Digital Commons Network^™

One-Carbon Metabolism In Children With Marasmus And Kwashiorkor, Thaddaeus May, Bethany De La Haye, Gabrielle Nord, Kevin Klatt, Kevin Stephenson, Sara Adams, Lucy Bollinger, Neil Hanchard, Erland Arning, Teodoro Bottiglieri, Kenneth Maleta, Mark Manary, Farook Jahoor

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Kwashiorkor is a childhood syndrome of edematous malnutrition. Its precise nutritional precipitants remain uncertain despite nine decades of study. Remarkably, kwashiorkor's disturbances resemble the effects of experimental diets that are deficient in one-carbon nutrients. This similarity suggests that kwashiorkor may represent a nutritionally mediated syndrome of acute one-carbon metabolism dysfunction. Here we report findings from a cross-sectional exploration of serum one-carbon metabolites in Malawian children.

METHODS: Blood was collected from children aged 12-60 months before nutritional rehabilitation: kwashiorkor (N = 94), marasmic-kwashiorkor (N = 43) marasmus (N = 118), moderate acute malnutrition (N = 56) and controls (N = …

Association Of Body Mass Index In Midlife With Morbidity Burden In Older Adulthood And Longevity, Sadiya S. Khan, Amy E. Krefman, Lihui Zhao, Lei Liu, Anna Chorniy, Martha L. Daviglus, Cuiping Schiman, Kiang Liu, Tina Shih, Daniel Garside, Thanh-Huyen T. Vu, Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, Norrina B. Allen

Open Access Publications

Importance: Abundant evidence links obesity with adverse health consequences. However, controversies persist regarding whether overweight status compared with normal body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) is associated with longer survival and whether this occurs at the expense of greater long-term morbidity and health care expenditures.

Objective: To examine the association of BMI in midlife with morbidity burden, longevity, and health care expenditures in adults 65 years and older.

Design, Setting, and Participants: Prospective cohort study at the Chicago Heart Association Detection Project in Industry, with baseline in-person examination between November 1967 …

Implementation Of A Transitions Of Care Nutrition Intervention For Malnourished Patients, Nina Rocca

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The topic of Transitions of Care (TOC) has been investigated by physician and nursing professions for years, while only more recently by nutrition professionals. Registered Dietitians are not always involved in TOC planning. RDs can play an important role in TOC by communicating patients’ nutrition information across health care settings, especially for patients with malnutrition. The primary aim was to use a CDC based process evaluation to evaluate if a case management, nursing focused care transitions framework, adapted for a TOC nutrition intervention, can result in a successful intervention implementation. The secondary aim was to use a CDC outcomes evaluation, …

Exploring The Health Outcomes And Patient’S Viewpoint Of Pediatric Patients Receiving Medical Nutrition Therapy Visits With In-Person, Telephonic, And Tele-Video Modalities At A Rural Community Health Center, Valerie L. Muehleman

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Covid-19 pandemic advanced telephonic (TP) and tele-video (TV) visits for medical nutrition therapy (MNT). This study explored the health outcomes and patient’s viewpoints of MNT by modalities in a community health center (CHC). Participants ranged in age from 1-18 years, diagnosed with overweight/obesity, and received MNT from a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) from January 1, 2019 to August 31, 2021. Health outcomes measured were health goal achievement, BMI percentile, pre/post lipid panel, and A1C%. Show/no-show rates and demographic characteristics of gender, age, race, insurance, county, language, and ethnicity were also compared by the visit modality. Ten interviews in the …

Collaboration Is Key: Using Interdisciplinary Assessment To Improve Wildlife Management Practices, Public Engagement In Science, And Science Communication Programs In Rhode Island, Erin R. Harrington

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past few decades, prestigious scientific institutions such as The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Academy of Sciences have acknowledged the utmost importance of science communication to help improve the general public’s understanding of scientific knowledge. NSF has gone so far as to make “dissemination of research findings to increase scientific literacy” the third most recommended category for research funding priorities, second only to teaching and training, and broadening participation of underrepresented groups (NSB 2011, Skrip 2015). These efforts attest to a growing interest and investment in improving the field of science communication (Druschke and McGreavy 2016); …

Sentience And Sentient Minds, John Anthony Webster

Animal Sentience

My commentary builds on Rowan et al.’s (2022) comprehensive review to address the question ‘what do we mean by sentience?’ It suggests how we might recognise degrees of sentience within the animal kingdom, ranging from primitive sensations such as hunger and pain to more complex emotions that determine quality of life.

