Digital Commons Network^™

Fp-20-06 Age At First Birth Among Mothers 40-44, 1990 & 2018, Valerie J. Schweizer, Karen Benjamin Guzzo

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-20-11 Distributions Of Age At First Birth, 1960-2018, Valerie J. Schweizer, Karen Benjamin Guzzo

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-20-04 Number Of Children To Women Aged 40-44, 1980-2018, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Valerie J. Schweizer

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-20-13 Age Variation In The Remarriage Rate, 1990 & 2018, Valerie J. Schweizer

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-20-23 Widowhood: Decades Of Change, 1940-2018, Lisa Carlson, Valerie J. Schweizer

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-20-27 Thirty Years Of Changing Cohabitation Experience In The U.S., 1987-2017, Wendy D. Manning

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

Fp-20-26 Marriage-To-Divorce Ratio In The U.S.: Geographic Variation, 2019, Leslie Reynolds

National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles

No abstract provided.

The Comparison Of Two Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs In The Reduction Of Patient A1c Levels, Edward Sharpless

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation was a quasi-experimental research study exploring the effectiveness of two educational teaching methods with patients with diabetes. One teaching method utilized an education framework called the Conversation Map tools, a group-based, highly interactive learning experience using colorful visual tools, activity cards and sharing of real-life experiences. The other method was a traditional, lecture-style class taught by a health educator using overhead slides and handouts.

Secondary data from a regional health system in the Western U.S. was used to test the hypothesis that participants in the Conversation Map classes would report a larger drop in A1c levels compared to …

Fixed And Variable Costs At Critical Access Hospitals, Jeremy J. Lyman

All ETDs from UAB

Cost structures (the ratio of fixed to variable costs) vary across and within indus-tries. Hospital managers and policymakers can make better decisions when they under-stand cost structures, including marginal costs (the change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced is increased by one unit). Although some studies have inves-tigated hospital cost structures, the results have been mixed and less than definitive, and very little attention has been given to critical access hospitals and marginal costs specifi-cally. Rural hospitals, including critical access hospitals, have increasingly experienced financial distress. Between 2005 and 2019, 159 rural hospitals closed across the …

Challenges And Promising Strategies For Maximizing Pregnant Women's Adherence And Retention In Niv Care In The Context Of Option B+ In Kenya, Anna Helova

All ETDs from UAB

Under the current Kenyan guidelines, pregnant/postpartum women who test HIV-positive are immediately put on the lifelong antiretroviral (ART) therapy (Option B+) and are initiated into the prevention of mother-to-child (PMTCT) protocol. Gaps at each step of the PMTCT continuum undermine the positive impact of lifelong ART. Challenges at the individual, interpersonal, community, and health facility-levels contribute to these gaps. A community-based mentor mother (cMM) program tested under the Mother-Infant Visit Adherence and Treatment Engagement(MOTIVATE!) Trial (NICHD R01 R01HD080477; ClinicalTrials.gov#14-0331) is a potential approach to address these challenges. The three manuscripts comprising this dissertation used qualitative and quantitative methods with the …

Trajectories Of Teen Driver Self-Regulation: Role Of Learner Phase Practice And Executive Function, Melanie Grace Albright

All ETDs from UAB

Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) continue to claim the lives of many teen drivers each year in the United States despite significant prevention efforts, and the primary contributor to these MVCs is driver behavior. Previous research suggests practice driving in diverse environments during the pre-licensure phase is related to better driving outcomes post-licensure, including a reduced risk of MVCs, especially in the first year of independent driving when teens are at a higher crash risk. The pre-licensure and initial licensure phase typically co-occurs with rapid executive function (EF) development, which may be important for successfully managing the driving task. However, the …

Effects Of Acculturation On Stigma And Knowledge In Relation To Autism Spectrum Disorder Amongst Latino Populations, Monica M. Abdul-Chani

