• Fabrication And Evaluation Of Microneedles And Other Enhancement Technologies For Transdermal Delivery Of Anticancer Drugs / By Hiep Xuan Nguyen.

      Nguyen, Hiep Xuan
      Skin (transdermal/topical) delivery offers several advantages over other conventional routes of administration. It helps eliminate first pass metabolism, decrease side effects, enhance patient compliance and decrease frequent dosing. Transdermal delivery has been limited to potent, moderately lipophilic and small molecules. However, the benefits of this route of administration appeal to researchers to expand this limited scope. Multiple physical enhancement techniques have been investigated to increase transdermal drug delivery such as microneedles, laser, electroporation, iontophoresis, and sonophoresis. These methods compromise the barrier function of skin by affecting the skin -stratum corneum and/or epidermis to allow the drug to pass through the treated areas. These approaches facilitate skin delivery of various compounds that includes small molecules, macromolecules, and nano/microparticles. The efficiency of physical enhancement techniques is most useful to deliver hydrophilic large molecules that cannot enter the skin by passive diffusion. In our studies, we used microneedles, fractional ablative laser and ultrasound to treat dermatomed porcine ear and/or cadaver human skin to enhance in vitro transdermal delivery of anticancer drugs, methotrexate, vismodegib, and doxorubicin.
    • Facilitated Topical and Transdermal Delivery of Small Molecules

      Yeh, Jihee; College of Pharmacy
      The skin is the largest organ of the body that is easily accessible and can be utilized as a route of administration to deliver drugs locally and systemically to achieve targeted therapeutic effects. It provides several advantages over conventional routes of administration (e.g. oral and parenteral) such as bypassing first-pass metabolism, reduction of adverse effects and enhanced patient compliance. However, drug delivery through skin can be challenging due to protective barrier of the skin, especially stratum corneum. Stratum corneum serves as a rate-limiting layer and only allows the permeation of drug molecules with certain physicochemical properties. Chemical enhancers can be used to reversibly alter the structure of stratum corneum to be more permeable without causing long-term compromise of the skin. Also, physical enhancement technique such as iontophoresis utilize an additional energy as a driving force to actively disrupt the barrier nature of stratum corneum to enhance the drug delivery.In the present study, different enhancement strategies such as addition of permeation enhancers to the drug formulation and/or electrically assisted technique such as anodal and cathodal iontophoresis were investigated to enhance the delivery of therapeutic (N-acetylcysteine and minoxidil) and dermatological (adapalene) drugs into and across the skin. Also, iontophoresis was explored for enhancement of topical and transfollicular drug delivery. In summary, chemical enhancers and physical enhancement technique were shown to significantly enhance the skin permeation of different drugs into and across the skin, as compared to their respective passive permeation controls. Furthermore, studies of iontophoresis with different durations of current application revealed that lower duration was adequate to achieve significant amount of minoxidil in hair follicles with reduced amount of drug penetration across the skin, thereby potentially minimizing systemic exposure.
    • Facilitating Transformation Through Narrative Stories at Lakewood Church of Hope

      Burke, Gary; McAfee School of Theology
      This project studied the impact of narrative stories on the life of certain church members at the Lakewood Church of Hope. This unconventional method of ministering to the Members and Guests of LCH to the Lakewood Heights Community will help improve the community's overall spiritual well-being. Through this research, this researcher intended to build stronger spiritual relationships in the Lakewood Heights Community. Initial interviews were conducted with eight men as potential volunteers for this project. Of the eight men, six volunteered to participate in the study. Pre-interviews and post-interviews were recorded and coded to look for keywords and terms. The desired outcome is that the language and terms used at the beginning of the project interviews were expanded in the final interviews as a result of the weekly sessions. The meetings were observed and noted as the volunteers responded to the activities over the course of six weeks. I gave more attention to the language used over the six-week timeline. The results were coded the results and examined for changes throughout the project. In the post-interview, with the hope that they could teach their stories considering the story of redemption, they were asked what their findings or lessons learned in relation to their experiences from this project were. This project opened a door for further research and maybe new methods. The men that chose to be a part of this series have done more than enough to make this a great experience. Many of them were rather reluctant to share their journey. While the men may not have been ready to dive deep into their emotions, they could have been more inspired to uncover things that they had forced themselves to bury with more opportunities of building trust with one another
    • Factors Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risks in Black Women Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) or Coronary Bypass Graft (CABG) Procedures: A Retrospective Correlational Study

