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Evaluating Cannabinoid Interference And Drug Stability In Oral Fluid For Dui/D Testing, Jasmine Maxwell Jan 2022

Evaluating Cannabinoid Interference And Drug Stability In Oral Fluid For Dui/D Testing, Jasmine Maxwell

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Oral fluid (OF) drug testing was first applied in the workplace and pain management facilities, and is now being applied to DUI/D (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs) cases to help establish probable cause and for laboratory evidentiary confirmation. OF drug testing is efficient due to its easy, fast, gender-neutral and OF sample collection is minimally invasive compared to blood and urine. The objective of this study is to investigate the stability of cannabinoids in OF specimens over time. Limit of detection and potential matrix and analyte interference will also be evaluated. The ANSI/ASB Standard 036 for Method Validation in …

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Regional Variations In The Incidence Of Brain Glioma In Adults In Alabama, Mina Lobbous Jan 2022

Regional Variations In The Incidence Of Brain Glioma In Adults In Alabama, Mina Lobbous

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Purpose: Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor in adults in the US with an annual age-adjusted incidence rate of 4.67 to 5.73 per 100,000 persons. Exposure to ioniz-ing radiation is the only established risk factor for non-hereditary glioma risk. There are several sources of carcinogenic contaminants in northeast Alabama and western Georgia with the Coosa River serving as the region’s primary water source. In this study, we aimed to examine the incidence rate of glioma in northeast Alabama compared to the rest of the state as well as the association of possible environmental exposure on disease risk and …

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The Relationship Between Psychological Profiles And Longitudinal Pain Trajectories In People With Chronic Knee Pain, Daniel Alexander Kusko Jan 2022

The Relationship Between Psychological Profiles And Longitudinal Pain Trajectories In People With Chronic Knee Pain, Daniel Alexander Kusko

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Considerable evidence demonstrates that radiographic findings (e.g., osteophytes) are only modestly associated with the severity of knee pain, suggesting that other biopsychosocial factors likely influence symptom severity. Multiple psychological factors have been linked to worse health outcomes in people with chronic knee pain; however, it remains unclear whether psychological profiles might help explain variability in knee pain severity. The primary goal of this study was to identify unique psychological differences among people with and without chronic knee pain, and then examine whether psychological profiles longitudinally predicted knee pain trajectories over two years. Individuals with (n = 175) and without (n …

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Comparison Of [18f]Fdg With 18f-Labeled Amino Acids For Pet Imaging Of Breast Cancer, Ugur Akca Jan 2022

Comparison Of [18f]Fdg With 18f-Labeled Amino Acids For Pet Imaging Of Breast Cancer, Ugur Akca

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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are identified by their lack of estrogen re-ceptor, progesterone receptor, and overexpression of human epidermal growth factor re-ceptor 2-gene. The glucose analog, 2-deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) is the most often utilized PET tracer for imaging TNBC. The use of FDG for imaging primary and metastatic brain tumors is limited by high FDG uptake in normal brain tissue and some forms of inflammation. Also, MRI brain imaging methods have limitation in determining the differentiation between recurrent malignant and treatment effect. Radiolabeled amino acids (AAs), which have a lower uptake in normal brain and inflammation compared to FDG, can be …

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A 15-Year Retrospective Analysis On After-Hours Dental Emergencies In A Children's Hospital Setting, Alexandra An-Yen Chen Jan 2022

A 15-Year Retrospective Analysis On After-Hours Dental Emergencies In A Children's Hospital Setting, Alexandra An-Yen Chen

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Dental emergencies are one of the most common oral health complications and can exhibit a detrimental impact on a child’s physical and psychological development; additionally, it may impose economic challenges for the family. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the after-hours dental emergency visits in the past 15 years at the Children’s of Alabama (COA) Hospital Emergency Department. Methods: A retrospective chart review between January 2007 and December 2021 was conducted. Patients’ demographics, type of dental complaint, and management were evaluated for overall characteristics in the 15 years and trends in 5-year increments. The impact of the …

