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2014

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An Analysis Of New Performance Metrics In The Nba And Their Effects On Win Production And Salary, Daniel Rust Jan 2014

An Analysis Of New Performance Metrics In The Nba And Their Effects On Win Production And Salary, Daniel Rust

Honors Theses

In this study I perform statistical analysis on new metrics in the NBA designed to expose information about the inputs of basketball production. These input data were collected manually for every NBA player in the 2012-13 season, along with common advanced statistics. With these new metrics regression analysis is used to separately determine their effects on existing win production metrics and salary. In this analysis I control for team and position effects. Once these effects were determined, I was able to compare them and look for specific skills or strategies that may be undervalued or overvalued by NBA teams relative …

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Dynamic Feature Extraction And User Classification Using Touchanalytics™, Clay Mcleod Jan 2014

Dynamic Feature Extraction And User Classification Using Touchanalytics™, Clay Mcleod

Honors Theses

Security systems for modern computing devices suffer from a multitude of weaknesses that can render users helpless against an attack on their system. Various attempts at incorporating human characteristics into security systems have achieved varying levels of success in improving security. In this paper, we study the usefulness of TouchAnalytics™ - a second-level security system that attempts to authenticate a user based on touch-data gathered from an interaction with the device. Through the use of machine learning algorithms, we developed a system that is successful at au- thenticating users, achieving under 0.05% False Authentication Rate (FAR). We conclude that the …

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#Livetweetmylecture: A Look At Note-Taking Consolidation, Retention, And Test Performance In Students Using Twitter Vs. Traditional Typed Notes, Samra B. Ward Jan 2014

#Livetweetmylecture: A Look At Note-Taking Consolidation, Retention, And Test Performance In Students Using Twitter Vs. Traditional Typed Notes, Samra B. Ward

Honors Theses

This study investigated how different types of note-taking affect college students' retention of classroom material. In particular, this study looked at whether live-tweeting lecture material would result in better retention of the material presented in a lecture than traditional note-taking on a laptop. It was hypothesized that students who took notes via live-tweeting would have comparable results to those who took notes in the traditional computer format. In addition, it was also hypothesized that a person's familiarity with Twitter would likely affect his or her ability to use Twitter as an educational tool. In order to test this hypothesis, participants …

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Ncaa At The Crossroads: How O'Bannon V. Ncaa Could Change College Sports, Evan Brewster Jan 2014

Ncaa At The Crossroads: How O'Bannon V. Ncaa Could Change College Sports, Evan Brewster

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the current model of American college athletics and how football and basketball, specifically, have become extremely commercialized. This piece begins with an analysis of the current state of amateur college athletics and the changes that have taken place recently. O'Bannon v. NCAA signifies the one of the most recent challenges to NCAA power, attempting to change the unjust system that requires student-athletes to remain amateur while universities profit off the athletic contests. An evaluation of previous legal challenges to the NCAA help frame an assessment of the case itself thus far. To conclude, cases like O'Bannon and …

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Octocoral Physiology: Calcium Carbonate Composition And The Effect Of Thermal Stress On Enzyme Activity, Hadley Pearson Jan 2014

Octocoral Physiology: Calcium Carbonate Composition And The Effect Of Thermal Stress On Enzyme Activity, Hadley Pearson

Honors Theses

Octocorals are a diverse group of organisms, and within the Caribbean they contribute substantially to coral-reef cover. In this thesis, two different studies performed on these marine organisms are detailed. In Section I, the percent calcium carbonate composition of several species was analyzed. Octocorals produce sclerites: calcium carbonate crystals that serve as the skeletal elements of the coral. Determining the percent calcium carbonate composition of eight Caribbean octocoral species can give comparative insight into the form and function in these animals. This study also offers clues about potential evolutionary tradeoffs between rigidity and flexibility, as well as establishes some basic …

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“Ill-Informed Passions,” “Candor And Evenness” And “Superficial Writers”: Gilbert Burnet And The “Other” Historians Of The English Reformation, Lisa Clark Diller Jan 2014

“Ill-Informed Passions,” “Candor And Evenness” And “Superficial Writers”: Gilbert Burnet And The “Other” Historians Of The English Reformation, Lisa Clark Diller

