University of Alabama

About: University of Alabama is a education organization based out in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 27323 authors who have published 48609 publications receiving 1565337 citations. The organization is also known as: Alabama & Bama.

Self-Regulation Interventions with a Focus on Learning Strategies

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter addresses self-regulation in relation to the acquisition, use, and control of students' learning strategies. Learning strategies include any thoughts, behaviors, beliefs, or emotions that facilitate the acquisition, understanding, or later transfer of new knowledge and skills. A model is described as strategic learning that demonstrates the relationships among students' learning strategy knowledge, learning strategy skills, and self-regulation, as well as other variables that significantly impact learning and achievement. The chapter leads to an evolving focus on information processing research and models that emphasize that cognition is something that could be controlled through cognitive and metacognitive processes. One of the practical applications of these new information processing theories is in the area of memory strategies that could be used in educational settings. Research on mnemonics and advances in the understanding of associative networks pave the way for researchers to investigate different types of training that could be used to improve students' paired-associate learning. The model of what it means to be a learner is shifting from viewing the learner as a passive receptacle for knowledge to the leaner as an active, self-determined individual who processes information in complex ways.

Trial of Calcium to Prevent Preeclampsia

Abstract: Background Previous trials have suggested that calcium supplementation during pregnancy may reduce the risk of preeclampsia. However, differences in study design and a low dietary calcium intake in the populations studied limit acceptance of the data. Methods We randomly assigned 4589 healthy nulliparous women who were 13 to 21 weeks pregnant to receive daily treatment with either 2 g of elemental calcium or placebo for the remainder of their pregnancies. Surveillance for preeclampsia was conducted by personnel unaware of treatment-group assignments, using standardized measurements of blood pressure and urinary protein excretion at uniformly scheduled prenatal visits, protocols for monitoring these measurements during the hospitalization for delivery, and reviews of medical records of unscheduled outpatient visits and all hospitalizations. Results Calcium supplementation did not significantly reduce the incidence or severity of preeclampsia or delay its onset. Preeclampsia occurred in 158 of the 2295 wome...

Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in Supersaturated Lysozyme Solutions and Associated Precipitate Formation/Crystallization

Abstract: Using cloud point determinations, the phase boundaries (binodals) for metastable liquid-liquid (L-L) separation in supersaturated hen egg white lysozyme solutions with 3%, 5%, and 7% (wlv) NaCl at pH= 4.5 and protein concentrations c between 40 and 400 mg/ml were determined. The critical temperature for the binodal increased approximately linearly with salt concentration. The coexisting liquid phases both remained supersaturated but differed widely in protein concentration. No salt repartitioning was observed between the initial and the two separated liquid phases. After the L-L separation, due to the presence of the high protein concentration phase, crystallization occurred much more rapidly than in the initial solution. At high initial protein concentrations, a metastable gel phase formed at temperatures above the liquid binodal. Both crystal nucleation and gel formation were accelerated in samples that had been cycled through the binodal. Solutions in the gel and L-L regions yielded various types of precipitates. Based on theoretical considerations, previous observations with other proteins, and our experimental results with lysozyme, a generic phase diagram for globular proteins is put forth. A limited region in the (T,c) plane favorable for the growth of protein single crystals is delineated.

RACE AND ETHNICITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH: Models to Explain Health Disparities

Abstract: The description and explanation of racial and ethnic health disparities are major initiatives of the public health research establishment. Black Americans suffer on nearly every measure of health in relation to white Americans. Five theoretical models have been proposed to explain these disparities: a racial-genetic model, a health-behavior model, a socioeconomic status model, a psychosocial stress model, and a structural-constructivist model. We selectively review literature on health disparities, emphasizing research on low birth weight and high blood pressure. The psychosocial stress model and the structural-constructivist model offer greatest promise to explain disparities. In future research, theoretical elaboration and operational specificity are needed to distinguish among three distinct factors: (a) genetic variants contributing to disease risk; (b) ethnoracial or folk racial categories masquerading as biology; and (c) ethnic group membership. Such elaboration is necessary to move beyond the conflation of these three distinct constructs that characterizes much of current research.

Alpha-synuclein is part of a diverse and highly conserved interaction network that includes PARK9 and manganese toxicity.

Abstract: Susan Lindquist and colleagues report a genetic interaction between α-synuclein and the ortholog of human ATP13A2 (PARK9) in yeast, two genes that when mutated cause Parkinson's disease. They further show that yeast PARK9 protects cells from manganese toxicity, a known environmental risk factor for Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy, collectively referred to as synucleinopathies, are associated with a diverse group of genetic and environmental susceptibilities. The best studied of these is PD. α-Synuclein (α-syn) has a key role in the pathogenesis of both familial and sporadic PD, but evidence linking it to other predisposition factors is limited. Here we report a strong genetic interaction between α-syn and the yeast ortholog of the PD-linked gene ATP13A2 (also known as PARK9). Dopaminergic neuron loss caused by α-syn overexpression in animal and neuronal PD models is rescued by coexpression of PARK9. Further, knockdown of the ATP13A2 ortholog in Caenorhabditis elegans enhances α-syn misfolding. These data provide a direct functional connection between α-syn and another PD susceptibility locus. Manganese exposure is an environmental risk factor linked to PD and PD-like syndromes. We discovered that yeast PARK9 helps to protect cells from manganese toxicity, revealing a connection between PD genetics (α-syn and PARK9) and an environmental risk factor (PARK9 and manganese). Finally, we show that additional genes from our yeast screen, with diverse functions, are potent modifiers of α-syn–induced neuron loss in animals, establishing a diverse, highly conserved interaction network for α-syn.