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

A Quality Improvement Project To Improve Documentation Of Site, Type Of Deep Venous Thrombo-Embolism And Duration Of Anticoagulation In Internal Medicine Residency Clinic, Sujatha Baddam, Farrah Ibrahim

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 research poster

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Postpartum Abdominal Pain - What Could It Be?, Mariam Riad, Elizabeth Thottacherry, Christina Crawley, Nessy Phillip-Abraham, Farrah Ibrahim

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 oral presentation

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Take To The Stage: Intersections Of Integrative Healthcare, Human Development, And Psychological Recovery, Joshua Baker, Meredith Lewis, Hunter French

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 research poster

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Evaluating Tar Wars®And Tobacco Use Habits Among Adolescents In Two Rural Alabama Communities: A 7-Year Study, P Scott Berry, William Coleman, Kyle Siegrist, Caleb Lenox

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 research poster

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Prevent Duplication To Have Better Test Utilization, Shivani Malhotra, Parekha Yedla, Shae Ferguson, Richard Ivey

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 research poster

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Reinforcing Effective Diabetes Education In The Outpatient Setting, Kaaren Royster, Jacob Calahan, Emily Blaine, Mary Clinton, Miranda Andrus, Haley Phillippe, Meredith Lewis

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 research poster

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A Real World Comparison Of Exactrac And Cone Beam Ct For Image Guided Radiosurgery, Roman Travis, Michael Taylor, John Gleason

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

2020 research poster

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Your Friendly Neighbhorhood Superkid: The Influence Of Superheroes On Children's Risk-Taking Behaviors, Casie Morgan

All ETDs from UAB

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of injury and death among children in the United States. A variety of behavioral factors place children at heightened risk for injury. Risky play is one of these factors. This study investigated factors that might lead to risky play. Specifically, some scholars argue that we are currently amidst the “Golden Age of Superhero Movies,” and multiple sources of evidence suggest children as young as four-years-old are exposed to superhero television shows and adult-themed movies with great frequency. The current study evaluated children’s exposure to risk behaviors present in superhero media and how those risk …

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Structural And Biophysical Investigations Into The Mechanism Of Hiv-1 Envelope Incorporation, Richard Elliot Murphy

All ETDs from UAB

Recent advancements in drug therapies and patient care have drastically improved upon the mortality rates of HIV-1 infected individuals. Many of these therapies were developed or improved upon using structure-based techniques, which underscores the importance of obtaining atomic level structural data critical to the understanding of essential mechanisms in the replication cycle of HIV-1. One such process which remains poorly understood on the structural level is the incorporation of the envelope glycoprotein (Env) into budding virus particles. The Env protein mediates viral infection of host cells, and there is strong evidence suggesting that incorporation of Env is mediated by an …

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Bond Of Resin Cements Through Three Ceramics At Varying Thickness, Po-Hsu Chen

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to determine the bond strength of a light cured resin when cured through 3 different types of dental ceramics (traditional zirconia with 3 mol% yttria, translucent zirconia with 5 mol% yttria, and lithium disilicate) at 2 different thicknesses. A total of 135 specimens were prepared from traditional zirconia (IPS e.max ZirCAD LT, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein), translucent zirconia (IPS e.max ZirCAD MT, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein), and lithium disilicate (IPS e.max CAD LT, Ivoclar Vivadent, Liechtenstein) into a plate shape, but in different thicknesses (1mm and 1.5mm). Ceramic buttons were fabricated by pressed lithium disilicate (IPS …

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Brownfield Redevelopments In Birmingham, Alabama: An Evaluation Of The Role Of Citizen Participation Utilizing The Framework Of Arnstein's Ladder, Sandra Cutts

All ETDs from UAB

The primary research objective is investigating the extent of citizen participation decision-making in the brownfield redevelopments in Birmingham, Alabama’s downtown revitalization to develop best practices for brownfield redevelopment collaboration. The technical literature affirms the need for citizen participation in project decision-making processes. Limited literature exists on how to best evaluate and incorporate participatory activities in brownfield redevelopments. This research adds to the literature, filling this gap by utilizing Arnstein’s ladder as an evaluative framework to quantify public participation in practice. It is important to understand how the extent of public participation in project decision-making may promote or hinder brownfield redevelopment. …

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Contribution Of Adaptive Immune Responses In Chronic Lung Diseases, Thi Kim Tran-Nguyen

