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Characterization Of Membrane Associated Mucins In Ocular Surface Disease, Anna Ablamowicz Jan 2018

Characterization Of Membrane Associated Mucins In Ocular Surface Disease, Anna Ablamowicz

All ETDs from UAB

Mucins on the ocular surface are found in the tear film and are attached to corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells on the eye. The bulbar conjunctiva of the ocular surface can be divided into four anatomical regions: temporal, superior, nasal, and inferior. The palpebral conjunctiva is the epithelial layer of the inner surfaces of the upper and lower eyelids. In the tears, mucins provide lubrication of the ocular surface through formation of a hydrophilic gel. The primary mucin in the tear film is MUC5AC which is secreted by goblet cells that are located in varying densities within the bulbar conjunctiva. …

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The Effect Of Primary Palatal Repair On Growth In Cleft Lip And Palate Patients, Nadia Abou Kheir Jan 2018

The Effect Of Primary Palatal Repair On Growth In Cleft Lip And Palate Patients, Nadia Abou Kheir

All ETDs from UAB

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is a facial defect that is represented as a split in the mouth, palate or both. In the United States approximately 4440 babies are born with CLP annually. More than US$600 million are spent on their treatment and mostly on surgical interventions. Considering the high expenses of primary palatal repair, its effect on growth has been controversial. Surgical scaring is postulated as the cause of maxillary hypoplasia. However, this operation has been considered necessary for function and development of speechHowever, this operation has been considered as necessary for better functional and speech outcomes. Materials and …

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Culture And Patient Safety Outcomes: Examining The Impact Of The Departmental Work Environment On Outcomes, Dawn Ahner Jan 2018

Culture And Patient Safety Outcomes: Examining The Impact Of The Departmental Work Environment On Outcomes, Dawn Ahner

All ETDs from UAB

This study examined the relationship between the departmental work environment and patient safety outcomes to determine if there were particular subcomponents of a department’s work environment that had a more significant impact on patient safety outcomes. The work environment was defined as the culture of an individual nursing department which consisted of the employee’s perception of engagement and patient safety culture. The research was informed by the commitment-based theory. Based on this theory, it was predicted that a team-based approach in the work environment would lead to a learning and positive environment, which would be positively associated with quality of …

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Examining The Role Of Perceived Benefits And Barriers In Physical Activity Behavior For Cancer Prevention And Control, Matthew Cole Ainsworth Jan 2018

Examining The Role Of Perceived Benefits And Barriers In Physical Activity Behavior For Cancer Prevention And Control, Matthew Cole Ainsworth

All ETDs from UAB

Physical activity (PA) is important for health outcomes like breast cancer, but most U.S. adults do not meet recommended guidelines. Behavioral theories like the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) have demonstrated success in PA behavior change, but perceived benefits and barriers are understudied. PA time barriers are shared between healthy and cancer survivor populations, and study of time use in breast cancer survivors using mobile phone technology like the Life in a Day (LiaD) app would support future intervention development. We conducted 3 studies to investigate benefits and barriers to PA in adults and time use among breast cancer survivors to …

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Examining Kindergarten Teachers' Beliefs About And Implementation Of School, Family, And Community Partnerships In Saudi Arabia, Najla Albaiz Jan 2018

Examining Kindergarten Teachers' Beliefs About And Implementation Of School, Family, And Community Partnerships In Saudi Arabia, Najla Albaiz

All ETDs from UAB

The research examined kindergarten teachers’ beliefs and implementation of school, family, and community partnerships (SFCPs) in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. It used Epstein’s model of SFCPs including the following practices: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community. Two strands were employed: the quantitative obtained teachers’ beliefs and implementation of the SFCP practices by surveying a sample of 266 teachers from 126 public kindergartens. The follow up qualitative strand included a purposeful sample of 12 teachers to explore their experiences with SFCPs within three different social and economic areas (SEAs): High, middle, and low SEAs. Two-way …

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Prohealing Multifunctional Endothelium Nanomatrix Coated Stents, Grant Alexander Jan 2018

Prohealing Multifunctional Endothelium Nanomatrix Coated Stents, Grant Alexander

All ETDs from UAB

Cardiovascular disease is currently the number one cause of death in the United States, and indeed, worldwide. Stents are the most commonly implanted devices used to treat cardiovascular disease. Bare metal stent use remains limited by relatively high rates of in-stent restenosis, a re-narrowing of the artery after stent deployment. Restenosis within stents is a result of neointimal proliferation of smooth muscle cells and the accom-panying extracellular matrix deposition in response to vessel injury. To address this, drug-eluting stents have been developed to reduce restenosis; however, difficulties with late stent thrombosis, inflammation, and poor re-endothelialization remained. Thus, alt-hough numerous approaches …

