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2008

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Articles 391 - 420 of 441

Full-Text Articles in Medical Sciences

Ear Lobule Flap For Reconstruction Of A Near Total Auricle Defect, Bi̇rol Ci̇velek, Ercan Demi̇rbağ, Uğur Çakmak, Tayyar Selçuk, Seli̇m Çelebi̇oğlu Jan 2008

Ear Lobule Flap For Reconstruction Of A Near Total Auricle Defect, Bi̇rol Ci̇velek, Ercan Demi̇rbağ, Uğur Çakmak, Tayyar Selçuk, Seli̇m Çelebi̇oğlu

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

A number of surgical procedures can be performed for partial auricular defects occurring due to various causes. The most appropriate reconstruction method should be employed with regard to the defect dimensions and the status of local adjacent tissues. We present a case of near total excision of external ear due to recurrent basal cell carcinoma and the reconstruction of the defect with ear lobule flap.


Faculty Publications 2007, Lsu Health Sciences Center New Orleans Jan 2008

Faculty Publications 2007, Lsu Health Sciences Center New Orleans

Historical Faculty Publications

This Faculty bibliography contains 623 publications.


The Evaluation Of Midazolam On Head Injured Patients In The Prehospital Setting, Dragana Klinac Jan 2008

The Evaluation Of Midazolam On Head Injured Patients In The Prehospital Setting, Dragana Klinac

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Midazolam (Hypnovel ®) is the only sedating agent used by paramedics at St John Ambulance Service W.A. in the management of many conditions including seizure activities, antisocial or uncontrollable behaviours, back pain incidents and head injuries. Midazolam, with a rapid absorption, fast onset of action and short duration on neurological activity, has been accepted as a safe and effective agent in prehospital treatment since the late-1990s. Often, if a patient is not complying with treatment or is uncontrollable or aggressive, paramedics are required to sedate the individual. This study primarily examines the use of midazolam for the sedation of unmanageable …


Zinc Deficiency And Mechanisms Of Endothelial Cell Dysfunction, Huiyun Shen Jan 2008

Zinc Deficiency And Mechanisms Of Endothelial Cell Dysfunction, Huiyun Shen

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease thought to be initiated by endothelial cell dysfunction. Research described in this dissertation is focused on the role of zinc deficiency in endothelial cell activation with an emphasis on the function of the transcription factors nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR), and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which all play critical roles in the early pathology of atherosclerosis. Cultured porcine aortic vascular endothelial cells were deprived of zinc by the zinc chelator TPEN and/or treated with the NF-κB inhibitor CAPE or the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone, followed by measurements of PPARα expression, cellular …


Spinal Cord Stimulation: An Update., Steven Falowski, Amanda Celii, Ashwini Sharan Jan 2008

Spinal Cord Stimulation: An Update., Steven Falowski, Amanda Celii, Ashwini Sharan

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Spinal cord stimulation has been used in the treatment of many chronic pain disorders since 1967. In this update, the indications for spinal cord stimulation are reviewed with attention to recent publications. A focused review of the literature on abdominal and visceral pain syndromes is also provided. Furthermore, the technology has evolved from the use of monopolar electrodes to complex electrode arrays. Similarly, the power source has changed from a radio frequency-driven system to a rechargeable impulse generator. These topics are covered, along with a short discussion of implant technique. Finally, we include a review of complications of such therapy. …


Cell Autonomous Expression Of Inflammatory Genes In Biologically Aged Fibroblasts Associated With Elevated Nf-Kappab Activity., Andres Kriete, Kelli L Mayo, Nirupama Yalamanchili, William Beggs, Patrick Bender, Csaba Kari, Ulrich Rodeck Jan 2008

Cell Autonomous Expression Of Inflammatory Genes In Biologically Aged Fibroblasts Associated With Elevated Nf-Kappab Activity., Andres Kriete, Kelli L Mayo, Nirupama Yalamanchili, William Beggs, Patrick Bender, Csaba Kari, Ulrich Rodeck

