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Regulatory Mechanisms In Borrelia Burgdorferi-Induced Arthritis, Emily Siebers Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme arthritis is a common symptom of Lyme borreliosis that involves inflammation of the synovial joints. Elucidating the immune events involved in Lyme arthritis is complicated by the fact that not all individuals infected with B. burgdorferi develop arthritis. Additionally, Lyme arthritis manifests in different severities between affected individuals. It is known that an inflammatory response is initiated by B. burgdorferi infection and that inflammatory T cells contribute to the development of arthritis. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms that regulate the pathogenic T cells’ response are not entirely understood. Here, the hypothesis that a dysregulated immune response results in an excessive …

The Association Of Nurses’ Assessment And Certainty To Pain Management And Outcomes For Nursing Home Residents In Jordan, Mohammad Jamil Rababa

Theses and Dissertations

Despite advances in dementia care Pain in people with dementia is still under recognized, underestimated, and undertreated because of poor assessment, poor treatment, and factors relating to nurses’ critical thinking and decision-making skills. Unrelieved pain leads to many serious negative health outcomes in people with dementia. The purpose of the study was to examine temporally based relationships between change in behavior, the nurses’ level of certainty regarding pain, assessment scope and outcomes of pain and agitation. Relationship between severity of dementia, comorbid burden, ability to verbally self-report symptoms and patient outcomes of pain and agitation was also investigated.

A Convenient …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Geometry Changes In The Simulation Of Basilar Aneurysms, Paul Eserkaln

Theses and Dissertations

Computer simulation is a useful tool in the research and treatment of basilar aneurysms. Current technology allows researchers to create 3D models from cerebral vasculature in-vivo, allowing for the investigation of surgical options with minimal risk to the patient. The method used to construct these models overlooks smaller lateral arterial branches which are difficult to discern due to resolution limits of the imaging process. These lateral branches have minimal impact on the overall blood flow through the basilar artery, but they play a significant role in the health of the patient, so it is important to ensure sufficient blood will …

Age-Associated B Cell And T Helper Cell Dysfunction In Rhesus Macaques, Evan Knox Stalvig

Theses and Dissertations

The immune system undergoes drastic changes as we age, known as immunosenescence. An example of this is the dysfunction and subpopulation distribution changes of immune cells. Due to immunosenescence, the elderly have a higher risk of complications and rapid progression of new challenges to the immune system, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In an effort to determine the mechanism of dysfunction of humoral immunity due to age, I compared B cell and T cell responses to non-specific, mitogenic stimuli between aged and young adult rhesus macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Analysis by flow cytometry revealed several differences in B …

Effects Of Drift, Selection And Gene Flow On Immune Genes In Prairie Grouse, Zachary Bateson

Theses and Dissertations

Fragmentation of natural habitats is related to population decline in many species. The resulting small and isolated populations are expected to lose genetic variation at a rapid rate, which reduces the ability to adapt to environmental change. One concern is that small populations are more susceptible to emerging pathogens due to the loss of variation at immune genes. My dissertation examined the relative effects of gene flow, genetic drift and selection on immune genes in prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido), a species that has undergone drastic population declines across their range. In the first chapter, I examined how artificial gene flow through …