Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Selection Of Graphic Symbol Collections By Speech And Language Pathologists For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vasiliki Hadjicharalambous, Donald R. Fuller, Eliada Pampoulou

Communication Sciences & Disorders Faculty Publications

Graphic symbol collections are often implemented in assessment and interventions with clients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The selection of the optimal collection is considered by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) a challenging task. Since limited literature exists on the factors that guide this selection specifically for clients with ASD, this study aimed to explore those in detail, for which a qualitative design was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with SLPs who shared their views on the factors that affect this selection. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts took place. The outcomes showed that SLPs focus on multiple factors, grouped as …

Staff Education To Improve Phq-9 Knowledge, Confidence, And Competency In An Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, Zainab Lawal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

The Meaning Of Physical Activity In The Context Of Health Sciences: A Concept Analysis, Martín G. Farinola

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Physical activity has been defined in numerous ways. Thus, this study aimed to conduct a concept analysis of the existing physical activity definitions in the health sciences literature to evaluate its conceptual precision and assess the need for a revised or novel concept better suited for this domain. The concept analysis was accomplished using tools derived from philosophical semantics. The analysis identified six definitions that explicitly state what physical activity is with sufficient clarity to allow for conceptual examination. The findings indicated that these definitions frequently merge the concept of physical activity with its contextual attributes. To address these semantic …

Improving Postpartum Depression Screening Through Psychiatry Clinical Staff Education, Michael Enwere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Improving Nursing Orientation: A Preceptor-Led Competency Program, Brandy Tanesa Broadway

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Timing Isn't Everything: Rethinking Mortality Risk In Type A Aortic Dissection Surgery, Anna H Xue, Joseph S Coselli

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Apathy, Effort-Based Decisions And Brain Integrity In Alzheimer’S And Parkinson’S Diseases, Lee-Anne Morris, Hideo Suzuki, Seonjoo Lee, Zekai Jin, Bryan B Chen, Ana Marin, Edward D Huey, Yunglin Gazes, Sarah R Heilbronner, Campbell J Le Heron, Nora Vanegas-Arroyave

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Apathy, or loss of motivation, is a prominent syndrome accompanying both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, in addition to other disorders. One approach to understanding motivational loss is to examine the processes underlying goal-directed behaviour. Weighing up rewarding outcomes against the effort costs required to obtain them (effort-based decision-making) is a core computation when deciding to act for outcomes. Although a growing body of evidence points to disruption of this computation in people with apathy, which underlying decision parameters drive this disruption, their neural associations and whether these would generalize or differ across brain disorders have not been examined. People with …

Mitochondrial Etf Insufficiency Drives Neoplastic Growth By Selectively Optimizing Cancer Bioenergetics, David Papadopoli, Sergej Djuranovic, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Mitochondrial electron transport flavoprotein (ETF) insufficiency causes metabolic diseases known as a multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD). In contrast to muscle, ETFDH is a non-essential gene in acute lymphoblastic leukemia NALM6 cells, and its expression is reduced across human cancers. In various human cancer cell lines and mouse models, ETF insufficiency caused by decreased ETFDH expression limits flexibility of OXPHOS fuel utilisation but paradoxically increases bioenergetics and accelerates neoplastic growth via activation of the mTORC1/BCL-6/4E-BP1 axis. Collectively, these findings reveal that while ETF insufficiency is rare and has detrimental effects in non-malignant tissues, it is common in neoplasia, where ETFDH …

Herbularyo (Folk Healer): An Herbal Medicine Card Game, Maryjane T. Magsino, Inah Marie Q. Rivera, Armando M. Guidote, Genejane M. Adarlo

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Herbularyo, a card game teaching about herbal plants (HPs), was created and evaluated as a viable educational card game based on Tuomisto and Aksela’s criteria. A quasi-experiment was performed on 81 Grade 8 students from a private high school and 50 Grade 11 from a public high school. Independent t-test revealed that the control group (CG) and experimental group (EG) (p=0.386), and EG1 (played ≤5) and EG2 (played >5) (p=0.681) are not comparable with each other. Paired t-test showed EG performed better (p=0.001) than CG (p=0.901) whereas ANCOVA showed that playing Herbularyo improved students’ information retention (p=0.006). EG1 and EG2 …

