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Potential Natural Product Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors, Michael John Cunningham Jan 2013

Potential Natural Product Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors, Michael John Cunningham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three different studies set forth to investigate the role of phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzyme inhibitors in sexual dysfunction and mood regulation. First, naturalproducts were screened by computer modeling of PDE5A1. Second, compounds were isolated from a plant traditionally used as an aphrodisiac. Third, a new synthesis of psychoactive PDE4 inhibitor was attempted. An in silico screen was performed using chemical structures of isolated compounds thought to have some PDE inhibitory activity based on traditional use of the plants. A collection of compounds with structures similar to known natural product inhibitors was also included in the docking library. Glide docking software (Schrödinger) …


Impact Of Time-Varying And Time-Invariant Measures Of Adherence To Secondary Prevention Therapies Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction: An Application Of Marginal Structural Models (Msms), Tasneem Taher Lokhandwala Jan 2013

Impact Of Time-Varying And Time-Invariant Measures Of Adherence To Secondary Prevention Therapies Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction: An Application Of Marginal Structural Models (Msms), Tasneem Taher Lokhandwala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between patient adherence to secondary prevention therapies post an initial episode of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and subsequent risk of cardiovascular events by using time-invariant and time-varying measures of adherence. The effectiveness of both measures in predicting a (i) recurrent AMI, and (ii) mortality using various mathematical models and statistical techniques was compared. Time dependent confounding was accounted for by using marginal structural models (MSMs). A longitudinal cohort observational study design was employed using the retrospective Medicare 5% random national sample claims data from January 1st, 2006 to December 31st, …


A Process Evaluation Of The Brief Alcohol Screening Intervention For College Students Program At The University Of Mississippi, Tiffany Bouldin Lawson Jan 2013

A Process Evaluation Of The Brief Alcohol Screening Intervention For College Students Program At The University Of Mississippi, Tiffany Bouldin Lawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol misuse by students is a prevalent public health problem on college campuses across the nation. Underage drinking and binge drinking are two distinct forms of alcohol misuse that are comamong college students and often result in negative consequences for the students, the universities, and the surrounding communities. As a result, there is an increasing need for universities to provide targeted intervention programs for students who misuse alcohol. Furthermore, it is important that the selected interventions are capable of successful implementation on campus. The University of Mississippi currently utilizes the brief alcohol screening intervention for college students (basics) program for …


Concurrent Adherence To Multiple Chronic Disease Medications: Examining The Behavior And Issues Concerning Its Measurement, Ram Sankar Basak Jan 2013

Concurrent Adherence To Multiple Chronic Disease Medications: Examining The Behavior And Issues Concerning Its Measurement, Ram Sankar Basak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives the objectives were to 1) examine adherence to multiple medications prescribed for a chronic disease (intra-disease multiple medication adherence) and that of multiple chronic diseases (inter-disease multiple medication adherence); 2) determine appropriate measurement paradigm from different intra-disease multiple medication adherence measurement approaches; 3) identify optimal cut-point for a dichotomized composite measure. Methods a retrospective study design was used. The subjects came from the marketscanâ® commercial claims and encounters data 2002-2003 and filled both sulfonylurea (su) and thiazolidinedione (tzd). Adherence was measured by proportion of days covered (pdc) over each period of 30 or 90 days and cumulatively. Random components …


Synthesis Of Natural Product-Based Sphingosine Derivatives, Zarana Daksh Chauhan Jan 2013

Synthesis Of Natural Product-Based Sphingosine Derivatives, Zarana Daksh Chauhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Marine sponges represent an excellent source of sphingolipids and their metabolites, especially sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). S1P plays an important role in cell differentiation, survival, proliferation and the immune response. The enzyme sphingosine kinase (SK) is critical for the phosphorylation of sphingosine to S1P and has been examined as a druggable target for the treatment of hyper-proliferative diseases, inflammation, cancer and other pathological conditions. Natural products that consist of an azetidine ring represents an interesting class of conformationally constrained scaffolds that may serve as effective lead compounds for SK inhibitor development. Hence, the goal of this thesis research was to synthesize natural-product …


A Neurophysiological Examination Of Stress Control In Martial Artists, Jack Pemment Jan 2013

