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Phase Transitions And Anomalous Compressibility In 1-2-2 Fe-Based Superconductors, Walter O. Uhoya
Phase Transitions And Anomalous Compressibility In 1-2-2 Fe-Based Superconductors, Walter O. Uhoya
All ETDs from UAB
Interplay of pressure and chemistry play an important role in discovery of novel properties such as high temperature superconductivity (high-Tc). In 2008, Hosono et al discovered superconductivity at 26 K in iron-based layered LaFeAsO (1-x)Fx. This observation was a surprise since iron based compounds are generally known to be magnetic and non-superconducting. This was quickly followed by the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in a second class of Fe-based layered pnictides AFe2As2 (1-2-2) (A= Ba, Sr, Ca, Eu). The undoped (parent) 1-2-2 compounds are non-superconducting at ambient pressure but become superconducting when their structures are tuned by the application of …
Physician-Parent Interactions In Pediatric End-Of-Life Care: Implications For Integrative Communication, Decision-Making And Ethics Training*, Lori Brand Bateman
Physician-Parent Interactions In Pediatric End-Of-Life Care: Implications For Integrative Communication, Decision-Making And Ethics Training*, Lori Brand Bateman
All ETDs from UAB
In this dissertation, I utilized a primarily qualitative mixed methods longitudinal process to explore physician-parent pediatric end-of-life communication. Between August 2011 and March 2012, participant pediatric physicians (N=21) from emergency medicine (PEM) and critical care (PCC) were presented with a standardized case of an 8 year-old child in respiratory distress who had a degenerative neurological disorder and was nearing the end-of-life. Participants were observed in a timed simulation experience and given a physician-parent participatory communication score. All simulations were followed by a post-simulation debriefing interview. Then, between March and October 2012, a total of 17 of the original 21 participants …
Illuminating The Physiology And Ecology Of The Wound-Induced Macroalgal Oxidative Burst, Ruth Ellen Mcdowell
Illuminating The Physiology And Ecology Of The Wound-Induced Macroalgal Oxidative Burst, Ruth Ellen Mcdowell
All ETDs from UAB
The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the macroalgal wound response was investigated with emphasis on their occurrence, source, and ecological role. In a survey of Antarctic macroalgae, an oxidative response to wounding was common and ROS in seawater decreased the feeding rate of sympatric amphipod grazers. The macroalgal oxidative response was also sensitive to light. In contrast to the current understanding of the macroalgal oxidative burst, initial wound-induced ROS from the temperate kelp Saccharina latissima were light-dependent and arose from disrupted photosynthetic electron transport rather than from a defense-related enzyme such as an NADPH-oxidase. Furthermore, the light-dependence of …
The Inverse Volatility Problem For American Options, Ajay Mahato
The Inverse Volatility Problem For American Options, Ajay Mahato
All ETDs from UAB
The inverse problem of determining equity volatility from a knowledge of American option prices for a range of exercise prices and expirations is solved by minimization of a convex functional. This variational approach has distinct advantages over traditional least squares techniques in that, as the associated functional is convex, one typically has a unique global minimum, so that one is not concerned about the steepest descent minimization process "getting stuck" in spurious local minima. This is an enormous advantage numerically in difficult situations. We illustrate the method using examples drawn from recent market data.
