Entire DC Network | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome Leading To Diagnosis Of Acute Post‐Infectious Glomerulonephritis In A Pediatric Patient: A Case Report, Samuel B. Hayworth, Desalyn L. Johnson, Erinn O. Schmit

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2024 clinical vignette poster

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The Mental Health Crisis In Schools, Madison Jeziorski, Clinton Martin, Zachary Gilliam, Janaki Nimmgadda

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2024 clinical vignette poster

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A Calamity With The Mammary, Shelby Kaup, Elijah Fox

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2024 clinical vignette poster

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It’S A Heartache: A Case Of Chlamydial Myocarditis, Abigail Zane, Aesha Patel, Kelsey Ivey

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2024 clinical vignette poster

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Use Of Psilocybin And Other Classic Psychedelics In Fibromyalgia: A Survey Study, Kathleen Hodgin

All ETDs from UAB

Psilocybin and other classic psychedelics may have potential for treatment of fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain and other symptoms including fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and sleep problems. In this exploratory, descriptive study, an online survey was distributed among individuals with fibromyalgia to gather reports of any changes in pain related to past classic psychedelic use. Sixty-four participants with fibromyalgia completed the study, with most having used psilocybin mushrooms or LSD. In addition to recreational use and other reasons, use of psychedelics for mental health or pain-related reasons was frequently endorsed. Of the participants who reported experiencing any …

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Examining Anti-Racist Attitudes In Maternity Care Workers, Angelina Aduke Toluhi

All ETDs from UAB

Racism in maternity care has been identified as one of the major contributors to the persistent racial disparities in maternal health outcomes in the United States (US). Antiracism is a term used to describe the practice of actively identifying and opposing racism with the goal of changing policies, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that continue to foster racist ideas and actions. The results of this convergent mixed method research study reveal that racism and other forms of racial discrimination during maternity care may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes in Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) pregnant patients in Southern US. In the first aim, …

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Non-Catalytic Regulators Of The Secretory Pathway, Peyton Vanwinkle

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This thesis focuses on two key questions: 1) how are bone development and regeneration regulated by the CREB3L1 transcription factor; and 2) what is the mechanism of action of the endoplasmic reticulum resident protein JAGN1, which when dysregulated, causes severe congenital neutropenia (SCN)? CREB3L1 regulates bone development and regeneration in mammalian models by facilitating the expression of COL1A1 and components of the secretory pathway required for collagen secretion. We generated two zebrafish models of Creb3l1 dysfunction (creb3l1ΔbZIP/ΔbZIP and creb3l1TA+/TA+). Both models showed that Creb3l1 functions in regulating col1a1a transcription and overall regenerate size are conserved in zebrafish. However, we also …

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Screening For And Addressing Social Determinants Of Health In Hospitals Participating In Accountable Care Organizations, Heather Lee

All ETDs from UAB

There is a growing recognition among hospitals, payers, and policymakers in the United States that addressing social needs of patients is important to improving quality of care, patient outcomes, and lowering health care spending. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) may be especially incentivized to address social needs of patients to meet population health goals related to patient outcomes and costs. This cross-sectional study used data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey to explore to explore how hospitals participating in or leading ACOs are screening for and addressing individual-level HRSNs of patients and to understand the extent to which ACOs are …

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The Multifaceted Role Of Neutrophil Heterogeneity In Covid-19 Pathogenesis, Marcus Darrell Davis

All ETDs from UAB

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The disease is characterized by an excessive inflammatory response and dysfunction of the immune system triggered by immunopathological mechanisms. Neutrophils are the most abundant circulating leukocytes, playing a critical role in the pathogenesis of multiple inflammatory conditions. Several studies have demonstrated that neutrophils are key contributors to COVID-19 disease pathogenesis; however, their role in disease progression remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate immune dysregulation in COVID-19 patients characterized by a significant expansion of neutrophil numbers and reduced frequency of T-cell populations. We identify an immature …

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Knocking At The Door: The Life And Legacy Of Dr. James Montgomery, Haley Eloise Wells

All ETDs from UAB

The life and work of Black Birmingham cardiologist, Dr. James T. Montgomery, demonstrates the importance of viewing the history of health activism and Birmingham civil rights history as two interconnected histories that influenced each other. Traditionally, secondary scholarship on the Birmingham civil rights movement and scholarship on the history of healthcare have been treated as two separate areas of study. Scholars such as Glenn Eskew and Diane McWhorter have written extensively on the civil rights movement in Birmingham, but their scholarship excludes any comprehensive discussion of the fight for racial justice within Birmingham’s medical field. Conversely, scholars such as Thomas …