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What "Makes A Monster Of Their Minds": The Influence Of Honor Culture, Shame, And Homsociality On Anxious Masculinity In Shakespearean Cuckoldry Plots, Hannah M. Cutting Jan 2022

What "Makes A Monster Of Their Minds": The Influence Of Honor Culture, Shame, And Homsociality On Anxious Masculinity In Shakespearean Cuckoldry Plots, Hannah M. Cutting

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In early modern drama, cuckoldry is used as the focal point for jokes and as a major plot device. Playwrights who use cuckoldry as a plot point often put the burden of blame on the women of these trysts, regardless of if they have made the women guilty or not, while failing to critique the behavior of men who act out in the face of these accusations. Unlike his contemporaries, Shakespeare seems to criticize men who choose to believe accusations of cuckoldry by putting their faith in homosocial bonds over their marital bonds. Across the timeline of Shakespeare’s plays, four …

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Correlates Of Early Adversity In Children And Adolescents: Examining The Interrelatedness Of Aggression, Post-Traumatic Stress, And Suicidal Behaviors, Elizabeth Mcrae Jan 2022

Correlates Of Early Adversity In Children And Adolescents: Examining The Interrelatedness Of Aggression, Post-Traumatic Stress, And Suicidal Behaviors, Elizabeth Mcrae

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The negative outcomes associated with adverse childhood experiences, especially child maltreatment ACEs (CM-ACEs), often emerge concomitantly with these experiences and have cascading negative effects across the lifespan. For example,childhood aggression, post-traumatic stress, and suicidal behaviors have all been identified as negative sequelae of CM-ACEs. They have been associated with each other, as well, and share several common underlying mechanisms. Thus, it might be that these outcomes collectively exacerbate the risk of experiencing negative effects of CM-ACEs, yet most existing research has examined these risk factors independently. Moreover, these outcomes often emerge early in development, yet most related research has been …

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A Pilot Mixed Methods Study Examining Factors Affecting Return To Work Among African American Stroke Survivors, Kristin D. Ashley Jan 2022

A Pilot Mixed Methods Study Examining Factors Affecting Return To Work Among African American Stroke Survivors, Kristin D. Ashley

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BACKGROUND: Stroke is a highly prevalent and disabling condition among African Americans. Although there is limited research regarding barriers and facilitators to return to work among stroke survivors, evidence suggests that African American stroke survivors return to work (RTW) less frequently than Caucasians. Most of the research on this topic has been conducted in European countries, leaving significant knowledge gaps on RTW among African Americans in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect RTW for African American stroke survivors and then build upon those results to better understand facilitators and barriers to RTW. …

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Spike-And-Slab Additive Models And Scalable Algorithms For High Dimensional Data Analysis, Boyi Guo Jan 2022

Spike-And-Slab Additive Models And Scalable Algorithms For High Dimensional Data Analysis, Boyi Guo

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There are proposals that extend classical additive models (AMs) to accommodate high-dimensional data (p >> n) using group sparse regularization. However, the sparse regularization may induce excess shrinkage when estimating smooth functions, damaging predictive performance. Moreover, most of these AMs consider an “all-in-allout” approach for functional selection, rendering them difficult to answer if nonlinear effects are necessary. While some Bayesian models can address these shortcomings, model fitting can create a new challenge, scalability. In this dissertation, we propose Bayesian hierarchical additive models to address the previous shortcomings: we consider the smoothing penalty for proper shrinkage of curve interpolation via reparameterization. A …

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A Population-Based Assessment Of Severe Maternal Morbidity Among Non-Hispanic Black Women In The United States, Lisa R. Allen Jan 2022

A Population-Based Assessment Of Severe Maternal Morbidity Among Non-Hispanic Black Women In The United States, Lisa R. Allen

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Non-Hispanic Black women (Black women) are disproportionately affected by adverse maternal health outcomes as compared to women of other races. Little is known about the distribution of adverse maternal health outcomes among Black women. Using the 2014 National Inpatient Sample (NIS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a nationally representative sample of hospital discharges in the United States (U.S.) from January 1 through December 31, 2014, we examined severe maternal morbidity (SMM) experienced during delivery hospitalization among Black women. We conducted population-based, cross-sectional studies to examine the distribution of SMM prevalence; assess within-race …