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic inflammation is a well-known corollary of the aging process and is believed to significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality of many age-associated chronic diseases. However, the mechanisms that cause age-associated inflammatory changes are not well understood. Particularly, the contribution of cell stress responses to age-associated inflammation in 'non-inflammatory' cells remains poorly defined. The present cross-sectional study focused on differences in molecular signatures indicative of inflammatory states associated with biological aging of human fibroblasts from donors aged 22 to 92 years. RESULTS: Gene expression profiling revealed elevated steady-state transcript levels consistent with a chronic inflammatory state in fibroblast cell-strains …


Searching For The Majority: Algorithms Of Voluntary Control, Jin Fan, Kevin G. Guise, Xun Liu, Hongbin Wang Jan 2008

Searching For The Majority: Algorithms Of Voluntary Control, Jin Fan, Kevin G. Guise, Xun Liu, Hongbin Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Voluntary control of information processing is crucial to allocate resources and prioritize the processes that are most important under a given situation; the algorithms underlying such control, however, are often not clear. We investigated possible algorithms of control for the performance of the majority function, in which participants searched for and identified one of two alternative categories (left or right pointing arrows) as composing the majority in each stimulus set. We manipulated the amount (set size of 1, 3, and 5) and content (ratio of left and right pointing arrows within a set) of the inputs to test competing hypotheses …


Effects Of Hexosamine Biosynthesis On An In Vitro Model Of Cardiacischemia, Voraratt Champattanachai Jan 2008

Effects Of Hexosamine Biosynthesis On An In Vitro Model Of Cardiacischemia, Voraratt Champattanachai

All ETDs from UAB

Increased levels of protein O-linked-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) have been correlated with increased cell survival following stress. Therefore the goal of this study was to determine whether enhanced flux through the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP), which leads to elevated levels of O-GlcNAc, improved the tolerance of isolated neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. NRVMs were exposed to hypoxic medium for 4 hours, followed by oxygenated complete medium for 16 hours. Acute treatment with 5 mM glucosamine showed an increase in viability and decreased both necrosis and apoptosis following I/R. Glucosamine increased O-GlcNAc levels maximally at 2 hours and went …


The Developmental Functions Of Bdnf And Mecp2 On Dendritic And Synaptic Structure, Christopher A. Chapleau Jan 2008

The Developmental Functions Of Bdnf And Mecp2 On Dendritic And Synaptic Structure, Christopher A. Chapleau

All ETDs from UAB

Mutations in the transcriptional repressor MeCP2 cause Rett Syndrome (RTT), a mental retardation disease associated with reduced dendritic architecture of cortical pyramidal neurons, in addition to a decrease in the number of dendritic spines. I present the first quantification analysis of spine density in postmortem human brain tissue, demonstrating that hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons have reduced spine densities in RTT patients throughout their lives. One gene that MeCP2 regulates is BDNF, an important developmental factor that modulates synaptic transmission and plasticity, as well as spine formation and maturation. In immature cultured hippocampal neurons, cell-autonomous expression of BDNF accelerates the differentiation …


Microbial Biofilm Attachment To Caenorhabditis Elegans, Kevin Drace Jan 2008

Microbial Biofilm Attachment To Caenorhabditis Elegans, Kevin Drace

All ETDs from UAB

The closely related bacterial species Xenorhabdus nematophila, Yersinia pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis make biofilms capable of adhering to the head of the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Y. pestis uses biofilms to block the digestive tract of its vector, the flea, in order to enhance its efficiency of transmission. I investigated the role of biofilms in X. nematophila and found that, like its Yersinia sp. counterparts, production of biofilm requires a four-gene operon: hmsHFRS. X. nematophila is an insect pathogen and an obligate symbiont of the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae. However, an X. nematophila hmsH mutant that failed to make biofilms on …


Analysis Of The Role Of Fcrl5 And Figlers In B Cell Development, Signaling, And Malignancy, Christopher L. Haga Jan 2008

Analysis Of The Role Of Fcrl5 And Figlers In B Cell Development, Signaling, And Malignancy, Christopher L. Haga

All ETDs from UAB

The regulation of signaling and migration is critical to B lymphocyte development, activation, and proliferation. This dissertation reports a functional role for Fc receptor-like molecule 5 (FCRL5), a B cell specific member of the Fc receptor-like family of molecules, and the discovery of a novel family of conserved transmembrane proteins with fibronectin, immunoglobulin, and leucine-rich repeat domains (FIGLER) expressed in bone marrow and B lineage cells. Until now, the signaling potential of FCRL5 was unknown. A panel of FcRIIB/FCRL5 chimeric receptors were created and expressed in a B cell line lacking endogenous FcRIIB. Coligation of the chimeric receptor with the …


