Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Predictors Of Resilience And Burnout In Acute Care Nursing Leaders, Stephanie Bailey, Shirley D. Martin, Shonna Bracco, Norma Rivera, Regina Urban

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Individuals who work in nurse leader roles are vital to support safe patient care and achievement of organizational goals. They are also at risk for burnout and low levels of professional well-being. This presentation will offer a summary of a research study that explored variables associated with mental well-being in acute care nurse leaders and identified predictors of resilience and burnout.

Enhancing Cataract Surgery Outcomes: Optimal Use Of Pre- And Post-Operative Eye Drops, Keith Skolnick M.D., Anu Valiaveedu

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Many preoperative and postoperative cataract patients struggle with comprehending the use of prescription medication as directed. Language barriers and low health literacy levels are major factors contributing to improper use of prescriptions. To increase patients comprehension, the Fort Lauderdale Eye Institute employed an educational intervention consisting of a live presentation and an instructional video. Results found that 44% of patients were hesitant to ask questions to clinical staff, 32% felt overwhelmed, and nearly 70% lacked confidence in using their prescribed eye drops. Following the intervention, 91% of patients reported increased confidence in their medications, and most indicated that the video …

Host, Microbiome, And Parasite: How Apicomplexan Microorganisms Interact With Gut Microbiota, Senia Bu, Andrew T. Ozga

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem of microorganisms residing in the human gastrointestinal tract, plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health. It functions in immune system regulation, digestion, and protection against pathogens. Apicomplexan parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium spp., and Cryptosporidium spp., are major pathogens that can significantly disrupt the gut microbiota, leading to alterations in microbial composition and function. This review explores the bidirectional interactions between Apicomplexan parasites and the gut microbiome, focusing on how these parasites influence microbial diversity, immune responses, and host metabolism. It examines the mechanisms by which infection-induced inflammation, altered …

From Infection To Restoration: A Case Study On Dental Extraction In The Maxilla Anterior, Melanie Ramirez

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

A dental implant is a restorative surgical procedure that serves as a solution to replace missing teeth that imitate the function, sensation, and appearance of natural teeth. The objective of this dental case study is to examine the diagnosis, treatment, and post-operation of a patient with a history of tooth loss and infection in the anterior maxilla. This case follows a 55-year-old patient, Jorge Marquez, name changed for confidentiality, who presented a severe tooth abscess on tooth #10 on the anterior maxilla which had previously undergone root canal treatment (Figure 1B). Radiographic evaluations illustrated the severity of the abscess the …

Interactive Intelligent Agent For Gaming Assistance, Christopher James Tegethoff

Defensive Publications Series

This document describes techniques that enable a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, laptop, smartphone, smart watch, server system, etc.) to provide assistance and/or companionship to a player of a game application using an intelligent software agent (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning model, etc.). Gaming environments may present challenges such as difficult learning curves, slow progression, complicated/unintuitive mechanics, and/or hostile social interactions. The intelligent agent may mitigate these challenges by acquiring game knowledge (e.g., via observing and learning from the player, “playing” the game on its own, training on tutorials and/or other instructional material, etc.) and offering in-game guidance …

Battery Enclosure Panel And Associated Means Of Manufacture, Thomas J. Beck, Rahul Vilas Kulkarni, Xavier Varone

Defensive Publications Series

A battery enclosure panel may include a formable inner sheet having a generally planar outer surface and at least one recessed portion formed in the generally planar outer surface that defines a receiving area for a fire suppressant material, and an outer sheet at least partially joined to the generally planar outer surface of the inner formable sheet.

2025 Ursinus College Academic Convocation Program, Ursinus College

Academic Convocation Programs

This Ursinus College Academic Convocation program lists speakers and events for the opening of the 2025 academic year.

Southern Adventist University Commencement Program Summer 2025, Southern Adventist University

Commencement Programs

Program for Southern Adventist University Summer 2025 graduation. The commencement service took place on August 22, 2025 at 10 am in Iles Physical Education Center.

A 6-Month, Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial Of The Targeted Management (Team) Intervention Vs. Enhanced Treatment As Usual Among Ugandans At Risk For Stroke, Carla Conroy, Joy Yala, Christopher J. Burant, Shirley Moore, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background Among low and middle-income countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the stroke burden is severe, with increasing trends in stroke incidence, prevalence, and mortality. Aims This 6-month, prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) compared a novel stroke risk reduction approach (TargetEd manAgeMent Intervention (TEAM)) vs. Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU) in 247 Ugandans at risk for stroke. Methods Participants, enrolled across 3 Ugandan sites, were adults with high stroke risk. The primary outcome was a change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included changes from baseline to 6 months on diastolic BP (DBP), serum lipids, …

