Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Beyond The Eye: The Neural Signature Of Cerebral Visual Processing In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Jacy R. Hannan

Theses & Dissertations

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a permanent, non-progressive neuromuscular disorder diagnosed early in childhood. Frequently the lesion that causes the motor impairments in individuals with CP concurrently disrupts the visual networks, placing them at a high risk of cerebral visual dysfunctions. Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) often remains unrecognized or misdiagnosed in people with CP. Despite the crucial role of visual function in the development of movement and cognition, the neurophysiological basis of the cerebral visual dysfunctions is almost entirely unknown. This investigation aimed to examine the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying cerebral visual dysfunction in children with CP. Specifically, this research used magnetoencephalographic …

Role Of The Acid Sensing Ion Channel 1a In The Systemic Circulation, Selina M. Garcia

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) is a non-selective cation channel that is expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells. However, little is known about the contribution of ASIC1a to vascular reactivity and cardiovascular homeostasis. We have previously shown that ASIC1a contributes to pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) Ca²⁺ entry and vasoconstriction as well as chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. However, a role of ASIC1a in the systemic circulation is unclear. Previous reports have shown that ASIC1a is expressed in femoral and cerebral arteries, however, these studies suggest that ASIC1a contributes to vascular reactivity through neuronal regulation rather than vascular. Therefore, …

The Role Of Timp3 In Microvascular Endothelial Cell-Extracellular Matrix Interaction And Regulation Of Microvascular Barrier Function, Nidhi Kulkarni

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pulmonary microvascular endothelial cell (PMVEC) interactions with the extracellular matrix (ECM) mediates PMVEC barrier function. Further, data suggests an association between decreased PMVEC-ECM interactions under proinflammatory conditions and PMVEC barrier dysfunction. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 3 (TIMP3) may also regulate barrier function, as PMVEC from Timp3^-/-mice show increased leak. Studies in the developing lung also showed TIMP3 regulating PMVEC-ECM interactions. Based on this, I hypothesized that TIMP3 maintains PMVEC barrier function by promoting PMVEC-ECM interactions.

Using the XperT-permeability assay, Timp3^-/-PMVEC demonstrated enhanced leak vs. WT PMVEC, particularly under proinflammatory conditions, and this was associated with decreased …

Impact Of Endangered Animal Protection Rights, Policies, And Practices On Zoonotic Disease Spread, Daniella Fedak-Lengel

Honors Projects

Building on field research in Costa Rica and Belize, this honors project analyzes environmental and endangered animal protection policies, rights, and practices in Central America and the Caribbean, and assesses the impact of veterinary science and biological research and practice, particularly conservation biology, on animal welfare concerns. Informed by the recent surge in awareness regarding zoonoses and zoonotic disease transmission, prevention and control, resulting from the current global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, the project assesses the need for new and innovative types of collaboration, particularly involving conservation biologists, environmental scientists, public health experts, law and policy makers, and global trade and …

Detection And Quantification Of Cells Using Magnetic Particle Imaging And Magnetic Microspheres, Kierstin P. Melo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an emerging imaging modality that specifically detects superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs). Our lab has shown that cell tracking with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has very high sensitivity, but low specificity and quantification of iron labeled cells is difficult. MPI cell tracking could overcome these limitations. A Momentum^TM MPI system was installed at Robarts in August 2019 and this is the first project to be completed using MPI. In Chapter 2 a series of in vitro experiments are reported which tested the repeatability and reproducibility of imaging SPIO labeled cell samples. There are no …

Improving Hydrid Pet/Mri Cardiovascular Imaging With Improved Hardware Design And Attenuation Correction Coefficient, Adam Helmy Farag

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2019, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) cause 52% of all illness-related deaths globally and are considered to be the second most common cause of death in Canada. CVD is also estimated to cost the Canadian economy about $21.2 billion in direct and indirect costs. With these figures, it is vital to develop the most effective and accurate methods and tools to diagnose accurately CVD and their causes. One of the promising tools for accurate diagnostic and therapeutic of CVD is the integrated Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) PET/MRI technology, …

Targeting Cd5 To Enhance Immune T Cell Activation And Function In Treatment Of Solid Tumours, Faizah Alotaibi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

