Digital Commons Network^™

Copper Homeostasis In Mycobacteria, Jennifer L. Rowland

All ETDs from UAB

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent on tuberculosis in humans, is a globally important pathogen. In 2013, nearly 1.2 million people died from tuberculosis. Drug treatments and effective vaccines are lacking for this pathogen. A better understanding of the basic physiology of M. tuberculosis is required to improve disease outcomes. Upon inhalation into the lungs, M. tuberculosis is taken up by macrophages, in a process called phagocytosis, which normally destroys invading bacteria. As the phagosome inside the macrophage matures, bactericidal mechanisms are activated including: lowering pH, and introducing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and hydrolytic enzymes to degrade bacterial cell walls. …

Transmitted/Founder Siv In The Rhesus Macaque Model Of Hiv-1 Infection, Mike Lopker

All ETDs from UAB

Vitally important to HIV-1 vaccine and prevention studies is a well-characterized animal model that recapitulates the salient features of HIV infection in humans. SIVmac and SIVsmm infection of rhesus macaques share key virological and pathological parallels with HIV-1 infection of humans including target cell entry via CD4 and CCR5 (Edinger et al., 1997), progressive T cell loss (Swanstrom & Coffin, 2012), generalized immune activation and preferential loss of mucosal Th17 cells (Brenchley et al., 2008; Klatt & Brenchley, 2010), and a vigorous but ultimately ineffective adaptive immune response. Though commonly used as a vaccine challenge strain in the macaque model, …

Exploring Intrinsic Biomarkers For Optical Assessment Of Outer Retina, Rongwen Lu

All ETDs from UAB

The retina suffers pathological changes after attacked by eye diseases. The objective of my PhD dissertation is to explore intrinsic biomarkers for noninvasive assessment of retinal morphological structure and physiological function. Fundus autofluorescence (FAF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), etc. have provided indispensable information for eye disease detection. However, better understanding of the intrinsic biomarkers in FAF and OCT is desirable for quantitative interpretation of clinical outcomes. The first specific aim of the dissertation research was to characterize FAF signals across the whole retinal depth using two-photon excitation. FAF signals are usually attributable to fluorophores from the choroidal vessel and the …

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

All ETDs from UAB

The potential effect of hormonal contraception on HIV-1 acquisition and transmission represents an important public health issue. Several observational studies have suggested an association between the use of hormonal contraception, in particular injectable depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), and an increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition and transmission. To delineate the biological mechanisms behind this phenomenon, we have recruited healthy, HIV-negative women using either DMPA, NuvaRing, or combined oral contraceptives for a vaginal biopsy and cervicovaginal lavage (CVL). Analysis of the functional capacity of circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), distribution of vaginal immune cell populations, and systemic and genital levels of immune …

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

All ETDs from UAB

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

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

All ETDs from UAB

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

Compression, Bethany Anne Mitchell

All ETDs from UAB

Compression , a nonfiction novel-in-progress, examines the author's twisting relationship with her father in the context of her exploration into the traditional archery world. A proud new owner of a 72-inch English longbow, the author's dependence on archery increases as her father's sudden onset of paranoid schizophrenia pushes the two of them widely off target. This novel-in-progress incorporates humor into the real story of a teen coming of age just as her father begins to drift away, a period of years swirling with doubt, confusion, anger, and loss as the author attempts to find a new normal and establish her …

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

All ETDs from UAB

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

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Brain Activity In Children With Autism Before And After A Visualization Language Intervention, Donna Murdaugh

All ETDs from UAB

Deficits in language comprehension have been widely reported in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Recent evidence from neuroimaging research has found that individuals with ASD tend to recruit visuospatial imagery to comprehend language (Kana et al., 2006). The theory of cortical underconnectivity in autism suggests that in tasks that can be interpreted either visually or verbally, brain regions associated with language and visuospatial processing will be substantially less functionally integrated (especially between frontal and more posterior regions) than healthy-matched controls (Just et al., 2004). Indeed, cortical underconnectivity in individuals with ASD has been documented, not only in extrinsic brain …

Coevolution Of Sponges And Microbial Symbionts Across Ocean Basins, Zachary Lee Nolen

All ETDs from UAB

Sponges (phylum Porifera) can comprise a large portion of benthic communities in freshwater and marine environments. Because sponges possess simple body plans and can have substantial phenotypic plasticity within species, reconstructing phylogenies of Porifera based upon morphologies alone has proven difficult. With the advent of nucleic acid sequencing technologies, interest in sponge phylogenetics has significantly increased among researchers. Additionally, sponges host a wide range of microbial symbionts, including the cyanobacterium Synechococcus spongiarum. This study examined the evolution of both sets of organisms in the symbiotic relationship between Aplysina sponges and Synechococcus cyanobacteria. In Chapter 3, gene sequences coding for the …

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

All ETDs from UAB

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

Advancement Of The In-Situ Polymerization Process For Glass Fiber/Nylon-6 Laminates With Nanographite Platelets, Peter William Barfknecht

All ETDs from UAB

The in-situ polymerization process of anionic polyamide-6 (APA-6) presents the opportunity for a new class of composite materials with excellent performance and wide applicability in the automotive, energy, transportation, and aerospace industries. Despite the inherent advantages of the process, industrial adoption is virtually nonexistent. The following work advances the APA-6 process in three distinct ways. First, the applicability of graphite-based nanoparticles to improve the processability and final performance of the material was evaluated. Nanographite platelets (NGPs) were selectively incorporated into a woven glass fiber/APA-6 laminate via a spraying technique. The polymerization kinetics were unaffected by the presence of NGPs. Mechanical …

