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The Significance Of Heavy Chain Cdr3 Diversity In The Antibody Response To Polysaccharides, Tamer Mahmoud Jan 2009

The Significance Of Heavy Chain Cdr3 Diversity In The Antibody Response To Polysaccharides, Tamer Mahmoud

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An understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the generation of protective antibody responses to polysaccharides associated with pathogenic microorganisms is of importance for improving vaccine design. The heavy chain third complementarity-determining region (HCDR3) of an antibody molecule is at the center of its antigen-binding site and plays a determinative role in antigen recognition. The goal of this dissertation was to investigate the role of HCDR3 diversity and composition on the antibody response to the polysaccharide α 1→3 Dextran (DEX). In the first study, we investigated the role of TdT, a DNA polymerase that plays a major role in generating …

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Localization And Function Of Electrogenic Na/Bicarbonate Cotransporter Nbce1 In Rat Brain, Debeshi Majumdar Jan 2009

Localization And Function Of Electrogenic Na/Bicarbonate Cotransporter Nbce1 In Rat Brain, Debeshi Majumdar

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Na-Coupled Bicarbonate Transporters (NCBTs) are members of the bicarbonate transporter superfamily that play important roles in regulating intracellular pH (pHi) and extracellular pH (pHo) in the central nervous system. Electrogenic Na/bicarbonate Cotransporter 1 (NBCe1) is an NCBT that is expressed in different mammalian tissues including the brain. NBCe1 has three splice variants - NBCe1-A, -B and -C - that differ in the amino and carboxy termini. We have first performed a systematic characterization of the localization profiles of the three NBCe1 splice variants at mRNA and protein levels in rat brain. In these studies, we have used anti-sense probes and …

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Physical Therapy And Chiropractic Use In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: Impact On Health-Related Quality Of Life, Michele Montgomery Jan 2009

Physical Therapy And Chiropractic Use In Survivors Of Childhood Cancer: Impact On Health-Related Quality Of Life, Michele Montgomery

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The purpose of this study to was examine prevalence of physical therapy (PT) and chiropractic use in survivors of childhood cancer and which factors are associated with the use of these services. In addition, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of survivors with musculoskeletal and neurological chronic conditions who reported using either PT or chiropractic was compared to those survivors with the same conditions who did not use either service. This study was a secondary analysis of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) and included a subset of 9289 survivors who completed both the baseline and 2003 follow-up questionnaires. In …

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The Influence Of Parent Attributional Style And Family Structure On Adolescent Adjustment To Chronic Illness, Kimberly Guion Jan 2009

The Influence Of Parent Attributional Style And Family Structure On Adolescent Adjustment To Chronic Illness, Kimberly Guion

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Adolescents diagnosed with a variety of chronic diseases are at increased risk for developing internalizing and externalizing problems. Various family factors may play an important role in adolescent adjustment, particularly in the chronic illness population given the important role that family members play in medical care and coping. Previous literature has demonstrated the separate contributions of parental attributions and adolescent attributions to adolescent adjustment. However, it is unknown whether parental coping affects adolescent mental health outcomes directly or indirectly by influencing children’s attributional style. Further, there is a dearth of research examining the role of family structure in coping in …

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The Acute Onset Of Insulin Resistance In Adipose Tissue Following Trauma And Hemorrhage, Vanessa L. Williams Jan 2009

The Acute Onset Of Insulin Resistance In Adipose Tissue Following Trauma And Hemorrhage, Vanessa L. Williams

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Insulin resistance and hyperglycemia are common findings in patients following acute illnesses or injuries, such as surgical trauma, thermal injury, infection, hemorrhage, and sepsis. Insulin has three main target tissues: liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue. Insulin resistance in the liver results in an increase in gluconeogenesis. In skeletal muscle, insulin resistance causes a decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. However, little is known about the contribution that adipose tissue makes to the insulin resistant state. The goals of the research presented in this dissertation were to: 1) determine whether insulin resistance developed in adipose tissue following acute trauma and hemorrhage; …

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Analysis Of Cystic Kidney Disease-Related Genes In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Corey L. Williams Jan 2009

Analysis Of Cystic Kidney Disease-Related Genes In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Corey L. Williams

