Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 8851 - 8880 of 14456

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

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 Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

The Role Of The Autophagy-Lysosome Pathway In In Vitro Models Of Neurodegeneration, Burton Mader Jan 2014

The Role Of The Autophagy-Lysosome Pathway In In Vitro Models Of Neurodegeneration, Burton Mader

All ETDs from UAB

Recent studies have provided strong evidence that alterations in protein degradation pathways, such as the autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP), may contribute to neuronal dysfunction and death which lead to clinical symptoms diagnosed with various neurodegenerative diseases. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by neuromuscular abnormalities resulting from the pathological loss of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons and widespread detection of Lewy bodies, intracellular protein inclusions composed primarily of α-synuclein. Additionally, altered gene function regulating the expression of α-synuclein has been directly linked to the PD pathogenesis. Autophagy is an intracellular degradation process that when altered can lead to the accumulation neurotoxic proteins such …

Go to article

Terror On Campus: Analyzing Macro Level Factors Of Colleges That Contribute To Forcible Rape, Lakesha Martin Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

Sak Yant: The Transition From Indic Yantras To Thai "Magical" Buddhist Tattoos, Angela May Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

Hormonal Contraceptives Alter The Immune Function And Structural Integrity Of The Female Genital Tract: Implications For Hiv-1 Infection, Katherine Gisella Michel Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

Night Comes Early To The Valley, Caitlin Murphree Miller Jan 2014

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.

Go to article

Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein And Gliosis: Is Gfap More Than A Marker?, Heather Renee Minkel Jan 2014

Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein And Gliosis: Is Gfap More Than A Marker?, Heather Renee Minkel

All ETDs from UAB

Alexander Disease (AxD) is a `gliopathy' caused by toxic, dominant gain-of-function mutations in the gene encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Two distinct types of AxD exist. Type I AxD affected individuals develop cerebral symptoms by four years of age and generally suffer from macrocephaly, seizures, and physical and mental delays. As detection and diagnosis have improved, a larger portion, now about half of all AxD patients diagnosed, have onset >4 years and brainstem/spinal cord involvement. These type II AxD patients typically experience ataxia, palatal myoclonus, dysphagia and dysphonia. To date no study has examined a mechanistic link between the …

Go to article

Relationship Between Diabetes And Indoor Air Pollution: An Exploratory Analysis, Sandeep Mishra Jan 2014

Relationship Between Diabetes And Indoor Air Pollution: An Exploratory Analysis, Sandeep Mishra

All ETDs from UAB

India has the second highest number of people with diabetes. The high prevalence of diabetes in India cannot be explained on the basis of established risk factors like obesity. The role of air pollution in diabetes has recently received attention. Studies have indicated the possibility that air pollution generated by traffic might be associated with increased risk of diabetes. Published literature lacks studies that assess the relationship between indoor air pollution and diabetes, although indoor air pollution can lead to higher levels of pollutants in house compared to traffic pollution. The current study determined the relationship between indoor air pollution …

Go to article

The Role Of Primary Cilia In Mammary Gland And Skeletal Development, Elizabeth Mitchell Jan 2014

The Role Of Primary Cilia In Mammary Gland And Skeletal Development, Elizabeth Mitchell

All ETDs from UAB

and satiation of predators. Additionally, the arribada significantly affected sex ratios and

Go to article

Compression, Bethany Anne Mitchell Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

Structural Implications Of P22 Bacteriophage Coat Protein A-Domain Modifications, David Samuel Morris Jan 2014

Structural Implications Of P22 Bacteriophage Coat Protein A-Domain Modifications, David Samuel Morris

All ETDs from UAB

Modification of virus capsids as target-specific delivery devices has become highly popularized in recent years and P22 bacteriophage has been proposed as a potential candidate for development of a targeting drug delivery system. As a proof of concept for our system, we hypothesized that the A-domain of P22 coat protein could be utilized to alter the binding affinity of virus-like procapsids for biological targets. Addition of acidic residues to the A-domain revealed that this could be accomplished through the quarternary localization of charged residues in three-dimensional space without interrogating procapsid assembly. Further manipulations implemented in vivo were performed to examine …

Go to article

Modeling Of Pollutant Transport In The Nile Delta, Egypt, Mohamed Khaled Elsayed Mostafa Jan 2014