Staff Education Intervention To Improve Staff Knowledge And Competency In Supporting Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Self-Management, Dorothy Chudi-Agbaku

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Descriptive Analysis: Effects Of Insufficient Sleep Among College Students Ages 18-22, Divine Ighalo

Honors Theses

Background: Not getting enough sleep is common among college students and is often linked to habits such as screen time, caffeine intake, stress, and irregular routines. This study examined how these lifestyle factors are associated with insufficient sleep among college students ages 18-22 and how poor sleep affects their overall wellbeing. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional survey design and collected data through an anonymous 25 question online Qualtrics questionnaire. This was completed by 150 participants. The survey was designed to be completed in about 5-7 minutes. It included a mix of multiplechoice questions, frequency-based responses and select all that …

Small Partial Deletion Of A Highly Gc-Rich Foxf1 Exon 1 In Two Deceased Siblings With Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia, Hiuling Chan Joiner, Shruti A Pande, Przemyslaw Szafranski, Partha Sen, Gail Deutsch, Pawel Stankiewicz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV) is a rare lethal lung developmental disorder caused by haploinsufficiency of FOXF1. While larger-sized coding and noncoding copy-number variant (CNV) deletions involving the FOXF1 locus are detected in approximately half of histopathologically-diagnosed ACDMPV patients, small CNVs remain diagnostically challenging. Here, we revisited an unsolved case of familial ACDMPV with two affected siblings. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 30-year-old archival lung autopsy tissue analyzed using AI powered platform revealed a 151 bp CNV deletion involving a highly GC-rich portion of exon 1 of FOXF1 that was not detected using Sanger sequencing and …

Purine Metabolic Adaptation Protects The Endothelium From Disturbed Flow-Induced Dna Damage And Atherosclerosis, Qian Ma, Yongfeng Cai, Zhidan Zhang, Dingwei Zhao, Yuan Zhao, Peishan Xu, Tammy Lu, Wendy Zhang, Qiuhua Yang, Yaqi Zhou, Varadarajan Sudhahar, Tohru Fukai, Hanjoong Jo, Yiming Xu, Yuqing Huo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite effective lipid-lowering therapies, atherosclerosis continues to be a leading cause of death, with considerable residual cardiovascular risk. Atherosclerotic lesions develop preferentially at arterial regions exposed to disturbed flow (d-flow), which induces genomic stress, endothelial injury, and barrier dysfunction. Hemodynamic forces are known to reprogram endothelial metabolism, but the role of de novo purine synthesis (DNPS), which supplies nucleotides for genome maintenance and whose terminal steps are catalyzed by the bifunctional enzyme ATIC, remains undefined in atherosclerosis. By integrating bulk and single-cell multiomics with in vitro flow systems and in vivo models, we show that d-flow upregulates DNPS and ATIC …

Multi-Scale Data Improves Performance Of Machine Learning Model For Long Covid Identification, Christopher Guardo, Zhang Xinmeng, Srushti Gangireddy, Yan Chao, V Eric Kerchberger, Alyson L Dickson, Emily R Pfaff, Hiral Master, Xin Yi, Melissa Basford, Christopher G Chute, Nguyen K Tran, Salvatore Mancuso, Toufeeq Ahmed Syed, Zhao Zhongming, Feng Qiping, Melissa Haendel, Christopher Lunt, Paul A Harris, Li Lang, Geoffrey S Ginsburg, Joshua C Denny, Dan M Roden, Wei Wei-Qi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Long COVID affects a substantial proportion of the over 778 million individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, yet predictive models remain limited in scope. While existing efforts, such as the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), have leveraged electronic health record (EHR) data for risk prediction and identification, accumulating evidence points to additional contributions from social, behavioral, and genetic factors.

Methods: Using a diverse cohort of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals (n > 17,200) from the NIH All of Us Research Program, we investigated whether integrating EHR data with survey-based and genomic information improves model performance.

