Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Creative Movement & Play Based Interventions On Motor Skills Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results From A Randomized Controlled Trial, Sharanya Chandu

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of creative movement, general movement, and seated play interventions on bilateral coordination, balance, and upper limb coordination motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Methods: This data was collected as a part of a multisite intervention study, Play and Move study, by the University of Connecticut and University of Delaware. Participants were contacted through the SPARK database, UConn Kids, fliers sent to local autism services, schools, community centers and by posting information online or to listservs. Forty-five children agreed to participate in this study and were randomly assigned …

Ethical Considerations Of Clinical Research In Emergency Care Settings: A Review, Adith Velavan

Honors Scholar Theses

Emergency and acute care settings are some of the most volatile and high intensity areas of any healthcare operation. Better understanding of systems and treatments in these spaces are critical to improving outcomes for the high risk patients that are treated there. Clinical research serves as a cornerstone of modern medical research, and is critical to the further improvement of clinical care in these settings. This thesis serves to explore the ethicality of such research given the constraints of emergency medicine settings. Not only does this thesis provide a strong foundation regarding the history and current practices of clinical research, …

Local Field Potentials In The Male Rat Nucleus Accumbens During Effort-Based Behavior, Celine Aliko, John Salamone, Alev Ecevitoglu

Honors Scholar Theses

Major depression is a devastating disorder that consists of multiple symptoms such as low mood and motivational dysfunction. It has been shown that motivational dysfunction can be studied in animal models by using effort-based choice paradigms, which vary in their response requirements. It has been reported that dopamine depletion in the nucleus accumbens decreases ratio-scheduled lever-pressing in a manner related to the size of the ratio requirement. One dopamine depleting agent is tetrabenazine (TBZ), which has been shown to decrease lever-pressing and induce low-effort bias. The current study aims to investigate behavioral and electrophysiological changes that occur with animals performing …

Cenabis Bene: A Culinary Odyssey Through Apicius, Kathryn Atkinson

Honors Scholar Theses

Apicius is the sole surviving cookbook from classical antiquity; as such it is invaluable for what it tells us about ancient feasting customs. Yet the gluttony typically associated with classical antiquity has no place in Apicius beyond the art that is inherently associated with food; we are not so much given a seat at the cena (dinner) as we are led into the kitchen, handed an apron, and instructed to cook. This critical analysis explores each recipe not only on the surface—i.e., examining the ingredients and recreating selected recipes—but also on a deeper level, lifting food above its concrete reality …

Elucidating The Impact Of Sos-Response Timing In On Escherichia Coli Survival Following Treatment With Fluoroquinolone Topoisomerase Inhibitors, Stephanie Schofield

Honors Scholar Theses

Antibiotic treatment failure is a public health crisis, with a 2019 report stating that roughly 35,000 deaths occur in the United States yearly due to bacterial infections that are unresponsive to antibiotics (1). One complication in the treatment of bacterial infection is antibiotic persistence which further compromises our battle to effectively treat infection. Bacterial persisters can exist in clonal bacterial cultures and can tolerate antibiotic treatment by undergoing reversible phenotypic changes. They can survive drug concentrations that their genetically identical kin cannot. Some persisters remain in a slow growing state and are difficult to target with current antibiotics. A specific …

Understanding The Relationship Between B Chromosomes And Nondisjunction In Drosophila Melanogaster, Ayushi Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

B chromosomes are supernumerary, heterochromatic genetic elements that are found in hundreds of different plant and animal species. Recently, B chromosomes were discovered in a stock of Drosophila melanogaster and are carried at a high copy number of 10-12 B chromosomes per cell. B chromosomes are not known to carry any active genes, but when placed in a wild-type genetic background, they cause a significant increase in the frequency of chromosome 4 missegregation during meiosis. This project aimed to understand the relationship between a female’s B chromosome copy number and how often she passes on too many (or too few) …

Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy: Development And Potential For Cancer Treatment, Olivia Guinness

