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2017

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Nadph Oxidase-Derived Superoxide Production During Coxsackie B Virus Infection Fuels Macrophage Activation To Accelerate Type 1 Diabetes, Ashley R. Burg Jan 2017

Nadph Oxidase-Derived Superoxide Production During Coxsackie B Virus Infection Fuels Macrophage Activation To Accelerate Type 1 Diabetes, Ashley R. Burg

All ETDs from UAB

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease in which autoreactive T cells selectively destroy insulin-producing pancreatic β-cells. While genetic predisposition underlies susceptibility, environmental factors are proposed to play the important role of triggering the activation of autoimmunity in T1D individuals. Viral infections, particularly by Coxsackie B viruses, are highly suspected as a precipitating event. However, the exact molecular mechanism for how viral infections elicit β-cell-specific autoimmunity remains unclear. Rodent models of virus-induced T1D suggest it is through bystander activation, during which innate antiviral responses to pancreas-tropic viral infections create an inflammatory milieu that breaks the peripheral tolerance …


Patterns Of Cerebellar Connectivity With Intrinsic Connectivity Networks In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Haley Bednarz Jan 2017

Patterns Of Cerebellar Connectivity With Intrinsic Connectivity Networks In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Haley Bednarz

All ETDs from UAB

This study investigated the patterns of functional connectivity between three intrinsic connectivity networks (default mode, executive, salience) and the cerebellum in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is substantial evidence of cerebellar pathology in ASD, and recent evidence implicates cortico-cerebellar connectivity in the disorder. Three intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) of the cortex have particular relevance to the conceptualization of cognitive processing in ASD: the default mode, executive control, and salience networks. In typically developing (TD) adults, the cerebellum is functionally connected with each of these networks. The contributions of the cerebellum to these three ICNs may differ between ASD …


A Comparison Between Number And Letter Acuities Among Patients, Sarah Berry Jan 2017

A Comparison Between Number And Letter Acuities Among Patients, Sarah Berry

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT Purpose: Previous studies have shown that there is an association between visual acuity and Alzheimers’ disease. Untreated visual problems may contribute to cognitive impairment and more progressive cognitive decline. This study investigates the association of chart design, specifically comparing charts using letters versus numbers, to accuracy and repeatability among patients with dementia. Methods: 23 English-speaking subjects diagnosed with moderate to advanced levels of dementia were recruited from two local Birmingham nursing homes. Visual acuities were measured in a randomly selected eye and timed from six different charts: Back-illuminated ETDRS chart with letters, Back-illuminated ETDRS chart with numbers, HOTV cards …


Interplay Of The Circadian Clock And Growth Hormone Signaling In The Heart, Ryan Darrell Berry Jan 2017

Interplay Of The Circadian Clock And Growth Hormone Signaling In The Heart, Ryan Darrell Berry

All ETDs from UAB

Growth hormone (GH) signaling plays a critical role in postnatal development and the details of its release, regulation, and influence on the development of a number of organs has been well studied. GH is released from the anterior pituitary in a pulsatile fashion with pulse amplitude being greater at night than during the day in a number of species, including humans. Once in circulation, GH binds to the GH receptor (GHR) on target tissues throughout the body altering gene expression and stimulating the local production of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). IGF-1 primarily acts in an autocrine and paracrine fashion. …


A Comparison Of Novice And Experienced Drivers With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Haley Johnson Bishop Jan 2017

A Comparison Of Novice And Experienced Drivers With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Haley Johnson Bishop

All ETDs from UAB

According to recent estimates, only 33% of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) successfully achieve licensure compared to nearly 84% of the general population. Despite this decreased number of individuals driving in the ASD population and the importance of driving in increasing independence and quality of life, research in transportation safety among drivers with ASD is limited. Many of the impairments associated with ASD such as anxiety, processing speed and executive function may negatively impact driving performance. This study is among the first to objectively assess possible demographic, cognitive and simulated driving performance differences in individuals with ASD who are …


Increasing The Accessibility Of A Falls Prevention Intervention For Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Low Vision, Sarah Blaylock Jan 2017

Increasing The Accessibility Of A Falls Prevention Intervention For Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Low Vision, Sarah Blaylock

All ETDs from UAB

Falls remain a costly problem as a leading cause of injuries and fatalities for individuals over the age of 65. Older adults with low vision, or non-correctable visual impairment, are estimated to be two times more likely to fall than those without vision loss. There appear to be limited falls prevention interventions available for older adults that have been tested on or designed specifically for individuals with visual impairment. The goals of this dissertation were to learn more about the availability of visually accessible falls prevention interventions and to develop an intervention that can be used with veterans receiving services …