All ETDs from UAB

Immune dysregulation is a hallmark of various chronic lung diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Previous studies in our lab have shown evidences of autoimmunity such as increases in autoantibodies, abnormal T cell profile, immune complex deposition and the presence of ectopic lymphoid structures in the lung of these patients. This thesis consolidates two separate projects about various aberrant immune responses in these diseases. The first project identified Glucose-Regulated-Protein 78 (GRP78) as the common autoantigen in COPD and characterized how GRP78 autoantibodies may increase COPD mortality via its atherogenic effects. I demonstrated that …

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Understanding Financial Hardship In Women With Breast Cancer, Courtney Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Individuals with cancer are at risk of material, psychological, and behavioral financial hardship due to costly new treatments, increasing time on treatment, and longer survival. Breast cancer is an ideal environment to study financial hardship. Treatment options for metastatic breast cancer are heterogeneous due to differences in patient characteristics, disease biology, and because it has the largest number of treatment options of any metastatic cancer. In early stage breast cancer, treatment options include multimodality treatments, including surgery, radiation, and medical therapy (chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy), with the choice for each modality being dependent on the other modality decisions. Despite …

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Identifying Micro-Level Determinants That Influence The Transportation Network Companies (Tncs) Growth Through Analysis Of Transportation Users’ Preferences And Attitudes, Sahila Sarjana

All ETDs from UAB

In the recent years, the use of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber/Lyft as a mode of travel has been growing at a significant pace. Despite the rapid growth of several TNC markets, analyses of potential and actual impacts of TNCs presence on preferences and travel patterns of TNC-aware users are still very limited. Such analyses require detailed trip data which are not easily available due to privacy concerns, as well as technical and financial feasibility issues. To address some of these issues, the objective of this study was to document the factors that influence transportation users in the …

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Assessment Of Emergency Department High Utilizer Program In Public Health System Setting, Michael Malaise

All ETDs from UAB

is study examined whether a case management model designed to reduce emergency department utilization among patients described as super-utilizers in a public health system could also reduce the per patient cost of those super-utilizers. The setting for this study was a large public health system in a major metropolitan area. The study focused on a low-income, urban population. Given the program’s stated desire to improve the self-efficacy of patients over time so that they could take more ownership of their own health status, this study reviewed the program within the framework of self-efficacy theory. This research predicted that the case …

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Impact Of Ncqa Pcmh-Level On Low Income Diabetics In Louisiana, Michael G. Griffin

All ETDs from UAB

While past studies have examined the relationship between safety-net provider sites that are certified as Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) and quality health care outcomes, no previous studies have evaluated the relationship between NCQA PCMH certification levels at primary care sites and quality health care outcomes. NCQA is the largest national certification program for PCMH, and for 10 years was the only national program that offered a tiered level of certification based on provider level of patient engagement and deployed resources. The Donabedian Model, which focuses on structure, process, and outcomes, was used to develop the theoretical framework to address …

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Hospital Charge And Ricing Transparency, Kunal N. Patel

All ETDs from UAB

Hospital pricing is not uniformly disclosed to patients up-front before the delivery of healthcare. Moreover, pricing is not commonly understood by consumers and researchers, because the information was largely unavailable due to the lack of a federal policy mandate to make the information publicly available up until recently. The federal government instituted a series of regulations that initially began to take effect in 2019 in order to increase hospital pricing transparency with the aim of bending the healthcare cost curve. In this dissertation, hospital response, hospital standard charge variation, and healthcare management and policy expert opinion surrounding the implementation of …

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The Luckiest Girl In The World: A Texan Seeks Her Birth Parents, Ardell Taylor Fleeson

All ETDs from UAB

This creative nonfiction thesis combines memoir with documentary research to tell the story of the adoptive parents of the author, and the author’s successful search for her birth parents. The adoptive mother’s story starts and finishes the narrative, spanning fifty-five years of her life, from her rise from poverty to prosperity in mid-20th century Texas. The middle of the article is the author’s discovery of her birth parents, the key event for which is the Texas court’s unsealing the author’s adoption file. Names and dates empowered the author to find four half-siblings and speak with her birth mother on the …

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Mislead: An Investigation Of Neuropsychological Mechanisms Underlying Deception Detection In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Julie A. Trapani