Honors Scholar Theses

The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2023, 1,958,310 new cancer cases and 609,820 cancer deaths will occur in the United States [16]. A promising therapeutic option that has been supported by recent clinical trials is the use of oncolytic viruses to treat malignant tumors. The mechanism of action of existing treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery, differs from that of oncolytic virus therapy because oncolytic viruses are able to affect cancer cells with specificity, minimizing side effects. When infecting a normal, non-cancerous cell, oncolytic viruses do not replicate, leaving healthy cells unaffected. In tumor cells, oncolytic viruses will …

Modeling Accuracy Matters: Aligning Molecular Dynamics With 2d Nmr Derived Noe Restraints, Milan Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Among structural biology techniques, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) provides a holistic view of structure that is close to protein structure in situ. Namely, NMR imaging allows for the solution state of the protein to be observed, derived from Nuclear Overhauser Effect restraints (NOEs). NOEs are a distance range in which hydrogen pairs are observed to stay within range of, and therefore experimental data which computational models can be compared against. To that end, we investigated the effects of adding the NOE restraints as distance restraints in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations on the 24 residue HP24stab derived villin headpiece subdomain to …

A Dna-Peptide Crosslink (Dpc) Increases Mutagenicity In Sos-Induced Escherichia Coli, Alessandra Bassani

Honors Scholar Theses

Bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, have an inducible system in response to DNA damage termed the SOS response. This system is activated when the replicative DNA polymerase (Pol) III encounters a lesion, uncouples from DNA helicase, and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) accumulates at the replication fork. In this study, we investigated DNA-peptide crosslink (DpC), a common lesion that results from cross-linking of proteins or peptides, UV irradiation, and alkylating agents. To increase survival following formation of a lesion, the SOS response can utilize homologous recombination, translesion synthesis (TLS), or excision repair. With TLS, the levels of DNA Pol II, IV, …

The Intersection Of Herbicide Policy, Exposure, And Health At The University Of Connecticut, Katherine Hayward

Honors Scholar Theses

Pesticides play an extremely complicated role in our everyday lives. From the water you use to make your coffee, to the breastmilk your neighbor provides for their child, to the lake your dog swims in, chemical pesticides or their byproducts have been found in nearly every corner of our lives. The chemicals used in synthetic herbicides, a subcategory of pesticides, have far reaching negative impacts on human health, biodiversity, and water quality. Despite there being numerous published studies on the relationships between pesticide exposures and health, there is still ongoing discord and controversy surrounding their role in our lives. After …

Covid-19 Pandemic Impacts On Mammalian Carnivore Activity In The Eastern United States, Joan Tremblay, Miranda Davis, Robert Bagchi

Honors Scholar Theses

Lockdowns and restrictions associated with the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic altered human activity, with potential impacts on wildlife. In particular, the activity of reclusive mammalian carnivores, which often avoid humans, may have been affected with ramifications for population connectivity and viability. Here, I evaluate changes in the capture rates of humans and mammalian carnivores between 2019 and 2020 across 31 sites in the Eastern United States. Site-specific capture records were obtained from the Snapshot USA camera trapping survey. Differences in carnivore activity were modelled as a response to human activity changes and the development level of the site (urban, suburban, rural …

Investigating The Effects Of Cell Signaling Mutants And Inhibitors On Chemokinesis In Dictyostelium Discoideum., James Rybczyk

Honors Scholar Theses

Chemokinesis is the augmentation of cellular motility in response to chemical stimuli. While it is known that chemical factors induce changes in the behavior of a cell with regards to motility, the mechanism by which this process occurs is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to identify potential proteins within the signaling pathways that integrate the message brought on by chemical ligands and consequently lead to changes in cellular motility. In order to accomplish this goal, various gene knockout mutants of the amoeboid species Dictyostelium discoideum are compared to an axenic wild-type strain (AX2) based on their relative …

The Effect Of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva On The Tongue, Amy Backal, Amanda Harrop, David J. Goldhamer Dr.