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A Framework For Designing Blockchain Systems In A Smart City Setting, Mohammad Alhefdi Jan 2022

A Framework For Designing Blockchain Systems In A Smart City Setting, Mohammad Alhefdi

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As main characteristics of successful smart cities, the high demand for increased data security and accessibility and citizen engagement mean the role of blockchain technology has begun to increase. Nonetheless, blockchain technology also faces several challenges, which have slowed its adoption. In response, this dissertation introduces a framework for designing blockchain systems in a smart city setting and considers the smart city and blockchain challenges. Researchers have proposed several smart city models that study and analyze the complexity of smart cities to improve city security, functionality, services, and smartness. The proposed information-theoretical modeling approach to generate an innovated blockchain model …

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The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On College Students With Disabilities Or Pre-Existing Conditions: A Qualitative Dissertation, Caro Celestine Holmes Wolfner Jan 2022

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On College Students With Disabilities Or Pre-Existing Conditions: A Qualitative Dissertation, Caro Celestine Holmes Wolfner

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a global and multifaceted impact on public health. The onset of the pandemic has resulted in widespread campus closures and transitions from in-person classes to online learning, further exacerbating the mental health crisis brought about by the pandemic. The effects of federal and state regulations have influenced the psychological well-being and mental health of many, more notably for college students with disabilities or pre-existing conditions. However, COVID-19 research on college students with disabilities or pre-existing conditions is limited and mostly international, thus it is of great importance to address these limitations. This phenomenological study …

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Analysing The Structural Dynamics Of Retinoid X Receptor Using Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry, Nathalia Melo Jan 2022

Analysing The Structural Dynamics Of Retinoid X Receptor Using Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry, Nathalia Melo

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Nuclear receptors (NR) are ligand-activated transcription factors that are targets for drug discovery due to their ability to directly modulate gene expression. There are 48 NRs and approximately half of them require heterodimerization with retinoid X receptor (RXR) to function. Targretin (bexarotene) is an FDA-approved RXR specific (rexinoid) currently used to treat Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma (CTCL); however, it causes hyperlipidemia toxicities. A functionally similar rexinoid developed at UAB, 9-cis-UAB30 (UAB30), is non-toxic and weak agonist in the liver. While UAB30 shows promise as a low toxicity chemopreventative drug, the mechanism of UAB30 action at the molecular level is poorly understood. …

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Factors Influencing Balance And Muscle Tone In Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mansour M. Alotaibi Jan 2022

Factors Influencing Balance And Muscle Tone In Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Mansour M. Alotaibi

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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition prevalent in children globally and continues to persist into adulthood. Executive function (EF) impairments are core ADHD deficits, specifically response inhibition, and believed to drive ADHD symptoms. Psychostimulant medications (PS) is the first line treatment to manage ADHD symptoms. Overall, individuals with ADHD are at greater risk of falls and physical injuries compared to healthy individuals. Perhaps adults with ADHD balance impairments are secondary to ankle plantarflexor (PF) spasticity. Using psychostimulant medications (PS) improves PF spasticity and postural control in children with ADHD, but the effects on adults with ADHD are unclear. Furthermore, …

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Role Of Dietary Compounds On Modulation Of Epigenetic Mechanisms And Gut Microbiota In Prevention Of Breast Cancer, Manvi Sharma Jan 2022

Role Of Dietary Compounds On Modulation Of Epigenetic Mechanisms And Gut Microbiota In Prevention Of Breast Cancer, Manvi Sharma

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Breast cancer is the second leading causes of mortality among women living in the United States, representing a major public health issue. The current chemoprevention therapies can result into various adverse effects. Therefore, the use of dietary bioactive compounds has been of great interest due to their safer, non-toxic and efficacious properties. Sulforaphane (SFN) is an isothiocyanate found in various cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli sprouts (BSp) and green-tea polyphenols (GTPs) contain a major polyphenol, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). These compounds have been shown to exhibit several anticancer properties especially as an epigenetic modifier. We investigated the efficacy of BSp or GTPs …

