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

Digital Commons Network™

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

2012

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 120871 - 120900 of 124649

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Subsistence Homesteads In Jefferson County: A Successful "Experiment"?, Susan Elizabeth Hunter Jan 2012

Subsistence Homesteads In Jefferson County: A Successful "Experiment"?, Susan Elizabeth Hunter

All ETDs from UAB

This work focuses on the history of subsistence homesteads built by the federal government in the 1930s. The homesteads were routinely referred to as "experiments." It is the intention of this author to examine the Jefferson County homesteads as successful or unsuccessful homesteads. Current research on this topic is sparse. The research contained in this thesis rests mainly on primary sources and focuses on the construction of the homes and the economic and social issues surrounding the homesteads. A brief synopsis of the condition of each of the Alabama homesteads is also included. This subsistence homestead program emerged from the …


Assessment Of Transit Oriented Development Impacts, Md Shah Imran Jan 2012

Assessment Of Transit Oriented Development Impacts, Md Shah Imran

All ETDs from UAB

The recent interest in smart growth, livable communities, and sustainability creates new opportunities for the adoption, expansion, and enhancement of transit services in communities across the U.S. Given that promoting livability and alternative modes is a key priority in the U.S. DOT's agenda, research on economic impacts from integration of transit is both timely and essential. This is important as many of the possible gains from such integration are not fully understood and properly measured to date, such as the related health and quality of life benefits. This thesis analyzes the economic impacts from the implementation of a transit improvement …


Acoustical Analysis Of Trained And Untrained Singers Onsite Before And After Prolonged Voice Use, Christophe E. Jackson Jan 2012

Acoustical Analysis Of Trained And Untrained Singers Onsite Before And After Prolonged Voice Use, Christophe E. Jackson

All ETDs from UAB

Controlled acoustic environments are important in voice research. Recording environment affects the quality of voice recordings. While sound booths and anechoic chambers are examples of controlled acoustic environments widely used in research, they are both costly and not portable. The long-term goal of this project is to compare the voice usage and efficiency of trained and untrained singers onsite immediately before and after vocal performance. The specific goal of this project is the further of development a Portable Sound Booth (PSB) and standardization of onsite voice recording procedures under controlled conditions. We hypothesized that the simple and controlled acoustic environment …


Retinoids And Abnormal Alveolar Development, Masheika L. James Jan 2012

Retinoids And Abnormal Alveolar Development, Masheika L. James

All ETDs from UAB

Extremely preterm infants are at high risk for a form of chronic lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is characterized by impaired alveolar development. Exposure to hyperoxia and deficiency of vitamin A (VA) contribute to the development of BPD in preterm infants. Randomized controlled trials indicate VA supplementation decreases BPD and/or death. However, 25% of preterm infants continue to remain VA deficient despite supplementation, probably due to impairment in VA transport, VA is stored in the liver as retinyl esters which are transported to the lung and irreversibly metabolized into all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), the active metabolite. A combination of …


Wear Of Ceramics And Enamel In A Chewing Simulator, Sridhar Janyavula Jan 2012

Wear Of Ceramics And Enamel In A Chewing Simulator, Sridhar Janyavula

All ETDs from UAB

Dental ceramics are known for their excellent chemical and optical properties. The wear of human enamel and of the restorative material is often a vital and esthetical concern when selecting a restorative material for any given clinical restorative treatment. Objective: The purpose of the study was to evaluate effect of zirconia (polished, glazed, polished then glazed, adjusted, glazed and adjusted, adjusted and polished and aged zirconia) against human enamel antagonist. A comparison was made between different zirconia, veneering porcelain (Ceramco 3) and natural enamel. Additionally, the surface roughness (Ra) of the ceramic surface was measured before and after wear testing …


Forensic Facial Reconstruction Using Computational Approach, Wenzhen Jia Jan 2012