The Conservation Of The Western Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea) At Bird's Head Peninsula, Papua Barat, Indonesia, Ricardo F. Tapilatu
The Conservation Of The Western Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea) At Bird's Head Peninsula, Papua Barat, Indonesia, Ricardo F. Tapilatu
All ETDs from UAB
Leatherbacks declined significantly worldwide during the 20th century and continue to decline in the Pacific and Indian oceans. In the Pacific Ocean, nesting numbers on beaches in Malaysia and the Pacific coast of Mexico and Costa Rica have collapsed. The nesting beaches at Bird's Head Papua Barat, Indonesia, represent the last stronghold for leatherback nesting in the western Pacific. The studies in this dissertation provide basic information that is critical to our understanding of the biology, ecology, and conservation of the western Pacific leatherback. (1) Year-round nesting surveys were conducted from 2005 to 2011 at both Jamursba Medi and Wermon …
Devitrification Of Iron Based Metallic Glasses At High Pressures And High Temperatures, Andrew Kevin Stemshorn
Devitrification Of Iron Based Metallic Glasses At High Pressures And High Temperatures, Andrew Kevin Stemshorn
All ETDs from UAB
High pressure high temperature devitrification of a Fe85Si10B5 and a Fe78B13Si9 metallic glass was conducted at constant pressures with simultaneous in situ energy dispersive x-ray powder diffraction measurement. After the application of pressure a constant heating rate was applied. Heating the sample in each case resulted in crystallization with two distinct stages. Pressure is found to strongly affect crystallization temperature. Each stage of crystallization is identified using crystallographic analysis. Complementary high pressure room temperature studies were conducted for each sample.
Neuroplastic Change In Adults With Hemiparetic Multiple Sclerosis Following Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy, Chelsey Sterling
Neuroplastic Change In Adults With Hemiparetic Multiple Sclerosis Following Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy, Chelsey Sterling
All ETDs from UAB
Constraint-Induced Movement (CI) therapy has been found to produce substantial improvements in upper-extremity functioning in both adults and children following damage to the central nervous system (CNS), including stroke, traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy. In addition, structural changes in the sensorimotor cortices and bilateral hippocampi have been observed in both adults and children following CI therapy treatment for upper extremity hemiparesis. Although most research has been conducted in patients with such static injuries as strokes and TBI, clinical efficacy of CI therapy has also been demonstrated in a small number of patients with the progressive autoimmune disorder, multiple sclerosis …
Unraveling The Mechanisms Of Skeletal Muscle Hyperplasia: Juxtaposing Divergent Growth Paradigms, Jacob Michael Froehlich
Unraveling The Mechanisms Of Skeletal Muscle Hyperplasia: Juxtaposing Divergent Growth Paradigms, Jacob Michael Froehlich
All ETDs from UAB
During the course of vertebrate evolution, two major growth paradigms have appeared: determinate, one in which an animal's final size is largely governed by predisposed genetic potential; and indeterminate, a paradigm involving life-long, largely environmentally governed somatic growth. Of the tissues constituting an adult vertebrate, skeletal muscle comprises ≥60% of that organism's mass, making it an important factor in overall body growth. To better understand the process by which many teleost fishes grow throughout their natural lifespans, the clade Danioninae and the model rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were utilized in a comparative manner. Contrary to current hypotheses, fish with indeterminate …
Effects Of Biological, Environmental, And Nutritional Factors On Fecal Pellet Size And Morphology In The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Lacey Nicole Dennis
Effects Of Biological, Environmental, And Nutritional Factors On Fecal Pellet Size And Morphology In The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Lacey Nicole Dennis
All ETDs from UAB
Sea urchins are an important economic resource for many international fisheries and are an important animal model in developmental biology. Currently, health of cultured sea urchins is evaluated by behavior or through invasive examination of internal tissues. Destructive sampling is not conducive to longitudinal studies and a non-invasive method of evaluating sea urchin health would have practical application. Evaluation of the egesta could provide a valuable predictor of physiological well-being. The size and morphology of fecal pellets produced by the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus under a variety of environmental and nutritional conditions were characterized in terms of 2-dimensional area, length, …
Anatomical And Neurochemical Investigation Of The Brain In Autism, Lauren E. Libero
Anatomical And Neurochemical Investigation Of The Brain In Autism, Lauren E. Libero
All ETDs from UAB
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with widespread behavioral symptoms and a strong neurobiological origin. Neuroimaging studies of ASD have uncovered evidence for widespread abnormalities in brain anatomy and functioning. Abnormalities reported by structural brain imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) studies have aided in characterizing ASD as a complex, systems-wide disorder. The overarching goal of this project was to use multiple modalities of neuroimaging to investigate the underlying neural mechanisms of ASD. The following techniques were used to collect and analyze multimodal neuroimaging data from a relatively large number of participants …