Results: Our multi-scale approach outperforms EHR-only model's area under the …

Large-Scale Genetic Characterization Of Parkinson’S Disease In The African And African Admixed Populations, Fulya Akçimen, Kimberly Paquette, Peter Wild Crea, Kathryn Step, Emily Waldo, Mathew J Koretsky, Paula Saffie-Awad, Charles Achoru, Funmilola Taiwo, Simon Ozomma, Gerald Onwuegbuzie, Marzieh Khani, Spencer Grant, Lukman Owolabi, Chiamaka Okereke, Olajumoke Oshinaike, Emmanuel Iwuozo, Suleyman Can Akerman, Paul Suhwan Lee, Shyngle Oyakhire, Nosakhare Osemwegie, Kensuke Daida, Sani Abubakar, Adedunni Olusanya, Mariam Isayan, Christiane Alvarez, Rami Traurig, Adebimpe Ogunmodede, Sarah Samuel, Mary B Makarious, Fadimatu Sa'ad, Rashidat Olanigan, Kristin Levine, Ewere Marie Ogbimi, Dan Vitale, Francis Odiase, Francis Ojini, Olanike Odeniyi, Zih-Hua Fang, Nkechi Obianozie, Deborah A Hall, Ernest Nwazor, Tao Xie, Francesca Nwaokorie, Mahesh Padmanaban, Paul Nwani, Ejaz A Shamim, Alero Nnama, David Standaert, Morenikeji Komolafe, Marissa Dean, Godwin Osaigbovo, Elizabeth Disbrow, Ismaila Ishola, Ashley Rawls, Frank Imarhiagbe, Shivika Chandra, Cyril Erameh, Vanessa Hinson, Naomi Louie, Ahmed Idowu, J Solle, Scott A Norris, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Camilla Kilbane, Gauthaman Sukumar, Lisa M Shulman, Daniel Ezuduemoih, Julia Staisch, Sarah Breaux, Clifton Dalgard, Erin R Foster, Abiodun Bello, Andrew Ameri, Raquel Real, Erica Ikwenu, Huw R Morris, Roosevelt Anyanwu, Erin Furr Stimming, Kimberley Billingsley, Wemimo Alaofin, Pilar Alvarez Jerez, Osigwe Agabi, Dena G Hernandez, Rufus Akinyemi, Sampath Arepalli, Laksh Malik, Raymond Owolabi, Yakub Nyandaiti, Hampton L Leonard, Kolawole Wahab, Oladunni Abiodun, Carlos F Hernandez, Fatima Abdulai, Hirotaka Iwaki, Soraya Bardien, Christine Klein, John Hardy, Henry Houlden, Kamalini Ghosh Galvelis, Mike A Nalls, Nabila Dahodwala, Whitley Aamodt, Emily Hill, Alberto Espay, Stewart Factor, Chantale Branson, Cornelis Blauwendraat, Andrew B Singleton, Oluwadamilola Ojo, Lana M Chahine, Njideka Okubadejo, Sara Bandres-Ciga

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Elucidating the genetic contributions to Parkinson's disease aetiology across diverse ancestries is a critical priority for the development of targeted therapies in a global context. We conducted the largest sequencing characterization of potentially disease-causing, protein-altering and splicing mutations in 710 cases and 11 827 controls from genetically predicted African or African admixed ancestries. We explored copy number variants (CNVs) and runs of homozygosity in prioritized early onset and familial cases. Our study identified rare GBA1 coding variants to be the most frequent mutations among patients with Parkinson's disease, with a frequency of 4% in our case cohort. Of the 18 …

Transcriptome Predictors Of Second Breast Events In Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: A Case‒Control Study Including Black And White Women, Aditi Hazra, Emma Berdan, Thomas Walsh, Sarah Humble, Jen Tappenden, Katherine Deschryver, Deborah Veis, Kiran Vij, Shannan Ho Sui, Graham A Colditz

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Black women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) experience disproportionately higher risk of second breast cancer events (SBEs), including both ipsilateral and contralateral recurrences, yet remain underrepresented in molecular biomarker studies compared to non-Hispanic White women.

