Digital Commons Network^™

Identifying Novel Therapeutics And Therapeutic Entry Points For The Treatment Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Through Regulation Of Gene Expression, Rylie Maria Hightower

All ETDs from UAB

My graduate research has primarily focused on genetic and epigenetic modifiers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and understanding how those modifiers can be used as novel therapeutic entry points for treatment. A vast array of promising therapeutic strategies is being explored outside the realm of directly targeting dystrophin deficiency. This is primarily due to the lack of successful clinical trials that have demonstrated the ability to benefit a significant number of DMD patients. Here, I have expanded the field’s understanding of using the regulation of gene expression as a way to target dystrophin-deficiency associated pathology through, 1) therapeutic treatment of a …

Undergraduate Students’ Perspectives On Mental Health Services, Resources, And Supports During Covid-19: A Qualitative Dissertation, Amy Hutson Chatham

All ETDs from UAB

During the COVID-19 pandemic, increased isolation from supportive relationships, uncertainty about the future, fear of illness, and lack of traditional life-events took a toll on university student mental health. It is important to understand undergraduate students’ mental health needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and their desires for support from their institutions of higher education. Existing studies have documented increased rates of depression, stress, and anxiety among university undergraduates; however, these studies rarely illuminate students’ perspectives on mental health services, resources, and supports that they need during and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This phenomenological study explored the perspectives of undergraduate …

Man Enough: Exploring The Gendered Experiences Of High-Achieving Black Men In Higher Education, Christopher E. Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Research regarding Black males in higher education has become an important endeavor for colleges and universities seeking to increase their graduation rates. Much of the previous research and practices have used a deficit-based approach explaining Black males’ low levels of academic achievement as primarily the result of them being underprepared. This ignores the contributions of Black males who do excel academically while minimizing the role their racialized gender plays in their outcomes. This dissertation focuses on an anti-deficit approach by exploring how high-achieving Black college males’ perceptions of manhood and masculinity have contributed to their overall academic success. Even though …

A Lean Six Sigma Evaluation And Cost Analysis Of Alabama’S Oral Fluid Roadside Screening And Confirmation Testing Program, Minjee Kim

All ETDs from UAB

In recent years, oral fluid has emerged as a vital biological specimen for driving under the influence of drug (DUI/D) cases among toxicology laboratories. Oral fluid possesses numerous advantages. The collection process is non-invasive, rapid, and simple compared to other traditional biological specimen, such as blood or urine. Due to its simplicity of collection, oral fluid can be collected proximate to the actual time of driving, traffic stop, or crash. Oral fluid as a biological specimen is also able to capture active parent drugs of recent use, especially for drugs that were administered orally. However, because oral fluid testing program …

Heads Or Tails? Structural Studies Of Host Interaction And Molecular Piracy In Bacteriophages, James Lewis Kizziah

All ETDs from UAB

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic human pathogen dependent mainly on bacteriophages (phages) for dissemination of the virulence factors that contribute to its pathogenicity. Most phages have double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes which are packaged into protein capsids attached to tails of varying morphology to form their complete virion structures. S. aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) are highly specialized mobile genetic elements that encode various virulence factors and have been named molecular pirates for their ability to parasitize certain helper phages. SaPI1 is capable of hijacking virions constructed by the helper phage 80α, partly by altering the size of the capsid to only …

Inducible T Cell Costimulator Stabilizes Regulatory T Cell Phenotype And Controls Host-Microbiota Interactions To Reduce Susceptibility To Intestinal Inflammation, Ashley Elizabeth Landuyt

All ETDs from UAB

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified a loss-of-function mutation in the gene encoding inducible T cell costimulator ligand (ICOSL) as correlating with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The reason for this association was largely unknown. ICOS signals have been implicated in controlling the dynamics of regulatory T (Treg) cells, which are essential to intestinal homeostasis. Compared to WT mice, ICOS-deficient mice possessed fewer Treg cells in the colonic lamina propria (cLP). The deficit in ICOS-deficient Treg cell numbers was attributable to preferential loss of Foxp3 expression. Bisulfite sequencing revealed that ICOS-deficient Treg cells did not demethylate conserved noncoding sequence 2 …

Mucus Matters: Mucociliary Physiology In Chronic Lung Diseases, Jacelyn Emily Peabody Lever