Role Of The Gm/Gn Glycoprotein Complex In The Final Assembly And Egress Of The Human Cytomegalovirus (Hcmv), Magdalena Anna Krzyzaniak Jan 2008

Role Of The Gm/Gn Glycoprotein Complex In The Final Assembly And Egress Of The Human Cytomegalovirus (Hcmv), Magdalena Anna Krzyzaniak

All ETDs from UAB

HCMV consists of a dsDNA genome enclosed by, an icosahedral capsid surrounded by a layer of tegument proteins; the virion structure is enclosed in a lipid envelope rich in virus expressed glycoproteins. The HCMV envelope contains an incompletely defined number of glycoproteins. The glycoprotein M (gM) and glycoprotein N (gN) form a gM/gN protein complex which is the most abundant protein component of the HCMV envelope. Recent studies have indicated that deletion of the viral gene encoding either gM or gN is lethal for HCMV. The gM C-terminal cytoplasmic tail (gM-CT) revealed an acidic cluster and a tyrosine-based trafficking motifs. …


Mechanism Of Interferon-Beta-Mediated Inhibition Of Il-8 Gene Expression, Travis Laver Jan 2008

Mechanism Of Interferon-Beta-Mediated Inhibition Of Il-8 Gene Expression, Travis Laver

All ETDs from UAB

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent chemoattractant of numerous cells, particularly neutrophils, in the innate immune response. In addition to immune functions, IL-8 is known to contribute to the pathogenesis of a number of diseases, including cancer. Interferon-β (IFN-β), a Type I interferon, inhibits the expression of IL-8, but the details of this effect are not known. In this study we investigate transcriptional control of the IL- 8 gene and the mechanism by which IFN-β exerts inhibitory effects on IL-8. Herein we show that stimulation of U87-MG glioma cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) results in a rapid recruitment of NF-κB …


Transcriptional Regulation Of Cd40 And Class Ii Mhc Molecules In Macrophages And Microglia By Statins, Sun Jung Lee Jan 2008

Transcriptional Regulation Of Cd40 And Class Ii Mhc Molecules In Macrophages And Microglia By Statins, Sun Jung Lee

All ETDs from UAB

Microglia/macrophages are the main intrinsic immune effector cells and the first cell types that respond to a variety of CNS injures. They have important functions including secretion of cytokines/chemokines and antigen presentation, thereby regulating immune responses. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is a cytokine involved in many aspects of the immune response, and activates microglia/macrophages to express cell surface antigens such as class II MHC, and co-stimulatory molecules such as CD40. CD40 and class II MHC molecules play a critical role in immune reactivity such as antigen presentation and subsequent T cell activation. However, aberrant CD40 and class II MHC expression have been …


The Au-Rich Element Mrna Decay-Promoting Activity Of Brf1 Is Regulated By Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activated Protein Kinase 2, Sushmit Maitra Jan 2008

The Au-Rich Element Mrna Decay-Promoting Activity Of Brf1 Is Regulated By Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activated Protein Kinase 2, Sushmit Maitra

All ETDs from UAB

Regulated mRNA decay is a highly important process for the tight control of gene expression. Inherently unstable mRNAs contain AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3’ untranslated regions that direct rapid mRNA decay by interaction with decay-promoting ARE-binding proteins (ARE-BPs). The decay of ARE-containing mRNAs is regulated by signaling pathways, which are believed to directly target ARE-BPs. Here, we show that BRF1 involved in ARE-mediated mRNA decay (AMD) is phosphorylated by MAPK-activated protein kinase 2, MK2. In vitro kinase assays using different BRF1 fragments suggest that MK2 phosphorylates BRF1 at four distinct sites, S54, S92, S203, and an unidentified site at …


Modulation Of Transforming Growth Factor (Tgf)-Ss1 And Its Implications In Breast Cancer Metastasis, Lakisha Dionne Moore Jan 2008

Modulation Of Transforming Growth Factor (Tgf)-Ss1 And Its Implications In Breast Cancer Metastasis, Lakisha Dionne Moore

