Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Potential Of Public Transit Utility In Medium-Sized Cities Using Agent-Based Simulation, Taniya Sultana

All ETDs from UAB

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States was leading in the public transit sector, but following World War II, private car trips became more affordable and more popular, specially, in the last few decades. Transportation infrastructure investments that increased road capacity enabled the development of suburbs leading to urban sprawl and increase in automobile use at the expense of reduced public transit ridership. With the increase of dependency in automobiles and the continuing growth of private automobile ownership and use, various problems became major challenges in big cities of USA. These include traffic congestion, air pollution, road …

Toxin Secretion By Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Uday Tak

All ETDs from UAB

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a highly infectious airborne bacterial pathogen, and the causative agent of human tuberculosis. Mtb infects approximately one-third of the human population, and is responsible for more deaths than any other infectious disease in the history of mankind. Mtb is an intracellular pathogen and primarily infects myeloid cells, such as macrophages in the human lung. In macrophages, Mtb establishes a replication niche within membrane-bound vacuoles named phagosomes, while subverting immunity. The intracellular survival of Mtb depends on manipulation of host cellular processes through secreted effector proteins. Ultimately, this intracellular vacuole is ruptured by the type VII secretion …

A Case Study Of The Beliefs And Perspectives Of Professional Development Consultants While Conducting College, Career, And Community Writers Program, Jameka Thomas

All ETDs from UAB

This qualitative multi-case study examined 12 professional development consultants’ (PDC) beliefs and perspectives while conducting College, Career, and Community Writers Program from two National Writing Project sites. Sage Mountain and Kinship. For this study, there were two theoretical frameworks examined, Peer Coaching (Showers & Joyce, 1996) and Skilled Facilitator Approach (Schwarz, 2005). Other theories that helped ground the framework of this study were Cognitive Coaching (Costa & Garmston, 1994), Zen of Facilitation (Killion & Simmons, 1992), and Typologies of Facilitator Education (Thomas, 2004). Through an integration of the five perspectives, the researcher found that PDCs in both sites shared common …

Creatinine Detection Based On Molecularly Imprinted Technique And Luminescence Of Nano-Diamond As A Signal Transducer, Reim Almotiri

All ETDs from UAB

Creatinine measurement is an important diagnostic test for assessing kidney health. This work represents our current progress in creatinine artificial sensor based on a molecularly imprinted polymer of polyacrylamide hydrogel and nanodiamonds fluorescence change. For a 0.3 mM creatinine rebinding solution, an imprinting factor of 2.54 was measured. Also, a molecularly imprinted polymer was obtained by incorporating nanodiamond into a creatinine-imprinted polyacrylamide hydrogel. The quenching of peak nanodiamond fluorescence was significantly higher in the creatinine-imprinted polymer compared to the non-imprinted polymer, indicative of higher creatinine affinity in the imprinted polymer. Nanodiamond fluorescence from nitrogen-vacancy color centers (NV- and NV0) was …

Mid-Fusiform Sulcus Anatomy And Its Relationship To Face Processing And Social Functioning In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carla Ammons

All ETDs from UAB

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests. One of the most consistent findings in ASD is reduced attention to and atypical processing of faces. However, the brain basis of aberrant face processing in ASD remains opaque. A novel neuroanatomical feature, the mid-fusiform sulcus (MFS), is strongly associated with face-selective regions of the fusiform gyrus (FG) as well as other large-scale functional and structural divisions in the ventral temporal cortex (Weiner et al., 2014). However, this feature is unexplored in ASD. The overarching goal of this dissertation …

Prediction Of The Optimal Catheter Placement Selection For Therapy Infusion To Treat Brain Tumors, Lisa Hope Antoine

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT In 2020, the National Brain Tumor Society reported that physicians would diagnose more than 87,000 new cases of brain tumors. These cases will add to the approximately 700,000 individuals in the United States living with brain and central nervous system tumors. Almost 18,000 of these cases will prove fatal [1]. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) hinders the effective treatment of brain tumors. The task of this barrier is to protect the brain from composition instabilities in blood plasma and shield the brain from agents that may adversely impact brain functionality. However, by performing its tasks the barrier prevents potential effective …

Exploring The Nursing Work Environment And Patient Outcomes Associated With Nurse-Reported Workplace Bullying: A Mixed Methods Study, Colleen Anusiewicz

All ETDs from UAB

Workplace bullying (WPB) in nursing is a workplace problem that can undermine the safety culture necessary to minimize adverse patient events and improve health care quality. Nurses continue to experience and report WPB despite a substantial and growing body of evidence reflecting the negative effects of WPB on nurses, published position statements and alerts, and the initiation of workplace violence policies and protocols. To decrease WPB and inform the development of effective anti-bullying interventions, there has been a shift in focus from individual factors and interpersonal relationships among nurses and health care workers to organizational factors that contribute to nurse-reported …

