Digital Commons Network^™

Cochlear Implantation With Sporadic Inner Ear Schwannomas: Outcomes In 106 Patients From An International Multi-Institutional Study, John P. Marinelli, Torsten Rahne, James R. Dornhoffer, Christine M. Lohse, Justin Cottrell, J. Thomas Roland, Nicholas J. Thompson, Kevin D. Brown, Jacob C. Lucas, Seilesh C. Babu, Nathan R. Lindquist, Elizabeth L. Perkins, Donald Tan, John I. Lane, Jacob B. Hunter, Erin Harvey, Nicholas L. Deep, Samantha Y. Cerasiello, Matthew L. Kircher, Mana Espahbodi, Evan L. Tooker, Niels Cramer West, Per Caye-Thomasen, Matthew L. Carlson, Stefan K. Plontke

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cochlear implant speech perception among patients with sporadic inner ear schwannoma who underwent ipsilateral implantation.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective multi-institutional cohort study.

SETTING: Eleven tertiary academic medical centers across Germany, Denmark, and the United States.

PATIENTS: One hundred six patients with sporadic inner ear schwannoma who received an ipsilateral cochlear implant from 2011 to 2022.

INTERVENTIONS: Ipsilateral cochlear implantation with observation, stereotactic radiosurgery, or microsurgery for tumor management.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Monosyllabic speech perception testing scores and rates of open-set speech perception.

RESULTS: Among 106 patients studied, 101 (95%) achieved open-set speech perception with a median of 24 …

Mind The Gap(S): Mitigating Harassment In A Post-#Metoo Workplace, Jamillah Bowman Williams, Elizabeth C. Tippett, Anu Ramdin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In a post-#MeToo workplace, harassment remains pervasive, and harassment law still fails to provide protection for the harms experienced by many workers—particularly those in the most vulnerable jobs. Even when reform efforts are introduced through legislation, courts, and agency guidance, it often does not provide greater power, autonomy, and dignity to women in ways that would more meaningfully protect them from workplace abuse. We are the first to create a database of state legislation, including over three thousand bills, that allows us to empirically analyze the extent to which lawmakers comprehensively address harassment following the rise of the #MeToo movement. …

Cross-Facility Reliable Deep Learning Based Beef Marbling Assessment Via Unsupervised Domain Adaptation Regression, Samuel Vinson, Dongyi Wang

2025 Research Poster Competition

Beef is one of the most important sources of animal protein and plays a crucial role in daily diets to support muscle growth, energy production and overall health. Historically, each beef carcass was evaluated by 3-5 skilled United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) meat graders, which are still considered as the gold standard for grading. Since 2009, electronic imaging grading systems have been approved by the USDA and have been gradually adopted in the grading facilities. Accurate and consistent beef grading plays a critical role in maintaining the quality, market value, and consumer trust in U.S. beef products. The USDA …

The Hidden Verdict: Measuring Implicit Bias In Juror Decision-Making, Gina Dudley

Psychology | Senior Theses

This experiment examines the influence of implicit bias awareness on juror decision-making in cases involving Hispanic defendants. Explicitly, it tests three hypotheses: (1) bias-educated jurors will demonstrate lower conviction rates for Hispanic defendants, (2) these jurors will report higher confidence in their verdicts, and (3) they will show greater awareness of how their previous experiences influence their decision-making. This experiment uses a mock jury paradigm to investigate whether bias awareness interventions affect verdict decisions and juror confidence levels in cases with Hispanic defendants. Ninety participants were randomly assigned to receive or not receive implicit bias education before reviewing a case …

Community-Led Design Thinking Facilitators Guide, Jacqueline Roebuck Sakho

Books

This guide helps facilitate community planning sessions centering your neighbors’ voices, experiences, and solutions.

Multidisciplinary Lethal Means Safety Counseling Design And Implementation: Training And Identifying Barriers In A Children's Hospital, Cassandra L. Stegall, Brendon Carnell, Jaime M. Golden, Rupa Kapoor, John H. Fanton, Paul C. Mullan, Alexandra P. Leader

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Background

Access to lethal means contributes significantly to suicide completion. Lethal means safety counseling (LMSC) is an injury prevention strategy to limit access to firearms, medications, and other means of injury. Not previously evaluated in the trauma setting, this study aims to design and implement a standardized LMSC protocol for pediatric patient discharge education in emergency (ED), trauma, and inpatient psychiatry settings.