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Cilia are evolutionarily conserved, membrane-bound, microtubule-based organelles found on a diverse array of cell types in eukaryotic organisms. Inherited diseases of cilia protein dysfunction include Nephronophthisis (NPHP), Joubert Syndrome (JBTS), Meckel-Gruber Syndrome (MKS), and Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS). Important insight in the basic cell biological functions of BBS and NPHP proteins has been gained from analysis in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. My goal in this dissertation was to model MKS protein function in cilia biology utilizing the powerful genetic malleability of C. elegans. mks-1 and mks-3, the C. elegans homologs of two MKS-associated proteins in humans, were selected for this analysis. …

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Administrative Roles And Experiences Of School Principals In An Era Of High-Stakes Accountability: A Qualitative Study Of The Perspectives Of Alabama Principals, Charles L. Willis Jan 2009

Administrative Roles And Experiences Of School Principals In An Era Of High-Stakes Accountability: A Qualitative Study Of The Perspectives Of Alabama Principals, Charles L. Willis

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The purpose of the dissertation was to gain an in-depth understanding of what meaning principals in Alabama made of their administrative roles and experiences in an era of high-stakes accountability. With the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed into legislation in January of 2002, federal, state, and local accountability mandates have vastly increased. In an era of unprecedented educational reform and accountability, there arose an unrelenting expectation for effective school leaders. The principalship has morphed into one of the most demanding positions in the field of education. The researcher used a qualitative approach to explore and gather rich descriptions …

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Oxidation Of Mercury During Selective Catalytic Reduction Of Nitric Oxide, Giang Tong Jan 2009

Oxidation Of Mercury During Selective Catalytic Reduction Of Nitric Oxide, Giang Tong

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A promising method for mercury removal from the gaseous products of coal combustion is the catalytic oxidation of elemental mercury to water-soluble mercuric chloride during selective catalytic reduction of NOx by ammonia, followed by removal of the oxidized mercury during wet flue gas desulfurization. Measurements of the mercury species distribution and sulfate formation at the outlet of a 310 mm long square cell monolithic V2O5-WO3/TiO2 commercial SCR catalyst showed the following trends: (1) Mercury oxidation was highly sensitive to HCl at the low levels characteristic of Powder River Basin subbituminous coals (0-5 ppmv). (2) Mercury oxidation was inhibited by NH3, …

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Modification Of Adenovirus Capsid Proteins For Gene Therapy Applications, Yizhe Tang Jan 2009

Modification Of Adenovirus Capsid Proteins For Gene Therapy Applications, Yizhe Tang

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Adenovirus (Ad) is the most commonly used viral vector in gene therapy applications to date for a broad range of diseases. Although Ad-based viral vectors have many advantages in a variety of gene therapy designs, the commonly used adenoviral vectors have several key shortcomings. Those shortcomings include (1) inefficient transduction in cell types devoid of Ad’s native receptors and the incapability of gene delivery to targets behind physical barriers; (2) restricted accessibility to the central nerve system due to the existence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB); (3) lack of a useful strategy and platform to generate multi-functionality displaying Ad vectors …

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Effects Of Infant Massage On Hiv-Infected Mothers And Their Infants, Krista Lee Oswalt Jan 2009

Effects Of Infant Massage On Hiv-Infected Mothers And Their Infants, Krista Lee Oswalt

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The current study aimed to determine whether HIV-infected mothers and their infants benefit from infant massage training. Because a number of risks, including maternal depression, high levels of maternal stress, decreased ability to perform parental tasks, involvement in risky behaviors such as drug use, inferior Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale performance, and externalizing behavior problems in the children, have been associated with HIV-infected mothers and their children, this population was a sensible choice for intervention. A great deal of information related to the benefits of infant massage for a variety of at risk infants is available in the literature, however, …

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Predictors Of Pedestrian Injury Risk In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type, Despina Stavrinos Jan 2009

Predictors Of Pedestrian Injury Risk In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type, Despina Stavrinos

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Unintentional injury is the leading cause of pediatric mortality, killing more children than the next 20 causes of death combined. In middle childhood, the second leading cause of unintentional injury is pedestrian injury. One group at particular risk of pedestrian injury is children with ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C). It is unknown why children with ADHD-C may be at elevated risk for pedestrian injury. The objective of the proposed research was to explore the underlying mechanisms for pedestrian injury risk in children with ADHD-C. We employed the ethically viable tool of virtual reality (VR) to measure the pedestrian behavior of 78 children …

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Axonal Trafficking Of Bmp Signals In Drosophilia Motoneurons, Rebecca Burt Smith Jan 2009