Understanding The Impact Of Diet And Obesity On Anti-Tumor Immunity And Therapeutic Efficacy In Kidney Cancer, Rachael Miller Orlandella

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity is regarded as a major risk factor for developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Advanced-stage RCC exhibits chemotherapeutic resistance, but is responsive to immunotherapies such as the immune checkpoint inhibitor anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1). Despite some clinical successes, response rates remain low for anti-PD-1 monotherapy (20-30%). Preclinical evaluations of immunotherapeutic strategies typically use lean mice and do not account for patient comorbidities. This may explain the underwhelming success rates following clinical translation of new cancer treatments. Recent studies found that obesity was associated with favorable outcomes and responses to immunotherapy in melanoma. However, the effects of obesity on anti-tumor immunity …

Role Of Trib3 In Progression And Pathogenesis Of Diabetic Retinopathy, Priyamvada Milind Pitale

All ETDs from UAB

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is reported to be one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States by Center for Disease Prevention and Control. As the estimated prevalence of the disease will likely triple by 2020, the research in this area should focus on identifying novel targets and therapeutic approaches. One of the therapeutic approaches for DR is the reprograming of retinal metabolism to delay the progression of the disease. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is recognized as a cellular pathway activated in diabetic retina which interacts with key transcription factors to physiologically regulate glucose, lipid homeostasis, and angiogenic …

Novel Hiv Adaptation Strategy Against Host Cd8 T Cell Immunity, Kai Qin

All ETDs from UAB

Since the 1980s, HIV infection has caused millions of death and tremendous economic losses worldwide. Despite great scientific advances, the only effective therapy to date, antiretroviral therapy (ART), merely delays disease progression yet cannot eradicate viral infection. Therefore, an effective HIV vaccine that can prevent the acquisition of infection would be a desirable alternative. The critical role of CD8 T-cell immunity in HIV infection has been well documented and therefore not surprisingly a great deal of effort has been focused on developing an effective CD8 T-cell based HIV vaccine. However, by far, such CD8 T-cell based HIV vaccine trials have …

Investigating Growth-Related Hormones And Their Roles In Metabolism In Fish Skeletal Muscle, Ross Michael Lee Reid

All ETDs from UAB

The endocrine system is essential for the maintenance and regulation of skeletal muscle growth and metabolic processes, as secretions of growth-related hormones directly regulate these systems. The roles of these growth-related hormones are well understood in mammals yet are not well defined in teleosts. Thus, the work outlined in these chapters provides novel insight for the actions of two growth-related hormones, Growth Hormone (GH) and Teneurin C-terminal Associated Peptide (TCAP), in fish skeletal muscle. First, Chapter 2 highlights the work expanding the application of resazurin as a novel method of in vivo metabolic assessment across fish life-stages, which was utilized …

Investigating The Roles Of The Renal Primary Cilium Through The Use Of Intravital Imaging, Dustin Zachary Revell

All ETDs from UAB

Primary cilia are small microtubule based appendages present on nearly every cell type in the mammalian body, and are highly conserved from organisms as simple as algae to humans. Cilia function as complex signaling centers integrating a variety of pathways and play critical roles throughout development and in maintaining homeostasis. Mutations to ciliary proteins in humans result in a wide array of diseases termed ciliopathies, which have a broad range of symptoms affecting nearly every organ in the body. Renal primary cilia are present on the apical side of tubular epithelium, where they project into the lumen and are thought …

Corporate Social Marketing: An Analysis Of Consumer Response To Nike’S Campaign Featuring Colin Kaepernick, Sarah M. Brown, Natasha T. Brison, Gregg Bennett

Global Sport Business Journal

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is ubiquitous within the sport industry and a common business strategy to enhance brand image. This research focused on corporate social marketing (CSM) and how consumers processed and responded to Nike’s social injustice campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. A thematic analysis of New York Times readers’ comments was conducted and comments were placed into predetermined categories. Together, attribution theory and the Inoue and Kent (2014) CSM framework were used to create five code categories: (1) corporate attributes, (2) corporate reputation, (3) CSM attributes, (4) cause attributes, (5) consumer behavior. Results demonstrated the campaign had an overall positive …

Bathrooms As A Homeless Rights Issue, Ron S. Hochbaum

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

Bathrooms are a bellwether of equality. Segregated bathrooms were at the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Accessible bathrooms were at the heart of the Disability Rights Movement. Now, gender-neutral bathrooms or bathrooms assigned by gender, rather than sex, are at the heart of the Transgender Rights Movement.

