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Paper Me, Matthew David Whitehurst Jan 2016

Paper Me, Matthew David Whitehurst

All ETDs from UAB

Paper Me is an autobiographical collage. It contains memoir essays, personal essays and comedic essays. Dark humor and sarcasm are the vehicle for the narrative voice throughout the collage. The narrative is arranged in a pseudo-chronological order, and traces a line through dotted memories: from the first memory as a child in pre-school, to the death of a friend after college. Addiction, Paternal Relationships, Politics, Absurdity/Humor, Poverty, Sociology and Philosophy are recurring themes in this collection. This is the author’s attempt to concretize a world view, as informed by personal experience, and to impart that experiential knowledge on the larger …

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Influence Of Maternal Age On The Effects Of Organic Selenium In The Animal Model Daphnia Pulex, Jordan E. Roberts Jan 2016

Influence Of Maternal Age On The Effects Of Organic Selenium In The Animal Model Daphnia Pulex, Jordan E. Roberts

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As a necessary micronutrient, seleno-L-methionine (SeMet) exhibits a U-shaped dose-response with deficiency and toxicity leading to adverse health outcomes. Some studies suggest dietary selenium may offer protection against toxicity from other metals, but excessive dietary levels can also lead to toxicity. In addition, increased maternal age has been shown to increase the risk of adverse developmental outcomes. We hypothesize that older maternal age will increase susceptibility in offspring exposed to toxic concentrations of SeMet. The goal of this project was to evaluate the effects of SeMet treatment on lifespan and determine if the effects are altered by maternal age using …

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Mercy Otis Warren: A Woman In Motion, Victoria Courtney Roberts Jan 2016

Mercy Otis Warren: A Woman In Motion, Victoria Courtney Roberts

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This thesis is an examination of the life of Mercy Otis Warren, who wrote the first history of the United States, was the first American woman to publish political literature under her own name, and was deeply involved in politics of the Early Republic. In the time leading up to the American Revolution, Mercy wrote many plays and poems that were circulated in an effort to convince colonists of the need to break away from the British government. Her writings and political thoughts had a great influence on the shaping of the United States, yet her name is rarely found …

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Altering Metabolism In The Tumor Microenvironment To Enhance Anti-Tumor Immunity For Lung Cancer, Cara Schafer Jan 2016

Altering Metabolism In The Tumor Microenvironment To Enhance Anti-Tumor Immunity For Lung Cancer, Cara Schafer

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Overcoming cancer cell immune escape represents a fundamental obstacle in the treatment of cancer. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)-expressing myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are known to induce oxidative stress and alter amino acid metabolism within the tumor microenvironment (TME). The tryptophan (Trp)-catabolizing action of IDO not only promotes T cell tolerance and evasion but is also associated with impaired quality of life in cancer patients. We have previously demonstrated that a novel combination therapy, consisting of MDSC-depleting gemcitabine and a superoxide dismutase mimetic, prolonged survival of tumor-bearing mice by enhancing CD8+ memory T cell metabolism. We identify that combination therapy inhibits IDO …

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16s Rrna Gene Sequencing To Evaluate The Effects Of Six Commonly Prescribed Antibiotics, Kendall Slaton Jan 2016

16s Rrna Gene Sequencing To Evaluate The Effects Of Six Commonly Prescribed Antibiotics, Kendall Slaton

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16s rrna gene sequencing to evaluate the effects of six commonly prescribed antibiotics kendall slaton, dmd dentistry abstract introduction: the rapid antibiotic sensitivity test (rast) is a novel in-office culture and sensitivity system for endodontic infections. the purpose of this research was to validate the rast system as a viable, in-office alternative to antibiotic sensitivity testing using turbidity, to determine antibiotic sensitivities of endodontic infections. methods: aspirates were taken from the root canals of nine necrotic human teeth at the initiation of root canal therapy. these samples were cultured in the rast medium and antibiotic sensitivity to six antibiotics was …

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The Role Of Hydrogen Peroxide In The Modulation Of Capsule Biosynthesis In Streptococcus Pneumoniae Serotype 2, Jocelyn Renee Hauser Jan 2016

The Role Of Hydrogen Peroxide In The Modulation Of Capsule Biosynthesis In Streptococcus Pneumoniae Serotype 2, Jocelyn Renee Hauser