Honors Scholar Theses

FOP is a rare genetic disorder in which skeletal muscle and associated connective tissue progressively turn to bone through a process called heterotopic ossification (HO). The extra skeletal bone growth is cumulative, eventually trapping patients in a second skeleton that eventually leads to death by asphyxiation. The FOP mutation is autosomal dominant that can be inherited or acquired sporadically. Unfortunately, FOP is currently incurable with no therapeutic options to inhibit bone growth or reduce existing bone nodules. My project intends to further our understanding of the cellular mechanisms of the disease within the tongue muscle. A population of cells known …

Eskape Pathogens: The Clinical Prevalence And Molecular Mechanisms Of Antibiotic Resistance, Anusha Attre

Honors Scholar Theses

The ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) are the leading cause of all nosocomial, or healthcare-associated (HAI), infections (Navidinia, 2016). The purpose of this research study is to determine the burden of ESKAPE infections on healthcare and study the antibiotic resistance in these high-risk pathogens to provide direction for researchers to develop new antimicrobial innovations to reduce ESKAPE infectivity and improve patient outcomes. To study the burden of ESKAPE infections, this review analyzes the current statistics explaining the clinical prevalence of each pathogen in causing HAIs. Additionally, each pathogen is …

Identification Of Translesion Synthesis Inhibitors That Target Rev7/Rev3 Protein-Protein Interactions, Seema Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Translesion synthesis (TLS) is a cellular mechanism utilized by cancer cells to tolerate DNA damage caused by chemotherapeutics, like cisplatin, by replicating past unrepaired lesions. This increases the rate of mutations, which leads to the emergence of drug-resistant cancer cells. Preliminary studies have shown that disrupting the protein-protein interactions (PPI) in the TLS heteroprotein complex increases cells’ sensitivity to first-line genotoxic chemotherapy, illustrating how inhibiting TLS assembly and function can significantly increase cancer cell death. These results underscore the therapeutic potential of targeting TLS PPI. Our current work in this area is focusing on inhibitors capable of disrupting the Rev7/Rev3 …

Headcase Regulates Growth In Response To Nutritional Status Downstream Of Insulin Signaling, Thomas George

Honors Scholar Theses

Cancer cells are notorious for growing in an unrestricted manner without regard for environmental cues. Recently, Li et al. (2019) discovered headcase (hdc) functions by binding to the mTORC1 complex in the mTOR signaling pathway and preventing further signaling. Interestingly, under nutrient restricted (NR) conditions, cells with mutated hdc proteins proliferated more than cells with normal functioning hdc. It is well known that insulin signaling is downregulated under NR conditions, so a potential signaling pathway with insulin, PI3K, PDK1, Akt, PTEN, and hdc was created as a way to explain the link between hdc function and nutritional status. A Drosophila …

Disrupting Monoallelic Expression Of Variant Surface Glycoprotein In Trypanosoma Brucei By A Non-Lethal Mutation In Class I Transcription Factor A, Sarah Platt

Honors Scholar Theses

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a lethal disease caused by protozoan hemoflagellates of the genus Trypanosoma. Humans are vulnerable to two subspecies, Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. At the crux of HAT lethality lie two uncommon genetic expression phenomena: monoallelic expression and antigenic variation. Combined, these mechanisms effectively shield trypanosomes from host immune systems, prolonging infections. Variant Surface Glycoproteins (VSGs) are the key outer membrane proteins involved in antigenic variation. By continuously changing the composition of cell surface antigens, trypanosomes can survive bouts of immunological detection and eventually traverse the blood-brain barrier. There are over two …

Plant-Based Diets And Metabolic Syndrome: Evaluating The Influence Of Diet Quality, Lydia Mcgrath

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Diet plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Plant-based diets (PBDs) have demonstrated a broad range of health benefits, including a protective effect against MetS. Most research on this topic has focused on PBDs as a whole, without considering the influence of diet quality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between plant-based diet quality and biomarkers of MetS.

