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Articles 1531 - 1560 of 2525

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Predictors Of Vaginal Douching Behavior And Sexual Risk Taking Among A Population Of Women In The South: The Influence Of Sexual Concurrency And Partner Incarceration, Keri J. Griffin Jan 2012

Predictors Of Vaginal Douching Behavior And Sexual Risk Taking Among A Population Of Women In The South: The Influence Of Sexual Concurrency And Partner Incarceration, Keri J. Griffin

All ETDs from UAB

In the United States, adolescent women between the ages of 14 and 19 are estimated to bear the largest burden of sexually transmitted infections. Left untreated, these infections have the potential to result in several adverse reproductive health outcomes. Sexually risky behaviors, including early sexual initiation, sexual partner concurrency, and the use of vaginal douche products increase the risk for the contraction of sexually transmitted infections. Further, having a sexual relationship with a male partner who is known to have other partners or a history of contact with the justice system might put a woman at additional risk. Utilizing a …


Effect Of Different Percentages Of Silica Nanofibers Filler Loads On Mechanical And Physical Properties Of Flowable And Hybrid Composite Resins, Qinyue Cai Jan 2012

Effect Of Different Percentages Of Silica Nanofibers Filler Loads On Mechanical And Physical Properties Of Flowable And Hybrid Composite Resins, Qinyue Cai

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Dental composites are used for a variety of applications in dentistry today. Dental composites are composed of a resin matrix containing a blend of Bis-GMA (bis-phenol A-glycidyldimethacrylate) or urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) along with TEGDMA (tetraethylglycidylmethacrylate). Exhaustive researches has been conducted in recent years to improve physical and mechanical properties of resin-based dental composites, since the existing resin-filler systems may not be suitable for long term applications in large as well as high stress restorations. Nanofillers reinforced composite resins have shown promising results. Silica-based nanoparticles and clusters are blended with larger-sized fillers and are available commercially for restoring large posterior restorations. …


Effects Of Stress On Growth Hormone Receptor Signaling, Ryan Marshall Corrick Jan 2012

Effects Of Stress On Growth Hormone Receptor Signaling, Ryan Marshall Corrick

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Growth hormone (GH) regulates body composition via stimulation of protein synthesis and catabolism of adipose tissue, generally promoting maintenance of lean body mass. Following severe injury, GH resistance contributes to muscle protein wasting, adversely impacting morbidity and mortality. In this dissertation research, we sought to determine the mechanisms of GH resistance following injury. To accomplish this, we evaluated GH signaling in a mouse model of severe injury. In the first section of this thesis, we demonstrate severe impairments in hepatic GH signaling occurring in association with an apparent, hemorrhage-dependent cleavage of the GH receptor (GHR). In the second section, we …


Risk Factors For Stroke In Rural African Americans And Factors That Influence Exercise Behaviors To Reduce Stroke Risk, Dawn M. Aycock Jan 2012

Risk Factors For Stroke In Rural African Americans And Factors That Influence Exercise Behaviors To Reduce Stroke Risk, Dawn M. Aycock

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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 …


Characterizing The Transcriptional Complexity Of Pkhd1/Pkhd1, Ravindra Boddu Jan 2012

Characterizing The Transcriptional Complexity Of Pkhd1/Pkhd1, Ravindra Boddu

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Mutations in PKHD1 gene cause autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease. Our previous studies have shown that human PKHD1 and its mouse orthologue, Pkhd1, undergo an extensive pattern of alternative splicing. Pkhd1 is primarily expressed in renal and biliary tubular structures. Translation products of these alternative spliced transcripts are predicted to generate isoforms expressed in plasma membrane, primary cilium and cytoplasm. We have characterized the cyli mouse model of ARPKD and identified a frameshift mutation, c.7589delGGinsT, in Pkhd1 exon 48. In this thesis we have characterized the mouse Pkhd1cyli/cyli model (liver restricted phenotype) and evaluated the transcriptome in terms of alternative …