Forensic Facial Reconstruction Using Computational Approach, Wenzhen Jia

All ETDs from UAB

Forensic facial reconstruction is an application of forensic anthropology. It is a process of recreating the face of a human being based on skull remains. The process of recreating faces can be used to identify otherwise unknown individuals or to reconstruct faces of historical figures, such as the famous effort of reconstructing King Tut in 2005. There are many approaches to perform facial reconstruction in both two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D). In 2-D cases, an artist works from photos of the skull and sketches the facial features based on his or her scientific training and artistic intuition. In 3-D cases, …


The Role Of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response In Glioma Cell Death, Guyla G. Johnson Jan 2012

The Role Of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response In Glioma Cell Death, Guyla G. Johnson

All ETDs from UAB

Malignant gliomas, including glioblastomas, are the main primary adult brain tumor. Even with current therapies, the median survival time for patients diagnosed with glioblastomas is only about 12 months. Therefore, it is imperative to identify pathways that can induce glioma cell death. This dissertation provides evidence defining how Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response (ERSR) induction promotes cell death selectively in malignant glioma cells (MGCs). I present data showing a correlation between ER Ca2+ storage abnormalities, ER ribosome-translocon expression and activity, ERSR intensity and cell death in MGCs. These data show ERSR induction with thapsigargin (THAP) results in a larger loss of …


The Role Of C-Reactive Protein In Arthritic Disease, Nicholas Ryan Jones Jan 2012

The Role Of C-Reactive Protein In Arthritic Disease, Nicholas Ryan Jones

All ETDs from UAB

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that is commonly used to evaluate systemic inflammation level. Blood CRP level also correlates very well with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease severity. However, CRP has many biological actions that lead one to suspect that it may be playing a role in the development or pathology of the disease. We have directly addressed whether this is the case by the use of novel mouse models (CRP deficiency or transgenic overexpression). We have shown that CRP positively affects collagen-induced arthritis development and progression. In order to thoroughly address the question, we have also reported …


Mycobacterial Iron Acquisition Systems, Christopher M. Jones Jan 2012

Mycobacterial Iron Acquisition Systems, Christopher M. Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Iron is an essential nutrient for the vast majority of organisms; yet, the availability of iron is limited to microorganisms due to the insolubility of ferric hydroxides and to pathogens by iron withholding strategies of their hosts. Many bacteria produce small, high-affinity iron chelators called siderophores to scavenge iron from the environment. In addition, many bacterial pathogens have evolved mechanisms to steal host iron contained in heme, hemoglobin, or transferrin. Mycobacteria are unique genera of bacteria represented by the notorious pathogens Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agents of tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy, respectively. Tuberculosis remains a global health …


Differential Expression Of Proteins In Keratoconus: Potential Role Of Human Antigen R (Hur) In Regulation Of Ss-Actin Gene, Roy Joseph Jan 2012

Differential Expression Of Proteins In Keratoconus: Potential Role Of Human Antigen R (Hur) In Regulation Of Ss-Actin Gene, Roy Joseph

All ETDs from UAB

DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF PROTEINS IN KERATOCONUS: POTENTIAL ROLE OF HUMAN ANTIGEN R (HuR) IN REGULATION OF ß-ACTIN ROY JOSEPH VISION SCIENCES ABSTRACT Keratoconus (KC) is a condition of unknown cause in which the cornea assumes a conical shape as a result of non-inflammatory thinning of the corneal stroma. The disease progresses at a variable speed with corneal thinning inducing irregular astigmatism, myopia, and corneal protrusion. Contact lenses, and ultimately keratoplasty, are often required to restore vision. Despite intensive investigations into the pathogenesis of KC, the exact cause of the disease is presently poorly understood. Keratoconus apparently arises due to number …


Application Of The Social Cognitive Theory To A Web-Based Physical Activity Intervention For Overweight African American Female College Students, Rodney Joseph Jan 2012

Application Of The Social Cognitive Theory To A Web-Based Physical Activity Intervention For Overweight African American Female College Students, Rodney Joseph

