healthcare organizations with a human connection. The purpose was to reengage direct care nurses to implement wellbeing standards and reestablish the human connection among staff by utilizing engaging leadership concepts.

Faced with lack of council engagement, leaders from the Healthy Work Environment Council (HWEC) shifted their leadership style from transitional to engaging …

Rear Leg-Derived Moment Contributes To Resistance Against Hip Extension In Bulgarian Split Squats, Hiroshi Arakawa, Hikaru Nakashima, Xuanrui Li, Michiya Tanimoto

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 18(7): 881-894, 2025. The Bulgarian split squat (BSS) is a unilateral exercise that emphasizes hip extension more than knee extension, compared to other squat variations. This study aimed to (1) empirically verify the existence of the rear leg-derived moment (M_RL)—a theoretically plausible but previously untested external resistive hip moment acting against the net hip extension moment (M_HE) of the front leg—and (2) examine how stance width and forward trunk-leaning angles affect M_RL during the BSS. Nine trained male participants performed bodyweight BSS under two stance conditions (wide and narrow) and …

16-Week Physical Transition From Professional Mma To Tactical Firefighting: A Case Study, Cole D. Smeester, Gabriel J. Sanders, Corey Peacock, Jose Antonio

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Firefighters, whose occupation involves intense physical, mental, and environmental demands, must be physically and mentally prepared to perform job-specific tasks effectively and safely. Nearly half of all injuries sustained on and off the fireground are musculoskeletal, highlighting issues in the preparation and maintenance strategies for work preparedness among firefighters. This case study examines the effectiveness of a 16-week conventional, conjugate strength and conditioning model on a fire recruit transitioning from a career as a professional MMA fighter. Specific data metrics were used to assess increases in firefighter-specific performance (i.e., EPAT time and body composition). After the 16-week program, the participant …