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Bff Study: Relationship Between Physical Activity, Fitness Levels, And Blood Glucose Concentrations, Leah Dorfman

Senior Honors Projects

Problem Statement: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are both major risk factors for CHD. There is limited research regarding the combination of diet and physical activity education for overweight and obese college aged females who are at risk for developing CHD.

Background: There are several traditional risk factors for CHD that indicate who is at higher risk for developing CHD. There fore, it is important to determine successful interventions that modify CHD risk in order to decrease CHD incidence. Glucose intolerance, physical activity, and fitness level may …

Role Of The P21 Protein In The Fanconi Anemia Pathway, Mae Shen

Senior Honors Projects

Our bodies are constantly exposed to a variety of substances that damage our DNA, such as ultraviolet radiation, environmental chemicals, and the reactive by-products of our metabolism. To prevent the harmful effects that may result from such damage, our cells possess multiple DNA repair mechanisms. However, if their ability to repair damaged DNA is somehow impaired, cells are more likely to accumulate potentially harmful mutations, including those that may lead to the development of cancer.

In Fanconi anemia (FA), a rare recessive genetic disorder, a defect in a DNA repair pathway results in increased sensitivity to a particular type of …

Student Interest In Genetic Testing For Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Sajel Shah

Senior Honors Projects

The National Institute of Health reports that more than 65 percent of American adults are overweight or obese and that the rate of obesity is steadily on the rise. Being overweight increases the odds of developing many serious health problems. For example, being overweight increases a person’s chances of developing heart disease, stroke, certain kinds of cancers, and Type 2 Diabetes. Particularly, the increase in the incidence of Type 2 Diabetes has paralleled the increase in the overweight/obesity epidemic in America.

With the development of new technology to identify and map genes, more and more diseases are being tied to …

An Investigation Of Cardiac Dynamics And Substrate Metabolism In An Animal Heart Failure Model, Anna Stanhewicz

Senior Honors Projects

Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which the working heart is unable to meet the blood flow demands of the body. It is the leading cause of early death in the United States and is a progressive, debilitating disease that presently, can only be detected in late, irreversible stages. The progression of HF is complex and poorly understood, involving a number of molecular mechanisms. It is characterized by a complex of symptoms including cardiac hypertrophy and a shift in myocardial substrate utilization, all leading to reduced pumping efficiency of the heart and decreased systemic blood flow. In HF, the …

Characterization Of The Interaction Between The Fanconi Anemia (Fa) D2 Protein And Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (Pcna), Carolyn Schmiedel

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Whole Grain Intake In A Population Of College Students, Sarah Flinn

Senior Honors Projects

Increasing the consumption of whole grain foods is an immediate public health priority. Whole grains are rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Americans of all ages do not eat enough of these foods to benefit from their potential to reduce the risk of certain cancers, diabetes and obesity. The aim of this project is to profile the whole grain intake and document related knowledge and attitudes of a convenience sample of college students at the University of Rhode Island, a group that is at high risk for a low whole grain intake. Using the introductory nutrition (NFS …