Digital Commons Network^™

Ventral Hippocampal Input To The Medial Prefrontal Cortex Regulates Social Memory, Mary Leann Phillips

All ETDs from UAB

Both the ventral hippocampus (vHIP) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are active participants in the neural circuitry activated by social interaction, and are both necessary for certain aspects of social behavior. Additionally, synaptic projections from the ventral hippocampus (vHIP) to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders. Using the Mecp2 knockout (KO) mouse model of Rett syndrome, an autism-associated disorder with network level deficits in the vHIP and mPFC as well as aberrant social behavior, we strove to determine the role of vHIP-mPFC in social behavior. Here, we show that the vHIP-mPFC projection is hyperactive in …

Quantifications Of Theranostic Polymer-Based Particles For Image-Guided Drug Delivery, Sithira Ratnayaka

All ETDs from UAB

Modern medicine employs many drugs in its disease treatment methods. This is because they provide the best permanent solutions to complicated ailments. However the usefulness of these drugs is mitigated by several factors, namely that of specific release. Common drug delivery mechanisms lack the specificity needed to ensure that release is limited to the diseased area, which can lead to unnecessary side effects. By utilizing medical imaging, both drug delivery devices and physiology can be observed by physicians, which can greatly increase the specificity of drug delivery. Specifically, utilizing a very inert medical imaging modality, such as ultrasound, guarantees minimum …

Impact Of Environmental Exposures On Respiratory Health, Lawrence Rasmussen

All ETDs from UAB

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of COPD; similarly, individuals exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) are also vulnerable to COPD and other airway diseases; however, distinct molecular mechanisms involved in SHS-induced lung effects that result in COPD are poorly understood. Mucociliary clearance (MCC) is a primary lung defense against inhaled particulate matter and pathogens. Thus, understanding how inhaled irritants such as SHS disrupt MCC will promote improved scientific understanding and better public health initiatives to prevent respiratory illnesses. Using a variety of in vitro …

Uncovering The Role Of Women In Two Social Movements: The Intricacies Of Black Feminine Leadership, Ajanet Schauron Rountree

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT The historical conceptualization of social movements on the space-time continuum is often androcentric. Heavy reliance on male leadership perspectives negates the female point of view and creates what Marable labels an “idealized interpretation” that skirts the actual relationship between individuals and the evolution of history. This research is the deliberate recovery of the purposefully omitted while elucidating the intricacies of the leadership of Black women. It foregrounds and clarifies the leadership narratives of Black women who navigated the gendered and racialized spaces of their churches and communities in the struggle for civil and human rights during the Civil Rights …

Healthcare Cybersecurity: Building A Cyber Vulnerability Profile For U.S. Hospitals, Gemini O. Majkowski

All ETDs from UAB

Digital transformation in healthcare has offered exponential advances in capabilities and efficiencies improving access, quality of care, chronic disease management, public health surveillance, and population health. However, the speed of change left security lagging, exposing cyber vulnerabilities that cost the U.S. $6.2 billion dollars annually, at an average cost of $2.2 million dollars, and 3,128 records breached per incident. Despite significant investments to close the gap on cyber vulnerabilities, cybersecurity remains a critical issue. Little research has been done to build a cyber vulnerability profile for U.S. hospitals. In this study, U.S. hospitals with reportable breach and without reportable breach …

Endothelial N-Glycan Hypoglycosylation Enhances Cd16+ Monocyte Adhesion: A Role For Alpha-Mannosidases, Kellie Regal Mcdonald

All ETDs from UAB

Monocyte extravasation through the endothelial layer is a hallmark of atherosclerotic plaque development and is mediated by heavily glycosylated surface adhesion molecules, such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Human monocytes have been classified into three distinct groups: classical (anti-inflammatory; CD14+/CD16-), nonclassical (patrolling; CD14+/CD16++), and intermediate (pro-inflammatory; CD14++/CD16+). The CD16+ nonclassical / intermediate monocytes have been implicated in atherosclerosis progression and their levels positively associate with adverse cardiac events. However, there is a relative lack of understanding as to whether there are distinct mechanisms that regulate CD16+ vs. CD16- monocyte adhesion to the inflamed endothelium. Our previous data identified a high-mannose …