Differences In How Bmi And Body Fat Distribution Influence Body Dissatisfaction And Self-Esteem In Caucasian And African American Early Pubertal Girls, Danielle Marie Lorch
Differences In How Bmi And Body Fat Distribution Influence Body Dissatisfaction And Self-Esteem In Caucasian And African American Early Pubertal Girls, Danielle Marie Lorch
All ETDs from UAB
Body dissatisfaction is among many psychological concerns related to obesity, particularly among pre-adolescent females. Though obesity prevalence estimates are higher among African American (AA) adolescent females, the limited data available suggests that they are less susceptible to weight-related body dissatisfaction than Caucasians. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between BMI and body dissatisfaction and the relationship between BMI and self-esteem in obese AA and Caucasian girls, aged 7-11 years, and determine if these relationships are moderated by race. Furthermore, an examination of how total body fat and body fat distribution before and after a dietary …
Sak Yant: The Transition From Indic Yantras To Thai "Magical" Buddhist Tattoos, Angela May
Sak Yant: The Transition From Indic Yantras To Thai "Magical" Buddhist Tattoos, Angela May
All ETDs from UAB
Officially, Thailand is dominated by the state-sponsored Theravada Buddhist tradition, which has essentially been practiced in Thailand since 1902 when the sangha bureaucracy was established. However, within the last couple of decades a hybrid form of Thai Buddhism has emerged. The contemporary, hybridic Thai religion emphasizes Buddhism--placing it at the top of its hierarchal pyramid--even while it includes elements of Animism and Hinduism. This thesis explores the hybridization of popular religions in contemporary Thailand as reflected in the art form of Sak Yant. Thai Buddhist magical tattoos called Sak Yant are based on ancient Indic yantras that are considered powerful …
Terror On Campus: Analyzing Macro Level Factors Of Colleges That Contribute To Forcible Rape, Lakesha Martin
Terror On Campus: Analyzing Macro Level Factors Of Colleges That Contribute To Forcible Rape, Lakesha Martin
All ETDs from UAB
Rapes on college campuses have been a major problem in the United States and alarming numbers of this crime occurring in our colleges and universities call for attention in this matter to provide solutions to reduce or prevent the incident of rape on campus. Institutions possess certain characteristics that may contribute to rape on campuses. This explanatory study analyzes different factors of institutions on a macro level basis to understand which factors significantly contribute to the likelihood of forcible rapes. Two hundred U.S. colleges and universities are used in this data sample to analyze their institutional demographic factors and situational …
Enhancing The Social Interactions Of Preschool Children With Autism: The Effectiveness Of A Peer-Mediated Intervention, Marjorie Katherine Mccalla
Enhancing The Social Interactions Of Preschool Children With Autism: The Effectiveness Of A Peer-Mediated Intervention, Marjorie Katherine Mccalla
All ETDs from UAB
Deficits in social interactions are considered the defining feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and are a powerful predictor of individual outcomes. Although a wide variety of methods for improving social skills in individuals with ASD have been examined, it is still unclear what approaches are most effective. This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of a new manualized social skills intervention package for preschoolers with ASD that integrated methods with demonstrated efficacy (i.e., ABA, peer training, and video modeling). Approximately two thirds of the intervention were delivered during free play in the classroom and on the playground, allowing children to …
Hormonal Contraceptives Alter The Immune Function And Structural Integrity Of The Female Genital Tract: Implications For Hiv-1 Infection, Katherine Gisella Michel
Hormonal Contraceptives Alter The Immune Function And Structural Integrity Of The Female Genital Tract: Implications For Hiv-1 Infection, Katherine Gisella Michel
All ETDs from UAB
The potential effect of hormonal contraception on HIV-1 acquisition and transmission represents an important public health issue. Several observational studies have suggested an association between the use of hormonal contraception, in particular injectable depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), and an increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition and transmission. To delineate the biological mechanisms behind this phenomenon, we have recruited healthy, HIV-negative women using either DMPA, NuvaRing, or combined oral contraceptives for a vaginal biopsy and cervicovaginal lavage (CVL). Analysis of the functional capacity of circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), distribution of vaginal immune cell populations, and systemic and genital levels of immune …
Night Comes Early To The Valley, Caitlin Murphree Miller
Night Comes Early To The Valley, Caitlin Murphree Miller
All ETDs from UAB
Night Comes Early to the Valley is a collection of short stories about vulnerable, flawed people trying to discover the best way to live their lives. They are well-meaning mothers, fathers, children, and lovers, yet all struggle to balance the fulfillment of their personal responsibilities with the realization of their deepest individual desires. The collection highlights characters who are desperate to atone for their mistakes, build brighter futures, and live up to the expectations of their loved ones--only to realize, over time, that the most formidable judge they'll ever face is their own conscience.
