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Wetland Characteristics And Wintering Passerellidae Occupancy On Agricultural Conservation Easement Program Wetlands In West Virginia, Katharine Lewis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Wetland ecosystems are unique, important sources of numerous services such as wildlife habitat. Their widespread loss due to drainage and development in North America has promoted the creation of many programs and policies to try to reverse the damage done. One such program is the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). ACEP is administered through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides landowners with technical and financial assistance to restore wetlands on private agricultural land. One of the primary objectives of ACEP is to provide wildlife habitat while restoring wetlands in agricultural areas. It is important to monitor conservation practices …

Ecology And Management Of Golden-Winged Warblers (Vermivora Chrysoptera) And Associated Avian Species In The Allegheny Mountains Of West Virginia, Kyle R. Aldinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

No abstract provided.

Satellite Based Predictability Of Water Sensitive Infectious Diseases, Md. Rakibul Hassan Khan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

No abstract provided.

Imidacloprid Bark Treatment For Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges Tsugae), Matthew D Quinterno

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

No abstract provided.

Many Paths Toward Discovery: A Module For Teaching How Science Works, Rebecca M. Price, Kathryn E. Perez

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Improving students' understanding of how science works requires explicit instruction. Here, we test the efficacy of a module based on two previously published activities (the "Cube Puzzle" and the case study "Asteroids and Dinosaurs") that teach how science works to college science majors. Students also use the How Science Works Flowchart from Understanding Science (http://undsci.berkeley. edu/) to reflect on these activities. To assess the efficacy of this module, we asked students to illustrate the process of science before and after the intervention. After the intervention, students' diagrams were significantly more complex and nonlinear. Students also incorporated more social aspects of …

Synthesis Of Heterocycles Through Beta Lactams Ring Rupture, Bimal K. Banik

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Many Beta lactams are widely used as medicines. The 4-membered ring present in the beta lactams is under strain and therefore, it can undergo cleavage reactions to diverse compounds. Chemical manipulation of the resulting products affords numerous molecules of interest. In this perspective, some examples developed at our laboratory are discussed

Expeditious Green Synthesis Of Versatile Organic Compounds By Diverse Methods, Bimal K. Banik

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Synthesis of organic compounds requires organic solvents and reagents to promote them. Very often, toxic solvents are used for this purpose. Many organic reactions require molar proportion of reactants and reagents to accomplish the goal. Some reactions require longer reaction times and produce products without control of stereochemistry. Therefore, development of facile and effective organic reactions under environmentally friendly conditions is necessary. In this perspective, several reactions are discussed that are performed by microwave-induced reactions, catalytic procedures, in the absence of any solvents, one-pot method and in water. Important reactions are chosen to investigate the feasibility of conducting these reactions …

Versatile Catalytic Transfer Hydrogenations In Organic Synthesis, Bimal K. Banik, Khaled J. Barakat, Maghar S. Manhas

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation reactions are extremely useful in organic synthesis. We have investigated numerous reactions with ammonium formate (and other hydrogen gas donor) and 10% Pd/C successfully without using hydrogen gas. The reactions are very fast and produced products with high yields. Reduction of unsaturated groups, hydrogenolysis, reductive bond cleavage, allylic deacetoxylation, and dehalogenation are conducted using this method. In some instances, useful selectivity of reactions is observed. Most of the reactions are investigated with β-lactams as the substrates.

Stereoselectivity Of Phthalimido Β-Lactams Formation: Synthesis Of 3-Amino Β-Lactams Through A Facile Deprotection Reaction, Armando Paniagua, Ram Naresh Yadav, Sunena Chandra, Bimal K. Banik

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Synthesis of amino β-lactams is a crucial objective because of the medicinal properties associated with them and the products derived from of them. Stereocontrolled synthesis of phthalimido β-lactams is performed and cis and trans-phthalimido β-lactams are deprotected with ethylene diamine (and other reagents) to amino β-lactams of diverse structures in excellent yield. This reaction is also conducted under solventless conditions to afford identical products.

Key Enzymes In Cancer: Mechanism Of Action And Inhibition With Anticancer Agents, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Gabriel Lopez, Stephanie Cantu, Samantha Balboa, Annabel Garcia, Christina Silva, Diandra Valdes

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Several enzymes play significant role in different stages of cancer including proliferation, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Mechanism of actions of a few key enzymes along with their inhibitors have been discussed with particular attentation to riboneucleotide reductase, thymidylate synthease, topoisomerase II, interleukins, cell survival proteins and aminopeptidase N.