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Bacterial Community Structures And Species Delimitation Of Five-Armed Luidia In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Michelle D. Shilling Jan 2022

Bacterial Community Structures And Species Delimitation Of Five-Armed Luidia In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Michelle D. Shilling

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Luidia spp. (Family Luidiidae) are important predators in the benthic food web and are abundant in near-shore, shallow soft-bottom habitats throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Climate change-related environmental changes, such as ocean warming and acidification, are rapidly intensifying in this region and can have consequences for species diversity as well as individual sea star health through modification of host-associated bacterial communities. Our knowledge of sea star-associated bacterial community structure and dynamics is limited and conflicting genetic evidence has called into question the accuracy of species delimitation of five-armed Luidia in the northern GOM. The primary purpose of this dissertation …

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Molecular Mechanism And Impact Of Sox2 Regulation By The Transforming Growth Factor-Ss Members In Ovarian Cancer Survival And Metastasis, Zainab Shonibare Jan 2022

Molecular Mechanism And Impact Of Sox2 Regulation By The Transforming Growth Factor-Ss Members In Ovarian Cancer Survival And Metastasis, Zainab Shonibare

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Ovarian cancer is the second most common and deadliest cancer of the female reproductive system affecting women in the United States and worldwide. The poor survival outcome seen in ovarian cancer is attributed to the subtleness of its early-stage symptoms, resulting in a majority of patients at initial diagnosis presenting with an advanced-stage disease with metastasis to other parts of the body. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand the molecular etiology of metastasis to help develop effective therapeutic options and improve clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer patients. Ovarian cancer, an intra-abdominal cancer, most preferably undergoes metastasis via …

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Promoting The Safe Mobility Of Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Austin M. Svancara Jan 2022

Promoting The Safe Mobility Of Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Austin M. Svancara

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Having access to adequate transportation is important for employment, healthcare, and community involvement needs. Unfortunately, the transportation needs of many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are currently not being met. Despite having the capability to achieve licensure, a significant portion of high functioning individuals with ASD are delaying licensure or not getting their driver’s license at all. High functioning individuals with ASD are likely to have the capacity to operate a motor vehicle safely, supporting the proposition that there are existing barriers to licensure beyond the contributing role of ASD traits. This dissertation examined the perceived driving styles and …

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The Influence Of Sleep Duration And Sleep Efficiency On Abdominal Adiposity And Blood Pressure In Adolescents Ages 16 To 18 Who Participated In The Cleveland Children's Sleep And Health Study: A Secondary Data Analysis, Shameka Rodgers Phillips Jan 2022

The Influence Of Sleep Duration And Sleep Efficiency On Abdominal Adiposity And Blood Pressure In Adolescents Ages 16 To 18 Who Participated In The Cleveland Children's Sleep And Health Study: A Secondary Data Analysis, Shameka Rodgers Phillips

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Introduction: Abdominal adiposity and blood pressure (BP) are two major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the world. The impact of abdominal adiposity and BP on health, particularly CVD, begins in childhood. Older adolescents tend to have the highest prevalence of abdominal adiposity and BP in the pediatric population. Despite interventions like diet and exercise, the prevalence of excess abdominal adiposity and elevated BP continues to increase during late adolescence. Evidence suggests that sleep duration and sleep efficiency impact abdominal adiposity and BP in adults and the pediatric population, but limited studies have …

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Applying Pet Imaging To Cancer Immunotherapy To Improve Clinical Outcomes, Kirsten M. Reeves Jan 2022

Applying Pet Imaging To Cancer Immunotherapy To Improve Clinical Outcomes, Kirsten M. Reeves

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The use of biomarkers has significantly enhanced patient outcome by improving diagnosis, personalizing therapy, and monitoring therapeutic response yet most cancers remain non-responsive. Thus, there is a need to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms and tumor microenvironment to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Molecular imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) are used to assess response during oncology therapy. Molecular imaging can also provide a noninvasive approach to accurately quantify biomarkers correlated with the tumor microenvironment, including glucose metabolism and hypoxia. 18F-Fluoromisonidazole (18F-FMISO) hypoxia targeted cellular uptake has been shown to correlate with negative …

