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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Leaving Ligand Effects On Reactivity And Solubility Of Monofunctional Platinum(Ii) Anticancer Complexes, Heidi Linn Hruska Millay Oct 2019

Leaving Ligand Effects On Reactivity And Solubility Of Monofunctional Platinum(Ii) Anticancer Complexes, Heidi Linn Hruska Millay

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Monofunctional platinum(II) complexes, such as phenanthriplatin and pyriplatin, have notably different characteristics from the bifunctional anticancer complexes, such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin, which have detrimental toxicities and resistance associated with them. The unique properties of the monofunctional complexes may be exploited to target cancer cells without producing the toxic side effects associated with the current FDA-approved platinum-based anticancer drugs. To advance the understanding of these monofunctional platinum(II) complexes, this study replaced the chloride leaving ligand with an acetate group, which should increase solubility and alter the rate of reactivity with key amino acid and nucleotide targets. Phenanthriplatin and pyriplatin compounds …


Tourism And African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Behavior In Zambezi National Park, Zimbabwe, Brigit Rooney Jul 2019

Tourism And African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Behavior In Zambezi National Park, Zimbabwe, Brigit Rooney

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As charismatic megafauna and a flagship species, African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are vital to the African tourist economy. Conversely, high levels of wildlife tourism can induce behavioral shifts that push desired animals into less frequented areas and disrupt natural behaviors. In order to examine this trade-off, tourism levels and African elephant behaviors were studied in Zambezi National Park (ZNP) near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Over the course of 14 weeks, in-person observations and camera traps in ZNP were used to collect geographic, demographic, and behavioral data from elephant sightings. As a proxy for human presence, geo-locational data were collected for each …


Documenting Marine Mammal Behavior And Evaluating The Benefits And Consequences Of Viewing Marine Mammals In Southcentral Alaska, Lauren E. Mccaslin Jul 2019

Documenting Marine Mammal Behavior And Evaluating The Benefits And Consequences Of Viewing Marine Mammals In Southcentral Alaska, Lauren E. Mccaslin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Marine mammals are in a precarious conservation position because of anthropogenic impacts and historic perceptions that they are a consumable commodity. In light of changing abiotic conditions, further evaluation is needed on the habitat use, behavior, and interactions among marine mammals. Conservation legislation has helped protect species, but the greatest ground swelling may be the advent of the commercial whale watching industry. The feeding grounds in Alaskan waters have made this area a prime tourism location, and these nutrient-rich waters have resulted in a confluence of marine mammal species, including the appealing and abundant humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that may …


Observation And Self-Report Of Fun And Social Engagement Of Nursing Home Residents During Bingocize®, Lauren Rene Stevens Apr 2019

Observation And Self-Report Of Fun And Social Engagement Of Nursing Home Residents During Bingocize®, Lauren Rene Stevens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Individuals in certified nursing facilities (CNF) often experience social isolation and have limited opportunities to exercise. Bingocize®, an evidence-based healthpromotion program, is a combination of exercise and Bingo and provides opportunities for CNF resident interaction. Limited tools are available to quantify social engagement displayed by nursing home residents. Research suggests that intergenerational programming can positively affect social engagement. The present pilot study focused on the implementation of the Fun and Social Engagement (FUSE) evaluation to measure social engagement displayed by nursing home residents during Bingocize® sessions. The FUSE combined observation and self-report measures to yield a total social engagement score. …


Factors That Positively Affect Agricultural Educator Longevity And Retention In Kentucky: A Delphi Study, Loren Clifford Gross Apr 2019

Factors That Positively Affect Agricultural Educator Longevity And Retention In Kentucky: A Delphi Study, Loren Clifford Gross

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the favorable factors that positively affect the longevity and retention of agricultural educators in the state of Kentucky. This issue was examined by answering the following questions: What are the primary reasons you decided to become an agricultural teacher? Why have you decided to stay in the agricultural education profession for five or more years? What are some of the barriers that you have encountered during your teaching career that you have had to overcome that may have caused you to leave the profession? A three-round Delphi study was utilized to capture …


Properties Of A Genetically Unique Mycobacteriophage, Amanda K. Staples Apr 2019

Properties Of A Genetically Unique Mycobacteriophage, Amanda K. Staples

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bacteriophage MooMoo is a temperate phage that was isolated and propagated on Mycobacterium smegmatis (M. smeg). It typically produces turbid plaques, however spontaneous clear plaque mutants can be readily isolated. Both turbid (MooMoo-T) and clear plaque (MooMoo-C) formers can establish stable lysogens, but the parental turbid plaque forming phage has a higher lysogenic frequency. The phage repressor protein typically plays the central role in regulating the lysis/lysogeny decision. Therefore, we expected that the mutation responsible for the clear plaque phenotype would be located in the repressor gene. Remarkably, whole genome sequencing detected a single base pair mutation in the minor …


