Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Perceived Stress, Anxiety, Somatic Symptoms, And Spirituality In Practitioners Of The Martial Art Aikido, Howell E. Tapley

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between physical, mental and spiritual health. An additional purpose was to determine if the practice of aikido was associated with measurable levels of somatic symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety and spirituality. Measurement instruments included Cohen’s 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Spielberger’s 20-item Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI), the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), and the 16-item Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES). A cross-sectional research design was utilized in this study to test the following hypotheses: 1) After controlling for demographic variables, daily spiritual experience will explain variability in perceived stress, anxiety and somatic symptoms, …

Genetic And Epigenetic Regulation Of Dihydropyrimidinase And Beta-Ureidopropionase In Individuals With Altered Uracil Catabolism And Normal Dihydro Pyrimidine Dehydrogenase Enzyme Activity, Holly Reed Thomas

All ETDs from UAB

There remain a number of patients presenting with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) toxicity despite normal dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) enzyme activity, suggesting possible deficiencies in the two enzymes downstream of DPD in the uracil catabolic pathway: dihydropyrimidinase (DHP), encoded by the DPYS gene, or β-ureidopropionase (BUP-1), encoded by the UPB1 gene. Unlike DPD, which is expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), DHP and BUP-1 enzyme activity is detected in only the liver and kidney, thus requiring an invasive biopsy for determination of activity. This dissertation, therefore, focuses on the role of the genetic and epigenetic regulation of DPYS and UPB1. The genetic …

Influence Of A Sacs Review Of One Previously Unaccredited, Urban Middle School: A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis, Carole Elaine Braden Tull

All ETDs from UAB

The need for data-driven education and proof of accountability has become apparent since the reform movement in American education that began with A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). Accreditation identifies schools as quality institutions, yet little K-12 research is available pertaining to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In this longitudinal study, quantitative and qualitative methods were used to explore the impact of an initial SACS review on an urban, Title I middle school. The target school gained full SACS membership in May 2004. For the next three years the researcher gathered Stanford …

Perceived Stress, Pain Coping Strategies, Pain Interference, And Social Support: Mediators And M Oderators Of Depression In A Spinal Cord Injury Sample With Chronic Pain, Michael W. Wilson

All ETDs from UAB

Chronic pain and depression are frequently co-reported secondary complications following spinal cord injury (SCI) that impact multiple psychosocial domains. This study investigated the contribution of pain intensity, perceived stress, pain coping strategies, pain interference, and social support in depression and sought to identify mediator and moderator effects in the pain-depression relationship among persons with chronic SCI pain. Perceived stress, pain coping strategies, and pain interference were proposed as likely mediators of pain intensity and depression. Different types of social support were proposed as likely moderators of pain intensity and depression. The SCI sample consisted of 60 people with chronic pain …

Effects Of Optical Blur On Visual Performance And Comfort Of Computer Users, Ferial M. Zeried

All ETDs from UAB

Background. The study examined the effects of optical blur on the visual performance and comfort of computer workers. Since most workers have significant degrees of optical blur, the study may elucidate improved methodology for workplace comfort and function. Methods. Since young and old workers experience blur from different sources, the study incorporated two different designs. The study examined the correction of optical blur using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. The primary outcomes of the study were visual comfort and productivity. In study one, subjects were required to be 19-35 yrs of age, have at least 0.50D uncorrected refractive error …

The Relationship Of Risk For Unintentional Injury And Externalizing Behavior In Childhood., Elizabeth B. Bowling

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Neighborhood Context And Health Lifestyles: Implications For Obesity Outcomes Among Children, Akilah Dulin

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Cost-Effectiveness Of A Multi-Stage School-Based Asthma Case Detection Program In An Urban School System, Joe K. Gerald

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Does Speed Of Processing Training Impact Driving Mobility In Older Adults?, Lesley Anne Ross

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Acute Effects Of Ambient Ozone On Daily Hospital Admissions And Daily Mortality For Respiratory And Cardiovascular Diseases Among Residents Of Bangkok, Thailand, Kannika Ruangdej

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Prepubertal Bisphenol A Exposure In The Rat Mammary Gland: Mechanism Of Action For Carcinogenesis, Nandini Raghuraman

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Maternal Characteristics Associated With Language Outcomes Of Children Born At Less Than 32 Weeks Gestational Age, Richard V. Rector