All ETDs from UAB

The mucociliary escalator is an innate defense mechanism in the lung comprised of the ciliated, pseudostratified epithelium that lines the conducting airways and the mucus that sits atop the cilia. Mucus traps inhaled particulate matter/pathogens, and the cilia brush works in concert to propel the mucin gel proximally. Therefore, proper mucociliary physiology is critical to maintaining lung health. A metachronal wave propagated across the epithelium can occur when the phase of the ciliary stroke is shifted in time relative to its neighbors. Metachrony has been hypothesized to help overcome the viscoelastic forces required for the propulsion of mucus. Still, its …

Omics Discovery For Cardiometabolic Traits In African Americans, Bre Ashanti Minniefield

All ETDs from UAB

Research shows African Americans are more likely to suffer from a chronic disease compared to other American populations. Due to the fact that African Americans are extremely underrepresented within human health research, the potential biological causes of the racial/ethnic differences are not well understood. Some of these health differences may be due to genomic variations within either the mitochondrial genome, nuclear genome, or both. To aid the revolution of inclusive human health research, we examined genomic factors related to cardiometabolic diseases in African Americans.African Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension compared to all other American populations. With the majority …

Alternative Splicing Of Anxa7 Dictates Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Fates In Glioblastoma, Sindhu Nair

All ETDs from UAB

Alternative splicing (AS) is a tightly regulated process essential for lineage specification in complex tissues like the brain. Dysregulated splicing in glioblastoma (GBM) is a mechanism exploited by tumor cells to retain or splice out exons consequently rewiring isoform-specific protein interactions to sustain tumor phenotypes. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) amplifications are frequent events in GBM driving tumor growth and progression and are key targets for chemotherapy. However, RTK targeting in GBM has achieved limited success predominantly due to adaptive mechanisms of resistance in a constantly evolving tumor microenvironment. Clonal populations and crosstalk between RTKs sustain heterogeneity within a tumor leading …

The Effects Of Implantoplasty On Implant Design Characteristics And Mechanical Strength, Peter Nasseh

All ETDs from UAB

Implantoplasty is defined as the mechanical removal of the implant threads and the macroscopically rough implant surface. Clinical outcomes such as probing depth and bleed-ing on probing measurements were shown to improve significantly after implantoplasty and peri-implant bone stability was achieved in the majority of the cases.This in-vitro study aims to investigate the effects of implantoplasty on the implant’s maximum compressing force and the type of failure that occurred on different implant sys-tems with different sizes, materials, collar designs and prosthetic connections. A total of 132 screw-shaped titanium implants from different manufacturers (Bi-oHorizons, Zimmer Biomet, and Nobel Biocare) and different …

The Effects Of Pubertal Timing On Psychosocial Outcomes In Adulthood, Marlon Goering

All ETDs from UAB

Pubertal timing has been shown to be an important predictor of adolescents’ engagement in delinquent activities, development of depressive symptoms, and academic success. Less understood is whether early or off-time pubertal timing put adolescents at risk for detrimental outcomes. Additionally, little is known about whether the effects of pubertal timing dissipate during adolescence or persist into adulthood and what underlying mechanisms may explain any persisting effects and whether these effects vary by sex. The present study aimed to answer these questions in an understudied population of predominantly African American males and females, focusing on peer deviance and school connectedness as …

Examining The Viability Of Native American Stickball As A Comprehensive Indigenous Peace System, Edison Doyle Pearce

All ETDs from UAB

This study examines the viability of Native American stickball as a comprehensive peace system developed for the primary purpose of ameliorating hostilities, preventing war, and creating a landscape of peace. Originating as early as the 12th century, Native American stickball is recognized as the oldest field sport in North America. More than a game, stickball is steeped in symbolism and comprised of rich oral histories, elements of fictive kinship alliances, religious connotations, and other prosocial mechanisms designed to create and maintain peace. To determine how the interplay between these various components is adaptive through time, a three-phase research model was …

Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease In Blood Of Marrow Transplant Survivors, Radhika Gangaraju

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Blood or marrow transplant (BMT) recipients are vulnerable to accelerated atherosclerosis due to prior exposure to chemotherapy and radiation, and consequent long-term cardiovascular morbidity, such as coronary heart disease (CHD). A comprehensive evaluation of the risk of late-occurring CHD in adult BMT survivors and the associated risk factors has not been performed. Patients and Methods: Using the Blood or Marrow Transplant Survivor Study (BMTSS), we analyzed the incidence and risk factors for CHD in patients who underwent BMT between 1974 and 2014, and survived ≥2 years. The risk of CHD was examined in BMT survivors as compared to 1,131 …