Methods: Data were obtained from a clinical nutrition study at the University of Connecticut. 29 participants with MetS were included. PBD quality was assessed using 2 measures: healthful PBD index (hPDI) …

Content Analysis Of Public Instagram Posts About Pelvic Floor Disorders And Pelvic Floor Muscle Training In Pregnancy, Lauren R. Rudin, Molly E. Waring

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective: To analyze the content of public Instagram posts and describe the discussion of pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT)/pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) in pregnancy. Methods: Public Instagram accounts based in the U.S. with posts within the past 7 days focused on pregnancy were included. We analyzed English posts related to pelvic floor health, PFDs or PFMT. We categorized accounts by user type, health-related expertise, business endorsement, and influencer status. We categorized posts by content (informative, recommendation, sharing experience, meme, advertisement), context (informative, preventive, interventive), and terminology (scientific, lay). We used chi-squared tests to compare …

Defining The Role Of Locus Coeruleus Noradrenergic Neurons In The Modulation Of Homeostatic Feeding, Julia Paul

Honors Scholar Theses

The locus coeruleus (LC) is a hindbrain structure that is the major source of norepinephrine (NE) input to the cortex and other forebrain areas. It is involved in processes of arousal, attention, and stress. It has been shown that the locus coeruleus norepinephrine system is also involved in the modulation of feeding. In this experiment, we used triple transgenic mice expressing the hM3Dq receptor in LC-NE neurons. These mice and littermate controls were overnight fasted then injected with vehicle or deschloroclozapine (DCZ), which is an inert ligand that solely activates the designer hM3Dq receptor. The mice were then immediately placed …

Case Study: Effects Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations On Rat Behavior And Place Cell Remapping In The Hippocampus, Qingli Hu

Honors Scholar Theses

Spatial information is known to be encoded in the hippocampus, and small changes in the environment can alter the way that it is represented by our hippocampal place cells in a process called remapping. Hearing is an important sense that can be used to orient ourselves and react to the environment accordingly. In this case study, a rat model is used to test the effects of emotional auditory stimuli, behaviorally significant ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) (50 kHz, emitted during play; 22 kHz, emitted during danger), on rat behavior on a linear track and place cell remapping in the hippocampus. Behaviorally, it …

Does Anodal Tdcs Over The Left Prefrontal Cortex Using The C3-Rso Montage Improve Cognitive Control?, Jhoan Rodriguez

Honors Scholar Theses

Executive function is the ability to change one’s behavior in order to achieve a goal, which is supported by the prefrontal cortex (for review, Abdullah et al., 2021). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that changes the likelihood of neuronal firing by sending current through at least two electrodes on the scalp. Prior work in our lab found no enhancement of executive function on healthy participants when at- tempting to stimulate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using anodal tDCS with the F3-RSO montage (Darling et al., 2020). However, current modeling suggests that the C3-RSO montage may …

When Problems Become Solutions: Harnessing The Osteogenic Capacity Of Disease-Causing Stem Cells To Repair Bone Fractures, Mehreen Pasha

Honors Scholar Theses

While we often perceive disease as negative, there is potential to engineer seemingly negative biological phenomena into therapeutics to treat a variety of human illnesses. Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a genetic disorder involving uncontrolled, widespread, extraskeletal bone growth, or heterotopic ossification (HO). In FOP patients, stem cells called fibro/adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) follow an abnormal, osteogenic pathway. In the present study, we investigate whether we can adapt these Acvr1 mutant FAPs, which are exceptional at producing bone, to repair bone fractures in otherwise normal patients. The primary aims of this study are (1) to devise and optimize a novel method …

Characterizing Rat Lateral Amygdala Interneurons By Colocalization Of Calcium-Binding Proteins Via Serial Multiplex Immunohistochemistry, Ethan Gasteyer

Honors Scholar Theses

The lateral amygdala is a brain structure that plays an important role in regulating fear and anxiety. Some anxiety disorders are hypothesized to develop from failures in this local inhibitory circuit. Distinct populations of these inhibitory neurons express patterns of calcium- binding proteins and neuropeptides that suggest differences in functionality within the lateral amygdala. Furthermore, these patterns of expression are compared between male and female rats to identify sex differences in the lateral amygdala. Previous studies have reported sex differences in amygdala activation and connectivity, but very little is known about the sexual dimorphism of calcium-binding protein and neuropeptide expression. …

Alterations Of The Gut Mycobiome In Patients With Ms - A Bioinformatic Approach, Saumya Shah

