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All ETDs from UAB

2015

Articles 121 - 136 of 136

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Synaptic And Neurochemical Profiles Of The Nucleus Accumbens In Postmortem Schizophrenia, Lesley Mccollum Jan 2015

Synaptic And Neurochemical Profiles Of The Nucleus Accumbens In Postmortem Schizophrenia, Lesley Mccollum

All ETDs from UAB

Schizophrenia is a mental illness affecting 1% of the population worldwide. Treatment options are limited for patients, due in part to the lack of understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia. In order to improve treatment, it is vital to gain a better understanding of the underlying pathology of the disorder. One region of particular interest is the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Part of the ventral striatum, this region is thought to play a role in schizophrenia pathology for multiple reasons: afferent input of many brain regions implicated in schizophrenia is integrated here; the dopamine and glutamate systems, both known to …

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Stat4 Regulates Multiple Pathogenic Mechanisms Of Cd4 T Cells In Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, A Model Of Multiple Sclerosis, Ian Lee Mcwilliams Jan 2015

Stat4 Regulates Multiple Pathogenic Mechanisms Of Cd4 T Cells In Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, A Model Of Multiple Sclerosis, Ian Lee Mcwilliams

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Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease whereby the host immune system fails to recognize self vs non-self and targets myelin of the central nervous system. Currently there is no permanent cure for MS and the efficacy of immune modulatory treatments often wane over time, therefore we seek to determine novel pathogenic mechanisms to target therapeutically. CD4 T cells have been found within inflammatory CNS lesions of MS patients and are believed to be important mediators of MS pathology. To study CD4 T cells in the context of MS, we use the well-defined MS mouse model experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). …

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Dna Methylation Regulates Neuronal Synaptic Scaling And Intrinsic Membrane Excitability, Jarrod P. Meadows Jan 2015

Dna Methylation Regulates Neuronal Synaptic Scaling And Intrinsic Membrane Excitability, Jarrod P. Meadows

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Learning and memory rely on long-lasting, experience-dependent adaptations in synaptic and non-synaptic forms of neuronal plasticity. Previous evidence implicates transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA cytosine methylation, as critical regulators of site-specific, Hebbian alterations in synaptic efficacy such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). However, whether DNA methylation modulates cell-wide, non-Hebbian homeostatic adaptations like synaptic scaling and intrinsic plasticity (IP) is unclear. Whereas synaptic scaling involves bidirectional changes in postsynaptic receptor density in response to chronic alterations in neuronal activity, IP involves the activity-dependent attunement of passive and/or active membrane properties that govern action potential (AP) firing. This …

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Innate Immunity Mechanisms In Parkinson Disease, Mark Moehle Jan 2015

Innate Immunity Mechanisms In Parkinson Disease, Mark Moehle

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Parkinson disease (PD) is a late onset, progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder with cardinal symptoms of tremor at rest, bradykinesia, postural instability, and rigidity. These motor symptoms of PD are caused by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). However, despite PDs first modern observation in 1817, little is understood about the causes and molecular mechanisms behind dopaminergic neuron loss. The relatively weak understanding of pathological mechanisms has hindered the development of treatments to slow or halt the progression of PD. However, recently, mounting evidence from post-mortem, imaging, and retrospective studies suggest an important role …

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Norepinephrine Circuits In Mediating Stress-Elicited Behavior, Hyungwoo Nam Jan 2015

Norepinephrine Circuits In Mediating Stress-Elicited Behavior, Hyungwoo Nam

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Norepinephrine in the central nervous system (CNS) is a key mediator of stress-elicited behavioral and physiological adaptations. However, our understanding of central noradrenergic circuitry that regulates specific stress-elicited adaptations is incomplete. The working model for the studies described in this dissertation is that disruptions of specific noradrenergic circuits are responsible for the manifestation of distinct stress-elicited behaviors. Initially the organization of descending noradrenergic neurons with poly-synaptic collaterals to the adrenal gland and skeletal muscle was defined. These noradrenergic presympathetic-premotor neurons (PSPMNs) were distributed within the ventral locus coeruleus (LC), nucleus subcoeruleus (SubC), and the A7 cell group. Then behavioral characterization …

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Nadph Oxidase-Derived Superoxide: A Potentiator Of Autoimmune Responses In Type 1 Diabetes, Lindsey E. Padgett Jan 2015

Nadph Oxidase-Derived Superoxide: A Potentiator Of Autoimmune Responses In Type 1 Diabetes, Lindsey E. Padgett

