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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Meeting The Interests Of Adolescent Females In Physical Education, Sarah Marie Huffer Jan 2007

Meeting The Interests Of Adolescent Females In Physical Education, Sarah Marie Huffer

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this study is to compare the activities of interest of adolescent females in physical education with the types of activities that are provided in their present physical education curriculum at the representative high school. Creating a parallel between activities of interest and activities within physical education curriculums will provide females with more motivation to be physically active while in high school and after they graduate.

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Evaluation Of A Community-Based Tuberculosis Screening Program For Latino Immigrants In New York City, Cristina R. Fernández Jan 2007

Evaluation Of A Community-Based Tuberculosis Screening Program For Latino Immigrants In New York City, Cristina R. Fernández

Public Health Theses

No abstract provided.

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An Examination Of Factors And Perceptions Related To Steroids/Human Growth Hormone In College Baseball, Benjamin D. Riegle Jan 2007

An Examination Of Factors And Perceptions Related To Steroids/Human Growth Hormone In College Baseball, Benjamin D. Riegle

Masters Theses

This study examined the role modeling effect from professional baseball through an anonymous survey aimed at the prevalence, potential precursors, and deterrents of steroid use among 173 intercollegiate baseball players. Results indicated that 2.3% of participants admitted to using steroids, but this low incidence was not due to low access as 58.4% said they knew how to obtain steroids and 37.8% had previously been offered steroids. Just over one-third (34.1%) agreed that performance enhancement was a precursor to steroid/HGH use and a mean score of 2.53 (SD = 1.46) indicated that it was a greater precursor than improving appearance (19.7%, …

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Language-Based Spelling Instruction For Children Who Are Hard-Of-Hearing, Brittney L. Yakey Jan 2007

Language-Based Spelling Instruction For Children Who Are Hard-Of-Hearing, Brittney L. Yakey

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of SPELL-Links to Reading and Writing, a language-based instructional spelling program, with two hard-of-hearing children. Spelling skills were evaluated using the Spelling Performance Evaluation for Language (SPELL), Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), and Featured Inventories. The participants included two hard-of-hearing children with mild hearing loss. Spelling intervention targeted four spelling patterns (short u, ck, ch/tch, and ng). The results showed that one child benefited from the SPELL-Links to Reading and Writing by the improvement across all four patterns, while the other child showed improvement in only two of the patterns.

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Phonetic And Acoustic Analyses Of Two New Cases Of Foreign Accent Syndrome, Rosalie Perkins Jan 2007

Phonetic And Acoustic Analyses Of Two New Cases Of Foreign Accent Syndrome, Rosalie Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study presents detailed phonetic and acoustic analyses of the speech characteristics of two new cases of Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS). Participants include a 48-year-old female who began speaking with an "Eastern European" accent following a traumatic brain injury, and a 45-year-old male who presented with a "British" accent following a subcortical cerebral vascular accident (CVA). Identical samples of the participants' pre- and post-morbid speech were obtained, thus affording a new level of control in the study of Foreign Accent Syndrome. The speech tasks consisted of oral readings of the Grandfather Passage and 18 real words comprised of the stop …

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Evaluating Neonatal Facial Pain Expression: Is There A Primal Face Of Pain?, Martin Schiavenato Jan 2007

Evaluating Neonatal Facial Pain Expression: Is There A Primal Face Of Pain?, Martin Schiavenato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pain assessment continues to be poorly managed in the clinical arena. A review of the communication process in pain assessment is carried out and the hierarchical approach often recommended in the literature -with self-report as its "gold-standard," is criticized as limited and simplistic. A comprehensive approach to pain assessment is recommended and a model that conceptualizes pain assessment as a complex transaction with various patient and clinician dependant factors is proposed. Attention is then focused on the pediatric patient whose pain assessment is often dependent on nonverbal communicative action. The clinical approaches to pain assessment in this population -mainly the …

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Free Clinics Of Iowa: An Inside Look At An Alternate Route To Healthcare, Laura Deboer Jan 2007

Free Clinics Of Iowa: An Inside Look At An Alternate Route To Healthcare, Laura Deboer

Honors Program Theses

Forty-seven million uninsured Americans: an all too familiar statistic, peppering television advertisements, newspaper headlines, and most recently - a hot agenda item of political candidates is a sad truth of American health care. Unfortunately, for sixteen percent of Americans and approximately thirteen percent of adult Iowans, this is not just a passing television ad - but the facts of life that are faced every day. These individuals make up families who evaluate that, although it is taking a risk to be without health insurance, the security of insurance is not as important as providing meals on the dinner table. The …

