Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Beliefs And Practices Of Expert Respiratory Care Faculty On Critical-Thinking Learning: A Case Study, James Leland Hulse

Dissertations

Problem. The development of critical-thinking skills during the professional training of respiratory therapists is imperative for good practice. Research evidence suggests that interactive instructional strategies are far more effective than traditional lectures. Missing from the literature are thick descriptions of how faculty organize the delivery of respiratory therapy curriculum to develop critical thinking. This case study describes the beliefs and practices of faculty members in an academically strong program in view of developing critical thinking.

Method. A qualitative, single case-study design was used to identify critical-thinking strategies and beliefs incorporated by the faculty. The program was nominated by expert members …

Diffusion Pathways Through The Outer Membrane Of Mycobacteria, Olga Danilchanka

All ETDs from UAB

The extraordinary capacity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to adapt to environmental changes during infection contributes to its success as a pathogen. While the unique outer membrane (OM) of mycobacteria functions as a permeability barrier for toxic molecules, uptake of nutrients is required to sustain viability of Mtb. Whereas hydrophobic molecules can diffuse through membranes, uptake of small hydrophilic compounds is mediated by water-filled channels, porins. For example, Msp-like porins of M. smegmatis (Ms) were shown to be required for uptake of hydrophilic beta-lactam antibiotics, which are also known to diffuse through porins in gram-negative bacteria. Because the structure of the …

Polysaccharide Specific B Cells: A Study Of Their Development And Function, Jeremy B. Foote

All ETDs from UAB

Polysaccharides are important structural components of bacterial capsule and cell walls. Polysaccharide-specific antibodies are an important component of serologic memory capable of protecting against infection by pathogenic microorganisms. An understanding of the biology and function of polysaccharide specific B cells is necessary for formulation of vaccines designed to induce polysaccharide specific memory and long-lived antibody production. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the development of naïve DEX-specific B cells and examine their capacity to generate memory and long-lived plasma cells in response to polysaccharide α 1→3-dextran (DEX), which is expressed by the opportunistic pathogens Enterobacter cloacae, Histoplasma capsulatum …

Characterizing The Role Of Primary Cilia In The Hair Follicle And Skin, Jonathan Merle Lehman

All ETDs from UAB

Primary cilia have been established as a nearly ubiquitous microtubule based signaling organelle, yet their function in many organs, including the hair and skin, is unknown. We hypothesized that the primary cilium would play vital roles in the hair follicle and skin based on the cilium's well characterized interactions with the Shh and Wnt developmental signaling pathways. This dissertation describes our efforts to determine the localization of the primary cilia in the murine hair follicle and assess the function of this organelle in the hair and skin. We used confocal immunofluorescence microscopy to virtually section the entire hair follicle and …