Axonal Trafficking Of Bmp Signals In Drosophilia Motoneurons, Rebecca Burt Smith

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The Drosophila Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) Glass bottom boat (Gbb) is a ligand for the BMP type II receptor, Wishful thinking (Wit). Mutations in either of these proteins impair synaptic growth at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Gbb is a retrograde signal (from target to innervating neuron) that is essential for proper NMJ development and function. Tissue-specific rescue of pathway mutants and immunolocalization experiments indicate that the receptor-ligand interaction occurs at the NMJ, and results in the nuclear accumulation of the phosphorylated form of the transcription factor Mad, indicating that retrograde transport along the axon is critical for pathway activation. We …

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The Relationship Of Sexual Empowerment And Sexual Pressure To Condom Use Of Young Adult African American And Caucasian Women, Carrie Ann Long Jan 2009

The Relationship Of Sexual Empowerment And Sexual Pressure To Condom Use Of Young Adult African American And Caucasian Women, Carrie Ann Long

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Introduction: HIV knowledge, high self-esteem, condom self-efficacy, positive attitudes toward condom use, and condom negotiation skills have been associated with decreased HIV risk behavior among women, but have not been examined within a framework of empowerment for sexual risk. Sexual pressure, inclusive of both coercive and noncoercive pressures to engage in unwanted or unprotected sex, has also not been studied in association with sexual empowerment as a framework or as a potential moderator between sexual empowerment and condom use among women of different racial groups. Study Purpose: 1) To explore the relationship between sexual empowerment and condom use; 2) to …

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The Essential Role Of Macrophages And Tlr Signaling In The Host Response To Mycoplasma Pneumoniae, Jen-Feng Lai Jan 2009

The Essential Role Of Macrophages And Tlr Signaling In The Host Response To Mycoplasma Pneumoniae, Jen-Feng Lai

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Several reports have suggested that Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) can contribute importantly to the expression of symptoms in asthmatic human subjects. As a foundation for understanding the interactions between Mp and asthma susceptibility, we first studied the mechanisms by which the host normally eliminated Mp. Mice were inoculated with 4x106 Mp intranasally. Twenty-four hours after inoculation with Mp, subpopulations of CD11b+ macrophages/monocytes had been recruited into the lungs. The clearance of Mp was impaired both in macrophage-depleted and in macrophage-deficient mice. Furthermore, mice deficient in MyD88, a major adaptor for TLR signaling, showed dramatically defective clearance of Mp, associated with reduced …

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Structural Studies Of Yeast Mitochondrial Peripheral Membrane Protein Tim44, Ratnakar Josyula Jan 2009

Structural Studies Of Yeast Mitochondrial Peripheral Membrane Protein Tim44, Ratnakar Josyula

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Tim44 is a peripheral membrane protein and a component of the TIM23 translocon on the matrix side. It is well established that Tim44 tethers the presequence associated motor (PAM) complex to the Inner Mitochondrial Membrane (IMM), through its C-Terminal Domain (CTD). This study focuses on understanding the high resolution structure of Tim44 CTD and the molecular basis for its membrane anchoring mechanism. The crystal structure of Tim44 CTD revealed that it exists as a single domain. The N-terminal amphipathic helices A1 and A2 protrude away from the main body of Tim44 CTD. These two flexible helices have been tested for …

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Mouse Model Of Cooley's Anemia, Yongliang Huo Jan 2009

Mouse Model Of Cooley's Anemia, Yongliang Huo

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β thalassemia major or Cooley’s anemia (CA) is a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders characterized by deficient β globin chain production. Newborns with CA are healthy because of the high fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels present in their red blood cells (RBCs). As HbF levels decline during the first year of life, patients develop severe anemia that necessitates regular blood transfusion to maintain life. CA has been difficult to model in the mouse due to the lack of a fetal hemoglobin equivalent in the mouse. By utilizing a human fetal to adult delayed hemoglobin switching cassette, I hypothesize that a CA …

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Polycistronic Lentiviral Vector For Hit And Run Reprogramming Of Mouse And Human Somatic Cells To Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell, Chia-Wei Chang Jan 2009

Polycistronic Lentiviral Vector For Hit And Run Reprogramming Of Mouse And Human Somatic Cells To Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell, Chia-Wei Chang

