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The Role Of Interorganizational Linkages In Shaping Hospital Reporting Burden: A Relational View Analysis, Robert Howard Jun 2026

The Role Of Interorganizational Linkages In Shaping Hospital Reporting Burden: A Relational View Analysis, Robert Howard

ETDs from 2020-2029

Administrative burden associated with health information exchange represents a persistent challenge for U.S. hospitals, contributing to provider burnout and operational inefficiency. This study examined whether interorganizational linkages, specifically hospital system affiliation, participation in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and participation in Health Information Exchanges (HIEs), are associated with perceived barriers to electronic health information exchange. Guided by the Relational View, linkages were conceptualized as potential conduits for shared assets, knowledge-sharing routines, and complementary capabilities that might reduce barriers to exchange. Data from 2018–2023 were drawn from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey and IT Supplement, merged with community-level measures from the …


Describing Propagation Of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii Through Comparative Genomics And Phenotypic Analysis Of Modern-Day Clinical Isolates, Emma Graffice Jun 2026

Describing Propagation Of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii Through Comparative Genomics And Phenotypic Analysis Of Modern-Day Clinical Isolates, Emma Graffice

ETDs from 2020-2029

Understanding the genomic structure of bacterial populations is essential for tracking antimicrobial resistance and informing public health strategies to prevent spread of multidrug resistant organisms. In this study, we investigated the diversity and distribution of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAb) lineages across a major healthcare system in the U.S. Deep South through both retrospective and prospective isolate collection. Our analysis revealed a heterogeneous population composed of multiple genotypically and phenotypically distinct lineages. To improve the resolution of lineage classification, we applied average nucleotide identity (ANI) as a high-resolution metric for comparative genomics. A ≥99% ANI threshold effectively delineated lineages, outperforming traditional …


Contribution Of Phosphorylation To Hp1a Function, James Walts Jun 2026

Contribution Of Phosphorylation To Hp1a Function, James Walts

ETDs from 2020-2029

Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1) family members are highly conserved, non-histone chromosomal proteins essential for heterochromatin formation and transcriptional regulation. In Drosophila melanogaster, HP1a functions both as a transcriptional repressor and activator, as well as other functions, and undergoes post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation. The functional consequences of HP1a phosphorylation remain largely unexplored. This thesis investigates the role of phosphorylation at serines 89/90/91 (S899091) of HP1a by generating two mutant alleles: a phospho-mimic (SE) and a phospho-block (SA). Both alleles produce stable mRNA transcripts; however, Western blot analysis revealed reduced protein accumulation relative to wildtype HP1a. Homozygous phospho-block animals are embryonic lethal …


Jnk Signaling Impacts Car-T Cell Effector Function, Charles Kuhlmann Jun 2026

Jnk Signaling Impacts Car-T Cell Effector Function, Charles Kuhlmann

ETDs from 2020-2029

The potent cytotoxic activity of T cells serves as a natural defense against cancers. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy represents a strategy for harnessing T cells against advanced tumors. CAR-T cell therapy has seen striking success against hematologic malignancies, prompting its application to new diseases. Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal disease characterized by frequent recurrence and aggressive nature, prompting the investigation of CAR-T cell therapy as a salvage regimen. However, like in other solid tumors, the early performance of CAR-T cell therapy in ovarian cancer is poor. While many strategies exist for improving the longevity of CAR-T …


Culturally Informed Approaches To Support Perinatal Mental Health: Perceptions And Experiences Of Perinatal Depression And Support Systems Among Postpartum African-Born Women In The United States, Joyce O. Imafidon Jun 2026

Culturally Informed Approaches To Support Perinatal Mental Health: Perceptions And Experiences Of Perinatal Depression And Support Systems Among Postpartum African-Born Women In The United States, Joyce O. Imafidon