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

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Gene Expression Signatures In Tree Shrew Retina, Rpe, And Choroid During Experimental Myopia And Recovery, Li He Jan 2014

Gene Expression Signatures In Tree Shrew Retina, Rpe, And Choroid During Experimental Myopia And Recovery, Li He

All ETDs from UAB

During the development of induced myopia and recovery, the emmetropization mechanism is stimulated to modulate ocular growth. Emmetropization signals originate in the retina, are transmitted and transformed by retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid, and reach sclera to induce tissue remodeling. Induced myopia occurs in response to myopiagenic stimuli - minus lens, form deprivation, and darkness - (three GO conditions) which increase ocular elongation; recovery from lens-induced myopia (STOP) occurs when minus-lens wear is discontinued after complete compensation, slowing ocular elongation. This dissertation examined gene expression signatures in the retina, RPE, and choroid under GO and STOP conditions to examine …

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Proteomic Analysis Of Rosenthal Fibers And The Development Of Software For Proteomics, Michael Raymond Heaven Jan 2014

Proteomic Analysis Of Rosenthal Fibers And The Development Of Software For Proteomics, Michael Raymond Heaven

All ETDs from UAB

The first aim of my thesis was to identify the protein composition of the protein aggregates, called Rosenthal fibers, which are the defining feature of Alexander disease (AxD). AxD is a rare neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the astrocyte specific protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). GFAP is a type III intermediate filament protein that is overexpressed in AxD. A guiding hypothesis of this project was that sequestration of vital cell proteins in the aggregates contributed to disease. The results of my research do not support this hypothesis, but do provide an in depth characterization of the protein composition …

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The Role Of Gene Fragmentation And Loss In Poxvirus Evolution, Eneida Hatcher Jan 2014

The Role Of Gene Fragmentation And Loss In Poxvirus Evolution, Eneida Hatcher

All ETDs from UAB

temperatures were near pivotal. The second chapter addresses the effects of fluctuating

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Using Neuroimaging To Predict Treatment Response In Patients With Schizophrenia, Nathan Lyle Hutcheson Jan 2014

Using Neuroimaging To Predict Treatment Response In Patients With Schizophrenia, Nathan Lyle Hutcheson

All ETDs from UAB

Schizophrenia is a severe debilitating mental illness that affects approximately 1% of people worldwide. Compared to healthy controls (HC), patients with schizophrenia (SZ) have memory deficits, specifically prominent disruptions in their episodic memory. These memory disruptions are thought to be caused by altered structure and function of areas within the memory network, specifically the prefrontal and temporal lobe including the hippocampus. Recently, identifying biomarkers of treatment response by using neuroimaging has become a prominent area of interest in schizophrenia. Biomarkers in schizophrenia could help by allowing for more efficient treatment using current method and also the development of novel treatments. …

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Thermoplastic Pultrusion Development And Characterization Of Residual In Pultruded Composites With Modeling And Experiments, Khongor Jamiyanaa Jan 2014

Thermoplastic Pultrusion Development And Characterization Of Residual In Pultruded Composites With Modeling And Experiments, Khongor Jamiyanaa

All ETDs from UAB

ABSTRACT Pultrusion processing is a technique to make highly aligned fiber reinforced polymer composites. Thermoset pultrusion is a mature process and well established, while thermoplastic pultrusion in still in its infancy. Thermoplastic pultrusion has not been well established because thermoplastic resins are difficult to process due to their high viscosity. However, thermoplastic resins offer distinct advantages that make thermoplastic pultrusion worth exploring. The present work centers on developing a method to design and validate a die for a thermoplastic pultrusion system. Analytical models and various software tools were used to design a pultrusion die. Experimental measurements have been made to …

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New Niosh Headforms: Developing Novel Methods For Fabricating A More Realistic Physical Headform And Custom Facepieces And Evaluating Existing Commercially-Available Respirators, Paula Susanne Joe Jan 2014

New Niosh Headforms: Developing Novel Methods For Fabricating A More Realistic Physical Headform And Custom Facepieces And Evaluating Existing Commercially-Available Respirators, Paula Susanne Joe