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Collecting Duct Nos1 Activation Is Necessary For Increased Glomerular Filtration Rate In Response To A High Salt Diet, John Miller Allan Jan 2018

Collecting Duct Nos1 Activation Is Necessary For Increased Glomerular Filtration Rate In Response To A High Salt Diet, John Miller Allan

All ETDs from UAB

We previously reported that nitric oxide synthase-1 (NOS1) in the collecting duct (CD) is critical for maintaining fluid-electrolyte balance during high salt diet. Lack of NOS1 in the CD (CDNOS1KO) results in reduced sodium excretion, urine output, and urinary nitrite/nitrate excretion compared to male control mice after 1 day of a high salt diet (4% NaCl). By day 7 of a high salt diet, CDNOS1KO mice display significantly increased systolic blood pressure with sodium excretion returning to levels similar to control mice. Sex differences in renal sodium handling are important to consider. Female rodents possess redundant mechanisms for sodium handling …

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Vestibular And Oculomotor Function In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Anwar B. Almutairi Jan 2018

Vestibular And Oculomotor Function In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Anwar B. Almutairi

All ETDs from UAB

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability of childhood, caused by non-progressive permanent injury to the fetal or infant’s brain. Visual and balance impairments are prominent hallmarks of these disorders. Although musculoskeletal and neuromuscular causes are well established in the literature, the role of vestibular and oculomotor disabilities was not explored in this population. Because of that, this dissertation aims to describe the vestibular and oculomotor function in children with CP, aged 7-12years, GMFCS levels I-III, and to determine the feasibility, sensitivity, specificity and retest reliability of vestibular and oculomotor clinical tests in children with CP, compared to …

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Effects Of Medicare Reimbursement Policies On The Quality Of Hospital Care, Monica Aswani Jan 2018

Effects Of Medicare Reimbursement Policies On The Quality Of Hospital Care, Monica Aswani

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation is composed of two papers related to the role of social risk factors in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). As value-based initiatives like the HRRP become more commonplace, there is growing need to understand the relationship between performance in these programs and social risk factors, such as race and poverty, which are not incorporated in the program’s risk adjustment methodology. To address this gap in the literature, this dissertation specifically focuses on three areas: 1) how hospital and community factors are related to average HRRP penalties, taking the context of geography into account, 2) how hospital and …

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Human Neurobiology Following Trauma: Assessing Brain Function, Structure, And Biochemistry, Nathaniel Gene Harnett Jan 2018

Human Neurobiology Following Trauma: Assessing Brain Function, Structure, And Biochemistry, Nathaniel Gene Harnett

All ETDs from UAB

Approximately 25 million United States (U.S.) citizens experience a potentially traumatic event each year, and almost 90% of the U.S. population will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Trauma exposure is the primary antecedent to the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a highly debilitating mental health disorder characterized by chronic cognitive-affective dysfunction. However, there is considerable variability in susceptibility to PTSD. Specifically, trauma exposure may result in PTSD for one person, but not another. Therefore, a better understanding of the acute processes that affect brain function, structure, and biochemistry following trauma exposure is critical for the …

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Applications Of Next-Generation Sequencing And Functional Genomics In Translational Medicine, Andrew Hardigan Jan 2018

Applications Of Next-Generation Sequencing And Functional Genomics In Translational Medicine, Andrew Hardigan

All ETDs from UAB

The development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has led to unparalleled advances in our understanding of the genetic basis of disease, evolution, and genetic and genomic regulation. Building on the advances made in the Human Genome Project and more recent efforts such as the Encylopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) and the Roadmap Epigenomics Project, whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing (WGS/WES) and a wide variety of NGS-enabled functional assays are bridging the gap between scientific discovery and clinical medicine. This trend towards genomically informed “bench-to-bedside” translational medicine is driven in large part by the sharply decreasing costs for NGS in both clinical …

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Macrodomain Mystery: Investigating The Structure-Function Link In Novel Tylonycteris Hku4 And Rousettus Hku9 Coronavirus Proteins, Robert Glenn Hammond Jan 2018

Macrodomain Mystery: Investigating The Structure-Function Link In Novel Tylonycteris Hku4 And Rousettus Hku9 Coronavirus Proteins, Robert Glenn Hammond