Schizophrenia And Vergence Eye Movements, Mark S. Bolding Jan 2012

Schizophrenia And Vergence Eye Movements, Mark S. Bolding

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Background: Compared to healthy controls (HC), patients with schizophrenia (SZ) have lower smooth pursuit gain and have been reported as having a higher prevalence of convergence insufficiency. To date, however, there have been no reports on vergence tracking gain in such patients. Therefore, we investigated both static and dynamic vergence behavior in healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Eye movements were recorded in multiple tasks including antisaccades, triangular waveform smooth pursuit at multiple frequencies, and triangular waveform vergence tracking of a real target at multiple frequencies. Eye position data were collected at 500 Hz using a binocular video eye …


Scaffold-Mediated Size Determination Of Bacteriophage Capsids By Mobile Genetic Elements, Altaira Davida Dearborn Jan 2012

Scaffold-Mediated Size Determination Of Bacteriophage Capsids By Mobile Genetic Elements, Altaira Davida Dearborn

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Bacteriophage can mediate the transfer of unrelated mobile genetic elements (MGE) from a carrier bacterial cell to the susceptible population around it. This transfer results in the spread of virulence or other accessory genes encoded on the MGE. During viral particle assembly, the MGE can discourage the formation of viable bacteriophage progeny by limiting the size of the particles to those large enough to encapsidate the MGE, but too small to fit the complete bacteriophage genome which is three times larger. Here, I present models for size determination by an external scaffolding protein which is independent of and dominant over …


Physical Activity Barriers Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cognitive Mapping Study, Anna De Joya Jan 2012

Physical Activity Barriers Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cognitive Mapping Study, Anna De Joya

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Background: Despite the strong evidence indicating the benefits of regular physical activity (PA) for health and functioning, individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) do not engage in PA at levels consistent with public health recommendations. To eliminate the health disparities and promote PA in this population, the barriers unique to individuals with TBI should be identified by different stakeholders to establish effective health promotion programs that have sustainable outcomes. There is limited evidence to guide the development and delivery of effective PA interventions in the TBI field. Objectives: The specific aims of this study are: 1) to identify the …


Evaluation Of The Association Of Low-Level Prenatal Blood Lead Exposure And Auditory Brainstem Response Among Infants, Timothy A. Dignam Jan 2012

Evaluation Of The Association Of Low-Level Prenatal Blood Lead Exposure And Auditory Brainstem Response Among Infants, Timothy A. Dignam

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Hearing loss is one of the most common major abnormalities present among infants. Two to four infants per 1,000 are born in the United States with severe-to-profound newborn hearing loss (Chu 2003). Undetected, hearing loss delays speech, language, and cognitive development. Numerous studies have shown that prenatal lead exposure is associated with a variety of neurobehavioral and electrophysiological abnormalities (Abbate 1995, Bellinger 2004, Koller 2004). Studies focusing on hearing have primarily described pediatric cases or occupationally exposed adults where blood lead levels (BLLs) are much higher than currently seen in the United States (Otto 1985; Bleecker 2003; Schwartz 1987). Hearing …


The Impact Of The State Children's Health Insurance Program's Unborn Child Ruling On Foreign-Born Latina Prenatal Care Utilization And Birth Outcomes, 2000-2007, Jonathan Hawthorne Drewry Jan 2012

The Impact Of The State Children's Health Insurance Program's Unborn Child Ruling On Foreign-Born Latina Prenatal Care Utilization And Birth Outcomes, 2000-2007, Jonathan Hawthorne Drewry

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In 2002 the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) "unborn child ruling" was established to provide prenatal care (PNC) to low income women otherwise without health insurance. The majority of foreign-born (FB) Latinas otherwise ineligible for PNC should have benefited most from the ruling. In late 2003 six states incorporated the UCR into their state plan amendments, providing a natural experiment for policy analysis. This study used cross-sectional pooled natality data from 2000-2007 to estimate the effect of the UCR on prenatal care utilization (PNCU) and birth outcomes. A differences-in-differences econometrics model was employed using policy enacting and non-enacting states, …


The Role Of St6gal-I Sialylation In Fas (Cd95) Death Receptor Function And Tumorigenesis, Amanda F. Swindall Jan 2012