All ETDs from UAB

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease culminating in pancreatic β-cell destruction, inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-inflammatory cytokines, and islet-infiltrating leukocutes. Macrophages, one of the first islet-infiltrating cells in T1D, secrete ROS and pro-inflammatory cytokines, which lyse pancreatic β-cells and activate diabetogenic T cells to further propagate β-cell destruction, while autoreactive CD4 T cells recruit islet-infiltrating, pro-inflammatory, M1 macrophages, and enhance CD8 T cell cytotoxicity. We previously demonstrated the importance of NADPH oxidase (NOX)-derived ROS synthesis in T1D, as Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice lacking NOX-derived superoxide (NOD.Ncf1m1J) exhibited a delay in spontaneous and adoptive transfer of T1D. In …

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Presence And Mobilization Of Staphylococcus Aureus Pathogenicity Islands (Sapis) Among Bovine Mastitis Isolates, Laura Kate Parker Jan 2015

Presence And Mobilization Of Staphylococcus Aureus Pathogenicity Islands (Sapis) Among Bovine Mastitis Isolates, Laura Kate Parker

All ETDs from UAB

Bovine mastitis is inflammation of the mammary gland that occurs in cattle, as a result of invading bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus, a causative agent of bovine mastitis, produces toxins such as the toxic shock syndrome toxin (TSST-1) and the staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs). The genes for these toxins are coded on S. aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs), which are mobile genetic elements associated with virulence factors. SaPIs can be mobilized by bacteriophages, resulting in the production of transducing particles that can spread virulence factors throughout a bacterial population. This research assessed the role and prevalence of SaPIs among bovine mastitis samples. In this …

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Trends, Market Correlates, And The Impact Of Health Information Exchange, Saurabh Rahurkar Jan 2015

Trends, Market Correlates, And The Impact Of Health Information Exchange, Saurabh Rahurkar

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The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of Health Information Exchange (HIE) as well to evaluate hospital and market characteristics related to trends in HIE adoption. Widespread HIE is believed to boost efficiency, reduce health care costs, and improve outcomes; as such numerous efforts have aimed to promote and facilitate HIE by providers. Despite this, over a quarter of all hospitals in the U.S. do not participate in HIE and thus it is essential to examine the evidence for the theorized benefits from HIE. As such, the first paper systematically reviews the literature examining the relationship of …

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A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial To Assess The Performance Of Microtextured Dental Implants With Or Without A Machined Collar- 1 Year Results, Elizabeth Felts Randall Jan 2015

A Prospective Randomized Clinical Trial To Assess The Performance Of Microtextured Dental Implants With Or Without A Machined Collar- 1 Year Results, Elizabeth Felts Randall

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Aim: To assess the performance of microtextured dental implants with or without a machined collar at one year after placement. Material and Methods: Fifty-eight patients received dental implant therapy to restore missing teeth in one area of the maxilla or man-dible at the UAB Department of Graduate Periodontology. Residents in the program placed microtextured implants with a microtextured collar with microgrooves (test group) and microtextured implants with a machined collar (control group). Sites were randomized to the test group or control group. Study visit protocol was followed and implants were restored by off-site dentists. Sixty-nine (69) implants were assessed at …

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Patient Activation: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Care Management With Patient Activation-Customized Coaching And Patient Outcomes, Cindy L. Reistroffer Jan 2015

Patient Activation: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Care Management With Patient Activation-Customized Coaching And Patient Outcomes, Cindy L. Reistroffer

All ETDs from UAB

As part of healthcare reform, patient engagement is becoming an important area of focus. Most recently, patient activation, as part of engagement, has been studied; however, interventions to improve activation are not well identified. The purpose of this dissertation was to empirically examine whether enrollment in care management with patient activation (PA)-customized coaching was associated with patient outcomes of utilization, medication adherence, and clinical outcomes. The study utilized the chronic care model framework and theoretical insights from social cognitive theory to examine the relationships among three hypotheses. Secondary data related to commercially-insured enrollees in Priority Health were used to test …

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Glutamate And The Biology Of Malignant Glioma, Stephanie Marie Robert Jan 2015

Glutamate And The Biology Of Malignant Glioma, Stephanie Marie Robert

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Malignant gliomas are the most prevalent primary brain tumor. They are highly aggressive and lack effective treatment options. Standard therapy includes a combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and tumor resection; however, even with aggressive treatment, median patient survival remains a dismal 12 – 14 months after diagnosis. Research has focused on understanding the unique biological mechanisms involved in glioma growth and survival in an effort to design novel therapies to treat this devastating disease. In the unique environment of the brain, gliomas have developed the ability to grow and survive at the cost of the normal surrounding brain tissue. Glutamate, the …