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Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent and, therefore, can differentiate into most if not all somatic cell types. Because of this characteristic, ES cells have great potential for medical therapies. Since the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, was published in 1996 (1), several groups have successfully cloned other animals by the same nuclear transfer method (2). Isogenic ES cell lines can also be established from donor cells by the same technique (3). However, to date there has been no report of successful derivation of human ES cells by nuclear transfer. Based on the cell fusion (4) and nuclear transfer …

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The Effect Of Zinc On Cytokine Release And Signal Transduction In Airway Epithelial Cells, Nai-Lin Cheng Jan 2009

The Effect Of Zinc On Cytokine Release And Signal Transduction In Airway Epithelial Cells, Nai-Lin Cheng

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Zinc is an essential cation for life that is involved in numerous physiology and pathophysiology processes. Despite its wide use as a cytoprotective agent in medications, its cellular and molecular mechanisms of action have not been well established. In order to define the potential therapeutic benefit of zinc, I used several Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and non-CF human airway epithelial cell lines as models in my studies. Extracellular zinc caused release calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum though zinc-sensitive Gq-coupled receptor(s) that may subsequently modulate ion channels. In addition, zinc also exhibited anti-inflammatory effects. Zinc inhibited pro-inflammatory molecular TNFα-induced cytokine and chemokine …

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Theoretical Context Of A Common Reproductive Health Behavior: Vaginal Douching Among A National Sample Of Young Adult Women, Disa Cornish Jan 2009

Theoretical Context Of A Common Reproductive Health Behavior: Vaginal Douching Among A National Sample Of Young Adult Women, Disa Cornish

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Current research suggests that up to 75% of American women have engaged in vaginal douching during their lives. Prevalence of the behavior is disproportionately high among minority women (especially African American) and women of low SES. Two bodies of research present conflicting results regarding the benefits or risks to reproductive health that are posed by vaginal douching, although the majority of research on this topic suggests that douching is associated with negative health outcomes. Although studies have suggested prevalence rates, behavioral correlates, and biological associations of vaginal douching, very few studies have used behavioral theory when examining the practice. The …

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Exopolysaccharides Of Mycoplasma Pulmonis, James Michael Daubenspeck Jan 2009

Exopolysaccharides Of Mycoplasma Pulmonis, James Michael Daubenspeck

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Capsule has been associated with virulence in numerous bacterial pathogens. The Mollicutes are a host-specific group of pathogens that cause a variety of economically relevant diseases important to man. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is responsible for 2 million cases of atypical pneumonia and 100,000 hospitalizations every year in the United States (Atkinson et al., 2008) (Krause and Taylor-Robinson, 1992). There was a toxic galactan molecule described as early as 1958 in Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Plackett and Buttery, 1958), although no evidence was presented that it was produced by the bacteria. Over the intervening fifty years the evidence to support the production …

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Calreticulin And Its Role In Collagen Regulation, Lauren Van Duyn Jan 2009

Calreticulin And Its Role In Collagen Regulation, Lauren Van Duyn

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Calreticulin (CRT), classically known for its chaperone functions in the endoplasmic reticulum and as a calcium regulator, also is found on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix. It is involved in many cellular processes including signaling, adhesion, migration, apoptotic cell clearance, gene regulation, and production of a fibronectin matrix. CRT has been suggested to play a role in wound healing and fibrosis. Therefore, these studies investigated the role of CRT in collagen production, an important extracellular matrix molecule in wounding and fibrosis. We demonstrated that CRT regulates collagen through transcription, secretion, and processing. We also investigated the role …

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Factors Affecting Young Adults' Opinions About Hospice And Home Death, Nicole Marie Webb Jan 2009

Factors Affecting Young Adults' Opinions About Hospice And Home Death, Nicole Marie Webb

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An aging population and increased prevalence of chronic illness will demand greater in-volvement by young adults with respect to end-of-life care decisions, and little research has examined opinions about end-of-life care among this population. Exploration of fac-tors influencing opinions about hospice and home death is necessary in order to address potential barriers to available care options and, thus, to improved quality of care at the end of life. The present study first examined a sample of 1035 Caucasian or African American introductory psychology students in order to explore factors affecting opinions about hospice and home death. A subsample of 250 …

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Biological Characterization Of Fc Receptor-Like 6 (Fcrl6), Daniel M. Schreeder Jan 2009