The Role Of St6gal-I Sialylation In Fas (Cd95) Death Receptor Function And Tumorigenesis, Amanda F. Swindall

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The golgi glycosyltransferase, ST6Gal-I, adds a negatively-charged sialic acid in an alpha-2-6 linkage to N-linked glycans. ST6Gal-I is upregulated in many cancers, and is associated with increased metastasis and poor patient prognosis. ST6Gal-I expression has been shown to be driven by oncogenic-ras signaling. However, mechanistic details of the role ST6Gal-I plays in tumor initiation and progression are not well defined. Historically, studies have focused on contributions of ST6Gal-I to the malignant cell phenotypes of migration and invasion. Emerging evidence including studies contained in this dissertation have begun to elucidate a role for ST6Gal-I as a regulator of apoptotic signaling by …


Measuring Disease Activity And Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine In African-Americans With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ashutosh Tamhane Jan 2012

Measuring Disease Activity And Use Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine In African-Americans With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ashutosh Tamhane

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The aims of this project were to: 1) compare disease activity scores 28 joints (DAS28) based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) versus that based on C-reactive protein (CRP), and 2) describe prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and examine differences of CAM use stratified by disease duration and sex. This analysis included participants from the Consortium for the Longitudinal Evaluation of African Americans with Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CLEAR) Registry. Using tender and swollen joint counts separate ESR-based and CRP-based DAS28 scores (DAS28-ESR3 and DAS28-CRP3) were calculated, as were DAS28-ESR4 and DAS28-CRP4, which included the patient¡¯s assessment of disease …


Regulatory T Cells In The Fvb.Mdr1a-/- Model Of Colitis, Scott Tanner Jan 2012

Regulatory T Cells In The Fvb.Mdr1a-/- Model Of Colitis, Scott Tanner

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Regulatory T cells (Treg) are necessary for the maintenance of immune homeostasis, and have been implicated in several autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Most murine studies focusing on the function of Tregs have been done on the C57BL/6 or BALB/c background, creating a bias towards these two strains. In addition, it has been shown that C57BL/6 and BALB/c Tregs function in different manners. To further investigate potential strain differences in Treg phenotype and function, we chose to analyze FVB/N Tregs. Several differences were observed, including de-creased FVB/N Treg suppression in a non-cell contact dependent manner, decreased FVB/N and …


Sleep Duration And Obesity: Longitudinal Study Of Adolescents, Herpreet Kaur Thind Jan 2012

Sleep Duration And Obesity: Longitudinal Study Of Adolescents, Herpreet Kaur Thind

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Prevalence of obesity continues to be high in the United States with about one-third adults being overweight or obese. Among adolescents the rates of overweight/obesity have increased by three times in the past two decades. Moreover, the rates of obesity are disproportionately high among the minority population. Recently, sleep duration has emerged as an independent risk factor for obesity. Several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies worldwide have shown an inverse relationship between sleep duration and obesity. However, some studies do not support this association. Majority of the studies in the United States have been conducted on predominantly White populations. African Americans …


Examining Spasticity After Spinal Cord Injury Using A Novel Robotic Assessment, Leslie R. Van Hiel Jan 2012

Examining Spasticity After Spinal Cord Injury Using A Novel Robotic Assessment, Leslie R. Van Hiel

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This study investigated a novel robotic assessment of spasticity resulting from a spinal cord injury (SCI). Torque data was analyzed to provide a single measure spasticity score. Three participants with motor incomplete SCI and resultant spasticity were compared to three non-injured participants (NI) using three different angular velocities of passive lower extremity movement in the Lokomat gait orthosis. The mean spasticity scores (NI vs. SCI) at120°/s, 180°/s, and 240°/s were: 0.41 ± 0.30 vs. 3.70 ± 2.07; 0.65 ± 0.49 vs. 4.33 ± 3.57; and 1.55 ± 1.16 vs. 5.26 ± 3.99, respectively. Mean surface electrode electromyography measures (NI vs. …