This Article is the first to examine the right to access bathrooms as it relates to the homeless community. The Article explores the current paradox where cities, counties, and states provide few, if any, public bathrooms for the homeless community and the public at large while criminalizing public urination and defecation.

To …

[email protected]: Using The Tech Start-Up Concept To Train, Engage, And Inform Students, Stephanie J. Coopman, Ted Coopman

Faculty Publications

Undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled in an upper-division online experiential learning course organized as a technology company start up at a public university in the US. Students participated in an academic department’s social media team, publishing a weekly newsletter and producing and curating content for multiple social media outlets designed for public and university audiences, a website for the department’s students, and a career portal. Responses to survey questions provided support for Experiential Learning Theory’s cyclical learning model. In addition, students viewed the entrepreneurial approach to the team as both liberating and challenging as they engaged with each other …

Economic Activity, International Intervention, And Transitional Governance: A Comparative Case Study Of Somalia, Daniel Bonneau, Joshua C. Hall

Economics Faculty Working Papers Series

This paper investigates the impact of international state-building efforts in Somalia on economic development. We use satellite data on night lights to measure economic activity to deal with nonexistent or poor-quality national income accounts. Using the synthetic control method, we find that the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government in 2004 was associated with economic stagnation relative to the years under statelessness. Using nighttime light emissions, we find economic stagnation regardless of whether we use the total lights emitted from the country or the spread of lights across the country. Our empirical findings are consistent with the idea that the …

Integrated Report 2020; Adapt+Thrive; Aicpa Annual Report, 2020, Association Of International Professional Accountants

AICPA Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

2020 Fall Commencement, Georgia Southern University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Closed Adoption: An Illusory Promise To Birth Parents And The Changing Landscape Of Sealed Adoption Records, Bryn Baffer

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Imagine spitting into a tube and mailing your DNA off only to discover that you had a sibling who had been adopted by another family or that a parent’s affair had resulted in a half-sibling. For many individuals, these family secrets have been exposed due to direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies, such as 23andMe.

By the 1950s, most states had enacted statutes that sealed adoption record files in order to preserve the privacy of the birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive families. While some states have moved toward granting adoptees access to their adoption records, most states still have some type of …

Cyber Insurance Today: Saving It Before It Needs Saving, Angela Nieves

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

Cyber insurance, which covers a company’s losses and costs stemming from a cyberattack, represents a nearly $5 billion global market. But have stakeholders shaped a sustainable model? This article analyzes contrasting claims about the viability of cyber insurance. It proposes measures to ensure the survival of the cyber insurance market, which should be immediately addressed given the current state of the world and the fact that even pre-COVID-19, businesses worldwide stood to lose over $5.2 trillion over the next five years due to cybercrimes. Unless action is taken to mitigate the fallout from cyber events, the cyber insurance market will …

History Of Natural And Anthropogenic Activities In Lake Izabal, Eastern Guatemala: Using Geochemical Evidence To Record Recent Contamination, Elisandra Hernandez

Doctoral Dissertations

”Water is essential for human subsistence. Stable freshwater supplies are needed as a source of food, drinking water, for transportation, recreation and economic development. Despite their recognized importance, anthropogenic activities have altered freshwater ecosystems around the world. Lake Izabal is the habitat for diverse aquatic species of flora and fauna, some of which are endemic and endangered. Its importance notwithstanding, anthropogenic activities developed in Lake Izabal’s catchment in recent years have compromised its status. This study used paleolimnological techniques to link past and recent anthropogenic activities such as mining operations and recent tilapia aquaculture. Relative abundances and concentrations of Pb, …

Tools To Evaluate Nanodiamond-Mediated Delivery Of Tiopronin For Cataract Prevention, Justin Beltz

Doctoral Dissertations

”There is a growing demand for non-surgical means of cataract treatment. This dissertation presents three bodies of work that reflect the early-stage development of eye drop formulations aimed at delaying cataract progression. These formulations consist of the antioxidant 2-mercaptopropionylglycine (MPG) loaded onto nanodiamond particles.