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Unmasking Molecular Mechanisms Of Multiple Maladies Through Multiomic Methodologies, Luke Potter

All ETDs from UAB

Much modern biomedical research is invested in determining causative molecular mechanisms and identifying potential therapeutics within human disease or injury. Traditional experiments such as over-expressing or “knocking out” the level of a gene’s abundance can determine the specific contribution of a single gene to a pathology and are a vital component of scientific research. However, taking a big picture approach through the application of ‘omics technologies can lead to a broader overall understanding of a pathology and can potentially generate numerous specific hypotheses to be tested using the more traditional molecular approaches. In this dissertation, transcriptomic and epigenomic technologies, measuring …

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Entity Information Extraction And Normalization From Scientific And Clinical Texts, Abdullateef Ibrahim Almudaifer

All ETDs from UAB

In the analysis of scientific and clinical texts, the extraction of named entities and their relevant information, such as modifiers, play a pivotal role. Recent advancements in natural language processing (NLP), particularly through the application of transfer learning from pre-trained Transformer models, have greatly enhanced the performance of entity extraction tasks. However, challenges persist with nested entities. This thesis investigates the impact of transfer learning on extracting nested entities and their modifiers, using Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) as a prototype. By adopting a multi-task training strategy, this work enhances the model's capacity to discern and categorize overlapping entities, a task …

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Associations Of Religious Involvement And Cultural Justifications With Depressive Symptoms And Burden Among Caregivers, Maizonne Fields

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With the advancement of medicine, life expectancy has increased globally. As a result, the need for a caregiver by an older adult has also risen. A caregiver is often a spouse, child, or friend of an older adult that assists an older adult that is experiencing changes in their ability to complete activities of daily living and/or instrumental activities of daily living. Caregivers are often unpaid for their assistance and can be at heightened risk for negative mental health outcomes. This study used the Stress Process Model to investigate the associations of high levels of religious commitment or involvement (RCI) …

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Physical And Optical Properties Of Material Used For Injection Molding, Nadia Christine Farias Machado

All ETDs from UAB

Background: This project investigates the materials used in injection molding dental resin composites which involves injecting flowable composite into a clear mold. Understanding the physical and optical properties of both the resin composite and the clear mold material is crucial for successful clinical outcomes. For the clear mold material, its translucency, curing light transmission, and rigidity are vital factors. Correlations may be present between trans-lucency and curing light transmission. For the resin composite, comparing wear, hardness, translucency, radiopacity, shrinkage stress, flexural strength, and modulus will affect mate-rial performance. Finally, the depth of cure of the material will be dependent on …

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Understanding Disparities In Hypertension Treatment Cascade And Validating Blood Pressure Measurement Among Persons Living With Or At Risk For Hiv, Jessica Blair

All ETDs from UAB

In the United States, 44% of adult women >18 years have hypertension. Although non-Hispanic Black adults were more likely to be aware of and treated for hypertension compared to non-Hispanic White adults, Black individuals had the highest prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension. Persons living with HIV have a higher prevalence of hypertension, which is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Similar to the geographic distribution of hypertension in the US, people living in the South have higher incidence of both hypertension and HIV diagnoses compared to other US regions. Furthermore, accurate diagnosis of hypertension and initiation of treatment is …

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Physiologically Relevant Cardiac Tissue Chips For Cardiovascular Disease Modeling, Sachin Budhathoki

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Despite significant advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and the development of new therapeutics, it remains the number one cause of death worldwide, particularly affecting the aging population. This necessitates the development of models that can more accurately recreate aspects of aging and the interaction of the heart with other organs and systems in the body, including the immune system. Tissue chip models are being increasingly considered for studying cardiac diseases as they can potentially address translational hurdles associated with animal models, yet several challenges hinder their full potential. These include a lack of …

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Examining U.S. National Trends In Adult Mental Illness And Naturalistic Psychedelic Drug Use, Daniel Grossman

All ETDs from UAB

Psychedelic drugs have gained prominent attention in recent years for their therapeutic potential in treating mental illness in clinical settings. Concurrently, population studies show increasing prevalence and notable demographic changes among naturalistic psychedelic users, as well as mixed associations between different types of naturalistic psychedelic use and mental health. However, despite this ongoing cultural shift, little is known about temporal changes in the mental health profiles of naturalistic psychedelic users at the population level. This thesis examined national trends in the association between past year naturalistic use of LSD, MDMA, and DMT/AMT/Foxy and past year mental illness among US adults, …

