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2025

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Winter Supplementation Of Beef Cows In The Intermountain West, David Secrist Sep 2025

Winter Supplementation Of Beef Cows In The Intermountain West, David Secrist

All Current Publications

Feed costs are the most significant expense of most ranching operations in the Intermountain West. Year-round grazing opportunities, hay cost and availability, calving season, cow size, milk production, and feeding logistics are all considerations in a supplementation program. The key to effective winter feeding is to balance the cost/benefit ratio of the supplementation programs while meeting nutritional demands at a minimal cost.

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The Colonic Crypt: Cellular Dynamics And Signaling Pathways In Homeostasis And Cancer, Anh L. Nguyen, Molly A. Lausten, Bruce M. Boman Sep 2025

The Colonic Crypt: Cellular Dynamics And Signaling Pathways In Homeostasis And Cancer, Anh L. Nguyen, Molly A. Lausten, Bruce M. Boman

College of Life Sciences Faculty Papers

The goal of this review is to expand our understanding of how the cellular organization of the normal colonic crypt is maintained and elucidate how this intricate architecture is disrupted during tumorigenesis. Additionally, it will focus on implications for new therapeutic strategies targeting Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). The colonic crypt is a highly structured epithelial unit that functions in maintaining homeostasis through a complex physiological function of diverse cell types: SCs, transit-amplifying (TA) progenitors, goblet cells, absorptive colonocytes, Paneth-like cells, M cells, tuft cells, and enteroendocrine cells. These cellular subpopulations are spatially organized and regulated by multiple crucial signaling pathways, including …

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How Medical Mistrust Serves As A Barrier To Mental Health Treatment In The African American Community, Nicholas Young Sep 2025

How Medical Mistrust Serves As A Barrier To Mental Health Treatment In The African American Community, Nicholas Young

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Throughout history, research has depicted the notion that African Americans do not make use of mental health treatment, even when their mental health status may deem it clinically necessary. One of the most prevalent deterrents to African Americans seeking treatment is the mistrust of the medical system. In the African American community, medical mistrust has a longstanding history that stems from the discrimination, racism, lack of representation in the field, and medical mistreatment that African Americans received as test subjects by the medical community over time. Various instances, throughout history, of African Americans being unjustly treated— for the sake of …

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Temperature And Pressure Shaped The Evolution Of Antifreeze Proteins In Polar And Deep Sea Zoarcoid Fishes, Samuel N. Bogan, Nathan Surendran, Scott Hotaling, Thomas Desvignes, Iliana Bista, Luana S.F. Lins, Mari H. Eilertsen, Nathalie R. Le François, Tait Algayer, Scott L. Hamilton, Paul B. Frandsen, Federico G. Hoffmann, Joanna L. Kelley Sep 2025

Temperature And Pressure Shaped The Evolution Of Antifreeze Proteins In Polar And Deep Sea Zoarcoid Fishes, Samuel N. Bogan, Nathan Surendran, Scott Hotaling, Thomas Desvignes, Iliana Bista, Luana S.F. Lins, Mari H. Eilertsen, Nathalie R. Le François, Tait Algayer, Scott L. Hamilton, Paul B. Frandsen, Federico G. Hoffmann, Joanna L. Kelley

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) have enabled teleost fishes to repeatedly colonize polar seas. Four AFP types have convergently evolved in several fish lineages. AFPs inhibit ice crystal growth and lower tissue freezing point. In lineages with AFPs, species inhabiting colder environments may possess more AFP copies. Elucidating how differences in AFP copy number evolve is challenging due to the genes' tandem array structure and consequently poor resolution of these repetitive regions. Here, we explore the evolution of type III AFPs (AFP III) in the globally distributed suborder Zoarcoidei, leveraging six new long-read genome assemblies. Zoarcoidei has fewer genomic resources relative to …

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An Adaptive Force Matching Potential For Alanine Developed With Møller-Plesset Perturbation Theory And Smooth Fourier Transform Correction Map, Ying Yuan, Feng Wang Sep 2025

An Adaptive Force Matching Potential For Alanine Developed With Møller-Plesset Perturbation Theory And Smooth Fourier Transform Correction Map, Ying Yuan, Feng Wang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Developing accurate force fields for biomolecules remains a significant challenge due to the subtle energetic differences between various conformational states. We present a novel force field model for polyalanine, ALAMP2_25, developed using adaptive force matching (AFM) with M & oslash;ller-Plesset perturbation theory at the second order (MP2) as the reference method. By fitting smaller model compounds and transferring parameters to larger peptides, we overcome the limitations of traditional AFM approaches and enable the use of more accurate electronic structure methods. The ALAMP2_25 model incorporates a new correction scheme, Smooth Fourier Transform-based phi, psi correction map (SFT-CMAP), which efficiently describes phi, …

