Digital Commons Network^™

Social Vulnerability And Racial Disparities In Overall Survival Among Endometrial Cancer Patients, Alfonsus Adrian Hadikusumo Harsono

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction. Social vulnerability (SV) refers to potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health. The CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) scores communities on 15 social indicators in 4 themes: (1) socioeconomic status (SES), (2) household composition and disability, (3) minority status and language, and (4) housing type and transportation. An overall score ranging from 0 (least vulnerable) to 1 (most vulnerable) is calculated to estimate vulnerability. We investigated whether SV as measured by the SVI can explain why black endometrial cancer (EC) patients survive less well than do white EC patients. Methods. We studied the survival …

Failure Modes Of Different Zirconia Crown Heights And Materials On Titanium Base Abutments, Aikaterini Anastasaki

All ETDs from UAB

Statement of the Problem: The existing scientific literature lacks comprehensive information regarding the influence of zirconia crown height on debonding and fracture occurrences between zirconia crowns and titanium base abutments. Additionally, there is a lack of comparative studies evaluating different zirconia materials as restorative options for screw-retained restorations. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the failure modes of the zirconia crown/titanium implant abutment complex by investigating the impact of increasing zirconia crown heights and different zirconia materials. Materials and Methods: The experimental design encompassed six groups, each consisting of 10 specimens. Group 1 included 10 non-anatomical crowns …

Pharmacologic Proteasome Activators Ameliorate Alzheimer's-Like Pathology In Ad Fly Models, Mehar Bano

All ETDs from UAB

The proteasome is a large multi-subunit protease responsible for the degradation and removal of oxidized, misfolded, and polyubiquitinated proteins. The proteasome plays a critical role in nervous system processes. This includes the maintenance of cellular homeostasis in neurons (1). It also includes synaptic efficacy and plasticity as well as protein turnover, presynaptic vesicle transport, and neuronal protesostasis. Proteasome function is impaired as a consequence of aging, which is aggravated by conditions like Alzheimer's Disease and Related-Dementias (AD, ADRD) (2). According to earlier work from our lab the proteasome is critical to how quickly AD progresses. In Drosophila, human cells, and …

Increasing Patient Safety By Reducing Falls Among In-Hospital Community-Dwelling Patients 65 Years Old Or Older By Using A Shift Change Fall Safety Checklist, Janice Isaac Brooks

All ETDs from UAB

This manuscript is designed to promote and improve healthcare safety, quality, efficiency, and lower medical costs for hospitals and patients. Falls, fall injuries, and their devastating consequences are rising, yet falls are preventable even among senior patients. Search Engines and Key Terms SciWheel was used to save the literature and eliminate duplications. Key terms were used in the Boolean strings: elderly fall prevention, senior fall safety, in-hospital fall prevention, falls in the aging, and fall prevention tools. The CINAHL Plus yielded 58. PubMed search yielded 121. And Google Scholar yielded 32. The total of all three searches was 211. Thirteen …

Transmission Competence Of B. Burgdorferi Infected Ixodes Ticks And Development Of An Ospc-Based Lyme Disease Vaccine, Samanta Kamalika

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction. Lyme disease, otherwise called Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). Studying the increase in overall Lyme disease incidence requires understanding the role of the vector Ixodes scapularis (I. scapularis) as the agent that carries the spirochete which is important to limit the occurrence of Lyme disease. Once we understand the vector-pathogen response, it also becomes important to determine the remedies for Lyme disease. Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics if detected early, but the major obstacle lies in the early detection process. Therefore, it is important to investigate alternative preventive …

Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic (Pbpk) Modeling For The Preclinical Development Of Spectinamide Antibiotics, Keyur R. Parmar

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Despite being an ancient disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and after decades of research, tuberculosis (TB) still affects millions of people every year worldwide. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 10 million people developed tuberculosis and 1.5 million died of the disease. With the increase in the multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) cases, the treatment for TB with the standard first and second-line therapy is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find new anti-TB drugs as combination partners of existing and experimental classes of antimicrobial agents to shorten and simplify the …

