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2008

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Free -Knot Splines And Bootstrapping For Nonlinear Modeling In Complex Samples, Scott W. Keith Jan 2008

Free -Knot Splines And Bootstrapping For Nonlinear Modeling In Complex Samples, Scott W. Keith

All ETDs from UAB

Studies on body mass index (BMI) as it relates to headache or mortality have noted considerable nonlinearity. Approaches to rigorously analyzing these relationships have been limited to generalized linear models and survival models using either categorizations or polynomials of BMI. I have designed, evaluated, and implemented a piecewise linear logistic regression framework for modeling nonlinearity between a binary outcome and a continuous predictor, such as BMI, adjusted for covariates in complex samples. Least squares and maximum likelihood estimation methods were used to numerically optimize free-knot splines. Inference methods utilized both parametric and nonparametric bootstrapping. Parameter estimates were structured for interpretability …

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Hospice Use In Alabama: A Cross-Sectional Assessment, Todd M. Jenkins Jan 2008

Hospice Use In Alabama: A Cross-Sectional Assessment, Todd M. Jenkins

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of this investigation was to describe and compare patterns of hospice use in Alabama and to assess barriers to receiving such care as perceived by hospice providers across the state. We used death certificate and other administrative records from the Alabama Center for Health Statistics to ascertain hospice use during the years 2002 to 2005. Crude rates of hospice use were calculated across individual and area-level characteristics. Prevalence ratios were calculated using modified Poisson regression to evaluate the impact of these factors on hospice use. To assess barriers to hospice care, all hospices in Alabama (N = 193) …

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Cardiovascular Function, Cognition, And Everyday Activities In Older Adults, Sarah M. Viamonte Jan 2008

Cardiovascular Function, Cognition, And Everyday Activities In Older Adults, Sarah M. Viamonte

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Of Reward System Functioning In Obese Women, Luke E. Stoeckel Jan 2008

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Of Reward System Functioning In Obese Women, Luke E. Stoeckel

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Protective Role Of Coronary Endothelium During The Development Of Cardiac Hypertrophy: Insights From Pharmacological Intervention Studies, Xiaowei Sun Jan 2008

Protective Role Of Coronary Endothelium During The Development Of Cardiac Hypertrophy: Insights From Pharmacological Intervention Studies, Xiaowei Sun

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Investigation Of Thermal Performance, Indoor Air Quality And Energy Consumption Within The Tuskegee Healthy House Demonstrative Model, Rasha M. Selim Jan 2008

Investigation Of Thermal Performance, Indoor Air Quality And Energy Consumption Within The Tuskegee Healthy House Demonstrative Model, Rasha M. Selim

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Family Functioning And Vision Loss, Jennifer Bambara Jan 2008

Family Functioning And Vision Loss, Jennifer Bambara

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Power And Sample Size Of Cluster Randomized Trials, Zhiying You Jan 2008

Power And Sample Size Of Cluster Randomized Trials, Zhiying You

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Who Is In A Hurry For Hiv Test Results? An Exploration Of Presentation For Oraquick Rapid Result Hiv Antibody Testing In Urban Clinical And Outreach Settings In Alabama, Anne Zinski Jan 2008

Who Is In A Hurry For Hiv Test Results? An Exploration Of Presentation For Oraquick Rapid Result Hiv Antibody Testing In Urban Clinical And Outreach Settings In Alabama, Anne Zinski

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Depressive Symptoms, Depressive Symptom Types, And Coping Strategies Among Cardiac Rehabilitation Participants, Jennifer Jones Cameron Jan 2008

Depressive Symptoms, Depressive Symptom Types, And Coping Strategies Among Cardiac Rehabilitation Participants, Jennifer Jones Cameron

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Beliefs And Intentions Of U.S. Registered Dietitians Toward Evaluating Psychological Factors Related To Food And Weight Concerns Of Weight Management Clients And Making Referrals, Donna Oliva Burnett Jan 2008

Beliefs And Intentions Of U.S. Registered Dietitians Toward Evaluating Psychological Factors Related To Food And Weight Concerns Of Weight Management Clients And Making Referrals, Donna Oliva Burnett

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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Rapid Prediction Of Tropical Soil Degradation Using Diffuse Reflectance Spectros Copy: Method Verification In The Saiwa River Basin, Western Kenya, Jeffries Blunt Degraffenried Jan 2008

Rapid Prediction Of Tropical Soil Degradation Using Diffuse Reflectance Spectros Copy: Method Verification In The Saiwa River Basin, Western Kenya, Jeffries Blunt Degraffenried

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

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The Influence Of Radiographic Expertise On Visual Memory And Attention, Emily A. Smitherman Jan 2008

