Tobacco smoke is a strong and independent risk factor for several chronic systemic diseases and also increases susceptibility to a multitude of bacterial infections, including periodontal infections. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease...
Copper--Physiological effect; Copper in the body; Heart--Hypertrophy
Previous studies have shown that copper (Cu) supplementation at physiologically relevant levels reverses cardiac myocyte hypertrophy induced by phenylephrine (PE), and that this effect was VEGF-dependent. Yet, the amount of VEGF in the media was...
Hyaluronan (HA) is a major structural component of the ocular vitreous humor
(VH) and lipids are essential building blocks of cell membranes. However, little is known
about their possible interactions. The VH is known to undergo liquefaction...
Embryonic development requires the orchestration of temporally precise genetic events that culminate in the formation of a complete organism. The molecular mechanisms responsible for ontogenesis are regulated by environmental and somatic factors in...
Simplified modeling generates a great deal of interest in the area of crashworthiness analysis. Modeling methods used to create simplified computer models for crashworthiness have been well developed. In advanced simplified models, researchers...
African American men--Mental health; Depression in men; Depression, Mental--Social aspects
Background: In any given year depression affects as many as 121 million people worldwide and 20 percent or 19 million people in the U.S. suffer from at least one episode of depression during their lifetime. In the U.S., depression has a substantial...
Knee--Mechanical properties; Knee--Pathophysiology; Gait in humans; Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is associated with decline in functional capacity and ultimately leads to Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) in many of these patients. Exercise regimens prior to surgery may potentially enhance pre and post TKA...
It is to be noticed that if there be any marshy places, certain animals breed there, which are invisible to the eye and yet getting into the system through the mouth and nostrils cause serious disorders." This quaint observation is taken from...
This dissertation is concerned with investigating robust approaches for the control of pneumatic muscle systems. Pneumatic muscle is a novel type of actuator. Besides having a high ratio of power to weight and flexible control of movement, it also...
Enzymatic hydrolysis is the most common method of producing fermentable sugars from lignocellulosic biomass. Limitations to this step include the high cost of enzymes, and the time required to process the biomass. To increase the throughput and...
Influenza--United States--Management; Epidemics--Management; Health services administration; Mathematical optimization
Pandemic influenza has been an important public health concern. During the 20th century, three major pandemics of influenza occurred in 1918, 1957, and 1968. The pandemic of 1918 caused 40 to 50 million deaths worldwide and more than 500,000 deaths...
Within Walls is the story of a woman's psychological and physical deconstruction as she comes to terms with a childhood tragedy she feels she caused. This process is mirrored by her sister's perception of her own life after death. A philosophical...
Children and war; World War, 1939-1945--Kentucky--Louisville; World War, 1939-1945--Indiana--Madison; Girls--Indiana--Madison; Girls--Kentucky--Louisville
This thesis presents the view of World War II, a watershed event in U.S. history, through the lenses of a group that is not normally called upon, that of young children. The war was viewed by and affected young girls differently than others....
This dissertation presents an analytical investigation that examined the seismic performance of steel stud backed and Concrete Masonry Units (CMU) backed masonry veneer wall systems, under in and out - of - plane loads, in medium rise building...
Monoclonal antibodies directed toward tumor associated antigens are FDA approved anticancer reagents used commonly in the clinic. Administered antibodies initiate tumor cell death through several mechanisms. Improving immune mediated mechanisms,...
Identity (Philosophical concept) in art; Museum techniques; Museum exhibits--Social aspects; Museums--Social aspects
This thesis paper expands upon the aspects of identity and power explored in the exhibition that I curated, entitled "Being & Making: Artists Investigating Identity," at the Speed Art Museum. The developments on topics of identity...
Many conflicting reports have been given in the literature concerning the effect of various factors on the rate of reversal of figure and ground in reversible perspective.
Flugel (7, 8) suggested that changes in eye movement increased the number of...
RNA--Analysis; Probability measures; Genetics--Research--Methodology
The present experimental designs have unique challenges in the analysis of microRNA
expression intensity levels. In this project, various Normalization techniques were
discussed with different statistical techniques and their application in an...
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It is identified by its rapid, invasive progression with a profound resistance to treatments such as chemotherapy. Unfortunately, there is a lack of...
Brief Overview of the Problem: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a government funded agency, provides both legislative and judicial powers for emissions monitoring in the United States. The agency crafts laws based on self-made regulations...