Widowhood, Health, And Depression: Intergenerational Relationships, Social Support, And Psychological Well-Being Among Korean Older Adults, Yooumi Lee

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation focuses on Korean older adults and their experiences with widowhood and health issues in later life. Specifically, it examines the associations between stressful life events, such as recent widowhood and poor health, and depressive symptoms. It then further explores if intergenerational relationships and social support mediate the distressing consequences of these stressful life events. Using longitudinal data from 2006 to 2020 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, this study estimates residualized change Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models predicting depression at Tw as a function of depression at Tw-1 and other covariates among individuals who are 60 or older …

Exploring The Mediating Role Of Autonomous Motivation Between Basic Psychological Needs And Burnout Among Counselors-In-Training, Meredith Si Snieckus

Dissertations - ALL

Burnout is a pressing concern among counselors-in-training (CITs), threatening not only their well-being but also the quality of services they provide. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017), this study investigated the relationships among basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS), autonomous motivation (AM), and burnout in a national sample of CITs enrolled in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited counseling programs. Specifically, it examined whether AM mediates the relationship between BPNS and the three dimensions of burnout, emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and diminished personal accomplishment (DPA), as conceptualized by …

The Residual Impact Of Slavery On How Enslaved Black Females Defined And Made Meaning Of Sexual Violence: A Content Analysis, Suzanne R. Bates

Dissertations

Thompson-Miller & Picca (2016) and Feimster (2023) argued that enslaved African American women, and even free African Americans after the Civil War were victims of non-consensual sexual activity and rape. The NISVS report revealed that before the age of 18 years old, 35.5% of African American women experienced contact sexual violence, 29.5% experienced non-contact unwanted sexual encounters, and 20.7% experienced rape (Basile et al., 2022). Researchers of slave scholarship have made the case for the importance of including discourse on slavery and enslaved Black females’ experiences when discussing present day sexual violence among Black women in the US today (Balfour, …

The American Politics Of Firearms - The Case Between Illinois And Missouri, Michael J. Thompson

Dissertations

The issue of gun control is a hot topic in the field of American politics. It is a huge issue in the field of political science and in American public policy. In 2023, there were 18,874 firearm deaths in the United States, excluding suicides. The highest was in 2021 with the firearm related deaths at 21,068. One side argues that firearms can cause serious harm and death while the other side argues they can also reduce the rates of gun violence. There are different opinions on how to resolve the issue of mass shootings across the country. According to prior …

Multiaxial Expansion Of 4d-Printed Shape Memory Polymer Scaffolds Via Programming Via Printing (Pvp), Verona Hendricks

Theses - ALL

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) offer unique opportunities for engineering responsive medical devices that can adapt to changing anatomical environments. However, most SMP-based systems are limited to uniaxial deformation which restricts their ability to conform to complex geometries found in soft tissue applications. Moreover, 3D approaches to print and program SMPs have demonstrated printed parts that can contract, but printed parts that can expand after printing has not been demonstrated to date. This work presents the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a 4D-printed SMP scaffold capable of controlled expansion along all three orthogonal axes (x, y, and z). Utilizing a method …

Roles Of Sex And Education Level With Alcohol Use Milestone Attainment And Progression, Elisabeth P. Cabot

Theses - ALL

Emerging adults report the highest rates of alcohol use, with drinking patterns varying by sex and education level. Few studies have explored how these factors relate to the attainment and progression of alcohol use milestones. The current study addresses this gap by examining the associations between sex, education level and alcohol use milestone progression and attainment in emerging adults. Secondary data analyses were conducted using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) data (N = 36,309, Mage = 45.63 [SD = 17.53], female = 56%, 53% White, 21% Black, 19% Hispanic and 2% Multiracial). Ordinal regressions indicated males …

Vanuatu And The International Court Of Justice: A Food Studies Approach To Climate Governance And Power, Amy Katherine Bentley

Theses - ALL

Vanuatu is a leader among small island developing states (SIDS) working to influence global climate change governance, using international diplomacy as its best defense against the climate crisis. In 2023, Vanuatu spearheaded a successful campaign for the United Nations General Assembly to request an advisory opinion (AO) from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) clarifying nations’ legal obligations related to climate change. This study uses a food studies approach to explore Vanuatu’s success in its climate governance campaign, focusing on the relationships between food sovereignty, climate justice, and power. To investigate this subject, I used an interdisciplinary literature review and …