All ETDs from UAB

Overexpresssion of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β has been implicated in promoting immune suppression, tumor angiogenesis, tumor cell migration, and invasion in many cancers including carcinoma of the breast. Thus, targeted downregulation of TGF-β1 expression in breast cancer in situ and determination of its implications potentially could provide new treatment approaches for disease management. siRNA constructs targeting TGF-β1 were validated and used to develop clonal derivatives of the MDA-MB-435 metastatic breast cancer cell line. Inhibition of TGF-β1 expression in MDA-MB-435 cells showed decrease in migration and invasion in vitro with an increase in proliferation. In vivo analysis indicated a 90% decrease …


The Role Of Centaurin Alpha-1 In The Regulation Of Neuron Al Differentiation, Carlene Drucilla Moore Jan 2008

The Role Of Centaurin Alpha-1 In The Regulation Of Neuron Al Differentiation, Carlene Drucilla Moore

All ETDs from UAB

In the nervous system, PI 3-kinase has been implicated in neuronal differentiation. My studies have focused on a candidate neuronal PI 3-kinase target centaurin alpha-1, which binds PtdIns(3,4,5)P3, and is an Arf6 GAP. Centaurin alpha-1 is localized in dendrites, dendritic spines and synapses, and is required for neuronal differentiation and spine morphogenesis. In dissociated neuronal cultures, expression of centaurin alpha-1 enhances dendritic branching, and increases dendritic filopodia, lamellipodia and spine-like protrusions. Expression of centaurin alpha-1 GAP inactive mutant or knocking down centaurin alpha-1 levels using siRNA leads to inhibition of dendritic outgrowth and branching. Manipulations of centaurin alpha-1 also disrupt …


Calmodulin Binding To Cellular Flice Like Inhibitory Protein Modulates Fas-Induced Signaling And Tumorigenesis In Cholangiocarcinoma, Pritish Subhash Pawar Jan 2008

Calmodulin Binding To Cellular Flice Like Inhibitory Protein Modulates Fas-Induced Signaling And Tumorigenesis In Cholangiocarcinoma, Pritish Subhash Pawar

All ETDs from UAB

Cholangiocarcinoma, a fatal tumor arising from biliary epithelium, has very poor 5-year survival rate due to lack of early diagnosis and effective therapies. Induction of the Fas-mediated apoptosis is a promising therapeutic target in this tumor. Studies from our group and others have indicated that Fas-expression correlates inversely with disease progression and that CaM-antagonists induce apoptosis in cholangiocarcinoma cells in a Fas related manner. Further, we reported a direct and dynamic interaction of CaM and Fas and that CaM is recruited into the Fas-stimulated death inducing signaling complex (DISC), suggesting a cross talk between Fas and CaM pathways. The studies …


Investigation Of Lipoteichoic Acid Structure And Function To Establish Its Role In Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections, Ho Seong Seo Jan 2008

Investigation Of Lipoteichoic Acid Structure And Function To Establish Its Role In Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections, Ho Seong Seo

All ETDs from UAB

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is an essential bacterial membrane polysaccharide (cell wall component) that is linked to a glycerol backbone with two acyl chains. Since an antibody to LTA has been shown to protect from Gr+ bacterial infections or colonization, and the mutant Gr+ bacteria which produce less amount of LTA have less pathogenic than WT, LTA may be an important role in Gr+ bacterial infection and inflammation. The currently accepted structure of pneumococcal LTA has the pentameric repeating unit bound to the lipid anchor {Glc(β1��3)AATGal(β1��3)Glc(α1��3)-acyl2Gro}. Unlike the lipid anchor of other Gr+ bacterial LTA, this pneumococcal LTA lipid anchor has …


Changes In Short-Term Facilitation Are Opposite At Schaffer Collateral And Temporoammonic Ca1 Synapses In The Developing Rat Hippocampus, Haley E. Speed Jan 2008

Changes In Short-Term Facilitation Are Opposite At Schaffer Collateral And Temporoammonic Ca1 Synapses In The Developing Rat Hippocampus, Haley E. Speed