Contribution Of Distinct Interneuron Subclasses To Cortical Network Activity, Andrew Scott Bohannon Jan 2017

Contribution Of Distinct Interneuron Subclasses To Cortical Network Activity, Andrew Scott Bohannon

All ETDs from UAB

The excitatory glutamatergic output of the cerebral neocortex is tightly regulated by the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA from cortical interneurons (INs). Once viewed as a largely homogenous population, recent studies have revealed that cortical INs display a diverse range of biochemical, anatomical and physiological properties. In this work we sought to determine if differences in the physiology and connectivity patterns of identified cortical IN populations enable them to differentially contribute to network activity. Specifically, we investigated the contribution of discrete L2/3 IN groups to the generation of aberrant cortical synchrony, and the influence of HCN channels on information …


Racial Disparities In The Maintenance Of Healthy Lifestyles And Their Effect On Cumulative Blood Pressure Burden And Left Ventricular Mass In African Americans And Whites: Data From The Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (Cardia) Study, John N. Booth Jan 2017

Racial Disparities In The Maintenance Of Healthy Lifestyles And Their Effect On Cumulative Blood Pressure Burden And Left Ventricular Mass In African Americans And Whites: Data From The Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (Cardia) Study, John N. Booth

All ETDs from UAB

The prevalence of healthy behaviors associated with optimal blood pressure (BP) levels and reduced risk for target-organ damage and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is lower in blacks compared with whites. Randomized controlled trials provide evidence that if healthy behaviors are maintained over the lifespan, including normal body weight, moderate physical activity, limited alcohol intake, limited sodium intake, adequate potassium intake and a rich diet of fruits and vegetables and low in high-fat dairy and saturated and total fat, then high BP may be preventable. The goal of this dissertation was to assess racial differences in the maintenance of healthy behaviors and …


Connectivity Of The Striatal Resting-State Networks In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Thomas Patrick Deramus Jan 2017

Connectivity Of The Striatal Resting-State Networks In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Thomas Patrick Deramus

All ETDs from UAB

Social deficits and repetitive behaviors and are core features of autism. Structural and functional alterations in the striatum, brain regions highly involved in movement planning, regulation, and motivation, may underlie these core features. However, few studies have examined functional connectivity (FC) of the striatum in autism; and fewer have examined anatomical connectivity despite hypotheses of structural alterations influ-encing FC autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). To address these gaps, the current study examined FC of resting-state brain networks in the striatum in 19 typically developing and 19 children with autism (ages 7-17 years) from the Autism Brain Imaging Database Exchange II. The …


Optimizing The Non-Ablative Conditioning Regimen For Bone Marrow Transplantation Using A Murine Model Of Sickle Cell Disease, Divya Devadasan Jan 2017

Optimizing The Non-Ablative Conditioning Regimen For Bone Marrow Transplantation Using A Murine Model Of Sickle Cell Disease, Divya Devadasan

All ETDs from UAB

In this dissertation, we sought to determine if a sub-myeloablative conditioning regimen followed by bone marrow transplantation/hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) using syngeneic donor cells could facilitate donor chimerism using a clinically relevant mouse model of sickle cell disease (SCD). This pre-clinical study determined the feasibility of using sub-myeloablative conditioning in the context of autologous HSCT. The prospect of using less-intense conditioning is particularly appealing in the era of modern gene-editing technologies since its extension to use in humans will allow for HSCT to be less toxic and hence be applicable in all patients. We showed that using a sub-myeloablative …


Effect Of Antihypertensive Drugs On Left Ventricular Traits In Africam American, Anh N. Do Jan 2017

Effect Of Antihypertensive Drugs On Left Ventricular Traits In Africam American, Anh N. Do

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the association of antihypertensive treatment as well genomic variants with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) -related traits among African Americans (AAs) in five cross-sectional epidemiology cohorts from the United States. AAs especially those with hypertension, are overburdened by left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH) compared to other ethnic groups. LVH is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Antihypertensive treatments have been found to improve LVH and related echocardiographic measures (i.e. LV traits) among hypertensive patients. However, the effect of antihypertensive treatments on LVH and related traits in AAs has not …