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Streptococcus pneumoniae is a gram-positive bacterial pathogen that causes diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and middle ear infections. The major virulence factor of S. pneumoniae is its polysaccharide capsule. The capsule enables the organism to evade host defenses by providing protection against complement-mediated opsonophagocytosis in systemic sites and by allowing the organism to successfully colonize the nasopharynx. The nasopharynx is the natural reservoir of S. pneumoniae. In the nasopharynx, S. pneumoniae is in a high oxygen (O2) environment, however when it has the opportunity to bypass host defenses and invade systemic sites, it reaches environments with low O2. Capsule …

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What's Up, Dut? Help, Help I'M Being Derepressed; The Great Derepression Of Sapis Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Mobilization, Rosanne Lorin Lee Hill Jan 2016

What's Up, Dut? Help, Help I'M Being Derepressed; The Great Derepression Of Sapis Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Mobilization, Rosanne Lorin Lee Hill

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Staphylococcus aureus is known to cause disease in both human and animal populations. Many of the virulence factors important for S. aureus pathogenesis are found on mobile genetic elements known as S. aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs). SaPIs can transduce into surrounding cells, giving those cells the ability to produce virulence factors. Derepression allows SaPIs to be excised from S. aureus genome to initiate mobilization. Derepressors have been identified for multiple SaPIs, but it remains unknown if the same SaPI can be derepressed by multiple derepressors. It has been shown that SaPIbov1 can be derepressed by the type 1 dUTPase from …

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Separate But Equal: A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Experiences With African American Males In Gender-Specific Classrooms In An Urban School Setting, Hamidah Elmore Jan 2016

Separate But Equal: A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Experiences With African American Males In Gender-Specific Classrooms In An Urban School Setting, Hamidah Elmore

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The purpose of this phenomenological study was to illuminate teachers’ experiences with African American males in gender-specific classrooms in an urban school setting in an inner-city school system in Alabama. The central question, “What is it like to be a teacher of African American males within a gender-specific classroom?” guided this qualitative study. This question spawned several sub-questions: (1) “What characteristics are common in an African-American male gender-specific instructor?”, (2) “What strategies do successful African-American male gender specific instructors use in their teaching?”, (3) “What types of administrative support are useful for African-American male gender-specific instructors?”, and (4) “What types …

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The Role Of Ppar-Delta In Regulating Cardiomyocyte Proliferation And Angiogenesis In Post-Myocardial Infarction Adult Heart, Yishu Ding Jan 2016

The Role Of Ppar-Delta In Regulating Cardiomyocyte Proliferation And Angiogenesis In Post-Myocardial Infarction Adult Heart, Yishu Ding

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immediately before, soon after, and one month after intervention. Average daily calcium

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Genome-Wide Transcription And Dna Methylation Profiling In An App Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Mikael C. Guzman Karlsson Jan 2016

Genome-Wide Transcription And Dna Methylation Profiling In An App Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Mikael C. Guzman Karlsson

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The ability to encode information for long-term behavioral adaptation relies on experience-dependent alterations in neuronal plasticity. Neuronal plasticity encompasses the cellular and molecular changes that modulate synaptic communication between neurons as well as intrinsic electrophysiological properties within neurons. Epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA cytosine methylation and histone post-translational modifications, are powerful regulators of neuronal gene expression, allowing for dynamic, bidirectional regulation of transcriptional signatures necessary for neuronal plasticity. Emerging evidence using candidate-gene and microarray-based approaches suggest that the deficits in neuronal plasticity and cognitive impairment observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is attributable, in part, to aberrant cytosine methylation and transcription of …

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Role Of Autocrine And Paracrine Wnt Signaling In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells, Puneet Agarwal Jan 2016

Role Of Autocrine And Paracrine Wnt Signaling In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells, Puneet Agarwal

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Treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) fails to eradicate the leukemia stem cells (LSCs) from which the disease arises. Previously, we and others have shown that LSC persistence is related to kinase-independent mechanisms and mediated in part by signals from the bone marrow microenvironment (BMM). Specifically, we found that WNT signaling from the BMM may contribute to preservation of CML LSC following TKI treatment. Wnt secretion and activity requires their palmitoylation by the Porcupine acyltransferase (PORCN). WNT974 (formerly LGK974) is a potent PORCN inhibitor that blocks WNT signaling and demonstrates in vivo efficacy against …

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Novel Biomarkers For Parkinson Disease, Kyle Bradley Fraser Jan 2016