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The Recovery Experience For Persons With A Myocardial Infarction And Their Spouses/Partners, Vicki Lynnette Bingham Jan 2007

The Recovery Experience For Persons With A Myocardial Infarction And Their Spouses/Partners, Vicki Lynnette Bingham

All ETDs from UAB

Coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in Americans today, affects both genders in numerous ethnic populations. This life-threatening event causes both physical and emotional distress for persons with a myocardial infarction (MI), as well as for their spouses or partners and thus possibly forces them on a spiritual journey. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the ways in which spirituality is defined and experienced by both persons with an MI and their spouses/partners during the recovery process. The method utilized in this study was a qualitative approach using interpretative phenomenology from a Heideggerian …

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Localization And Function Of G2e3, William Samuel Brooks Jan 2007

Localization And Function Of G2e3, William Samuel Brooks

All ETDs from UAB

A microarray study was performed which identified G2E3 as a novel, putative ubiquitin ligase that was both G2/M-specific in expression and down regulated at the transcriptional level following DNA damage by γ-irradiation. The initial characterization of this protein is described herein. G2E3 is composed of three PHD/RING (plant homoedomain/really interesting new gene) domains within its amino-terminal half and a carboxy-terminal HECT (homologous to E6AP carboxy-terminus) domain. G2E3 is regulated in part by its subcellular localization. The protein normally resides within the nucleoplasm of cultured cells and distinctly within the nucleolus of HeLa cells. G2E3 is a nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling protein with …

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Loss Of Pias3 Expression In Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors:Implications For Stat-3 Activation And Gene Expression, Emily Claire Brantley Jan 2007

Loss Of Pias3 Expression In Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumors:Implications For Stat-3 Activation And Gene Expression, Emily Claire Brantley

All ETDs from UAB

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common form of cancer in the central nervous system in adults. Because of the infiltrative and aggressive nature of GBM, current treatments including surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy provide little benefit to patients diagnosed with this tumor. Median survival, after treatment, is less than one year. Despite advances in the basic understanding of cancer biology, this poor prognosis has remained virtually unchanged for several decades. Given the continuing difficulty of clinical treatment of GBMs, a molecular appreciation of relevant signaling pathways has grown. Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (STATs) function to activate gene …

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Characterization Of A Novel Acetyltransferase Found Only In Pathogenic Strains Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, David K. Crossman Jan 2007

Characterization Of A Novel Acetyltransferase Found Only In Pathogenic Strains Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, David K. Crossman

All ETDs from UAB

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is still a major threat to the human population. Roughly one third of the world population is asymptomatically infected and two million people die each year of TB. Effective treatments are available as a multi-drug regimen, but there is an ever increasing problem with the rise of multi-drug resistant strains that newer drug targets and a better understanding of how M. tuberculosis affects the host need to be elucidated. The primary target of M. tuberculosis in the human host is the macrophage where M. tuberculosis secretes virulence factors that inhibit various signal …

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Determinants Of Hospital Affiliation With Health Care Networks, Ting-Huan Chang Jan 2007

Determinants Of Hospital Affiliation With Health Care Networks, Ting-Huan Chang

All ETDs from UAB

Since the 1990s, integrated health care delivery systems have proliferated rapidly in the U.S., but little research has been devoted to studying why hospitals decide to join such systems (e.g., health care networks or systems). The aim of this study was to identify environmental and organizational factors that encourage freestanding hospitals to affiliate with health care networks. Specifically, the relationships of hospital affiliation choice to environmental munificence, environmental uncertainty and organizational resources were examined. Additionally, the moderating effects of hospital setting on these relationships were also investigated. A nonexperimental, longitudinal design was used, with the individual hospital as the unit …

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The Role Of The Cytoskeleon In Achr Clustering, G Clement Dobbins Jan 2007

The Role Of The Cytoskeleon In Achr Clustering, G Clement Dobbins

All ETDs from UAB

The human brain contains billions of neurons which are designed to receive and integrate a range of electrical and biochemical signals. The ability to convey information between these cells depends on synapses. A precise apposition between the pre and post synapse must exist for efficient transmission to occur. The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) has become a model for studying synaptogenesis. Although much is known about the steps in NMJ formation, only recently have there been insights into the mechanism behind NMJ development. Much of this research has focused on how acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) at the postsynapse form clusters directly apposed to …

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A Study Into The Protein/Protein Interactions Involved In Hiv-1 Capsid Assembly, Chanel Catherine Douglas Jan 2007

