Digital Commons Network^™

Novel Applications Of Music And Digital Media In Global Health Intervention And Education Initiatives During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study Of Bts And Army, Mariko Fujimoto Rooks

Public Health Theses

The Korean musical group BTS (full name Bangtan Seoyeondan/방탄소년단) is one of the world’s most commercially and artistically successful entertainment acts. BTS is primarily known for their domination of both Western and Korean musical markets, impressive digital media presence, major role in supporting the South Korean economy, and highly mobilized 400,000 member fandom known as ARMY. BTS and their parent company HYBE’s artistic creation and marketing model has long focused on creating “Music and Artists for Healing,” or using music and various forms of primarily digital content to connect with and improve health outcomes for fans. In response, ARMY have …

Prescriptive Faith: Carceral Health Beyond The Prison Walls, Shamar S. Smalls

Public Health Theses

Individuals who are exposed to the carceral system—specifically, solitary confinement are uniquely vulnerable to psychological and physical health conditions. However, the relationship between solitary confinement and physical health conditions are relatively underexamined, compared to mental health disorders. This analysis examines the potential for a risks’ association between solitary confinement and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Additionally, this study examines the relationship between spirituality as a self-efficacious coping measure for health-related outcomes. A cross-sectional analysis of 302 survey participants with a prior history of incarceration in a housing study (New Haven, CT) with a prior history of incarceration from Fall 2017 – …

Using A Dynamic Model To Assess Maintenance Of Deer Tick Virus Via Horizontal Transmission In Ixodes Scapularis Populations, Hannah Jane Sproch

Public Health Theses

IntroductionDeer Tick Virus—a lineage of Powassan Virus—is an emerging tick-borne flavivirus associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Although DTV infection is rare, there has been an observed increase in the number of human cases in recent decades, necessitating more public health attention. Ixodes scapularis ticks are known to be the primary vector of DTV. However, the enzootic cycle has yet to be fully characterized and there is evidence that horizontal transmission alone may be insufficient for DTV maintenance; it is hypothesized that vertical and co-feeding transmission are also necessary for sustained transmission.

MethodsA dynamic model was developed to …

Occupational And Socioeconomic Risk Factors Of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, Rongcan Sun

Public Health Theses

Hazardous noise (>85 dBA) is among the most common occupational exposures and responsible for the majority of noise-induced hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss impacts many aspects of a person’s life, including workplace safety, daily routine, economic consequences, and quality of life. However, studies on the relationship between occupational noise exposure and hearing loss were usually done in specific industries rather than the general population. In addition, studies focused on associations between socioeconomic factors and hearing loss rarely take the type of occupation into consideration. In this study, we aim to evaluate both occupational noise exposure and socioeconomic status as …

Nutrition And Hookworm Infection: A Causal Analysis Of The Literature, Mengting Su

Public Health Theses

Hookworm infection is one of the neglected tropical diseases, particularly in low and middle-income countries, but we know relatively little about causal evidence related to malnutrition. This is mainly due to the relatively small research community compared to those investigating the impact of hookworm infection on host nutritional status and disease complications. Causal inference is critical in epidemiology and biomedical research because it can be a powerful tool in enlightening prevention efforts and developing etiology models. The application of causal criteria to address complex epidemiological research questions is indeed helpful in proposing more interventions to improve the health and well-being …

Synergistic Epidemic: A Case Study Of Covid-19 And Substance Use Disorder In New London, Ct, Mary Tate

Public Health Theses

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, complicated the already ineffectual delivery of health care for historically hard-to-reach populations. Those who face housing insecurity, substance use disorders, unemployment, or uncertain immigration and insurance status were abandoned, as the mainstream U.S healthcare system struggled to cope under the pressure of the novel virus. While parallel public health crises were put on hold to deal with COVID-19, the pandemic collided with and exacerbated the ongoing opioid crisis. Using New London, CT as a case study, this project set out to address a gap in literature on the potential syndemic effect …

Quantitative Real-Time Pcr Assays For The Detection Of Leptospira, Alice Zhao

Public Health Theses

Leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. The genus is comprised of 40 pathogenic species divided among P1 (19) and P2 (21). Leptospirosis incurs a disproportionately large burden of disease in urban slum regions of developing countries that lack adequate sewage disposal, water treatment, and sanitation infrastructure. While P1 species have been identified in cases of human infection, it is unclear if all Leptospira species are capable of infecting humans, especially P2 species. Among P1 species, L. interrogans has been described as the most frequent specie to cause disease in both animals and humans, …

Covid-19 Vaccine Related Anxiety Partially Mediates The Association Between Covid-19 Related Anxiety And Student Adjustment To College During The Pandemic, Hanh Nguyen