Factors Guiding Cd4 T Cell Fate Bifurcations, Daniel Francis Ditoro Jan 2017

Factors Guiding Cd4 T Cell Fate Bifurcations, Daniel Francis Ditoro

All ETDs from UAB

Naïve CD4 T cells differentiate into a variety of phenotypically and functionally distinct subsets uniquely tailored to the specific inflammatory context. Despite the extraordinary heterogeneity of potential fate outcomes, two distinct but related functional bifurcations appear common to all inflammatory contexts. Following activation, CD4 T cells either home to the site of inflammation and influence peripheral events or remain in the secondary lymphoid tissue to modulate central processes. Similarly, activated cells either drive or suppress inflammation. These functional bifurcations are coincident and sufficiently independent to allow for the simultaneous generation of all four potential outcomes. Pro-inflammatory cells retained in the …


Biomechanical Evaluation Of A Novel Sacroiliac Fusion Technique, Douglas Mackenzie Doud Jan 2017

Biomechanical Evaluation Of A Novel Sacroiliac Fusion Technique, Douglas Mackenzie Doud

All ETDs from UAB

Chronic low back pain affects an estimated 70% of adults at some point in their lives, causing lost work time and reducing quality of life [1]. It is believed that sacroiliac joint dysfunction is responsible for persistent low back pain in 10-25% of these cases, and a review of literature by Hansen et al. (2012) found that many current treatment options, both surgical and nonsurgical, do not definitively demonstrate successful pain relief [2]. Surgical fusion is highly invasive, but is a viable option when more conservative treatments do not relieve pain; therefore, there is a need for techniques that will …


Practical Neurology Linked To The Curriculum: An Online Resource, Dilraj Sokhi, Alice Brockington, Christine Lo Jan 2017

Practical Neurology Linked To The Curriculum: An Online Resource, Dilraj Sokhi, Alice Brockington, Christine Lo

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Navigating the online galaxy for up-to-date evidence-based knowledge in clinical neurology can be a challenge. Practical Neurology is a noted and popular online clinical resource,1 which according to its website is "…practical in the sense of being useful for everyone who sees neurological patients and who want to keep up to date, and safe, in managing them." As UK-based neurology trainees, we have been fortunate to have automatic access to Practical Neurology during our training. We found that the articles adequately covered most elements in our syllabus and were ideal reference material for our department. This accords with the …


O-Acetyltransferase Functionality Mediates Pneumococcal Capsular Diversity, Brady Spencer Jan 2017

O-Acetyltransferase Functionality Mediates Pneumococcal Capsular Diversity, Brady Spencer

All ETDs from UAB

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an important human pathogen that asymptomatically colonizes the nasopharynx but can disseminate opportunistically to cause diseases such as otitis media, pneumonia, septicemia, or meningitis. The pneumo-coccal capsular polysaccharide is necessary to prevent opsonophagocytosis as nonencap-sulated pneumococci are largely avirulent. Currently, 98 antigenically distinct capsule types (serotypes) have been identified, which vary in virulence. O-acetylation, a subtle capsular modification, contributes to pneumococcal capsular diversity and modulates capsular physicochemical properties and interaction with innate or vaccine immunity. Replacement serotypes (and future vaccine types) 33F and 15B have O-acetylated capsules due to membrane-bound O-acetyltransferases (MOATs). We hypothesize that future …


Exploring Prenatal Maternal Self-View, Early Home Environment And Toddler Socioemotional Development In First-Time Teen Low Education And Adult High And Low Education Mothers, Bethany Stenger Jan 2017

Exploring Prenatal Maternal Self-View, Early Home Environment And Toddler Socioemotional Development In First-Time Teen Low Education And Adult High And Low Education Mothers, Bethany Stenger

All ETDs from UAB

Maternal self-perception and children’s early home environment have been linked to a number of areas of child development. This study looked at the influence of both prenatal maternal parenting self-efficacy and personal mastery, coined as the concept maternal self-view (MSV), on children’s 4-month home environment and 1-year socioemotional development. The effect of 4-month home environment, as measured by the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) including the Supplement to the HOME for Impoverished Families (SHIF) and by the Family and Maternal Life History (FMLH), overall and in regards to the presence of television and crowding, on 1-year child …


The Role Of Cognitive Reserve In Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury, Kayla Steward Jan 2017

The Role Of Cognitive Reserve In Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury, Kayla Steward

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: To examine whether cognitive reserve (CR) attenuates the initial impact of TBI on cognitive performance (passive model) and results in faster cognitive recovery rates in the first year post-injury (active model), and whether the advantage of CR differs based on the severity of TBI. Setting: Inpatient/outpatient clinics at academic medical center. Participants: Adults with mild TBI (mTBI; n=28), complicated mild TBI (cmTBI; n=24), and moderate-to-severe TBI (msevTBI; n=57), and demographically-matched controls (n=66). Design: Retrospective; longitudinal cohort assessed at 1-, 6-, and 12-months post-injury. Main Measures: Outcomes were 3 cognitive domains: processing speed/executive function, verbal fluency, and memory. Premorbid IQ, …