Modeling Of Pollutant Transport In The Nile Delta, Egypt, Mohamed Khaled Elsayed Mostafa

All ETDs from UAB

Poor water quality is one of the biggest problems faced by most countries and especially by developing countries such as Egypt. The mismanagement of potable water resources constitutes one of the main reasons for the depletion of water. This research was carried out in the Nile River delta, a region in which toxic dumping and water quality degradation exist. The Nile delta receives pollution loads from industrial, agricultural, and domestic activities located along its path leading to the spread of water-related diseases such as hepatitis, typhoid, cholera, and kidney failure [Safe Drinking Water Foundation, 2009]. The main objective of this …

Go to article

Role Of Immunoregulatory Cytokines Il-12 And Il-23 In Skin Cancer, Tahseen H. Nasti Jan 2014

Role Of Immunoregulatory Cytokines Il-12 And Il-23 In Skin Cancer, Tahseen H. Nasti

All ETDs from UAB

The incidence of new cases of skin cancer, which includes non-melanoma epithelial tumors and melanoma, has increased dramatically over the last few decades. Approximately 75% of all skin cancer-related deaths is due to melanoma, which is one of the most aggressive and difficult cancers to treat. The initiating events and mechanisms that influence melanoma development are not fully known, due in part to a paucity of animal models amenable to identifying new oncogenic mutations, and investigating mechanisms of immunosurveillance. Transgenic mouse models often harbor an activating mutation in a known oncogene in all somatic cells, and its widespread expression from …

Go to article

Dihydrofolate Reductase Inhibitors - Applications To Chagas Disease And Dental Caries, Thao Nguyen Jan 2014

Dihydrofolate Reductase Inhibitors - Applications To Chagas Disease And Dental Caries, Thao Nguyen

All ETDs from UAB

significantly influenced sex ratios by increasing the production of males when

Go to article

Three-Dimensional Photography Of Facial Morphology Of African-American Children Compared To Welsh Children, Don Franklin Norris Jan 2014

Three-Dimensional Photography Of Facial Morphology Of African-American Children Compared To Welsh Children, Don Franklin Norris

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study is to compare the facial morphology of African-American children to Welsh children using three-dimensional imaging. Materials and Methods: Three-dimensional images were captured using a stereo-photogrammatic camera system (3dMDfaceTM). 107 African-American children were imaged with the 3dMDfaceTM system and were compared with 64 Welsh children which were previously imaged using two Minolta Vivid VI900 3D laser scanners arranged in a stereo pair. The subjects were between 10 and 13 years old, presented with a normal BMI, and had no major craniofacial deformity. The images were aligned, combined and averaged using Rapidform 2006 Plus Pack 2 software …

Go to article

Assessing The Active Kinome Of Influenza Virus Infected A549 Cells, Colm Atkins Jan 2014

Assessing The Active Kinome Of Influenza Virus Infected A549 Cells, Colm Atkins

All ETDs from UAB

Influenza A Virus is a respiratory pathogen of the family Orthomyxoviridae and causes significant worldwide morbidity and mortality during seasonal epidemics and periodic pandemics. As with all viruses, influenza's limited coding capacity requires the use of host proteins and processes in its replication and release cycle. Phosphorylation, mediated by cellular kinases and phosphatases, represents a significant mechanism of post-translational modification of cellular products, and is responsible for regulating the activi-ty, lifespan and localization of many lipids and proteins in host-cells. Several cellular kinases have been associated with various steps of the Influenza lifecycle, including PKC-ßII (viral entry), PKR (host defense), …

Go to article

Il-8 Is Necessary And Sufficient For X-Ray Radiation Enhanced Endothelial Adhesion., Stephen Kyle Babitz Jan 2014

Il-8 Is Necessary And Sufficient For X-Ray Radiation Enhanced Endothelial Adhesion., Stephen Kyle Babitz

All ETDs from UAB

Ionizing radiation (IR) is a potent inflammatory stimulus to the human body. In the vasculature, inflammation is a major contributing factor for atherosclerosis. In addition, radiation from several sources has been linked with increased risk for multiple cardiovascular complications. A key compnent of radiation associated inflammation is an increase in the adhesiveness of the endothelium which leads to a pathogenic accumulation of leukocytes in the vascular wall. This is one of the initial steps in vascular inflammation and leads to a number of adverse complications such as heart disease and stroke. The molecular mechanisms behind radiaton enhanced endothelial adhesion have …

