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Causes Of Color Blindness: Function And Failure Of The Genes That Detect Color, Dylan Taylor Dec 2020

Causes Of Color Blindness: Function And Failure Of The Genes That Detect Color, Dylan Taylor

Senior Honors Theses

Color blindness affects nearly 10% of the entire population, with multiple types of color blindness from various genetic mutations. In the following sections, the nature of light and how the human eye perceives light will be discussed. Afterward, the major forms of color blindness and their genetic causes will be considered. Once these genetic causes have been established, the current method for diagnosing color blindness will be investigated, followed by a discussion of the current treatments available to those with color blindness. Finally, a brief discussion will address possible future work for color blindness with the hope of finding better …


Dna Aptamer-Drug Targeting Chemotherapy: Investigation Of Cell Cycle Inhibition Via S15 Aptamer – Norcantharidin Complex, Shannon Fehr Nov 2020

Dna Aptamer-Drug Targeting Chemotherapy: Investigation Of Cell Cycle Inhibition Via S15 Aptamer – Norcantharidin Complex, Shannon Fehr

Senior Honors Theses

Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer related death in both men and women in the United States (Bray et al., 2018). Cancer treatments are often non-specific and kill many dividing cells within a patient causing unwanted side effects. Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a synthetic FDA approved treatment for cancers including non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). NCTD suppresses cell proliferation by inhibiting cells from exiting the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Aptamers are short single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules with ligand directed self-annealing capabilities allowing selective binding to specific targets. This paper will discuss the hypothesized effects of using …


Contraceptive Methods In The United States: The Question Of Abortive Mechanisms, Tara Ferenczy Oct 2020

Contraceptive Methods In The United States: The Question Of Abortive Mechanisms, Tara Ferenczy

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the many methods of contraception available in the United States. Although society’s understanding of women’s health has become a major topic, there is still a significant deficit of information regarding how the accessible methods affect women’s bodies, specifically reproductive tissue. The thesis analyzes numerous contraceptive options focusing specifically on the mechanisms of action to determine whether options have abortifacient properties so that readers may develop educated opinions regarding medical and ethical uses. Information involving strengths and limitations of each technique and the effects on both the female body and the reproductive material assist in understanding the process …


Bystander Cpr Training For Laypersons And Caregivers Of Those At High Risk For Sudden Cardiac Arrest: An Integrative Review, Ragan Scott Aug 2020

Bystander Cpr Training For Laypersons And Caregivers Of Those At High Risk For Sudden Cardiac Arrest: An Integrative Review, Ragan Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Sudden Cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States (U.S.) with approximately 475,000 deaths annually (AHA, 2018). Approximately 70% of these deaths occur as out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA; AHA, 2018). Currently, the survival rate for OHCA is 10% with the lack of bystander CPR being a large contributor to the high mortality rate (AHA, 2018). This project evaluated the literature related to bystander CPR training to determine if this training improves willingness to perform bystander CPR and overcomes common barriers that inhibit the initiation of bystander CPR in OHCA. The projected outcome for this project …


Preventing Polypharmacy Amongst The Elderly In An Acute Care Setting Through The Integration Of The Deprescribing Tools Start, Stopp, And Beers Criteria, Samantha Bonita Wilkins-Copeland Aug 2020

Preventing Polypharmacy Amongst The Elderly In An Acute Care Setting Through The Integration Of The Deprescribing Tools Start, Stopp, And Beers Criteria, Samantha Bonita Wilkins-Copeland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A significant percentage of medications prescribed in the United States are prescribed to elderly adults, which is due to the increase in chronic illness as Americans age. This increase in the use of medications amongst the elderly population has led to the issue of polypharmacy, which can lead to negative patient outcomes. An evidence-based practice pilot project was performed at a large tertiary care facility in Virginia. The aim of the scholarly project was to integrate three deprescribing tools into the everyday practice of pharmacists at the facility. Three outcomes were achieved: (1) Pharmacists understood how to accurately utilize the …


Health Care Financial Literacy Among Nurses: A Qualitative Intrinsic Case Study, Kory Scott Holt Jul 2020

Health Care Financial Literacy Among Nurses: A Qualitative Intrinsic Case Study, Kory Scott Holt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nurses have to perform many clinical services that require efficient decision-making processes in support of quality patient care. Alongside staff nurse clinical literacy, health care financial literacy was described as an important, but vaguely defined component of the nursing role. The significance of having financially competent nurses to efficient hospital operations and financial management continues to increase. However, the topic of health care financial literacy and financial decision-making among nurses remains disproportionately represented in existing scholarly research. To address this knowledge gap, this study integrated a single-site instrumental case study research design to examine health care financial literacy among nurses …