All ETDs from UAB

Despite extensive research on social cognition in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), investigations focused on the vulnerability of this population to deception have received rather limited attention. The role of executive function (EF) skills in detecting deception is even less understood in both typically developing (TD) and ASD populations. The dearth of current research on deception in ASD and the social implications of poor deception detection exemplify the need to understand the mechanisms that underlie this nuanced form of social interaction. The current study aims to investigate the neuropsychological mechanisms of detecting deception and the extent to which autism symptomatology impacts …

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The Impact Of Time-To-Collision Estimates On Transportation Safety For Young Drivers With Developmental Disabilities, Austin M. Svancara

All ETDs from UAB

Motor vehicle collisions (MVC) are the leading cause of death for young drivers. MVC risk is higher among drivers with developmental disabilities, particularly individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Difficulties in time perception may negatively impact driving, such as with time-to-collision (TTC) estimations (i.e., an estimation of how long it will take to collide with another vehicle). The goal of this study was to determine whether individuals with ADHD and ASD displayed decrements in TTC estimations and whether perception of time in a general context was related to TTC estimations in a driving-specific context. A total …

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The Relationship Between Government Grants And Nonprofit Revenue Diversification, Samantha Jeanne Arceneaux

All ETDs from UAB

The financial health of nonprofits has been of interest to researchers for decades and continues to be of concern as the size United States nonprofit sector continues to grow both in the number of registered nonprofits and in finances, and third-party government increasingly uses partnerships with nonprofits to deliver services to the public. Empirical studies of revenue diversification and concentration indicate that they can both contribute to nonprofit financial health by assisting in developing a strategy of financial sustainability or financial capacity. However, empirical studies on the relationship between government funding and the nonprofit sector have been limited. This analysis …

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"Autism Friendly Alabama": Identifying Key Criteria To Support An Inclusive Environment, Caro C. Wolfner

All ETDs from UAB

The present study examined potential supports and barriers towards an inclusive or ‘autism friendly’ environment from the perspectives of family members of individuals with ASD (n=127) and adults with ASD (n=16). Groups did not differ on endorsement of importance for any of the criterion, except for crowds (p<0.05). The highest ranked quality by Caregivers/Family members were knowledgeable and helpful staff’ (32.5 percent) and attitudes (22.5 percent). The ASD group ranked knowledgeable and helpful staff (30 percent) and crowds (30 percent) as the most important quality. Qualitative data showed that modulated sensory environment, knowledgeable and trained staff’; access to supports, and awareness of locations & as emerging themes for ‘autism friendly’ environments. The present study represents an approach involving research, education and advocacy to provide evidence-based criteria that will be used as a standard for ASA’s Autism Friendly Alabama program. With criteria identified, stakeholders can move forward with completing subsequent goals for the initiative, such as program implementation and evaluation.

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Effect Of Patient-Level Characteristics On Fluoroquinolone Susceptibility, Jeffrey Alan Franks

All ETDs from UAB

Antimicrobial stewardship programs are becoming more widespread to combat antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of patient-level characteristics on fluoroquinolone susceptibly among five gram-negative isolates to help better their implementation. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients over the age of 18 for five gram-negative isolates (Acinetobacter species, Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). We utilized Cox proportional hazards to determine the risk of patient-level characteristics, for both hospital and community-acquired infections, on fluoroquinolone resistance between 2016 and 2019. The population sample consisted of 8,285 patients receiving fluoroquinolones for at least one of the …

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Locus Coeruleus Degeneration In Alzheimer’S Disease And Its Effect On Beta-Adrenergic Signaling In The Hippocampus, Bethany Langner

All ETDs from UAB

Locus coeruleus (LC) degeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and loss of noradrenergic (NA) innervation in hippocampus contributes to learning and memory deficits. Recently, a novel rat model (TgF344-AD) has been created that allows for a more thorough investigation into these mechanisms due to its similarity to human AD pathology. The McMahon lab has recently demonstrated heightened long-term potentiation (LTP) and a ‘supersensitivity’ of -adrenergic receptors (-ARs) at excitatory synapses in the dentate gyrus (DG) in TgF344-AD rats. These mechanisms could be responsible for maintaining learning and memory during buildup of AD pathology. The first goal of this Master’s thesis was …

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Impact Of Different Human Coronaviruses (Hcovs) On Pediatric Patients At A Tertiary Pediatric Hospital – Retrospective Study, Abdulsalam Alsulami