All ETDs from UAB

Since 2003, two severely human pathogenic viruses have emerged as a formidable health threat with no effective treatment to date. These viruses belong to the coronavirus (CoV) family. Upon infection, this viral family uses host cell machinery to translate nonstructural proteins (nsps) which are used to facilitate the viral life cycle. The first major human viral threat, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, contains a multidomain region within its nsp3 called the SARS Unique Domain (SUD). This region contains macrodomains, which are implicated in viral replication. Macrodomains bind monomeric and polymeric ADP-ribose, a biomolecule involved in many cellular processes. …

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Effects Of Novel Inhibitors Against Wnt/Β-Catenin Signaling In Ovarian And Triple-Negative Breast Cancers, Abhishek Gangrade Jan 2018

Effects Of Novel Inhibitors Against Wnt/Β-Catenin Signaling In Ovarian And Triple-Negative Breast Cancers, Abhishek Gangrade

All ETDs from UAB

Ovarian and triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are aggressive due to their dependence on Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Niclosamide, a strong inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, is an efficacious cytotoxic agent for various cancers in vitro, including ovarian and breast cancers. However, it has cross-reactivity with mTOR, STAT3, and Notch pathways. A limitation of using the agent in animal studies involves its poor water solubility and bioavailability. This study investigates novel compounds based on the structure of niclosamide to improve specificity for the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. The investigation evaluates three questions: 1) whether WNT974 inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling in ovarian cancer; 2) whether novel analogs …

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Effects Of Proanthocyanidins In Combination With Resveratrol And Sulforaphane Respectively On Human Breast Cancer Cells, Yifeng Gao Jan 2018

Effects Of Proanthocyanidins In Combination With Resveratrol And Sulforaphane Respectively On Human Breast Cancer Cells, Yifeng Gao

All ETDs from UAB

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the second leading cause of death from cancer among women in the United States. Cancer prevention and therapy through use of phytochemicals that have epigenetic properties has gained considerable popularity during the past few decades. Such dietary components include but are not limited to grape seed proanthocyanidins (GSPs), resveratrol (Res) and sulforaphane (SFN). Here we report for the first time that GSPs and Res in combination dose- and time-dependently inhibited cell viability and posttreatment colony forming ability synergistically in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, while GSPs and SFN in …

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Organic Inkjet-Printed Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor Dc Model For Sensing Applications, Steven Gardner Jan 2018

Organic Inkjet-Printed Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor Dc Model For Sensing Applications, Steven Gardner

All ETDs from UAB

A technological renaissance is underway, allowing large-area displays, paper thin sensors, flexible electronics and printable circuits. A new circuit manufacturing technique has the potential for a plethora of promising applications from non-invasive biosensors to radio-frequency identification tags (RFIDs). Functional layers are printed onto a planar substrate by inkjet printers retrofit with conductive inks, resulting in the inkjet-printed circuit (iPC). Functional RLC components have been designed with relatively high reliability, paving the way for fully printed passive and active analog filters. The main electrical component being researched to meet industrial standards is the printed transistor. This thesis establishes a digital model …

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The Effect Of Mitochondrial-Derived Ros On Calcium Handling And Cardiac Function In Heart, Kah Yong Goh Jan 2018

The Effect Of Mitochondrial-Derived Ros On Calcium Handling And Cardiac Function In Heart, Kah Yong Goh

All ETDs from UAB

Mitochondria are abundantly present in metabolic active organs such as the heart. The presence of mitochondria are crucial to provide energy in the form of ATP, regulate calcium handling, facilitate cell fate, and are involved in metabolic modulation. In the process of generating ATP through oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondria produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a side product. In the heart, mitochondria is a major source of ROS. Under normal conditions, ROS are kept at a physiologically relevant and healthy level. Unfortunately, excessive ROS levels during pathological states, such as pressure overload heart failure, appears as a threat to the whole …

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The Influence Of Child, Parent, And Context Factors On Children’S Traffic Injury Risk, Emma Sartin Goodman Jan 2018

The Influence Of Child, Parent, And Context Factors On Children’S Traffic Injury Risk, Emma Sartin Goodman

All ETDs from UAB

Child restraint systems, like car seats and booster seats, are effective at preventing serious injury and death for children involved in motor vehicle collisions. Despite this, the majority of families in the United States either do not use, or incorrectly use, child restraint systems. Further, racial minorities are consistently reported to have higher rates of child restraint system non- and misuse than their White peers; research has yet to explain this relationship with previously hypothesized factors (e.g., caregiver education, sources of information). The overall objective of this project was to explain how child, caregiver, and context factors interacted to influence …

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African American Caregivers’ Decision To Use Hospice Services For A Loved One: A Grounded Theory Study, Paula M. Gordon Jan 2018

African American Caregivers’ Decision To Use Hospice Services For A Loved One: A Grounded Theory Study, Paula M. Gordon