All ETDs from UAB

For over 30 years, respirator sizing has been based on an anthropometric survey performed by LANL using the young and predominantly Caucasian US Air Force personnel. NIOSH, having observed the increase in diversity in the workplace, began a new survey in 2003 weighted to the US census. Finding that the LANL panel was no longer representative of the modern workforce, a new fit test panel recommending five sizing categories was created in 2007. Anthropometrically accurate headforms three-dimensional models for the average face in each size were designed in 2010. While these headforms are intended for use in respirator design, it …

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An Investigation Of Organizational Health And Student Achievement In Urban Title I Elementary Schools In Alabama, Lora Ann Johnson-Perry Jan 2014

An Investigation Of Organizational Health And Student Achievement In Urban Title I Elementary Schools In Alabama, Lora Ann Johnson-Perry

All ETDs from UAB

pattern similar to that of sea turtles. The results indicate that daily water treatments

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Examining Predictors Of The Longitudinal Trajectories Of Diabetes Distress And Depressive Symptoms In A Sample Of Older Adults With Diabetes, Larita Jones Jan 2014

Examining Predictors Of The Longitudinal Trajectories Of Diabetes Distress And Depressive Symptoms In A Sample Of Older Adults With Diabetes, Larita Jones

All ETDs from UAB

Objectives: The authors investigated the relationships between race, cognitive function, life-space mobility, comorbidity, and depressive symptoms over time; as well as the relationships between race, cognitive function, life-space mobility, comorbidity, and diabetes distress over time. Methods: The sample included 224 community-dwelling older adults (age 65<) previously diagnosed with diabetes. The current study utilized data from telephone interviews at three different time points (baseline, 1 year follow up, and 2 year follow up). Results: A number of significant correlations were found. Potentially most importantly, results from the final model indicated that those participants who were lowest in self-efficacy were the most at-risk for experiencing diabetes distress and/or depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing diabetes distress and/or depressive symptoms within this population should focus on social support and disease specific self-management education as two cost-effective and easily manipulated avenues to achieving this goal.

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Development Of An Axonal Outgrowth Assessment Methodology For Dorsal Root Ganglia Explants And Demonstration Of Method Efficacy On Electrospun Polymer Scaffolds, Sarah Margaret Kezar Jan 2014

Development Of An Axonal Outgrowth Assessment Methodology For Dorsal Root Ganglia Explants And Demonstration Of Method Efficacy On Electrospun Polymer Scaffolds, Sarah Margaret Kezar

All ETDs from UAB

In chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), a glial encapsulated cyst develops at the injury site and acts as a physical and biochemical barrier to regeneration. Discussion has suggested that filling the cyst with a growth promoting scaffold is a promising approach to cure chronic SCI, though the research to date lacks a systematic approach. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) explants are an extremely common tissue culture model of neural regeneration employed in this field, however there is no uniform method for objectively quantifying substrate biocompatibility and neurite outgrowth. Therefore, we aimed to develop a novel DRG growth assessment methodology and to …

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Contribution Of Hyperactive Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (Gsk3) To Impaired Neurogenesis And Cognition In Mice, Margaret Kimbrough King Jan 2014

Contribution Of Hyperactive Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (Gsk3) To Impaired Neurogenesis And Cognition In Mice, Margaret Kimbrough King

All ETDs from UAB

The overall goals of this research were to examine the regulatory actions of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) in adult mouse hippocampal neurogenesis and in mouse cognitive functions in order to gain further insight regarding the function of GSK3 in the healthy and diseased central nervous system. Focusing on differences between male and female mice, we found that hippocampal neurogenesis was impaired by hyperactive GSK3 in both sexes, but was improved by environmental enrichment in male, but not female, mice. Chronic stress reduced neurogenesis in male mice, but not in female mice. Environmental enrichment and chronic stress inhibited, and activated, respectively, …

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Effect Of Abutment Position On Retention After Cyclic Loading Of Cantilevered Y-Tzp Fpds, Aikaterini Kostagianni Jan 2014

Effect Of Abutment Position On Retention After Cyclic Loading Of Cantilevered Y-Tzp Fpds, Aikaterini Kostagianni