Methods

A single-center quality improvement study at an academic pediatric urban tertiary Level-one trauma center was performed from July 2023 to February 2024. Protocol was implemented for pediatric patients discharged from three departments: ED, surgery trauma service, and …

Detection Of Tetrahydrozoline In Alcoholic Beverage Residue Related To Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Using Gc-Ms, Alyssa Simone Hampton

All ETDs from UAB

Drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is an ongoing issue that remains significant in the United States and the World. DFSA can be either proactive or opportunistic, where a victim becomes impaired and is unable to provide consent. Common drugs found in DFSA cases are ethanol and cannabis. However, alternative drugs are increasingly being used to incapacitate a victim and enable a sexual assault. These include tetrahydrozoline (THZ), commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops, such as Visine®. Minimal research surrounds THZ, in which agencies may process case samples with a general drug screen, which may only detect common drugs, while THZ goes …

The Antiviral Treatment Of Bk Polyomavirus, Peter Alexander Kaul

All ETDs from UAB

A kidney transplant is the most common form of organ transplant in the United States. The waitlist of patients waiting for a kidney transplant totals over 80,000. In recent years, kidney transplants have been performed more than ever before, but the waitlist continues to grow. This is due to the constant addition of new patients being added, as well as, patients who obtained a kidney transplant, but their transplant failed and were added back to the waitlist. While the development of more specific and effective immunosuppressive drugs given to transplant recipients have reduced the cases of acute rejection, it has …

An Examination Of Psycho-Behavioral Risk And Resilence Profiles In People With Chronically Painful Knee Osteoarthritis, Daniel Kusko

All ETDs from UAB

The prevalence and impact of chronic pain are far-reaching and costly to our society. Chronic pain conditions are affecting many people in the US and abroad. Osteoarthritis (OA) is commonly referred to as a slow progressing degenerative disease that tends to develop over 10 to 15 years and can result in functional limitations and pain. Chronic knee OA is a common form of OA pain that affects many adults across the globe. Biopsychosocial factors are theorized to play an important role in how people with chronic pain may develop, exacerbate, or cope with pain. The goal of this project was …

Guts, Glory, And Gain: Exploring The Multifaceted Influences Of Physical Activity Behavior Among Adults With Crohn's Disease, Whitney Neal

All ETDs from UAB

Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, affecting approximately 1 million individuals in the United States. In addition to gastrointestinal symptoms, complications such as arthralgia, sacroiliitis, and osteopenia may diminish physical fitness and exacerbate disease burden. Physical activity is a promising complementary, non-invasive strategy for managing Crohn’s disease, yet few studies have examined outcomes across the entire activity continuum from sedentary behavior to vigorous exercise. This study sought to provide a nuanced understanding of activity patterns in adults with Crohn’s disease (n=47) by comparing them with age-, socioeconomic status-, and sex-matched healthy controls (n=45), exploring Social …

Adapting The Minority Stress Model Among Middle-Aged And Older Adults With And Without Hiv: Understanding The Interplay Between Minority Stress, Mental Health, And Sexual Risk Behaviors, Alexis R Long Thompson

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation aims to adapt Meyer’s Minority Stress Model to understand the interplay between minority stress, mental health, and sexual risk behaviors among middle-aged and older adults with and without HIV. The study utilizes data from the MACS WIHS Combined Cohort Study, focusing on adults aged 40 and older. It examines the relationships between perceived stress, psychosocial factors (depression, substance use, social support), and sexual risk behaviors, considering the impact of minority identities such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and HIV status. The findings highlight significant differences in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, substance use, and social support across different intersectional …

Improved Survival With Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor Use In Men With Male-Predominant Cancers: Real-World Large Database Study, Daniel Uralov, Sarah R. Harrington, Hani Samarah, Anika S. Walia, Marina Aweeda, Manal U. Mustafa, Parvesh Kumar, Andrew Briskin, Julian Jackson, Eric Mastrolonardo, Adam J. Luginbuhl

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors, commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction, may exhibit immunomodulatory properties by reducing myeloid-derived suppressor cell activity and enhancing T-cell responses. This study evaluated the association between PDE5 inhibitor use and overall survival (OS) in male-predominant solid organ malignancies.