A Neurophysiological Examination Of Stress Control In Martial Artists, Jack Pemment

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The philosophies behind many martial arts often claim that by practicing martial arts individuals can gain better control over stress. We tested this idea by using controlled physical stressors to elicit an acute stress response from martial artists (n=15) and non-martial artists (n=18). To measure the extent of the stress response, we looked at changes in heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and galvanic skin level. These three measures explore both parasympathetic and sympathetic responses, and changes in these variables continue to be explored in studies of stress and reactive aggression. In addition to our physical stressors we also exposed individuals …


Development Of A Subunit Vaccine Against Bovine Diarrhea Caused By K99 Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli And Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus, Emad Hashish Jan 2013

Development Of A Subunit Vaccine Against Bovine Diarrhea Caused By K99 Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli And Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus, Emad Hashish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bovine diarrhea is economically one of the most important problems in cattle industry. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), particularly strains expressing K99 (F5) fimbriae and heat-stable type I (STa) enterotoxin is the predominant bacterial cause of diarrhea in calves; whereas bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) causes diarrhea and other illness to cattle at all ages. A vaccine that prevents against both K99 fimbrial ETEC and BVDV could benefit greatly to cattle producers worldwide. We hypothesized that a novel multivalent vaccine composed of K99, STa and BVDV E2 antigens could induce immunity for broad protection against bovine diarrhea. In this study we …


Risk Factors For Release In Nurses With Substance Use Disorder, Kathleen J. Tinklenberg Jan 2013

Risk Factors For Release In Nurses With Substance Use Disorder, Kathleen J. Tinklenberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is defined as the continued use of mood-altering addicting substances despite adverse consequences (Morse & Flavin, 1992). Nurses are not immune from this progressive and fatal disease and if left untreated, a nurse with SUD poses a double jeopardy: risk to the patients and a threat to her or his own health. Many State Boards of Nursing (SBN) have implemented a non-disciplinary alternative to punitive treatment of professionals with SUD; such programs offer monitoring for nurses afflicted with SUD. While studies have found a lower relapse rate for healthcare professionals enrolled in these monitoring programs than …


Skin Cancer Knowledge, Beliefs, Self-Efficacy, And Preventative Behaviors Among North Mississippi Landscapers, Vinayak Kumar Nahar Jan 2013

Skin Cancer Knowledge, Beliefs, Self-Efficacy, And Preventative Behaviors Among North Mississippi Landscapers, Vinayak Kumar Nahar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Skin cancer is a significant public health problem in the US. Each year over 3.5 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in more than two million individuals, resulting in nearly 12,000 deaths (American Cancer Society, 2012). Many studies have been conducted on outdoor workers to assess quantitative data of exposure and protection behaviors, with the majority of studies carried out on farmers, construction workers, and postal workers (Saraiya et al., 2004). Nonetheless, far too little attention has been given to members of other occupational groups who mainly work outdoors, such as landscapers. It was estimated in the US that …


Part A: Antimalarial Agents Modified At The C-16 Position Of Artemisinin; Part B: Lead Optimization Of Falcipain-2 And Falcipain-3 Inhibitors, Yunshan Wu Jan 2013

Part A: Antimalarial Agents Modified At The C-16 Position Of Artemisinin; Part B: Lead Optimization Of Falcipain-2 And Falcipain-3 Inhibitors, Yunshan Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Part A: Antimalarial Agents modified at the C-16 position of Artemisinin. Malaria is a widespread tropical and subtropical parasitic disease which is caused by malarial parasites and transmitted by the infected anopheles mosquitoe. The natural product artemisinin and its derivatives are currently considered the most effective drugs against drug resistant plasmodium falciparum. However, its undesired physicochemical proprieties have limited its usage. In order to improve its effectiveness, scientists around the world have developed novel methodology to synthesize artemisinin derivatives on different positions of the artemisinin skeleton. Previous work in our group has shown that many analogues modified at the C-16 …


Actual And Perceived Sexual Behaviors In College Students, Tabitha Denise Flowers Jan 2013