The Knights Of The Round Table: The Mediating Role Of Parental Self-Efficacy And Parental Stress In Explaining Family Mealtime Predicting Child Behavior In Mturk Families, Dea Zgjani

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined how shared family meals influence low negative behavior in children via parental perceived stress and parental self-efficacy in children between the age three and six. Using a parallel mediation analysis, multiple regression analyses were conducted for 204 participants. Results indicated parental perceived stress to be a mediator in the relationship of the structure of shared family mealtimes and negative child affectivity, in contrast parental self-efficacy was not. Additionally, interesting results were conveyed from exploratory Hypothesis 1. First, there were a total of 94 mothers and 102 fathers who completed the study. Significant correlations were depicted between …

Estimation Of 24-Hour Urinary Creatinine Excretion Through The Development Of A Model And Its Relationship To Outcomes In Hospitalized Critically Ill Veterans, Lynn Diane Hiller

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Muscle mass is highly correlated with patient outcomes. Techniques to identify patients with low muscularity include computed tomography (CT) and bioelectrical impendence analysis (BIA) however disadvantages of cost, exposure to radiation and access make these measurements unavailable to the average dietitian. Urinary creatinine excretion (UCE) and estimation of creatinine height index (CHI) are strongly associated with muscularity and outcomes, however, require a 24-hour urine collection. The postulation that UCE may be predicted from patient variables, through mathematical modeling, would avoid the need for a 24-hour urine collection and may be clinically useful.

Methods: Input variables of age, …

The Efficacy Of A Service-Learning Experience In The New Orleans Area In Improving Intercultural Competence Of Nutrition And Dietetics Students, Michel D. Harris

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a large gap between minority representation in the field of dietetics and the United States population, and nutrition students need advanced cultural competence training in preparation for future work with diverse populations. Universal recommendations for delivering and evaluating cultural competence training in nutrition programs are non-existent, and students tend to lack understanding of how to develop this skill. Service-learning in underserved communities with reflective assignments have been used to develop cultural competence skills, but most reported results are anecdotal. This non-randomized mixed methods study sought to find out if a service-learning experience improves intercultural competence of nutrition students …

On (Not) Seeing The Chicken: Perdue, Animal Welfare, And The Failure Of Transparency, Calvin Coker, Rachel A. Coker

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

In this essay, we analyze Perdue’s animal welfare campaign from 2016 to 2020 to isolate how demands for transparency are mediated and subverted by Perdue’s public facing rhetoric. Though Perdue’s annual releases and commitments to change nominally constitute a victory for animal welfare advocates, the company’s campaign enacts transparency as a sort of publicity for the company that belies marginal gains for the lives of chickens and may ultimately result in increased meat consumption. In providing trackable metrics, offering paternalistic justifications for their treatments of chickens, and through strategic omissions of language and visuals, Perdue satisfies demands for transparency without …

Conflicting Fundamental Rights Under The Indian Constitution: Analyzing The Supreme Court’S Doctrinal Gap, Nikhil Pratap

LL.M. Essays & Theses

The Constitution of India recognizes a wide variety of fundamental rights: civil and political, socio-economic, and group rights. A conflict between these rights is a common occurrence. The Supreme Court of India’s method of resolving conflicts has been ad-hoc, nebulous, and vague. The Court rarely locates the conflict at a granular level and, on the rare occasion that it does, the decision lacks comprehensive reasoning. This paper attempts to demonstrate the doctrinal, structural, and reasoning gap in the Court’s jurisprudence. The paper does so by analyzing a subset of cases where the Court has adjudicated on conflicts between the right …

Choosing Death, Shaping Death: Assumptions About Disabilities, Race, And Death, Janet L. Dolgin

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

This article considers two legal cases and the stories that developed around them. Both the cases and their stories involved issues of significance to the larger society - death and bias. Each concern has occasioned confusion and debate in its own right. When these issues are combined, confusion and debate are intensified. This Article examines the complicated interplay between bias and decisions about death and dying in the U.S. health care system. Further, it reviews intersecting claims about the importance, respectively, of autonomy and community in resolving disputes about the topics of death and dying.

