Life Sciences Commons^™

Different Methodologies To Characterize And Diagnose Sickle Cell Disease In Both Developed And Developing Nations, Mohammed Alharbi

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder that causes the RBC to become sickle shaped due to a mutation in the β-globin gene encoding the protein hemoglobin. This disease causes reduced oxygen carrying capacity of RBC resulting in painful crisis, hemolytic anemia, and infection susceptibility. SCD affects around 100,000 individuals in USA alone and 14 million people globally. SCD affected individuals have high mortality rates. Early detection and constant monitoring of this disease is essential. The following review focuses on various methodologies that have emerged in the diagnosis of SCD. Also, low cost methods that can be easily …

Identification Of Substrate-Selective Histone Deacetylases And Their Inhibitors That Mediate Her2 Transcript Stability, Mariah Alejo

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed in women. 15-20% of these cancers overexpress the HER2 (ERRB2) oncoprotein. HER2-positive breast cancers are generally aggressive and are associated with poor prognosis. Unfortunately, only a mere 30% of HER2-positve patients respond to therapies when they are used as a single agent. Combining therapeutics can potentially lead to synergy and improved anticancer efficacy, and there is clearly a need for the development of new HER2-directed therapeutics. Newer approaches include the utilization of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. It has been observed that HDAC inhibitors can induce the rapid decay of oncogenic transcripts such …

Novel Effects Of Prefoldin Pathway On Intestinal Homeostasis Via Dietary Restriction In Drosophila Melanogaster, Jesse Simons

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The field of medicine research is embroiled in a battle against aging. Particular focus is on the extension of lifespan and health-span. Lifespan duration is affected by many factors, one of which is the maintenance of the intestines of the organism. Homeostasis of the intestines is controlled by the regulation of intestine cell apoptosis and intestine cell proliferation. My research explores the role of two protein subunits found in a complex which may have possible functions in the regulation of these processes. The overall complex is formed from six subunit proteins, some of which are known to assist in other …

The Effects Of Various Therapeutics On Cystine Stone Formation, See Yang

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Cystinuria is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by the defect of a renal transporter involved in cystine reabsorption. When this transporter is deficient, cystine cannot be broken down and reabsorbed by the body and is excreted via urine in high concentrations. The high levels of cystine present in the urine eventually lead to recurrent cystine urolithiasis due to its inability to solubilize. Despite having various forms of treatments such as thiol pharmaceutical therapies such as tiopronin and urine alkalinizing agents like potassium citrate, only few patients with cystinuria are able to successfully decrease cystine urine concentration. We observed the …

Induction Of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Retinal Stem Cells In Vitro Using Transient Overexpression Of Messenger Rna For Blimp, Onecut1 And Otx2, Helen Cifuentes

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

No abstract available

Efficient In Vitro Development Of Photoreceptors From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells, Joseph C. Reynolds

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Degeneration of the rod and cone photoreceptors in the human retina is among the most common causes of blindness. Replacing these damaged photoreceptors may help to restore vision. Repairing the damaged retina relies on the insertion of new, healthy cells. Embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are two possible sources of photoreceptors to restore vision. Previous data shows that human ES cells and iPS cells can be differentiated into photoreceptors and transplanted into the eye to restore some vision. However, this process is inefficient, and costly. Here, we show a new method for inducing photoreceptor production …

Oral Wellness: Using Occupational Therapy To Enhance Oral Hygiene Delivery In Long-Term Care, Lauryn J. Banovitz, Liberty Bellah, Rosemarie Lion

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Based on current literature, oral health in long-term care (LTC) facilities is frequently of low priority and does not follow evidence-based best practices. Poor oral health reduces the quality of life of older adult residents and patients and can lead to systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and pneumonia, the leading cause of death in LTC. Occupational therapists can play an instrumental role as oral care consultants, and educators, and can act as resource guides to raise the standards of oral care in LTC facilities.

This capstone project explored ways in which occupational therapy, a profession traditionally designated for …

Investigation Of Dual Stage Acridones As A Potent Malaria Treatment, Stephanie Huezo

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The need for potent antimalarials to prevent the emergence of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum is urgent. Discovery of novel acridone chemotypes have shown promise for a new antimalarial drug treatment. Presently, two acridone chemotypes have intrinsic antimalarial potency against chloroquine sensitive and multidrug resistant parasites. Acridones lacking an N10 side chain are known as chemotype I acridones, whereas, chemotype II acridones are defined as having an alkyl side chain at the same position. The N10 substitution of chemotype II acridones is thought to target heme and inhibit hemozoin formation within the parasite’s digestive vacuole, and is known to provide synergistic …

Neural Stem Cells As A Model To Study Huntington’S Disease, Rawan Bakhsh

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable neurodegenerative disorder that affects muscle coordination and diminishes cognitive abilities, by affecting the medium spiny neurons in the brain. In HD patients, neurons are damaged and destroyed because of the toxicity of the mutant Huntington protein (mHtt). The mechanism of how mHtt protein affects the neurons is unknown. In this study we explored the effects of mHtt expression by looking at changes in huntingtin localization, changes in the expression and co-localization of related proteins and differences in cell morphology. We examine how this expression affects the cytoskeletal structures using neural stem cells Q7 (wild …