All ETDs from UAB

Hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons integrate and filter spatial, temporal, and sensory information from the entorhinal cortex (EC) for memory storage. Synaptic transmission mediates the processing of incoming information, and recent studies have demonstrated that long-term changes in synaptic strength at CA1 synapses are important for learning and memory. Short-term changes in synaptic strength, occurring on a timescale of milliseconds to minutes, do not require lasting modifications and are rapidly reversible. Termed short-term plasticity, it is known to be important for dynamic gain control of synaptic transmission and neural computation. During late postnatal development, there are extensive developmental changes in rat …


Analysis Of The Hedgehog Pathway In Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Adam Steg Jan 2008

Analysis Of The Hedgehog Pathway In Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Adam Steg

All ETDs from UAB

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Despite the use of highly aggressive treatment regimens (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation), almost all patients succumb to metastatic disease within 6-10 months of diagnosis. The hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway was originally discov-ered to play a critical role in mammalian embryological development. Interestingly, re-cent studies have suggested that aberrant expression of this pathway is involved in the initiation and continued growth of PAC. Small molecules that antagonize the transmem-brane protein Smoothened (Smo), a critical signaling component of the HH pathway, have proven effective in decreasing PAC …


Mapks Regulate Nuclear Import Of Human Papillomavirus Type 11 Replicative Helicase E1, Jei-Hwa Yu Jan 2008

Mapks Regulate Nuclear Import Of Human Papillomavirus Type 11 Replicative Helicase E1, Jei-Hwa Yu

All ETDs from UAB

Papillomaviruses (PV) are prevalent pathogens that infect human or animal squamous epithelia. Its genome is a double strand circular DNA of approximately 7.9 kb. It contains origin of replication (ori) and encodes early viral proteins for viral DNA amplication, and late capsid proteins for packaging viron. The viral DNA replicates as extrachromosomal nuclear plasmid in the host cell. Infections by low risk virus, such as HPV-6 and -11, can result in benign papillomas, condylomata, and low grade squamous intraepithelial dysplasias (SIL), whereas infection by high risk virus, such as HPV-16 and -18, can progress to high grade SIL, carcinoma in …


A Dual-Action, Armed Replicating Adenovirus For The Treatment Of Bone Metastases Of Breast Cancer, James Joseph Cody Jan 2008

A Dual-Action, Armed Replicating Adenovirus For The Treatment Of Bone Metastases Of Breast Cancer, James Joseph Cody

All ETDs from UAB

Most patients with advanced breast cancer develop osteolytic bone metastases, which have numerous complications. Because current therapies are not curative, new treatments are needed. Conditionally replicating adenoviruses (CRAds) are anti-cancer agents designed to infect and lyse tumor cells. For increased efficacy, CRAds have been armed with therapeutic transgenes. Osteoprotegerin (OPG), an inhibitor of osteoclastic bone resorption, represents a promising candidate with which to arm a CRAd intended to treat osteolytic bone metastases. We hypothesize that a CRAd armed with OPG will inhibit breast cancer bone metastasis and reduce tumor burden in the bone by directly lysing tumor cells and by …


Thrombospondin Type-1 Repeats And Their Potential Role In Inhibiting Glioblastoma Angiogenesis, Joshua C. Anderson Jan 2008

Thrombospondin Type-1 Repeats And Their Potential Role In Inhibiting Glioblastoma Angiogenesis, Joshua C. Anderson

All ETDs from UAB

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a 420 kilodalton homotrimeric protein; it is one of the first identified anti-angiogenic proteins found to be expressed in some normal tissues. Peptides derived from the type-1 repeat (TSR) domains of full length TSP-1 have been shown to have anti-angiogenic activity, and thus anti-tumor activity in some non-glioma tumor models. I hypothesized that peptides derived from the TSRs of TSP-1, such as ABT-510, could inhibit angiogenesis and thus malignant glioma tumor growth in vivo. I found that ABT-510 inhibited angiogenesis of the human brain microvascular endothelial cell (MvEC) in an in vitro tubulomorphogenesis assay. To determine the …


Human Papillomavirus: Segregation And Replication, Luan D. Dao Jan 2008

Human Papillomavirus: Segregation And Replication, Luan D. Dao

All ETDs from UAB

Human papillomavirus are small DNA tumor viruses. The viral genome is a small circular double stranded DNA that replicates autonomously as an extrachromosomal plasmid. Occasionally infections by the high risk HPV viruses can lead to DNA integration and progression to cancer. How the HPV DNA is maintained and becomes established in the dividing host cells is not well understood. Additionally, as a double-stranded DNA virus it is likely that double-stranded DNA breaks in the viral genome, either from replication or random damage, will trigger a DNA repair response from the host cell. Such responses have been alternatively reported to be …