A Review Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sophie Silver May 2020

A Review Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sophie Silver

Senior Honors Theses

Human immunodeficiency virus, also referred to as HIV, is a devastating virus which has infected millions. Characterized as a retrovirus, HIV has an RNA genome, which is reverse transcribed into DNA upon entry into the host cell. HIV primarily affects CD4+ T cells and is diagnosed by the significant reduction of CD4+ T cells. While no cure has been discovered yet, antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been demonstrated as an effective treatment option. In the progression of HIV, additional HIV-associated diseases may arise, including HIV-associated psoriasis and sensory neuropathy. In addition to the use of ART, clinicians often prescribe …


Adverse Aftereffects Of Methotrexate As Chemotherapy On Cognitive Deficits In Rat Models, Jubin Kang Apr 2020

Adverse Aftereffects Of Methotrexate As Chemotherapy On Cognitive Deficits In Rat Models, Jubin Kang

Senior Honors Theses

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia have a high five-year survival rate thanks to methotrexate (MTX). However, cognitive side effects are reported, characterized as chemo brain. The study investigated if impulsiveness is part of the aberrant cognitive functions after being exposed to MTX in the early stage of physical development. Adolescent rats were injected with either phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or MTX. The novel object recognition (NOR) task was conducted a month after the injections to measure the memory deficits. The discounting task was performed after the rats completed training on a fixed-ratio one schedule for both levers. The NOR test showed …


Vaccines In Current Culture: The Hpv Vaccine Controversy, Alyssa Johnston Apr 2020

Vaccines In Current Culture: The Hpv Vaccine Controversy, Alyssa Johnston

Senior Honors Theses

The use of vaccinations has drastically decreased mortality and morbidity rates related to infectious disease and has become an intrinsic part of modern health care. However, the fear of risks related to vaccines has been partially responsible for the decisions of many parents to delay or avoid vaccinating their children. The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine specifically is one of the most controversial vaccines in current culture due to reports of new onset or exacerbation of autoimmune diseases, infertility, and even death following its administration. This review synthesizes information regarding the relevance and safety of the HPV vaccine, as well …


Anxiety In Alzheimer's Disease, Zachary Cooper Apr 2020

Anxiety In Alzheimer's Disease, Zachary Cooper

Senior Honors Theses

Researchers familiar with Alzheimer’s disease have often noted the presence of comorbid anxiety symptomatology. Likewise, the occurrence of anxiety before the development of Alzheimer’s disease has been prevalent enough to warrant attention. This review seeks to elaborate on the pathophysiology behind these two conditions, and to accentuate overlapping aspects that promote a causal relationship between these two pathologies on the macroscopic and cellular levels. Subsequent evidence will show that these pathologies are not independent of each other, and that cellular mechanisms of pathology hint at their interrelatedness. Areas requiring further research that would clarify the relationship between Clinical Anxiety and …


Modulator Therapy For Cystic Fibrosis: An Exploration Of Current Research, Jessalyn Rombocos Apr 2020

Modulator Therapy For Cystic Fibrosis: An Exploration Of Current Research, Jessalyn Rombocos

Senior Honors Theses

Developing a drug therapy that addresses the root cause of cystic fibrosis (CF) by increasing CFTR protein levels has long been a research challenge. After genetic therapy failed because a suitable delivery system could not be found, researchers began searching for small organic molecules that could act as chaperones for CFTR. These molecules, known as modulators, allowed CFTR to be assembled correctly and function similarly to wild type CFTR. Since 2012, four modulator drugs have been developed, tested, and approved by the FDA. In October 2019, Trikafta was approved as the first triple-combination modulator drug and has completely revolutionized CF …


Genetic Relationships And Therapeutic Options For Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Hailie Shertzer Apr 2020

Genetic Relationships And Therapeutic Options For Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Hailie Shertzer

Senior Honors Theses

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common form of cancer among children and can be lethal to the adult population. Though 80% of patients with ALL reach complete remission after treatment, about 20% of those diagnosed fail to remain cancer-free. Genetic rearrangements are the hallmark of relapsed ALL, but the mechanism by which these rearrangements occur is still unclear. Recent research suggests these mutations may be detectable during initial diagnosis. If researchers are able to accurately assess the probability of relapse during diagnosis by analyzing the genome of the leukemic cells, the likelihood of administering effective therapy would increase. …