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting The Quality Of Rehabilitation Care For Inpatients With Spinal Cord Injury, Haiyan Qu

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Dysregulated Enac And Nhe Function In Cilium-Deficient Renal Collecting Duct Cell Monolayers, A Model Of Polycystic Kidney Disease, Dragos S. Olteanu

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Aging Differences In Mechanisms Of Human Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy, David J. Kosek

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Sunscreen Fluorescence In Skin, Skin Cells, And Dielectric Nanospheres: A New Method To Evaluate Sunscreen In A Novel Model System For Skin, Rajagopal Krishnan

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Cyp2c9 And Vkorc1 Genotypes On Warfarin Response In African-American And European American Patients, Nita A. Limdi

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

The Specter Of Post-Communism : Competing Explanations For Health Crisis In The Post-Soviet States, Brian Philip Hinote

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Magnetic Resonance: Validation Of The Echomri 3-In-1 Composition Analyzer, Angela S. Jones

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Akhuwat Issue No. 65, Aga Khan University

AKHUWAT Newsletters

• The Convocation Ceremony, 2006
• Workshop on Health Administration: Strategic Planning and Performance Management (SPPM)
• Patient Satisfaction Survey
• JCIA Dashboard of Clinical and Managerial Indicators
• Face to Face with Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, Chair and Professor, Department of Paediatrics
• Visit of the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Aga Khan University Advanced Nursing Studies Programme in Nairobi, Kenya
• Transition towards betterment of Nursing in Afghanistan
• Appointment of Dr. Mir Afzal Tajik as Head of Professional Development Central (PDC), Chitral
• AKU Student Night 2006
• Third Annual Olympiad held on 'Environment and Infections’ at AKU-IED
• Research Seminar on Adult Literacy and Academic Literacy
• Graduation …

An Exploration Of Local Smart Growth Initiatives Within The United States, William Patrick Bryant

All ETDs from UAB

This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of smart growth policy mechanisms available to local governments within the United States. It begins with a description a sprawl, including its causes, impacts, and effects on society. The thesis then transitions to a discussion of the smart growth philosophy, including a definition of smart growth, a discourse debunking common smart growth myths, and an explanation of the economic benefits resulting from smart growth implementation. The discussion concludes with recommendations and examples of specific smart growth techniques that local governments can adopt in pursuit of a smart growth planning agenda.

Effects Of Pulsed Electromagnetic Stimulation On Cultured Dermal Fibroblasts From Diabetic And Non-Diabetic Rats, Cara Rouse Davis

All ETDs from UAB

Diabetes is a disease affecting an increasing number people each year. The medical costs of patients with diabetes are substantial due to the many complications associated with the disease. Dermal wounds are one of these complications and are often very difficult to properly heal. Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMFs) have been introduced as a method by which to speed the healing of dermal wounds. In this study, a device (provided by Biomet/EBI, Parsippany, NJ) for supplying PEMFs in vitro was used to stimulate dermal fibroblasts, one of the key cells in wound healing. These cells were isolated from the genetically diabetic …

The People I Know, Max Everhart

All ETDs from UAB

This is a collection—one personal essay and three short stories. In these works, I explore the concept of anger and identity and how these components create tension within the traditional immediate family framework. As I wrote, I continually asked myself a very specific question—a question that I wanted the thesis that follows to provide an answer for: can one maintain his or her identity while still fulfilling the responsibilities of being a father, son, husband, or wife? I begin this collection with an intensely personal essay entitled, “Name- Calling.” Set against the background of a fantastical assassination attempt on George …

Barrier Membranes For Ridge Augmentation - Is There An Optimal Pore Size?, Rajesh Gutta

All ETDs from UAB

Background: - Alveolar bone loss is often a sequelae of edentulism. However, several reconstruction procedures with bone grafts and barrier membranes are used to restore the lost bony architecture. The value of titanium mesh barriers has been shown to be reliable both in vertical and horizontal ridge augmentation procedures. However, there is a paucity of literature supporting the role of pore size of barrier membranes in preventing soft tissue ingrowth during ridge augmentation procedures. There are multiple reports describing a layer of soft tissue with varying thickness beneath the mesh and adhering to the newly regenerated bone. The objective of …