METHODS: Male-predominant solid tumors were identified using male-to-female incidence ratio ≥3:1 in SEER database: prostate, bladder, colon, esophageal, hypopharyngeal, laryngeal, tonsillar, and testicular cancers. Using the TriNetX Research Network, we compared male patients prescribed PDE5 inhibitors within 6 months of cancer diagnosis to those without PDE5 exposure. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed on demographic, clinical, and oncologic variables. …

Social Science In Early Childhood Education Open Syllabus, Denise Farrelly

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus provides a week-by-week outline of resources for teaching early childhood social studies for preservice teachers at the associate's level.

Promoting Parent-Child Connectedness: Insights From A Parent Education Training., Bisola E. Duyile, Robyn Becker, Kate Papas, Shanta K. Pamphile

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose: This study explores the interrelationship of speech, language, and literacy development, parentchild connectedness, and children’s mental health when viewed as social determinants of health, specifically among families of children with developmental disabilities. Through interprofessional collaboration, researchers aim to identify effective strategies that parents can use to enhance their children’s communication skills and emotional well-being.

Methods: A mixed methods design was employed, involving a post-workshop survey completed by five mothers. The quantitative component included Likert scale items to measure satisfaction with social support. We also evaluated satisfaction with the workshop. The qualitative component comprised openended questions about newly learned tools …

A Systematic Review Of Reading Comprehension Assessment And Intervention In Minimally And Nonspeaking Autistic Children, Grace T. Clark, Madison Skibicki, Gabriella Pesantes

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Up to 25% of autistic individuals are minimally or nonspeaking and require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). While literacy instruction for this group is increasing, limited research has examined their reading comprehension. This systematic review examined assessment and intervention practices targeting reading comprehension in autistic children who use AAC. A search of five databases yielded 586 articles, of which 6 studies met inclusion criteria. Studies were included if they featured autistic participants under 18 who were minimally or nonspeaking and addressed reading comprehension beyond single-word decoding. Findings varied widely in participant profiles, comprehension targets, and methodological rigor. There is a …

Orthographic Support For Verb Identification In Typically Developing Three-Year-Old Children, Grace T. Clark, Christina Reuterskiold

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Children, as young as four years of age, have demonstrated enhanced noun learning when presented with orthographic representations during word learning tasks. This study sought to determine if three-year-old typically developing children would demonstrate an orthographic facilitation effect during an asynchronous computer-based verb learning task. One-hundred ten children were taught 8 novel verbs by presenting videos of novel actions paired with novel labels in sentence frames. Four novel verbs were taught with orthographic support present and four were taught without orthographic support. Participants were exposed to the words a total of two times and then given a post-test to assess …

Verbs Are Tricky: Does Orthography Support Verb Identification In Typically Developing Children Ages 3–8?, Grace T. Clark, Gabriella Pesantes, Madison Skibicki

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Purpose:
This study examined whether orthographic representations—seeing a printed word while hearing it—facilitate verb identification accuracy in typically developing children and whether developmental or literacy factors modulate this effect.

Method:
One hundred eight English-speaking children ages 3–8 years (M = 5.86) completed a web-based verb learning task through Children Helping Science. Participants were randomly assigned to an orthography-present or orthography-absent condition while learning six novel verbs paired with dynamic action videos. Accuracy during a two-alternative forced-choice test was coded from parent-verified pointing responses. Caregivers completed a literacy interest questionnaire, and children completed a letter–sound correspondence task. Multilevel logistic regression …

Town Of Lempster, New Hampshire, Incorporated 1767, Annual Reports For The Year Ending December 31, 2024, Lempster Town Representatives

Lempster, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Broader Consequences Of 17Α-Methyltestosterone-Induced Masculinization In Betta Splendens: Toxicological, Behavioral, And Morphometric Outcomes, Imee Rose E. Felipe, Alexandra May R. Rosario, Vijay Hanz A. Tuason

Journal Article

The 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) is a synthetic androgen widely applied in aquaculture, particularly in fish species like Betta splendens, where males have higher commercial value. While MT is effective for sex reversal, the broader physiological and behavioral consequences of MT exposure remain insufficiently characterized. This study evaluated toxicological, behavioral, and morphometric endpoints in B. splendens to provide an integrated assessment of the impacts of MT exposure. Immersion assays in fry (2 days post- hatch, dph) demonstrated clear dose- and exposure-dependent toxicity, with cumulative toxicity under continuous 48 h immersion while greater tolerance under discrete immersion (two 3 h immersion at 2 …