Dissertations and Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic caused severe disruptions to the education of millions of college students, who were forced to adapt to sudden changes in living and learning environments. In this study, we sought to investigate two different dimensions of anxiety that were specific to the pandemic – COVID-19 related anxiety and COVID-19 vaccine anxiety – hoping to pinpoint the relationship between these two variables and students’ ability to adapt to college. Specifically, using cross sectional survey data during three semester waves (Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022) we hypothesized (1) a decreasing trend across time in both COVID-19 related anxiety …

The Enduring Role Of Conflict In The Perpetuation Of Famine: Advancing 'The Right To Adequate Food' For Sustainable Peace, Robert M. Bane

Dissertations and Theses

The present thesis evaluates developments and trends in global conflict dynamics, global systems of governance, and global hunger. Together, the thesis investigates and upholds the notion that famine is a ‘man-made’ phenomenon and explains how famine persists in a world abundant with food. Through analysis and research the following is found: the occurrence of global conflict is accelerating alongside an increase in the severity of organized violence dynamics; global authoritarianism is expanding presenting a threat to global freedoms and liberal democracy; as these trends are occurring, world hunger is steadily on the rise reflecting a significant backsliding of progress achieved …

Patterns And Trends In First-Line Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance In A Major Malaysian Tertiary Teaching Hospital Over A 4-Year Period (2017-2020), Nadia Atiya

Research Publications (2021 to 2025)

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a significant contributor to antimicrobial resistance globally. Despite tuberculosis (TB) being endemic in Malaysia, there is limited published data from Malaysia on anti-TB drug resistance. This study aims to determine the patterns and trends in first-line anti-TB drug resistance in a major Malaysian tertiary teaching hospital. A retrospective observational study was conducted on all patients who were diagnosed with culture-confirmed tuberculosis at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 1 January 2017 – 31 December 2020. Patients were identified from the microbiology laboratory database. The medical records of the patients were reviewed, and the …

The Effect Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On How Social Media Use Influences Eating Disorders And Exercise Motivation, Abhilasha Kumar

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the life of every individual. Stay-at-home orders imposed to control the spread of the virus have only led to an increase in social media use to stay connected with others. College students were particularly affected by the measures put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 due to geographical, social, and economic changes (Aristovnik et al., 2020). The stress caused by these changes can increase eating disorder symptoms (Lacey et al., 1986) and exercise behaviors (Kim & McKenzie, 2014). The aim of the study is to observe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic …

Texas Stakeholders’ Knowledge And Perceptions Of Chronic Wasting Disease Risks: Implications For Wildlife Agency Communications, Elena C. Rubino, Christopher Serenari

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurological disease impacting cervids. The disease can move swiftly through populations, making CWD management a priority for wildlife agencies across the United States. Stakeholder perceptions of CWD may shape behaviors that can negatively impact wildlife agencies. Thus, agencies need comprehensive assessments of stakeholder risk perceptions and enhanced understandings of how perceptions are formed to improve communications. Using a mail- and online-based questionnaire to collect data from September 2020 through January 2021, we surveyed 503 hunters throughout the state of Texas, USA, and 481 Texas landowners who owned property in CWD-affected counties to better …

New Associate Editors, S. Nicole Frey

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human-Wildlife Interactions journal announces its new associate editors.

Fertility Control Options For Management Of Free-Roaming Horse Populations, Ursula S. Bechert, John W. Turner Jr., Dan L. Baker, Douglas C. Eckery, Jason E. Bruemmer, Candace C. Lyman, Tulio M. Prado, Sarah R. B. King, Mark A. Fraker

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The management of free-roaming horses (Equus ferus) and burros (E. asinus) in the United States has been referred to as a “wicked problem” because, although there are population control options, societal values will ultimately determine what is acceptable and what is not. In the United States, free-roaming equids are managed by different types of organizations and agencies, and the landscapes that these animals inhabit vary widely in terms of access, size, topography, climate, natural resources, flora, and fauna. This landscape diversity, coupled with contemporary socioeconomic and political environments, means that adaptive management practices are needed to …

A Gamefied Synthetic Environment For Evaluation Of Counter-Disinformation Solutions, Jesse Richman, Lora Pitman, Girish S. Nandakumar

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

This paper presents a simulation-based approach to countering online dis/misinformation. This disruptive technology experiment incorporated a synthetic environment component, based on adapted SIR epidemiological model to evaluate and visualize the effectiveness of suggested solutions to the issue. The participants in the simulation were given a realistic scenario depicting a dis/misinformation threat and were asked to select a number of solutions, described in IoS (Ideas-of-Systems) cards. During the event, the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the IoS cards, were tested in a synthetic environment (SEN), built after a Susceptible-Infected-Resistant (SIR) model. The participants, divided into teams, presented and justified their dis/misinformation …