A Study Into The Protein/Protein Interactions Involved In Hiv-1 Capsid Assembly, Chanel Catherine Douglas

All ETDs from UAB

The aim of this work was to build an understanding of the protein/protein interactions involved in HIV-1 capsid assembly as it relates to the condensation of capsid within the virion. This was undertaken in an attempt to (i) understand how capsid subunits recognize and interact with each other, (ii) gain insight into the protein-protein interactions involved in the process, and (iii) determine if the protein-protein interactions involved in virus cap-sid assembly can be used as a target for viral inhibition. Within this dissertation you will find two approaches to this investigation. The first examines the role of electrostatics in the …

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Factors Associated With Sexual Debut And Depression Among Adolescents In Rural Jamaica, Olaniyi J. Ekundayo Jan 2007

Factors Associated With Sexual Debut And Depression Among Adolescents In Rural Jamaica, Olaniyi J. Ekundayo

All ETDs from UAB

Individual and family factors have been hypothesized to influence adolescent sexual behavior and depression, but the extent to which this is true for adolescents in Jamaica as a whole and for those in rural areas in particular, has not been well studied. The objective of this dissertation was to identify individual and family factors associated with sexual debut and depression among rural Jamaican adolescents. To elucidate these factors and to provide information to guide future interventions, we analyzed data on 748 adolescents attending public high schools in the rural parish of Hanover, Jamaica. Multivariate logistic regression was used to predict …

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Sexual Violence And Correlates Among Women In Hiv Discordant Union, Uganda, Donath Emusu Jan 2007

Sexual Violence And Correlates Among Women In Hiv Discordant Union, Uganda, Donath Emusu

All ETDs from UAB

We sought to estimate the prevalence of sexual violence and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), identify risk factors for sexual violence and STDs among women in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) discordant unions, and investigate the lived experiences of sexual violence among women in HIV discordant unions attending post-test club services at AIDS Information Centers (AICs) in Uganda. We carried out a prospective cohort study of women in HIV discordant and HIV negative concordant unions after disclosure of their HIV serostatus. We estimated prevalence of STDs in the two study cohorts and compared them for occurrence of risk factors for sexual violence …

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Molecular Determinants Of Picrotoxin Inhibition, Brian E. Erkkila Jan 2007

Molecular Determinants Of Picrotoxin Inhibition, Brian E. Erkkila

All ETDs from UAB

PTX is a non-competitive antagonist of many LGICs, and its site of action is believed to be within the ion-conducting pore. This study will examine, through the use of mutagenesis, electrophysiology and homology modeling, the binding interaction between the LGIC receptors and the PTX molecule. The data provides evidence that an interaction between the PTX molecule and uncharged polar amino acids at the 6’ level of the M2 transmembrane domain are essential for PTX inhibition. While the work will focus on the γ-aminobutyric type A receptor, the pharmacological and structural relevance is attributable to the LGIC family as a whole.

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Use Of The 15-Second Lateral Step-Up For Comparison Of Hip Function Between Two Surgical Approaches For Intramedullary Nailing Of Femur Fractures, Lydia A. Futch Jan 2007

Use Of The 15-Second Lateral Step-Up For Comparison Of Hip Function Between Two Surgical Approaches For Intramedullary Nailing Of Femur Fractures, Lydia A. Futch

All ETDs from UAB

Study Type: Cohort, between and within group comparison Objective: To determine the efficacy of the 15-second lateral step-up (15-SLSU) test for comparing hip function between patients treated with two different intramedullary nailing (IMN) approaches for femur fractures. In addition, to determine whether the 15-SLSU detects differences in hip function between the surgical and non-surgical limb of subjects treated with IMN. Background: Historically, two surgical approaches have been used for IMN of femur fractures. Determining tests that can detect whether various surgical approaches result in differences in hip function is important for making decisions about treatment. Methods and Measures: Subjects were …

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Pneumococcal Choline-Binding Protein A: Its Role In Virulence And Its Utility As A Streptococcus Pneumoniae Vaccine Antigen, David Tawayne Glover Jan 2007

Pneumococcal Choline-Binding Protein A: Its Role In Virulence And Its Utility As A Streptococcus Pneumoniae Vaccine Antigen, David Tawayne Glover

All ETDs from UAB

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. S. pneumoniae is a leading cause of pneumonia, meningitis, septicemia, and otitis media. Although all age groups can be affected, children and the elderly are espccially susceptible to infection. Currently there is a conjugate vaccine available for use, but this vaccine only contains capsular polysaccahride antigens from the seven most prevelant S. pneumoniae serotypes. The use of the conjugate vaccine has led to serotype shift, with more disease being caused by non-vaccine serotype bacteria. The studies presented in this dissertation identify and characterize a novel S. penumoniae vaccine candidate …

