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Coordination Of Airway Protective Behaviors And Swallow: Effects Of Afferent Feedback And Sex., Alyssa D. Huff Dec 2019

Coordination Of Airway Protective Behaviors And Swallow: Effects Of Afferent Feedback And Sex., Alyssa D. Huff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation represents a series of studies describing mechanisms related to breathing, upper airway behaviors and their coordination in man and animal. Chapter two transformed the cough swallow aspiration protocol from the cat (previous work) to the human introducing a new strategy, volume targeting, in swallow breathing coordination. Chapter three evaluated swallow breathing coordination at increasing altitudes. As respiratory drive altered due to hypoxia and hypocapnia, swallow breathing coordination shifted toward inspiration occurring during the transition from inspiration and expiration. The collection of the two previous studies led to development of an animal model to evaluate volume targeting and …


The Identification Of Long Non-Coding Rna Zfas1 Through An Exploratory Rna-Sequencing Analysis And Its Association With Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition In Colon Cancer Adenocarcinoma., Stephen J. O'Brien Dec 2019

The Identification Of Long Non-Coding Rna Zfas1 Through An Exploratory Rna-Sequencing Analysis And Its Association With Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition In Colon Cancer Adenocarcinoma., Stephen J. O'Brien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal adenocarcinoma is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed worldwide and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. This dissertation performed an exploratory RNA-sequencing analysis comparing gene expression between colon adenocarcinoma tissue and paired normal colon epithelium. After identification of a number of lncRNAs that were increased in expression in colon adenocarcinoma compared to normal colon epithelium, we aimed to validate the expression and investigate their function in vitro. Specifically, we focused on the lncRNA ZFAS1 and its association with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. These studies found the following: 1. Seven candidate lncRNAs were identified from the exploratory RNA-sequencing analysis to …


The Effects Of Nicotine And Cigarette Smoking On Cardiac Electrophysiology., Affan B. Irfan Dec 2019

The Effects Of Nicotine And Cigarette Smoking On Cardiac Electrophysiology., Affan B. Irfan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is a leading cause of preventable disease and premature death worldwide. The adverse effects of cigarette smoking, including proarrhythmia, are related to the mixture of chemicals, including nicotine (which sustains tobacco addiction). However, it remains unclear which individual tobacco smoke constituents and biological pathways mediate this increased risk. The purpose of this research was to explore the chronic effects of cigarette smoking, as well as compare the acute effects of nicotine and cigarette smoking, and the possible role of β-adrenoreceptors, on human cardiac electrophysiology. Chapter 1 is a comprehensive literature review of (a) the ex vivo and in …


The Effect Of Spinal Cord Injury On Sexual Function., Casey J. Steadman Aug 2019

The Effect Of Spinal Cord Injury On Sexual Function., Casey J. Steadman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes severe neurological impairment with widespread motor, autonomic and sensory deficits, leading to a substantial quality of life impairment. The number of individuals with SCI increases by approximately 12,500 annually, and over 80% of individuals with SCI are males. SCI individuals rate sexual function as a top priority quality of life issue, and men with SCI likely suffer from sexual dysfunction, such as erectile and ejaculatory dysfunction, as well as infertility. Regardless of the high status of importance of sexual function, limited numbers of experimental studies in SCI animal models have focused on sexual function after …


A Distinct Pattern Of Sterile Inflammation Induced By Zinc Oxide Nanowires., Ruqaih Salem Alghsham Aug 2019

A Distinct Pattern Of Sterile Inflammation Induced By Zinc Oxide Nanowires., Ruqaih Salem Alghsham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in nanotechnology. Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) become an increasingly important area in nanotechnology. Recent developments in ENMs have drawn commercial and research attention in many areas such as agriculture, medicine, and Industry. High-aspect ratio zinc oxide nanowires (ZnONWs) have become one of the most significant ENMs due to their remarkable physical properties which makes them useful in a wide-range of applications. However, questions have been raised about ZnONW safety uses and biological consequences. In this dissertation, we investigated the inflammatory potential of ZnONWs in mouse models. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to ZnONW …


Novel Mechanisms And Biomarkers In Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury., Christine E. Dolin May 2019

Novel Mechanisms And Biomarkers In Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury., Christine E. Dolin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Ethanol (EtOH) consumption is known to affect multiple organs; this is unsurprising, as the concentration of EtOH in the blood at relevant doses reaches the millimolar range. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to elucidate mechanisms of alcohol-induced organ injury, specifically the effects of alcohol on the hepatic extracellular matrix (ECM) proteome, the alcoholic hepatitis (AH) plasma peptidome, and the effects of alcohol on the renal cortex proteome and transcriptome. Methods. Mice were pair-fed ethanol-containing liquid diet chronically, and then some mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Liver sections from these mice were processed in a series of increasingly …