All ETDs from UAB

Background.African American women report low levels of physical activity and share a disproportionate burden of many health conditions associated with being insufficiently active, indicating the need for innovative approaches to promote physical activity in this population. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate changes in physical activity and associated Social Cognitive Theory constructs of outcome expectations, enjoyment, self-regulation, and social support following the completion of a six month, culturally-adapted, Social Cognitive Theory-based website-delivered weight loss and physical activity intervention for young African-American women. Methods.A secondary data analysis was performed on African-American female college students (N=34) enrolled in a …


"A Very Amusing Bit Of Blasphemy": Honoré Daumier's Histoire Ancienne, Nicole Jordan Jan 2012

"A Very Amusing Bit Of Blasphemy": Honoré Daumier's Histoire Ancienne, Nicole Jordan

All ETDs from UAB

During the early nineteenth century, Neoclassical artists depicted scenes of antiquity, both real and imagined, by exemplifying their nobility and idealism. The first artist to break the walls around this infallible representation was the caricaturist Honoré Daumier (1808-79). Daumier explored the myths and legends of antiquity minus the trappings of a classical education. The result was Histoire ancienne, a series of fifty prints published in Le Charivari between December 1841 and January 1843 that ridiculed the same subjects that artists such as Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) and Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) exalted. In 1857, critic Charles Baudelaire said of Histoire ancienne, "Daumier …


Influence Of Surface Treatment Of Y-Tzp And Luting Cements On Retention Of Y-Tzp Crown, Mehdi Karimipour-Saryazdi Jan 2012

Influence Of Surface Treatment Of Y-Tzp And Luting Cements On Retention Of Y-Tzp Crown, Mehdi Karimipour-Saryazdi

All ETDs from UAB

Clinicians for a single tooth restoration, due to improved esthetics, often select all ceramic crowns. Zirconium Oxide has been utilized for many years to full fill the requirement of esthetics, high mechanical properties and biocompatibility. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of different surface treatments and luting agents on retention of a zirconium oxide crown. Material and Methods: Ninety extracted teeth were obtained. Teeth were mounted in Ortho JetTM resin (Lang Dental Manufacturing Co., Inc. IL, USA). Occlusal surface was cut flat using Isomet (Buhler Ltd). Diamond burs were used to cut axial walls under water …


The Effect Of Structured Background On Smooth Pursuit With Real And Simulated Central Scotoma, Thomas Keith Jan 2012

The Effect Of Structured Background On Smooth Pursuit With Real And Simulated Central Scotoma, Thomas Keith

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of the study was to better understand the role of the fovea in smooth pursuit eye movements in human subjects. The research entailed a systematical study of a previously unstudied condition where the foveal inputs of both the background and the pursuit target were eliminated through simulation but the anatomic fovea was intact; and a comprehensive study of smooth pursuit eye movements of human subjects with real central scotoma. Ten normally sighted subjects (NS) and three central scotoma subjects (CS) were asked to visually pursuit a 0.87o yellow dot moving along either a horizontal or a vertical trajectory …


Vote, People, Vote! W.C. Patton, The Naacp, And The Birmingham Black Community, Scott Clifford Kennedy Jan 2012

Vote, People, Vote! W.C. Patton, The Naacp, And The Birmingham Black Community, Scott Clifford Kennedy

All ETDs from UAB

VOTE, PEOPLE, VOTE W.C. PATTON, THE NAACP, AND THE BIRMINGHAM BLACK COMMUNITY HISTORY ABSTRACT With the Civil Rights Movement often portrayed as a movement led from the top down, the career of William C. Patton showed the importance of the efforts of the person on the street. Patton struggled long and hard for voting rights for African Americans, working for the NAACP for years in his efforts to help black Americans gain their civil rights. His lack of national fame does nothing to detract from his untiring efforts on behalf of the rights of black Americans. Born in 1910 in …


A Study Of The Genetic Mechanisms Used To Regulate The Third Complementarity Determining Region Of The Immunoglobulin H Chain, Mohamed Khass Jan 2012