Novel Biomarkers For Parkinson Disease, Kyle Bradley Fraser

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Parkinson disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder for which no treatments exist capable of slowing progression of the disease. One obstacle slowing the development of novel therapies is the lack of molecular biomarkers for PD prognosis, tracking of disease progression, and assessing efficacious target engagement of compounds that do reach clinical trials. Missense mutations in LRRK2 account for between 1-5% of late onset PD and lead to increases in LRRK2 kinase activity and LRRK2 autophosphorylation. This thesis characterizes the secretion of LRRK2 into extracellularly secreted microvesicles called exosomes. We find that kinase-active LRRK2 is secreted within exosomes …

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Symbols Of Independence, Love, And Sorrow: Georgia O'Keeffe's Skyscraper Series, Kelly Allen Gentry Jan 2016

Symbols Of Independence, Love, And Sorrow: Georgia O'Keeffe's Skyscraper Series, Kelly Allen Gentry

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Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) became known as one of the first and most prolific American modern artists of the twentieth century. Her expansive oeuvre, which spans over six decades, is primarily comprised of pure abstractions, large-scale flower paintings, and series of landscapes, crosses, and bones from the southwestern landscape of New Mexico, where she spent the latter half of her life. In the mid-1920s however, O’Keeffe created approximately twenty images of the skyscrapers of New York City, her home from 1918 to 1949. This thesis argues that within this skyscraper series, O’Keeffe fully realized her uniquely personal and recognizable language. This …

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The Matricellular Protein Ccn1 Potentiates Fibrogenic Responses To Lung Injury, Ashish Kurundkar Jan 2016

The Matricellular Protein Ccn1 Potentiates Fibrogenic Responses To Lung Injury, Ashish Kurundkar

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Normal wound healing is a well-coordinated reparative response to injury aimed at restoring the normal tissue function. The dynamic interactions between cells and ex-tracellular matrix (ECM) regulate and dictate the fate of tissue repair process. Fibrosis is a dysregulated wound healing with excessive deposition of ECM and loss of tissue func-tion. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive fibrotic disease of lung with no cure. Matricellular proteins are non-structural matrix proteins which regulates the cellular functions by directly binding to cell surface integrins and/or indirectly modulating growth factor signaling. Matricellular proteins are emerging as critical mediators of tissue injury …

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Sea Urchins Under Predicted Near-Future Ocean Conditions: The Effects Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On Physiology And Behavior, Cecilia Joy Brothers Jan 2016

Sea Urchins Under Predicted Near-Future Ocean Conditions: The Effects Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On Physiology And Behavior, Cecilia Joy Brothers

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Sea urchins (Class Echinoidea) play important economic and ecological roles in the marine ecosystems they inhabit. However, climate change is causing seawater temperatures to increase and pH and the saturation state of polymorphs of calcium calcite to decrease at unprecedented rates, and these changes may have serious implications for the fitness and survival of sea urchin populations. The purpose of the present dissertation was to determine the effects of ocean warming and acidification on the physiology and behavior of sea urchins. This research was conducted on three sea urchin taxa (Lytechinus variegatus, Heliocidaris erythrogramma, and Sterechinus spp.) representing species that …

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Elementary Photoreceptor Signaling In Human Vision, Kady Scarlett Bruce Jan 2016

Elementary Photoreceptor Signaling In Human Vision, Kady Scarlett Bruce

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To perceive a spot of light at photopic threshold, a minimum number of photons must be absorbed by cone photoreceptors. While many factors affecting psychophysical threshold have been studied, few have been examined at the single-cone level. Here we reveal how variation in synaptic weighting and signal integration among cones in the human retina occurs in vivo. Using an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) equipped with stimulation capabilities, we targeted cone-sized stimuli to single cones. Perceptual increment thresholds were measured from individual cones and cone pairs in 7 subjects using a Bayesian-based staircase method of threshold estimation. In 42 …

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Primary Visual Cortex And Plasticity Following Central Vision Loss, Wesley K. Burge Jan 2016

Primary Visual Cortex And Plasticity Following Central Vision Loss, Wesley K. Burge

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Age-related macular degeneration is one of the most common causes of blindness in the industrialized world, and the advanced phase of the disease that causes significant vision impairment affects nearly 2 million individuals in the United States (Friedman et al., 2004). It is characterized by the degeneration and eventual death of retinal photoreceptors in the macula, which is the area of the retina that mediates central vision. The resulting loss of cells often leads to profound deficits in visual function. However, many individuals with age-related macular degeneration learn to use their spared peripheral vision for visual tasks such as reading, …