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

All ETDs from UAB

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

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

All ETDs from UAB

Circadian rhythms are the daily biological changes present within most organisms that occur in a predictable, approximately 24 hour pattern, even in the absence of external stimuli. These rhythms occur both at a global and cellular level, and although the molecular mechanics are highly conserved, their functions may vary depending on the tissues in which they are expressed. These functions include various aspects of metabolic processes such as satiety signaling and cellular proliferation. In order to explore the specific functions of circadian rhythms within adipocytes, a mouse model with Clock disruption driven by the fatty acid-binding protein 2 (aP2) promoter …

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

All ETDs from UAB

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

The Multifaceted Role Of Neutrophils In Hiv-1-Infection, Nathan Bowers

All ETDs from UAB

In recent years, a new appreciation of the role of neutrophils in regulating the immune system has emerged. Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocyte population and are traditionally recognized as essential effector cells of the innate immune system in the host defense against invading organisms. Neutrophils play a critical role in controlling bacterial and fungal infections by multiple mechanisms including phagocytosis, degranulation, and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Neutrophils have been shown to play important roles in viral pathogenesis, a knowledge gap exists in our understanding of the function of neutrophils in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). …

Long-Term Stability Of Maxillary Advancement In Non-Syndromic Cleft Lip And Palate Patients Using The Red Ii System, Jared Adrian Carter

All ETDs from UAB

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate skeletal stability at a minimum of one year following maxillary advancement distraction osteogenesis with the KLS Martin RED II System in non-syndromic CLP patients treated at UAB SOD. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated 20 non-syndromic CLP patients (12 males, 8 females, average age 10.97) treated at the UAB SOD by the same surgeon for maxillary hypoplasia with rigid external distraction using the RED II System (KLS Mar-tin Group, Tuttlingen, Germany). Pre-surgical (T1), post-consolidation (T2), and LTFU (T3) radiographs were digitized and analyzed with via a custom analysis to evaluate treatment …

"Hobby-Lobby"-Ing For Religious Freedom: Crafting The Religious Employer Exemption To The Ppaca, Emily Pitt Mattingly

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Medicaid Evolution For The 21st Century, John V. Jacobi

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Crafting A Narrative For The Red State Option, Elizabeth Weeks Leonard

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Valuation In Light Of Uncertainty: How Stock Option Pricing Models Can Inform More Accurate Valuation Discounts For Built-In Gains, Rebecca N. Morrow

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Pretrial Detention In Kentucky: An Analysis Of The Impact Of House Bill 463 During The First Two Years Of Its Implementation, Robert Veldman

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The New Regulation Of Small Business Capital Formation: The Impact - If Any - Of The Jobs Act, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ipos And The Slow Death Of Section 5, Donald C. Langevoort, Robert B. Thompson

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

4% Absent = 100% Disaster: Why The Math Doesn't Add Up On Fixed Attendance Leave Policies Under The Fmla, Laraclay Parker

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Subprime Scriveners, Milan Markovic

Kentucky Law Journal

Although mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") and other financial products that nearly caused the collapse of the global financial system could not have been issued without attorneys, the legal profession's role in the financial crisis has received relatively little scrutiny.

This Article focuses on lawyers' preparation of MBS offering documents that misrepresented the lending practices of mortgage loan originators. While attorneys may not have known that many MBS would become toxic, they lacked incentives to inquire into the shoddy lending practices of prominent originators, such as Washington Mutual Bank ('WaMu"), when they and their clients were reaping considerable profits from MBS offerings. …

The Possibility Of Private Rights And Duties, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

Is it possible for us to know what we owe others, or do we need the state to tell us? To ask the question this way could be understood as a provocation. It might suggest that the possibility of private rights and duties - a possibility that common law takes for granted and which lawyers witness in their daily practice threatens the foundations of the legal realist jurisprudential project and the liberal political project. But it is not my intention here to attack those projects. I simply want to consider the possibility that legal realism and liberalism might not be …

Mandamus Review Of The Granting Of The Motion For New Trial: Lost In The Thicket, Richard E. Flint

Faculty Articles

A trial court’s broad discretion in granting a new trial has been one of the mainstays of Texas jurisprudence since early statehood. Historically, this discretion was not subject to review through the ordinary appellate processes. This principle remains inviolate today, as the granting of a new trial is an interlocutory order from which the appellate courts of Texas do not have jurisdiction. Furthermore, the use of an original mandamus proceeding to compel a trial court to set aside the granting of a new trial has had only limited application.

However, in response to the case of In re Columbia Medical …

The Law Of The Church In The Nullity Of Marriage Due To Causes Of Psychic Nature, Roberto Rosas

Faculty Articles

Introduction. - I. The principles of marriage, matrimonial consent and nullity of marriage in Canon Law. - II. The ordinary process of a declaration of nullity of marriage. The enhancement to the Code of Canon Law by the Instruction Dignitas connubii. - 1. Summary of the principal functions of the Dignitas connubii. - 2. Connections of Dignitas connubii to can. 1095 of the Code. - Ill. Recent Rotal Jurisprudence and the Dignitas connubii. - 1. Doctrine and case law. - a. Grave defect of discretion of judgment. - b. Incapacity to assume the essential obligations of marriage. - 2. Recent …

Conference Program [2014], Georgia International Conference On Information Literacy

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

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