Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Identifying Functional Regional Changes In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease And Freezing Of Gait, Taylor Robin Davis

All ETDs from UAB

Freezing of gait (FOG) affects anywhere from 20-80% of those with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) with the prevalence increasing with disease severity and length. This detrimental symptom is unpredictable and poorly characterized, which adds to the negative experience of FOG as it is difficult to treat. Using resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI), we set out to determine the functional changes in those with PD-FOG and map onto regions of the brain where signal power, measured using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), synchronicity, as measured by regional homogeneity (ReHo), and strength and direction of intra-network connections as measured by static effective connectivity, are …

Water Absorption, Surface Roughness And Flexural Strength Assessment Of Peek With And Without Aging., Pranjal Ramchandra Daundakr

All ETDs from UAB

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) has been the primary material for complete denture bases since its introduction in 1936 due to its esthetics, affordability, and ease of processing. However, PMMA demonstrates well-documented shortcomings, including relatively low flexural strength, high water absorption, and susceptibility to surface wear. These limitations lead to fractures, loss of occlusal vertical dimension (OVD), frequent relines, and compromised esthetics. Even advanced formats such as CAD-CAM milled and 3D printed PMMA remain prone to dimensional instability, microbial colonization, and long-term degradation. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a high-performance thermoplastic originally used in orthopedic and spinal implants, has recently been introduced into dentistry as …

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 …

Randomized Control Trial Of A Novel Dental Gel As An Adjunct To Scaling And Root Planing In Subjects With Stage Ii & Iii Periodontitis, Efstratios Choreftakis

All ETDs from UAB

Scaling and root planing (ScRP) is the gold standard for non-surgical periodontal therapy, yet no dentifrice has been definitively shown to improve its outcomes. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of LivFresh Dental Gel as an adjunct to ScRP in patients with Stage II and III periodontitis. Twenty-one participants were assigned to either a test group using LivFresh Dental Gel or a control group using a standard sodium fluoride dentifrice. Clinical parameters—including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival index (GI), plaque index (PI), and bleeding on probing (BOP)—were assessed at baseline, 30, 90, and 180 days. The …

Identifying The Neurobiological Substrates Of Gulf War Illness, Chloe Lisette Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Gulf War Illness (GWI) affects approximately 30% of veterans who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and is characterized by chronic pain and fatigue, as well as cognitive, mood, gastrointestinal, and respiratory symptoms. Animal research has suggested that GWI is caused by a combination of neurotoxicants such as nerve gas, anti-nerve agent pills, and pesticides, though a definitive pathophysiological model has not been established. In this human observational study, 20 veterans with GWI and 20 healthy Gulf War veterans (HV) underwent whole-brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to non-invasively measure several metabolites associated with neuroinflammation. Whole blood was also collected …

A High-Salt Diet Modulates Renal Afferent Nerve Activity; Potential Role Of The Endothelin System, Jiaxi Shen

All ETDs from UAB

Hypertension is a prevalent disease around the world. Increased blood pressure leads to a higher risk of stroke and coronary heart disease. Diet, lifestyle, and gene regulation are potential causative factors, and salt-sensitive hypertension is one common types of hypertension. In response to a high-salt diet, blood pressure may elevate with increasing risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Endothelin-1, which binds to endothelin A (ETA) and B (ETB) receptors, is strongly involved in controlling the blood vessels and sensory nerve signaling pathway between the kidney and the central nervous system during high salt dietary challenge. The function of the ETB receptor …

Myelin Mapping In Psychosis, Victoria Lynn King

All ETDs from UAB

It is well established that myelin in the central nervous system is an axonal insulator which speeds the conduction velocity of action potentials. However, its role in the cortex has also been shown to support metabolic demands and aid in cortical plasticity. Myelin develops throughout childhood and adolescence from sensorimotor areas to association areas and peaks during adolescence. Importantly, this is the same time that psychosis-spectrum disorders (PSDs) begin to present clinically; thus, given the critical role of myelination in shaping the mature cortex, disruptions in this process – particularly during adolescence – are thought to partially explain the onset …

Impact Of Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation On Corticostriatal Synaptic Function And Morphology, Charlotte Franziska Brzozowski

All ETDs from UAB

Lewy Body Dementias (LBDs), including Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), are defined by α-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation in Lewy Pathology (LP). LP is abundant in cortical layer V intratelencephalic (IT) neurons, a subset of neurons that also degenerate in the pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) in humans, which is homologous to the secondary motor cortex (M2) in mice, as observed in PD postmortem tissue. IT neuron projections to the striatum are an intrinsic part of the motor basal ganglia circuitry, believed to modulate cognitive aspects of executive motor control, such as updating motor plans. M2 projections to …