Acetylcholinesterase In The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus : Characterization And Developmental Expression In Larvae, Natalie A. Jennings

All ETDs from UAB

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in a deuterostome invertebrate, the echinoid Lytechinus variegatus, has been characterized. Kinetic parameters Vmax, Km, Kss, and b were 453 ± 183 μM ATCh hydrolyzed/minute, 185 ± 11 μM, 308 ± 100 mM, and 0.2, respectively for the substrate acetylthiocholine (ATCh) and 3.1 ± 1.2 μM BTCh hydrolyzed/minute, 654 ± 424 μM, 36 ± 31 mM, and 0.6, respectively for substrate butyrylthiocholine (BTCh). Pharmacologic analyses were performed with four inhibitors of cholinesterases, physostigmine, BW284c51, ethopropazine, and iso-OMPA, and yielded IC50 values of 106 ± 4 nM, 718 ± 118 nM, 2.57 ± 0.6 mM, and > 0.0300 M, respectively. …

Visually Impaired Caregivers: Perspectives From Patient Focus Groups, Bethany Surrey Martinez

All ETDs from UAB

Purpose: We typically think of those with severe visual impairment as having to receive care or assistance for tasks in everyday living. However, with the aging of the population, more persons who are severely visually impaired are now caring for a spouse of significant other. Very little is known about visually impaired (VI) caregivers. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study is to learn more about this vulnerable population of VI caregivers. Methods: Focus groups and one-on-one interviews were conducted with English speaking adults who were legally blind (U.S. definition) and served as informal caregiver of an adult family member. …

Regional Cerebral Blood Flow (Rcbf) Calculations In Awake, Behaving Non-Human Primates Using Continuous Arterial Spin Labeling (Casl) Techniques, Rajiv G. Menon

All ETDs from UAB

MRI can be employed to measure blood flow changes, which is an important in-dex of tissue health and function. One of the methods used to quantify perfusion is Ar-terial Spin Labeling (ASL) - a non-invasive method that uses arterial blood water as an endogenous contrast agent. The aim of this study was to quantify cerebral blood perfusion in awake, behaving non-human primates by using a class of techniques called Continuous Arterial Spin Labe-ling (CASL). This study involved the experimental design, setup and post-processing for the measurement of perfusion to facilitate validation studies in animals and compare them with existing perfusion …

Using Genetic Admixture And Lipo Protein Lipase Polymorphisms To Explain Variations In Plasma Triglycerides And High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol In Premenopauasal African And European American Females, Nihal Omar Natour

All ETDs from UAB

Although African Americans (AA) are well known to be more obese and more in-sulin resistant than European Americas (EA), several studies have shown that AA have lower plasma triglyceride (TG) and higher high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The reasons for these levels of TG and HDL-C are not understood, and scientists have suggested a role of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), a key regulator of TG rich lipoproteins me-tabolism that is also thought to indirectly affect HDL-C metabolism. To investigate the extent to which these observed differences in TG and HDL-C are due to genetic makeup, we investigated the role of genetic …

Development And Testing Of Feed - A Feedback Expert System For Ems Documentation, Devashish Saini

All ETDs from UAB

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are delivered in a chaotic, dynamic, unpre-dictable, and therefore error-prone environment. Deviations from protocol are common and some may be severe enough to cause harm to the patient. EMS personnel, like all healthcare providers, can benefit from feedback, continued education and medical over-sight. A Feedback Expert system for EMS Documentation (FEED) was developed for providing feedback to EMS personnel after the ambulance run is completed and docu-mented electronically. FEED’s knowledge base was derived from Alabama State EMS Protocols and discussions with two EMS faculty members from UAB School of Medi-cine. FEED is rule-based and uses confidence …

Surface Reproducibility Of Impression Materials, Amit Shah

All ETDs from UAB

The inability to absorb or release moisture limits the ANSI/ADA specification 19 stainless steel mold from accurately mimicking tooth structure and oral conditions while evaluating in vitro detail reproduction of elastomeric impression materials. Moreover, studies utilizing this mold have been graduated at room temperature, not normal mouth temperature. Bovine teeth, being similar to human teeth in microstructure and composition, are the closest substitutes that can be used to evaluate surface detail reproducibility of impression materials. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop a new bovine in vitro test model at controlled temperature and humidity in order to simulate …