Go to article

Targeted Delivery Of Osteoinductive Peptides To Bone Graft Utilizing A Calcium Binding Domain To Enhance The Regenerative Potential, Jennifer Leigh Bain Jan 2014

Targeted Delivery Of Osteoinductive Peptides To Bone Graft Utilizing A Calcium Binding Domain To Enhance The Regenerative Potential, Jennifer Leigh Bain

All ETDs from UAB

Bone grafting procedures are common practice. Autogenous bone is considered optimal, however, complications associated with bone harvesting often lead clinicians to use off-the-shelf materials that have limited osteoinductivity. Alternatively, bioactive factors passively adsorbed onto various carriers are available. These materials, while effective, are expensive to produce, require supraphysiological doses, and have adverse side effects due to dissemination from the graft site. This dissertation aims to reintroduce osteoinductive factors to bone grafts to enhance regenerative capacity. Specifically, we utilized negatively-charged calcium-binding domains (polyglutamate) to anchor two osteoinductive peptides bone graft materials including an allograft, xenograft, alloplast, and bone cement. The peptides …

Go to article

Concerning Shared Leadership Development: A Phenomenological Study Of Administrator Experiences Within Public-Private Partnerships, Brian James Barsanti Jan 2014

Concerning Shared Leadership Development: A Phenomenological Study Of Administrator Experiences Within Public-Private Partnerships, Brian James Barsanti

All ETDs from UAB

Within in this qualitative study, the researcher sought to explore the experiences of administrators engaged in shared leadership development within organizations defined as public-private partnerships. The researcher utilized a phenomenological approach comprised of data collected from one-on-one interviews with ten participants currently serving as top-level executive administrators within their respective organizations. The qualitative data gathered from the one-on-one interviews revealed how these participants experienced the phenomenon of shared leadership development, as well as the shared leadership development strategies employed. In addition, the qualitative data revealed how the shared leadership development methods unfolded within each participant's organization. These revelations occurred following …

Go to article

Physician-Parent Interactions In Pediatric End-Of-Life Care: Implications For Integrative Communication, Decision-Making And Ethics Training*, Lori Brand Bateman Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

Internet Use And Mental Health/Well-Being In Old Age: Exploring The Roles Of Social Integration And Social Support, Ronald William Berkowsky Jan 2014

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, …

Go to article

Recognition Of Hiv-1 Cryptic Epitopes During Infection And Following Vaccination, Anne Bet Jan 2014

Recognition Of Hiv-1 Cryptic Epitopes During Infection And Following Vaccination, Anne Bet

All ETDs from UAB

Cryptic epitopes (CE) are a unique set of human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I)-restricted peptides that are encoded by alternative reading frames (ARFs) of genes. During human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection, CE translated from either sense or antisense transcripts elicit epitope-specific CD8 T cell responses. Previous studies using simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-vaccinated animals have shown that an increased breadth of CD8 T cell responses is correlated with controlling viral replication, therefore stressing the potential clinical benefit of vaccine-induced T cell responses to a diverse set of viral epitopes. Yet, the genetic profiles and immunological significance of CE remain poorly understood. …

Go to article

Ap2 Clock Mutant Mice: Baseline Characteristics And Novel Responses To A Lipopolysaccharide Challenge, Tana Birky Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

A Systematic Evaluation Of An Educational Bible Study Classes Focusing On Diabetes Prevention - Just Having C.H.U.R.C.H: Controlling How Unhealthy Regimens Can Hurt., Latoya Rena Bishop Jan 2014

A Systematic Evaluation Of An Educational Bible Study Classes Focusing On Diabetes Prevention - Just Having C.H.U.R.C.H: Controlling How Unhealthy Regimens Can Hurt., Latoya Rena Bishop

All ETDs from UAB

Diabetes is a growing problem in public health and the African-American population. Preventive measures such as changes in diet, increasing physical activity, and weight control are behaviors that will lead to a healthier lifestyle and prevent the onset of diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine if the National Diabetes Education Program Power to Prevent curriculum improved diabetes prevention perceptions and behaviors among participants receiving the curriculum. The study tested the effectiveness of Power to Prevent specifically designed for African-Americans, paired with scripture in a bible school format, for diabetes prevention in local Baptist churches in Birmingham, AL. …