Biological Characterization Of Fc Receptor-Like 6 (Fcrl6), Daniel M. Schreeder

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Members of the Fc receptor-like (FCRL) family are cell-surface proteins with ancient conservation, distinct lymphocyte expression patterns, and tyrosine-based signaling capa-bilities that imply a fundamental role for them in modulating immune responses. Though they share many features with the Fc receptors (FCR) for IgG and IgE, FCRLs have not been found to bind immunoglobulin. In these studies, we sought to characterize the cellu-lar expression pattern, binding partner, and function of a recently identified FCRL family member, human FCRL6. By developing specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) we determined that FCRL6 is dis-tinctly expressed by cytotoxic lymphocytes, namely NK cells, CD8+ T cells, …

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Shunt Failure In Children With Hydrocephalus: Impact Of Sociodemographic Predictors On Time To Medical Evaluation For Shunt Failure And The Economic Burden Associated With Shunt Failure, Chevis Nacole Shannon Jan 2009

Shunt Failure In Children With Hydrocephalus: Impact Of Sociodemographic Predictors On Time To Medical Evaluation For Shunt Failure And The Economic Burden Associated With Shunt Failure, Chevis Nacole Shannon

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Ventriculo-peritoneal shunts continue to be the standard surgical procedure for treating children diagnosed with hydrocephalus, regardless of etiology. The failure of these shunts can cause acute medical problems for the child requiring immediate medical care. It is known that hydrocephalus directly impacts a child's health status, educational abilities, developmental opportunities and emotional well being. An important gap in the current literature is the examination in a homogenous patient population of the impact of sociodemographic factors on the management of shunt failure and the economic burden on the family. The objective of this dissertation research study was to better understand shunt …

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Defining Time In Black And White: A Study Of Four Issues Of Time Magazine, Their Coverage Of Africa, And Their Use Of Philanthropic Language, Lesley E. Jones Jan 2009

Defining Time In Black And White: A Study Of Four Issues Of Time Magazine, Their Coverage Of Africa, And Their Use Of Philanthropic Language, Lesley E. Jones

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No abstract provided.

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Urban Perspectives And The Modern City In The Works Of Gustave Caillebotte And Childe Hassam, Nancy H. Wright Jan 2009

Urban Perspectives And The Modern City In The Works Of Gustave Caillebotte And Childe Hassam, Nancy H. Wright

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No abstract provided.

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The Effects Of The Renewable Portfolio Standard In The State Of Alabama, Candace Watson Jan 2009

The Effects Of The Renewable Portfolio Standard In The State Of Alabama, Candace Watson

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No abstract provided.

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The Role Of Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 In Bone Remodeling, Yi Tang Jan 2009

The Role Of Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 In Bone Remodeling, Yi Tang

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Bone remodeling depends on the precise coordination of bone resorption by the osteoclasts and bone formation by the osteoblasts. It is proposed that osteoclastic bone resorption releases factors to initiate bone formation, thereby, coupling the bone resorption and formation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are progenitors of osteoblasts. Recruitment of MSCs in response to osteoclastic bone resorption may be an initial step for bone formation during bone remodeling process. Therefore, we have established an in vitro osteoclastic bone resorption system. Bone resorption condition medium have been tested to identify the factor inducing the migration of human bone marrow mesechymal stem cells …

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Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman Jan 2009

Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman

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Primary cilia have been established as a nearly ubiquitous microtubule based signaling organelle, yet their function in many organs, including the hair and skin, is unknown. We hypothesized that the primary cilium would play vital roles in the hair follicle and skin based on the cilium's well characterized interactions with the Shh and Wnt developmental signaling pathways. This dissertation describes our efforts to determine the localization of the primary cilia in the murine hair follicle and assess the function of this organelle in the hair and skin. We used confocal immunofluorescence microscopy to virtually section the entire hair follicle and …

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Design Of The Predictive Power Method With Two Endpoints, Kiya R. Hamilton Jan 2009

Design Of The Predictive Power Method With Two Endpoints, Kiya R. Hamilton

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Three reasons to review accumulating data in clinical trials include: ethical issues, financial concerns and administrative concerns. Interim analysis is a good way to monitor accumulating data in clinical trials. Interim analysis allows for the possibility that a study may be terminated early; that is, if the currently observed data convincingly favor the null or the alternative hypothesis then the study ends early. In addition, many clinical trials are conducted to compare a treatment group to a standard group on multiple endpoints. Combining interim analyses with multiple endpoints allows for more information to be provided from the trial than either …

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