Transition Into Adulthood: Cannabis Use And Mental Health, Katie Mcintyre

All ETDs from UAB

The US is currently experiencing sweeping changes in the legal status of cannabis, the most common illicit drug used in America. Due to its classification as a Schedule I substance we know very little about how cannabis use impacts mental health since illicit drugs are not legally allowed to be researched in a laboratory setting. The current research on cannabis use (CU) and mental health (MH) is expansive and conflicting. One side of the debate suggests CU in adolescence has a direct effect on MH, the other side suggests CU could be an indirect coping mechanism of poor MH. One …

Provider-Sponsored Health Plans In The Post-Reform Era, Katherine Ann Meese

All ETDs from UAB

The rise and fall of managed care in the 1980s and 1990s saw many hospitals and health systems in the United States enter and subsequently exit the health insurance market in the form of provider-sponsored health plans (PSHP). The passage and implementation of the legislation such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) has ushered in an era of value-based reimbursement methods and a heightened focus on population health management, which has stimulated health care organizations to contemplate health plan ownership as a logical strategy. This study examined market …

The Impact Of College Athletic Success On Donations And Applicant Quality, Benjamin Baumer, Andrew Zimbalist

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

For the 65 colleges and universities that participate in the Power Five athletic conferences (Pac 12, Big 10, SEC, ACC, and Big 12), the football and men’s basketball teams are highly visible. While these programs generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually, very few of them turn an operating “profit.” Their existence is thus justified by the claim that athletic success leads to ancillary benefits for the academic institution, in terms of both quantity (e.g., more applications, donations, and state funding) and quality (e.g., stronger applicants, lower acceptance rates, higher yields). Previous studies provide only weak support for …

Optimizing Toc Removal For Dbp Reduction In Drinking Water While Overcoming Source Water Variations, April Nabors

All ETDs from UAB

Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering University of Alabama at Birmingham ABSTRACT This dissertation used a holistic approach to research ways to optimize disinfection by-product (DBP) reduction during each sector of the conventional drinking water treatment process, regardless of the source water type or quality, in an overall effort to meet the USEPA Stage 2 Disinfection/Disinfection By-Products Rule (D/DBPR). DBPs are formed from the reaction between naturally occurring total organic carbon (TOC) in the water and disinfectants used during the treatment process. For this dissertation, effective treatment was measured by the amount of TOC that was removed through the …

Academic Preparation For Business, Industry, And Government Positions, Alejandra Alvarado, Candice R. Price

Mathematics Sciences: Faculty Publications

According to the 2015 Annual Survey of the Mathematical Sciences, 1901 PhDs were awarded in the USA. The report shows that 52% of those recipients are working in academia. This is a decrease from the 2014 survey which stated that 56% of new doctoral recipients went on to academia. Thus, what support do we, as academics, provide to this growing population of business/industry, or government job seekers? The goal of this paper is to provide insight into programs tackling this question along with relevant information and advice for new PhDs interested in jobs outside of academia as well as those …

Social Justice On Campus: Does It Really Fight Hate? An Exploratory Study, Caitlin Elizabeth Beard

All ETDs from UAB

This exploratory study expands upon information from a previously conducted pilot study involving schools from states in two regions of the United States—the Southeast and the West Coast—which compared the number of social justice organizations at four universities from every state to the number of bias incidents in each state from 2010 through 2016. While no statistically significant relationship was found, the pilot study suggested a negative relationship between the number of social justice organizations and the occurrence of hate crimes. This thesis uses data from forty-nine states and the District of Columbia to create a larger data pool consisting …

The Impact Of Redox Stress In Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1, Brianna Buchalski