Compression, Bethany Anne Mitchell
Compression, Bethany Anne Mitchell
All ETDs from UAB
Compression , a nonfiction novel-in-progress, examines the author's twisting relationship with her father in the context of her exploration into the traditional archery world. A proud new owner of a 72-inch English longbow, the author's dependence on archery increases as her father's sudden onset of paranoid schizophrenia pushes the two of them widely off target. This novel-in-progress incorporates humor into the real story of a teen coming of age just as her father begins to drift away, a period of years swirling with doubt, confusion, anger, and loss as the author attempts to find a new normal and establish her …
American Options And Semilinear Parabolic Partial Differential Equations In Weighted Sobolev Spaces., Terrence K. Muthoka
American Options And Semilinear Parabolic Partial Differential Equations In Weighted Sobolev Spaces., Terrence K. Muthoka
All ETDs from UAB
To value an American option as a function of time t and price of the underlying asset S is currently a major research problem in both Financial Markets and for academic purposes. Options and more general financial derivatives (also known as contingent claims) are now an important tool in risk management. One of the earliest models used in pricing derivatives is the Black-Scholes model, for which the movement in the price of the underlying asset on which the claim is based is modeled by geometric Brownian motion. Other models used for theoretical and numerical analysis of American options include the …
Coevolution Of Sponges And Microbial Symbionts Across Ocean Basins, Zachary Lee Nolen
Coevolution Of Sponges And Microbial Symbionts Across Ocean Basins, Zachary Lee Nolen
All ETDs from UAB
Sponges (phylum Porifera) can comprise a large portion of benthic communities in freshwater and marine environments. Because sponges possess simple body plans and can have substantial phenotypic plasticity within species, reconstructing phylogenies of Porifera based upon morphologies alone has proven difficult. With the advent of nucleic acid sequencing technologies, interest in sponge phylogenetics has significantly increased among researchers. Additionally, sponges host a wide range of microbial symbionts, including the cyanobacterium Synechococcus spongiarum. This study examined the evolution of both sets of organisms in the symbiotic relationship between Aplysina sponges and Synechococcus cyanobacteria. In Chapter 3, gene sequences coding for the …
The Role Of Ih In 4-Aminopyridine Induced Epileptiform Activity, Steven Patrick Palladino
The Role Of Ih In 4-Aminopyridine Induced Epileptiform Activity, Steven Patrick Palladino
All ETDs from UAB
Our laboratory has taken a recent interest in understanding the role Ih plays in epilepsy. Ih is an inward rectifying current which is activated at hyperpolarized membrane potentials. Our lab found that in the freeze lesion epilepsy model, Ih is reduced, EPSP summation is increased, and membrane excitability is increased. In the present study, we used whole cell patch clamp technique to examine the role of Ih in the 4-AP hyperexcitability model. We first wanted to establish the effects of 4-AP on layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons. Treatment of L5 pyramidal cells with 4-AP resulted in changes in the intrinsic …
Biology, Ecology, And Conservation Of Hatchling And Post-Hatchling Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin Pileata), Tandy Dolin Petrov
Biology, Ecology, And Conservation Of Hatchling And Post-Hatchling Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin Pileata), Tandy Dolin Petrov
All ETDs from UAB
The diamondback terrapin has been considered a keystone species along its range in the coastal, brackish estuaries bordering the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Historically, diamondback terrapin populations have been numerous; however, in Alabama; the population has dramatically declined over the past century due to a variety of threats. The threats in Alabama include predation by raccoons, incidental drowning in crab traps, as well as road mitigated mortality. Because of these threats, collaboration efforts between UAB, USA, DISL, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, a head-start program has been initiated to mitigate the predation of hatchlings. …