Elementary Charter School Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Discipline On Academic Achievement, Simone Elloie Shelton

Theses and Dissertations

Many teachers leave the field altogether after a few years of teaching. Research showed that teachers consistently rate the behavior problems of their students as one of the primary reasons for them to quit teaching. Among teachers who have left the field over the past 10 years, some 80% stated that discipline problems caused by students was one of the primary reasons for their departure. Student discipline has been reported as a factor associated with high rates of teachers leaving the teaching profession. Two studies of teacher attrition rates found that problems with students’ discipline issues and classroom management issues …

Prevention Strategies To Reduce Multifactorial Risk Factors Associated With The Onset Of Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review, Jacqueline A. Burnes

Theses and Dissertations

Noncommunicable diseases such as coronary artery disease continue to remain the principal cause of mortality in the United States, claiming nearly 800,000 lives in 2016. Reducing the onset of chronic diseases, specifically coronary artery disease, requires a fundamental approach to health care, involving patient access to high-quality primary care and accessibility to disease prevention programs. This study examined multifactorial risk factors and prevention mechanisms associated with coronary artery disease.

The applied dissertation is a systematic review of the literature designed to answer the question: What prevention strategies reduce multifactorial risk factors associated with the onset of coronary artery disease? The …

Calcium Signaling In The Ventricular Myocardium Of The Goto-Kakizaki Type 2 Diabetic Rat, L. Al Kury, M. Smail, M. A. Qureshi, V. Sydorenko, A. Shmygol, M. Oz, J. Singh, F. C. Howarth

All Works

© 2018 L. Al Kury et al. The association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and high mortality linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major concern worldwide. Clinical and preclinical studies have demonstrated a variety of diastolic and systolic dysfunctions in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with the severity of abnormalities depending on the patients' age and duration of diabetes. The cellular basis of hemodynamic dysfunction in a type 2 diabetic heart is still not well understood. The aim of this review is to evaluate our current understanding of contractile dysfunction and disturbances of Ca2+ transport in the Goto-Kakizaki …

A Generalized Deep Learning-Based Diagnostic System For Early Diagnosis Of Various Types Of Pulmonary Nodules, Ahmed Shaffie, Ahmed Soliman, Luay Fraiwan, Mohammed Ghazal, Fatma Taher, Neal Dunlap, Brian Wang, Victor Van Berkel, Robert Keynton, Adel Elmaghraby, Ayman El-Baz

All Works

© The Author(s) 2018. A novel framework for the classification of lung nodules using computed tomography scans is proposed in this article. To get an accurate diagnosis of the detected lung nodules, the proposed framework integrates the following 2 groups of features: (1) appearance features modeled using the higher order Markov Gibbs random field model that has the ability to describe the spatial inhomogeneities inside the lung nodule and (2) geometric features that describe the shape geometry of the lung nodules. The novelty of this article is to accurately model the appearance of the detected lung nodules using a new …

Antisemitic Intellectuals In Fascist Italy: Promoting ‘Spiritual Racism,’ 1938-1945, Peter Staudenmaier

History Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Examination Of The Dynamic Assembly Mechanism Of E. Coli Clpa, Elizabeth C. Duran

All ETDs from UAB

E. coli ClpA is an AAA+ (ATPase Associated with diverse cellular Activities) chaperone that catalyzes the ATP-dependent unfolding and translocation of substrate proteins targeted for degradation into a protease, ClpP. ClpA, like many other AAA+ proteins, assembles into a hexameric ring competent for binding polypeptide substrate clients in the presence of ATP. Each ClpA protomer contains two nucleotide binding domains, NBD1 and NBD2. Recently, our lab applied hydrodynamic techniques to quantify the self-assembly mechanism of a closely related AAA+ chaperone, E. coli ClpB. Here we apply the techniques and analysis from that work to investigate the nucleotide-linked self-assembly mechanism of …

Cerebral Vasospasm Detection And Treatment Using Transcranial Doppler Signal Analysis And Adaptive Medication Pump Mechanism, Khaled Elzaafarany

All ETDs from UAB

In the United States, many patients pass away due to delayed detection of Cerebral Vasospasm (CV). Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is an efficient noninvasive, reliable device that can monitor the blood flow in various parts of the human brain like middle cerebral artery and basilar artery without any surgical intervention. It can help neurologists to diagnose many brain problems like edema, trauma, hemorrhage, and aneurysm. Unfortunately, continuous or even daily TCD monitoring is challenging due to the operator expertise and certification required in the form of a trained technologist, and certified physician to perform these studies. This barrier exists due to …