All ETDs from UAB

This qualitative grounded theory study explored the process of decision making for African American family caregivers in the southeastern United States, as they make hospice decisions for their loved ones, Although hospice use in the United States has grown over the last decade, a disparity continues to exist between African American and Caucasian populations. African Americans represent a small percentage of hospice users in the United States, despite research that has found that patients who use hospice experience improved symptom control, fewer unmet needs, and better end of life care. Research has identified many reasons for this disparity; however, little …

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Risk Factors Associated With Multiple Myeloma, Stephen Gragg Jan 2018

Risk Factors Associated With Multiple Myeloma, Stephen Gragg

All ETDs from UAB

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy in which clonal plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow, leading to the formation of lytic bone lesions, hypercalcemia, anemia, renal insufficiency, and immunosuppression. It develops from a pre-malignant condition known as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), which is prevalent in up to 3% of White populations over the age of 50 years, and twice that in Black populations. Although much progress has been made toward understanding the large scale genomic aberrations that facilitate the formation of MGUS clones and the various copy-number variations and mutations that trigger the development of MM, …

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Interactions Between Posture And Locomotion In Nonimpaired And Poststroke Walking, Sarah Anne Graham Jan 2018

Interactions Between Posture And Locomotion In Nonimpaired And Poststroke Walking, Sarah Anne Graham

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Inappropriate paretic-limb force generation is a hallmark of impaired walking function poststroke. In addition to weakness, the paretic limb misdirects foot forces during stance, which may be due to inappropriate postural influence over weakened locomotor control. Purpose: Investigate neural control interactions between posture and locomotor functions by manipulating postural influence during walking of nonimpaired and individuals poststroke. I present four studies investigating measures associated with locomotor function and foot-force direction under varying postural demands during walking. Methods: Study 1 compared comfortable walking speed (CWS) outcomes following two body-weight-support (BWS) training protocols for N=29 participants with chronic (≥5 months) poststroke …

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The Contribution Of Mitochondrial Genetic Background To Glucose Metabolism And Insulin Sensitivity In Vivo, Melissa June Sammy Jan 2018

The Contribution Of Mitochondrial Genetic Background To Glucose Metabolism And Insulin Sensitivity In Vivo, Melissa June Sammy

All ETDs from UAB

It has been observed that the risk of developing diabetes increases with age as well as among certain races, most notably African Americans and Hispanic Americans who are almost two times as likely to develop perturbed glucose metabolism compared to Caucasian Americans. Interestingly, there are distinct mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms that distinguish people of different races and thus may contribute to differential susceptibility to diseases of glucose metabolism. To test the hypothesis that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contributes to glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, two strains of mice were used with distinct mtDNA sequences namely, C57BL6/J and C3H/HeN as well as …

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Health Literacy And Quality Of Life In Patients With Epilepsy, Brittany Nichole Scrivner Jan 2018

Health Literacy And Quality Of Life In Patients With Epilepsy, Brittany Nichole Scrivner

All ETDs from UAB

This exploratory study examined the impact of health literacy on quality of life (QoL) in persons with epilepsy (PWE). From the perspectives of cultural health capital and social disability theory, it was hypothesized that greater levels of health literacy would be associated with higher quality of life scores. The sample included patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) enrolled in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cannabidiol Program. Analyses included Pearson correlations, chi square, t-tests, and a nested linear regression model (alpha=0.1). The sample was composed of adult respondents (aged 19-63; n=79) and was 92% white with a mean age of 33; …

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Epigenetic Regulation Of Stem Cell Fate Determination And Tumorigenesis, Kushani Shah Jan 2018

Epigenetic Regulation Of Stem Cell Fate Determination And Tumorigenesis, Kushani Shah

All ETDs from UAB

It is unclear how H3K4 methylation, an epigenetic modification associated with gene activation, regulates stem cell fate determination and tumorigenesis. DPY30 is one of the core subunits of the SET1/MLL complex in mammals responsible for H3K4me. DPY30 enhances the H3K4me activity of the SET1/MLL complex. Here, I sought to define role of DPY30 and H3K4me3 in postnatal neurogenesis and hematopoietic malignancies. Using a conditional knockout model, I found that Dpy30 deficiency halts the development of postnatal hippocampus, the subventricular zone, and cerebellum. Deficiency in cerebellum is most likely the cause of uncoordinated ataxia-like movements in these mice. By deleting Dpy30 …

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Early Childhood Temperament And Eating Behaviors, Desti Shepard Jan 2018