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A Role For P63 In The Regulati On Of Cell Cycle Progression And Cell Death, Eric Scott Helton Jan 2007

A Role For P63 In The Regulati On Of Cell Cycle Progression And Cell Death, Eric Scott Helton

All ETDs from UAB

p63 is a member of the p53 family of transcription factors that is a critical regulator of epithelial development. Studies have shown that p63 does not appear to function as a classical tumor suppressor like p53. Instead, the expression pattern of p63 in cancers suggests that p63 retains the potential to function as either a tumor suppressor or an onco-protein. Here, we provide evidence describing the transcriptional activity of the p63 isoforms and provide mechanisms whereby p63 function is regulated in a context dependent manner. Our data shows that both the ΔNp63 and TAp63 variants retain the potential to regulate …

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Prostate Cancer Chemoprevention With Genistein And Resveratrol In Models Of Spontaneously Developing Prostate Cancer, Curt E. Harper Jan 2007

Prostate Cancer Chemoprevention With Genistein And Resveratrol In Models Of Spontaneously Developing Prostate Cancer, Curt E. Harper

All ETDs from UAB

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men in the United States. The goal of this research was to investigate the potential of three nutriceutical polyphenols, genistein, resveratrol, and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), to suppress prostate cancer. Cancer chemoprevention and mechanism of action studies were carried out in transgenic models of prostate cancer. In TRansgenic Adenocarcinoma of the Mouse Prostate (TRAMP) model, resveratrol suppressed poorly differentiated tumors by 86%, whereas EGCG suppressed precancerous lesions, but failed to prevent late-stage prostate cancer. Agents that were chemopreventive in the TRAMP model were subsequently evaluated alone, and in combination, in the …

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Characterization Of A Global Regulatory Pathway In Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Greer E. Kaufman Jan 2007

Characterization Of A Global Regulatory Pathway In Streptococcus Pneumoniae, Greer E. Kaufman

All ETDs from UAB

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a versatile organism that adapts to many different environments in the host. S. pneumoniae can asymptomatically colonize the nasopharynx of humans. However, dissemination of the bacterium from the nasopharynx to different locations in the body can lead to invasive diseases such as pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. How S. pneumoniae modulates factors that are important for survival in these niches has not been well characterized. In the studies described here, we propose that S. pneumoniae may modulate gene expression in these niches by sensing the different glu-cose concentrations via carbon catabolite control protein A (CcpA). Initially we characterized …

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Mcmv Induced Cerebellar Maldevelopment, Thadeus B. Koontz Jan 2007

Mcmv Induced Cerebellar Maldevelopment, Thadeus B. Koontz

All ETDs from UAB

Congenital Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in infants and children. While most of the systemic damage incurred by the infant in the course of the infection resolves without permanent consequence, the pathological manifestations of infection in the central nervous system (CNS) are often permanent. Children born with congenital HCMV infection may exhibit hearing loss and cognitive impairment in various degrees. These neurological disabilities are correlated with pathological findings in various permutations including infection of the inner ear, ventricular calcifications, ventriculomegaly, microgyria, lissencephaly, and cerebellar hypoplasia. To develop a therapeutic or preventive strategy, HCMV …

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Kainate Receptor Modulation Of Synaptic Transmission In Neocortex, Seena S. Mathew Jan 2007

Kainate Receptor Modulation Of Synaptic Transmission In Neocortex, Seena S. Mathew

All ETDs from UAB

The actions of the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are tightly regulated to ensure effective information processing as well as prevention of excess excitatory activity, which can lead to seizures and neurological disorders such as epilepsy. Drugs which enhance the effects of GABA are used as anesthetics, sedatives and anticonvulsants. Using whole-cell patch clamp recordings from neocortical neurons, we examined the mechanisms of GABAergic modulation that occur when kainate receptors (KARs) are activated. First, we address a novel signaling mechanism for the KAR-mediated facilitation of GABAergic synaptic transmission. Our first observation involved the presence of presynaptic KARs located on the …

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Primer Selection Of E. Coli Trna Lys,3 By Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1, Anna Mcculley Jan 2007

Primer Selection Of E. Coli Trna Lys,3 By Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1, Anna Mcculley