Endodontic Post Retention With Resin Cements (Ilumi Fiber Post), Faimeena Farheen

All ETDs from UAB

Objectives: Loss of post retention is the leading cause in the cemented post. There is no good method of bonding a fiber post in a post space with resin cements because adhesive cementation into a prepared post space is difficult- due to an inability to place, dry and light cure the adhesive and the cement. A new post system (iLumi) that transmits light to the apex of the post has recently been developed. We want to know if this system will improve post retention in each section (coronal, middle and apical) of the prepared post space and if this curing …

Membrane Capacitance Derived From Bioimpedance Spectroscopy Is Associated With Insulin Resistance In Relatively Healthy U.S. Women, But Not Men, Valene Garr Barry

All ETDs from UAB

Current screening methods have failed to detect more than 50% of the 120 million U.S. adults with insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome, conditions that substantially increase one’s risk for cardiometabolic disease (CMD).1 Evidence exists that metabolic health is associated with cell membrane composition, which is reflected in the electrical properties of the body cell mass. The objective of this study was to determine whether bioimpedance spectroscopy can identify insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome by evaluating membrane capacitance (CM). We hypothesized that CM would be higher in individuals with insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome when compared to healthy individuals. This cross-sectional …

Effects Of Medicaid Expansion On The Financial Performance Of Rural Hospitals, Keith Darryl Brady

All ETDs from UAB

EFFECTS OF MEDICAID EXPANSION ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF RURAL HOSPITALS KEITH BRADY DOCTOR OF SCIENCE IN HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of Medicaid expansion on the financial performance of rural hospitals. The analysis compares Medicaid revenue, uncompensated care cost and operating margins between rural hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid and rural hospitals in states that did not expand Medicaid. Strategic Management Theory was used to develop a theoretical framework to address three primary hypotheses. Secondary data from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality …

Nanomedicine: Electrohydrodynamic Atomization (Ehda) To Engineer Next-Generation Biomimetic Microphysiological Systems (Mps) And Precision Drug Delivery Systems (Dds), Karim Ismail Budhwani

All ETDs from UAB

Cancer is poised to become the leading cause of death worldwide with lifetime probability of 1-in-2 men and 1-in-3 women developing cancer. Despite this, research and development of new treatment options remains expensive and slow, in part, due to inadequate disease models, therapy evaluation assays, and absence of delivery control in leading treatment options. These factors also impede patient-specific personalized medicine. Electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) fabrication technologies, such as electrospinning (ESp) and electrospraying (ESy), offer promising nanomedicine pathways toward addressing these challenges. ESp has garnered much interest in tissue engineering but is dwarfed by softlithography in microphysiological systems (MPS), including lab-chip …

Religiosity And Spirituality As Predictors Of Substance Use In Patients With Cystic Fibrosis, Benjamin Edwin Burgess

All ETDs from UAB

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a degenerative chronic illness that results in pulmonary and gastrointestinal impairment. Because health-related behaviors, such as substance use, impact health outcomes in this population, it is important to understand factors that predict substance use in patients with CF. Thus, this study aimed to examine the unique roles of spirituality and religiosity in alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Higher religiosity was expected to predict lower substance use directly, reflecting a direct regulation of health behavior. Higher spirituality was expected to predict less substance use through lower depression, reflecting an indirect regulation of health behavior through emotion regulation. …

Adiposity And Health In Zoo African And Asian Elephants, Daniella Chusyd

All ETDs from UAB

African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephant populations are rapidly declining due to poaching, and habitat fragmentation and loss. Due to the precarious situation elephants are facing worldwide, captive elephant populations are being viewed as an insurance policy against extinction. Unfortunately, captive elephant populations are not self-sustaining, in part because of reproductive and health issues. One hypothesis for the observed reproductive and health issues is zoo elephants are obese. The current method of assessing obesity in elephants is based on a qualitative visual tool, the body condition score, which does not quantify fat mass. The purpose of this dissertation …

Sleep Disturbances In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christian Clesi

All ETDs from UAB

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability characterized by impairments in social communication and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Children with autism may also have associated symptoms; one of the most prevalent being sleep disorders, with estimated prevalence rates ranging from 40 to 80% (Goldman, McGrew, Johnson, Richdale, Clemons, & Malow, 2011). Measuring sleep disturbances in this population can be particularly challenging due to the symptoms of the disorder, including impairments in communication. Therefore, research in this field regularly relies on parent-report data to measure sleep disturbances in children with ASD. …