Taking Corrigibility Seriously, Dora Klein

Faculty Articles

This article argues that the Supreme Court's creation of a category of "irreparably corrupt" juveniles is not only an epistemological mistake but also a tactical mistake which has undermined the Court's express desire that only in the "rarest" of cases will juveniles be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Medical Emergency Preparedness Among Undergraduate Students, Savannah L. Finigan

Honors Theses

Knowing how to respond to a medical emergency is a valuable life skill that college students ought to have the opportunity to attain in order to save lives. This study aims to understand how prepared and confident local students are to respond to a medical emergency. Participants consisted of undergraduate students who had no healthcare or nursing school experience. A survey was distributed that asked students to rank and describe their own confidence to respond to medical emergencies. The survey also questioned how much former training or experience they had with medical emergencies. The results of the survey show that …

Originalism And The Meaning Of "Twenty Dollars", Michael L. Smith

Faculty Articles

Originalism claims to provide answers, or at least assistance, for those hoping to interpret a Constitution filled with wide-ranging, morally loaded terminology. Originalists claim that looking to the original public meaning of the Constitution will constrain interpreters, maintain consistency and predictability in judicial decisions, and is faithful to ideals like democratic legitimacy. This essay responds with the inevitable, tough question: whether originalism can tell interpreters what the Seventh Amendment's reference to "twenty dollars" means--both as a matter of original meaning and for interpreters today.

While this appears to be an easy question, I demonstrate that rather than telling modern legal …

Rates, Presentation, & Effects Of Public Autism Stigma, Monica Abdul-Chani

All ETDs from UAB

Limited availability of resources regarding developmental issues, health literacy, linguistic-sensitivity (i.e., use of linguistically appropriate resources and measures), structural barriers (i.e., appointment length, transportation), and cultural values and beliefs are commonly-cited barriers in identifying Latine autistic children. Stigma may also play a role, as it is negatively related to both knowledge/awareness within ASD and to acculturation in other disorders (i.e., HIV). Stigma can have detrimental, pervasive effects on daily living for those stigmatized and their families. Limited research examined the rate, presentation, and effect of ASD stigma within the Latine community, and all available studies explored stigma as reported by …

Quantitative Analysis Of The Impact Of Automatically Generated Normal Tissue Contours On Knowledge-Based Planning Model Quality, Samuel Christopher Baker Arnold

All ETDs from UAB

While radiotherapy has become one of the primary standards of treatment for cancer in areas such as the brain, treatment plans are limited by the time it takes physicians to contour CT images used for dose distribution calculations. Automation of the contouring process can not only improve the rate of plan formation but establish an improved standard of care. With the development and implementation of knowledge-based planning (KBP) in radiation oncology, information derived from treatment plans provide machine learning models with years of experience to assess and create future treatment plans. Since KBP model quality rely on contouring from training …

Regulatory Elements Of Polyphosphate Biosynthesis, Marvin Qortez Bowlin

All ETDs from UAB

Polyphosphate (polyP) is an ancient, conserved, inorganic biomolecule. Biological systems have adapted many functions for this high-energy molecule, ranging from immune regulation in mammals to gene regulation in prokaryotes. Of particular interest is its use in bacterial stress responses. Bacteria use polyP to resist hazardous environmental elements like toxic molecules or nutrient starvation. In many bacterial species, polyP is synthesized by polyphosphate kinases (PPKs). PPK – discovered in Escherica coli (E. coli) – hydrolyzes adenosine-5’-triphosphate (ATP) to synthesize polyP. Species that use PPK develop multiple pathogenic defects when PPK activity is impaired, including, among others, antibiotic susceptibility. There is no …

Towards Minimally Invasive Genetically Targeted Control Of Neural Activity Using X-Rays, Kelli Cannon

All ETDs from UAB

X-genetics aims to replace visible light stimulation in optogenetics with X-radiation, offering improved bone penetration, minimal scattering, and enhanced targeting capabilities. This eliminates the need for surgical optic fiber implantation, reducing invasiveness and minimizing off-target effects. Discovering a receptor protein sensitive to X-rays or their byproducts is pivotal for advancing X-genetics.Two genetically encoded X-ray receptors (GEXRs) were investigated for X-genetics application: rhodopsin, historically associated with X-ray responses, and LITE-1, an unexpected candidate. Rhodopsin, when expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells, demonstrated robust cAMP decreases upon visible light stimulation but remained unresponsive to moderate and high-dose X-rays, suggesting it may …