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Iodinated Disinfection Byproduct Formation From Iohexol In Sunlit And Chlorinated Urban Wastewaters, Reagan Patton Witt, Marcelo I. Guzman Sep 2025

Iodinated Disinfection Byproduct Formation From Iohexol In Sunlit And Chlorinated Urban Wastewaters, Reagan Patton Witt, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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The Role Of Histone Deacetylase Complexes In Cardiomyocyes And Heart Diseases, Meimei Wang Sep 2025

The Role Of Histone Deacetylase Complexes In Cardiomyocyes And Heart Diseases, Meimei Wang

All ETDs from UAB

Histone deacetylase complexes play pivotal roles in cardiac biology, however their specific functions in cell fate transitions and adult heart maintenance re-main unclear. We identified the role of HDAC complex in vitro during direct cardiac repro-gramming and in vivo through specific cardiomyocyte deletion of ELMSAN1, a core component of the MiDAC complex. We perform direct cardiac reprogram-ming using a polycistronic construct (hMGT133) expressing MEF2C, GATA4, TBX5, and miR-133. MEF2C expression peaked early, while cardiac markers such as cardiac troponin and α-actinin emerged by Day 9. HDAC1 levels and global histone acetylation (H3K9ac, H3K14ac, H3K27ac) declined over time. An RNAi screen …

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Exploring The Influence Of Leadership On The Organizational Performance Of Federally Qualified Health Centers In The United States Through The Lens Of The Upper Echelons Theory, Devdutt Shriram Upadhye Sep 2025

Exploring The Influence Of Leadership On The Organizational Performance Of Federally Qualified Health Centers In The United States Through The Lens Of The Upper Echelons Theory, Devdutt Shriram Upadhye

All ETDs from UAB

This study examines the influence that leaders have on the performance of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the US. The framework through which the study examines this relationship is the Upper Echelons Theory (UET), which posits that managers and leaders take actions that shape the organization they lead, and these actions are based on a confluence of experiential and characteristic factors. The current study focuses on a leader’s influence through three proxies, viz. educational background, role tenure, and sex, on the organizational performance of FQHCs. Performance is captured using both financial and quality metrics. Data for the study was …

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Immune And Endothelial Cell Mechanisms Of Cardiovascular And Kidney Disease Risk In Obesity, Claudia Edell Sep 2025

Immune And Endothelial Cell Mechanisms Of Cardiovascular And Kidney Disease Risk In Obesity, Claudia Edell

All ETDs from UAB

Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. Both inflammation and endothelial dysfunction are hallmark signs of adverse health outcomes in obesity. Previous data from our lab has shown that a 2-week time restricted feeding (TRF) intervention reduces kidney CD3+ (T) cells and fibrosis and improves endothelial function in a mouse model of diet induced obesity (DIO). There is little known about kidney damage and T cells in obesity. We hypothesized that TRF reduces kidney damage in obese mice through mitigating T cell inflammation. We use a 20-week DIO model, with 18 weeks of ad libitum …

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Effects Of Probiotic Lactobacilli On Streptococcus Mutans: Implications For Early Childhood Caries, Walaa Al-Turki Sep 2025

Effects Of Probiotic Lactobacilli On Streptococcus Mutans: Implications For Early Childhood Caries, Walaa Al-Turki

All ETDs from UAB

Effects of Probiotic Lactobacilli on Streptococcus mutans: Implications for Early Childhood Caries WALAA MOHIEDEN AL TURKI DENTISTRY ABSTRACT Purpose: Probiotic Lactobacillus species have been shown to have beneficial effects against early childhood caries (ECC) by inhibiting the growth of cariogenic bacteria. However, the acidogenicity of Lactobacillus spp. could have potential carcinogenic effect. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of probiotic lactobacilli and cariogenic lactobacilli on the growth, biofilm formation, and acid production of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). Methods: Growth competition between probiotic L. rhamnosus GG (L-GG) or caries-associated L. rhamnosus M72-26 (L-M72) and S. mutans UA159 …

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A Noncanonical Role Of T Follicular Helper Cells In Promoting Peripheral Tolerance By Supporting T Regulatory Cells, Shivangi Dave Sep 2025