Cross-Sectional Study Of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus In Humans And Dromedary Camels In Diyala, Iraq, Abdulrazak Hasan, Kareem Ali, Mohammad Saleh

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a zoonotic viral disease transmitted from dromedaries to humans. To date, more than 1500 cases of MERS have been reported and 80% of all cases have occurred in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). T his cross-sectional study was carried out to figure out the rate of infection among humans and dromedary camels and to explore the risk factors. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in Diyala Province, Iraq for the period from August 2017 to October 2018. Human subjects included 90 participants; 34 (37.8%) were females and 56 (62.2%) were males. …

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings In Covid-19-Related Anosmia, Hüseyi̇n Çeti̇n, Ayşe Şule Ateş, Ogün Taydaş, Bahri̇ Elmas, Ertuğrul Güçlü

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mostly manifests with fever, shortness of breath, and cough, has also been found to cause some neurological symptoms, such as anosmia and ageusia. The aim of the study was to present the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of patients with anosmia-hyposmia symptoms and to discuss potential mechanisms in light of these findings. Materials and methods: Of the 2412 patients diagnosed with COVID-19-related pneumonia (RT-PCR at least once + clinically confirmed) between March and December 2020, 15 patients underwent olfactory MRI to investigate the cause of ongoing anosmia/ hyposmia symptoms were included in the study. …

Decoding The Mystery Of Antibiotic Persistence, Tahmina Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work combines microbiology, molecular biology, Next-Generation Sequencing and system biology approaches to explore the mechanism of antibiotic persistence: a multi-drug tolerant, non-dividing, and metabolically altered state present in a subpopulation of cells due to phenotypic diversity rather than genetic variation (i.e. mutations). Persister can survive lethal antibiotic state and resuscitate after the treatment period is over. They are considered as the major contributing factor behind recurring infections. They also have a high mutation rate, which increases the chances of bacteria gaining antibiotic resistance. The formation of this phenotypic variant (persister) threatens the therapeutic effectiveness of antibiotics and understanding how …

Has The Future Started? The Current Growth Of Artificialintelligence, Machine Learning, And Deep Learning, Maad M. Mijwil, Karan Aggarwal, Sonia Sonia, Abdel Hameed Al-Mistarehi, Safwan Alomari, Murat Gök, Anas M. Zein Alaabdin, Safaa H. Abdulrhman

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

In the modern era, many terms related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learningare widely used in domains such as business, healthcare, industries, and military. In these fields, the accurateprediction and analysis of data are crucial, regardless of how large the data are. However, using big data is confusingdue to the rapid growth and massive development in public life, which requires a tremendous human effort in orderto deal with such type of data and extract worthy information from it. Thus, the role of artificial intelligence beginsin analyzing big data based on scientific techniques, especially in machine learning, whereby it …

Review Of Mathematical Modelling Techniques With Applicationsin Biosciences, Ahmed Hasan Alridha, Ahmed Sabah Al-Jilawi, Fouad H. Abd Alsharify

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Modelling can provide intellectual frameworks that are necessary to translate data into knowledge.Mathematical modelling has played an important role in many applications, such as ecology, genetics, engineering,psychology, sociology, physics and computer science, in recent years. This study focused on reviewing mathematicalmodelling and its applications to biological systems by tracing many metabolic activities of cellular interactions onthe one hand and between the spread of epidemics and population growth on the other hand. Various mathematicalequations have played fundamental roles in the formation of these systems for model development proceduresby describing them mathematically and establishing relationships that characterise the dynamics of a biologicalphenomenon. …

Unlimited Medical Liability?, Jessica L. Roberts, Leah R. Fowler, Paul S. Appelbaum

Emory Law Journal Online

No abstract provided.