Actual And Perceived Sexual Behaviors In College Students, Tabitha Denise Flowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare college students' actual sexual behaviors and their perceptions of sexual behaviors among their peers. The analyses consisted of 65,036 participant's ages 18 to 24, with a mean age of 20.20 years (sdâ±1.55) who completed the American college health association's national college health assessment in 2008. The dependent variables were the normative gap of: number of partners, sexual activity, and condom usage. Three one-way anovas with bonferroni post hoc analyses were used to determine differences between the dependent variables and the following independent variables: age, sexual orientation, and living arrangement. Anovas were used …


Impedance Changes In Biceps Brachii Due To Isometric Contractions And Muscle Fatigue Using Electrical Impedance Myography (Eim), Travis Orth Jan 2013

Impedance Changes In Biceps Brachii Due To Isometric Contractions And Muscle Fatigue Using Electrical Impedance Myography (Eim), Travis Orth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electrical impedance myography (EIM) is a non-invasive technique used to evaluate neuromuscular conditions by using a quantitative parameter called impedance (Z). It relies upon the application and measurement of high-frequency, low-intensity electrical current imbedded over a localized muscle to determine its opposition to current flow. In brevity, impedance determines the resistance of muscle fibers due to changes in muscle composition. The objective of this thesis was to establish a relationship between muscles at rest and during isometric contractions at various force levels(25%, 50%, and 100% of maximum voluntary contraction) of the biceps brachii over a multifrequency spectrum. Impedance measurements due …


Epidemiology Of Hospital Acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus In A Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit: Fiscal Years 2008-2011, Rebecca B. Stone Jan 2013

Epidemiology Of Hospital Acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus In A Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit: Fiscal Years 2008-2011, Rebecca B. Stone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this retrospective case-control study was to assess risk factors contributing to hospital acquired methicillin Staphylococcus aureus (HA-MRSA) and gain a better understanding of the burden of HA-MRSA infection in patients with spinal cord injuries. The study was also conducted to see if new information would be found on HA-MRSA infections and validate or refute current research for patients in a dedicated spinal cord injury unit at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. During the study period, the infection control department identified 95 cases of HA-MRSA. Additional data retrospectively collected were basic demographics, admitting diagnosis, presence of varying comorbidities, …


The Effectiveness Of Education Interventions On Coaching Education Students’ Concussion Knowledge, Retention, And Attitudes, Brienna L. Simons Jan 2013

The Effectiveness Of Education Interventions On Coaching Education Students’ Concussion Knowledge, Retention, And Attitudes, Brienna L. Simons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Context: Coaches who don’t have access to qualified health care providers need to be well educated on prevention, detection, assessment, and management of sport-related concussion to help decrease the risks associated. Due to the lack of assessment on educational interventions there is no way to determine the validity of the content. Objective: Determine which of three online concussion education interventions was most influential on coaches’ concussion knowledge, retention of knowledge, and their effects on attitudes amongst a sample of coaching education students. Participants: 233 coaching student’s recruited, used 154 for data analysis (71% male, x̅ age = 21.2 ± 1.68 …


Choice Response Time Differences Between Recently Recovered Concussed And Healthy Student-Athletes, Tiffen Tapia-Lovler Jan 2013

Choice Response Time Differences Between Recently Recovered Concussed And Healthy Student-Athletes, Tiffen Tapia-Lovler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Some 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur annually in the United States. Utilization of test batteries and exercise protocols are recommended to ensure athletes recover completely. Many batteries involve response time (RT) tests, which show response time increases post concussion. A major limitation of RT tests is that all are done in static position. Additionally, many studies show a lingering effect on RT. The addition of RT tests to check for lingering symptoms could be beneficial. The purpose of this study was to see if significant differences could be found in RT tests involving dynamic movement between healthy studentathletes …


Concussion Knowledge In Amateur Motocross, Kristina Miller Jan 2013

Concussion Knowledge In Amateur Motocross, Kristina Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there are 1.6-3.8 million sports related traumatic brain injuries in the United States annually which occur in both mainstream and extreme sports. Many of these concussions have been associated with collisional sports, like football, but high risk extreme sports, like motocross, also have many opportunities for collisions to occur. Unlike traditional varsity sports motocross races, especially at the amateur level, do not require more than advanced life support at a race in case of emergency situation leaving the amateur rider to recognize and decide on concussion management. Purpose of this study …