Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Cement Selection On Retention Of Zirconia And Lithium Disilicate Crowns, Chan-Te Huang

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Ceramic crowns (lithium disilicate and zirconia) have become the most prescribed material for the restoration of anterior and posterior teeth due to the esthetic concerns of patients and the high cost of noble alloys. Different types of cements are used for luting crowns such as zinc phosphate, glass ionomer, resin modified glass ionomer (RMGI), resin cements and bioactive cements. Selection of different cements and bonding protocols for zirconia or lithium disilicate crowns to increase their bonding strength remains a clinical challenge for dentists. Objectives: To measure the retention strength of lithium disilicate and zirconia crowns cemented with different cements. …

C-Reactive Protein Subverts The Myeloid Lineage: Implications For Renal Injury, Rachel Jimenez

All ETDs from UAB

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an evolutionarily conserved pattern recognition molecule that was first characterized for its participation in the acute phase response to bacterial infection. In the last 90 years, knowledge of CRP biology in innate immunity has expanded significantly. CRP is known to bind and activate the classical pathway of complement, to opsonize bacteria and inflamed tissue, and to modulate myeloid cell functions. CRP is normally present in the blood at low levels with its biosynthesis and serum concentration rapidly rises upon systemic inflammation. For example, high levels of serum CRP are found following acute kidney injury (AKI) in …

Understanding And Targeting Glucose Transporter 3 In Glioblastoma, Catherine Jeanne Libby

All ETDs from UAB

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common adult primary malignant brain tumor with a median survival of about 15 months, even after aggressive treatment. Treatment of GBM is difficult for multiple reasons including the location of the tumor, tumor invasiveness, and the high degree of both inter-and intra-tumoral heterogeneity. Contributing to intratumoral heterogeneity are highly tumorigenic, stem-like tumor cells, with the capacity to self-renew and propagate the tumor, termed brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs). BTICs are also commonly therapy resistant, highly invasive, and metabolically plastic with elevated expression of glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) allowing them to preferentially survive in low nutrient …

Analyzing Spinach Growth Using Vertical Garden Techniques And Local Water Sources For Urban Gardens, Julia Ashlyn Manzella

All ETDs from UAB

The University of Alabama at Birmingham undergraduate and graduate programs’ continued involvement in the Birmingham-Jefferson County community have identified food insecure areas, known as food deserts, and associated health issues negatively impacting the community due to poor diets and lack of access to healthy foods. Farm stands and community gardens around the Birmingham-metropolitan area have increased healthy food availability during the past several years to encourage healthier eating habits. To combat food insecurity, sustainable alternative growing techniques for urban agriculture need to be implemented and incorporated into local community gardens. Alternative gardening techniques such as vertical gardens maximize yield in …

A Computational Method For The Analysis Of Magnetic Resonance Images Using Morphological Analysis, Jon Rolf Marstrander

All ETDs from UAB

Neurodegenerative diseases are an increasingly significant source of health problems in recent years. The prevalence and severity of these diseases is only expected to grow with the aging of the population. There is a large and and growing research effort to understand, diagnose and develop treatments for this class of diseases. Many of these diseases are not well understood, and there is a dearth of approved biomarkers and other techniques to definitively diagnose these diseases. The field of computational neuroimaging has been developed as part of the effort to study and diagnose these diseases. This field has undergone explosive growth …

Translating Public Health Strategies To Examine Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy In Alabama, Matthew Dean Moore

All ETDs from UAB

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are on the rise in the United States and contribute significantly to maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. The impact of such disorders is especially burdensome for women insured by Medicaid, for those who live in the South, and for those representing racial and ethnic minorities. It is evident across the aims of this dissertation that HDP remains an important public health concern to stakeholders in Alabama, its diagnosis is influenced by various maternal characteristics, and it can result in disparate severe outcomes for some populations. The first aim examines systems level decision-making in the …

Single Cell Proteins Affect Growth Performance And Body Composition Of Pacific White Shrimp Litopenaeus Vannamei, Yuan Yuan

All ETDs from UAB

The globally growing human population has increased the needs for protein based food. Single cell proteins (SCPs) as unconventional protein source, when coupled to aq-uaculture production, offer a means to ensure future protein needs can be met. To demon-strate a given type of SCP has potential as a protein source for use in aquaculture feed; a number of investigations are needed including demonstrating that the SCP is attractable and accepted by the animals, leads to equivalent survival, growth and nutritional compo-sition. This dissertation represents a series of investigations designed to evaluate the fea-sibility of using a bacterial based (MRD-Pro) and …

Copper Dependent Inhibitors Subvert Common Resistance Mechanisms In Staphylococcus Aureus And Inhibit Crucial Metabolic Pathways, Cameron Crawford