ETDs from 2020-2029

Perinatal mental health (PMH) of African-born women (ABW) is underrepresented in research and practice in the United States (US) despite known consequences of poor mental wellbeing on one’s overall health, relationships and productivity. Beyond their fundamental role in family support, ABW contribute significantly to the US workforce, education sector, and economy. This three-paper dissertation enhances understanding on PMH outcomes, perception and experiences of ABW in the US. Perinatal depression (PD), one of the most common mood disorders affecting 1 in 8 women, is highlighted. The overarching question is to what extent does the US health system address PMH of ABW …


Identifying Existing Barriers To Equitable Transportation In Birmingham, Alabama, Brandy Rose Mckinney Jun 2026

Identifying Existing Barriers To Equitable Transportation In Birmingham, Alabama, Brandy Rose Mckinney

ETDs from 2020-2029

A transportation system is designed to connect people to essential community resources and support their mobility needs. However, transportation facilities and services in lower-income communities often fail to meet local demands, restricting access to jobs, healthcare, recreation, and other critical services. These gaps disproportionately impact lower-income and vulnerable populations, reducing mobility and overall quality of life. This study aims to (a) define transportation inequity and the measures used to assess it; (b) summarize existing inequities across the United States; (c) examine travel choices, needs, and barriers in lower-income communities in Birmingham, Alabama; and (d) propose strategies to address transportation inequity …


Darkstar: A Memoir In Essays, Sophie Hawke Isham Jun 2026

Darkstar: A Memoir In Essays, Sophie Hawke Isham

ETDs from 2020-2029

Darkstar: A Memoir in Essays is an essay collection that follows the last four years of my life. These essays vary in length, format, and material. The themes these essays tackle range from heavy subjects like deteriorating mental health from bipolar disorder and grief over the loss of pets and family members, to lighter subjects such as gender expression and identity, and the love surrounding me from friends, family, and relationships. While each essay can stand alone, they are more fleshed out and connected in the context and structure of this thesis. This body of work explores the various ways …


Efficient Multimodal Foundation Model Tuning For Hallucination Mitigation, Fei Zhao Jun 2026

Efficient Multimodal Foundation Model Tuning For Hallucination Mitigation, Fei Zhao

ETDs from 2020-2029

Over the past few years, multimodal foundation models have achieved remarkable progress in perception and understanding. However, two challenges limit their reliability: (1) dependence on offline training, which in most real-world settings requires large volumes of labeled data and, as a result, hinders the model’s ability to adapt to new data or domains; (2) weak cross-modal grounding, which often leads to hallucinated content generation, producing descriptions that are linguistically fluent but inconsistent with the input visual evidence. This dissertation frames hallucination mitigation as an outcome of transitioning from fixed learning (static, offline fine-tuning) to adaptive, feedback-driven lifelong learning. By incorporating …


Behind The Screen: Exploring How Undergraduate Students Experience Sense Of Belonging In Online Learning Environments In The United States, Grace Ellen Kiersznowski Jun 2026

Behind The Screen: Exploring How Undergraduate Students Experience Sense Of Belonging In Online Learning Environments In The United States, Grace Ellen Kiersznowski

ETDs from 2020-2029

Enrollment in online courses in higher education has been rising rapidly over the past couple of decades and has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made higher learning more accessible for students who would otherwise have difficulty earning a degree. Online education poses many barriers to students’ development of a sense of belonging, something research has been found to be of great importance to student success and well-being. Relatively little was known about students’ sense of belonging in online learning environments prior to the pandemic. Since the pandemic, online education has undergone major changes, changing the landscape in a …


Bone Marrow Adiposity, Obesity, And Tumor Burden In Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma, Ananya Deshpande Jun 2026

Bone Marrow Adiposity, Obesity, And Tumor Burden In Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma, Ananya Deshpande