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Erosion Of Trust In Healthcare Leadership: An Analysis Of Anomie And Social Exchange During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ashleigh Allgood

All ETDs from UAB

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare systems worldwide, posing profound challenges for healthcare professionals. This study examined how the pandemic affected healthcare workers' trust in their leaders, comparing the acute 2021 phase and more managed 2022 period. Objective: To investigate how healthcare workers' experiences of moral distress, organizational change, belongingness, and perceived organizational support influenced trust in supervisors and senior leaders across two pandemic phases. Methods: Anonymous survey data were analyzed from healthcare professionals at a Southeastern U.S. academic medical center in 2021 (n=2,991) and 2022 (n=2,581). Ordinal logistic regression examined relationships between trust and experiences of moral distress, discrimination, …

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Insulin Responses, Diet Composition, And Fat Loss, Amanda Finn

All ETDs from UAB

Some but not all studies show participants who have higher baseline insulin responses lose more weight on a low glycemic load compared to a high glycemic load diet. Most prior research tested the relationship between insulin and weight changes with only one insulin response variable, such as insulin from an orally or intravenously (IV) administered metabolic test. We tested whether insulin responses (IV or oral) predicted changes in body fat among participants undergoing diet-induced weight loss. This study was a secondary analysis of a clinical trial. In the parent study, participants were randomized to either a reduced carbohydrate (ReducedCHO) or …

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Does Ceo Education Matter? The Relationship Between Doctoral-Educated Hospital Ceos And Organizational Performance, Kofi Ali Cash

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One of the most pressing issues in healthcare strategic leadership research is identifying which hospital chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics possess a significant and favorable relationship to organizational performance. However, little is known about the relationship between hospitals led by doctoral-educated CEOs and organizational performance. This study adds to our knowledge by examining the relationship between doctoral-educated hospital CEOs and selected financial and patient safety outcomes. UET served as the theoretical framework and guided the examination of the relationship between the selected dependent and independent variables. This study’s population included 509 acute-care hospitals across nine states, requiring a minimum four-year …

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Utilization Of Romosozumab During Covid-19 Pandemic Among U.S. Medicare Beneficiaries, Ye Liu

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Osteoporosis is increasingly recognized as a major public health issue in the aging U.S. population. Shortly after the licensure of romosozumab, an injectable medication indi-cated for women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at high risk of fracture administered by health care provider monthly, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, which caused ma-jor disruptions to the delivery of health care across the nation. The pandemic dispropor-tionately affected minority and economically disadvantaged communities, exacerbating many pre-existing health disparities. Romosozumab has the highest dosing frequency among common injectable osteoporosis medications in the U.S. that require an office visit for injection, making romosozumab adherence more susceptible to …

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Diagnostic Imaging Approaches: Pet Imaging In Monitoring Immune Responses In Oncology And Tuberculosis, Chanelle Hunter

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Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents play a transformative role in personalized medicine through their application in disease diagnosis and immunotherapy monitoring, focusing on chemokine receptors, TH1-activated immune cells, and tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics. In immuno-oncology, accurately assessing TH1-activated immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is vital for evaluating cancer immunotherapy efficacy. Chemokine receptors, crucial in cellular signaling and inflammatory reactions, play a significant role in TH1 responses, thus serving as a potential area of interest in elucidating these anti-tumor responses. Through our work a novel CXCR3-targeting immunoPET probe, [89Zr]DFO-αCXCR3, was developed to detect and quantify these cells. This probe …

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Crown Fatigue Resistance And Enamel Wear Of 3d Printed Resin Compared To Lithium Disilicate, Pranit Vasant Bora

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the wear characteristics and fatigue resistance of two dental crown materials: SprintRay Ceramic Crown, a 3D-printed resin material, and IPS™ e.Max CAD, a lithium disilicate material. Methods: This study evaluates wear and fatigue characteristics of dental crowns made from Ceramic Crown (SprintRay) and IPS e.max CAD LT (Ivoclar). For fatigue testing, custom fatigue devices were utilized to subject the crowns to cyclic loading, simulating occlusal forces. The specimens underwent 100,000 cycle intervals until 1.5 million cycles at a load of 40N of fatigue loading, with inspections conducted for signs of debonding, …

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Phosphate Drives Pulmonary Inflammation Through Fgfr1, Erk, And Akt Signaling, Seth Bollenbecker