All ETDs from UAB

The effective antibiotic pool is shrinking with antibiotic resistance a constant problem that threatens to make our current therapies obsolete. To combat this, new drug screening methodologies are required since the traditional drug screens are offering limited results or only improvements upon current treatments. This work expands upon the idea that transition metal toxicity can be preferentially targeted towards bacteria. Specifically, the focus is on copper dependent inhibitors that quickly work to eliminate Staphylococcus aureus. S. aureus is a particularly threatening bacteria with high strain variability, a litany of survival and virulence factors, and multiple drug resistance mechanisms that are …

Stimuli Response In Ph And Temperature-Responsive Hydrogels As Probed By Neutron Reflectivity, William Todd Higgins

All ETDs from UAB

Polymer materials can be used as platforms to incorporate sensing materials, and increasingly the structure and chemistry of polymer chains is exploited in new and novel way and the unique nanoscale properties are studied. Polymers which can be dissolved in water are particularly interesting as primary components or for modifications in biomaterial applications, as many of them can have variable solubility in response to pH, temperature, or other solution conditions. This can allow the formation of microcapsules, for example, which can release drug triggered via specific solution conditions to release chemotherapeutic drug; in comparison to traditional injection or slow-release bulk …

Pathogen Manipulation Of Arabidopsis Interaction Networks, Timothy Howton

All ETDs from UAB

Under normal conditions, plants devote resources for growth, development, and reproduction. These processes require finely tuned coordination between multiple physio logical pathways. In this dissertation, we explore the connectivity of these pathways as well as what happens when the plant is challenged by biotic stress such as a bacterial pathogen. We are able to use network biology approaches in conjunction with yeast two hybrid and BiFC assays to construct a network of leucine-rich repeat receptor kinases. Furthermore, we elucidated novel effector-host interactions through the aforementioned network. Lastly, we explored the role of the glyoxylate cycle, in particular peroxisomal citrate synthase …

Rna Polymerase I Elongation Kinetics: A Biochemical And Global Study Of A Cancer Therapeutic Target, Catherine Elizabeth Scull

All ETDs from UAB

My graduate research has focused on understanding the elongation kinetics of RNA polymerase I (Pol I), the enzyme responsible for synthesizing ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and defining how inhibition of ribosome biogenesis may be used as a cancer therapeutic strategy. Here, I have defined key biophysical features of Pol I and I have expanded the field’s understanding of Pol I elongation by: 1) characterizing the enzymatic properties of Pol I by mutational analysis of the polymerase itself, and by 2) elucidating the role of DNA sequence on Pol I arrest and nucleolytic cleavage activity. In recent years, Pol I has become …

Smoke Inhalation, Lung Function, And Heart Rate In Wildland Firefighters, Jordan E. Nelson

All ETDs from UAB

Given the close proximity to the fire front and limited use of respiratory protection, wildland firefighters are exposed to elevated levels of biomass smoke during regular occupational shifts. Due to the complex composition of biomass smoke, the relationships relating biomass smoke exposure to health outcomes has yet to be elucidated. In addition to occupational exposures, increasing intensity of wildfire events may place communities within close proximity to wildfires at risk of biomass smoke exposure. This study aimed to assess exposures to biomass smoke particles and quantify respiratory and cardiovascular health responses during active fire events using novel monitoring techniques. Personal …

Movement Ability In High School Basketball Players: Pre- And Post-Season, Nikole J. Keil

Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

Functional movement is the ability to perform movements (e.g., deep squat, push-ups, leg lunges) requiring balance, stabilization, and basic coordination without compensation or displaying left-to-right imbalances in muscle activity or flexibility (Cook, 2010). Competent functional movement allows for the proper development of motor control and optimal adaptability to training (Cook, 2010). Participation in structured youth sports is common in American culture, but how this participation effects functional movement ability long into adulthood is yet to be determined. The purpose of this study was to determine how functional movement ability, assessed by the Functional Movement Screen® (FMS), is impacted by participation …

Why Patients Miss Appointments At An Integrated Primary Care Clinic, Katherine Lambos Wilsey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Missed appointments in primary care clinics is of import given the significant impact not only on patients’ continuity of care, but also on the larger healthcare system. Missed appointments indicate that there are barriers to patients’ access of health care and these contribute to poor health outcomes. Further, missed appointments lead to financial and capacity issues for primary care clinics while also contributing towards higher patient utilization of emergency department services, for medical problems traditionally treated by primary care. Integrated primary care clinics offer both medical and mental health services to patients by way of employing behavioral health consultants to …

Emotional Response To Climate Change Learning: An Existential Inquiry, Jennifer Hutchinson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study aims to explore and explain the existential underpinnings of learning about climate change and potential emotional responses to climate change learning. Undergraduate students in environmental sciences and studies classes at the University of Washingrounded theory on in Seattle, WA participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked about their experiences learning about climate change and how they responded emotionally to the learning. This dissertation examines the responses from those interviews and builds a theory out of the data analyzed. Constructivist Grounded theory as outlined by Kathy Charmaz (2014) was used to analyze the interviews. Codes were created and …