ETDs from 2020-2029

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy in the United States. It is characterized by the accumulation of clonally expanded plasma cells in the bone marrow, which leads to end organ damage and myeloma-defining events requiring treatment. The only modifiable risk factor for MM is obesity. However, associations between obesity, bone marrow adipocytes, and tumor burden at MM diagnosis remain unclear. We evaluated associations of bone marrow adipocytes, body mass index (BMI), and clinical features of tumor burden among 168 patients with histologically confirmed newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) enrolled in the Integrative Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology …


The Guardian Order, Jennifer Jayden Foster Jun 2026

The Guardian Order, Jennifer Jayden Foster

ETDs from 2020-2029

The Guardian Order is a young adult fantasy novel set in the sacred land of Enyimel, a sanctuary sustained by magic and ancestral guardianship. The narrative follows siblings Kairos and Verena Sepher as they confront both an ecological catastrophe and a deeply personal rupture within their family. When a blight corrupts the land and destabilizes its magic, they are forced into a reluctant alliance to save their people. However, the external crisis mirrors an internal one: a lifetime of unequal parental expectations has shaped them into ideological opposites. Kairos embraces the heroic destiny prepared for him, while Verena resists a …


Why Gentlemen Prefer Chi Omega: The Impact Of The Sorority Tier System On The Member Experience, Cameron Pannell Jun 2026

Why Gentlemen Prefer Chi Omega: The Impact Of The Sorority Tier System On The Member Experience, Cameron Pannell

ETDs from 2020-2029

Sorority life is situated in a social hierarchy, in which the hierarchical tiers are determined by sorority women’s feminine worth. The hierarchical system in sorority life originates from women’s pursuit of hegemonic femininity. This study utilized semi-structured interviews of eight sorority women to fulfill the purpose of this study, which was to investigate how the sorority tier system shapes members’ experiences in Greek life and in college. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings of this study reveal that access to top-tier chapters is limited to elite women; women choose their chapter either for deep connections or for reputation …


Caring Through Cancer: The Role Of Stress And Social Support In The Lives Of Caregivers Diagnosed With Cancer, Antoinette Shantay Williams Jun 2026

Caring Through Cancer: The Role Of Stress And Social Support In The Lives Of Caregivers Diagnosed With Cancer, Antoinette Shantay Williams

ETDs from 2020-2029

Caregivers living with cancer face overlapping burdens that are often overlooked in research, policy, and practice, despite the profound implications for their mental health and the care they provide. The main objective of this dissertation is to examine how cancer status, gender, and social support intersect to influence the number of poor mental health days reported by caregivers in the United States and a U.S. territory. Specifically, this study assesses differences in poor mental health days between caregivers with and without cancer and examines whether gender and social support independently and jointly moderate this potential association. Using 2022-2023 data from …


Challenges Of Lutetium-177 Metastable Concentration In Radiopharmaceutical Waste, Cameron Robert Liggitt Jun 2026

Challenges Of Lutetium-177 Metastable Concentration In Radiopharmaceutical Waste, Cameron Robert Liggitt

ETDs from 2020-2029

Lutetium-177 (Lu-177) is an upcoming radiopharmaceutical with commercial use recently approved for cancer treatment by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). During production, a contaminate, Lutetium-177 metastable (Lu-177m), can also be produced. The concentration of Lu-177m will vary greatly depending on the production method. One of the largest problems posed by this metastable contaminant is disposal challenges due to its longer half-life and more energetic decay process. This research models the potential for the decay in storage method to be used for disposal of Lu-177 waste based on the concentration of Lu-177m. Utilizing varying ratios of metastable per therapeutic dose, this …


Nazi Propaganda In The United States Prior To American Entry Into The Second World War, Trenton Alexander Bowen Jun 2026

Nazi Propaganda In The United States Prior To American Entry Into The Second World War, Trenton Alexander Bowen

ETDs from 2020-2029

This thesis examines the multifaceted nature of Nazi propaganda in the United States during the interwar years. I argue that these publications were not just a parade of familiar cliches about Jews or the wisdom of American neutrality. Rather, they and the organizations that disseminated them presented a jumbled patchwork of lies, hypocritical claims, contradictions, and distortions. In other words, I argue that Nazi propaganda was so dangerous in the United States because it relied on mixed and confusing messaging, and in turn, on the ignorance of Americans about the nature of the “new Germany.”