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Bcla As An Adjunct To Current Bacillus Anthracis Vaccination And Therapy Protocols, Juan Bosco Rodriguez Barrantes Jan 2015

Bcla As An Adjunct To Current Bacillus Anthracis Vaccination And Therapy Protocols, Juan Bosco Rodriguez Barrantes

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Bacillus anthracis (Ba) is a Gram,-positive zoonotic bacterium that causes inhala- tional, cutaneous and intestinal Anthrax Disease. Although the infectious form of Ba is its endospore (spore), only the tripartite toxin-producing vegetative bacteria causes disease pathology. While current vaccination strategies target the Protective Antigen (PA) com- ponent of this toxin, vaccine-elicited immunity to the spore form of Ba is lacking. How- ever, vaccines targeting spore components of Ba have the potential to neutralize the in- fectious form of Ba. We sought to determine if antibodies elicited through immunization with the main antigenic component of the spore surface- Bacillus collagen-like protein …

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Investigating The Role Of Myristoylated Alanine Rich C Kinase Substrate's (Marcks's) Effector Domain In Lung And Brain Cancer Biology, Timothy D. Rohrbach Jan 2015

Investigating The Role Of Myristoylated Alanine Rich C Kinase Substrate's (Marcks's) Effector Domain In Lung And Brain Cancer Biology, Timothy D. Rohrbach

All ETDs from UAB

In this study, we investigated the role MARCKS's Effector Domain plays in lung and brain cancer biology. Initially, we identified that MARCKS was present in a range of lung cancer histologies including: squamous cell, adenocarcinoma, and normal lung tissues among others. In addition, lung adenocarcinoma patients with a mutation in the MARCKS gene correlated with decreased survival as determined by The Cancer Genome Atlas. In vitro studies identified that the phosphorylation status of MARCKS's Effector Domain was able to influence lung cancer radiation sensitivity. When MARCKS's Effector Domain was in a non-phosphorylated state, A549 lung cancer cell lines experienced increased …

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The Sialyltransferase St6gal-I Promotes A Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype, Matthew Jonathan Schultz Jan 2015

The Sialyltransferase St6gal-I Promotes A Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype, Matthew Jonathan Schultz

All ETDs from UAB

Alterations in tumor cell glycosylation have been observed for decades, but the functional consequences of specific glycosyltransferase activity are not well understood. This dissertation focuses on the role of the sialyltransferase ST6Gal-I in driving ovarian and pancreatic cancer development. ST6Gal-I adds a negatively-charged sialic acid sugar in an alpha 2-6 linkage to select receptors, which can alter their function. We show that ST6Gal-I protein is upregulated in ovarian and pancreatic cancers but not expressed in normal epithelial tissue from these organs. ST6Gal-I expression in ovarian cancer correlates with decreased progression-free and overall survival, and we present evidence that ST6Gal-I expression …

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Role Of Vapb/Als8 Signaling Through Lar Receptor, Jessica Lindsey Winek Schultz Jan 2015

Role Of Vapb/Als8 Signaling Through Lar Receptor, Jessica Lindsey Winek Schultz

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In humans, a P56S point mutation in the VAPB/ALS8 MSP domain is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and late-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The N-terminal MSP domain is cleaved from the C-terminus, and secreted through an unknown, nonconventional manner. The P56S mutation inhibits secretion of the MSP domain. We use Caenorhabditis elegans to study live secretion of VPR-1, as well as to understand vMSP receptor signaling in muscle and gonad. To study the secretion mechanism of VPR-1 we created a transgenic line of C. elegans with a fluorescently tagged VPR-1. Using this model, we were able to visualize live …

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The Impact Of Cultural Competency On Patient Experience Of Care, Emily Lane Koudelka Jan 2015

The Impact Of Cultural Competency On Patient Experience Of Care, Emily Lane Koudelka

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The impact of hospitals’ cultural competency on inpatient experience of care will be examined. Enhanced patient experience of care may alter an individual’s willingness to use health services, thereby increasing access and decreasing health disparities. As a result, to the extent that cultural competency influences patient experience of care, the integration of cultural competency into healthcare organizations has emerged as a critical issue for researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers. Findings from this study will inform policies, practices, and processes across the broad spectrum of healthcare industry stakeholders.

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