Internet Use And Mental Health/Well-Being In Old Age: Exploring The Roles Of Social Integration And Social Support, Ronald William Berkowsky
Internet Use And Mental Health/Well-Being In Old Age: Exploring The Roles Of Social Integration And Social Support, Ronald William Berkowsky
All ETDs from UAB
The escalating pressures put on the US healthcare system, due in part to the growing needs of the expanding older adult population, has motivated research dedicated to more fully understanding the mental health and mental well-being needs of this population and ways to address these needs and alleviate the pressure on the healthcare system. An increasing area of interest is in examining the role information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as Internet-connected computers and smartphones, in the health of older adults. Research has shown that ICTs can successfully be used to help treat, manage, and cope with mental health/well-being issues, …
Ap2 Clock Mutant Mice: Baseline Characteristics And Novel Responses To A Lipopolysaccharide Challenge, Tana Birky
Ap2 Clock Mutant Mice: Baseline Characteristics And Novel Responses To A Lipopolysaccharide Challenge, Tana Birky
All ETDs from UAB
Circadian rhythms are the daily biological changes present within most organisms that occur in a predictable, approximately 24 hour pattern, even in the absence of external stimuli. These rhythms occur both at a global and cellular level, and although the molecular mechanics are highly conserved, their functions may vary depending on the tissues in which they are expressed. These functions include various aspects of metabolic processes such as satiety signaling and cellular proliferation. In order to explore the specific functions of circadian rhythms within adipocytes, a mouse model with Clock disruption driven by the fatty acid-binding protein 2 (aP2) promoter …
Examining Neuropsychological Sequelae Of Chronic Pain And The Effect Of Immediate-Release Opioid Analgesics, Cady Block
Examining Neuropsychological Sequelae Of Chronic Pain And The Effect Of Immediate-Release Opioid Analgesics, Cady Block
All ETDs from UAB
Introduction: Patients commonly complain of subjective side effects of opioid use, including forgetfulness, slowed processing speed, confusion, and sedation - which have raised concerns about potential cognitive impairment. However, research on the effects of opioids on objective neuropsychological performance is thus far equivocal and, unfortunately, many of the studies cited as support for opioid-related impairment do not fully account for the neuropsychological effects of chronic pain, which has been shown to affect many of the same neuropsychological domains purported to be affected by opioids. To that end, we sought to examine whether: 1) chronic nociceptive pain itself results in objective …
Equation Of State And Electrical Resistivity Of Cerium Cobalt Pentaindium And The Dynamics Of Nucleation And Growth Of Metallic Domains In Vanadium Dioxide, Nathaniel Brady
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This dissertation covers two projects on materials with bulk electronic properties that result from strong electron-electron interactions. The first project focuses on the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5. To elucidate the electronic properties of CeCoIn5, we performed high-pressure electronic characterization and X-ray diffraction. The crystalline structure of CeCoIn5 is in the P4/mmm space group at pressures up to 51.2 GPa. Using a designer diamond anvil cell, we measured the pressure-dependent resistance up to 35 GPa at ambient temperature. To determine the resistivity, we numerically modeled the diamond anvil cell using a finite element analysis approach. The resistivity was obtained as a function …
Therapeutic Ck2 Inhibition Attenuates Diverse Prosurvival Signaling Cascades And Decreases Cell Viability In Human Breast Cancer Cells, Gary Kenneth Gray
Therapeutic Ck2 Inhibition Attenuates Diverse Prosurvival Signaling Cascades And Decreases Cell Viability In Human Breast Cancer Cells, Gary Kenneth Gray
All ETDs from UAB