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Development And Evaluation Of Formulations For Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems, Carlos Arturo Carmona-Moran Jan 2016

Development And Evaluation Of Formulations For Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems, Carlos Arturo Carmona-Moran

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Delivering drugs through the skin reduces side effects and avoids first pass drug metabolism. This is especially advantageous for drugs with associated side effects due to oral administration such as the case of diclofenac sodium; a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for the treatment of symptomatic pain of joints due to osteoarthritis. However, transdermal delivery of diclofenac relies on the use of topical formulations that require constant application and are inconvenient for daily activities. These factors reduce patient compliance and diminish the efficacy of transdermal delivery of diclofenac. Improving transdermal delivery of diclofenac in joints or extremities requires developing novel …

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Expanding Pulmonary Rehabilitation Access With Technology, Erica Mccarron Anderson Jan 2016

Expanding Pulmonary Rehabilitation Access With Technology, Erica Mccarron Anderson

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ii EXPANDING PULMONARY REHABILITATION WITH TECHNOLOGY ERICA MCCARRON ANDERSON COMMUNITY HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES ABSTRACT Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States. COPD is a chronic, progressive lung disease characterized by irreversible airway obstruction. Symptoms include fatigue, chronic cough, excess mucus production and shortness of breath. These symptoms often impair quality-of-life. There are many interventions aimed at improving health related qualityof- life for patients living with COPD. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a multidisciplinary program exercise, education and psychosocial support. Pulmonary rehabilitation is well established to decrease symptoms in all stages of …

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Establishing And Organ Culture To Study Scleral Collagen Remodeling In Myopia, Sarah Baldivia Jan 2016

Establishing And Organ Culture To Study Scleral Collagen Remodeling In Myopia, Sarah Baldivia

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether quantitative ultrasound (QUS)

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Fcrl5 Counter-Regulates Natural And T Cell-Independent Immunoglobulin Production By Innate-Like B Cells, Eugene John Becker Jan 2016

Fcrl5 Counter-Regulates Natural And T Cell-Independent Immunoglobulin Production By Innate-Like B Cells, Eugene John Becker

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At homeostasis and during the initial phases of primary responses to pathogens, humoral host defense is chiefly coordinated by specialized B cells known as splenic marginal zone (MZ) and body cavity-derived B-1 B cells. These front line immune mediators are termed “innate like” due to their ability to secrete broadly-reactive natural antibodies and respond rapidly to antigens in a T cell-independent manner. The production of natural antibodies possessing specificities for self-antigens allows clearance of cellular debris, maintenance of homeostasis and protection from infections that can also predispose the host to immunological disease. However, how the functions of these specialized cells …

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Meta-Analysis Of Cognitive Performance In Fibromyalgia, Tyler Reed Bell Jan 2016

Meta-Analysis Of Cognitive Performance In Fibromyalgia, Tyler Reed Bell

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Fibromyalgia is a disease that encompasses difficulties with pain, physical function, and emotion, but is also characterized by complaints of poor cognition. Over the last two decades, a vast amount of literature has tested for cognitive differences between individuals with and without fibromyalgia. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a quantitative synthesis on these differences across multiple cognitive domains. After a systematic search of eligible studies, random-effect meta-analyses were conducted on effect sizes (Hedges’ g) derived from 37 cross-sectional studies covering domains of processing speed, memory and executive function. Participants included persons with fibromyalgia (total n = …

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Ribosomal Protein L12 (Rpl12) As A Novel Target In Cystic Fibrosis, Kathryn E. Oliver Jan 2016

Ribosomal Protein L12 (Rpl12) As A Novel Target In Cystic Fibrosis, Kathryn E. Oliver

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Approximately 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis (CF) are diagnosed in the United States every year. The disease is caused by over 1,700 naturally occurring variants in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Defects in the CFTR coding sequence contribute to variable disease severity in the patient population. The majority of individuals born with CF harbor at least one specific mutation in CFTR termed F508del. Clinical manifestations of CF include severe damage of multiple exocrine tissues, including the lungs, intestine, pancreas, reproductive and other organ systems. An overarching goal of our work is to identify cellular targets that contribute to …

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Regulation Of The Mitochondrial Thiol Network With Targeted Electrohpiles, Matthew Ryan Smith Jan 2016

Regulation Of The Mitochondrial Thiol Network With Targeted Electrohpiles, Matthew Ryan Smith