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Human Coronaviruses (HCoV) are important pathogens associated with respiratory disease in humans and animals. The majority of HCoVs are emerging human pathogens with 7 known types causing human disease and 5 being identified in the last 2 decades. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of all encounters with known HCoV at a tertiary pediatric hospital from January 2015 until January 2018. Electronic medical records (EMRs) were reviewed for demographic data, HCoV type, viral copathogens, time to testing, admission, need for increased intensity of care (HLC), requirement for supplemental oxygen, radiographic findings suggestive lower respiratory tract disease (LRT) when available …

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The Role Of Neutrophils In Chronic Heart Failure, Sergey Antipenko

All ETDs from UAB

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) produces massive, sudden cardiomyocyte death, triggering an inflammatory and healing response that initially leads to scar formation and ultimately may induce progressive ischemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure (HF). Scar formation and left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy occur in response to MI to stabilize injury compensating for lost myocardial function. Over time, heart function can become decompensated due to neuroendocrine dysfunction and adverse LV remodeling, ultimately leading to HF. Adverse remodeling is characterized by continued dysregulated collagen deposition, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and increased inflammation. Studies have documented a resurgence in inflammatory cytokines and infiltrating leukocytes after resolution of the …

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Molecular Regulation Of Glioblastoma Spatial Heterogeneity And Therapeutic Resistance, Soniya Bastola

All ETDs from UAB

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly invasive, highly vascularized, and heterogeneous malignant tumor of the brain. Due to the highly infiltrative phenotype of GBM, surgery often leaves behind residual tumor cells. In many cases, recurrence occurs close to the surgical margin suggesting the role of these remaining cells in promoting tumor aggressiveness. Rapidly growing tumor creates subsequent hypoxic, and hypovascular core due to limited nutrients, whereas tumor cells in the leading edge have access to nutrients from vasculature enriched microenvironment. Studies have identified the cellular and molecular heterogeneity between the tumors in core and edge. Still, their mechanisms of intercellular …

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Tau-Dependent Regulation Of Network Hyperexcitability By Alzheimer’S Disease Risk Gene Bin1, Yuliya Voskobiynyk

All ETDs from UAB

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading neurodegenerative disorder that affects an astonishing 5.8 million Americans, a number projected to reach 14 million by the year 2050. While only about 1% of all AD cases are caused by mutations in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2, the cause of sporadic AD remains unknown. Variations in several risk genes have been proposed to contribute to the development of sporadic AD cases. Since, currently, there are no disease-modifying therapies for families affected by AD and multiple anti-amyloid-beta therapies failed in clinical trials, determining how these risk genes contribute to the development of AD is crucial …

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Gene–Environment Interaction In Parkinson Disease: The Gut Microbiome, Zachary D. Wallen

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GENE–ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION IN PARKINSON DISEASE: THE GUT MICROBIOME ZACHARY D. WALLEN GENETICS, GENOMICS, AND BIOINFORMATICS ABSTRACTParkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no cure. Majority of cases are idiopathic, and the cause is unknown. Studies have been conducted in human and animals to identify PD risk factors, resulting in a list of genetic and environmental factors that modestly increases risk of PD. Still, no individual risk factor fully explains the cause of PD, and neither has the combination of these factors. Additional avenues of research are being investigated to find potential triggers of PD, and factors that might …

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The Mir-23a Cluster Controls An Epigenetic Axis In Osteoblast Development During Bone Formation, Benjamin J. Wildman

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Differentiation of pre-osteoblasts is critical to controlling in-vivo development and growth of bone. Recent studies highlight the importance of epigenetic regulation in directing osteoblast commitment and function. Here we show that the microRNA-23a cluster (miR-23a, 27a, and 24-2) controls bone mass in-vivo through a previously unknown epigenetic mechanism. MiR-23a cluster knockdown increased the intensity of Alkaline Phosphatase staining in MC3T3-E1 cells. Additionally, it upregulated mRNA expression of osteogenic marker genes such as Runx2 and Osteocalcin. Micro-CT analysis of 2-month and 6-month femurs showed that trabecular bone volume and trabecular number significantly increased in miR-23aClZIP mice as compared to controls. Histological …

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Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

A Quality Improvement Project To Improve Documentation Of Site, Type Of Deep Venous Thrombo-Embolism And Duration Of Anticoagulation In Internal Medicine Residency Clinic, Sujatha Baddam, Farrah Ibrahim

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Postpartum Abdominal Pain - What Could It Be?, Mariam Riad, Elizabeth Thottacherry, Christina Crawley, Nessy Phillip-Abraham, Farrah Ibrahim