Sialylation As A Novel Mechanism Of Radiation Resistance In Rectal Cancer, Mary Smithson

All ETDs from UAB

Locally advanced rectal cancer is treated with chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery. Most patients do not have a complete response to chemoradiotherapy, and the resistance mechanisms are poorly understood. We investigated the role of ST6GAL-1 in therapeutic resistance. ST6GAL-1 is a sialytransferase that adds the negatively charged sugar, sialic acid (Sia), to cell surface proteins in the Golgi altering their function. We hypothesized that ST6GAL-1 mediates resistance to chemoradiation in rectal cancer by inhibiting apoptosis. Patient derived xenograft (PDX) and organoid models of rectal cancer as well as rectal cancer cell lines SW837 and SW620 were assessed for ST6GAL-1 protein with …

Maxillary And Mandibular Expansion Treatment With Invisalign First: A Retrospective Study Of Virtual Prediction Versus Clinical Outcomes, Laura Constanza Rey Londono

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate the maxillary and mandibular expansion achieved with Invisalign First (Align Technology, San Jose, CA) in growing children. Methods: Clinical stereolithography (STL) models of 32 patients in the mixed dentition stage, treated with the Invisalign First, were extracted from the ClinCheck software and analyzed in Dolphin imaging (version 11.95 Premium, Chatsworth, Calif) at three timepoints: T1 (initial records), T2 (virtual outcome prediction), and T3 (achieved outcome). The recorded measurements included: upper and lower primary intercanine and permanent intermolar width, upper and lower primary intercanine and permanent intermolar gingival width, upper arch …

The Role Of Cd38 In Anti-Tumor Immunity And Tumor Immune Evasion, Panpan Yuan

All ETDs from UAB

CD38 is a multifunctional protein that is expressed in many immune cells, modulating NAD metabolism, inflammation and oxidative stress. Recent studies suggest that CD38 is also implicated in tumor immunosuppression. However, the role of CD38 in anti-tumor immunity and tumor immune evasion, and mechanisms involved, are still unclear. We hypothesized that CD38 expression by immune cells constricts T cell-mediated anti-tumor immune responses and promotes tumor cell immune evasion. We investigated whether mice lacking CD38 (CD38-/-) had impaired tumor growth in subcutaneous, intraperitoneal and intravenous syngeneic tumor models. CD38-/- mice showed no difference in subcutaneous B16 melanoma tumor growth and pulmonary …

Disparities, Telemedicine, And Covid-19: Rhetorical Approaches To Health And Medicine For Positive Behavior Change In Older African American Women, Audrey S. Wrenn

All ETDs from UAB

Overlapping exigencies experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrate the need for adaptable and flexible public health responses that include cultural perspectives and lived experiences of specific groups. The rhetoric surrounding COVID-19 has proven to be multifocal because of the social and environmental experiences occurring simultaneously. Americans experienced periods of civil unrest, unequitable health care, overall lifestyle changes, and an immediate shift to telehealth use as the pandemic unfolded. This research examines telehealth engagement during the pandemic among African American (AA) women ages 75 and older to indicate the benefits and challenges to patient care in a virtual environment and from …

Experience-Dependent Plasticitiy Of Functional Connectivity In Human Visual Cortex Following Central Vision Loss, Leland Lanelle Fleming

All ETDs from UAB

The human brain is shaped by a dynamic interplay between innate factors and life experiences. Neuroscience has long grappled with understanding this relationship, particularly with regard to how changes in experience impact the brain during adulthood. This question is especially important in the context of macular degeneration, a disease that causes significant visual impairment and drastically alters day-to-day visual experiences for individuals afflicted by the disease. Specifically, people with macular degeneration lose the ability to use vision in the center of the visual field, the region of the retina with the highest spatial resolution. Subsequently, these individuals must rely on …

The Impact Of Blimp1 On Etreg Stability And The Tumor Microenvironment, Michael Dixon

