Digital Commons Network^™

Employer-Based Wellness Programs; Financial Value To The Organization, Ricky D. Wallace

All ETDs from UAB

The health and wellness of employees is of strategic importance for healthcare organizations to achieve leadership in accountable care and health reform. This study sought to discover whether an organizational program, focused on health promotion and wellness for employees, has a value to the organization. This quantitative evaluation study examines variables of a wellness program implemented at a medical facility in the United States by determining the medical costs among participants and non-participants of the facility sponsored wellness program. The results of the study provide valuation evidence concerning the program's value to the organization.

The Direct Effects And Vertical Transfer Of Carbonaceous And Metal-Loaded Hydrochars In Aquatic Organisms, Katie Lauren Kohlenberg

All ETDs from UAB

Industrial use of reactive micro- and nano-sized carbonaceous hydrochar (CH) is expanding rapidly. These carbonaceous particulates are synthesized by the pyrolysis of biomass in an industrial process called hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and have gained attention as a soil conditioner. Additionally, the HTC process is being expanded to coat heavy-metal nanoparticles, such as nano-copper and nano-iron, to prevent surface oxidation of these metals. These carbonaceous particles are likely to undergo secondary reactions with metals, toxicants, or other compounds. There is potential for these carbonaceous particulates to enter watersheds and have deleterious effects on aquatic food web dynamics. In this study, we …

Ksrp Ablation Enhances Lipolysis In White Adipose Tissue Through Reduced Mir-145 Expression, Yi-Yu Lin

All ETDs from UAB

White adipose tissue (WAT) releases fatty acids from stored triacylglycerol (TAG) for energy source. Here, we report that null mice for KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP), an RNA-binding protein, resisted high fat diet (HFD) induced obesity. Target of deletion of KSRP regulates gene expression at multiple levels and enhances lipolysis in epididymal WAT (eWAT) due to up-regulation of genes promoting lipolytic activity. Expression of miR-145 is decreased due to impaired pri-miR-145 processing in Ksrp-/- eWAT. We show that miR-145 directly targets and represses Foxo1 and Cgi58, activators of lipolytic activity, and forced expression of miR-145 attenuates lipolysis. This study reveals …

Differences In How Bmi And Body Fat Distribution Influence Body Dissatisfaction And Self-Esteem In Caucasian And African American Early Pubertal Girls, Danielle Marie Lorch

All ETDs from UAB

Body dissatisfaction is among many psychological concerns related to obesity, particularly among pre-adolescent females. Though obesity prevalence estimates are higher among African American (AA) adolescent females, the limited data available suggests that they are less susceptible to weight-related body dissatisfaction than Caucasians. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between BMI and body dissatisfaction and the relationship between BMI and self-esteem in obese AA and Caucasian girls, aged 7-11 years, and determine if these relationships are moderated by race. Furthermore, an examination of how total body fat and body fat distribution before and after a dietary …

The Role Of The Autophagy-Lysosome Pathway In In Vitro Models Of Neurodegeneration, Burton Mader

All ETDs from UAB

Recent studies have provided strong evidence that alterations in protein degradation pathways, such as the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP), may contribute to neuronal dysfunction and death which lead to clinical symptoms diagnosed with various neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by neuromuscular abnormalities resulting from the pathological loss of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons and widespread detection of Lewy bodies, intracellular protein inclusions composed primarily of α-synuclein. Additionally, altered gene function regulating the expression of α-synuclein has been directly linked to the PD pathogenesis. Autophagy is an intracellular degradation process that when altered can lead to the accumulation neurotoxic proteins such …

Night Comes Early To The Valley, Caitlin Murphree Miller

All ETDs from UAB

Night Comes Early to the Valley is a collection of short stories about vulnerable, flawed people trying to discover the best way to live their lives. They are well-meaning mothers, fathers, children, and lovers, yet all struggle to balance the fulfillment of their personal responsibilities with the realization of their deepest individual desires. The collection highlights characters who are desperate to atone for their mistakes, build brighter futures, and live up to the expectations of their loved ones--only to realize, over time, that the most formidable judge they'll ever face is their own conscience.