Isolation And Identification Of Lactic Acid Bacteria From Bee Body Parts Surviving High Temperature Exposure, Sean Derrick M. Oliquiano, Noel G. Sabino, Renard M. Zamora

Journal Article

Temperature stress can influence the composition and stability of microbial communities associated with bees; however, some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains demonstrate tolerance to such environmental stresses, allowing them to persist and remain functionally active under challenging conditions. This study aimed to isolate and identify LAB associated with honeybees that are capable of surviving exposure to high temperatures. A total of 196 bee samples were processed under unheated and heat-treated conditions (80 °C for 10 min) to selectively recover thermotolerant bacteria. Cultivation on Yeast Glucose Starch Agar supplemented with nalidixic and pipemidic acid favored the growth of LAB under oxygen-limited …

Evaluation Of Bacterial Contamination On Flush Levers And Faucet Tap Handles In The Institute Of Biological Sciences Building Restrooms, University Of The Philippines Los Baños, Jan Patricia S. Estillore, Ronilo Jose D. Flores, Renard M. Jamora

Journal Article

Public restrooms provide convenience outside the home but are frequented by many users daily, creating a risk of microbial contamination on commonly touched surfaces such as flush levers and faucet handles. This study assessed microbial loads on these surfaces across genders and floors and aimed to isolate antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus species and characterize Enterobacteriaceae. Samples were collected from flush levers and faucet handles across three floors of Wing C, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. Results showed that faucet handles (7.9 × 109CFU/cm2) harbored higher microbial loads than flush levers (5.3 × 109CFU/cm2), and female …

Antibiotic Susceptibility Of Bacterial Contaminants In Tissue-Cultured Musa Acuminata ‘Lakatan’ And Musa Textilis ‘Inosa’, Brendell Philip B. Tejoso, Lourna Mae Q. David, Emmanuel L. Bernardo, Carlo Miguel C. Sandoval, Renard M. Jamora

Journal Article

Banana (Musa acuminata) and abaca (Musa textilis) are economically important crops in the Philippines. However, both crops are increasingly threatened by disease outbreaks, which can be mitigated through mass propagation using tissue culture techniques. Tissue culture propagation, however, is often compromised by bacterial contamination originating from either environmental or endophytic sources. In this study, bacterial isolates from environmental surfaces and tissue-cultured explants were characterized using morphological and biochemical profiling. Environmental isolates consisted of Gram-positive and Gram-negative short rods, whereas tissue culture contaminants were predominantly Gram-negative short rods and a single Gram- positive coccus. This morphological distinction suggests that the tissue …

Exploring The Relationship Between Health Literacy And Health Behavior Intention Through Mediation Moderation Analyses, Christopher M. Boerum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vaccine hesitancy is a complicated public health issue that could compromise the well-being of our communities, evident not only in the COVID-19 pandemic but also in the increasing occurrences of vaccine hesitancy toward long-established vaccines, leading to breakthrough cases of diseases such as measles. Several factors can impact this complex phenomenon, such as health education (HE), attitudes towards social media (SMA) and exercise (EA), chronic disease exposure/risk perception (CDR), and demographic variables.

This study examined the relationship between health literacy (HL), and health behavior intention. The eHeals assessment measured HL and an assessment of vaccine attitude (VA) measured health behavior …

Travail Et Ia : État De La Question, Sophie De Serres, Alain Marchand

États de la question, rapports d’expertise et revues de littérature

L’évolution technologique rapide de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) et son utilisation de plus en plus importante dans les organisations et entreprises entraînent des transformations appréciables des milieux de travail. Une revue récente et non exhaustive de la littérature scientifique et grise permet de faire état des connaissances actuelles des répercussions de l’IA sur la santé et la sécurité du travail (SST), en soulignant à la fois les effets positifs observés chez les travailleuses et travailleurs, et les effets négatifs, principalement psychosociaux. Des situations d’utilisation de l’IA en amont, autrement qu’en temps réel (analyse prédictive, recrutement, formation ou recherche), sont également présentées …

3d Bioprinting Technology Innovation In Female Reproductive System, Siyao Chen, Tongxin Wang, Jiaqi Chen, Mingxing Sui, Luyao Wang, Xueyu Zhao, Jianqiao Sun, Yingli Lu