Shaping Fibroblast Fate To Drive Fibrotic Remodeling In Pulmonary Fibrosis: Decoding S100a4, Spring Li Jun 2026

Shaping Fibroblast Fate To Drive Fibrotic Remodeling In Pulmonary Fibrosis: Decoding S100a4, Spring Li

ETDs from 2020-2029

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease characterized by persistent fibroblast activation, excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and irreversible remodeling of lung architecture. A central feature of disease progression is the accumulation of fibroblasts that evade apoptosis and persist in a pathologically activated state. However, the molecular mechanisms that sustain this aberrant phenotype remain incompletely understood. The calcium-binding protein S100A4 has been implicated in fibrotic processes, but its role in orchestrating fibroblast fate and profibrotic behavior has not been fully defined, particularly with respect to its influence on fibroblast survival and activation in IPF. In the first …


Unintentional Gun Injury In Children: Firearm Safety Knowledge, Intention, And Behavior And Psychological Moderators That Predict Unsafe Firearm Use, Yixin Wang Jun 2026

Unintentional Gun Injury In Children: Firearm Safety Knowledge, Intention, And Behavior And Psychological Moderators That Predict Unsafe Firearm Use, Yixin Wang

ETDs from 2020-2029

In the United States, 4,752 children under age 19 died from firearm injuries in 2021. Among children younger than 14, 13% of firearm-related deaths were unintentional. In ad-dition, approximately 40% of children lived in households with firearms in 2021, and in many states, children may legally hunt without adult supervision after completing hunter education training. Although knowledge-based firearm safety education programs have been developed, existing interventions have shown limited effectiveness in improving chil-dren’s firearm safety behaviors. In response, the present study examined children’s firearm safety performance through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior and developmental factors relevant to …


The Medicalization Of Rapists In Psychiatry From 2000-2024, Lily Plowden Jun 2026

The Medicalization Of Rapists In Psychiatry From 2000-2024, Lily Plowden

ETDs from 2020-2029

The process of human problems coming to be defined as medical conditions and thus under the purview of medical professionals is called medicalization. This study examines how psychiatrists medicalize perpetrators of sexual violence, looking particularly at debates around whether to include a new disorder, Paraphilic Coercive Disorder, in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. Using a content analysis of n=102 articles, it finds that discussions of the pathology of sexual violence perpetration were prevalent among psychiatric journals from 2000-2024. Psychiatrists medicalize rapists through three pathways: advocating for a new medical disorder; attributing the cause of sexual …


Investigation Of The Noise Reduction Performance Of A Commercial Active Noise Canceling (Anc) Device, Eli O'Connor Jun 2026

Investigation Of The Noise Reduction Performance Of A Commercial Active Noise Canceling (Anc) Device, Eli O'Connor

ETDs from 2020-2029

It is estimated that 22 million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), active noise canceling (ANC) devices are generally not adequate to use for hearing protection in an occupation setting. This study examined the noise attenuation of AirPod Pros 3, to investigate how the device performs at different sound levels. AirPods Pros 3 and a CARL mannequin were used for this study. Two dosimeters were placed inside the mannequin’s right and left ear canals. A speaker played pink noise at external ear sound levels of 90, 95, …


Evaluating The Service Life Of A Respirator Cartridge When Exposed To Various Volatile Organic Compounds, Neha Murad Alwani Jun 2026

Evaluating The Service Life Of A Respirator Cartridge When Exposed To Various Volatile Organic Compounds, Neha Murad Alwani