Akhuwat Issue No. 92, Aga Khan University

AKHUWAT Newsletters

• AKU Pakistan Convocation Held
• University Awards of Distinction - Convocation 2013
• Post Graduate Medical Education-Convocation 2013
• University’s Expansion into Liberal Arts
• Awards Night 2013
• Face to Face with Dr Mughis Sherani Associate Dean PGME
• JCIA Library of Measures -Dashboard
• Service Excellence 2013
• New teleconsultation link connects Gilgit
• Medical Centre and AKU Karachi
• Happenings and Achievements

Coping With Chronic Illness: Temporal Patterns Of Spiritual Coping And Adjustment Among Adolescents With Chronic Illness, Nina Cole Reynolds

All ETDs from UAB

Issues of spirituality rise to the forefront for youth facing serious health conditions. Positive and negative spiritual coping strategies have been linked with better or worse psychological adjustment, respectively, in pediatric patients. With expansion of research in this area, an empirical synthesis and examination of the prospective relationships between spiritual coping and mental- and physical-health is needed. Accordingly, the first manuscript reports on meta-analytic review of the cross-sectional studies of spiritual coping, health, and psychosocial adjustment. Results revealed that greater use of negative spiritual coping is related to more internalizing problems and poorer quality of life across multiple pediatric illness …

White Matter Integrity In Adults With Hemiparetic Multiple Sclerosis Given Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy, Tyler Rickards

All ETDs from UAB

In adults with chronic stroke and children with cerebral palsy, structural changes in grey matter correlate with clinical improvements due to an efficacious upper-extremity (UE) rehabilitation therapy, Constraint-Induced Movement (CI) Therapy. Changes in white matter following CI therapy have not been observed, but damage to white matter tracts has not been found to decrease motor improvement resulting from this treatment. The objectives of this project were to: 1) evaluate the efficacy of CI therapy compared to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments on improving impaired UE function in participants with the progressive form of multiple sclerosis (MS), 2) investigate whether …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Health Literacy And Its Role In Hpv Vaccine Uptake Among College Students, Michelle Sharonda Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Health literacy includes the ability to understand and process written and spoken health information, and numbers and calculations related to health information. Low health literacy is associated with negative health outcomes, and poor patient-provider communication. In order to advance health literacy research, there is a need to assess health literacy comprehensively and to develop an understanding of how health literacy impacts people at various stages of their lives. A sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted to assess college students' health literacy. During the quantitative phase, the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA), the Newest Vital Sign …

Exploring The Impact Of Youth Participation In Community Service On Health Behaviors, Kymber Nigel Williams

All ETDs from UAB

hydric environment on sex ratios using the red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta, as a

Combined Effects Of Corexit Ec 9500a With Secondary Abiotic And Biotic Stressors In The Rotifer Brachionus Plicatilis, Michael Britt Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill the dispersant Corexit EC 9500A (C-9500) was applied to facilitate rapid oil degradation. C-9500 toxicity has been evaluated on a number of marine species; however, many of these studies do not account for environmental conditions that may increase negative outcomes related to dispersant exposure in the wild. We examined lethality and behavioral effects of C-9500 exposure on the model marine zooplankton Brachionus plicatilis. We also evaluated interactions of abiotic and biotic stressors that may alter outcomes of exposure. C-9500 exposure at standard husbandry conditions (17.5ppt, 24°C, 200 rotifer*ml-1 density) produced a 24 hr median …

Gut Microbiome And Its Role In Obesity And Aging In C57bl/6j Mice, Yongbin Yang

All ETDs from UAB

turtles and its’ ecological and evolutionary significance regarding certain aspects of

High Spatiotemporal Resolution Mapping Of Retinal Physiology, Qiuxiang Zhang

All ETDs from UAB

The objective of my PhD dissertation research is to explore high resolution imaging of retinal function using transient intrinsic optical signals (IOSs) correlated with retinal physiological activation. The retina is responsible for capturing photons and preliminary visual information processing. Functional examination of retinal neural cells is important for eye disease detection and treatment evaluation. It is known that different diseases can target different retinal cell types, and thus high resolution imaging of retinal function is desirable. Fast IOSs with time courses comparable to retinal electroretinogram (ERG) kinetics can act as a unique biomarker to map physiological distortions correlated with eye …

Risk Assessment And Staging Of Cardiometabolic Diseases, Fangjian Guo

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity is associated with elevated risk for morbidity and mortality and has become an epidemic both in the United States and around the world. Insulin resistance is essentially involved in the pathogenic process of cardiometabolic diseases in obese people, which involves defects in glucose production by the liver and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and utilization by peripheral tissues. Insulin resistance appears at an early stage of life and is the first step in the development of cardiometabolic diseases. Long-term insulin resistance will induce metabolic syndrome and prediabetes and eventually will cause type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity may exacerbate insulin …

Assessing System Congruence By Analyzing The Relationship Between Employee And Patient Driven Outputs, Timothy J. Harlin