All ETDs from UAB

CD4+ Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are responsible for maintaining immunological homeostasis and self-tolerance through the regulation of immune responses against foreign and self-antigens, and they comprise both central Treg and effector Treg (eTreg) subsets. Because of their ability to suppress potent immune responses, eTreg cells expressing the transcription factor Blimp1 are frequently recruited to the tumor microenvironment (TME) to suppress anti-tumor responses by tumor infiltrating effector cells. Here, we demonstrate in murine transplantable tumor models that Blimp1 is required for intratumoral eTreg stability and that loss of Blimp1 by intratumoral eTreg cells results in their reduced suppressive activity and …

How Inflammation, High-Density Lipoproteins, And Genes Affect The Relationship Between Apol1 And Kidney Outcomes, Ninad S. Chaudhary

All ETDs from UAB

Over the past decade, the discovery of novel genetic loci on chromosome 22q, apolipoprotein-L1 (APOL1), has given insights into the racial differences in kidney outcomes at the population level. APOL1 risk alleles are unique to African ancestry and confer increased susceptibility to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) especially among individuals without diabetes. However, the diseases do not occur in all who inherit these alleles. Current efforts are driven towards identifying the factors that can interact with APOL1 in the development of kidney diseases. This dissertation investigated whether the association between APOL1 and kidney outcomes is affected by inflammatory markers (AIM1), high-density …

Comparing Body Composition Methods For Bowling Green State University’S Air Force Rotc Program, Trey Naylor

Master of Education in Applied Human Development Graduate Projects

In special populations, such as ROTC cadets, body composition is used not only as a predictor of fitness, but also for additional purposes such as qualification for enlistment, load carriage, and duty fulfillment (Johnson et al., 2019). There is great concern that the circumference-based equations used to classify cadets may misclassify service members of more muscular builds as being overweight (Grier et al., 2015). The purpose of this study was to compare multiple body composition methods, including the military’s method of circumference-based measurement, in order to identify a suitable method for Bowling Green State University’s Air Force ROTC program. Participants …

Structural Remodeling Of The Lumbar Multifidus, Thoracolumbar Fascia And Lateral Abdominal Wall Perimuscular Connective Tissues: Medium-Term Test-Retest Reliability Of Ultrasound Measures, Christian Larivière, Dany H. Gagnon, Richard Preuss

Études primaires

Abstract

Introduction

Growing interest is being paid to the lumbar multifidus (LM) intramuscular fatty infiltrations and fibrosis that are secondary to low back pain as well to the remodeling of perimuscular connective tissues (fasciae) such as the thoracolumbar fascia and fascia sheets separating the abdominalwall muscles. Magnetic resonanceimaging and computed tomography have traditionally been used but rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI) is much more affordable and practical, which can accelerate research and clinical applications on this topic. The aim of this study was to test the medium-term (8 weeks) test-retest reliability of the corresponding RUSI measures.

Methods

Thirty-four participants …

Using Principles Of Seascape Ecology To Consider Relationships Between Spatial Patterning And Mobile Marine Vertebrates In A Seagrass-Mangrove Ecotone In Bimini, Bahamas, Sarah Rebecca Taylor Driscoll

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Seagrass meadows and mangrove forests are ecologically and economically important systems that are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activity. This study used a non-invasive method, baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS), to observe mobile marine vertebrates in the seagrass-mangrove ecotone in North and South Bimini, the only area where mangroves remain in the northwestern Bahamas. An extensive area of mangroves and seagrass was removed for coastal development in North Bimini, where a marine protected area, the North Bimini Marine Reserve (NBMR), has been under consideration for decades. This research applied principles of seascape ecology to assess species abundance, diversity, and richness …

Construction Of A Developmental Social Privilege Integration Scale, Abigail M. Martin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The APA’s 2017 multicultural guidelines task psychologists with the aspirational goal of understanding the nuances of historical and contemporary systems of power, privilege, and oppression. Scholars such as Helms (1984) demonstrated the critical need to readjust psychology’s focus from oppressed groups to privileged groups. In her seminal 1988 article, McIntosh insisted that in order to “redesign social systems,” privileged groups must first acknowledge their “unseen dimensions” (p. 1). Similarly, Black and Stone (2005) and Johnson (2018) asserted the lack of social privilege awareness is part of American culture, which helps to maintain the invisibility of privilege and the status quo …

Oldest Indo-Pacific Lionfish (Pterois Volitans/P. Miles) Recorded From The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Raven D. Blakeway, Alexander Q. Fogg, Glenn A. Jones