All ETDs from UAB

In the United States, Latino children receive autism diagnoses at a later age compared to non-Latino Black and non-Latino White children (Jo et al., 2015), have the highest rate of misdiagnosis (Magaña, Lopez, Aguinaga, & Morton, 2013), and are more likely to be under-identified (Pedersen et al., 2012). This study examines the presentation of ASD stigma and potentially influencing factors in Latino populations. Through an online survey, 97 Latino and 115 non-Latino White participants were randomly assigned to read one of two vignettes depicting characteristics and symptoms of ASD in lay terms for either their own child (self) or a …

Impact Of Registered Nurse Staffing Ratio On Nursing Home Operating Margins And Quality Measure Star Ratings, Douglas R. Whitman

All ETDs from UAB

Today’s nursing homes are under immense pressure from government regulators to improve quality while the government simultaneously tightens reimbursement rates. These two forces squeeze operating margins. The question facing nursing home operators is how to improve quality without breaking the bank. This study looks at the association of more registered nurses (RN) with quality and margins in U.S. nursing homes. This research project fills literature gaps which previously found improved nursing home quality correlates with more RNs. However, prior studies used self-reported data and typically considered only two or three quality measures. This study uses recently released electronic payroll data …

Suicidality, Stigma, And Online Help-Seeking, Mercedes Tarasovich

All ETDs from UAB

Suicide rates in the U.S. have been climbing for over two decades, driving increased suicide prevention efforts nationwide. The population of those who have experienced suicidality or attempted suicide are estimated to be at least 25 times the suicide death rate and are not as well-researched. Stigma regarding the utilization of mental health care services and a fear of institutionalization may affect help-seeking behaviors for individuals who have experienced suicidality, potentially prompting use of more anonymous online sources of support. In this study, I aimed to research whether suicidality and perceived mental health stigma can lead to increased use of …

A Cephalometric Study Of The Effects Of Class Ii Malocclusion Correction Utilizing The Carriere® Motion 3d Appliance And Essix Retainer, Julie Dean

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the dental and skeletal effects of Class II malocclusion correction with a Carriere® Motion 3D appliance and lower Essix retainer for anchorage, as compared to best-matched controls. Methods: This is a retrospective case-control cephalometric study uses pre- and post-distalization lateral cephalometric images from 44 (32 female, 12 male, average age 13y 7m) class II patients treated with a Carriere® Motion 3D appliance and lower Essix retainer. These films were analyzed to determine treatment effects and compared with 35 (17 female, 18 male, average age 13y 3m) untreated controls from a historical …

Nutrition Transition And Ses As A Fundamental Cause: An Integrative Approach To Examine Weight Status Among Women In Nepal, Sanjeev Acharya

All ETDs from UAB

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in developing countries is a public health problem. Globally and in Nepal, women have higher burden of overweight and obesity. Over the recent years, Nepal has made progress in human development and is also experiencing nutrition transition. In this context, the goal of this study is to investigate the change in association between socioeconomic status (SES) and body weight over time, examine whether SES – body mass index (BMI) varies across region and occupation, and test for the double burden of malnutrition among adult women. Using a novel framework that integrates nutrition transition …

The Relationship Between Asthma And Electronic Cigarette Use Among Youth And Young Adults: Mediation And Moderation Approaches, Abdullah M M Alanazi

All ETDs from UAB

Asthma is associated with a higher likelihood of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, which may increase the risk of pulmonary complications. Therefore, we sought to identify factors that influence e-cigarette use that may inform future behavior interventions targeting e-cigarette use prevention. In this dissertation, we used mediation and moderation to model the relationship of health beliefs, psychosocial and behavioral factors that may affect the relationship between e-cigarette use and asthma. We used national samples from public datasets, and a clinical sample recruited from healthcare facilities in Alabama. The results of this study are reported in three different papers. In the first …

Marginalized Models With Heterogeneous Random Effects For Zero-Inflated Longitudinal Count Data, Steve Boateng Ampah

All ETDs from UAB

Longitudinal count data sometimes called panel data come up most often in publichealth and biomedical research, where investigators are interested in assessing the association between an identified exposure and the correlated count outcomes. It is worth mentioning most of these correlated count data exhibit over-dispersion, excess zeros and heterogeneous properties which when ignored during analysis can lead to biased estimates of covariate effects. The traditional zero-inflated count models with random effects have been developed to analyze such correlated count data, however the two sets of regression coefficients from this model, directly allow subgroup interpretations with the first set of coefficients …