Honors Scholar Theses

The mycobiome is the fungal component of the gut microbiome and is implicated in several autoimmune diseases. However, its role in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been studied. We performed descriptive and formal statistical tests using the R language to characterize the gut mycobiome in people with MS (pwMS) and healthy controls. We found that the microbiome composition of multiple sclerosis patients is different from healthy people. The mycobiome had significantly higher alpha diversity and inter-subject variation in pwMS than controls. Additionally, Saccharomyces and Aspergillus were over-represented in pwMS. Different mycobiome profiles, defined as mycotypes, were associated with different bacterial …

Regaining Effort-Based Food Motivation: The Drug Methylphenidate Reverses The Depressive Effects Of Tetrabenazine In Female Rats, Deanna Pietrorazio

Honors Scholar Theses

Tetrabenazine (TBZ), a vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor, depletes dopamine and induces motivational deficits and other depressive symptoms in humans. Methylphenidate (MPH) is a dopamine transport blocker that is used to enhance motivational function. Previous studies have shown that in male rats, TBZ induces a shift in effort-related choice such that a low-effort bias is induced. In male rats this occurs at a dose range of 0.75-1.0 mg/kg TBZ, and this effect is reversible with co-administration of MPH. Recent studies have shown that females need a higher dose of TBZ (2.0 mg/kg) to show the low-effort bias. The …

The Effects Of A Plant-Based Diet With Eggs On The Parameters Of Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Resistance, And Dietary Choline And Carotenoids, Lindsey Huang

Honors Scholar Theses

Objective: Plant-based (PB) diets have been shown to positively affect the parameters of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). The addition of eggs, which are rich in choline and carotenoids, could also complement the beneficial effects of PB diets by increasing HDL-C and improving the other parameters of MetS. Methods: Twenty-four subjects with MetS completed this 13-week randomized, controlled, crossover clinical trial. Following a 2-week run-in period where subjects followed a lacto-vegetarian diet, subjects were randomly allocated to consume 70g of spinach with either 2 whole eggs or the equivalent amount of egg substitute. At the end of 4 weeks, subjects underwent a …

The Effects Of Poor Maternal Nutrition During Gestation In Sheep On The Reproductive Efficiency Of The Offspring, Morgan Dougherty

Honors Scholar Theses

Poor maternal nutrition during gestation negatively impacts fetal programming and the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis in the offspring. Reproductive health of ewes can be characterized by concentrations of reproductive hormones including follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and progesterone, particularly during the estrous cycle. We hypothesized that ewes born to dams that experienced poor maternal nutrition during gestation would have reduced reproductive capability and efficiency. This means that they would take longer to become pregnant and have reduced concentrations of reproductive hormones compared with those born to mothers fed the control diet. Pregnant dams (F0) were fed one …

Effects Of Feeding Probiotics To Pre-Weaned Dairy Calves, Sara Tomis

Honors Scholar Theses

Pre-ruminant calves are particularly susceptible to pathological and environmental stressors that may have negative effects on their health and growth. Supplementing probiotics to this vulnerable population may have positive implications for the dairy industry, as probiotics may encourage improved growth rates and enhanced health in dairy neonates. However, there is variation in existing literature with regard to effectiveness. This study seeks to explore the impact of dietary probiotic supplement on health and growth parameters in pre-weaned dairy calves. Holstein and Jersey calves (n=30) were assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups, receiving either 0 or 5 grams of probiotic containing …

Exercise In The Heat: Perceptual Measures In Hydrated And Dehydrated Conditions, John Kromer

Honors Scholar Theses

Introduction: Athletes, warfighters, and laborers are often exposed to extreme environmental conditions that can result in heat-related illnesses negatively impacting performance and productivity.

Purpose: To evaluate Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) from pre-trial to post-trial surrounding exercise in the heat. The secondary purpose was to compare post-trial measures between hydration status as well as environmental conditions.

Methods: Twenty-six male and female subjects performed four trials. Two trials were conducted in temperate conditions (24 ℃, 55% relative humidity) and two in extreme heat conditions (35 ℃, 55% relative humidity), in both hydrated and dehydrated conditions. The Profile of Moods States survey was …