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) were first detected off the coast of Florida in the 1980s, with aquaria release being the most likely mechanism for introduction. Since then, lionfish have proliferated through the Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Here, we report the oldest lionfish aged on record in the Western Atlantic, removed from Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) in the GOM. In August 2018, a research expedition removed 745 lionfish from FGBNMS, of which a subset were retained for age and growth estimation. The oldest lionfish was a 10 y old male, …

Review: Formation And Metabolic Function Of Coral Rubble Biofilms In The Reef Ecosystem, Andres Sanchez-Quinto, Luisa I. Falcon

Gulf and Caribbean Research

When coral dies, their calcareous skeletons constitute coral rubble in conjunction with the cementing activity of coralline algae and bacteria, creating a secondary reef structure which takes from years to decades to form. Healthy coral reefs differ from coral—rubble dominated reefs in microbial taxonomic composition and metabolic functional roles. The metabolisms of healthy reefs are dominated by autotrophic pathways, where carbon and nitrogen fixation dominate, while the metabolism of rubble—dominated reefs predominate in degradation of organic matter. Nitrogen fixation is 3 orders of magnitude lower in rubble—dominated reefs than in healthy reefs. Coral—rubble harbors a vast diversity of microbes that …

Application Of Active Learning Strategies For Online Delivery In An Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, Tiffany L. Benaroya, Jennifer C. George, Deborah Mckernan-Ace, Margaret Swarbrick

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact worldwide in every aspect of society including occupational therapy assistant students enrolled in academic coursework. This manuscript examines the unique experience of occupational therapy assistant faculty in a northeast state who were able to quickly modify classroom and lab teaching-learning strategies to a fully online virtual format for two semesters. Since no available information on strategies for online delivery of occupational therapy assistant education were found in the literature, their experiences implementing active learning strategies are described and discussed. Strategies covered include: the flipped classroom model; think-pair-share and jigsaw technique using breakout rooms; …

The Focuus Model— Facilitating Occupational Performance On Campus: Uplifting Underrepresented Students, Maribeth Clifton, Steven D. Taff

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The FOCUUS Model or Facilitating Occupational Performance on Campus: Uplifting Underrepresented Students, is a theoretically-based, evidence-centered model focused on ethnic minority (EM) students in higher education. The FOCUUS Model recognizes minority status as a determinant of health, where the experience of minority status stress (MSS) resulting from racism, stigmatization, marginalization, discrimination, microaggressions, and challenges to one’s sense of belonging largely influence one’s occupational performance, health, and overall well-being. Historical and contemporary injustices within American culture have resulted in multigenerational occurrences of disparities for EMs. Racial injustice is deeply embedded and still ever-present within practices and traditions in higher education institutions …

Identification And Mitigation Of Harmful Algal Blooms In Mantua Reservoir, Jeffrey Kennedy, Timothy Place, Tyler Wallace, Steven White, Carolina Williams

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, are capable of emitting cyanotoxins which are harmful to humans and animals. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) occur when cyanobacteria multiply to great densities. Mantua Reservoir in Box Elder County, UT, experiences seasonal HABs, which has resulted in seasonal reservoir closures.

The EnVision team investigated the cause of HABs at Mantua Reservoir by collecting samples from the reservoir’s known point sources and frequently visited recreation areas. The samples were analyzed to determine total phosphorus, nitrate, and cyanotoxin concentrations. The team concluded that excessive phosphorus loading in the reservoir is most culpable for the annual HABs …

Kinesthetic Learners During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Occupational Therapy Students’ Perspective On E-Learning, Michael Stamm, Kailey Francetic, Regina Reilly, Angela Tharp, Nicole Thompson, Ryleigh Weidenhamer

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

The purpose of the study was to understand the perspective of kinesthetic learners in an online learning environment. A Microsoft Forms survey was created and distributed to the sample population using the university electronic mailing list. If self-identified as kinesthetic learners, subjects were asked to participate in a semi-structured focus group. Twenty-six subjects responded to the survey, with 73% (n=19) identifying as kinesthetic learners. Quantitative results showed subjects felt most confident in content comprehension but less confident in clinical application. Qualitative data collection led to emergence of the following four themes—advantages, disadvantages, accommodations to e-learning, and external factors. …