ETDs from 2020-2029

Inhalation is the most common exposure pathway. With the significant presence of respiratory exposure, respirator cartridges are widely used as personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce exposure to gases, vapors, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study evaluated the breakthrough time of respirator cartridges under various VOC environments commonly encountered in beauty salons and automotive repair shops. Breakthrough time is the duration a respirator cartridge can provide protection before contaminants can be inhaled and the respirator cartridge is no longer effective. The breakthrough time of three VOCs was examined: acetone, toluene, and m-xylene. Using a custom designed test chamber equipped …


Potential Noise Exposure During Post-Trip Inspection Among Commercial Freight Truck Operators, Makayla Ashley Baker Jun 2026

Potential Noise Exposure During Post-Trip Inspection Among Commercial Freight Truck Operators, Makayla Ashley Baker

ETDs from 2020-2029

Noise exposure is one of the most common occupational hazards. Transportation and mate-rial moving occupations reported exposure to noise levels that ranged from moderate (81.4%), loud (15.9%), to very loud (< 0.5%). This study aimed to assess the working noise environment of freight truck operators while completing post-trip inspection. Area noise sampling was performed while freight truck engines were in idle states. A type 2 sound level meter (SLM) was utilized to record noise levels, positioned at rear of the truck cab with the microphone towards the source at a height of 5 feet. The SLM was set up for three noise metrics: Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) and Hearing Conservation (HC) action level in addition to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV). 4 trucks were sampled and for each truck, recording duration lasted approximately 15 minutes, reflecting the time spent conducting post inspections. Data collection included the average sound level (Lavg), A-weighted equivalent continuous sound level (LAeq), and maximum A-weighted sound level (LASmax). The measurements were repeated 3 times for each truck and the data were averaged. Lavg was compared to the three respective occupa-tional exposure limits (OELs), assuming a worst-case scenario. Lavg values of each sampling round among four trucks obtained using the OSHA PEL values ranged from 45.1 to 51.4 dB(A), OSHA HC criteria ranged from 37.8 to 51.9 dB(A), and ACGIH TLV values ranged from 55.5 to 67.9 dB(A). The average LAeq of three sampling rounds of the four trucks ranged from 75.4 to 76.9 dB(A) with Truck 3 having the highest average level. The average LASmax of three sampling rounds ranged from 79.3 to 92.0 dB(A), with Truck 3 having the highest average level. Though none of Lavg averages exceeded the respective OELs, Truck 3 under the ACGIH TLV criterion had the highest Lavg at 51.6.9 dB(A), LAeq at 76.9 dB(A), as well as the highest LASmax at 92.0 dB(A). The elevated sound level may be attributed to engine turnover from automated shutoff in prolonged idle states. Further studies need be conducted to investigate other potential factors such as air-brake systems, engine/cab model and age.


Clinical Validation Of Tabpfn-2.5: Zero-Shot Performance, Data-Scarce Robustness, And Distilled Models For Real-Time Clinical Decision Support, Baraa Aljawawdeh Jun 2026

Clinical Validation Of Tabpfn-2.5: Zero-Shot Performance, Data-Scarce Robustness, And Distilled Models For Real-Time Clinical Decision Support, Baraa Aljawawdeh

ETDs from 2020-2029

Accurate clinical risk prediction plays an important role in improving patient outcomes, particularly in perioperative settings where early intervention can influence care decisions. Although machine learning has shown promising results using electronic health record (EHR) data, its use in clinical practice is often limited by complex development processes, the need for hyperparameter tuning, and variability in performance across datasets. These challenges are especially relevant in data-scarce clinical settings. This thesis evaluates TabPFN-2.5, a transformer-based tabular foundation model designed to perform classification without dataset-specific training. The model was applied to two real-world perioperative prediction tasks: unplanned care escalation (UCE) following post-anesthesia …


Leadership In Parent Engagement: A Phenomenological Study Of School Principals’ Preparedness To Lead Parent Engagement, Aqila Malpass Jun 2026