A Noncanonical Role Of T Follicular Helper Cells In Promoting Peripheral Tolerance By Supporting T Regulatory Cells, Shivangi Dave

All ETDs from UAB

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a specialized subset of CD4+ T cells that sup-port germinal center (GC) B cells and promote antibody (Ab)-mediated immunity. There is growing recognition of the heterogeneity and functional diversity of Tfh cells, supported by accumulating evidence that highlights their context-specific roles across a range of disease settings. While their contribution to B cell responses is well-established, our data demonstrate that Tfh cells have a broader and more dynamic function. In this study, we uncover a novel function of Tfh cells in maintaining immune homeostasis by supporting T regulatory cell (Treg) responses under normal physiological …

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Bayesian Survival Analysis For High-Dimensional Compositional Data, Zhenying Ding Sep 2025

Bayesian Survival Analysis For High-Dimensional Compositional Data, Zhenying Ding

All ETDs from UAB

Survival analysis integrating microbiome and clinical data offers powerful insights into human health. The microbiome influences immunity, inflammation, and cancer outcomes. Combining microbial profiles with clinical factors like tumor stage, treatment, and demographics enhances understanding of how host-microbe interactions affect survival. To analyze these complex datasets, advanced statistical methods, including Bayesian models, penalized Cox proportional hazards models, and machine learning techniques are employed. These approaches can uncover novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets, leading to personalized treatment strategies that optimize patient survival. However, challenges arise due to the compositionality, high-dimensionality, and phylogenetic relation between taxa in microbiome data. In this dissertation, …

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The Role Of The Glycerol Metabolism Regulator Glpr On Pseudomonas Aeruginosa’S Physiology, Nicholas Jordan Evans Sep 2025

The Role Of The Glycerol Metabolism Regulator Glpr On Pseudomonas Aeruginosa’S Physiology, Nicholas Jordan Evans

All ETDs from UAB

Chronic infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in people with cystic fibrosis. P. aeruginosa persists in the CF lung through adaptations, including altering the expression of metabolic genes to acquire nutrients that are abundant in the CF airway. Glycerol in the airway is imported and metabolized by proteins encoded in the glp regulon, which is regulated in part by GlpR. The loss of GlpR was previously shown to increase biofilm development in a P. aeruginosa CF isolate compared to a wound isolate. In the first half of this work, we investigated the influence that …

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A Short Trip: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of The Perceived Effects Of Vaporized Dmt Vs Vaporized 5-Meo-Dmt, Cynthia Estrella Ortiz Sep 2025

A Short Trip: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of The Perceived Effects Of Vaporized Dmt Vs Vaporized 5-Meo-Dmt, Cynthia Estrella Ortiz

All ETDs from UAB

The rise in psychedelic use has been accompanied by increased interest in alternative routes of administration, including vaporization. However, little is known about the characteristics and outcomes associated with vaporized forms of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). This mixed-methods study examined the subjective experiences and mental health correlates of individuals who reported using vaporized DMT, vaporized 5-MeO-DMT, or psilocybin mushrooms in the past six months. A total of 209 adults completed an online survey assessing demographic variables, substance use, and psychological functioning, including measures of global health (PROMIS), subjective happiness, magical ideation, spiritual connection, psychosis-like experiences (CAPE-42), and hypomanic symptoms. …

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Investigating The Role Of Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling In The Cystic Fibrosis Airways, Meghan June Hirsch Sep 2025

Investigating The Role Of Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling In The Cystic Fibrosis Airways, Meghan June Hirsch

All ETDs from UAB

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene which results in complications in organs such as the lung, pancreas, liver, and intestines. In the lung, defective CFTR results in thick, sticky mucus that causes susceptibility to colonization of opportunistic pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), progressive lung damage, and ultimately a decrease in life expectancy in affected individuals depending on severity of disease. Additionally, one of the characteristics of this disease, with and without PA infection, is chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation has also been associated with accelerated aging …

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Compartmentalized Antigen Presentation By Intestinal Epithelial Cells Directs Cd4 T Cell Fate, Christopher Garrett Wilson Sep 2025

Compartmentalized Antigen Presentation By Intestinal Epithelial Cells Directs Cd4 T Cell Fate, Christopher Garrett Wilson