A Study Of The Genetic Mechanisms Used To Regulate The Third Complementarity Determining Region Of The Immunoglobulin H Chain, Mohamed Khass

All ETDs from UAB

Developing B cells exhibit sequential changes in the representation of immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy (H) chain sequences with excess hydrophobic or charged amino acids in complementarity determining region 3 (CDR-H3). To begin to elucidate the mechanisms by which this process occurs, we used Bromodeoxy Uridine (BrdU) incorporation and Annexin V binding to quantify B cell turnover and cell cycle progression in developing B cell subsets in the bone marrow, spleen and peritoneal cavity of wild-type BALB/c mice. To magnify the effects of hydrophobicity and charge, we included in this analysis mice limited to the use of an IgH allele with a …


Is P53 A Target Of Hpv-18 E6 In The Viral Life Cycle?, Eun-Young Kho Jan 2012

Is P53 A Target Of Hpv-18 E6 In The Viral Life Cycle?, Eun-Young Kho

All ETDs from UAB

The large family of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) infects the cutaneous or mucosal epithelia causing benign hyper proliferative diseases. Infections by the high-risk (HR) HPV genotypes in the anogenital tracts can progress to high grade lesions and cancers in men and women. Because the viral productive program requires squamous differentiation of epithelia, HPV encodes oncoproteins that recondition the differentiated cells that have withdrawn from the cell cycle to support viral DNA amplification. The HR HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes are selectively expressed in cervical carcinomas and are necessary to maintain the malignant state. In vitro, constitutive expression of the HR HPV …


Regulation Of Cell Death By Autophagy In Glial Neoplasms, Latika R. Kohli Jan 2012

Regulation Of Cell Death By Autophagy In Glial Neoplasms, Latika R. Kohli

All ETDs from UAB

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive malignancies of the peripheral nervous system. The majority of MPNSTs arise in patients of the autosomal dominant genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) although they also arise sporadically. In the absence of any effective chemotherapeutic options and with surgery constituting the mainstay of treatment, MPNST patients face an extremely poor prognosis. This underscores the need to develop novel therapeutic strategies against this tumor type. It is well accepted that the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis can be exploited to derive maximal therapeutic benefit, especially through combinatorial therapies. However, this interaction is extremely …


Factors Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Veterans Of Operations Iraqi Freedom And Enduring Freedom: The Role Of Neuropsychological Assessment, Donald R. Labbe Jan 2012

Factors Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Veterans Of Operations Iraqi Freedom And Enduring Freedom: The Role Of Neuropsychological Assessment, Donald R. Labbe

All ETDs from UAB

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have been referred to as "signature injuries" among veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The aims of the current study were to identify demographic and injury related variables associated with the co-occurrence of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and PTSD and to identify neuropsychological assessment measures that differentiate individuals with mTBI from those with co-occurring mTBI and PTSD. A total of 81 OIF/OEF veterans participated in this study comprising the mTBI (n=21) and combined (n=60) groups. The results of logistic regression analyses indicated that Caucasians were …


The Effects Of Psychological Stress, Depressive Symptoms, And Cortisol On Body Mass And Central Adiposity In 10-To12-Year-Old Children, Hong-Thuy Lam Jan 2012

The Effects Of Psychological Stress, Depressive Symptoms, And Cortisol On Body Mass And Central Adiposity In 10-To12-Year-Old Children, Hong-Thuy Lam

All ETDs from UAB

The percentage of children with elevated body mass and central adiposity has tripled in the U.S. over the past thirty years. While physical factors, such as decreased physical activity and poor nutrition, have been noted to influence elevated body mass and central adiposity in school-aged children, less is known about psychological factors, such as psychological stress and depressive symptoms, especially in 10-to12-year-old children. Further, it has been suggested that cortisol, a biomarker of psychological stress, plays a role in the underlying mechanism that links psychological stress and depressive symptoms to increased body mass and central adiposity, but this has not …


