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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Cholesterol: A Possible Mediator Of Apoe Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle Marie Dunk Dec 2019

Cholesterol: A Possible Mediator Of Apoe Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle Marie Dunk

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the well-established link between the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and AD, the underlying mechanisms that mediate the risk of developing AD remain elusive. Literature on the role of APOE in cholesterol metabolism suggests that blood cholesterol may be a key factor in the development of AD pathology. Current study aims to investigate whether total cholesterol differs by APOE status and whether this relationship is predictive of AD diagnosis and its biomarkers. Baseline total cholesterol, APOE status, AD diagnosis, global cognitive function, brain Aβ, plasma Aβ40 and Aβ42, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ, tau, and phosphorylated …


Investigating The Contribution Of Instance-Reliant Learning In Visuomotor Adaptation And Its Generalization, Shancheng Bao Dec 2019

Investigating The Contribution Of Instance-Reliant Learning In Visuomotor Adaptation And Its Generalization, Shancheng Bao

Theses and Dissertations

Motor adaptation has been of great interest in the past two decades as it reflects how movement skills are acquired and consolidated by the nervous system. In our recent studies, instance-reliant learning is considered as an essential component of visuomotor adaptation, since it plays a unique role in fast and automatized control of movement output. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the nature of instance-reliant learning on two aspects: to determine the differential contributions of algorithmic learning and instance-reliant learning to visuomotor adaptation; and to determine the nature of movement instance involved in visuomotor adaptation and its generalization …


Role Of Regulatory T Cells In The Development And Progression Of Lyme Disease In Balb/C Mice, Kaitlyn Nielsen Dec 2019

Role Of Regulatory T Cells In The Development And Progression Of Lyme Disease In Balb/C Mice, Kaitlyn Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is an increasingly important public health concern, with tens of thousands of new cases being diagnosed each year, even in previously non-endemic areas. It is known that symptoms of Lyme disease are caused by an inflammatory immune response initiated to aid in clearance of the pathogen. Left unchecked, these inflammatory responses can potentially increase tissue damage, leading to increased disease severity. Mechanisms responsible for the control of the inflammatory response to infection with B. burgdorferi are not entirely understood. Evidence exists that regulatory T (Treg) cells, a population of Foxp3-expressing CD4+ T cells known …


Functional Characterization Of Lt-Hsc Metabolic Activity Dependent On Ahr Activity, Everett Tate Dec 2019

Functional Characterization Of Lt-Hsc Metabolic Activity Dependent On Ahr Activity, Everett Tate

Theses and Dissertations

The cells of the immune system are descended from multipotent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that emerge during development. Multipotency means that a single progenitor HSC can differentiate into any cell of the immune system. HSCs are required to do this for the lifetime of the organism through a process called self-renewal, and as such, any perturbation during development or in the bone marrow can have a trickle-down effect, affecting the self-renewal capacity or ability to terminally differentiate. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a known regulator of HSCs. The AHR is a transcription factor required for the detoxification of numerous …


Quantitative Evaluation Of Geared Manual Wheelchair Mobility In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: An Integrative Approach, Omid Jahanian May 2019

Quantitative Evaluation Of Geared Manual Wheelchair Mobility In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: An Integrative Approach, Omid Jahanian

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to quantify the effects of using geared wheelchair wheels on upper extremity biomechanics and energy expenditure during functional mobility tasks in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The effects of using geared wheels on hand-rim biomechanics, glenohumeral joint dynamics, and shoulder muscle activity were investigated during manual wheelchair propulsion over tiled and carpeted level-floors and up a ramp in low gear (1.5:1) and standard gear (1:1) conditions. The results for the hand-rim biomechanics indicated that regardless of the terrain, using the geared wheels in the low gear condition significantly decreased the propulsion speed, stroke …


Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus May 2019

Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus

Theses and Dissertations

Markers of cognitive impairment are needed to distinguish normal from pathological aging prior to the onset of clinical symptomology to improve Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment or prevention efforts. AD pathology is believed to develop years or even decades prior to diagnosis in medial temporal lobe subregions that provide input to the hippocampus (Braak & Braak, 1991), disrupting the ability of the hippocampus to bind individual elements of an experience to form cohesive memory representations. Eye movement behavior is a sensitive index of learning and effects of memory on eye movements have been shown to emerge rapidly (within 500-750ms of stimuli …


Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus May 2019

Memory-Based Viewing: A Potential Marker Of Pathological Aging, Jenna Blujus

Theses and Dissertations

Markers of cognitive impairment are needed to distinguish normal from pathological aging prior to the onset of clinical symptomology to improve Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment or prevention efforts. AD pathology is believed to develop years or even decades prior to diagnosis in medial temporal lobe subregions that provide input to the hippocampus (Braak & Braak, 1991), disrupting the ability of the hippocampus to bind individual elements of an experience to form cohesive memory representations. Eye movement behavior is a sensitive index of learning and effects of memory on eye movements have been shown to emerge rapidly (within 500-750ms of stimuli …