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Disease And Diet-Induced Disruption Of Effector T Cell Homeostasis, Patrick Axel Molina Jan 2022

Disease And Diet-Induced Disruption Of Effector T Cell Homeostasis, Patrick Axel Molina

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Homeostatic departure is a central feature across all diseases and disease processes. Currently, the average individual in the US consumes an inordinate quantity of salt. However, it is unclear if only individuals that have proven blood pressure elevation with an acute load of salt should be wary. Here we demonstrate, alongside a growing body of science, that the canonical definition of salt-sensitivity is insufficient. We show that salt-resistant mice demonstrate salt-sensitivity in non-blood pressure focused phenomena, such as the acute activation of CD4+ T cells to mobilize and induce a defective effector cytokine program with high salt. We demonstrate that …

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Tissue Engineered Cardiac Muscle Patches With Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Enhance The Repairing Efficacy Of Infarcted Cardiac Muscle In Mouse Model, Xi Lou Jan 2022

Tissue Engineered Cardiac Muscle Patches With Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Enhance The Repairing Efficacy Of Infarcted Cardiac Muscle In Mouse Model, Xi Lou

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Myocardial infarction (MI) remains one of the major contributors to heart failure, which can lead to death, and there has been a lack of effective treatments so far. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been found to be an encouraging candidate for MI treatment. But it is facing challenge of low engraftment, limited integration of transplanted cells with host myocardium. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell therapy of MI treatment, two approaches have been explored: 1)The first approach was to overexpress N-cadherin (CDH2), a cell-cell adhesion molecule, in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (CDH2-hiPSC-CMs), and examine its …

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Regulation Of Stromal Cells Through Inflammatory Signalling, Victoria Matkins Jan 2022

Regulation Of Stromal Cells Through Inflammatory Signalling, Victoria Matkins

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The bone marrow is a complex organization of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells that form niches to maintain systemic homeostasis during stress and disease. Stromal cells are non-hematopoietic cells first proposed in 1978 in the bone marrow to be essential for hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Since then, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have been shown to be critical for the HSC self-renewal, retention, and differentiation through chemokines, cytokines, and adhesion molecules. However, like HSCs, MSCs are multipotent progenitors that differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondrocytes to from tissues of the skeletal, endocrine, and connective systems. These multipotent progenitors are tightly regulated in …

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Exploring The Relationship Between Chronic Stressors And Protective Factors And Preterm Risk In An African American Pregnant Population, Megan Mileski Jan 2022

Exploring The Relationship Between Chronic Stressors And Protective Factors And Preterm Risk In An African American Pregnant Population, Megan Mileski

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BACKGROUND: In the United States, infant mortality is a serious public health issue, particularly for the African American (AA) population. Despite ample research investigating explanations for the significantly higher infant mortality rate (IMR) for AA infants in the United States, the reason for the racial disparity remains unknown. Reports suggest that chronic, life-course stressors may increase risk of preterm birth (PTB), the leading contributor to the high IMR for AA infants. Adverse childhood experiences and perceived racial discrimination, experienced over the life course, have the potential to increase a stress response in AA women, leading to PTB. Psychosocial resources may …

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Roles Of Chemokine Receptors In T Cell Accmulation In Omental Tumors, Mingyong Liu Jan 2022

Roles Of Chemokine Receptors In T Cell Accmulation In Omental Tumors, Mingyong Liu

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The omentum is an adipose tissue in the peritoneal cavity that contains immune aggregates termed milky spots. Functionally similar to conventional lymphoid tissues, these specialized leukocyte clusters harbor effector and suppressor cells, mount immune responses to antigens, and sustain peritoneal homeostasis. However, the pre-existing leukocytes fail to protect the tissue from tumor colonization. In fact, the omentum is frequently involved in peritoneal metastasis, during which the balance between effector and suppressor immune cells is compromised with the latter gaining dominance. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) represent a major immunosuppressive population in the omentum and rapidly accumulate after tumor implantation. The increased …