All ETDs from UAB

Patients are at risk for employee driven preventable adverse events during hospital stays. These adverse events are varied and include such things as medication errors, pressure ulcers, hospital acquired infections, and falls. Preventable adverse events continue at alarming frequency despite significant academic, regulatory, and management attention to the topic over the past 14 years since the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) To Err is Human report. In addition to being at risk for preventable adverse events, patients experience aspects of the health care system such as ease of access, employee attitude, skill and efficiency of staff, and perceived value. Although purporting …

An Evaluation Of The Healthy Eating Active Living (Heal) Alabama Program For Prevention Of Childhood Obesity Among Fifth Grade Students, Kelley Devane Hart

All ETDs from UAB

Childhood obesity is a major public health concern. The multiple effects of obesity in childhood are long-reaching. Since weight loss and maintenance are very difficult, prevention of obesity is important. Schools have been identified as an important environment for obesity prevention interventions since most children spend a large portion of the day at school. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to determine if the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Alabama intervention improved weight status, fitness levels, and health knowledge and behaviors. A 2-by-2 repeated measures ANOVA was performed to determine whether differences exist between intervention and comparison students …

Coevolution Of Sponges And Microbial Symbionts Across Ocean Basins, Zachary Lee Nolen

All ETDs from UAB

Sponges (phylum Porifera) can comprise a large portion of benthic communities in freshwater and marine environments. Because sponges possess simple body plans and can have substantial phenotypic plasticity within species, reconstructing phylogenies of Porifera based upon morphologies alone has proven difficult. With the advent of nucleic acid sequencing technologies, interest in sponge phylogenetics has significantly increased among researchers. Additionally, sponges host a wide range of microbial symbionts, including the cyanobacterium Synechococcus spongiarum. This study examined the evolution of both sets of organisms in the symbiotic relationship between Aplysina sponges and Synechococcus cyanobacteria. In Chapter 3, gene sequences coding for the …

Analyzing Trade Magazine/Journal Articles, Jim Alderman

Beginning Library & Information Systems Strategies

Help identifying trade publication articles and when to use them in academic research.

Nonnutritive Sweetener And Weight Management: A Potential Paradox In Modern Dieting, Katharine Mary Wright

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a serious health concern in modern society. One way to reduce caloric intake is with nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS). However, recent research suggests they may be compounding the obesity problem. Nonnutritive sweeteners have been linked to increased body mass in a few studies and may be a barrier to effective weight management for some individuals.

Under the framework of the health belief model, the research question was: Does this pattern of NNS-BMI covariance exist in young adults at the University of North Florida and, if so, are there other dietary or activity differences that might partially explain this relationship? …

The Effects Of Alternate-Line Shading On Visual Search In Grid-Based Graphic Designs, Michael P. Lee

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Objective: The goal of this research was to determine whether alternate-line shading (zebra-striping) of grid-based displays affects the strategy (i.e., “visual flow”) and efficiency of serial search. Background: Grids, matrices, and tables are commonly used to organize information. A number of design techniques and psychological principles are relevant to how viewers’ eyes can be guided through such visual works. One common technique for grids, “zebra-striping,” is intended to guide eyes through the design, or “create visual flow” by alternating shaded and unshaded rows or columns. Method: 13 participants completed a visual serial search task. The target was embedded in a …

Individualized Consideration: Poverty Countermeasure, Lawrence Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite more than $1 trillion spent annually on poverty remediation, impoverishment in the United States persists unabated. With a U.S. poverty rate greater than 10% for more than 4 decades, economics are neither poverty's cause nor cure. As such, non-economic poverty remedies require exploration and expansion. Linking greater leadership and poverty theories, this non-experimental, cross sectional, quantitative, survey-based research effort correlated individualized consideration's (IC) practice with collegiate athlete graduation rates in order to identify and isolate possible leadership based social poverty remediation measures. Leveraging a two-stage random sample, this research effort correlated student athlete Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (form 5X) responses …

Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Among Secondary School Students In Nigeria, Johnson John Omale

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bold

Monitoring Brown Fat Metabolic Activity Using Microwave Radiometry: Antenna Design And Frequency Selection, Dario B. Rodrigues, Paul R. Stauffer, Paolo F. Maccarini

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

This paper describes the use of microwave radiometry for monitoring brown fat metabolism (mBAT). The radiometric frequency band and receive antenna were optimized for coupling to 2-6 ml BAT depots in the supraclavicular region. Radiometric signal variations induced by higher metabolic activity resulting from a cold stimulus were calculated with electromagnetic and thermal simulations in a segmented computational model of the human neck including BAT. A 2.5 cm dia. log spiral antenna was selected as optimum using a 500 MHz bandwidth and center frequency 2.75 GHz. Results suggest sufficient sensitivity to track subsurface temperature variations during long term mBAT monitoring …