All ETDs from UAB

Primary Hyperoxaluria (PH) is a family of three inborn errors of glyoxylate metabolism resulting in endogenous oxalate overproduction. PH1 is the most common and most severe form of the disorder when compared to PH2 and PH3. PH1 can result in systemic oxalosis or end stage renal disease, and there is currently no cure for this disorder. The only curative treatment is combined liver/kidney transplant. The difficulty in defining a cure for the disorder arises from poor knowledge of the sources of endogenous oxalate and a lack of understanding in the underlying pathophysiology of the disorder. For these reasons, we have …

Don't Forget To Subscribe: Regulation Of Online Advertising Evaluated Through Youtube's Monetization Problem, Nicole E. Pottinger

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Art In The Age Of Contractual Negotiation, Christopher G. Bradley, Brian L. Frye

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Misadventure Of Copyrighting State Law, Eric E. Johnson

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Limiting Lessons From Property: Reimagining The Public Domain In The Image Of The Public Trust Doctrine, Deirdré A. Keller

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Experimenting With State-Enacted Resale Rights, Guy A. Rub

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The People V. Their Universities: How Popular Discontent Is Reshaping Higher Education Law, Ben Trachtenberg

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ai And The "Death Of Trademark", Michael Grynberg

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Fraud, Letters Of Credit, And The Uniform Commercial Code: It Is Time To Untether The Independence Principle, Richard Flint

Faculty Articles

The purpose of this Article is to evaluate the efficacy of the fraud exception to the independence principle in letters of credit law in the case of both commercial and standby letters of credit. In doing so, a primary focus will be to identify which of the various parties to a letter of credit transaction the present fraud exception "protects" and to evaluate the policy justifications for why these persons are viewed by the law to be eligible recipients of protection.

In Code(Rs) We Trust: Software Developers As Fiduciaries In Public Blockchains, Angela Walch

Faculty Articles

A decade into Bitcoin's existence, governance questions around it and other public blockchains abound. Do these 'decentralized' structures even have governance? If so, what does it look like? Who has power, and how is it channeled or constrained? Are power structures implicit or explicit? How can we improve upon the ad hoc governance structures of early blockchains? ls ‘on-chain governance,’ like that proposed by Tezos and others, the path forward?

In August 2016, in the aftermath of the DAO theft and resulting Ethereum hard fork, I argued in American Banker that the core developers and significant miners of public blockchains …

The Role Of Protein O-Glcnacylation In Regulating Mitochondrial Function, Jalessa Nicole Wright

All ETDs from UAB

The attachment of O-linked-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to the serine/threonine residues of proteins has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism in transcriptional regulation, protein activation as well as cell survival. Several studies have reported that elevated O-GlcNAc levels have adverse effects on mitochondrial function. These negative effects have been linked to O-GlcNAc modification of mitochondrial proteins that are integral across multiple metabolic cell processes i.e. VDAC, NDUFA9 and DRP-1. Mitochondrial complexes I, III and IV all contain subunit proteins that are O-GlcNAc modified and increased O-GlcNAcylation of these proteins is associated with deficits in oxidative phosphorylation in these models. Conversely, it has …

Self-Tracking Practices: The Roles Of Social Contexts And Chronic Conditions, Aowen Zhu

All ETDs from UAB

The rapid development of mobile health (mHealth) technologies is propelled by the culture of disease prevention and management. Smartphone applications and wearable devices provide valuable personal data for self enhancement. In addition to health promotion, people with chronic conditions are using apps and devices to monitor symptoms and behaviors. There is great potential for self-tracking practices to reduce health care cost and improve population health. However, the emphasis on personal responsibility of individuals’ health may hinder the long-term effectiveness of self-tracking practices. The purpose of the study is to examine the associations between social contexts and self-tracking practices, chronic health …

Examining Naloxone Access: A Spatial Asessment Of Opioid Use In Urban And Rural Contexts, Keith Chichester