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Characterizing The Role Of Tissue-Specific Retinol Dehydrogenases, Kelli Rae Goggans Jan 2022

Characterizing The Role Of Tissue-Specific Retinol Dehydrogenases, Kelli Rae Goggans

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The bioactive form of vitamin A, retinoic acid is essential for development, cellular differentiation, epigenetic modifications, the immune system, and a variety of other processes due to its ability to regulate over 500 genes through activation of nuclear receptors. While many studies have focused on characterizing the biosynthesis and signaling of retinoic acid in embryogenesis, few have focused on adult tissues. Recent research has identified a novel retinol dehydrogenase, retinol dehydrogenase epidermal 2 (RDHE2), and shown RDHE2 is a potent, physiologically relevant retinol dehydrogenase in Xenopus. The work in this dissertation characterizes RDHE2 in mammalian models. We identify a paralog …

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Transcriptional Regulation Of Metabolism And Synaptic Function In Neurons, Stephanie N. Fox Jan 2022

Transcriptional Regulation Of Metabolism And Synaptic Function In Neurons, Stephanie N. Fox

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Mitochondrial dysfunction, transcriptional dysregulation, and protein aggregation are all unifying features of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease is a debilitating movement disorder with no known cure, leading sci-entists to explore the underlying etiological contributors to neuronal dysfunction and loss to devise strategies for neuroprotection. Estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ) is a member of a family of transcription factors which regulate the expression of mitochondrial genes. To determine whether ERRγ modulation can provide insight into transcriptional and mitochondrial dysfunction with neurodegeneration, the experiments in this thesis project determined 1) the importance of transcription of mitochondrial genes in disease as regu-lated …

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Epigenetic Regulation Of Gene Expression In Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Rebecca Mary Hauser Jan 2022

Epigenetic Regulation Of Gene Expression In Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Rebecca Mary Hauser

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Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsy and is characterized by seizures originating from the temporal lobe of the brain. A frequent seizure focus in TLE is the hippocampus, a structure located within the temporal lobe crucial for its role in memory formation. Seizures are an excess of synchronous excitation in the brain caused by a surplus of excitatory neurotransmission and a lack of sufficient inhibitory transmission. Coordinating the process of neuronal transmission is differential expression of genes likely resulting in an increase or decrease in proteins responsible for neural signaling such as neurotransmitters, ion …

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Il-2-Mediated Stat3 Activation Controls Effector T Regulatory Cell Development, Emma C. Dean Jan 2022

Il-2-Mediated Stat3 Activation Controls Effector T Regulatory Cell Development, Emma C. Dean

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Heterogeneity in phenotype and function of Treg cells is becoming increasingly appreciated, especially in the context of creating potent Treg cell–based therapeutics in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. One of the barriers to developing such therapeutics is the limited understanding of the signals that play a role in the development of Treg cell subsets. Here, we found STAT3 signaling to be enriched in induced IL-10 competent Treg (iTreg) cells in the colon. Through the development of a new in vitro system, we found that STAT3 was required for proper development of IL-10 competent iTreg cells and that IL-2 regulated …

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Integrated Phenotypic And Molecular Expression Circuits In End-Stage Osteoarthritis, Devin J. Drummer Jan 2022

Integrated Phenotypic And Molecular Expression Circuits In End-Stage Osteoarthritis, Devin J. Drummer

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Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating, inflammatory, joint degeneration disorder, and is the most common form of arthritis. Individuals reaching end-stage OA often pursue elective total hip/knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) to relieve pain and improve mobility and quality of life. However, approximately one third of THA/TKA patients suffer long-term mobility impairments following surgery, likely in part due to an inability to repair the damaged muscle surrounding the diseased joint. Mechanisms driving this impaired recovery remain poorly understood, therefore it is prudent to interrogate the molecular signatures in skeletal muscle at the time of surgery to provide candidate markers that may improve upon …

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