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Shame: Exploring The Unique Therapeutic Potential Of Psychedelics For Sexual And Gender Minority Populations, Nicholas Carlisle

All ETDs from UAB

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals face significant disparities in mental and physical health compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, due in part to chronic exposure to distal and proximal minority stressors. Shame – a self-focused characterized by a global sense of personal deficiency or unworthiness – has emerged as a key intrapersonal mechanism linking minority stressors to adverse health outcomes. This dissertation explores the role of shame in SGM health inequities and investigates the emerging potential of psychedelics to reduce shame and improve health and wellbeing in these populations. This three-paper dissertation begins with a scoping review (Paper …

Amygdala Npy+ Interneurons Are Activated By Aversive Stim-Uli, Patric Perez

All ETDs from UAB

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) serves as a critical endogenous anxiolytic and stress-buffering molecule, yet the temporal and spatial dynamics of NPY+ cells during fear learning re-main unknown. Temporal dynamics can be measured with in vivo calcium imaging tech-niques, which enable real-time monitoring of cell-type-specific neural activity in freely behaving animals. Snapshots of neuronal activation can be measured using c-Fos im-munohistochemistry, thereby providing excellent spatial resolution. Here, I employ cut-ting-edge approaches to characterize the temporal and spatial activation patterns of NPY+ cells in amygdala, a key fear-regulating brain region negatively impacted by aversive events. I first used in vivo fiber photometry, together …

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 …

Understanding Visual Memory Encoding And The Effects Of Endurance Exercise In Healthy Adults And People With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Brandon Steve Mitchell

All ETDs from UAB

The visual memory encoding (VME) of indoor and outdoor scenes is a complex cognitive process that primarily utilizes the bilateral hippocampi and medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures along the parahippocampal gyrus. Alpha and theta frequency band oscillations are important in the processing of visual information and memory formation, respectively. We completed hree studies investigating the cognitive process of VME in healthy adults and people with temporal lobe epilepsy (pwTLE). The first study was cross-sectional and utilized a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-constrained magnetoencephalography (MEG) analysis in healthy adults to explore VME. The fMRI results were used as spatial priors to …

Strength Of Self-Adhesive Resin Cements To Shortened Zirconia Crowns With And Without An Additional Coat Of Adhesive, Abraham John

All ETDs from UAB

Self-adhesive cements have gained popularity due to their ease of manipulation as they do not require a separate etch, primer, or bonding agent to bond to the tooth or crown surfaces. However, the use of an adhesive bonding agent with a self-adhesive resin cement has been claimed to improve its bond strength. The objective of this study is to compare the retention bond strength of 2 self-adhesive cements on to the tooth surface with and without the use of bonding agents with a known control. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 extracted non-carious second premolar teeth were collected. The …

Murder On The Axonal Express: Synucleinopathy Disruption Of 14-3-3 Protein-Protein Interactions Impairs Axonal Trafficking, Frank Sanders Pair

All ETDs from UAB

14-3-3s are a family of proteins highly expressed in the brain. These proteins exert their functions mainly through protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and have thousands of binding partners. 14-3-3s have been shown to be present in pro-teinaceous aggregates of alpha-synuclein (αsyn), a pathological hallmark of synucleinopathies. This includes such diseases as Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). 14-3-3 proteins, particularly the 14-3-3θ isoform, have been shown to be protective in multiple synucleinopathy models. However, reduced soluble levels of 14-3-3s and increased phosphorylation of 14-3-3θ at S232 observed in synucleinopathies like DLB may impair their protec-tive ability, potentially due …

Attitudes Of Optometrists Towards Referring Patients For Nutrition And Lifestyle Changes To Treat Diabetic Retinopathy And Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Samantha Chapman

All ETDs from UAB

Some ocular diseases, including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, have direct links to systemic diseases or the condition of the body as a whole. Specific diet and lifestyle changes have been studied in relation to these two diseases and, while it is not within the scope of optometry to prescribe these changes for patients, an optometrist may refer to a variety of specialists so that patients can receive the most holistic care available. The primary goal of this study is to assess the attitudes of currently practicing United States optometrists towards referring to nutrition and lifestyle professionals and their …

Understanding The Functional Consequence Of Cul3 Deletion In The Mammalian Brain, Prathibha Sekar