Genome-Wide Mirna Regulation Of Stress Susceptibility Across The Brain In A Rodent Model Of Early Life Stress, Lauren Alexis Allen Mckibben

All ETDs from UAB

Early life stress (ELS) affects a significant portion of the US population in the form of various types of abuse and neglect, as well as household dysfunction and loss of a loved one, among others. Although these experiences happen early in life, they increase risk for mental health disorders, especially major depression (MDD), across the lifespan. MDD is a debilitating psychiatric disorder marked by periods of depressed mood and loss of pleasure in once enjoyable activities. Patients with MDD also report trouble sleeping, unintentional weight loss or gain, feelings of worthlessness, and suicidal ideation. MDD is associated with annual $100 …

Rab27 And 14-3-3 Mediated Regulation Of Alpha-Synuclein Pathology, Rachel Nicole Underwood

All ETDs from UAB

Alpha-synuclein (αsyn) is the key component of proteinaceous aggregates termed Lewy Bodies (LBs) that pathologically define a group of disorders known as synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). αSyn is thought to misfold and spread throughout the brain in a prion-like fashion. Transmission of αsyn necessitates the release of misfolded αsyn from one cell and the uptake of that αsyn by another, in which it templates the misfolding of endogenous αsyn. Identifying regulators of this process is essential to understanding how αsyn propagates and furthers disease progression. In this study, we investigated Rab27 and 14-3-3θ …

T Cells In Synucleinopathies, Gregory Paul Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Synucleinopathies, which include Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), are a collection of neurodegenerative diseases that are in major part defined by the presence of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) rich protein aggregates in the brain. Increasing evidence has highlighted a neuroinflammatory phenotype also associated with these synucleinopathies. This neuroinflammatory phenotype includes the activation of central nervous system (CNS) microglia, increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the infiltration of peripheral T cells into the CNS. We sought to further explore the T cell responses associated with PD and MSA. Using two preclinical mouse models of PD and MSA, …

Co-Factors In Fgf Signaling, Christopher Yanucil

All ETDs from UAB

The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family consists of a group of proteins whose diverse biological functions are mediated by receptor tyrosine kinases, termed FGF receptors (FGFR) 1-4. While paracrine FGFs require heparin sulfate as a co-factor for FGFR bind-ing and signaling, it has been assumed that endocrine FGFs, such as FGF23, do not bind heparin but instead require klotho, a family of transmembrane proteins, as a co-receptor on specific target cells. FGF23 acts as bone-derived hormone that targets tubular epitheli-al cells in the kidney via FGFR1 and α-klotho to reduce renal phosphate uptake. In chron-ic kidney disease (CKD), the kidney …

Network-Based Analytics For Discovering Gene Modules And Biomarkers In Complex Diseases, Zongliang Yue

All ETDs from UAB

With rapidly increasing novel discoveries of associations between genomic data and complex disease phenotypes, the translation of those associations into knowledge and the identification of critical molecular mechanisms are essential to guild clinical decisions such as the diagnosis of symptomatic individuals, the prediction of disease risk, reproductive genetic counseling, and determining pharmacogenetic profiles for treatment. To decipher the genome of complex diseases, gene-centric analyses focus on detecting molecular mechanisms lead by driver genetics variants, abnormally expressed genes and high-abundance proteins through gene module construction. Additionally, the gene module construction approaches implement systems biology analysis to reveal the causative co-expressed gene …

Development Of Natural Language Processing Algorithm For Dental Charting, Yi-Fan Zhang

All ETDs from UAB

Purpose: The purpose was to develop a natural language processing algorithm, which will input data from oral examination transcripts to a structured database. Methods: Four case vignettes were produced for primary, mixed, and permanent dentition patients with varying degree of soft tissue pathology, caries, existing restorations and occlusion relationships. After calibration, dental students were instructed to perform simulated oral examinations based on the case vignettes, using natural language as they would to an assistant who was charting the case. The investigator transcribed the audio recordings of the simulated oral exams. Twenty simulated oral examinations were collected to develop a natural …