Analysis Of Hiv-1 Variable Loop 3-Specific Neutralizing Antibody Responses By Hiv-2/Hiv-1 Envelope Chimeras, Katie L. Davis Jan 2008

Analysis Of Hiv-1 Variable Loop 3-Specific Neutralizing Antibody Responses By Hiv-2/Hiv-1 Envelope Chimeras, Katie L. Davis

All ETDs from UAB

Defining the epitope specificities of the neutralizing antibody response to the HIV-1 envelope protein (Env) during natural human infection and in response to vaccination by HIV-1 immunogens could provide insight into the mechanisms of virus immune containment and facilitate vaccine design. Transplantation of discrete HIV-1 neutralizing epitopes into HIV-2 Env scaffolds may provide a sensitive, biologically functional context in which to quantify specific antibody reactivities in complex sera. Here we describe the development of a novel HIV-2 proviral scaffold (pHIV-2KR.X7) into which we have substituted the env V3 region of several laboratory and primary HIV-1 strains to yield a panel …


Metabolism Of Neutrophil-Deprived Chlorinated Isoflavones, Tracy Lyn D'Alessandro Jan 2008

Metabolism Of Neutrophil-Deprived Chlorinated Isoflavones, Tracy Lyn D'Alessandro

All ETDs from UAB

Despite medical advances in both drug therapy and surgical techniques, Americans mostly die from heart disease. Many belong to the low- and middle-class families who do not have sufficient access to medical care due to its high costs. An alternative is the development of healthier lifestyles such as diet which may play a positive role in chronic disease management. Epidemiological and migratory studies suggest that soy plays a pivotal role in the decreased incidence of heart disease in East Asian countries, such as China, Japan, and Korea. The role of soy in cardiovascular disease progression has been the subject of …


Perception Of Motion-In-Depth: Induced Motion Effects On Monocular And Binocular Cues, John Eric Gampher Jan 2008

Perception Of Motion-In-Depth: Induced Motion Effects On Monocular And Binocular Cues, John Eric Gampher

All ETDs from UAB

Three cues are available to the visual system to determine motion: image displacement across the retina (retinal slip), eye movements, and configuration changes within a scene (Becklen and Wallach, 1985). Any one may lead to the false perception of motion. Induced motion is the illusory movement of one object (or objects) as a result of other movement in the visual field. A wide variety of displays have been used to study induced motion, leading to apparently different classes of induced motion. Current theories of induced motion can be categorized based on local motion, global motion, eye movement suppression, and cognitive …


Growth Hormone Signaling And Action In Osteoblasts, Douglas J. Digirolamo Jan 2008

Growth Hormone Signaling And Action In Osteoblasts, Douglas J. Digirolamo

All ETDs from UAB

Growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) exert profound growth promoting actions during pre- and post-natal skeletal development. GH and IGF- 1 appear to cause these anabolic actions by influencing a variety of effects on osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, and survival. However, because GH stimulates the production of IGF-1 from the liver and other GH-responsive peripheral tissues, including bone, the individual contributions of these two molecules to anabolic responses in bone remains poorly defined. In this dissertation research, I sought to distinguish the direct and indirect (IGF-1 dependent) GH actions on osteoblasts. In the first section of this thesis, I …


Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On The Asthmatic Lung, Matthew M. Hewitt Jan 2008

Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On The Asthmatic Lung, Matthew M. Hewitt

All ETDs from UAB

Asthma is identified by the clinical symptoms of wheezing, chest tightness, dyspnea and cough, and by the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to inhaled stimuli. We have reported previously that repeated bouts of moderate intensity aerobic exercise attenuate airway inflammatory responses in a mouse model of atopic asthma. Because the effects of exercise on physiological responses are dependent upon several variables, including total exercise duration, the hypothesis of the current work was that differing amounts of moderate intensity aerobic exercise exert dissimilar effects on AHR and airway inflammation. The aims to test this hypothesis included: 1) determine the effect of …