Life Sciences Commons^™

Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Recombinant Human Npas2, Brenda Moreno

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Many living organisms have biological clocks known as circadian rhythms that control various physiological and behavioral processes, tailored with the day and night. At the cellular level, the circadian clock drives daily rhythms with a transcriptional-translational feedback loop (TTFL) established by multiple transcription factors and genes under their regulation. Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK) and Brain and Muscle ARNT-like protein 1 (BMAL1) are two of those transcription factors, initiating the TTFL by forming a heterodimeric complex that bind to DNA promoters. Neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (NPAS2) is a functional analog to CLOCK. Less knowledge about NPAS2, in contrast …

Prediction And Classification Of G Protein-Coupled Receptors Using Statistical And Machine Learning Algorithms, Fredrick Ayivor

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are transmembrane proteins with important functions in signal transduction and often serve as therapeutic drug targets. With increasing availability of protein sequence information, there is much interest in computationally predicting GPCRs and classifying them to indicate their possible biological roles. Such predictions are cost-efficient and can be valuable guides for designing wet lab experiments to help elucidate signaling pathways and expedite drug discovery. There are existing computational tools for GPCR prediction and classification that involve statistical and machine learning approaches such as principal component analysis, support vector machines, hidden Markov models, etc. These tools use protein …

Sensory Integration And Its Role In Behavioral Plasticity In Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Clarissa Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Although commonly characterized by communicative and social impairments, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) presents a number of developmental deficits related to movement planning and action. The extent of these deficits to the entire neuromuscular system, as well as the individual input/output loops are still not well understood. Given the dynamic interplay between our plans, actions and outcomes lay the foundation for later mature motor behavior, it is critical to understand the unique motor learning processes these nervous systems face while a higher level of training plasticity may be present. A recent study examined the kinematics (acceleration, velocity, smoothness, etc.) of upper …

Neuromuscular Responses At Acute Altitude Exposure During Fatiguing Dynamic Exercise Of The Biceps Brachii, Jasmin Renee Jenkins

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: The capacity to do work is greatly affected by high altitude exposure. Larger muscle groups of the lower body and exercises primarily aerobic in nature have been well investigated at high altitude. The present study examined acute altitude exposure on the number of repetitions to failure and electromyographic (EMG) repetition duration (Time), EMG root mean square (RMS) and EMG mean power frequency (MPF) during dynamic constant external resistance (DCER) exercise of the biceps brachii.

METHODS: Thirteen subjects performed two sets of fatiguing DCER arm curl repetitions to failure at 70% of their one repetition maximum (1RM) obtained at 1067 …

Insights Into The Structure, Pharmacology, And Evolution Of The Glycine Transporter 2, Ashley Bryan Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The balance between neuronal excitation and inhibition in the central nervous system is vital for survival. Overexcitation can be toxic and lead to certain manias or even death. On the other hand, extremely low levels of inhibition cause hyperekplexia, pain, and even forms of autism. Neuronal inhibition is, for the most part, achieved by two neurotransmitters, GABA and glycine. Levels of both neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft are meticulously regulated by the GABA and glycine transporters, respectively, which belong to the solute carrier 6 (SLC6) family of neurotransmitter transporters and share structural similarities with other family members. In Chapter 1, …

The Effects Of A 6-Week Controlled Whole-Body Vibration Training Program In Reducing Falls Risk Among Healthy Older Adults, Fabricio Saucedo Jr.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Falling is the second leading cause of accidental or injury-related death in the aging population worldwide and a leading cause of serious injury. Whole-body vibration (WBV) training has been implemented as a way to improve functional performance among the elderly and reduce the falls risk. The purposes of this study were: 1) examine to what extent a six-week course of WBV training reduced falls risk and improved fall outcomes in response to slips, and 2) examine whether the benefits of WBV training could be retained at least 2 months after the completion of the entire training session. A total of …

Effects Of Manual Resistance Training On Body Composition In Young Adults, Lizette America Terrazas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Resistance training (RT) is a form of exercise that is important for strength development. Manual Resistance Training (MRT) is an alternative mode of RT that utilize an external resistance provided by a partner. MRT requires minimal equipment and is a convenient form of training for individuals who do not have access to traditional weight training equipment The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of MRT intervention on Fat Mass (FM), Lean Mass (LM) and Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and to compare the changes to the Weight Resistance Training (WRT) group. Thirty young adult (Females:18, …

Ketamine Pre-Exposure Does Not Influence Later-Life Responses To Reward-Related Stimuli In Female C57bl/6 Mice, Israel Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Preclinical work indicates that exposure to traditional antidepressant medications, in adolescent and adult female subjects, alters reward-related behavior later in life. In recent years, the anesthetic ketamine (KET), now used as a fast-acting antidepressant, has shown promising therapeutic efficacy for the management of depression. However, the potential long-term behavioral consequences of KET exposure across development have not been thoroughly assessed. Thus, to address this issue, we examined if KET exposure, during adolescence or early adulthood, results in enduring alterations in responsivity to the rewarding properties of sucrose and cocaine later in life. Specifically, female C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to …

Sex Differences In The Mechanisms That Modulate The Neurochemical Effects Of Nicotine, Kevin Uribe

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prior behavioral studies in our laboratory revealed that overexpression of the stress peptide, corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF), in the mesocorticolimbic reward pathway enhanced the reinforcing effects of nicotine. The latter effect was greater in female versus male rats, suggesting that females are uniquely susceptible to the effects of stress on nicotine reinforcement. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the neurochemical mechanisms by which overexpression of CRF in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a terminal region of the mesocorticolimbic pathway, modulates the behavioral effects of nicotine. Specifically, we examined whether nicotine-induced dopamine levels are altered by CRF overexpression via excitatory (glutamate) …