Connective Technology In Today's Automated Society: Leaving Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities Harmfully Disconnected, Julia Gentile

Penn State Law Review (2003 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Covid-19 On Ventilator Associated Events (Vaes) Due To Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (Mdros), Jeffery Asiedu

All ETDs from UAB

The aim of this study was to assess the association between the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the odds of ventilator associated events (VAEs). Retrospective analysis on prospectively collected data from 11,307 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital between January 2018 and June 2022 was used. Outcomes considered were Any VAE, IVAC/PVAP, PVAP and MDRO PVAP. Crude and adjusted logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between COVID-19 and the outcome variables. When a patient has Prior COVID-19, the odds of getting any VAE during the delta period is …

The Adoption Of New Cancer Drugs In Non-Academic Cancer Centers, Warren M. Smedley

All ETDs from UAB

Advancements in medical knowledge are producing significant improvements in medical technology, developing breakthrough drug therapies, advancing the practice of medicine, and improving outcomes for cancer patients. However, there are delays in getting new and improved therapies incorporated into routine clinical use, depriving cancer patients of valuable and potentially lifesaving treatments. The purpose of this study was to examine the rate of adoption of new cancer drug discoveries into routine clinical practice in non-academic cancer centers. The process of adoption takes a period of time to embrace new therapies, due in part to a prescriber’s need to gain greater comfort with …

Determining The Impact Of Immune Dysregulation On Cd4 T Cell Responses To Hiv-1 And Sars-Cov-2, Jacob K. Files

All ETDs from UAB

CD4+ T cells, often referred to as helper T cells, play a crucial role in the formation of antiviral immune responses following infection and vaccination. However, this can be disrupted by various forms of immune dysregulation. Many groups have described how HIV-1 adaptation and immune escape can lead to dysregulated HIV-specific immune responses. Our lab has previously shown that predicted HLA-II associated HIV-1 adaptation leads to dysregulated, poorly immunogenic CD4+ T cell responses in HIV-1 infection. Here, we focus on the impact of this HLA-II associated viral adaptation in the setting of HIV-1 vaccination. We show that HLA-II associated, vaccine-matched …

Association Between Regional Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy And Reported Positive Covid-19 Cases In The Southern United States, Orielle Caudle

All ETDs from UAB

The use of vaccinations has been shown to be beneficial in pandemics in the past, and in some cases, it has led to elimination of a particular disease (i.e. polio). The COVID-19 vaccination can also serve the same purpose, however, vaccine hesitancy within specific regions of the country may prevent and/or dilute the effectiveness of the vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy can be defined as a delay in acceptance, or refusal despite the availability of vaccine services. Southern regions have consistently had the lower vaccination rates compared to its other regional counterparts, even as the pandemic progressed and death rates increased over …

A Parametric Study On A Paper-Based Bi-Material Cantilever Valve, H. Heidari-Bafroui, Ashutosh Kumar, Amer Charbaji, Winfield Smith, Nassim Rahmani, Constantine Anagnostopoulos, Mohammad Faghri

Mechanical, Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The novel paper-based Bi-Material Cantilever (B-MaC) valve allows the autonomous loading and control of multiple fluid reagents which contributes to the accurate operation of paper-based microfluidic devices utilized for biological and chemical sensing applications. In this paper, an extensive parametric study is presented to evaluate the effects of key geometric parameters of the valve, such as paper direction, cantilever width, paper type, tape type, and sample volume, in addition to the effects of relative humidity and temperature on the functionality of the B-MaC and to provide a better understanding of the rate of fluid flow and resulting deflection of the …

The Integrative Systeomics Framework To Prioritize Genes And/Or Pathways In Skin Imflammation, Bharat Mishra

All ETDs from UAB

The accelerated growth in sequencing technology assisted us to explore the bio-logical systems comprehensively through a top-down approach rather than the conven-tional bottom-up approach. The top-down approach is a part of systems biology that gen-erates massive data that has driven this course of investigation to decipher the system-wide genetic perturbations. To reduce the complexity of humongous datasets, the graph (network)-based techniques facilitate the easy handling, analysis, and interpretation of biological associations. Networks are the graphical representation of nodes (biomole-cules) and edges (associations/interactions). The most common biological networks are correlation-based gene co-expression network (GCN), gene regulatory network (GRN), and protein-protein interaction …

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease After Receiving The Second Dose Of Pfizer-Biontech Covid-19 Vaccine, Andrea J. Folds, Melanie-Belle Ullrich, Sann Htoo, Anjeza Chukus

Internal Medicine

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Mortality May Be Reduced Among Fully Vaccinated Solid Organ Transplant Recipients, Micaela Sandoval, Duc T Nguyen, Howard J Huang, Stephanie G Yi, R Mark Ghobrial, A Osama Gaber, Edward A Graviss

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 due to their immunosuppressed state and reduced immunogenicity from COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. This investigation examined the association between COVID-19 mRNA vaccination status and mortality among SOT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19.

METHODS & FINDINGS: A retrospective, registry-based chart review was conducted investigating COVID-19 mortality among immunosuppressed solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients in a large metropolitan healthcare system in Houston, Texas, USA. Electronic health record data was collected from consecutive SOT recipients who received a diagnostic SARS-CoV-2 test between March 1, 2020, and October 1, 2021. …