Dietary Nitrate And The Oral Microbiome In Obesity, Health And Exercise, Christian E. Behrens

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity ranks among the top growing health concerns worldwide. The prevalence of obesity at all life stages continues to rise with nearly 40% of adults and 35% of children/adolescents being affected. Equally troublesome is the increased risk for a number of comorbidities associated with obesity including cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and certain types of cancer. The successful treatment of obesity, particularly long-term, continues to prove challenging and is often met with limited success. This highlights the importance of continued investigation into alternative strategies that may reduce the incidence and severity of obesity and associated pathophysiologies. Regular physical …

Parents’ Personal Characteristics In Explaining Perceptions Of Infant Temperament, Logan Boe

All ETDs from UAB

Although a popular topic in developmental psychology research, straightforward ways to interpret measurements of infant temperament (IT) are lacking. Notably, parental personal characteristics, such as psychological distress and regulatory abilities, and resources available to parents may influence parents’ IT reports. The aims of the current project were to: 1) determine if parental characteristics mediate the association between IT and household income; 2) determine if personal resources available to parents (social support, coping, partner satisfaction) moderate the relationships between parental characteristics and IT; and 3) determine which parental characteristics predict differences between mothers’ and fathers’ IT reports. Prenatally, 201 mothers and …

Measuring Student Attitudes Toward Offenders: The Potential Mediating Role Of Familial Incarceration, Susan Faith Boyd

All ETDs from UAB

Each year hundreds of thousands of ex-offenders are released from U.S. jails and prisons to return to their communities. After release, ex-offenders’ families can play a critical role in helping their loved ones re-adjust to life outside of prison as well as meet the terms of their release; however, the severe financial, emotional, and social hardships associated with reentry have great potential to strengthen or weaken ex-offenders’ family support networks. The current study sought to explore how attitudes toward offenders differ between offenders’ family members and individuals who have never experienced familial incarceration. Adaptations of The Attitudes Toward Prisoners Scale …

Symbolic Annihilation, The Politics Of (Mis)Representation, And The Stress And Health Of Millennial Black Women, Chenoia Nicole Bryant

All ETDs from UAB

The (mis)representation of Black populations in media has been extensively explored and critiqued by several scholars. From their introduction into media through radio to their visi-bility in television and news, the tropes of Black womanhood have carried over from colo-nialist perspectives to present day. Considering race and gender as cultural structures con-straining Black women through the assignment of stereotypical scripts, it is important to consider how, when and where Black women’s agency enters. Negative racialized and gendered stereotypes are informed by culture at large, but Black women’s agency impacts the interpretation of these (mis)representations, offering space for both conformity and …

Cognitive Factors And Treatment Adherence In Individuals With Cystic Fibrosis, Benjamin Edwin Burgess

All ETDs from UAB

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening chronic illness which requires adherence to a many complex and time-consuming treatments. Adherence is suboptimal in this population. Thus, it is important to consider predictors of treatment adherence. Research has evaluated a number of cognitive factors that are related to adherence in groups with chronic illnesses, including those with CF. The present study considers three factors (health locus of control (HLC), perceived social support, and perceived disease severity) in order to address important gaps in the literature evaluating their relationships with treatment adherence. For each of these factors, the current research is limited by …

Epigenetic Regulation In Cancer And Development, Theodore Busby

All ETDs from UAB

Feedback loops between cellular cues and changes in gene expression mediate the interactions between a multitude of regulatory events that promote development and cancer. Vesicular trafficking is an important process in carrying out signaling events by transporting receptors and ligands to and from the cell surface. GBF1 and BIG1 are large guanine-exchange factors (GEFs) that activate GTPase mediated shuttling of cargo through the Golgi apparatus. This dissertation demonstrates that GBF1 localizes to the cytoplasmic membrane in glioblastoma multiform cells to maintain cell shape and promote migration. Reports have shown that BIG1translocates to the nucleus is hepatocyte carcinoma cell lines in …