Ectopic Adipose Tissue In Subsistence Populations With Minimal Coronary Disease, Large Left Atria, And Very Low Rates Of Atrial Fibrillation, Randall C. Thompson, Benjamin C. Trumble, Daniel K. Cummings, Angela D. Neunuebel, Paul L. Hooper, Samuel Wann, Adel H. Allam, Frances Neunuebel, Benjamin D. Gans, Samantha I. King, Edmond Seabright, Caleb E. Finch, Margaret Gatz, Kenneth Buetow, Michael I. Miyamoto, Guido P. Lombardi, M. Linda Sutherland, James D. Sutherland, Christopher J. Ward, Madeleine J. Lee, Ashna Mahadev, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, David E. Michalik, Chris J. Rowan, Tianyu Cao, Jonathan Stieglitz, Cameron M. Quick, Gregory S. Thomas, Jagat Narula, Damini Dey, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan

ESI Publications

Background

Methods

Effects Of Storage Temperatures On Quality And Phytochemical Properties Of The Hawthorn (Crataegus Azarolus L.) During Storage And Shelf Life, Ahmet Erhan Özdemi̇r, Oğuzhan Çalişkan, Safder Bayazit, Kazi̇m Gündüz, Nurdan Tuna Güneş, Zafer Karaşahi̇n, Derya Kiliç, Ramazan Bestami̇ Karahan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study aimed to investigate the effects of storage temperature on the quality and phytochemical characteristics in Sultan hawthorn cultivar during cold storage and shelf life. Fruits were stored at 0 ± 0.5 °C and 4 ± 0.5 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) for 6 months in cold storage and were analyzed every month. In addition, hawthorn fruits were kept at 20 ± 0.5 °C and 75 ± 5% RH for 7 days, and their shelf life was investigated at monthly intervals. Weight loss, appearance, the incidence of physiological disorders and fungal decay, fruit skin color, firmness, …

Design And Structural Optimization Of Acceleration Pipe For Mhd Accelerated Jujube Air-Suction Harvester, Yi Wang, Jing Nie, Jingbin Li, Longpeng Ding, Xuewei Chao, Xianfei Wang

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The combination of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) acceleration technology and the negative pressure suction principle ensures the effective lifting and transport of jujube fruits, addressing the challenges of traditional harvesting methods and providing a new solution for improving jujube harvesting efficiency. This study focuses on the impact of key parameters, including pipe diameter, electrode plate length, and electrode positioning, on the performance of the MHD acceleration pipe through numerical simulations. The structural optimization of the MHD acceleration pipe in the air-suction jujube harvester aims to enhance airflow acceleration efficiency. The results from both numerical simulations and experimental studies indicate that: 1) a …

Dynamics And Lipid Membrane Coupling Of The Ras-Raf Complex Revealed Via Multiscale Simulations, Timothy S. Carpenter, Fikret Aydin, Chris Neale, Que N. Van, Xiaohua Zhang, Harsh Bhatia, Jason W. Sidabras, Peter H. Frank, Konstantia Georgouli, Jeremy O.B. Tempkin, Violeta Burns Casamayor, Gulcin Gulten, Rebika Shrestha, Debanjan Goswami, Francesco Di Natale, Joseph R. Chavez, Liam G. Stanton, For Full Author List, See Comments Below

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

To gain molecular and mechanistic insights into initiation of the RAS-RAF signaling cascade, we developed and used a combination of multiscale simulation and experimental approaches. The influence and impact of the membrane on RAS and RAF proteins is a factor we are just beginning to understand and appreciate in more detail. Molecular simulation is an ideal methodology to further study this complicated relationship between the membrane and associated proteins. Our previous work using Multiscale Machine-learned Modeling Infrastructure investigated different lipid compositions solely around the KRAS4b protein and the interplay between protein behavior and these membrane environments. Multiscale Machine-learned Modeling Infrastructure …

Transforming Fall Prevention Using A Systems-Wide Approach, Jessica Pierce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project proposal targets fall reduction and injury prevention in a Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). The initiative implements a non-restrictive, evidence-based fall prevention program that excludes side rails and bed alarms, emphasizing systematic patient safety and personalized care. Falls are a major safety concern at the VAMC due to ineffective traditional methods, inconsistent assessments, and reliance on restraints, contributing to high fall rates and increased healthcare costs. The project successfully achieved consensus from an interprofessional team on developing a comprehensive fall reduction program. Evidence indicates that removing restrictive devices enhances staff engagement and protocol …

Government Policies Influencing The Retainment Of Civil Engineers In Guyana's Public Sector, Gracelyn George

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low retention of civil engineers in Guyana’s public sector has impeded the execution of needed infrastructure projects in the country. The literature reviewed highlighted that there continued to be questions regarding why people leave engineering jobs. Moreover, there was a limited understanding of what societal attributes influenced the problem, while there continued to be a growing demand for civil engineers. The literature specific to government policies influencing the retention of civil engineers in the public sector was lacking, presenting an opportunity to expand the application of the policy feedback theory, which provided a lens for examining retention measures in …