CD5 is a member of scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily that is expressed primarily on T cells. It can attenuate T-cell receptor signaling and impair cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activation and is a therapeutic targetable tumour antigen expressed on leukemic T and B cells. However, the potential therapeutic effect of functionally blocking CD5 to increase T cell anti-tumour activity against tumours (including solid tumours) has not been explored. CD5^- solid tumours in CD5 knockout mice display increased in anti-tumour immunity. Hence, blocking CD5 function may have a potential therapeutic effect by enhancing CTL function. Here, I assessed CD5 levels in …

Kidney Injury Molecule-1 Mediated Phagocytosis And Its Therapeutic Application In Ameliorating Renal Transplant Ischemia Reperfusion Injury, Ji Yun Lee

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Renal transplantation is a life-saving procedure for patients with end-stage renal disease. Persistent graft inflammation and fibrosis due to injury from repeated insults - both alloantigen-dependent and -independent - lead to chronic allograft dysfunction and long-term graft loss. Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) to the graft is an inescapable consequence of transplantation and can result in significant delayed graft function (DGF). Tissue damage and graft dysfunction resulting from transplant-associated IRI have been correlated with acute rejection and long-term graft loss. During IRI, dying renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) release pro-inflammatory mediators, worsening tissue damage and further potentiating injury by initiating an …

Systems Genetics And Systems Biology Analysis Of Paraquat Effects In Bxd Recombinant Inbred Mice, Carolina Del Valle Torres Rojas

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Paraquat (PQ) is a chemical herbicide that is used in many countries including the United States. It is also highly acutely toxic to humans and has been used as a means of suicide. As PQ is applied mainly in agricultural settings, it moves to soil and well water. Chronic low dose exposure via drinking water may have adverse effects on humans, including increased risk for sporadic Parkinson’s disease (sPD). The etiology of sPD is unclear and the most accepted hypothesis states it is the result of the interaction between environmental factors and genetic susceptibility. Increasing evidence led us to infer …

Apneic Oxygenation: An Adjunctive Therapy For Laryngoscopy During Anesthesia Induction, Yaro Hoffman

Doctoral Projects

Endotracheal intubation is an essential component within the skill set of anesthesia providers. Rapid arterial desaturation remains a primary risk factor during laryngoscopy and intubation. The risk for hypoxemia exists because during endotracheal intubation, patients are apneic or hypo-ventilating (Wong et al., 2017). Apneic oxygenation (AO) has been advocated to attenuate hypoxemia during endotracheal intubation (Pavlov et al., 2017).

The aim of this project was to assess for any knowledge deficits regarding AO among anesthesia providers and assess the willingness of these providers to include AO into their current practice. The project investigator conducted an education session involving the …

Frakturat E Kokës Dhe Kujdesi Infermieror, Fitore Kelmendi

Theses and Dissertations

Fjala Infermier(e) rrjedh nga gjuha latine “nutrire” qe do të thotë kujdestare/nënë. Infermieria është një profesion shëndetësor i cili ka për qëllim kujdesin dhe përmirësimin e cilësisë së jetës së shoqërisë.

Ne, si infermierë duhet t’i trajtojmë të gjithë pacientët njësoj sepse jeta e secilit është e rëndësishme. Kujdesi infermieror tek frakturat e kokës është mjaft i rëndësishëm andaj edhe kam përzgjedhur këtë temë për hulumtim, duke treguar trajtimin që duhet bërë këtyre pacienteve që janë me rrezik jete, dhe për përmirësimin e jetës së tyre dhe parandalimin e rreziqeve që mund të vijnë si pasojë e dëmtimit te kokës. …

Chronic Effects Of Methylphenidate On Neuronal Viability And Plasticity, Hannah Oakes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most commonly prescribed drug to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is now considered a life-long disorder; therefore, patients take MPH from adolescence into adulthood, highlighting the need for research studying chronic MPH use. MPH increases dopamine and norepinephrine within the synaptic cleft; therefore, chronic use of MPH may lead to changes within important dopaminergic pathways. One pathway, the mesolimbic pathway, includes the hippocampus, an area where adult neurogenesis occurs. We investigated the effects of chronic low and high doses of MPH on neurogenesis and examined levels of a few key proteins linked to cell …

Association Between White Matter Hyperintensities, Cortical Thinning, And Clinical Outcomes In Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Thomas Helmut Knoblauch