      Sutton, Paula Renee; Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
      Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death among adults in the United States (US) with a high prevalence among Black women. Black women have higher incidences of known CVD risks and higher CVD-related mortality than women of other races. To reduce CVD risks, factors associated with CVD risks should be investigated. Although some sociodemographic, biophysiological or physical, and psychological factors have been found to be associated with CVD risks, the associations of these factors with each CVD risk have been rarely examined in Black women. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of CVD risks (smoking, obesity, HTN, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and alcohol use) and the associations of sociodemographic (i.e., age and health insurance payor), biophysiological/physical (i.e., metabolic/infectious/autoimmune [MIAs] conditions [kidney disease, thyroid disease, hepatitis, and systemic lupus erythematous] and antihypertensive/antidiabetic/lipid-lowering medication use), and psychological (i.e., depression) factors with each of the CVD risks in Black women who had percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass graft procedures. In this retrospective, correlational study, variable data were collected from a convenience sample of 137 Black women (mean age: 64 years) based on electronic health records (EHRs) of a large healthcare system. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression using the Enter method were used to analyze the data and address the purpose of the study. Participants had a mean of 3.6 total CVD risks. There was high prevalence of hypertension (95.6%), hyperlipidemia (95.6%), and obesity (59.1%). Those with MIAs (p = .010) or on lipid-lowering medications (p = .020) were less likely to smoke. Participants on antidiabetic medication were more likely to be obese (p = .013). Older age was associated with hypertension (p = .024). Antidiabetic medication use was associated with diabetes (p <.001) and lipid-lowering medication was associated with hyperlipidemia (p = .029). No factors were associated with alcohol use. Further studies are needed to examine the relationships of those factors used in this study in larger sample studies with prospective, longitudinal study designs. Then, development and delivery of interventions targeting those factors affecting CVD risks are needed for Black women with multiple CVD risks.
    • Factors Associated with Transition to Student-Centered Pedagogy in Nursing Educators: A Cross-Sectional, Correlational Study

      Slocumb, Rhonda Harrison; Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
      Student-centered pedagogy (SCP) has positively affected student performance, but transition to SCP in nursing education has not been fully progressed. To facilitate transition to SCP, factors affecting transition to SCP should be examined from nursing educators’ perspectives because of their important roles in the transition. Multidimensional factors that may be associated with transition to SCP have not been frequently examined from educators’ perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with transition to SCP in the total sample and in the subgroups based on age, program, and teaching experience. In this cross-sectional, correlational study, a convenience sample of 108 nursing educators were enrolled using social media, online forum, and emails with study information. Data on demographic characteristics, earned degree, knowledge of SCP, belief in effectiveness of SCP, support, situation, strategy, and transition to SCP were collected through an online survey. Multiple regression analyses with the Enter method were used to address the study purpose. The majority of the sample were > 50 years old (52.8%) and female (96.3%). The level of transition to SCP was low (2.76 out of 4), and the levels of knowledge of SCP and belief in effectiveness of SCP were moderate (30.27 and 31.42 out of 40, respectively). Knowledge of SCP was consistently, significantly associated with transition to SCP in the total sample (p < .001) and in all the subgroups: age ≤ 50 years old (p = .001), age > 50 years old (p = .007), teaching associate program (p < .001), teaching baccalaureate and graduate programs (p = .012), teaching experience ≤ 10 years (p = 001), and teaching experience > 10 years (p = .030). In addition, belief in effectiveness of SCP (p = .017) and degree earned (p = .046) were significantly associated with transition to SCP only in the age > 50 years group. Thus, interventions need to be developed and delivered to nursing educators to increase their knowledge of SCP and belief in effectiveness of SCP, and, in turn, to facilitate transition to SCP, especially for nursing educators > 50 years old with higher earned degree.
    • Factors Related To Ninth-grade African American Female Student Motivation Toward Math Achievement: A Case Study