All ETDs from UAB

The intestinal epithelium maintains a complex relationship with both commensal microbiota and enteric pathogens while orchestrating local immune responses. Although intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) can express MHC class II molecules during inflammation, their functional contribution to pathogen-specific adaptive immunity and immunological memory remains poorly defined. This dissertation investigates the hypothesis that IECs actively shape CD4+ T cell responses through antigen presentation, using Citrobacter rodentium infection as a physiologically relevant model of human attaching and effacing bacterial pathogens. The C. rodentium model offers unique advantages for dissecting epithelial-immune interactions: it naturally infects mice through oral inoculation, exhibits precise anatomical tropism for …

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Access To Care, Structural Barriers, And Recovery Identity In Mental Health And Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Yahya Alnashri Sep 2025

Access To Care, Structural Barriers, And Recovery Identity In Mental Health And Substance Use Disorder Treatment, Yahya Alnashri

All ETDs from UAB

Substance use disorders (SUDs) remain one of the most pressing public health and economic challenges in the United States, with growing recognition that recovery is a multidimensional process shaped by clinical, social, and structural factors. This dissertation explores recovery at the levels of health policy, population, and experiential levels to assess gaps in access to recovery support services, identify patterns and predictors of recovery identity, and highlight the lived experiences of individuals with opioid use disorder. First, we evaluated whether state Medicaid expansion under the ACA (2010–2019) was associated with changes in the availability of consumer-run peer support services in …

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Pao Induces Er Stress In Endothelial Cells Leading To Barrier Function Dysfunction And Inhibition Of Brd4 Prevents Lewisite-Induced Peribronchial Fibrosis, Huaxiu Zeng Sep 2025

Pao Induces Er Stress In Endothelial Cells Leading To Barrier Function Dysfunction And Inhibition Of Brd4 Prevents Lewisite-Induced Peribronchial Fibrosis, Huaxiu Zeng

All ETDs from UAB

Arsenicals are members of one of the most important global environmental vesicants and are a persistent bio accumulative carcinogen. One of the vesicants and chemical warfare agents is lewisite, which causes lung injury with pulmonary edema, hemorrhage, and respiratory failure. A single cutaneous exposure to lewisite in mice induces systemic lung injury through arsenical-mediated mechanisms. Some subjects develop Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS) where there is evidence of airway dysfunction and pathologic narrowing of the airways with extracellular protein deposition and fibroblast invasion. In vitro for human lung endothelial cells, Phenyl arsine Oxide (PAO) exposure, as surrogate of lewisite, leads to …

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Proteasome Augmentation Is Protective Against Alzheimer’S Disease And Agerelated Cognitive Decline, Kanisa Davidson Sep 2025

Proteasome Augmentation Is Protective Against Alzheimer’S Disease And Agerelated Cognitive Decline, Kanisa Davidson

All ETDs from UAB

Proteostasis is essential for the degradation of oxidized, misfolded proteins and proper function of neuronal plasticity. Proteasome inhibition has been shown to exacerbate cognitive and behavioral deficits in aging and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) models. Proteasomal activity is decreased across human and animal models of AD. We hypothesize that aging and AD markers, β-amyloid and/or hyperphosphorylated tau, impair proteasome function, thereby preventing the proteasome’s capacity to degrade critical synaptic proteins essential for memory formation. We investigated the role of pharmacological and genetic augmentation on proteasomal function, to rescue aging and AD-like cognitive deficits in cell culture, Drosophila, and mice. We demonstrate …

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Promoting Mental Health And Social-Emotional Development In Underserved Families, Brianna Paquette Sep 2025

Promoting Mental Health And Social-Emotional Development In Underserved Families, Brianna Paquette

All ETDs from UAB

The overarching goal of this dissertation was to investigate interventions that aimed to support mental health and child development in underserved families. Individuals from low-income households often experience mental health difficulties, such as higher rates of caregiver depression. Additionally, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to face difficulties with social and emotional development. This dissertation is comprised of three papers exploring interventions to facilitate child development and well-being in low-income families. The first paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis on home visiting interventions aimed at supporting the social-emotional development of children from birth to five years of age. …

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Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination: Implications For The Ecology, Evolution, And Conservation Of Sea Turtles, Forrest William Collins Sep 2025

Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination: Implications For The Ecology, Evolution, And Conservation Of Sea Turtles, Forrest William Collins

All ETDs from UAB

For reptiles, their method of sex determination is temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). This is where the environmental temperature directly influences the sex ratio being produced within a clutch. For sea turtles, sex is determined within a thermosensitive period (TSP) in which incubation temperatures will result in either males (cooler), females (warmer), or 50:50 even sex ratio. For this dissertation, 2 species of sea turtles were evaluated for their TSD and its implications on their ecology, evolution, and conservation: the Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii). For the Hawksbill, a major rookery in the …