Enhancing Racial Identity And Promoting Academic Enablers In Black Adolescent Males Through Film Viewing, Carlos Napoleon Espinoza

All ETDs from UAB

Among Black adolescent males, classroom discrimination is associated with lower academic performance, academic self-concept, and value placed on education. Although efforts aimed at eliminating racism and discrimination should be made, it is important to identify interventions that may mitigate the effects of discrimination on academic outcomes of Black adolescent males. Previously identified protective factors include positive racial socialization, positive racial identity, and Black role models. Thus, this project attempted to integrate these protective factors into a unified intervention approach in which Black role models deliver positive racial socialization messages to enhance positive racial identity and academic enablers through films. Preexisting …

Effects Of Light Curing Bonding Agent With Dual Cure Cement On The Retention Of Zirconia And Lithium Disilicate Crowns: An In-Vitro Study., Mariam Issa

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: To measure and compare the bond strength of zirconia and lithium disilicate crowns bonded to human teeth (enamel and dentin) using universal adhesive with resin cement and different light curing protocols.Methods: Sixty extracted sound non carious human teeth (second premolars) were stored in formalternate solution (FormalternateTM, Concentrate, 500 mL, Canada) and the roots were notched and mounted into acrylic resin (Yates Motloid, USA). Flat surface preparation was done on the occlusal surface of the samples using model trimmer. The surface area of the specimens was measured with digital light microscopy. Samples were randomly divided into six groups of 10 …

The Relative Impact Of Transformational Leadership On The Academic Optimism Of High Poverty Urban Elementary Schools In Alabama, Cheritta Latrice Hayes

All ETDs from UAB

THE RELATIVE IMPACT OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP ON THE ACADEMIC OPTIMISM OF URBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN ALABAMA In an era of accountability, educational leaders seek and implement reform efforts to help promote school improvement and student achievement on a regular basis (Marzano et al., 2014). When considering school improvement, a possible strategy to increase student achievement could be the relationship between the school leadership style and the characteristics of the organization that are within the control of the school leader. The purpose of this study was to examine the relative impact of transformational leadership on the academic optimism of schools. Elementary …

Synthesis And Characterization Of High Entropy Borides Under High-Pressure And High-Temperature Environments, Seth David Iwan

All ETDs from UAB

The high-entropy materials containing five or more constituent elements are of current interest because of enhancement in physical, mechanical, and thermal properties that are not achievable by simple elements or binary alloys. In this thesis, high pressure and high temperature synthesis studies have been carried out on High-Entropy Borides(HEB) like (Hf0.2, Mo0.2, Nb0.2, Ta0.2, Zr0.2)B2 , (Hf0.2, Mo0.2, Nb0.2, Ta0.2, Ti0.2)B2, and (Hf0.2, Ti0.2, Zr0.2, Ta0.2, Mo0.2)B2, at the Advanced Photon Source(APS) High Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT) Facility. These High Entropy materials are synthesized under high pressure and high temperature starting from a precursor powder composed of desired transition …

Transdiagnostic Symptom Clusters Among Idiopathic Pain And Fatigue Disorders, Chloe Lisette Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Background: There are no established etiologies, biomarkers, or approved treatments for myalgicencephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). It is thought that the ME/CFS criteria may be diagnosing individuals within a spectrum of different disease states, or even different diseases. There likely exist shared mechanisms across idiopathic pain and fatigue disorders, and diverse mechanisms underneath each individual diagnosis. The need to compare ME/CFS to similar, overlapping, and distinct disorders is a critical element in progressing our understanding of idiopathic pain and fatigue. Methods: A total of 2,731 comprehensive medical history and symptom reports were collected from respondents across the globe with a variety …

The Critical Period Of Long-Term Plasticity In Adult-Born Granule Cells Is Mediated By T-Type Calcium Channels, William Michael Kennedy