Diabetes Risk In Women: Pschosocial And Lifestyle Determinants, Sarah Katherine Sweatt Jan 2017

Diabetes Risk In Women: Pschosocial And Lifestyle Determinants, Sarah Katherine Sweatt

All ETDs from UAB

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major public health concern. Physical inactivity, poor diet, and psychosocial distress have emerged as factors contributing to T2D. Women may be uniquely affected by these factors as obesity, physical inactivity, and the prevalence of psychosocial distress are higher in women. Additionally, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women and increases the risk of both T2D and psychosocial distress. However, the relationship between physical activity (PA), psychosocial distress, and metabolic health is not fully understood, particularly in at risk populations such as minorities and women with PCOS. Therefore, the goal …


Planning For Active Transportation At Urban University Campuses, Sunil Terdalkar Jan 2017

Planning For Active Transportation At Urban University Campuses, Sunil Terdalkar

All ETDs from UAB

There are 4,726 institutions for higher education in the United States. Many of these institutions are located in urban environments and often provide limited options for transportation using alternative modes such as transit, bicycling, and walking. As urban university campuses strive to provide high quality accommodations to their students, employees and visitors, a great need exists for the development of comprehensive strategic plans that promote sustainable transportation solutions. Such solutions encourage social interaction, foster healthy living and active commute choices, and reduce the ecological footprint of university campuses on the adjacent local environment. This thesis reviews and summarizes initiatives across …


An Investigation Of The Neurobiological Heterogeneity In Autism, Adhd, And Typical Development, Melissa Thye Jan 2017

An Investigation Of The Neurobiological Heterogeneity In Autism, Adhd, And Typical Development, Melissa Thye

All ETDs from UAB

Standard fMRI studies of healthy as well as clinical populations rely heavily on group-level averages to draw inferences about brain and behavior. This presumes neural and behavioral homogeneity within diagnostic groups resulting in group-level models which may not capture individual variability. This problem is especially relevant for studies of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which clinically present with widespread individual differences. The prevalence of comorbidity between these disorders is roughly 28% highlighting the possibility that there may be shared behavioral and neural markers which cut across the diagnostic boundaries delineating the …


Morse Theory In Finite Dimensions, William Smith Tidwell Jan 2017

Morse Theory In Finite Dimensions, William Smith Tidwell

All ETDs from UAB

Morse Theory is a subset of manifold theory that looks at non-degenerate critical points of functions on manifolds. The Morse Lemma allows for a local coordinate system to be made around a non-degenerate critical point to express the function in a standard form. When these properties come together to describe the manifold on a global level it can have significant results related to its various diffeomorphisms. I will discuss some of these unique properties that Morse Theory has in identifying the generalized shape of surfaces, and then expand that into finitely many dimensions. I will show that any smooth function …


Review: The Dose-Response Relationship Of High-Intensity Interval Training On Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Taylor Curtis Tolleson Jan 2017

Review: The Dose-Response Relationship Of High-Intensity Interval Training On Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Taylor Curtis Tolleson

All ETDs from UAB

Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is a cluster of diseases, that is used to determine an individual’s increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), in addition to identifying their increased risk of all-cause mortality. The rates of CMD have continued to climb over the past three decades, which may be inversely proportional to participation in vocational and leisure time physical activity. Continuous moderate intensity exercise training (MIT) is often recommended to improve CMD risk factors, but is usually characterized by an extensive time commitment of exercise. Emerging studies indicate that high-intensity interval exercise training (HIIT), may be …


Effects Of A Cooking Program On Social Skills, Adaptive Functioning, And Dietary Behavior Of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eva Phui Phui Trinh Jan 2017

Effects Of A Cooking Program On Social Skills, Adaptive Functioning, And Dietary Behavior Of Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eva Phui Phui Trinh

All ETDs from UAB

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by two domains: 1) deficits in social interaction and communication, and, 2) restricted and repetitive behavior, interests, or activities. Poor adaptive functioning skills is an associated feature of ASD and leads to concerns for establishing independence as adolescents with ASD transition into adults. The dietary behavior of adolescents in the United States do not meet national standards for healthy eating, which could lead to poor health outcomes. Eating and feeding problems are more prevalent in children with ASD compared to their typically developing peers. Independent skills and health are a main source of stress …


The Role Of Adipocytes And Osteocytes In Multiple Myeloma Progression, Timothy Nathan Trotter Jan 2017

The Role Of Adipocytes And Osteocytes In Multiple Myeloma Progression, Timothy Nathan Trotter