All ETDs from UAB

Polyubiquitination is a post-translational modification which often results in degradation of the ubiquitin-tagged protein. E3 ubiquitin ligases are multi-subunit protein complexes that assist in this ubiquitination process. Multiple genes that play a role in ubiquitination are implicated in autism spectrum disorder, a highly heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. CULLIN3 (CUL3), a scaffolding protein part of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, is the product of a high-risk autism gene implicated across multiple large scale sequencing studies of autism patients. Additionally, CUL3 haploinsufficiency is associated with a syndromic disorder called NEDAUS (Neurodevelopmental disorder with or without autism or seizures) characterized by intellectual disability (ID), …

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 …

Macrophage Subsets In Cardiomyocyte Interaction And Infarct Repair In Heart Failure, Jolissa Davis-Mccrea, Yuhui Yang, Huilan Tan, Yajing Wang

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Biological & Life Sciences
• Health Sciences & Health Professions

The Physiological And Psychological Effects Of Stress On Undergraduate Students​, Leah Cutright, My-Linh Nguyen, Brady Carson, Ariana Howell, Chi Ajinwo, Dhanashree Rane, Samantha Giordano-Mooga

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2025 Summer Expo Oral Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions
• Social & Behavioral Sciences

Exploring The Use Of Virtual Reality For Diabetes Distress Reduction, Mary Gaston, Sarah Coiner

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions

Analyzing Racial And Geographic Distribution In Clinical Trial Enrollment Among Women With Advanced Stage Ovarian Cancer, Paxton Gillispie, Dhruva Dave, Gerald Mcgwin, Ashwini Katre, Ashley Anderson, Teresa Boitano, Nneka Ijeli, Purva Pawar, Rebecca Arend

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Physical & Applied Sciences
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An Analysis Of Current Guidelines Regarding Expedited Treatment With Leep Procedures, Javier Villasenor, Christopher Mayer, Teresa Boitano, Warner Huh

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Oral Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Small Colony Variants And Their Effects On The Inflammatory Response In The Cystic Fibrosis Bronchial Epithelium, Daphne Nallamala, Emma L. Matthews, Viviana Acevedo Rua, Federico I. Prokopczuk, Jarrod W. Barnes, Eriel Martinez, Stephanie Krick

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions

An Analysis Of Expedited Treatment With Leep Procedures Are Current Guidelines Effective In Addressing Cervical Cancer Advancement In High-Risk Patients?​, Javier Villasenor, Christopher Mayer, Teresa Boitano, Warner Huh

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Summer Expo Poster Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions

Translucency And Stain Resistance Of A Light Cured Pontic Paste, Ahmed Abumustafa

All ETDs from UAB

Objectives: Light-cured pontic pastes can be applied to the internal aspect of clear retainer/aligner trays at sites of missing teeth. Ideally, the pontic tooth should appear visually opaque and resist staining. The aim of this study was to determine if the number of coats of the paste will affect its translucency and stain resistance. Materials and Methods: 12mm diameter discs of a biocryl clear retainer material (Clear Splint) (n=10) were punch-cut. Light-cure pontic paste (Perfect-A-Smile Pontic) was applied to one side of the biocryl discs in 1, 2, 3 or 4 coats (200-400g /coat). The paste was light cured between …

Antifungal Efficacy And Flexural Strength Of Silver Nanoparticles Reinforced Cad/Cam And Heat-Cured Pmma Polymers: An In-Vitro Study, Himanshi Aggarwal

All ETDs from UAB

Background: PMMA denture base resins have high propensity for C. albicans growth. Previous studies have found that silver nanoparticle (SNP) addition into conventional PMMA resin improves fungal resistance without interfering with its flexural strength. Recently, CAD/CAM dentures have become highly popular, but they are also prone to fungal in-growth. However, little is known about the effect of addition of silver nanoparticles in CAD/CAM printed PMMA resin material. Objective: To compare the effect of the addition of cytocompatible concentration (1 µm/ml) of SNP on the antifungal efficacy and flexural strength of CAD/CAM printed and heat-cured PMMA polymers. Materials and methods: A …

Impact Of Professional Organizations On Nursing Student Success, Nathan Talarico, A J. Reed, Curry Bordelon

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Spring Expo Poster Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions

Rapid Serial Visual Task Assessment Performance In Response To Training In A Central Vision Loss Model, Hrinmai Manikandan

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2025 Spring Expo Poster Presentation

• Biological & Life Sciences
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Investigating The Role Of Centromere Deletion In Chromosome Segregation, Azait Imtiaz, Rafael Contreras-Galindo

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2025 Spring Expo Poster Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions

Intermittent Fasting And Its Effects On Brain Health, Susan Egas, Nyla Garrett, David Vance

Expo Student Presentations

2025 Spring Expo Poster Presentation

• Health Sciences & Health Professions