All ETDs from UAB

Neurogenesis occurs in the dentate gyrus of adult rodents leading to a heterogeneous population of dentate granule cells (GCs) in the granule cell layer. Adult-born granule cells (abGCs) exhibit a transient period of elevated synaptic plasticity that contributes to their role in dentate gyrus function. Various mechanisms have been proposed to underlie the critical period of plasticity, including minimal GABAergic synaptic inhibition, robust NMDAR2B currents, and high intrinsic excitability conferred by T-type Ca2+ channels. In this collection of work, we investigate the critical period for long-term potentiation (LTP) in 4–6-week-old abGCs. We conclude that GABAergic inhibition regulates LTP in 4-week-old …

Characterizing The Role Of Mapk Phosphatases In Age-Dependent Macrophage Dysfucntion And Increased Suceptiblity To Pneumonia In A Tnf-Dependent Manner, Katherine Lauren Kruckow

All ETDs from UAB

Lower respiratory infections are the primary cause of infectious death among the elderly. One reason for this is ‘inflamm-aging,’ a chronic low-grade inflammatory state that develops with advanced age. Pertinently, our group has shown increases in TNF levels to be responsible for age-dependent macrophage dysfunction (ADMD) and, in turn, enhanced susceptibility to Streptococcus pneumoniae, the leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia. The underlying molecular mechanisms responsible, however, remain unclear. Following adoptive transfer of alveolar macrophages (AM) from aged (18+ months) or young (3-6 month) mice into young mice, followed by infection with S. pneumoniae, we found that aged AM were sufficient …

Molecular Imaging To Evaluate Tumor Heterogeneity And Guide Treatment Of Breast Cancer, Yun Lu

All ETDs from UAB

Molecular imaging plays an important role in predicting and evaluating treatment response and revealing the underlying biological mechanisms in the cancer field. Especially, PET imaging serves as a valuable tool for comprehending the tumor microenvironment (TME), allowing us to track tumor metabolism, proliferation, receptor expression, and immune infiltration. In this comprehensive study, three distinct aspects of cancer research were explored using molecular imaging techniques.The first study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the fluorescence ubiquitination cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) system with fluorescence in vivo imaging compared to 3'-Deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine ([18F]-FLT) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in assessing cancer cell proliferation. …

New Heat Exchanger Modeling In The Passive Heat Removal System Of Vver-1200 Nuclear Power Plants, Bugrahan Mangan

All ETDs from UAB

The current work introduces an innovative methodology for modeling heat exchangers inside the passive heat removal system (PHRS) of water-water energetic reactor (VVER) nuclear power facilities. PHRS serves a crucial role in ensuring the secure and effective dissipation of residual heat produced during the shutdown of a reactor. Nevertheless, the current heat exchanger models exhibit deficiencies in terms of their thorough depiction of the geometric structure and thermal properties, hence limiting their precision and suitability for various applications.This study introduces a novel approach to modeling heat exchangers, with a specific emphasis on accurately representing complex geometric characteristics and including thermodynamic …

Lateral Ridge Augmentation Using Allograft Bone Particles Hydrated With Or Without Recombinant Human Platelet-Derived Growth Factor: A Clinical And Histological Randomized Controlled Trial, Lauren Miele

All ETDs from UAB

Lateral ridge augmentation is a common procedure to increase the width of bone in preparation for a dental implant. A certain thickness of bone is necessary for implant health, making ridge augmentation procedures necessary for many patients. Research into the use of growth factors in ridge augmentation is ongoing, but few studies have examined the use of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor homodimer (rhPDGF-BB) in ridge augmentation. This study examines histologic, clinical, and patient reported outcomes when horizontal ridge augmentation is completed using freeze dried bone allograft hydrated in rhPDGF-BB or saline and a resorbable crosslinked collagen membrane. Histologic results …

Functional Analysis Of Mandibular Movements In Three Different Groups Including Patients With Total Joint Replacements, Previous Orthognathic Surgery, And A Control Group, Adriana Morales Buendia