All ETDs from UAB

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy of plasma cells that is intrinsically tied to the bone marrow (BM). Many cells in the BM microenvironment have been studied in MM, yet there is still much progress to be made. Recent work has revealed two new potential cellular targets in MM: adipocytes and osteocytes. Both are endocrine cells and secrete many molecules that regulate other cells proximally and systemically. Our lab previously showed that MM cells shift osteoblast precursor cells towards adipogenesis through soluble molecules alone. Recent findings also revealed that osteocyte apoptosis is enhanced in MM patients compared to healthy …


Statistical Tests For Confounding, Falynn Cartmill Turley Jan 2017

Statistical Tests For Confounding, Falynn Cartmill Turley

All ETDs from UAB

The use of propensity score methods have increased tremendously in the last several years. Propensity scores are used as a tool to correct the effects of confounding that can result in biased estimates of treatment effects. However, there is more than one method that employs propensity scores, and there is no guide in choosing the optimal method, in terms of Type I error and statistical power. This research aims to assess these attributes through a complex simulation study of a five variable model. The results of the simulations indicate performance of a particular propensity score method is dependent


Familial Support And Mental Health Service Use: Differences Among First- And Second-Generation Asian American And Latino Older Adults, Jessica Lynn Valles Jan 2017

Familial Support And Mental Health Service Use: Differences Among First- And Second-Generation Asian American And Latino Older Adults, Jessica Lynn Valles

All ETDs from UAB

While several studies have shown that US-born Asian Americans and Latinos are more likely to use mental health services than their foreign-born counterparts, the effects of generation status and familial support is unclear. Furthermore, little is known about these associations and how they affect older adults. According to the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), as adults begin transition into advanced age, they begin to withdraw from broader social networks to focus on more intimate relations, such as those with children. In applying modernization theory to the family and aging, this theory would suggest that the status of older adults in families …


Acute And Chronic Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function, Jonathan Lund Warren Jan 2017

Acute And Chronic Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function, Jonathan Lund Warren

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) represent a growing global burden on healthcare and financial resources. One hypothesis for the onset and exacerbation of these diseases is related to the role of mitochondria as the end users of products of the metabolism of the nutrients we consume and in mediating the oxidative state of the body through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In order to meet the demands of a metabolic challenge and prevent excessive ROS production, there appear to be adaptations to mitochondrial physiology and morphology that can occur and we hypothesize that the ability of the …


Viscosity And Morphology Modification Of Length Sorted Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes In Pib Matrices, Hanxiao Huang Jan 2017

Viscosity And Morphology Modification Of Length Sorted Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes In Pib Matrices, Hanxiao Huang

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT In this work, Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) were separated by length and chirality using an ultracentrifuge technique. The influence of length-separation on the composites’ viscosity and crystallinity behavior was studied. We found that the compo-sites’ viscosity does not increase monotonously with weight fractions. Specifically, in rel-atively small nanotube weight fractions, the dynamic viscosity of the composites was found to be smaller than that of the pure Polyisotublyene (PIB) matrix. The dimension of nanotube bundles and polymer radius of gyration were compared to further study the mechanism of such a viscosity change. It was observed that nanotubes with shorter …


Comparative Analysis Of New Techniques For Hearing Conservation Program Selection, Laura Hurst Jan 2017

Comparative Analysis Of New Techniques For Hearing Conservation Program Selection, Laura Hurst

All ETDs from UAB

Hazardous noise is a widespread problem in industry and recreation. Noise induced hearing loss is one of the most frequently reported occupational health claims worldwide. While there has been much research on noise, its effects, and how to prevent hearing loss in industry, there is limited research available to help quantify the difference that monitoring noise at a lower threshold might create in the measured exposure estimate. Additionally, the studies involving the use of different noise monitoring settings do not attempt to explain how the results might change the outcomes when using data and statistical techniques to classify similar exposure …


History, Counter-Memory, And Commemoration: Enacting Remembrance For The Comfort Women Of Wwii, Christina Joan Inman Jan 2017

History, Counter-Memory, And Commemoration: Enacting Remembrance For The Comfort Women Of Wwii, Christina Joan Inman

All ETDs from UAB

The case of the comfort women of East Asia is one of the largest human trafficking epidemics to have taken place in the twentieth century. It remains, however, an issue that is still widely unknown to the general public and has been obscured in both Eastern and Western historical texts up until the early 1990s. Scholars have determined that an estimated two hundred thousand young girls, now referred to as the comfort women, were forced into sexual servitude for the Japanese army during WWII. Of this number, seventy percent of the women did not survive the war. Currently, only forty …