Effects Of Evidence-Based Materials And Access To Local Resources On Physical Activity During Pregnancy, Kolbi Edens Apr 2019

Effects Of Evidence-Based Materials And Access To Local Resources On Physical Activity During Pregnancy, Kolbi Edens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has been shown to be safe and effective for improving maternal and infant health; however, only 23% of pregnant women exercise in accordance with guidelines. PURPOSE: To determine if the distribution of evidence-based educational resources as well as access to community resources will increase PA levels as well as knowledge/beliefs about PA during pregnancy. METHODS: Participants (8-12 weeks) completed assessments concerning their activity levels, as well as knowledge/beliefs regarding PA, during pregnancy. Next, participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention (IG) or control group (CG). The IG received educational information regarding PA during pregnancy, …


Optimal Control Theory And Estimation Of Parameters In A Differential Equation Model For Patients With Lupus, Peter Agaba Apr 2019

Optimal Control Theory And Estimation Of Parameters In A Differential Equation Model For Patients With Lupus, Peter Agaba

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

System Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that affects many parts of the body including skin, joints, kidneys, brains and other organs. Lupus Nephritis (LN) is a disease caused by SLE. Given the complexity of LN, we establish an optimal treatment strategy based on a previously developed mathematical model.For our thesis work, the model variables are: Immune Complexes (I), Pro-inflammatory mediators (P), Damaged tissue (D), and Anti-inflammatory mediators (A). The analysis in this research project focuses on analyzing therapeutic strategies to control damage using both parameter estimation techniques (integration of data to quantify any uncertainties associated with …


A Phylogenetic Analysis Of Bostrichoidea (Coleoptera) And Revisions Of The Southern African Spider Beetle Genera Meziomorphum And Eutaphroptinus (Ptinidae: Coleoptera), Olivia M. Gearner Apr 2019

A Phylogenetic Analysis Of Bostrichoidea (Coleoptera) And Revisions Of The Southern African Spider Beetle Genera Meziomorphum And Eutaphroptinus (Ptinidae: Coleoptera), Olivia M. Gearner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Proposals for the internal relationships and classification of the bostrichoids are currently poorly supported, and almost all are based on morphology alone. This study improves upon on previous phylogenetic analyses of the group by including more taxa using the standard genes for many phylogenetic analyses. Cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (CO1), 28S small subunit rRNA, and 16S small subunit rRNA mitochondrial genes were sequenced or obtained from Genbank, then analyzed using parsimony and Bayesian analyses. Topologies differed depending on genes used. A three gene tree and a two gene (28S and CO1) tree both supported relationships in which a basal …


Evaluating The Success Of Female Selected Sex-Sorted Semen At Western Kentucky University's Dairy Farm, Briley Loggan Apr 2019

Evaluating The Success Of Female Selected Sex-Sorted Semen At Western Kentucky University's Dairy Farm, Briley Loggan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of female selected sex-sorted semen and to determine the association of variables on the success of Western Kentucky University’s Dairy Farm. Official breeding and calving records (n=144) were used to determine the relation of lactation number, breeding season, breeding number, breeding year and semen type on pregnancy results, sex of offspring, and the mortality of the offspring. Previous research has shown pregnancy results can be influenced by lactation number, breeding season, number of breedings and semen type. Results from this study show that pregnancy results were not associated with lactation …


Quantification Of Tylosin Antibiotics In Cattle Waste, Appala Keerthi Apr 2019

Quantification Of Tylosin Antibiotics In Cattle Waste, Appala Keerthi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Antibiotics are used as prophylactic agents to promote growth and for treating infections in animals. However, the irrational use of antibiotics in livestock management is a significant cause of the development of antibioticresistant genes in the environment. Each year 2 million people suffer from the infections caused by bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics and 23,000 of these people are estimated to die because of antibiotic resistance. New drugs are continually coming into the market but are at the risk of developing resistance. Thus, there is a need for the development of analytical methods which can be used to monitor …


Effects Of Ef-24 And Cisplatin On Cancer, Renal, And Auditory Cells, Denis Hodzic Apr 2019

Effects Of Ef-24 And Cisplatin On Cancer, Renal, And Auditory Cells, Denis Hodzic

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug effective against several forms of cancer, but can also cause serious side-effects, including nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. Curcumin, a natural plant compound, can increase cisplatin’s anti-cancer activity and counteract cisplatin’s deleterious effect on the auditory and renal systems. Unfortunately, curcumin exhibits poor bioavailability, which has promoted interest in the development of synthetic curcumin analogs (curcuminoids) that are soluble, target cancer, and do not cause side effects. This study investigated whether the curcuminoid (3E,5E)-3,5-bis[(2-fluorophenyl) methylene]-4-piperidinone (EF-24) increases the anti-cancer effects of cisplatin against a human ovarian cancer cell line (A2780) and its cisplatin-resistant counterpart (A2780cis), while preventing …