Characterization Of The Anti-Viral Activity Of Schlafen13, Jordan Winfield

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Schlafen13 (Slfn13) is an enzyme that belongs to the Schlafen family whose expression and function is not very well characterized. The N-terminal has a pseudo dimer structure that contains its catalytic site. There is no characterization functionally or structurally of the C-terminal of Slfn13 other than the prediction of a region with helicase activity. The objective of my Thesis was to increase our understanding of the Slfn family of proteins. Currently, Slfn13 is reported to play a role in the differentiation of monocytes and to function as an endoribonuclease that cleaves tRNA and rRNA molecules in a site-dependent sequence-independent manner. …

Antioxidant Intervention In Radical-Induced Protein Damage, Emmanuel Zubia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Many environmental toxicants are known to increase free-radical production, which can create cellular havoc and lead to a myriad of ailments. Antioxidants can be used to ameliorate the prevalence of free radicals, potentially serving as prophylactics against radical-induced disorders. Many exogenous antioxidants are phytochemicals in origin, such as ascorbic acid, gallic acid, and ellagic acid. Some of these antioxidants can be found in traditional medicine, like tanshinone and brazilin, which have been studied and are known to have low cytotoxicity. Here we test the radical rescue capacity of a selected group of phytochemical antioxidants on protein rescue models. Specifically, our …

Distributions Of Axons Immunoreactive For Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone And Neurons Immunoreactive For Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase In The Hypothalamus Of The Adult Male Rat: An Analysis Of Interactions And Their Representation In An Atlas Reference Space, Eduardo Peru

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the present study, we have provided two sets of high spatial-resolution maps for neuronal populations containing the immunoreactive presence of the key feeding-related peptides hypocretin/orexin (H/O), alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (αMSH) and the nitric oxide-producing enzyme, neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). These were mapped across the mediolateral and dorsoventral extents of the hypothalamus in the Swanson rat brain atlas, from levels 23–30. The first set of these maps are of the chemoarchitectural distributions for each of the neuronal populations mentioned, which are novel in two ways. First, they were generated across multiple animals to serve as the basis for probability …

Inhibition Of Glycine Transporter 2: An Emerging Target For Chronic Pain, Elvia Lilia Padilla

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic pain is a complicated, completely unknown condition that has been studied based on its severe impact on the population. According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, 1.5 billion people suffer from tension-type headaches, one of the most common symptomatic chronic conditions. Christopher L. Cioffi, 2019; mentioned approximately in US 116 million adults are explicitly afflicted by chronic pain. Chronic pain is described as dysfunction in nerves that have been continuous during a long period (Mills, 2019). Treatments for chronic pain are different types of common analgesics that relieve the pain for short periods such as aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, …

Behavioral Ecology Of A Desert Ambush Predator: Assessing Movement Patterns, Habitat And Microhabitat Use, And The Innate Feeding Response Of Eastern Black-Tailed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Ornatus) In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert, James Emerson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research on the ecology and evolution of rattlesnakes has been sporadic over the past 80 years, but has seen recent expansion into the diverse fields of physiology, physiological ecology, life history, behavioral ecology, ethology, reproductive biology, chemical ecology, venom biochemistry and medicine, conservation, and many other subdisciplines. The development of small, implantable VHF radiotransmitters in the 1980s revolutionized research in the field of behavioral ecology for rattlesnakes, which are uniquely suited for radiotelemetry studies because they possess several morphological, physiological, and behavioral characteristics that are unique among terrestrial vertebrates. The widespread application of radiotelemetry by the mid-1980s advanced the model …

Partitioning Variation In Vegetation And Landscape Functionality In Arid Land Piosphere, Eahsan Shahriary

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A piosphere is an interaction between vegetation community, watering point, and grazing livestock/wildlife. In this Dissertation, I begin by reviewing the concept of the piosphere, and the progress, knowledge gaps and common statistical approaches and errors in piosphere research. Landscape functionality, plant community distribution and their influencing factors on a piosphere in Iran are then investigated.

A total 862 piosphere publications of multiple types from 68 countries and 10 different languages during the period of 1915 â?? 2018 were reviewed. Australia was the most productive country followed by South Africa, the USA, Botswana and Argentina. Ivan Thrash is the most …

Effects Of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation On Insulin Sensitivity And Glycemic Control: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Michael James Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an effective method to induce involuntary muscle contraction, particularly for populations that are more prone to physical incapacities and metabolic disease.

Purpose: To evaluate existing evidence to determine the effectiveness of NMES on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity.

Methods: Electronic search consisted of MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Web of science to identify existing original research studies that investigated the effects of NMES on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in humans. Studies that met inclusion criteria for the systematic review were then considered for meta-analysis if the studies were designed as …

Region-Specific Modifications Of Synaptic Proteins In Response To Early-Life Adversity In The Rat Brain, Jameel Nasser Hamdan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Drug addiction is a serious condition affecting approximately 19.7 million people in the United States alone (SAMHSA 2018). Exposure to stress and other adverse conditions has been shown to impact drug-taking behavior and making individuals more vulnerable to addiction. In those already suffering from addiction, abstaining from drug use often gives way to relapse after a stressful event (Lu, Shepard et al. 2003; Shaham, Erb et al. 2000). The experience of adversity during early-life can cause long-lasting changes in the brain, affecting development, behavior, learning and memory, and critical thinking processes, which may persist into adulthood (Aisa, Tordera et al. …