Reinventing Public Healthcare In India, Milind Kokje

Asian Review

The outbreak of COVID-19 exposed the gaps and shortcomings in the Indian public healthcare System. The Indian healthcare system is a glaring example of two extremes of positive and negative. The Constitution of India does not guarantee health as a fundamental right, though the Indian judiciary, through its several judgements, has interpreted the concerned articles to expand their scope to include the right to health. India’s achievements in developing healthcare infrastructure, having more health personnel in service etc. are still much less than the requirement and below global benchmarks. It has launched the world’s largest health insurance scheme. Still, the …

Assessment Of Organophosphorus Pesticide Residues In Water And Sediment Collected From The Southern Caspian Sea, Reza Golshani, Ghasem Ghorbanzadeh Zafarani, Maksim Rebezov, Samaneh Karbalaei, Tony R. Walker

Applied Environmental Research

Pollution of water resources by uncontrolled pesticide use is a serious health and environmental issue. In this study, concentrations of three organophosphorus pesticides (diazinon, malathion, and azinphos-methyl) in water and sediment samples from five estuaries (Sefidrud, Chalus, Babolrud, Tajan, and Gorganrud) along the Caspian Sea were investigated. Samples were collected from surface water and sediment during summer to autumn, and pesticides were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results indicated that salinity and turbidity in Gorganrud were higher (salinity: range 2–8%; turbidity: range 1–9%) compared to other stations. Higher diazinon (water: 0.08±0.06, sediment: 0.04±0.01), malathion (water: 0.09±0.06, sediment: 0.05±0.01) and …

A 15-Year Retrospective Analysis On After-Hours Dental Emergencies In A Children's Hospital Setting, Alexandra An-Yen Chen

All ETDs from UAB

Dental emergencies are one of the most common oral health complications and can exhibit a detrimental impact on a child’s physical and psychological development; additionally, it may impose economic challenges for the family. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the after-hours dental emergency visits in the past 15 years at the Children’s of Alabama (COA) Hospital Emergency Department. Methods: A retrospective chart review between January 2007 and December 2021 was conducted. Patients’ demographics, type of dental complaint, and management were evaluated for overall characteristics in the 15 years and trends in 5-year increments. The impact of the …

A Pilot Mixed Methods Study Examining Factors Affecting Return To Work Among African American Stroke Survivors, Kristin D. Ashley

All ETDs from UAB

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a highly prevalent and disabling condition among African Americans. Although there is limited research regarding barriers and facilitators to return to work among stroke survivors, evidence suggests that African American stroke survivors return to work (RTW) less frequently than Caucasians. Most of the research on this topic has been conducted in European countries, leaving significant knowledge gaps on RTW among African Americans in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect RTW for African American stroke survivors and then build upon those results to better understand facilitators and barriers to RTW. …

Mice With Ghrh Deficiency Are Resistant To The Detrimental Health Effects Of High Fat Diet, Joseph Jablonsky

All ETDs from UAB

According to our previous study, mice with a CRISPR/Cas9 mediated deletion of the GHRH gene have decreased bodyweight, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), energy expenditure compared to wild type animals, and increased insulin sensitivity and enhanced longevity. Calorie restriction enhances lifespan and delays multiple aging related phenotypes; however it is not known how these animals respond to nutritional stressors such as high fat diet (HFD) during the aging process. We subjected 18 month old GHRH-/- male and female mice to a high fat diet to determine differences in response to HFD in aged animals. After HFD exposure, GHRH-/- mice have increased …

Teacher Perception, Experience, And Attitudes On Student Achievement In A Title I High School In Central Alabama, Marvin Augusta Carter

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to share the lived experiences of teachers regarding how they supported student achievement in a Title I high school. After almost 60 years of Title I initiatives, the achievement gap between students in poverty and other more affluent students has not changed in any statistically significant manner (Jimenez-Castellanos, 2010). Due to the lack of academic growth for students in Title I schools as compared to students in non-Title I schools, parents, policymakers, and other stakeholders have increased pressure on educators and educational researchers to identify student achievement barriers and implement the use of effective …