Examining Optimism And Caregiver Strain In Parents With Youth And Young Adults Diagnosed With Anxiety And Unipolar Mood Disorders, Jennifer M. Gross

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An anonymous online survey investigated optimism and caregiver strain in parents of youth and young adults diagnosed with anxiety and unipolar depression. Caregiver strain is a

well-researched phenomenon where the experience of parenting youth with serious psychological disorders has a potentially negative impact on parents and caregivers. Optimism is a trait that confers resiliency and improved coping to the individual. The relationship between caregiver strain and optimism is not well understood. This inquiry utilized the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (CGSQ) to measure caregiver strain and the Life Orientation Test, Revised

(LOT-R) to measure optimism. Participants endorsed significantly higher scores on the …

Accessscience, Rob Tench

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

The article reviews the Web site AccessScience from publisher McGraw-Hill located at accessscience.com.

Physical And Biological Factors Affecting Oxygen Transfer In The Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Process, Kenneth A. Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations

“The activated sludge (AS) process is widely utilized for wastewater treatment due to its versatility and general resiliency, but is energy intensive, requiring aeration and mixing energy inputs to maintain the biochemical reaction and optimize treatment performance. This study is focused on determining different factors that influence oxygen transfer and consequently its energy demand.

AS morphology, as described by the d₁₀, d₂₀, d₃₂, specific filament length (SFL), 30 min settleability (SV₃₀), etc., does influence the OTE. Filamentous organisms increase the hydrodynamic radius of suspended particles, which dilates mixed liquor apparent viscosity (µ …

The Combined Toxic Effect Of Nanoparticles And Lead In The Presence Of Algae (Raphidocelis), Xuesong Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The elevated toxicity of toxic metals in the presence of nanoparticles (NPs) has raised significant concerns on the NP environmental safety. This research focuses on the impact of environmental conditions, specifically algae, on this type of toxicity. An indicator aquatic organism, Ceriodaphnia dubia (C. dubia), was used to examine the combined toxicity and toxicity mitigation from algae by monitoring its 24-h mortality. Four papers are included in this research, which focus on four aspects of the combined toxicity and the corresponding algae (Raphidocelis) impact. The first paper examines the algae impact on the combined toxicity of …

Minimizing The Detrimental Effects Of Hydro-Peaking On Riverbank Instability: The Lower Osage River Case, Wesam Sameer Mohammed-Ali

Doctoral Dissertations

"The fluctuation of water level downstream from dams due to hydropower flow releases negatively affects the riverbank stability. Therefore, this research aims to examine the feasibility of using an optimization technique to mitigate the riverbank instability resulting from the outflow variation of hydropower plants. The effects of the water releases from the Bagnell Dam were investigated by computing a series of safety factors for 78 cross sections along the 81-mile stretch of the lower Osage River in relation to outflow events by using the integrated BSTEM model incorporated into the HEC-RAS model. The 1-D sediment transport and unsteady flow in …

#Metoo Backlash Or Simply Common Sense?: It’S Complicated, Ann C. Mcginley

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Survey Of Occupational Therapy Students' Attitudes, Knowledge And Preparedness For Treating Lgbt Clients, Deborah J. Bolding, Vivian Rodriguez, Helen Nguyen, Laurie A. Drabble

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) populations are sexual and gender minorities and are at risk for significant health disparities compared to heterosexual populations. This study examined occupational therapy students’ and recent graduates’ (n=435) basic knowledge, clinical preparedness and attitudinal awareness for working with LGBT clients using the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Development of Clinical Skills Scale (LGBT-DOCSS; Bidell, 2017). Students in the study generally rated themselves low (between three and four on a seven-point scale) on questions related to clinical preparedness, indicating they felt they did not have adequate training relative to working with LGBT clients. …

Pre-Entry Selection Assessment Results And Final Degree Outcomes Of Occupational Therapy Students: Are There Relationships?, Sarah Louise Mcginley

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Occupational therapy (OT) admissions tutors are tasked with ensuring the recruitment of high-quality candidates who can demonstrate both academic and professional skills throughout their education and subsequently into practice. While standardized admissions criteria do not exist, it is widely accepted that both cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics should be assessed to establish academic and professional qualities of applicants. Pre-admission qualifications are generally classed as a reliable assessment of academic (cognitive) ability, with literature supporting positive but variable relationships between academic qualifications and degree classifications. Evidence to support trusted assessments of pre-admission professional (non-cognitive) skills is lacking, with ambiguity surrounding relationships between …