All ETDs from UAB

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized as irreversible progressive loss of renal function and affects over one tenth of the global population. Although CKD-associated comorbidities contribute significantly to its mortality, the lungs are often not considered. Lung diseases make up three of the top six leading causes of death worldwide and share many comorbidities with CKD. Clinical reports show that CKD patients are more likely to develop obstructive and restrictive lung diseases, but the mechanisms underlying this propensity for CKD-associated pulmonary complications are unknown. Hyperphosphatemia and associated elevations of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 23, two of many consequences of reduced …

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Teachers' Perspectives On The Impact Of Interactive Read Aloud Strategies For Comprehension Skills Of Saudi Kindergarten Students: A Mixed Method Study, Riham Alsultan

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Reading comprehension is a very integral element of encouraging lifelong learning amongst kindergarten students. The main objective of this research is to investigate teachers’ perspectives on the effectiveness of interactive read-aloud (IRA) in improving reading comprehension skills amongst kindergarten students in Saudi Arabia. The study's overarching aim was to determine how interactive reading-aloud strategies employed by Saudi kindergarten teachers during interactive read-aloud time impact Saudi kindergarten students' overall comprehension skills through the perceptions of teachers regarding the effectiveness of these strategies. To achieve this objective, the researcher employed a mixed-method research design, a combination of both quantitative and qualitative strategies. …

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Predictive Modeling Using Clinical Data And Compositional Microbiome Data, Li Zhang

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This dissertation focuses on developing predictive modeling using data from two areas: clinical data and microbiome data. Compositional data in real life are mainly represented by relative proportions. With the advancement of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, researchers can now collect a large volume of metagenomic sequencing data, which is valuable for investigating associations between the microbiome and host diseases. Current methods for dealing with such data are either constrained by generalization or limited by application. In the first part, to address this, we propose Bayesian compositional generalized linear models for analyzing microbiome data (BCGLM). This model incorporates a structured regularized …

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Access To And Service Utilization Of Alabama Medicaid's Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver Program, Sarah Lee Bowler

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Background: Much research has been done investigating health disparities in the field of publicly-funding family planning. However, no longitudinal analysis has been conducted to examine the impact of Alabama Medicaid’s Section 1115 demonstration waiver on access to care, experience of barriers reported by enrollees, and repeat utilization of services. Methods: Medicaid enrollment and visit claims data were used to answer the questions related to access and service utilization. Annual Plan First survey data were used to investigate the experience of barriers to care among enrollees. For all three research questions, descriptive statistics were calculated, and linear probability models were used …

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Using Hope To Cope: Chronic Stress, Religious Coping, And Masked Hypertension In African American Adults: The Jackson Heart Study, Miriam Miles

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USING HOPE TO COPE: CHRONIC STRESS, RELIGIOUS COPING, AND MASKED HYPERTENSION IN AFRICAN AMERICAN ADULTS: THE JACKSON HEART STUDY ABSTRACT Chronic stress experienced at home or work has been associated with acute increases in blood pressure (BP) measured in the doctor’s office. Few data are available on the association of chronic stress with BP measured outside of the office setting. Religious coping, applying religious beliefs to adapt to stressful situations, and functional and structural social support may protect against MHT by promoting active coping behaviors and increasing emotional well-being. High levels of religious involvement and high social support have been …

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Using The Social Ecological Model To Assess The Correlates Of Unprotected Sex Among African American Emerging Adults, Shirlacia S. Gray

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USING THE SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL MODEL TO ASSESS THE CORRELATES OF UNPROTECTED SEX AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN EMERGING ADULTS SHIRLACIA S. GRAY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY ABSTRACT Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that HIV diagnoses for Black/African American men and women are 8x and 15x higher than white individuals, respectively. While the social determinants of health largely influence HIV transmission rates, reducing risky behaviors can lower the risk for HIV. This current study used the Social Ecological Model to investigate correlates of unprotected sex. Methods: Participants were recruited through respondent-driven sampling. Participant's demographics (age, gender, years of education, financial …

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Predicting Maximum Concentric And Eccentric Squat Strength From Maximum Isometric Squat Strength, Michael A. Dunn

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Resistive squat exercise is a well-established technique to enhance the strength of muscles and bone of the back in humans. Such type of exercise could prove highly beneficial for individuals with pathological condition of the back such as osteoporosis. Notably, the rehabilitation programs aimed at strengthening the muscles and bone of the back require the knowledge of the patient’s one repetition maximum (1RM). Finding the 1RM squat value could lead to injury due to the higher weights involved. In addition, testing for 1RM could be not feasible in older populations or young population with chronic back conditions The isometric squat …