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Psychedelics And Psychosis: An Interdisciplinary Re-Examination, Haley Maria Dourron Sep 2025

Psychedelics And Psychosis: An Interdisciplinary Re-Examination, Haley Maria Dourron

All ETDs from UAB

Psychedelics have long been described as potential drug models of psychosis. There is also concern that psychedelics might worsen psychotic symptoms in individuals with a history of psychotic disorders. This dissertation examines the overlap between psychedelic-induced states and non-affective psychotic disorders (NAPD) from both subjective and neurological perspectives, as well as the perceived impact of psychedelic use in people with a history of NAPD. Nineteen people with a history of NAPD who had used psychedelics were interviewed about their experiences. Participants generally described psychedelic and psychotic experiences as distinct, though both affected similar experiential domains, such as sensory alterations. Altered …

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In-Vitro Antimicrobial Activity, Demineralization Inhibition Potential, And Staining Effects Of Three Silver Fluoride Materials, Quiesly Torres Sep 2025

In-Vitro Antimicrobial Activity, Demineralization Inhibition Potential, And Staining Effects Of Three Silver Fluoride Materials, Quiesly Torres

All ETDs from UAB

Background: Dental caries is a worldwide preventable public health problem. It affects any individuals regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) has been extensively used for preventing cavities, but it has side effects; therefore, some other biocompatible antimicrobial and remineralization-inducing alternative materials have been developed. Purpose: This study aims to assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity, demineralization inhibition potential, and staining effect of SDF, Nano Silver Fluoride (NSF), and silver fluoride + potassium iodide (SF/KI). Methods: Three silver diamine fluoride-based materials were tested: SDF 38% (Advantage Arrest®, Elevate Oral Care, USA), 1500 ppm NSF …

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Air Pollution And Environmental Injustice Are Related To Respiratory Complications In Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease, Kelsey M. Maclin Sep 2025

Air Pollution And Environmental Injustice Are Related To Respiratory Complications In Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease, Kelsey M. Maclin

All ETDs from UAB

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetically inherited blood disorder affecting people of African descent. SCD is characterized by painful episodes and an acute lung injury known as acute chest syndrome (ACS). Patients with SCD have a life expectancy <19 years compared to Blacks without SCD. There is minimal research investigating air pollution and health complications in SCD. The aims of this research were to investigate whether pulmonary function is affected by exposure to ambient air pollution, whether higher air pollution concentrations are associated with hospitalizations for ACS, and whether environmental injustice impacts the respiratory health of children and young adults with SCD. Air pollution data on the criteria air pollutants (CAPs) was obtained from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Patient health data were obtained from Children’s Hospital of Alabama electronic medical records. Logistic regression, distributed lag non-linear regression, Granger Causality, and Getis-Ord Gi* hot spot analysis were used to analyze our data. The EPA’s EJScreen tool was used as a measure of exposure to environmental injustice. ArcGIS was used to map the EJScreen data. Exposure to short-term air pollution is significantly associated with a reduction in pulmonary function in children and young adults with SCD. Children and young adults exposed to a one-unit increase in the monthly average concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) experienced an increase in the odds of having abnormal pulmonary function. We observed the trends of each criteria air pollutant in our study to be closely aligned with the trends in the hospitalizations for ACS. Most of our study participants with a history of ACS lived in areas burdened by greater environmental injustices. Specifically, the hot spots for ACS overlapped with the hot spots for PM2.5. Unequal exposure to environmental injustices leads to increases in hospitalizations for respiratory complications in individuals with SCD. Reductions in air pollution could be greatly beneficial to the pulmonary function and overall respiratory health of individuals with SCD. Further research is needed to examine associations between air pollution and hospitalizations for ACS in individuals with SCD.