Application Of A Self-Disinfecting Surface For Hemodialysis, Jace Parkinson, Katelyn Parkinson, Alice Pack, Tara Pendleton, Andrew Gagon

Biological Engineering

Hemodialysis mimics kidney function for patients with chronic kidney failure (Figure 1). Infection is the second leading cause of death in patients with end stage renal disease and sepsis accounts for more than 75% of these infectious deaths. In order to treat dialysis patients with bacterial infection, TiO₂ nanoparticles (Degussa P25, 25 nm diameter) may be incorporated into the hollow fiber membrane, in the vascular access, or be suspended in the dialysate. TiO₂ nanoparticles combined with UVA light are used to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Design Of A Mobile Dialysis Kit For Use In Emergency Situations, Nate Barney, Rachel Israelsen, James Vandermeyden, Norah Visker

Biological Engineering

Without hemodialysis (HD), water and waste quickly build up in a renal patient’s bloodstream. HD is typically performed 3 times a week for 3-5 hours per session and consumes large amounts of power and water. Emergencies put strain on an already difficult schedule. There may be a struggle to provide the resources and locations necessary for dialysis treatments in these situations. Our solution to this problem is a mobile, self-sufficient, hemodialysis kit. It requires a battery capable of storing power for multiple dialysis sessions, a water purifying system, the NxStage System One home-dialysis unit, and a vehicle to transport everything. …

Fabric Hip Brace For Hip Replacement Postoperative Use, Jacob Barney, Laurel Hendricksen, Evan Perez

Biological Engineering

A well-recognized complication associated with hip replacement surgery is the dislocation of the hip joint following surgery. The risk of dislocation is highest in the first few months following surgery. To reduce risk of dislocation, the patient is required to wear a metal hip abduction brace. The function of the brace is to regulate flexion, extension, and abduction (forward, backward, and sideway) movements in the hip.

The aim of this project is to develop an alternative design to current post-operative hip braces, presented in the form of a mockup. The main specifications were to remove the metal pieces and replace …

Kinetic Modeling Of Ammonium Removal In Heterotrophic Nitrifying Bacteria, Alcaligenes Faecalis, Tyler Ayers, Cassie Bahe, Derek Tuttle, Kirsten Sims, Bryce Myers, Mark Biesinger

Biological Engineering

Excess nitrogen in wastewater effluent leads to harmful environmental effects, including eutrophication of reservoirs which causes harmful algal blooms. In traditional wastewater treatment, autotrophic nitrifiers are used in biological nutrient removal processes to convert nitrogen-containing ammonium to nitrate. In a second step, denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate to nitrogen gas, which exits the waste stream and enters the atmosphere. Heterotrophic nitrifiers are of interest due to their resilience, ability to outperform autotrophic nitrifiers, and function in low temperatures. While this is a promising new area of study, little is known about the kinetics of heterotrophic nitrification.

Membrane Bioreactor For Urea Removal, Jake Accordino, Morgan Bishop, Mitchel Heap, Banner Wald

Biological Engineering

Background

• Dialysis is a system designed to remove impurities from blood through filtration

• Peritoneal dialysis pumps dialysate into the peritoneal cavity and utilizes the peritoneal membrane as a natural membrane to achieve this filtration

• Patients who receive peritoneal dialysis are prone to infection and discomfort as the dialysate must be replaced 3-5 times a day to ensure continuous removal of waste

Objectives

• This research will develop a secondary membrane designed to remove 20 grams of urea from the dialysate per day

• The secondary filtration will decrease the need to change the dialysate more than once …

Microcarrier Separation For Continuous In-Line Bioprocessing, Tessa Burrows, Ryan Cowley, Nathan Crook, Kyle Jackson, Joshua Jenkins

Biological Engineering

Bioreactors are an efficient way to generate cell-related product and viral particles; and with the use of microcarriers, adherent cells can be grown in bulk without taking up lab space.

Currently, media changes in bioreactors require microcarriers to settle for 30-45 minutes, resulting in:

• Lack of supplemental oxygen and nutrients

• Product loss

• A daily, time-intensive process

Bioreactors in the range of 50-2000 L could have major product loss and inefficiency with current media exchange methods.

Novel Bio-Adhesives From Recombinant Hagfish Proteins 𝛂 & 𝛄, Thomas Burton, Siarra Freuler, Eryn Hanson, Caleb Thomson

Biological Engineering

The aim of this project is to create a biologically-based adhesive that is “green”, cost effective, and mechanically viable. Outcomes, in line with the aims, will be to produce hydrogel adhesives that are environmentally friendly, less expensive than current available bio-adhesives, and at equal or better strength than currently available bio-/traditional adhesives in industrial applications. This project will be significant in that it is an entirely novel concept involving recombinant hagfish proteins and a novel application of them that can address current issues in industrial waste and cost of bio-adhesives. The result of this product will be environmentally clean, economically …