METHODS: We performed RNA sequencing on 200 archival DCIS samples from the Resource of Archival Breast Tissue cohort, including 33% self-reported Black women. We correlated transcriptomic and clinical data to identify predictors of SBEs. Cases (n = 100) who developed SBEs between 1999 and 2019 were matched 1:1 to controls (n = 100) on age, race, and margin status, who remained event-free …

Logistic Regression For Estimating Functional Effects With Spatial Transcriptomics, Michael Barkasi, Cody Nhan Pham, Demetrios Neophytou, Hysell V Oviedo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Spatial transcriptomics (ST) unlocks potential for studying gene functions in processes that depend on orchestration of transcription across space. However, analysis tools for ST remain aimed at data exploration, with few resources for hypothesis testing. What's missing is a way to test whether a factor of interest affects functionally relevant parameters of a gene's spatial distribution. We present a tool to fill this gap, which we call a warped sigmoidal Poisson-process mixed-effects (WSP, pronounced "wisp") model. WSP models are the first ST tool allowing researchers to test critical questions without bespoke preprocessing pipelines for identifying key spatial parameters. By aligning …

Large-Scale Genetic Characterization Of Parkinson's Disease In The African And African Admixed Populations, Fulya Akçimen, Scott A Norris, Erin R Foster, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Elucidating the genetic contributions to Parkinson's disease aetiology across diverse ancestries is a critical priority for the development of targeted therapies in a global context. We conducted the largest sequencing characterization of potentially disease-causing, protein-altering and splicing mutations in 710 cases and 11 827 controls from genetically predicted African or African admixed ancestries. We explored copy number variants (CNVs) and runs of homozygosity in prioritized early onset and familial cases. Our study identified rare GBA1 coding variants to be the most frequent mutations among patients with Parkinson's disease, with a frequency of 4% in our case cohort. Of the 18 …

Blinded By Relapse: A Rare Case Of Bilateral Vision Loss From Leukemic Meningeal Infiltration, Aun A. Bangash, Tejaswini Swamy, Chloe C. Harris, Victoria Parada

Research Symposium

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for 20% of adult leukemias, with outcomes improving through modern systemic and CNS-directed therapies. Leukemic meningeal relapse, defined as infiltration of the meninges and detected by cerebrospinal fluid cytology, is reported in 4–7% of adult ALL patients and remains a devastating complication despite CNS prophylaxis. CNS involvement typically presents with nonspecific symptoms such as headache, nausea, or cranial neuropathies; isolated, abrupt vision loss is rare. With a median survival of less than six months if untreated, timely recognition is critical. We present a case of intracranial hypertension with bilateral vision loss due to leukemic …

Parenting Style And Academic Success: How Can You Help Your Child Succeed?, Elizabeth A. Weicker

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between the parenting style a college student experienced during childhood and the student’s most recent college GPA. Using survey data collected from undergraduate students throughout the United States, a between-subjects ANOVA was conducted to comparing different parenting styles and mean GPA for those styles. The parenting styles analyzed were authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. Results indicated significant differences in GPA between parenting styles, with the authoritative parenting style producing the highest college GPA. In addition, an independent samples t-test was conducted to analyze the relationship between student satisfaction with the parenting …

The Role Of Paraprofessionals In The Mental Health Structure Of India, Amy Abraham, Kimberly D. Becker, Wendy Chu

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

The mental health treatment gap in India is part of a growing public health crisis, with over 95% of those in need of services never receiving them. Over 197 million Indians suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder, and this number continues to grow given the treatment gap. The treatment gap is a result of four major factors: lack of government support, stigma, limited treatment facilities, and dearth of professionals able to provide treatment. The current study aimed to analyze several factors of paraprofessional-led mental health interventions including setting, treatments delivered, treatment models, and client outcomes. A narrative …

Searching For A Connection Between Intellectual Humility And Decision-Making Ability, Mansi Verma, Kristin Kirchner

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

The present study investigated whether there was a relationship between intellectual humility and decision-making. The participants were 32 undergraduate students recruited from the University of South Carolina. Data was collected through self-reported measures of intellectual humility from the participants and their answers to questions testing for decision-making ability in a single survey. Results indicate that there is a correlation between the scores on the Intellectual Humility Scale and CRT scores. Overall, there does appear to be a relationship between intellectual humility and decision-making.