Leadership In Parent Engagement: A Phenomenological Study Of School Principals’ Preparedness To Lead Parent Engagement, Aqila Malpass

ETDs from 2020-2029

Researchers consistently report a strong positive correlation between parent engagement and student achievement. When parents are engaged, students benefit in all grade levels and backgrounds (Auerbach, 2010; Epstein, 2011; Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Jeynes, 2005; Weiss et al., 2010). Policy-makers and educators acknowledge the influence of parent engagement on student outcomes (Mapp, 2012). Consequently, communities need effective parent engagement systems and structures within their schools. Principals should understand parent engagement and be equipped to lead its implementation in their schools. It is also necessary to identify key training and support conditions that help to equip principals to lead effective parent …


Learnable Structured Attention For Student-Aware Knowledge Distillation In Dense Prediction, Chen Liu Jun 2026

Learnable Structured Attention For Student-Aware Knowledge Distillation In Dense Prediction, Chen Liu

ETDs from 2020-2029

Dense prediction tasks, including object detection and semantic segmentation, require models to produce structured predictions and are widely used in real-world vision applications. Although deep networks have achieved strong performance on these tasks, their high computational cost limits deployment on resource-constrained systems such as autonomous-driving vehicles. Knowledge distillation (KD) addresses this issue by transferring knowledge from a large teacher model to a compact student model. However, existing distillation methods for dense prediction face greater challenges than those for classification due to the more complex task requirements. To overcome the challenges, this thesis presents a unified study of adaptive distillation for …


June 17, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham Jun 2026

June 17, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Blazer Weekly (student newsletter)

No abstract provided.


June 16, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham Jun 2026

June 16, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.


The Role Of Mitochondrial And Lysosomal Damage In Neurotoxicity From Parkinson 'S-Related Environmental Exposures, Neda Ilieva Jun 2026

The Role Of Mitochondrial And Lysosomal Damage In Neurotoxicity From Parkinson 'S-Related Environmental Exposures, Neda Ilieva

ETDs from 2020-2029

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive motor neurodegenerative disorder with a predominantly idiopathic etiology. More recently, however, the contribution of exogenous risk factors such as environmental contaminants has become of interest. Some endogenous genetic risk factors have been well characterized, but the mechanisms by which exogenous insults, such as environmental contaminants, drive dopaminergic neurodegeneration remain incompletely understood. This dissertation will address how environmental contaminants converge on mitochondrial and lysosomal dysfunction to activate parallel neurotoxic signaling pathways, with a focus on the LRRK2 kinase and the cGAS-STING innate immune pathway. Chapter 2 demonstrates that pharmacological inhibition of LRRK2 kinase activity protects …


Adding 3,4-Methylenedioxy-Α-Cyclohexylaminopropiophenone To A Standard Operating Procedure (Sop) For Identifying Synthetic Cathinones Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Napassawon Timpratoom Jun 2026

Adding 3,4-Methylenedioxy-Α-Cyclohexylaminopropiophenone To A Standard Operating Procedure (Sop) For Identifying Synthetic Cathinones Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Napassawon Timpratoom

ETDs from 2020-2029

Synthetic cathinones were identified as new psychoactive substances (NPS) in the early warning advisory system by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Synthetic cathinones have been commonly referred to as bath salts, which offered “legal highs” because they were not explicitly scheduled. These compounds were detected dur-ing the screening process in casework and required internal validation for confirmation. 3,4-methylenedioxy-α-cyclohexylaminopropiophenone was the target analyte for this study. It was alternatively named N-cyclohexyl methylone and “cyputylone." The aim of the study was to validate 3,4-methylenedioxy-α-cyclohexylaminopropiophenone into a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for identifying synthetic cathinones using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry …


June 12, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham Jun 2026

June 12, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.


June 10, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham Jun 2026

June 10, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Blazer Weekly (student newsletter)

No abstract provided.