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Core Body Temperature (Cbt) Monitoring Among Groundskeepers Under Heat Stress, Lara Anne Parker Sep 2025

Core Body Temperature (Cbt) Monitoring Among Groundskeepers Under Heat Stress, Lara Anne Parker

All ETDs from UAB

Heat is the leading cause of death for outdoor workers. In Alabama, there are an estimated 11,160 - 21,460 workers employed in the landscaping and groundskeeping industry, which are vulnerable to heat-related illnesses (HRI). In this study, core body temperature (CBT) and wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) index were examined as potential indicators of heat stress. A SlateSafety (SS) Band V2 wearable CBT device and a WBGT monitor were used to collect CBT and WBGT values, respectively. Sampling for the main two measurements was performed over five days for two participants. An additional CBT device option, the e-Celsius performance ingestible pill, …

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Racial/Ethnic Heterogeneity In Women’S Aging Experiences Over Time: A Latent Transition Analysis, Joshua Christian Julian Lewis Sep 2025

Racial/Ethnic Heterogeneity In Women’S Aging Experiences Over Time: A Latent Transition Analysis, Joshua Christian Julian Lewis

All ETDs from UAB

U.S. population aging and unprecedented racial/ethnic diversity will affect the types of social and healthcare services older adults need. These projections have renewed attention to healthy aging, which refers to the physiological/functional, psychological, and social capacity to maintain well-being. Extant research finds that most are aging unwell and through binary and biomedical operationalizations—which do not account for patterns of chronic conditions, disability, intersecting race / ethnic and gender inequality, socioculturally developed resources, and social relations—reifies the exceptions, typically men and non-Hispanic Whites, as the “aging well” benchmark. Integrating theoretical considerations of the life course, cumulative inequality, stress process, and limitations …

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Voices From Two Secondary Newcomer Programs In Alabama: A Multiple Case Study, Carl Anthony Floyd Jr Sep 2025

Voices From Two Secondary Newcomer Programs In Alabama: A Multiple Case Study, Carl Anthony Floyd Jr

All ETDs from UAB

This multiple case study investigates the design, implementation, and impact of two secondary newcomer programs in Alabama, with a focus on Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) and non-SLIFE English Learner (EL) newcomers. Grounded in Esteban-Guitart et al.’s (2023) framework of community funds of knowledge and identity, the study explores how these programs function as community educational ecosystems. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and document reviews across two school districts and analyzed using ethnographic and thematic methods. Findings reveal that when newcomer programs are intentionally designed to leverage community assets and cultural identities, they provide meaningful academic, …

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Origin And Differentiation Of Uterine Natural Killer Cells, Morgan Elizabeth-Carolyn Greene Sep 2025

Origin And Differentiation Of Uterine Natural Killer Cells, Morgan Elizabeth-Carolyn Greene

All ETDs from UAB

Uterine natural killer (uNK) cells are specialized tissue-resident lymphocytes that are essential for successful pregnancy, yet the molecular pathways governing their development remain poorly defined. This knowledge gap hinders our ability to understand and treat immunological complications of pregnancy, such as recurrent pregnancy loss and pre-eclampsia. This dissertation addresses the fundamental question of how human uNK cells arise and differentiate, first within the non-pregnant endometrium and subsequently within the decidua of early pregnancy. Using single-cell RNA sequencing of matched human blood and endometrial samples, we first delineate the developmental trajectory of endometrial NK (eNK) cells. We demonstrate that eNK cells …

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An Analysis Of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Levels With Structural And Functional Connectivity In Antipsychotic Medication-Naïve First Episode Psychosis Patients, Genelle Dano Samson Sep 2025

An Analysis Of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Levels With Structural And Functional Connectivity In Antipsychotic Medication-Naïve First Episode Psychosis Patients, Genelle Dano Samson

All ETDs from UAB

Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and abnormalities in emotional expression, social interaction, and motivation. Cognitive deficits and alterations in perception are core features of psychosis spectrum disorders, though the neurobiological bases of these impairments are not thoroughly understood. Examination of the structures responsible for cognition, along with how their connectivity and neurochemistry are altered in psychosis, is crucial to understanding and treating schizophrenia. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and plays a crucial role in the regulation of neuronal activity. Evidence from animal models and postmortem …

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Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Socket Healing And Mronj, Yuki Arai, Chiaki Tsutsumi-Arai, Jeryl D English, Noriaki Ono, Wanida Ono Sep 2025

Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Socket Healing And Mronj, Yuki Arai, Chiaki Tsutsumi-Arai, Jeryl D English, Noriaki Ono, Wanida Ono

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This review aims to summarise the current understanding of the biological processes involved in socket healing after tooth extraction and the contribution of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs) during these processes. Additionally, it seeks to explore the mechanisms underlying medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), often linked to tooth extraction, to provide insights for future research directions. Socket healing is a complex biological process consisting of three phases: inflammatory, proliferative and modelling/remodelling. MSCs, particularly those derived from periodontal ligament (PDL) cells and bone lining cells, are known to play a significant role in the initial and subsequent stages of healing. However, …

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