A Randomized Trial To Evaluate The Effect Of Allograft Bone Particle Size On Histomorphometric And Clinical Outcomes Following Ridge Augmentation Procedures, Hussein Basma

All ETDs from UAB

Ridge deficiency is an unfortunate obstacle that obviates the placement of dental implants or results in placing them at an angle that compromises the prosthetic restoration. An ideal volume is essential for implant placement in an optimal three-dimensional position. Several methods for augmenting the alveolar ridge in preparation for implant placement have been described. Autogenous bone grafts, considered to be the “gold standard”, are associated with significant morbidity and require a second surgical site. Guided bone regeneration (GBR), is an alternative technique that use bone-substitute materials as adjuncts to or replacements for autografts in bone augmentation procedures to overcome the …

Evaluating The Biology And Ecology Of Sea Turtles In The Context Of Anthropogenic Climate Change, Elizabeth Michelle Bevan

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation addresses several key gaps in our knowledge of how long-term threats, like climate change, impact the survival and reproduction of thermally-sensitive endangered sea turtles. Many aspects of the sea turtle life history, such as sex determination in hatchlings, are directly affected by environmental temperatures, making sea turtles crucial sentinels for monitoring the impacts of ecosystem variability. Chapter 1 re-evaluates the historic size of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle population in the context of current nesting trends at its primary nesting habitat in the western Gulf of Mexico to address recovery targets and the conservation status for this species. …

Functional Analysis Of Cdc45 In The Replication Fork And In Response To Replicative Stress, Amanda Debrot

All ETDs from UAB

DNA replication is a highly conserved and tightly regulated process, with a variety of factors acting to ensure faithful duplication and stability of chromosomal DNA. During replication, positive supercoils form ahead of the advancing replication fork. DNA topoisomerase 1 (Top1) acts to prevent DNA damage by relieving the torsional strain created by these supercoils. The camptothecin (CPT) class of chemotherapeutics target Top1, creating a long-lived DNA-Top1-CPT covalent complex, which leads to S-phase specific DNA lesions and cellular death. Our lab previously performed a genetic screen to isolate mutant proteins that enhance cell sensitivity to Top1-mediated DNA damage. One of the …

The Influence Of Perceived Stress And Sleep Disturbance On Fatigue And Blood Pressure As Mediated By Cortisol In Children With Sickle Cell Disease, Heather Carol Soistmann

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT Introduction: Life expectancy is improving for those with sickle cell disease (SCD); however, with this improvement come increasing risks for long-term health complications. Early identification of health concerns could lead to improved long-term health outcomes. Two health concerns in school-age children with SCD are fatigue and blood pressure (BP). Previous research with other populations indicates perceived stress and sleep disturbance may influence outcomes of fatigue and BP. Further, cortisol, a stress hormone, may mediate the proposed relationships. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to determine effect sizes of relationships between fatigue, BP, perceived stress, and sleep disturbance in …

The Primary Cilium Regulates Interstitial Immune Cells During Renal Cystogenesis, Cheng Song

All ETDs from UAB

Renal cysts are a pathological condition that can lead to end-stage renal failure and death. The mechanisms that underlie renal cyst development are under active investigation, and emerging evidence has revealed defects in a number of proteins required for cilia assembly or signaling, such as intraflagellar transport (IFT) proteins and the polycystins. Characterization of mice harboring conditional IFT mutations suggests that the rate of cyst formation is dependent upon the timing of cilia loss. Induction of cilia loss in juvenile mice results in rapid cyst development, while induction of cilia loss in adult mice leads to a slower progressing form …

Understanding Associations Among Race, Socioeconomic Status, And The Experience Of Painful Knee Osteoarthritis: Clinical And Experimental Evidence, Kathryn Ann Thompson

All ETDs from UAB

Knee OA is an active disease process involving cartilage destruction, subchondral bone thickening, and new bone formation affecting 22% of American adults (46.4 million) over age 18 years. Past literature suggests, a disproportionate number of racial/ethnic minorities, particularly non-Hispanic Blacks, are affected by knee OA. Furthermore, over one in four (28%) Blacks have an income below the national poverty level compared with 11% of Whites. Therefore, the overall aim of this study is to examine racial and SES differences in the experience of pain and physical functioning in adults with knee OA. 191 participants (62% female, 52% Black) were recruited …