Moving America: A Study Examining The Relationships Between Early Residential Mobility, Anxiety And Academic Performance, Kelsey Thomas, Wendy Chu, Melanie Palomares

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Early residential mobility has known negative effects on mental health outcomes and academic achievement. These effects have been studied broadly and globally, yet there lacks attention in examining early residential mobility to specific localities, regions, or states. As such, this study sought to investigate these associations, specifically its impact on anxiety and academic performance in adults residing or living in South Carolina. Participants were surveyed online regarding their demographic information, academic performance, and anxiety levels. Results found no significant relationships between early residential mobility, anxiety, and academic performance among adults residing or living in South Carolina. Despite these null findings, …

College Student's Ideal Age For Having Children, Corrie Sanders, Melanie Palomares, Kristin Kirchner

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

It has been observed that women are beginning to have children at a later age than traditionally seen in history. This study examines college student’s ideal age for having children, and how it compares to the age of their mother when she had her first child. The data was collected mainly from undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina through a survey completed by 39 participants. Through a one-way between-subjects ANOVA, this study found there was not a significant difference of the ideal age to have children between college students ages 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. The average …

Examining Biobehavioral Indicators Of Adhd In Children With Fxs, Hannah Pressler, Kayla Smith, Ramsey Coyle, Elizabeth Will, Jane E. Roberts

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity behaviors that are inconsistent with developmental age. Children with fragile X syndrome (FXS), a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, are often diagnosed with comorbid ADHD (53–59% of males with FXS). Despite the prevalence of ADHD in FXS, little is known about the early manifestation of ADHD. The current project aims to explore group differences in play behaviors between children with FXS and typically developing (TD) children as well as the relationship between infant play behavior and heart activity to future ADHD attention outcomes. Participants included male children with FXS and …

Predator Or Prey: The Analysis Of Gender And Race On The Perception Of Black Men As Sexual Assault Victims, Jordyn Livingston, Dr. Florencia Cornet

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Men sexual assault victims have gained more attention in recent years. Despite the growing sociological literature on violence against men, previous research provides little acknowledgment of Black men sexual assault victims. In this manuscript, I analyze emerging literature in the socio-medical sciences to explore how gender and race affects the perceptions of Black men as sexual assault victims. Specifically, I utilize intersectionality as a theoretical framework to synthesize literature on blackness and masculinity in sexual assault victims to conclude that there is an intersectional point that disadvantages Black males, portraying them as sexual predators. In so doing, I provide research …

Effect Of Ampk On Exercise-Induced Adipocyte Metabolism, Alec M. Giakas, Ran Hee Choi, Ho-Jin Koh

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Regular physical activity is a recommended strategy to prevent obesity via increasing fatty acid metabolism. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been associated with the activation of lipolysis in adipose tissue. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that a single bout of exercise increases AMPK activity in adipocytes; however, the mechanism by which AMPK regulates exercise-induced adipocyte metabolism has yet to be determined. To examine the role of AMPK in exercise-induced adipocyte metabolism, we utilized fat-specific AMPK alpha 1 and alpha 2 knockout mice (FKO). Wild type (WT) and FKO mice were divided into sedentary (Sed) and exercise (EX) groups. After 6 …

The Effects Of Eating Disorder Knowledge On Dieting Beliefs, Kaitlyn Finn, Melanie Palomares, Kristin Kirchner

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

The study at hand was designed to look into the issues of eating disorder awareness and dieting attitudes. Specifically, it was hypothesized that individuals with more knowledge of eating disorders would be less likely to believe in dieting. It was additionally hypothesized that there would be a difference in amount of eating disorder knowledge seen between pre-determined age groupings. This was hypothesized due to the nature of the inception of eating disorders as a clinical diagnosis. Eating disorders did not begin to be added as a category into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual until the 80’s, suggesting that participants of …

Predicting Narcissism Through Social Media, Cameryn Freglette, Melanie Palomares

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

The objective of this study was to assess if narcissism can be predicted through social media behaviors such as frequency of posts, posting selfies, and social media presence on a variety of platforms. This study was conducted through a questionnaire related to social media use and a brief assessment from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI- 16). Results indicated that social media use per day was significantly different between people who post selfies and those who do not. Participants that scored higher for narcissism used social media less but posted significantly more selfies. Results were not significant in predicting narcissism through …

Connecting On Campus: Exploring The Motivations And Behaviors Of College Students On Dating Apps, Emma Doyle, Melanie Palomares

Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Dating apps are increasingly popular among young people, including college students. However, these apps can be quite versatile, and there can be a number of reasons why a college student would use them, whether they are looking for a serious relationship, casual sex, or anything in between. Our study evaluated the intents, behaviors, and satisfaction of college students who used dating apps. Using Chi-Square and independent samples t-test analyses, results show that while satisfaction ratings were similar between men and women, more men use dating apps than women, which suggests that women might have a more negative perception of dating …