The Influence Of Radiographic Expertise On Visual Memory And Attention, Emily A. Smitherman

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

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Friction Produced By Esthetic Brackets With Varying Ligation, Christine Knox Abenoja Jan 2008

Friction Produced By Esthetic Brackets With Varying Ligation, Christine Knox Abenoja

All ETDs from UAB

Controlling friction is an important aspect of orthodontics because it allows more predictable tooth movement with less anchorage loss. Friction at the bracket/archwire/ligation interface can reduce the force available for desired tooth movement. Initial stages of orthodontic treatment depend on the ability of the archwire to slide freely through the bracket, making friction an important aspect of all orthodontic brackets in the early phases of orthodontic treatment. The purpose of the present in vitro study was to measure the force to move esthetic brackets over an archwire using different ligation methods. A stainless steel model reproducing the maxillary right dentition …

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Biomimetic Self -Assembled Nanomatrix For Bone Tissue Regeneration, Joel M. Anderson Jan 2008

Biomimetic Self -Assembled Nanomatrix For Bone Tissue Regeneration, Joel M. Anderson

All ETDs from UAB

Bone is a dense, connective tissue with an extracellular matrix (ECM) comprised of biological and organic/inorganic biphasic matrices. For this study, novel peptide amphiphile (PA) nanomatrices were synthesized to mimic the native bone ECM and evaluated with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) isolated from bone marrow. The ability of this nanoscale, biomimetic scaffold composed of PAs that are inscribed with cellular adhesive ligands to direct hMSC osteogenic differentiation without supplements, along with other cellular behaviors, was investigated. Typical osteogenic supplements include dexamethasone, β-glycerol phosphate, and ascorbic acid. The synthesized PA sequences were evaluated as two-dimensional nanomatrix coatings without the inorganic …

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A Comparative Study Of Extraction Treatment Efficiency Using Conventional Edgewise Brackets And Self-Ligating Brackets, Stan C. Cox Jan 2008

A Comparative Study Of Extraction Treatment Efficiency Using Conventional Edgewise Brackets And Self-Ligating Brackets, Stan C. Cox

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of the present study was to assess treatment efficiency of one selfligating bracket system (In-Ovation, GAC International, Bohemia, NY) compared to a conventional ligating bracket system (Ovation, GAC International, Bohemia, NY) in extraction cases used in the same practice. Treatment duration, number of appointments, and number of arch wires used per patient were compared within one private orthodontic practice. The total sample size was 155 patients, 83 consecutively finished with conventionally-ligated Ovation brackets and 72 consecutively finished with In-Ovation self-ligating brackets. After applying the exclusion criteria, there were 68 patients in the self-ligated (SL) group and 79 patients …

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Detection Of Total And Pathogenic Salmonella In Oysters Using Real-Time Pcr With Internal Amplification Control And Study Of Their Antibiotic Resistance Profile, Maulshree Gangwar Jan 2008

Detection Of Total And Pathogenic Salmonella In Oysters Using Real-Time Pcr With Internal Amplification Control And Study Of Their Antibiotic Resistance Profile, Maulshree Gangwar

All ETDs from UAB

Salmonella is a causative agent for food and water borne gastroenteritis in humans. A multiplex PCR-based detection revealing total and potentially virulent strains of Salmonellae was developed using oligonucleotide primers. These primers targeted chromosomally located invA gene generating a 274 bp and Salmonella virulence plasmid-borne spvB gene generating 561 bp amplified DNA fragments. The invA gene product brings about the invasion of the cells on the intestinal epithelium and is used as the marker for total Salmonella detection. The occurrence and distribution of these genes in 90 strains exhibited 100% amplification of invA gene whereas only 22% of spvB gene …

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Variability Of Two Sampling Methods In Plaque Samples, Kuei C. Hsu Jan 2008

Variability Of Two Sampling Methods In Plaque Samples, Kuei C. Hsu

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction: Dental caries remain the most common infectious disease in children, and is in fact, on the rise in the U.S. among 2 to 5 year olds. Among hundreds of oral bacteria, mutans streptococci (MS) are considered the major species associated with dental caries. Studies have shown that increased MS in saliva or plaque is an important indicator for caries. The use of standard plate count (SPC) from plaque samples particularly yield variable quantitative results because of complexities of sample collection and processing. Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine collection reproducibility in plaque samples from permanent first molars using …

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Parenting Practices As Mediators Of The Association Between Violence Exposure And Internalizing And Externalizing Behavior Problems Among Black Youth, Penny Loosier Jan 2008

Parenting Practices As Mediators Of The Association Between Violence Exposure And Internalizing And Externalizing Behavior Problems Among Black Youth, Penny Loosier