Early Childhood Temperament And Eating Behaviors, Desti Shepard

All ETDs from UAB

Childhood obesity is a nationwide epidemic associated with serious metabolic and mental health issues, as well as increased risk for obesity in adulthood. Many factors influence the development of obesity in childhood, including individual factors such as deficits in self-regulatory behaviors. This study examined associations among aspects of self-regulation and eating behaviors of young children. We hypothesized that 1) children with lower attention scores would be rated as having greater food responsiveness (FR) and poorer satiety responsiveness (SR); 2) children with poor inhibitory control would be rated as having greater FR; 3) children with poorer emotion regulation abilities would be …

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Regulation Of Effector Cd4 T Cell Pathogenicity During Chronic Inflammation, Boyoung Shin Jan 2018

Regulation Of Effector Cd4 T Cell Pathogenicity During Chronic Inflammation, Boyoung Shin

All ETDs from UAB

Effector CD4 T cells are essential for the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory immune responses during homeostasis. Dysregulation of effector CD4 T cell responses results in chronic inflammatory disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), however therapeutic options for these diseases are limited. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate pathogenicity of effector CD4 T cells is critical to devise new therapeutic interventions. Herein we show two different mechanisms that profoundly impact pathogenic potential of CD4 T cells by regulating heterogeneities of effector functions and differentiation states. Different subsets of effector CD4 T cells utilize distinct metabolic pathways. …

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Susceptibility To Late-Onset Sepsis Is Controlled By The Neonatal Microbiome And Intestinal Immune System, Jeffrey Robert Singer Jan 2018

Susceptibility To Late-Onset Sepsis Is Controlled By The Neonatal Microbiome And Intestinal Immune System, Jeffrey Robert Singer

All ETDs from UAB

When mammals leave the womb, they encounter a world teeming with microbial life. Their intestinal tract, which will ultimately harbor an ecosystem of trillions of bacteria, must progress through a process called ecological succession. Late-onset sepsis (LOS) commonly occurs in preterm infants when pioneer members of the intestinal microbiome cause systemic infections. Both antibiotics and probiotics are used as prophylaxis for LOS, but mechanisms underlying susceptibility to the disease remain unclear. This is in large part due to a lack of animal models that mimic the relevant pathophysiology of LOS. This study begins with the development of a novel model …

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Understanding The Role Of Social Media In Breastfeeding: A Mixed Methods Study, Kara Skelton Jan 2018

Understanding The Role Of Social Media In Breastfeeding: A Mixed Methods Study, Kara Skelton

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Background: Breastfeeding is well known as the optimal source of nutrition for the first year of life. However, suboptimal exclusively breastfeeding rates in the US are still prevalent despite numerous calls to action at the national level. A mixed-methods study was conducted to explore social media group’ impact on breastfeeding related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Participants were recruited from one online social media pro-breastfeeding group. Online Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 21 women; Key Informant Interviews were conducted with 12 mothers. Qualitative data were aggregated for thematic analysis. A survey was developed based on findings from the qualitative …

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Pathological Changes In Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission And Neuronal Function During Early Disease In The Novel Tgf344-Ad Rat Model, Lindsey Allyson Smith Jan 2018

Pathological Changes In Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission And Neuronal Function During Early Disease In The Novel Tgf344-Ad Rat Model, Lindsey Allyson Smith

All ETDs from UAB

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in those 65 years and older and the 6th leading cause of death in the United Sates. Current treatments only target symptoms of the disease and cannot slow or halt disease progression. The novel and comprehensive TgF344-AD rodent model may bridge the translational gap previous animal models have failed to traverse by providing the platform to probe pre-lesion synapse dysfunction, which is thought to result primarily from increased levels of toxic soluble amyloid beta and hyperphosphorylated tau. The most recently developed model, the TgF344-AD rat was created in 2013 by insertion …

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Basics Of Musculoskeletal Health In Dentistry: An Overview, Drashti Shah, Ankit Arora, Padmaja Arora Jan 2018

Basics Of Musculoskeletal Health In Dentistry: An Overview, Drashti Shah, Ankit Arora, Padmaja Arora

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This book is an overview of the basics of musculoskeletal health amongst dentists which is the most commonly targeted profession of musculoskeletal pain and its consequences. This book also covers the common areas of pain, aeitiolgy, the study stating specialty specific areas of pain due to repetitive work of dental specialties andalso mentions the measures of prevention and consequences if being neglected, i.e. in general stating importance of musculoskeletal health amongst dentists.

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For Better Quality Of Life, Older Cancer Patients Need More Than Just Medicine, Staff Dec 2017

For Better Quality Of Life, Older Cancer Patients Need More Than Just Medicine, Staff

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No abstract provided.

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