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Cells possess a remarkable plasticity to alter their metabolism and change their function based on stimuli within their resident microenvironment. The mitochondria within these cells utilize a variety of sources such as pyruvate, glutamine, or fatty acids in order to generate metabolites, amino acids, and reducing equivalents needed for cellular proliferation.Many mitochondrial enzymes possess contain a cysteine which possesses a thiol group, a unique redox-signaling moiety that can be activated under specific circumstances by bio-reactive compounds forming a network of mitochondrial proteins which are responsible for mitochondrial respiration. However, it is unknown whether targeting these reactive thiol groups present a …

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Analysis Of The Ciliary Genes Gas8 And Mks6 Reveal Conserved Roles In Cilia Motility And Transition Zone Function, Wesley Robert Lewis Jan 2016

Analysis Of The Ciliary Genes Gas8 And Mks6 Reveal Conserved Roles In Cilia Motility And Transition Zone Function, Wesley Robert Lewis

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Cilia are microtubule based cellular appendages that are present throughout the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. These appendages are utilized for a wide array of functions such as motility in single celled organisms to coordinating complex cellular signaling pathways in more complex organisms. Though these appendages are well conserved, the exact function of cilia in many cell types remains unknown. Recently, cilia are tied to a myriad of developmental diseases and diseases of adult homeostasis collectively referred to as ciliopathies. Dysfunction in cilia results in a wide array of phenotypes ranging from retinal degeneration to polydactyly, cystic kidney disease, and …

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Mechanisms Of Innate And Adaptive Immune Function In Parkinson Disease, Heather Elizabeth Allen Jan 2016

Mechanisms Of Innate And Adaptive Immune Function In Parkinson Disease, Heather Elizabeth Allen

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Parkinson disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized pathologically by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) into large inclusions. The association of mutations and gene multiplications in SNCA, the gene encoding α-syn, with rare familial forms of PD led to the discovery that α-syn plays a key role in the pathogenesis of PD. The mechanism by which α-syn mediates its toxicity remains uncertain. A leading hypothesis states that the toxic effects of α-syn are mediated by activation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems within the central nervous system. Supporting …

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Pattern Formation And Semilinear Evolution Equations In Function Spaces, Kwadwo Antwi-Fordjour Jan 2016

Pattern Formation And Semilinear Evolution Equations In Function Spaces, Kwadwo Antwi-Fordjour

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predictors, and find that under the test of group differences, MacKinnon and White’s HC2

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Low Power Oscillator Based Sensor Signal Monitoring System, A K M Arifuzzman Jan 2016

Low Power Oscillator Based Sensor Signal Monitoring System, A K M Arifuzzman

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With the advances in the integrated circuit technologies, various types of micro- and nano-sensors are increasingly being utilized in different fields such as medical monitoring, wireless health monitoring, structural health monitoring, where low power consumption, small dimensions, multi-signal sensing capabilities and wireless telemetry are required. Various types of bio-electrical signals are used in the medical sensor systems for diagnostics as well as therapeutic interventions. Usually, bio-signals have the common features of low frequency, and low amplitude level. In this work, a low current sensor signal monitoring system has been proposed and developed, which possesses several merits in terms of high …

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Copper Chaperone In Streptococcus Mutans Biofilm Formation And Dispersion Of Biofilms By Small Molecules, Sandra Stephanie Garcia Jan 2016

Copper Chaperone In Streptococcus Mutans Biofilm Formation And Dispersion Of Biofilms By Small Molecules, Sandra Stephanie Garcia

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program pilot study randomly assigned 100 women, aged 19 to 25 to two groups. One

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Neurobiological Consequences Of Perinatal Ssri Exposure, Matthew Edward Glover Jan 2016

Neurobiological Consequences Of Perinatal Ssri Exposure, Matthew Edward Glover

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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been a mainstay pharmacological treatment for women experiencing depression during pregnancy and postpartum for nearly three decades. Recently, though, growing evidence indicates that early-life SSRI exposure triggers long-lasting behavioral abnormalities. Clinically, children exposed to SSRIs in early life exhibit increased internalizing behavior, reduced social behavior, and increased risk for depression in adolescence. Similarly, in rodents, perinatal SSRI exposure leads to increased traits of anxiety- and depression-like behavior. Interestingly, certain individuals are more susceptible to early-life SSRI exposure than others, suggesting that perinatal SSRI exposure poses greater risks for negative outcome within certain populations; however, …

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