All ETDs from UAB

“Tough love” has been posited as a prevalent parenting style among black families; although most of the literature has focused on differences in parenting across black and white youth, examinations of parenting within an exclusively black sample are rare. The current study used an exclusively black sample to examine a blend of parenting practices aligning with a “tough love” conceptualization of parenting: child disclosure (CD), parental nurturance (PN), and harsh discipline (HD). Given prior evidence that it might be an adaptation to compromised environments, it was hypothesized that, if viable, “tough love” would present via positive associations between violence exposure …

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A Descriptive Overview Of The Jefferson County Mental Health Court, Crystal Rena Null Jan 2008

A Descriptive Overview Of The Jefferson County Mental Health Court, Crystal Rena Null

All ETDs from UAB

Mental health courts have been established to help meet the treatment needs of the mentally ill offender. If mentally ill offenders commit crimes because of their mental illness, then “by treating [them], society may benefit through reduced recidivism and improvements in social outcomes” (Mears, 2004, 258). This study focuses on the Jefferson County Mental Health Court and its participants. It addresses two main research questions: 1) Who participants in the Jefferson County Mental Health Court; and 2) What factors exist to help predict who successfully completes the Jefferson County Mental Health Court? Unlike the majority of other mental health courts, …

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The Ghost Of Godwin: Intertextuality And Embedded Correspondence In The Works Of The Shelley Circle, James C. Stewart Jan 2008

The Ghost Of Godwin: Intertextuality And Embedded Correspondence In The Works Of The Shelley Circle, James C. Stewart

All ETDs from UAB

The members of the Shelley Circle attempted to live their lives by and produce works consistent with an arguably unrealistic and utopian political value system. Thematically, the writers show remarkable similarity in attempting to render the ideal real. During the period between 1816 and 1819, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and William Godwin were struggling with living their ideals in a harsh reality. I examine two major works from each author: Godwin’s Political Justice and Caleb Williams, Percy Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound and The Cenci, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Mathilda. In each case (with the exception of Godwin), when moving from …

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Success Rates Of Temporary Anchorage Devices Placed In An Orthodontic Clinic, Alex C. Schreiber Jan 2008

Success Rates Of Temporary Anchorage Devices Placed In An Orthodontic Clinic, Alex C. Schreiber

All ETDs from UAB

In recent years, the use of a variety of temporary placed implants to attain absolute anchorage has been described in the orthodontic literature. The use of temporary implants, fixed to bone, overcomes some of the limitations of traditional anchorage and their reliance on patient compliance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors relating to the successful placement of miniscrew temporary anchorage devices in an orthodontic clinic. The orthodontic records of patients who had miniscrews placed during their treatment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry Postgraduate Orthodontic Clinic were selected. After application of the inclusion …

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Perioperative Music And Its Effects On Anxiety, Hemodynamics, And Pain In Women Undergoing Mastectomy, Pamela Gail Binns-Turner Jan 2008

Perioperative Music And Its Effects On Anxiety, Hemodynamics, And Pain In Women Undergoing Mastectomy, Pamela Gail Binns-Turner

All ETDs from UAB

The study purpose was to examine the effects of a perioperative music intervention on changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), anxiety, and pain in women with a diagnosis of breast cancer undergoing mastectomy surgery. The convenience sample included 30 women between the ages of 42 and 70 who were undergoing mastectomy in a large urban hospital in the southern United States. Exclusion criteria included male gender, psychiatric disorder, use of psychotropic medications, cognitive mental disability, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status 4 or greater. In a quasiexperimental, repeated measures design, participants were randomized equally into music …

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Evaluation Of Pre And Post Treatment Filtration Performance Of Kinetico Macrolite® Ceramic Media Compared To Traditional Sand/Anthracite And Gac Filters In Drinking Water Treatment Process, Jeff Cochran Jan 2008

Evaluation Of Pre And Post Treatment Filtration Performance Of Kinetico Macrolite® Ceramic Media Compared To Traditional Sand/Anthracite And Gac Filters In Drinking Water Treatment Process, Jeff Cochran

All ETDs from UAB

This study was conducted in conjunction with the Birmingham Water Works Board to evaluate Kinetico ceramic filter media against GAC (Granular Activated Carbon) and Sand/Anthracite filters. The Birmingham Water Works Board Water Treatment Pilot Plant was located and operated on the Shades Mountain Filter Plant (SMFP) premises. The evaluation was conducted in three phases: plant matching, plant optimization, and pre-filter testing. The initial phase called for determining the best combination of Kinetico Macrolite Ceramic media to match or outperform the existing Sand/Anthracite dual media filters located at SMFP. At the end of the testing it was determined that 18 inches …