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Elements of the physical environment have been shown to influence health behaviors including drug use and overdose mortality. Throughout the opioid epidemic in the United States, rural regions have been disproportionately affected by opioid overdose. Although the relationship between the urban built environment and opioid overdose has been established, little is known as to how trends may differ in rural areas. Methods: Risk terrain modeling was used as a spatial analytical approach to assess environmental features that significantly increase the risk of opioid overdose in Jefferson County, Alabama. Spatial risk assessments were conducted for urban and rural regions as …

Exposure Assessment Of Ultrafine Particles And Hazardous Chemicals In Electronic Cigarettes, Oluwabunmi Magret Dada

All ETDs from UAB

The widespread use of electronic cigarettes (e-cig) among youths and adolescents is a growing public health problem due to exposures to harmful byproducts formed during heating. These byproducts include particulate matter, benzene, and toluene. However, the mechanisms and variables governing their formation including the chemical content of e-cig liquid (e-liquid) are not fully understood. This study aimed to assess exposures to particulate matter, benzene, and toluene in e-cig vapors (e-vapors) and their coupling to e-liquid chemical content. A novel nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy method was developed to characterize e-liquids (propylene glycol, glycerol, and nicotine) and the functional content of flavorings. …

Low-Cost Wastewater Treatment Using Agricultural Waste Materials, Seyma Demirci

All ETDs from UAB

Wastewater generated from human activities is one of the biggest problems polluting in the world. Currently, in order to reduce pollution and to limit the effects on the environment, researchers are investigating new methods and innovative materials for use in wastewater treatment. A goal of environmental engineers is to lower the coagulant cost and to improve the characteristics of the produced purification. This presented work investigates the role of agricultural materials (woodchips, banana fibers, and straw) to use in the treatment of municipal wastewater and to study their physicochemical characteristics (pH, COD, BOD, TSS, Conductivity, Turbidity, and Fecal Coliforms) of …

Examining Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Teams And Teacher Professionalism, Rebecca Thomas Stripling

All ETDs from UAB

EXAMINING TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TEAMS AND TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM This study explores the perceptions of teachers’ professionalism as they participate in professional learning teams. Through a qualitative lens, teacher perceptions of how their own professionalism (as indicated by the Professionalism Index by McMahon & Hoy, 2009) is influenced or affected as a result of their participation in a PLT were examined from the perspective of teachers that fell into three categories, those teachers that scored high on the Professionalism Index, those teachers that scored low on the Professionalism Index and those teachers that had a medium score on the …

Dysregulation In The Central Nervous System Upon Mcmv Infection In Newborn Mice, Cathy Yea Won Sung

All ETDs from UAB

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is a major cause of morbidity in infants and children throughout the world. Between 0.2-1.2% of all live births is infected with HCMV in the United States. Approximately 5-15% of these newborn babies will develop long-term neurological damage resulting in motor disorders, mental retardation, and sensorineural hearing loss. Although the neurological sequelae associated with congenital HCMV infections are well characterized, little is known about the pathogenesis of the damage to the central nervous system (CNS). To study the pathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection, we have developed a mouse model in which newborn mice are infected intraperitoneally …

Unintentional Childhood Injuries In Rural Uganda: The Role Of Sibling Supervision And The Potential For Behavior Change Through Classroom-Based Instruction, Marissa Swanson

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: Unintentional childhood injury is a significant global health burden particularly in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Effective supervision can reduce risk of injury to supervisees. Frequently, older siblings assist in supervising younger siblings, but may not be as effective as adult caregivers at preventing supervisee injury. The current investigation had three primary objectives: 1) Assess Ugandan adult caregivers’ self-reported expectations for children to provide sibling supervision; 2) Assess sixth-grade students’ self-reported experiences providing supervision; 3) Determine whether students’ supervision knowledge and skill improve through participation in the Super Siblings program, a novel classroom-based, culturally-adapted intervention. Methods: Adult caregivers …