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Take To The Stage: Intersections Of Integrative Healthcare, Human Development, And Psychological Recovery, Joshua Baker, Meredith Lewis, Hunter French

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Evaluating Tar Wars®And Tobacco Use Habits Among Adolescents In Two Rural Alabama Communities: A 7-Year Study, P Scott Berry, William Coleman, Kyle Siegrist, Caleb Lenox

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Prevent Duplication To Have Better Test Utilization, Shivani Malhotra, Parekha Yedla, Shae Ferguson, Richard Ivey

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Reinforcing Effective Diabetes Education In The Outpatient Setting, Kaaren Royster, Jacob Calahan, Emily Blaine, Mary Clinton, Miranda Andrus, Haley Phillippe, Meredith Lewis

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

A Real World Comparison Of Exactrac And Cone Beam Ct For Image Guided Radiosurgery, Roman Travis, Michael Taylor, John Gleason

UAB Huntsville Research Day - All Presentations

Your Friendly Neighbhorhood Superkid: The Influence Of Superheroes On Children's Risk-Taking Behaviors, Casie Morgan

All ETDs from UAB

Structural And Biophysical Investigations Into The Mechanism Of Hiv-1 Envelope Incorporation, Richard Elliot Murphy

All ETDs from UAB

Bond Of Resin Cements Through Three Ceramics At Varying Thickness, Po-Hsu Chen

All ETDs from UAB

Brownfield Redevelopments In Birmingham, Alabama: An Evaluation Of The Role Of Citizen Participation Utilizing The Framework Of Arnstein's Ladder, Sandra Cutts

All ETDs from UAB

Contribution Of Adaptive Immune Responses In Chronic Lung Diseases, Thi Kim Tran-Nguyen

All ETDs from UAB

Understanding Financial Hardship In Women With Breast Cancer, Courtney Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Identifying Micro-Level Determinants That Influence The Transportation Network Companies (Tncs) Growth Through Analysis Of Transportation Users’ Preferences And Attitudes, Sahila Sarjana

All ETDs from UAB

Assessment Of Emergency Department High Utilizer Program In Public Health System Setting, Michael Malaise

All ETDs from UAB

Impact Of Ncqa Pcmh-Level On Low Income Diabetics In Louisiana, Michael G. Griffin

All ETDs from UAB

Hospital Charge And Ricing Transparency, Kunal N. Patel

All ETDs from UAB

The Luckiest Girl In The World: A Texan Seeks Her Birth Parents, Ardell Taylor Fleeson

All ETDs from UAB

Mislead: An Investigation Of Neuropsychological Mechanisms Underlying Deception Detection In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Julie A. Trapani

All ETDs from UAB

The Impact Of Time-To-Collision Estimates On Transportation Safety For Young Drivers With Developmental Disabilities, Austin M. Svancara

All ETDs from UAB

The Relationship Between Government Grants And Nonprofit Revenue Diversification, Samantha Jeanne Arceneaux

All ETDs from UAB

"Autism Friendly Alabama": Identifying Key Criteria To Support An Inclusive Environment, Caro C. Wolfner

All ETDs from UAB

Effect Of Patient-Level Characteristics On Fluoroquinolone Susceptibility, Jeffrey Alan Franks

All ETDs from UAB

Locus Coeruleus Degeneration In Alzheimer’S Disease And Its Effect On Beta-Adrenergic Signaling In The Hippocampus, Bethany Langner

All ETDs from UAB

Impact Of Different Human Coronaviruses (Hcovs) On Pediatric Patients At A Tertiary Pediatric Hospital – Retrospective Study, Abdulsalam Alsulami

All ETDs from UAB

The Role Of Neutrophils In Chronic Heart Failure, Sergey Antipenko

All ETDs from UAB

Molecular Regulation Of Glioblastoma Spatial Heterogeneity And Therapeutic Resistance, Soniya Bastola

All ETDs from UAB

Tau-Dependent Regulation Of Network Hyperexcitability By Alzheimer’S Disease Risk Gene Bin1, Yuliya Voskobiynyk

All ETDs from UAB

Gene–Environment Interaction In Parkinson Disease: The Gut Microbiome, Zachary D. Wallen

All ETDs from UAB

The Mir-23a Cluster Controls An Epigenetic Axis In Osteoblast Development During Bone Formation, Benjamin J. Wildman

All ETDs from UAB