Crime Prevention Professionals’ Perspectives On Using Cpted To Mitigate Targeted Violence On K-12 School Campuses, Bridgit C. Didier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Targeted violence in K-12 schools across the United States is a serious concern. These incidents not only endanger students and staff, but also cause lasting trauma and erode trust in schools. While existing measures may deter some violence, questions remain regarding their overall effectiveness. This study involved exploring perspectives of crime prevention experts on using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies to mitigate violence in K-12 schools. Although CPTED is recognized as effective in terms of reducing crime, research on its use in schools, especially from the perspective of crime prevention professionals, is limited. This generic qualitative study involved …

Newhouse Impact Magazine 2025, Newhouse School

Newhouse Impact Magazine

Showcasing the research and creative work of faculty, staff and students at the Newhouse School

Welcome To Hotel Thai: Labor, Love, And The Space Between My Mothers, Tripty Tamang Pakhrin

Theses - ALL

This thesis explores maternal labor, silence, and family boundaries through my experience of growing up at Hotel Thai, a restaurant and home located on the open border between Nepal and India. The hotel is run by my three parents: my mother, my father, and his first wife. My two mothers live and work side by side every day but do not speak to each other. Their silence is not emptiness, but a way of surviving and holding the family together. This paper discusses my film, performance, installation, and printmaking works to explore how care, memory, and labor are expressed without …

Are You Watching People Via Social Media?, Linlin Wang

Theses - ALL

This study examines why Chinese Generation Z surveil non-intimate acquaintances on social media. Drawing on surveillance theory, social comparison orientation, fear of missing out (FoMO), communication privacy management, and platform affordances, this study proposes a "social comparison orientation → FoMO → surveillance" model. The study employed a sequential mixed methodology. In the first phase, 129 respondents aged 18 to 28 completed a survey validating these pathways. In the second phase, 21 high-monitoring participants were interviewed. The results indicate that social comparison, influenced by the unique "social clock" in Chinese society and the information exposure of online spaces like panopticon, can …

Protecting Networks Against Entry-Point Attacks, Shivani Mishra

Theses - ALL

In many network applications, it is critical to protect sensitive nodes from discovery by malicious crawlers. This thesis addresses the network protection problem from the data protector’s perspective, focusing on strategically deleting edges to hide target nodes from entry-point attacks. Earlier work on this problem proposed node-level scores to identify key edges for deletion. We propose two novel edge-level scoring functions to identify critical edges for removal: the Shortest Path Change Score (SPCS), which quantifies the damage an edge’s removal causes to shortest paths, and the PageRank Edge Flow Score (PEFS), which estimates an edge’s usage in random walks from …

Relativistic Gas Accretion Onto Supermassive Black Hole Binaries From Inspiral Through Merger, Lorenzo Ennoggi

Theses

Accreting supermassive black hole binaries are powerful multimessenger sources emitting both gravitational and electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Understanding the accretion dynamics of these systems and predicting their distinctive EM signals is crucial to informing and guiding upcoming efforts aimed at detecting gravitational waves produced by these binaries. To this end, accurate numerical modeling is required to describe both the spacetime and the magnetized gas around the black holes. In this work, we present two key advances in this field of research. First, we have developed a novel 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) framework that combines multiple numerical codes to simulate the …

Perceptions Of Pain And Benzodiazepine Use Interrelations: A Qualitative Study, Emma Carnes Lape

Dissertations - ALL

Growing concern and research attention have focused on potential harms associated with widespread use of benzodiazepine (BZD) medications. Individuals with chronic pain bear a disproportionate burden, characterized by higher rates of BZD prescriptions, longer-term use, and increased dependence compared to the general population. Although theory and emerging evidence suggest that pain may play a role in the maintenance of BZD use, there is no extant data describing how individuals perceive interrelations between their pain and BZD use. The aims of the present study were to conduct a thematic analysis of interview data regarding perceptions of interrelationships between pain and BZD …

Calcium-Ion Transport In Gel And Solid Polymer Electrolytes: From Solvent-Solute Interactions To Molecular Simulations For Next-Generation Calcium Batteries, Xinlu Wang

Dissertations - ALL

Multivalent metal-ion batteries, especially calcium (Ca²⁺) and magnesium (Mg²⁺) systems, are attractive alternatives to lithium-ion technologies owing to their high theoretical energy density, improved safety profiles, and abundant natural resources. Nevertheless, the successful commercialization of these technologies is impeded by challenges in electrolyte development, particularly related to cation solvation, ion transport efficiency, and interfacial stability. This dissertation addresses these challenges through comprehensive experimental investigations and molecular dynamics simulations of polymer-based electrolytes designed explicitly for multivalent cation conduction. In the first study, polymer gel electrolytes comprising poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and low dielectric solvents—1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and dimethoxyethane (DME)—with calcium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Ca(TFSI)₂) …