Mechanism Of Nfi-C Functionin During Tooth Root Formation, Ejvis Lamani Jan 2012

Mechanism Of Nfi-C Functionin During Tooth Root Formation, Ejvis Lamani

All ETDs from UAB

Currently, very little is known regarding tissue-specific gene regulation during the later stages of tooth development, especially those associated with root formation. Re-cent studies have identified nuclear factor I-C (NFI-C) as a critical factor for root for-mation in mammals. NFI-C functions as a cellular transcription factor and adenovirus DNA replication factor. Its role in root formation first became evident when Nfi-c null mice were shown to lack molar roots. A similar phenotype of incomplete or absent root formation is observed in patients with the autosomal dominant disease Radicular Dentin Dysplasia (RDD; MIM125400) also known as Rootless Teeth or Dentin Dysplasia …


Academic Realignment: An Investigation Of Change Within A New Academic Unit At A Research University, Abbygail Tull Langham Jan 2012

Academic Realignment: An Investigation Of Change Within A New Academic Unit At A Research University, Abbygail Tull Langham

All ETDs from UAB

Even in normal times, limited resources require U.S. universities to be more open to change. In late 2007, however, a global recession, the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, intensified constraints on higher education. To achieve intended outcomes, leaders at colleges and universities often reorganize or realign their organizations during challenging times. Indeed, one public doctorate-granting research university with very high research activity in the southeastern United States has responded to the economic crisis by realigning four academic schools into one large college. Scholarly inquiry was needed to understand the impact of this realignment. The purpose of this …


Development Of An Adenoviral Vector Platform For Selective Gene Delivery To Neurons, Travis Benjamin Lewis Jan 2012

Development Of An Adenoviral Vector Platform For Selective Gene Delivery To Neurons, Travis Benjamin Lewis

All ETDs from UAB

Parkinson disease (PD) is a devastating movement disorder affecting between 500,000 and 1,000,000 individuals in the United States alone, and for which there is currently no cure. Therapies such as dopamine replacement help initially, but with disease progression these lose efficacy and do not alter the underlying degenerative process. Gene therapy is the delivery of exogenous genetic material to correct an underlying disorder. A major advantage of this approach is the ability to distribute potent therapies to specific targets over an extended duration, properties necessary for the treatment of progressive degenerative diseases such as PD. A number of clinical trials …


Design Of An Underground Storage Tank Involving Water Collection For Water Reuse To Irrigate The Campus Green Area Of The Uab Campus, Zhuo Li Jan 2012

Design Of An Underground Storage Tank Involving Water Collection For Water Reuse To Irrigate The Campus Green Area Of The Uab Campus, Zhuo Li

All ETDs from UAB

The UAB Campus Recreation Center is located in the Birmingham city block whose boundaries are University Blvd., 10th Avenue South, 14th Street South, and 16th Street South. The water supply of the UAB Campus Recreation Center is based on a natural underground water source, which is use such needs as pool water. The underground water is continuously pumped from its foundation in order to avoid flooding the basement of the Recreation Center. As a result, in addition to the water usage of the Recreation Center, the additional water pumped underground could be utilized to irrigate the campus green area. A …


The Role Of The Mirror Neuron System In Mental State Attribution In Autism: An Fmri Study, Lauren E. Libero Jan 2012

The Role Of The Mirror Neuron System In Mental State Attribution In Autism: An Fmri Study, Lauren E. Libero

All ETDs from UAB

The ability to interpret others' intentions based on their actions is a vital skill that helps us infer and understand their thoughts and plans. However, individuals with autism have been found to have difficulty in attributing intentions to others (Baron-Cohen et al., 1985; Baron-Cohen, 1995; Happe & Frith, 1996; Williams et al., 2001). The present study investigated the neural mechanisms of inferring intentions from actions in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing control participants. fMRI data were acquired while participants made judgments about the means (how an action is performed) and intentions (why an action is …