Cataractogenesis is linked to oxidative damage to lens proteins. To investigate the potential of MPG for protection against oxidative damage, A549 cells were incubated in 0.6 mM tert-butylhydroperoxide (tBHP). Cells exposed to tBHP without MPG exhibited elevated levels of reactive oxygen species, which led to the depletion of the vital antioxidant glutathione and, ultimately, apoptosis. Co-administration …

Modulation Of Parasympathetic Reactivation Post-Exercise Via Slow Breathing, Brent Burg

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

During exercise sympathetic nervous activity increases and parasympathetic nervous activity decreases to fuel energy demands. Heart rate variability (HRV) indicates activity of the autonomic nervous system and the balance of its two branches. Slow breathing (SB) (6 breaths/minute) increases parasympathetic activity both spontaneously during practice and at rest after long-term practice. Thus, SB may increase parasympathetic activity after exercise. PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether post-exercise SB increases parasympathetic activity as measured by HRV. METHODS: Ten recreationally active college aged males (21 +/-1 years old) completed the study. A VO2max test was used to determine 70% of VO2max for …

Impacts Of Media Communication To Motivate State Level Policy Action: The Case Of The Colorado River Basin, Abigail Rader

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

The cultivation of life within the American Southwest would not have been possible without the Colorado River Basin. The water in the basin today maintains 40 million people and one-twelfth the American economy. As a result of the significance of this river, the Colorado is one of the most regulated waters in the world, yet drought concerns continue to proliferate due to climate change. Drawing from communication and political science literature, the media have frequently been cited as impacting the policy agenda, particularly local media. This paper addresses how the frequency of The Denver Post news reporting and its framing …

The Impact Of Nutrition Education On Serving Size Comprehension In College-Age Female Students, Carisa Hilton

CSB and SJU Distinguished Thesis

Background: Nutrition Facts labels are a low-cost informational tool with the potential for encouraging healthful purchasing and eating habits. The use of nutrition labels on packaged foods can promote healthier dietary choices; however, systematic reviews show that consumers may not frequently use nutrition labels to make food choices and do not effectively measure an appropriate serving size, leading to nutrient over-/underconsumption. Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate how female college students use the Nutrition Facts label and measurement tools to estimate one recommended serving size, and if varying nutrition education tools improve serving size accuracy …

Electrospinning Piezoelectric Fibers For Biocompatible Devices, Bahareh Azimi, Mario Milazzo, Andrea Lazzeri, Stefano Berrettini, M. Jasim Uddin, Zhao Qin, Markus J. Buehler, Serena Danti

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

The field of nanotechnology has been gaining great success due to its potential in developing new generations of nanoscale materials with unprecedented properties and enhanced biological responses. This is particularly exciting using nanofibers, as their mechanical and topographic characteristics can approach those found in naturally occurring biological materials. Electrospinning is a key technique to manufacture ultrafine fibers and fiber meshes with multifunctional features, such as piezoelectricity, to be available on a smaller length scale, thus comparable to subcellular scale, which makes their use increasingly appealing for biomedical applications. These include biocompatible fiber-based devices as smart scaffolds, biosensors, energy harvesters, and …

Development And Testing Of Artificial Membranes For Rearing Of Rhipicephalus Microplus, The Southern Cattle Fever Tick, Ann T. Vacek, John A. Goolsby, Rupesh R. Kariyat

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

The southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, is a livestock pest worldwide in tropical and subtropical climates, including South Texas, and can vector Babesia spp., the causal agents of bovine babesiosis. Artificial rearing methods for R. microplus are needed, especially for rearing specialist tick parasitoids that are under evaluation for classical biological control. In this study, we tested the efficiency of artificial feeding of R. microplus larvae, nymphs, and adults on a siliconized substrate (goldbeater’s membrane, lens paper, or Hemotek), or on nonsiliconized goldbeater’s membrane or Hemotek. Other variables tested were a warm water bath, incubator, positioning blood above or …

Poly(Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) - Polyethylene Glycol Copolymer For Long-Acting Injectable: Synthesis, Characterization, And In-Vivo Study, Ravindra Kamble, Manasi Kulkarni, Swati Korake, Abhishek Pawar, Krishnat Dhekale

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Aim: This work was aimed to develop a carrier system of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) by using polyethylene glycol (PEG) for longer action in various diseases by preparing a di-block copolymer by using Risperidone (RSP) as a drug. Methodology: PLG.

Measuring The Potential Antioxidant Activity Of Methyl Gallate: Molecular Docking Study, Sutomo S, Mohammad Rizki Fadhil Pratama

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Objectives: This study aims to obtain predictions of the interactions that occur between methyl gallate and various antioxidant receptors while comparing it with gallic acid as its parent compound. Materials and Methods: The protein crystal structures of.

Assessment Of Antimicrobial Activity Of Moxifloxacin.Hcl From Gastro Retentive Formulations, Raghavendra Kumar Gunda, A. Vijayalakshmi, K. Masilamani

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Purpose: The objective of the present study is to assess the antimicrobial activity of gastroretentive formulation for moxifloxacin HCl and in vitro antimicrobial evaluation using the cup-plate method. Materials and Methods: Gastroretentive floating tabl.