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Several diseases affect the female reproductive system, and both disease factors and treatments impact its integrity and function. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms of disease occurrence and exploring treatment methods are key research focuses in obstetrics and gynecology. However, constructing accurate disease models requires a microenvironment closely resembling the human body, and current animal models and 2D in vitro cell models fall short in this regard. Thus, innovative in vitro female reproductive system models are urgently needed. Additionally, female reproductive system diseases often cause tissue loss, yet effective tissue repair and regeneration have long been a bottleneck in the medical field. …

Predicting Mental Health Disparities Using Machine Learning For African Americans In Southeastern Virginia, Ismail El Moudden, Michael C. Bittner, Matvey V. Karpov, Isaac O. Osunmakinde, Akosua Acheamponmaa, Breshell J. Nevels, Mamadou T. Mbaye, Tonya L. Fields, Karthiga Jordan, Messaoud Bahoura

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

This study examined mental health disparities among African Americans using AI and machine learning for outcome prediction. Analyzing data from African American adults (18–85) in Southeastern Virginia (2016–2020), we found Mood Affective Disorders were most prevalent (41.66%), followed by Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders. Females predominantly experienced mood disorders, with patient ages typically ranging from late thirties to mid-forties. Medicare coverage was notably high among schizophrenia patients, while emergency admissions and comorbidities significantly impacted total healthcare charges. Machine learning models, including gradient boosting, random forest, neural networks, logistic regression, and Naive Bayes, were validated through 100 repeated 5-fold cross-validations. …

Treatment Effects Of Genital Mycoplasma Species In High-Risk Pregnant Individuals: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Takashi Yoshimasu, Tasuku Inao, Tetsuya Kawakita

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Objective

We aimed to estimate the causal effect of treatment for genital Mycoplasma species on preterm birth (PTB) and spontaneous abortion (SA). We also evaluated treatment effects separately for cases with co-infection of Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma species.

Methods

This was a retrospective observational cohort study at a single center. Singleton mothers with one or more risk factors for PTBs were screened and treated for genital Mycoplasma species. The treatment was repeated based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results after each course. We applied inverse probability treatment weighting, and risk differences (RDs) of the treatment effect on pregnancy outcomes were estimated …

Sleep Quality, Volumetric Brain Biomarkers For Ad, Executive Function, & Cognitive Decline In Older Adults, Layaly Shihadeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Our aims were to examine differences in sleep quality sub scores and total scores across diagnostic groups cross-sectionally and longitudinally, correlate executive function scores and volumetric biomarkers of AD (prefrontal cortical and hippocampal volumes) with sleep quality scores, and explore how demographic variables may serve to moderate how sleep quality effects diagnosis. Method: 381 participants were classified into 3 diagnostic groups (Cognitively normal (CN), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia) based on the CDR global score. Prefrontal cortical volume, hippocampal volume, and PSQI total and sub scores were used as predictors of progression status. Daytime dysfunction, sleep duration, and …

Investigation Of Rna-Binding Protein Expression Changes In The Hippocampus Following Doxorubicin And Cyclophosphamide Treatment, Lijie Chen

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI) following doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide treatment in a rat model, revealing three significant alterations in hippocampal tissue: selective downregulation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNPA1) (21% decrease, p=0.0298), compromised astrocytic network integrity evidenced by reduced GFAP-positive area in cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) (24%, pB=0.026) and dentate gyrus (DG) (19%, pB=0.027) regions, and elevated cellular senescence marker p19Arf specifically in DG (69%, pB=0.033) and CA3 (27%, pB=0.024). The inverse relationship between hnRNPA1 reduction and p19Arf elevation suggests a potential mechanistic link between RNA dysregulation and senescence induction, with pronounced vulnerability in …

Automated Thermo-Mechanical Therapy For Immediate Relief In Chronic Non-Specific Lower Back Pain (Cnslbp): A Randomized Controlled Trial, Kyle V. Donnery

Dissertations and Theses

Objective: Chronic non-specific lower back pain (cNSLBP) is a prevalent and disabling condition, imposing a substantial socioeconomic burden due to high healthcare costs and productivity losses, with limited accessible and effective long-term treatment options. Automated Thermo-mechanical Therapy (ATT) is a promising, non-drug intervention that leverages innovative technical advances to provide multimodal pain relief, offering accessibility and low-cost delivery. This study tested ATT for immediate pain relief in individuals with cNSLBP in a single-session, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Methods: Forty participants with cNSLBP were randomly assigned to receive either active ATT (n=20) or control ATT (n=20) in a 40-minute session. The …