Regulation Of P27kip1 By Trip6 And Its Implications In Cancer Progression, Victor T G Lin Jan 2012

Regulation Of P27kip1 By Trip6 And Its Implications In Cancer Progression, Victor T G Lin

All ETDs from UAB

TRIP6 is a focal adhesion molecule that functions as an adaptor protein to mediate diverse cellular functions, including motility and antiapoptotic signaling, through a wide variety of protein-protein interactions. We were able to characterize a novel interaction between TRIP6 and p27KIP1, a CDK inhibitor which can both suppress and promote tumorigenesis, depending on its regulation. TRIP6 expression specifically promotes the AKT-mediated phosphorylation of p27KIP1 at T157, which leads to its cytosolic retention, and accelerates the protein turnover rate of p27KIP1. We also found that phosphorylation of T157 by itself promotes cell motility and can be linked to the formation of …


Multiscale Modeling Of The Mouse Femur, Shannon Lisenbee Jan 2012

Multiscale Modeling Of The Mouse Femur, Shannon Lisenbee

All ETDs from UAB

This paper seeks to advance the knowledge base for bones and how they respond to mechanical stimuli through the use of multiscale modeling. First, a simple but effective approach for segmenting bone from computed tomography images using MATLAB is presented. Using edge detection and gradient operators to identify areas of bone within an image allows for much more accurate and consistent bone segmentation than simpler techniques like thresholding. This technique is applied to the femur of a female mouse for use in further modeling and testing. Next a representative volume element (RVE) for lamellar cortical bone is created based on …


The Effect Of Acetylcholine Receptor Activation On The Response Properties Of Retinal Ganglion Cells, Ye Long Jan 2012

The Effect Of Acetylcholine Receptor Activation On The Response Properties Of Retinal Ganglion Cells, Ye Long

All ETDs from UAB

Acetylcholine (ACh) is the first identified neurotransmitter and acts in areas including the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS). The effects of ACh are mediated by nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), both of which are extensively distributed in CNS, including the retina. The expression and distribution of nicotinic AChRs (nAChRs) and muscarinic AChRs (mAChRs) have been studied with RT-PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemical techniques in the retinas of different species (Kaneda et al., 1995; Keyser et al., 2000; Yamada et al., 2003; Strang et al., 2005; Dmitrieva et al., 2007; Liu et al., 2009; Strang …


Regulation Of Membrane Traffic By The Big2 Member Of Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors, Jason Lowery Jan 2012

Regulation Of Membrane Traffic By The Big2 Member Of Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors, Jason Lowery

All ETDs from UAB

Vesicular transport is an essential cellular process that facilitates the movement of molecules within a cell. The importance of vesicular transport is highlighted by numerous human diseases that result from mutations affecting protein trafficking. The Brefeldin A-inhibited guanine nucleotide exchange factor 2 (BIG2) has emerged as a key regulator of protein trafficking within the late secretory pathway, between the trans-Golgi Network (TGN) and endosomal compartments and within the recycling endosomal pathway. Mutations in BIG2 lead to Autosomal Recessive Periventricular Heterotopia with Microcephly (ARPHM), a disorder characterized by severe brain malformations. BIG2 stimulates nucleotide exchange of GDP for GTP on ADP-ribosylation …


Geometric Fitting Of Quadratic Curves And Surfaces, Hui Ma Jan 2012

Geometric Fitting Of Quadratic Curves And Surfaces, Hui Ma

All ETDs from UAB

Fitting quadratic curves and surfaces to observed images is one of the basic tasks in pattern recognition and computer vision. The most accurate and robust fit is obtained by minimizing geometric (orthogonal) distances, but this problem has no closed form solution. All known algorithms are heuristic and either computationally costly or have drawbacks in accuracy and convergence. We develop a mathematically rigorous approach to the study of the geometric fitting problem. We begin with a thorough investigation of relevant theoretical aspects of the problem and then move on to its practical solution. We focus on image processing applications, where data …