Role Of Dietary Compounds On Modulation Of Epigenetic Mechanisms And Gut Microbiota In Prevention Of Breast Cancer, Manvi Sharma

All ETDs from UAB

Breast cancer is the second leading causes of mortality among women living in the United States, representing a major public health issue. The current chemoprevention therapies can result into various adverse effects. Therefore, the use of dietary bioactive compounds has been of great interest due to their safer, non-toxic and efficacious properties. Sulforaphane (SFN) is an isothiocyanate found in various cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli sprouts (BSp) and green-tea polyphenols (GTPs) contain a major polyphenol, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). These compounds have been shown to exhibit several anticancer properties especially as an epigenetic modifier. We investigated the efficacy of BSp or GTPs …

The Influence Of Sleep Duration And Sleep Efficiency On Abdominal Adiposity And Blood Pressure In Adolescents Ages 16 To 18 Who Participated In The Cleveland Children's Sleep And Health Study: A Secondary Data Analysis, Shameka Rodgers Phillips

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: Abdominal adiposity and blood pressure (BP) are two major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death in the world. The impact of abdominal adiposity and BP on health, particularly CVD, begins in childhood. Older adolescents tend to have the highest prevalence of abdominal adiposity and BP in the pediatric population. Despite interventions like diet and exercise, the prevalence of excess abdominal adiposity and elevated BP continues to increase during late adolescence. Evidence suggests that sleep duration and sleep efficiency impact abdominal adiposity and BP in adults and the pediatric population, but limited studies have …

Tissue Engineered Cardiac Muscle Patches With Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Enhance The Repairing Efficacy Of Infarcted Cardiac Muscle In Mouse Model, Xi Lou

All ETDs from UAB

Myocardial infarction (MI) remains one of the major contributors to heart failure, which can lead to death, and there has been a lack of effective treatments so far. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have been found to be an encouraging candidate for MI treatment. But it is facing challenge of low engraftment, limited integration of transplanted cells with host myocardium. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell therapy of MI treatment, two approaches have been explored: 1)The first approach was to overexpress N-cadherin (CDH2), a cell-cell adhesion molecule, in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (CDH2-hiPSC-CMs), and examine its …

Characterizing The Role Of Tissue-Specific Retinol Dehydrogenases, Kelli Rae Goggans

All ETDs from UAB

The bioactive form of vitamin A, retinoic acid is essential for development, cellular differentiation, epigenetic modifications, the immune system, and a variety of other processes due to its ability to regulate over 500 genes through activation of nuclear receptors. While many studies have focused on characterizing the biosynthesis and signaling of retinoic acid in embryogenesis, few have focused on adult tissues. Recent research has identified a novel retinol dehydrogenase, retinol dehydrogenase epidermal 2 (RDHE2), and shown RDHE2 is a potent, physiologically relevant retinol dehydrogenase in Xenopus. The work in this dissertation characterizes RDHE2 in mammalian models. We identify a paralog …

History Of Allergy, Atopy, Infectious And Autoimmune Disease And Risk Of Multiple Myeloma, Tony B. Zbysinski

All ETDs from UAB

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy, which is defined in part by antibodies and complexes of immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy and light chains (IgH and IgL). Previous associations of immune-stimulating conditions such as allergic, autoimmune, and infectious conditions and the risk of multiple myeloma (MM) are inconsistent. However, these studies were conducted in populations of European ancestry, leaving the possibility that these conditions may contribute to the excess risk of plasma cell proliferative disorders observed among Black Americans. Therefore, we assessed MGUS, a precursor condition to myeloma, and MM risk related to a history of allergy, atopy, infections and …

Telehealth High-Intensity Interval Exercise And Cardiometabolic Health In Spinal Cord Injury, Jacob Adams

All ETDs from UAB

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that high intensity interval training (HIIT) can improve cardiometabolic health in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Individuals with SCI experience a wide array of barriers to participate in exercise such as lack of time, accessible equipment, and transportation. It is imperative to identify modes of exercise that provide effective health benefits and are accessible while requiring low time commitment. Studies have demonstrated that HIIT has similar positive improvements in cardiometabolic health with 20% of total time commitment compared to moderate intensity exercise (MIT) in short term studies. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is …