Soy And Breast Cancer, Mandeep K. Virk-Baker Jan 2012

Soy And Breast Cancer, Mandeep K. Virk-Baker

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The incidence of breast cancer is lower in Asia as compared to Western countries. However, the breast cancer risk among Asian immigrants living in Western countries reaches nearly as high as the Western country, suggesting environmental factors (e.g. diet and lifestyle) may be important for this geographical disparity. One dietary change of Asian immigrants is a reduction in soy consumption. Soy is rich in isoflavones, which compete with estrogen for receptor (ER) binding, and may protect against breast cancer. S-(-)equol, a metabolite of the soy isoflavone daidzein (DZ) has a higher bioavailability and greater affinity for ER than DZ. The …


Suppression Of A Nonsense Mutation In A Mouse Model Of Hurler Syndrome, Dan Wang Jan 2012

Suppression Of A Nonsense Mutation In A Mouse Model Of Hurler Syndrome, Dan Wang

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Nonsense suppression therapy utilizes compounds that suppress translation termination at disease-causing premature termination codons (PTCs) to restore full-length, functional protein synthesis. This approach may provide a treatment for many diseases caused by nonsense mutations including Hurler syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type I - Hurler, MPS I-H). MPS I-H is a lysosomal storage disease caused by severe &alpha-L-iduronidase deficiency and subsequent lysosomal glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation. In this work, we investigated the effectiveness of nonsense suppression therapy as a treatment for MPS I-H. We first generated a targeted knock-in mouse model that carries the Idua-W392X nonsense mutation homologous to the human IDUA-W402X mutation frequently …


Mechanisms Of Lrrk2 Regulation, Philip J. Webber Jan 2012

Mechanisms Of Lrrk2 Regulation, Philip J. Webber

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Non-synonymous mutations in LRRK2 are the most common known cause of familial and sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). The dominant inheritance of these mutations in familial PD suggests a gain-of-function mechanism. Increased kinase activity observed in the most common PD associated LRRK2 mutation G2019S suggests that kinase activity is central to disease. However, not all mutations associated with disease are reported to alter kinase activity and controversy exists in the literature about the effects of mutations appearing in the GTPase domain on kinase activity. The studies conducted as a part of this work aim to characterize the mechanisms that regulate LRRK2 …


Siderophore-Mediated Iron Acquisition In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Ryan Wells Jan 2012

Siderophore-Mediated Iron Acquisition In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Ryan Wells

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a dangerous human pathogen that has the capacity to adapt to and survive within the harsh phagosomal environment of macrophages. One obstacle that must be overcome by pathogens is to acquire iron, an essential component and cofactor of proteins required for vital cellular processes. M. tuberculosis meets its iron demands in the face of an array of sequestration strategies of the host by synthesizing and secreting two siderophores called mycobactin and carboxymycobactin. Siderophores are low molecular weight high affinity iron binding compounds that steal iron away from host stores and have been shown to be important for …


C-C-Motif Chemokine Receptor/Ligand Gene Variants And Their Associations With Hiv-1 Transmission And Pathogenesis, Liangyuan Hu Jan 2012

C-C-Motif Chemokine Receptor/Ligand Gene Variants And Their Associations With Hiv-1 Transmission And Pathogenesis, Liangyuan Hu

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Host factors including genes and their variants are important to HIV-1 acquisition, transmission and disease progression. In particular, chemokine (C-C motif) receptors 2 and 5 genes (CCR2 and CCR5) have multiple variants of interest. We first investigated the impact of CCR2-CCR5 haplotypes on several outcomes among 567 HIV-1 discordant Zambian couples. HHF*2 homozygosity was associated with significantly lower VL in seroconverters (mean beta=-0.58 log10 P=0.027) and the HHD/HHE diplotype was associated with significantly higher VL in the seroconverters (mean beta=0.54, log10 P=0.014) adjusted for age and gender in multivariable model. HHD/HHE was associated with more rapid acquisition of infection by …


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

Retinoids And Abnormal Alveolar Development, Masheika L. James

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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

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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 …


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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 …


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

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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

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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 …


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

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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 …