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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Identifying Factors To Inform The Development Of Adaptive Interventions For Increasing Physical Activity Behavior Among People With Multiple Schlerosis, Yumi Kim
All ETDs from UAB
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can benefit from physical activity, specifically exercise, for the management of disease symptoms, including walking impairments, fatigue, and depression, and improvements in quality of life. However, people with MS do not engage in adequate amounts of physical activity for the accrual of health benefits. Researchers have focused on the delivery of exercise training and behavioral interventions to improve levels of physical activity in MS. To date, there is an emerging body of research supporting the efficacy of these interventions for increasing and potentially sustaining physical activity behavior in people with MS. Yet, people with MS …
Dietary Nitrate And The Oral Microbiome In Obesity, Health And Exercise, Christian E. Behrens
Dietary Nitrate And The Oral Microbiome In Obesity, Health And Exercise, Christian E. Behrens
All ETDs from UAB
Obesity ranks among the top growing health concerns worldwide. The prevalence of obesity at all life stages continues to rise with nearly 40% of adults and 35% of children/adolescents being affected. Equally troublesome is the increased risk for a number of comorbidities associated with obesity including cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and certain types of cancer. The successful treatment of obesity, particularly long-term, continues to prove challenging and is often met with limited success. This highlights the importance of continued investigation into alternative strategies that may reduce the incidence and severity of obesity and associated pathophysiologies. Regular physical …
Teleexercise For People With Disabilities, Byron Lai
Teleexercise For People With Disabilities, Byron Lai
All ETDs from UAB
Exercise is recognized as a method of improving health and function and preventing deconditioning for adults with neurological disabilities. However, they experience a multitude of barriers that prevent them from regular participation in exercise. To address these barriers, the goal of this dissertation was to explore the use of monitoring technology as a means for delivering exercise to adults with neurological disabilities at home. This pursuit involved three studies. The first study reviewed the extant literature for current trends in exercise interventions for people with disabilities. Regarding technology, the review indicated that technology is rarely used to deliver one-on-on supervised …
Acute And Chronic Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function, Jonathan Lund Warren
Acute And Chronic Regulation Of Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function, Jonathan Lund Warren
All ETDs from UAB
Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) represent a growing global burden on healthcare and financial resources. One hypothesis for the onset and exacerbation of these diseases is related to the role of mitochondria as the end users of products of the metabolism of the nutrients we consume and in mediating the oxidative state of the body through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In order to meet the demands of a metabolic challenge and prevent excessive ROS production, there appear to be adaptations to mitochondrial physiology and morphology that can occur and we hypothesize that the ability of the …
High-Intensity Interval Training With Energy Restriction Preserves Lean Tissue And Improves Glucose Tolerance In Obesity, Rachel Ann Harley
High-Intensity Interval Training With Energy Restriction Preserves Lean Tissue And Improves Glucose Tolerance In Obesity, Rachel Ann Harley
All ETDs from UAB
Calorie restriction (CR) reduces body weight (BW) and adiposity, but is often less than expected due to hypometabolism produced by reductions in lean body mass (LBM). A comparable energy deficit created by combining CR and exercise energy expenditure (EE) has been shown to attenuate the reduction in EE produced by CR. Continuous moderate-intensity training (MIT) is commonly used to sustain energy balance or expedite weight loss, but high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may produce greater results. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if HIIT preserves LBM and improves energy metabolism to a greater extent than MIT in the presence …
Motor Unit Remodeling During Neuromuscular Degeneration In Aging And Parkinson's Disease, Neil Anthony Kelly
Motor Unit Remodeling During Neuromuscular Degeneration In Aging And Parkinson's Disease, Neil Anthony Kelly
All ETDs from UAB
The human neuromuscular system deteriorates progressively with age and disease. This results in denervation events and ultimately motor unit remodeling, which is revealed by abnormal “groups” of myofibers expressing the same myosin protein isoform – a phenomenon described as myofiber type grouping. Despite the acceptance of myofiber type grouping as a hallmark indicator of motor unit remodeling, traditional techniques of detecting it lack quantitative parameters and therefore comparative data in aging and disease are scarce. The purpose of this dissertation is to establish a statistically-driven, quantitative method for detecting myofiber type grouping and to use it to characterize the effects …
Effectiveness Of Functional Electrical Stimulation Assisted Rowing To Improve Shoulder Pain And Aerobic Fitness In Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury, Susan Wilbanks
All ETDs from UAB
Exercise is beneficial to adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) because of its ability to improve function and increase life expectancy. The goal of this dissertation was to determine an effective intervention for increasing aerobic fitness and decreasing shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users with SCI by identifying underlying mechanisms for shoulder pain, optimizing training and utilizing appropriate outcome measures. Three studies were conducted. The first study indicated that exercise interventions for adults with SCI are of low to moderate methodological quality, frequently using outcome measures associated with changes in body structures and functions, and not frequently examining effects on …
Risk Factors For Stroke In Rural African Americans And Factors That Influence Exercise Behaviors To Reduce Stroke Risk, Dawn M. Aycock
Risk Factors For Stroke In Rural African Americans And Factors That Influence Exercise Behaviors To Reduce Stroke Risk, Dawn M. Aycock
All ETDs from UAB
Stroke has increased among young adults, which is concerning for African Americans (AA) who tend to have stroke at an earlier age and an increased risk for mortality and severe disability. Rural dwellers lack resources which may increase their susceptibility to stroke. Regular exercise can reduce stroke; however, physical activity among AA is low. The purpose of this research was to use an Expanded Health Belief Model to examine perceived and actual stroke risk among rural AA 19 to 54 years of age and factors that influence exercise behaviors to reduce stroke risk. A cross-sectional correlational design was used. Participants …
The Role Of Parental Autonomy Support In The Motivation Of The Health Behaviors Of Diet And Exercise In Older Adolescents, Shannon A. Morrison
The Role Of Parental Autonomy Support In The Motivation Of The Health Behaviors Of Diet And Exercise In Older Adolescents, Shannon A. Morrison
All ETDs from UAB
Diseases that were once considered to be unique to the adult population are now being diagnosed in childhood and adolescence. Health behaviors established during adolescence are believed to influence attitudes and motivations toward health practices well into adulthood. Poor dietary choices and decreased exercise frequency are believed to have a direct influence on the rising adolescent obesity rate and the premature onset of many chronic health conditions. Since the family unit is the primary source of socialization, parental interactions are believed to persuade adolescent attitudes, motivations, and behaviors through the negotiation and renegotiation of the adolescent's autonomy development. Adolescent autonomy …
The Effects Of Weight Reduction On Obesity-Related Cancer Biomarkers And In Vitro Cancer Cell Growth, Maria Azrad
The Effects Of Weight Reduction On Obesity-Related Cancer Biomarkers And In Vitro Cancer Cell Growth, Maria Azrad
All ETDs from UAB
Obesity increases the risk for breast and endometrial cancers while weight loss reduces the risk for these cancers. One aim of this dissertation was to determine the effects of weight loss from an overweight state [body mass index (BMI) 27-30] to a normal weight state on several obesity-related cancer biomarkers in African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) premenopausal women. We also sought to determine whether the method of weight loss, caloric restriction alone (CR) or combined with exercise resulted in similar changes in cancer biomarkers. The biomarkers of interest were urinary estrogen metabolites, and serum adiponectin, leptin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, …