Instructional Leadership During Modern Crises: A Phenomenological Study Of A Pandemic In The Modern Age, Larry Bradley Robertson

All ETDs from UAB

Significant research exists concerning crisis management in schools; however, educational leaders were unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic (Bratianu & Bejinaru, 2021; Diliberti et al., 2020; Tomasik et al., 2020). This crisis was different from any experienced in modern times. It impacted the entire world in terms of politics, economics, education, and way of life. New issues emerged due to the necessity for schools to implement remote learning. Among those issues were online learning, the disparity of the haves and have nots among students, social and emotional well-being of students, learning loss, and the role of the educator (Martinez & Broemmel, …

The Requirement Of Transcriptional Lim Complex Co-Regulators For Pancreatic Endocrine Cell Development And Function, Eliana Davi Toren

All ETDs from UAB

The prevalence and tremendous impact of diabetes mellitus has made glucose regulation of the insulin-producing -cell and surrounding pancreatic islet of Langerhans a center of public and research interests alike. A comprehensive understanding of these hormone-producing cells begins with their developmental origins. What are the genetic cues and participants in the tightly orchestrated process of their formation? Investigating the earliest determinants of islet-cell fate not only allows us to deeply understand mature - and islet-cell function, but also produces a data-driven template for how these cells can be reproduced in future stem-cell based diabetes therapies. LIM transcriptional complexes are indispensable …

Examining Family Health Through Family-Centered Care Within An Organizational Context, Bria Kathryn Morgan

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: Family health is characterized as a multi-dimensional process that is shaped by a number of social determinants. Similar to individual health, various domains work in conjunction and intersect to produce family health. Family-centered care is one of the many ways that healthcare providers can support health, however, little is known about if and how it is beneficial for family health. Considering the relevance of an organizational context, this study seeks to understand the delivery of care within an organization and providers’ perceptions of family-centered care. Data/Methods: Using the case of the Ronald McDonald House, this study integrates qualitative content …

Nutrition Practices And Body Composition In Infants Born Preterm, Maggie Jerome

All ETDs from UAB

Adequate nutrition and optimal growth are critical goals of clinical care for premature infants in the NICU due to rapid brain growth and development that occur during this time. Emerging evidence suggests that body composition in preterm infants is predictive of neurodevelopmental and metabolic outcomes later in childhood. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate factors affecting premature infant growth and body composition, including high enteral protein supplementation, nutrition during the first two weeks of life, and race of infants born at 22-32 weeks gestational age admitted to the UAB NICU. In a pilot study, 56 preterm infants were …

Exploring The Influence Of Psychosocial Stress And Inflammatory Properties Of The Diet On Cardiometabolic Risk And Gut Microbiome Health Among Young Adult Women Of Birmingham, Alabama, Rachel Olivia Knight

All ETDs from UAB

Concerning trends for obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and obesity-related cancers, or cardiometabolic disease (CMD), are developing within the emerging and young adult/adulthood (EYA) population. Evidence supports the concept that chronic stress leads to physiologic dysregulation, reduced mental health, chronic diseases, and reduced longevity; however, these are not inevitable outcomes, and resilience or vulnerability is determined by interacting environmental and biobehavioral factors. Although CMD manifests clinically in older adulthood, disease pathophysiology begins earlier, and thus, EYA is a critical time for observation and intervention. Growing evidence indicates inflammation is a major risk factor in CMD development and may be exacerbated by …

Health Disparities In Cardiometabolic Risk Among African American And European American Adults, Catharine A. Couch

All ETDs from UAB

African American (AA) individuals are disproportionately burdened by cardiometabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and associated risk factors. The objective of this dissertation research was to investigate pathophysiological and lifestyle contributors to racial disparities in cardiometabolic disease including beta-cell dysfunction, ectopic fat, the natriuretic peptide system, and diet. These first three risk factors, beta-cell dysfunction, ectopic fat, and the natriuretic peptide system, were explored in a cross-sectional study of young AA and European American (EA) adults. The fourth risk factor, diet, was explored in a large, national cohort of black and white adults. First, we …