All ETDs from UAB

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV replication includes the notable process of reverse transcription, a conversion of RNA to DNA. Reverse transcription is initiated from a primer by a viral enzyme, reverse transcriptase. The primer, tRNALys,3, is selected from the cytoplasm of an infected cell, annealed via the 3’ terminal 18-nucleotides to the viral primer binding site (PBS), and used in a subsequent infection. The mechanism of primer selection has not been determined although numerous studies have been performed. This has been hampered by the challenge of tRNALys,3 manipulation in the cell and …

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Directing Akt And Gsk3ss: Molecular Insights Into Cell Signaling And Survival, Gordon P. Meares Jan 2007

Directing Akt And Gsk3ss: Molecular Insights Into Cell Signaling And Survival, Gordon P. Meares

All ETDs from UAB

Proper regulation of survival signaling is critical for all organisms. One important signaling cascade involved in the coordinated effort to control signals influencing cell fate is the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt-glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) signaling cascade. Following activation by growth factors the PI3K-Akt pathway promotes cell survival and, cell death is facilitated following inhibition of Akt. Many factors influence the function of the Akt-GSK3β signaling dyad, including phosphorylation, protein complex formation and subcellular localization. Previous work had demonstrated that the 90kDa heat shock protein, HSP90, directly binds and stabilizes Akt. Furthermore, several heat shock proteins including HSP90 and HSP105 can …

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Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells And The Insulin-Like Growth Factor System In Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy, Sudipto Mukherjee Jan 2007

Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells And The Insulin-Like Growth Factor System In Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy, Sudipto Mukherjee

All ETDs from UAB

The goal of this study was to determine the influence, if any, of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell tractional force generation and the contributions of vitreous insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) towards control of IGF activity. Another objective was to evaluate RPE cells as a potential source of all six high-affinity IGFBPs and to determine if IGFBP biosynthesis is modulated in concert with phenotype changes and growth factor stimuli known to be present in disease. RPE generate tractional forces in response to IGF-I and -II with IGF-I being the more potent stimulus. Differential …

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Delayed Childbearing, Pregnancy Spacing And Impact On Subsequent Pregnancy Outcomes: Missouri Resident Mothers 1978-1997, Sarah K. Nabukera Jan 2007

Delayed Childbearing, Pregnancy Spacing And Impact On Subsequent Pregnancy Outcomes: Missouri Resident Mothers 1978-1997, Sarah K. Nabukera

All ETDs from UAB

Introduction The main objective of the study was to examine reproductive health issues among women delaying initiation of childbearing until age 30 or older. Specifically, it examined pregnancy spacing patterns, relationship between pregnancy spacing and subsequent perinatal outcomes as well as racial differences in spacing and adverse perinatal outcomes. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Missouri maternally linked live birth, fetal death and infant death files 1978-1997. The study sample was limited to mothers residing in Missouri during the study period, having first pregnancy at age 20-50 years, as well as a subsequent second pregnancy. Final study …

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The Function Of Hiv-1 A-Loop On Primer Selection, Na Ni Jan 2007

The Function Of Hiv-1 A-Loop On Primer Selection, Na Ni

All ETDs from UAB

Reverse transcription is the hallmark of retroviruses, such as HIV-1. A cellular tRNA bound to the primer binding site region (PBS) is used for initiation of reverse transcription. HIV-1 specially selects tRNALys3 as primer, although changing the PBS can force HIV-1 to use alternative tRNAs as a primer. However, HIV-1 reverts back to use tRNALys3 following in vitro replication. The A-loop, located upstream of PBS, interacts with the anti-codon of primer tRNA. The inclusion of A-loop modification has been shown to stabilize the utilization of some alternative tRNAs. The studies in this dissertation focus on further defining the role of …

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Association Between The Exposure To Aflatoxin And Micronutrient Status Of Hiv Infected Adults In Ghana, Francis Ayodele Obuseh Jan 2007

Association Between The Exposure To Aflatoxin And Micronutrient Status Of Hiv Infected Adults In Ghana, Francis Ayodele Obuseh

All ETDs from UAB

Aflatoxins, found naturally in some foods are toxic metabolites of some Aspergillus species.They constitute the most potent hepatocarcinogens known and are also mutagenic and hepatotoxic. The preponderance of evidence indicates that aflatoxin is the major cause of hepatocellular cancer. In studies conducted in Africa, food-borne aflatoxin exposure is common (Oyelami et al. 1996; Egal et al. 2005). There is a critical need for additional information on health outcomes associated with exposure to aflatoxin in humans, especially in developing countries with a higher degree of malnutrition and likelihood of HIV infections. We sought to test the hypothesis that aflatoxin B1 and …

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