Go to article

The Modulation Of High Density Lipoprotein Metabolism In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Leland Latham Black Jan 2014

The Modulation Of High Density Lipoprotein Metabolism In Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Leland Latham Black

All ETDs from UAB

Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), the major lipid-binding protein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), can suppress inflammation and autoimmunity in hypercholesterolemic mice by modulating cellular cholesterol homeostasis and lipid oxidation. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood, and whether ApoA-I or ApoA-I mimetic peptides can similarly exert immunosuppressive effects or improve inflammatory organ disease in SLE under normolipidemic conditions remains unresolved. We therefore first took a genetic approach in which bone marrow from SLE-prone Sle123 mice was transferred into wild-type, ApoA-I knockout (ApoA-I-/-) and ApoA-I transgenic (ApoA-Itg) mice. Transgenic expression of ApoA-I suppressed CD4+ T and B lymphocyte activation, reduced …

Go to article

Examining Neuropsychological Sequelae Of Chronic Pain And The Effect Of Immediate-Release Opioid Analgesics, Cady Block Jan 2014

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 …

Go to article

The Role Of The Developing Microbiome In Mucosal Defense Of The Neonatal Gut, Emily G. Blosser Jan 2014

The Role Of The Developing Microbiome In Mucosal Defense Of The Neonatal Gut, Emily G. Blosser

All ETDs from UAB

Neonatal late-onset sepsis is invasive infection occurring after the first 48 hours of life, and one of the leading causes of death among preterm infants in the United States and abroad. Infections with Gram-negative bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumonia, occurring when bacteria translocate across premature gut epithelium into the bloodstream, can be particularly severe. Preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit undergo intense antibiotic regimens due to high risk of infection. Paradoxically, prolonged exposure of preterm infants to empiric antibiotic therapy early in the hospital stay is associated with increased risk of intestinal infection and death after adjustment for …

Go to article

Predictors Of Outcomes In Patients With Ventricular Assist Devices, Amelia Katharine Boehme Jan 2014

Predictors Of Outcomes In Patients With Ventricular Assist Devices, Amelia Katharine Boehme

All ETDs from UAB

Ventricular assist devices (VAD) are used as a bridge to transplant and to increase the quality of life in advanced heart failure patients. The use of the VAD is not without risks itself, with an increased risk of thromboembolism, hemorrhage and death. Therefore, we aimed to (1) evaluate predictors of thromboembolism; (2) design a score to predict hemorrhages in VAD patients; and (3) evaluate the change in kidney function post-VAD implant and to investigate the relationship between kidney function and mortality in VAD patients using data collected from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Mechanical Circulatory Support Clinic. Over the …

Go to article

Glycine Supplementation To Improve Insulin Sensitivity In Humans, Marie-Hippolyte Boni Epse Attobla Jan 2014

Glycine Supplementation To Improve Insulin Sensitivity In Humans, Marie-Hippolyte Boni Epse Attobla

All ETDs from UAB

The main purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the insulin sensitizing effect of glycine as a dietary supplement in insulin resistant (IR) normoglycemic subjects (N= 10), and to determine significant changes in insulin sensitivity and lipid profile after four weeks of glycine supplementation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic characteristics of the study population. A paired t-test was used to determine differences between insulin sensitivity and lipid profile pre- and post- intervention, considering the estimation of HOMA-IR and Matsuda- index scores. Results showed that glycine supplementation might improve triglyceride (TG) levels in European Americans; and low-density …

Go to article

Engineering Fibroblast-Remodeled Electrospun Matrices For Full-Thickness Skin Regeneration, Paul Bonvallet Jan 2014

Engineering Fibroblast-Remodeled Electrospun Matrices For Full-Thickness Skin Regeneration, Paul Bonvallet

All ETDs from UAB

Skin is often severely damaged, resulting in the need for surgical intervention. There are many limitations to current therapies, therefore a synthetic skin graft would be invaluable for skin regeneration. The focus of the current study is on developing engineered scaffolds with embedded dermal fibroblasts that can be remodeled into native skin tissue upon implantation. To achieve this goal we created electrospun scaffolds composed of collagen I and polycaprolactone (PCL), and then introduced pores to allow fibroblast infiltration. In initial experiments performed to optimize pore size and collagen to PCL concentration, we determined that a 160 µm pore diameter, and …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last