All ETDs from UAB

Purpose: The influence of the vertical abutment positions on the retention of a three-unit implant supported cantilevered FPD restoration was measured and compared. Methods: The study included four groups (n=10) of cantilevered FPDs restorations, fabricated of monolithic zirconia. Prefabricated titanium implant abutments were used and connected to their analogs. The analogs were fixated on a split mold and their vertical position was adjusted on a 2 mm bases depending on the group, resulting also to an alteration of the occlusal thickness of the restorative material. The prosthesis were cemented to the abutments with Rely X Luting Plus resin modified glass …

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The Small Sample Inferences Of Cluster-Randomized Trials, Peng Li Jan 2014

The Small Sample Inferences Of Cluster-Randomized Trials, Peng Li

All ETDs from UAB

Generalized estimating equation (GEE) and generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) are two statistical modeling methods commonly used in the analyses of correlated outcomes from cluster-randomized trials (CRTs). The fact that most CRTs involve only a small number of clusters makes the small sample adjustment critical to preserve the type I error rates in testing the null hypothesis of intervention effects. To improve the small sample performance of GEE, some bias-corrected sandwich estimators have been proposed. To improve the small sample performance of GLMM, the approximated Wald F test is used to replace the asymptotic ÷^2 test and the denominator degrees …

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Expression Of The Influenza Protein M2 During Viral Infection Inhibits Cftr Activity, James David Londino Jan 2014

Expression Of The Influenza Protein M2 During Viral Infection Inhibits Cftr Activity, James David Londino

All ETDs from UAB

The purpose of these dissertation studies was to 1) determine whether influenza infection alters CFTR activity in polarized epithelium; 2) measure CFTR expression and activity in cells co-expressing influenza M2 protein; and 3) examine the role of M2 on the alteration of CFTR during viral infection. We determined that infection of polarized primary epithelial cells with influenza decreases CFTR expression and activity. In addition, individual cells infected with influenza had decreased CFTR conductance as measured by whole-cell patch clamp. We also found that the influenza ion channel, matrix protein 2 (M2), alone reduced CFTR expression and activity. M2 is expressed …

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3-Dimensional Comparison Of Hard And Soft Tissue Asymmetry In, Philip H. Pan Jan 2014

3-Dimensional Comparison Of Hard And Soft Tissue Asymmetry In, Philip H. Pan

All ETDs from UAB

Class III malocclusions are particularly prevalent in the Asian population. Threedimensional imaging has improved the ability to portray the three-dimensional characteristics of soft tissue face and underlying skeletal hard tissue. While soft tissue reflects the underlying hard tissue structures, soft tissue may either provide a compensation for hard tissue asymmetry or potentially exacerbate the asymmetry. The current study is novel in that the hard tissue and soft tissue asymmetries are both analyzed relative to the same reference point, and using 3D imaging, we have attempted to elucidate a compensation tendency between the hard and soft tissues. The sample was comprised …

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Altered Dna Methylation Contributes To Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Associated Memory Deficits, Robert Ryley Parrish Jan 2014

Altered Dna Methylation Contributes To Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Associated Memory Deficits, Robert Ryley Parrish

All ETDs from UAB

Status epilepticus (SE) triggers molecular mechanisms that underlie the cellular and network changes that occur during the development of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Additionally, gene expression alterations occur during epileptogenesis and in the epileptic brain that contribute to the persistence of the phenotype. However, the underlying epigenetic mechanisms responsible for aberrant gene expression that occur with epilepsy require further investigation. This dissertation investigates how DNA methylation in the hippocampus affects epilepsy and contributes to the memory impairments associated with the disorder. We found that DNA methylation was altered in a hippocampal subregion specific manner in the epileptic brain, displaying altered …

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Freestanding Emergency Departments: Strategic And Policy Implications, Nitish Patidar Jan 2014

Freestanding Emergency Departments: Strategic And Policy Implications, Nitish Patidar