Cloud Security Meets Telemedicine, Michael N. Johnstone

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Medical systems are potentially one domain where security is seen as an impediment to patient care and not as an essential part of a system. This is an issue for safety-critical systems where reliability and trust are essential for successful operation. Cloud computing services offer a seamless means to allow medical data to be transferred from patient to medical specialist, whilst maintaining security requirements. This paper uses a case study to investigate the use of cloud computing in a mobile application to assist with diagnostics for patients with Parkinson Disease. It was found that the developers of the app ignored …

Occurrence Of Aflatoxin Contamination On Maize In The Lower Eastern Kenya And Evaluation Of Superabsorbent Polymers In Its Management, Livine O. Nyakundi

All Master’s Theses

Food and feed safety has been a major concern in most countries in the recent times as more knowledge is being generated on the occurrence of natural toxins in foodstuffs and edible plant species. Among the natural toxins, aflatoxins have been given more attention due to their hazardous effects to animals and human beings. A study was conducted on aflatoxin contamination in maize samples collected from lower eastern counties in Kenya. The maize samples were collected through a survey that was conducted in Kitui, Machakos and Makueni counties where aflatoxin contaminations has been a perennial problem. The samples were cultured …

Performance And Behaviour Of The Leafhopper (Maiestas Banda; Homoptera: Cicadellidae) Vector Of The Napier Stunt Disease On Napier Grass (Pennisetum Purpureum), Mabel Chigora

All Master’s Theses

Napier grass remains an important strategic grass species in east African mixed crop-livestock systems. However, production of several varieties of the grass remains constrained by phytoplasmic disease, Napier stunt disease (NSD), which is transmitted by the leafhopper, Maiestas banda. For smallholder farmers of western Kenya who rely on the grass for livestock feed and pest control in push-pull farming systems, effective control strategies of the disease and the vector remain elusive. With a view to understanding potential host plant resistance mechanisms against the leafhopper, I investigated growth, development and behaviour of the leafhopper on a variety of host plants: Pearl …

Application Of Dietary Fish Oil In Dairy Cow Reproduction, Anna Zwyrzykowska, Robert Kupczynski

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Feed fats are commonly used as a component of high-yielding cow diet rations. Many studies have been conducted on the effects of fat supplementation on metabolism, milk composition, and improvements in dairy cow reproduction. The positive effects on fat (vegetable oil) and energy supplementation on improvements in reproduction are well documented. Consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including n-3 acids, in appropriate feed doses improves fertility of dairy cows. A fat source with high levels of acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is marine oil, especially fish and algae. By modification of cow rations, EPA and …

Molecular, Cellular, And Physiological Determinants Of Bull Fertility, Alexis Marie Parisi, Shannon Kate Thompson, Abdullah Kaya, Erdoğan Memi̇li̇

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Bull fertility, defined as the ability of the spermatozoon to fertilize and activate the ovum and then support embryonic and even fetal development, is a crucial factor influencing animal reproduction and production efficiency. Despite significant influences of fertility on herd genetic improvement and efficient cattle production, the mechanisms regulating this phenotype and reliable biomarkers associated with bull fertility are poorly defined. Specifically, there is a broad lack of knowledge in bull fertility. In this paper, bull fertility is reviewed within the context of animal systems physiology, and system biology markers associated with bull fertility are provided. This mini-review is intended …

The Effect Of Short-Term Lupin (Lupinus Angustifolius) Feed Supplementation On Serum Steroid Hormones, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, And Ovarian Follicular Development And Atresia In Merino Ewes, Radoslava Vlckova, Jan Posivak, Igor Valocky, Zuzana Kravcova, Andrea Eibenová, Drahomia Sopkova

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The effects of short-term lupin supplementation on ovulation rate in ewes during oestrous season are well known. In this study, we tested the effects of an 8-day lupin supplementation on folliculogenesis during anoestrus applied over the hormonal treatment of ewes. Fourteen anoestrous Merino ewes were assigned into 2 groups (n = 7 for each) in which the control group was fed a basal diet and the experimental group was supplemented with lupin groats (500 g per head per day). Both groups were treated intramuscularly with 12.5 µg/head lecirelinum (luteinising hormone releasing hormone super analogue) on the first day of supplementation …