All ETDs from UAB

Purpose: To Assess mandibular movements, including mouth opening, lateral excursion, and protrusion among patients with total joint replacements and orthognathic surgery compared to healthy control participants with no known TMJ disorders. Methods: Fifty-two subjects from 18 to 66 years of age were included in this cross-sectional study, distributed in three groups: patients with total joint replacement (n = 16), patients who underwent orthognathic surgery (n=17), and healthy control subjects (n = 19) to quantitatively determine whether there is statistically significant difference among the groups regarding opening, lateral excursion, and protrusion movements. The non-invasive system SiCAT JMT+ device was used to …

Accuracy Of "Reading" Untraced Lateral Cephalometric Radiographs Among Practicing Orthodontists, Shannon Rea

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: To determine if orthodontic clinicians are able to ascertain diagnostic information from untraced lateral cephalometric radiographs. Materials and Methods: A survey consisting of 5 cases was presented to practicing orthodontists. Each case presented a lateral cephalometric radiograph and included ten questions requiring the respondent to make clinical judgments and approximations of the following variables: skeletal classification, maxilla and mandibular skeletal relationship, SNA, SNB, ANB, vertical skeletal classification, FMA, molar relationship, maxillary incisor proclination, and mandibular incisor proclination. 46 responses were collected and analyzed. Results: Case 3, the normodivergent, Skeletal Class I patient had the highest percentage of correct answers …

Identifying The Factors Influencing Hiv Testing And Safe Sex Practices: An Ecological Approach, Shekwonya Evelyn Samuel

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is still a major health issue in the United States and the world. Emerging adults are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors such as multiple sexual partners and unprotected sex. HIV testing contributes to ending the HIV epidemic by identifying at-risk individuals and promoting early diagnosis.Methods: Secondary data analyses of the City Health II dataset were conducted to 1) identify the association between HIV testing and risky sexual behaviors among Black/African American emerging adults ages 18-25 years living in Birmingham metro area, 2) use social network …

Comparison Of Radiological Signs To Clinical Symptoms In Children With Jia. A Pilot Study, Shubham Sharma

All ETDs from UAB

JIA, which stands for juvenile idiopathic arthritis, is a group of chronic inflammatory joint diseases that usually occur in children under the age of 16 and last for at least six weeks1–5. It is one of the most common chronic joint diseases in childhood1 and affects up to 150 out of every 100,000 children worldwide6. This condition has no identifiable cause and is different from adult rheumatoid arthritis. Unfortunately, JIA can have a significant negative impact on the lives of these young children, causing disability and impairing their daily activities. TMJ involvement is more common than previously believed in JIA …

Open-Vocabulary Scene Graph Generation With Compositional Prompt-Tuning, Mirza Tanzim Sami

All ETDs from UAB

Scene graphs are explicit data structures that express the semantics of an image. It is semantically richer than simple image encodings from Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) because objects (big or small) are represented as distinct nodes and the relationship between them are expressed as labeled edges in a graph structure. Thus, scene graphs can express not only the visual context of an image but also the relationship context between pairs of objects. This added context information makes scene graphs ideal for several downstream visual language (VL) tasks such as Visual Question Answering (VQA), image captioning, text to image retrieval, and …

The Effects Of Mobile Shielding On Scatter Radiation In The Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Lancer Smith

All ETDs from UAB

This research evaluates the effectiveness of a Specialized Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Shielding Device (SCCLSD) compared to traditional shielding methods in reducing occupational exposure to scattered x-rays, contributing to the ongoing enhancement of radiation safety in the cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) setting. The upper component of the SCCLSD comprises a mobile, transparent barrier with lead-equivalent malleable drapes designed to conform to the patient's body contours. It is height-adjustable, creating a protective shield against scatter radiation generated during CCL procedures. The lower portion of the SCCLSD replaces traditional lead-lined drapes, extending further down the table and incorporating additional shielding for staff protection.An …

Pathophysiological Metabolic Alteration In Lung Injury And Fibrosis, Samuel Robert Smith

All ETDs from UAB

Lung injury and lung repair are two sides of the same coin, for where injury occurs, repair must follow. Lung fibrosis occurs when this repair process is dysfunctional and becomes trapped in a chronically incomplete state. The studies described here examine each side of this coin to ask the question of whether metabolism has a role in the pathophysiology of acute lung damage following severe trauma or in the chronic progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In the first half of this work, we investigated the impact that severe lung injury and infection exert on the flux of metabolites in …