      Comegys, Roxanne
      ROXANNE T. A. COMEGYS FACTORS RELATED TO NINTH-GRADE AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE STUDENT MOTIVATION TOWARD MATH ACHIEVEMENT: A CASE STUDY Under the direction of DR. MARGIE WIGGINS JONES, Ed. D This qualitative study investigated factors related to African American female motivation toward math achievement. The investigation included developing an understanding of their achievement goal orientations. This case study approach utilized semistructured interviews adapted from the Patterns of Adaptive Learning survey (Midgely, 2002). The data were analyzed using thematic coding and triangulation. Descriptive data included math scores, which were compared with data from individual interviews and a focus group. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) relationships, (2) classroom goal structures, (3) academic motivation, (4) interest, and (5) disparate themes. These themes provide language to describe the findings from this study. The four main findings were: (1) the relationships of African American females with adults and peers are important and part of their cultural identities, serving as mediators between motivational processes and their learning; (2) classroom environments that support the motivation of African American females toward math achievement should include learning targets reflective of mastery goal structures and high expectations; (3) the interest of African American females is a conductor between academic motivation and motivation toward math achievement; and (4) achievement goal theory is a suitable framework for researching different aspects of African American female motivation and learning. Further research should include the teacher perspective on student motivation toward math achievement. Research should also consider focusing on classroom goal structures that affect African American motivation. Subsequent research should include purposeful sampling to ensure there are participants who reflect a spectrum of math competency levels.
    • Finding Community and Connection in the Shadow of COVID-19 at Forest Hills Baptist Church Youth Group, Raleigh, North Carolina

      Pate, Kirby E; McAfee School of Theology
      The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world in dramatic and unexpected ways. Closures, cancelations, and quarantines altered our lives and the ways in which we viewed the world. The effects of this season had the greatest impact on our young people, who experienced increased levels of anxiety and isolation. In Church life, Youth Ministry programing and activities across the country were halted or significantly altered because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the ability to host traditional programming, and the inability to provide a sense of belonging and connection through virtual activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the students in Youth Ministry programs became disengaged and disconnected from congregations life. When Churches were able to open their doors and resume regular ministry programming, the problems surrounding Youth Ministry and virtual platforms did not disappear. The Church was open, but young people were no longer showing up. As the world continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, Youth Ministry and the Church are in need of programming and experiences that re-engage and welcome back students who no longer feel like they belong. This thesis explores the shifting cultural landscape of postmodernity and seeks to reimagine how to create community and connection among young people in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This project sought to create ministry practices that increased the perceived sense of belonging among students through the structured experience of visual art and storytelling. Five participants between the ages of fourteen and eighteen volunteered to participate by sharing their stories as an act of worship through visual art with the congregation at Forest Hill Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC during the Fall semester of 2022. This research project included six sessions that were designed for students to share their stories and create individual pieces of visual art. Once the six sessions where completed, the students shared their artwork with the congregation as an act of worship. Following the completion of the project each participant completed an individual questionnaire and participated in a group interview. The questions and interview were designed to determine if structured experiences could create ministry practices that increased student perceive sense of belonging within a congregation. The themes that emerged from the questionnaire and survey indicated that students who experienced safety, celebration, and intergenerational community.
    • First Generation College Freshman Attrition And Persistence For Native American Students

      Perez, Nicolas
      This qualitative study examined factors contributing to Native Americans’ low college graduation rates. As of 2016, just 41% of first-time, full-time Native American students managed to earn a Bachelor’s degree within six years. In contrast, the national average for all students was 59%. A constructivist, case study approach was used along with a theoretical framework consisting of Tinto’s Model, viewed through the lens of Tribal Critical Race Theory. Sixteen first-generation, Native American, college-bound high school seniors were interviewed before and after their first semester in college in order to better understand the challenges they faced, as well as the strategies they used to persist. Several salient themes emerged from analysis – family environment, support, college transition and achieving success. The effect of the family environment upon the study participants was the most significant, and was woven into and throughout the other themes. Family is critical to Native Americans. Several universities have established Native American centers on their campuses as homes away from home for Native students. Participants found these to fail at their mission. While first-generation families tend to discourage college attendance, the study participants’ families encouraged it and were highly supportive. Participants evidenced under-preparation for transitioning to college. Tertiary education came as a shock. Achieving success involved a variety of factors, including having the right stratagems, skills, and more importantly, the self-efficacy necessary to advocate and fight for their goals. The attrition and retention of Native Americans merits further research. The roles that trauma and self-efficacy play, jointly as well as separately, in persistence, needs to be explored. The effect that education has on an Indian community should also be looked at. Finally, persistence and attrition rates should be examined, to include students of all ages and for periods longer than six years. American Indian college graduation rates have historically ranked below that of all other minorities. The benefits of economic prosperity through education have a direct effect on individuals as well as their communities. While not a complete solution to the social problems facing Indian reservations, the more educated a population becomes, the higher the level of economic growth.