All ETDs from UAB

The dissertation examined the role of Freestanding Emergency Departments (FSEDs) in the current United State health care system. The study collected the primary data on FSEDs in the United States and analyzed the factors associated with the hospitals operating FSEDs and its effect on hospital financial performance. The relationship of presence of FSEDs in the market and Medicare expenditure per person was also studied. The Resource Dependency Theory was used to study the effect of market and organizational factors on the hospital decision to operate an FSED. Panel data from 2002 to 2011 was analyzed using logistic multivariate regression with …

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Power Issues And Internal Pilot Designs For Cluster-Randomized Trials With Unequal Cluster Sizes, Ashutosh Ranjan Jan 2014

Power Issues And Internal Pilot Designs For Cluster-Randomized Trials With Unequal Cluster Sizes, Ashutosh Ranjan

All ETDs from UAB

Cluster-randomized trials that randomize groups of individuals, instead of individuals themselves, run the risk of being underpowered when they are designed assuming equal cluster sizes but end up recruiting unequal clusters. The loss in power of the trial is directly related to the amount of variation present among the cluster sizes. To overcome the loss in power, researchers often employ a weighted analysis of the cluster means. Different weighting procedures have been developed that appear to maintain the power of the trial but there have been fewer attempts to describe the impact of different weights on the type I error …

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Epithelial Sodium Channel Purification And X-Ray Crystallographic Studies, Bharat G. Reddy Jan 2014

Epithelial Sodium Channel Purification And X-Ray Crystallographic Studies, Bharat G. Reddy

All ETDs from UAB

Epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) play a critical role in maintaining Na+ homeostasis in various tissues throughout our body. Understanding of ENaC structure is mediated from studies of the homologous acid sensing ion channel 1 (ASIC1). However, ENaC has sev-eral notable functional differences compared to ASIC1, thereby providing justification for determination of its three-dimensional structure. Unfortunately, this goal remains elu-sive due to several experimental challenges. Of the subunits that comprise a physiological hetero-trimeric ENaC (α, ß, and γ), the α-subunit alone is of significant interest. αENaC is unique in that it is capable of forming a homo-trimeric structure capable of conducting …

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Neuropathology Of Dopamine Systems In Schizophrenia: Regional Dopamine Pathologies In The Substantia Nigra/Ventral Tegmental Area Complex, Matthew Warner Rice Jan 2014

Neuropathology Of Dopamine Systems In Schizophrenia: Regional Dopamine Pathologies In The Substantia Nigra/Ventral Tegmental Area Complex, Matthew Warner Rice

All ETDs from UAB

Dopaminergic neurotransmission anomalies are a well-established aspect of schizophrenia, a devastating mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world population. The substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), which extends from diencephalic to mesencephalic territories, provides the largest dopaminergic input to the brain. The SN/VTA contains subpopulations of dopaminergic neurons that project preferentially through different pathways, providing dopamine input to brain regions where dopaminergic anomalies have been reported in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that anomalies in the synthesis of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme for the production of dopamine, could contribute to the dopaminergic anomalies observed in this disorder. We first …

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Finding Bands In Optical Coherence Tomography Images Using Curve And Function Fitting, Douglas Howard Ross Jan 2014

Finding Bands In Optical Coherence Tomography Images Using Curve And Function Fitting, Douglas Howard Ross

All ETDs from UAB

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive method to create a volume of data that is a measurement of the reflectance properties of tissue. The retina of the human eye has a layered structure that presents as bands in the OCT images. Evaluation of OCT images can be used to diagnose abnormal structure due to disease or damage. The principal task in evaluating the OCT images is segmentation. While the images can be evaluated by trained personnel, the quantity of OCT image data is increasing rapidly, therefore, the creation of methods for automatic segmentation is vital. Prior work in segmenting …

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Copper Homeostasis In Mycobacteria, Jennifer L. Rowland Jan 2014

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. …

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Transmitted/Founder Siv In The Rhesus Macaque Model Of Hiv-1 Infection, Mike Lopker Jan 2014

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, …

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Exploring Intrinsic Biomarkers For Optical Assessment Of Outer Retina, Rongwen Lu Jan 2014

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 …

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Hormonal Contraceptives Alter The Immune Function And Structural Integrity Of The Female Genital Tract: Implications For Hiv-1 Infection, Katherine Gisella Michel Jan 2014

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 …

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