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Analysis Of The Role Of Fcrl5 And Figlers In B Cell Development, Signaling, And Malignancy, Christopher L. Haga Jan 2008

Analysis Of The Role Of Fcrl5 And Figlers In B Cell Development, Signaling, And Malignancy, Christopher L. Haga

All ETDs from UAB

The regulation of signaling and migration is critical to B lymphocyte development, activation, and proliferation. This dissertation reports a functional role for Fc receptor-like molecule 5 (FCRL5), a B cell specific member of the Fc receptor-like family of molecules, and the discovery of a novel family of conserved transmembrane proteins with fibronectin, immunoglobulin, and leucine-rich repeat domains (FIGLER) expressed in bone marrow and B lineage cells. Until now, the signaling potential of FCRL5 was unknown. A panel of FcRIIB/FCRL5 chimeric receptors were created and expressed in a B cell line lacking endogenous FcRIIB. Coligation of the chimeric receptor with the …

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Developmentally Appropriate Practice And No Child Left Behind: A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Experiences, Linda Marie Hogue Jan 2008

Developmentally Appropriate Practice And No Child Left Behind: A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Experiences, Linda Marie Hogue

All ETDs from UAB

The authorization of The Elementary and Secondary Act—No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 provided new federal guidelines for accountability in the United States. As a result, schools are required to provide statistical data through standardized test scores to measure adequate yearly progress benchmarks set by each state. The agenda of the federal government was to force school equity for all children. Since the inception of NCLB, teachers have begun the struggle of meeting the demands of federal, state, and local guidelines that impose harsh penalties if benchmarks are not attained by their students. The National Association for the …

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Performance Characterization And Reconfiguration Of Wireless Sensor Networks, Parag P. Joshi Jan 2008

Performance Characterization And Reconfiguration Of Wireless Sensor Networks, Parag P. Joshi

All ETDs from UAB

Some attributes of a wireless sensor network (WSN) are its large scale of deployment, possible harsh ambient conditions, and limited resource budgets. Therefore, minimizing the demand placed on resource utilization is vital. WSN applications that require binary or quantized information are of interest owing to the resulting savings in bandwidth and power. Two very important applications of binary WSNs are target localization and target detection. Optimizing a multi-modal surface to estimate a target’s location and power is a highly complex problem. Deterministic and stochastic approaches are computationally intensive and sluggish or converge to local minima, causing large estimation errors. This …

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Mechanism Of Interferon-Beta-Mediated Inhibition Of Il-8 Gene Expression, Travis Laver Jan 2008

Mechanism Of Interferon-Beta-Mediated Inhibition Of Il-8 Gene Expression, Travis Laver

All ETDs from UAB

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent chemoattractant of numerous cells, particularly neutrophils, in the innate immune response. In addition to immune functions, IL-8 is known to contribute to the pathogenesis of a number of diseases, including cancer. Interferon-β (IFN-β), a Type I interferon, inhibits the expression of IL-8, but the details of this effect are not known. In this study we investigate transcriptional control of the IL- 8 gene and the mechanism by which IFN-β exerts inhibitory effects on IL-8. Herein we show that stimulation of U87-MG glioma cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) results in a rapid recruitment of NF-κB …

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Air Pollution And Preterm Births In Atlanta, Georgia, Corey Masuca Jan 2008

Air Pollution And Preterm Births In Atlanta, Georgia, Corey Masuca

All ETDs from UAB

Exposure to ambient outdoor air pollution exposure is one of the many extraneous factors associated with preterm births. Many epidemiological studies involving preterm births and ambient air pollution have repeatedly indicated positive associations. However, for many such studies, results may be statistically significant but weakly associated or inconclusive. Such results may be primarily attributable to the fact that most studies include only single or multiple criteria air pollutants but not the total air pollution mixture of criteria air pollutants and air toxic pollutants (e.g., PAHs) to which people are actually exposed. This study assessed associations between pollutant classes, including criteria …

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Reading Teachers' Attitudes Toward Scripted Reading Programs: A Multiple Case Study, Holly G. Morgan Jan 2008

Reading Teachers' Attitudes Toward Scripted Reading Programs: A Multiple Case Study, Holly G. Morgan

All ETDs from UAB

In the aftermath of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2002), reading teachers have been faced with new challenges and pressures, including reading curricula. Many schools have scrambled to purchase materials that are labeled as being scientifically researched (Vogt & Shearer, 2007). As a result of the influx of scripted reading programs, the educational field has been flooded with primarily quantitative research that was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific program. In addition, much of this research regarding the effectiveness of scripted reading programs has been promoted by the publishing companies themselves. The reading teachers’ attitudes toward …

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