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Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome Leading To Diagnosis Of Acute Post‐Infectious Glomerulonephritis In A Pediatric Patient: A Case Report, Samuel B. Hayworth, Desalyn L. Johnson, Erinn O. Schmit

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

The Mental Health Crisis In Schools, Madison Jeziorski, Clinton Martin, Zachary Gilliam, Janaki Nimmgadda

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

A Calamity With The Mammary, Shelby Kaup, Elijah Fox

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

It’S A Heartache: A Case Of Chlamydial Myocarditis, Abigail Zane, Aesha Patel, Kelsey Ivey

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Use Of Psilocybin And Other Classic Psychedelics In Fibromyalgia: A Survey Study, Kathleen Hodgin

All ETDs from UAB

Examining Anti-Racist Attitudes In Maternity Care Workers, Angelina Aduke Toluhi

All ETDs from UAB

Non-Catalytic Regulators Of The Secretory Pathway, Peyton Vanwinkle

All ETDs from UAB

Screening For And Addressing Social Determinants Of Health In Hospitals Participating In Accountable Care Organizations, Heather Lee

All ETDs from UAB

The Multifaceted Role Of Neutrophil Heterogeneity In Covid-19 Pathogenesis, Marcus Darrell Davis

All ETDs from UAB

Knocking At The Door: The Life And Legacy Of Dr. James Montgomery, Haley Eloise Wells

All ETDs from UAB

Unmasking Molecular Mechanisms Of Multiple Maladies Through Multiomic Methodologies, Luke Potter

All ETDs from UAB

Entity Information Extraction And Normalization From Scientific And Clinical Texts, Abdullateef Ibrahim Almudaifer

All ETDs from UAB

Associations Of Religious Involvement And Cultural Justifications With Depressive Symptoms And Burden Among Caregivers, Maizonne Fields

All ETDs from UAB

Physical And Optical Properties Of Material Used For Injection Molding, Nadia Christine Farias Machado

All ETDs from UAB

Understanding Disparities In Hypertension Treatment Cascade And Validating Blood Pressure Measurement Among Persons Living With Or At Risk For Hiv, Jessica Blair

All ETDs from UAB

Physiologically Relevant Cardiac Tissue Chips For Cardiovascular Disease Modeling, Sachin Budhathoki

All ETDs from UAB

Examining U.S. National Trends In Adult Mental Illness And Naturalistic Psychedelic Drug Use, Daniel Grossman

All ETDs from UAB

Erosion Of Trust In Healthcare Leadership: An Analysis Of Anomie And Social Exchange During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ashleigh Allgood

All ETDs from UAB

Insulin Responses, Diet Composition, And Fat Loss, Amanda Finn

All ETDs from UAB

Does Ceo Education Matter? The Relationship Between Doctoral-Educated Hospital Ceos And Organizational Performance, Kofi Ali Cash

All ETDs from UAB

Utilization Of Romosozumab During Covid-19 Pandemic Among U.S. Medicare Beneficiaries, Ye Liu

All ETDs from UAB

Diagnostic Imaging Approaches: Pet Imaging In Monitoring Immune Responses In Oncology And Tuberculosis, Chanelle Hunter

All ETDs from UAB

Crown Fatigue Resistance And Enamel Wear Of 3d Printed Resin Compared To Lithium Disilicate, Pranit Vasant Bora

All ETDs from UAB

Phosphate Drives Pulmonary Inflammation Through Fgfr1, Erk, And Akt Signaling, Seth Bollenbecker

All ETDs from UAB

Teachers' Perspectives On The Impact Of Interactive Read Aloud Strategies For Comprehension Skills Of Saudi Kindergarten Students: A Mixed Method Study, Riham Alsultan

All ETDs from UAB

Predictive Modeling Using Clinical Data And Compositional Microbiome Data, Li Zhang

All ETDs from UAB

Access To And Service Utilization Of Alabama Medicaid's Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver Program, Sarah Lee Bowler

All ETDs from UAB

Using Hope To Cope: Chronic Stress, Religious Coping, And Masked Hypertension In African American Adults: The Jackson Heart Study, Miriam Miles

All ETDs from UAB

Using The Social Ecological Model To Assess The Correlates Of Unprotected Sex Among African American Emerging Adults, Shirlacia S. Gray

All ETDs from UAB

Predicting Maximum Concentric And Eccentric Squat Strength From Maximum Isometric Squat Strength, Michael A. Dunn

All ETDs from UAB