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide, and it remains a major cause of mortality, thus necessitating further advancements in treatment. In breast cancer, numerous cell signaling pathways are aberrantly activated in order to produce the myriad phenotypes associated with malignancy; such pathways include the PI3K/Akt/mTOR, NF-κB and JAK/STAT cascades. These pathways are highly interconnected, but one prominent lateral enhancer of each is the remarkably promiscuous kinase CK2. CK2 expression has been shown to be elevated in human cancer, thus implicating it in tumorigenesis through its effects on known oncogenic signaling cascades. In this study, differential aberrant …
An Analysis Of Tax-Revenue Diversifcation Of State Governments (2000-2011), Muhammad Ali Hanif
An Analysis Of Tax-Revenue Diversifcation Of State Governments (2000-2011), Muhammad Ali Hanif
All ETDs from UAB
States are facing tremendous challenges in the Twenty-First Century. Changing federal-state relationships, demographic changes, and economic changes are creating fiscal stress for states. Within all these challenges, one of most important one is frequent economic fluctuations that are creating fiscal instability for American States. Theorists have argued that states needs to overcome revenue instability for continuation of state programs, which can be done by increasing revenue diversification. Thus, by using data from the US Census Bureau between years 2000 to 2011, this paper attempts to determine whether states are increasing revenue diversification over time. The findings suggest that states have …
Depression And Alcohol Use Disorders As Gendered Phenotypes Of 5-Httlpr, Bryant Walker Hamby
Depression And Alcohol Use Disorders As Gendered Phenotypes Of 5-Httlpr, Bryant Walker Hamby
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The serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been associated with both depression and alcohol use disorders in previous gene-environment interaction studies, but these associations have not been consistent. Previous research on mental health has posited that depression and alcohol use disorders are functionally equivalent manifestations of distress, with men displaying alcohol use disorders and women displaying depression in response to stress. This paper assesses whether the presence of the risk-conferring serotonin gene alleles increase an individual's chance of expressing distress as either depression or alcohol use disorders, depending on gender. The hypotheses that more symptoms of depression would be …
The Effects Of Estrogen On Learning And Memory, Carol Yvette Harden
The Effects Of Estrogen On Learning And Memory, Carol Yvette Harden
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Learning is the process in which new information is acquired and requires cellular modifications that occur in the hippocampus. These cellular changes can be seen through behavioral modifications which indicate memorization of the previously learned material. Increases in phosphorylation of the extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK), a subfamily of MAPKs alters synaptic efficacy making it a correlate for learning and memory. Additionally, surges in plasma 17ß estradiol (E2) levels can increase synaptic plasticity, suggesting an importance for the role of E2 in cognition. Both human and animals studies have shown that elevated levels of estrogen correlated to an enhancement in …
An Examination Of The Services That Contribute To Positive Vocational Outcomes In Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Abbey N. Harris
An Examination Of The Services That Contribute To Positive Vocational Outcomes In Adults With Developmental Disabilities, Abbey N. Harris
All ETDs from UAB
One of the most pressing issues concerning persons with developmental disabilities is making sure their needs are met once they reach adulthood. As adults, they should have the abilities and skills to be as independent as possible and to be contributing members of society. Without the proper services and help, though, this may not be possible for a large portion of this population. Research suggests that supportive employment services alone may not be enough to meet their unique vocational needs and to improve the likelihood of their achieving personal and financial independence. The purpose of this study was to determine …