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a global health challenge, with over 4.6 million confirmed cases annually in North America alone. Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) are the most common and make up approximately 81% of all TBI diagnoses worldwide [1]. Studies indicate that 10–15% of patients suffer from trauma induced symptoms (i.e. headache, loss of balance, cognitive impairments, fatigue, and mental health/affective disorders) as far as 1 year post injury [2]. Prediction and management of these post-traumatic sequalae is complicated by a lack of symptom associated neuroimaging findings. In spite of a “prominent distribution” of frontotemporal WMHs in pediatric subjects …

Reversal Of Neurodegeneration By Engineered Monocytes In Alzheimer’S Disease, Chao-Hsien Chen

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The health challenges posed by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continue to grow as societies age worldwide. Accumulation of Tau-associated pathology correlates with clinical cognitive deterioration in AD. Resident myeloid cells within the central nervous system (CNS) have a limited capacity to uptake and degrade Tau; however, the resulting secretion of proinflammatory cytokines only acts to accelerate neurodegeneration. Therapeutic antibodies can reduce the neurotoxic oligomeric form of Tau (o-Tau), but in doing so they also aggravate inflammation. Attenuating mutation of the antibody Fc region can silence inflammation but also eliminates its capacity to mediate o-Tau clearance by CNS myeloid cells. Thus, there …

The Link Between Heart Disease In Low Socioeconomic Communities In America, Khristopher Chea

Nursing | Senior Theses

As a future medical professional in the healthcare field, we continue to see patients admitted for cardiovascular issues. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality among adults living in the U.S. despite advances in treatment throughout the past century. A number of risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity contribute to the significant rise of cardiovascular disease. Research data suggests that there is correlation between cardiovascular disease, low socioeconomic status, and diet. According to the American Phycological Association socioeconomic status is measured by income, educational status, and occupation, and has been shown to be closely …

Gut Microbiota And The Development Of Type 2 Diabetes, Janet Ryan

Nursing | Senior Theses

This paper explores the question: Can interventions focusing on healing the gut microbiome of a prediabetic patient prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes? Diabetes is a major health problem that is becoming the biggest epidemic of the 21^st century. Efforts to derail the progression of disrupted blood glucose metabolism are often futile leaving patients frustrated with a lifelong burden of disease management. Recent studies suggest that collectively the gut microbiome acts as an endocrine organ and that injury to this “organ” can lead to dysfunctional glucose regulation. A comprehensive literature review revealed that further studies are …

The Effects Of Moderate-Severe Plaque Psoriasis On Patient Well-Being And Prevention Of Flares, Glenn Devera

Nursing | Senior Theses

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that is indicated by red, patchy and scaly skin that can be painful when irritated. Patients with psoriasis have an increased risk for a number of chronic diseases. Despite the expansion of treatments for moderate-to-severe psoriasis over the last decade, patients may still find that treatment strategies are not as successful, leaving them dissatisfied with their treatments. A relationship built upon trust between the nurse and the patient diagnosed with psoriasis may serve to help ensure optimal care. A comprehensive literature review was performed and found that best practices for patient management need to …

Functional And Physiological Role Of Extra-Hypothalamic Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Neurons In The Nucleus Of The Hippocampal Commissure In Regulation Of Stress Response, Hakeem Kadhim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons located within the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) are known to be involved in regulation of stress responses. Recently, CRH neurons were identified above the PVN within the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC) that located in the septum. We hypothesized that CRH neurons in the NHpC play a critical role in the stress response due to their rapid activation and could be a part of the traditional hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The dissertation addresses the role of 1) CRH expressing neurons in the NHpC compared with those within the PVN utilizing two different stressors, food deprivation (FD) …

Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 Magnetic Resonance Measurements Of Tissue Perfusion And Metabolism, Keith Michel

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Imaging (HP MRI) is an emerging modality that enables non-invasive interrogation of cells and tissues with unprecedented biochemical detail. This technology provides rapid imaging measurements of the activity of a small quantity of molecules with a strongly polarized nuclear magnetic moment. This polarization is created in a polarizer separate from the imaging magnet, and decays continuously towards a non-detectable thermal equilibrium once the imaging agent is removed from the polarizer and administered by intravenous injection. Specialized imaging strategies are therefore needed to extract as much information as possible from the HP signal during its limited lifetime.

In …

Investigation Of The Functional Impact Of Anti-Pd-1 On Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (Til) And Mapping Of Tumor Genomic Features Relevant For Response To Til Therapy, Caitlin Creasy

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

With the growing use of both cellular and antibody-based immunotherapies, it has become more important to uncover biomarkers to predict patient response to therapy and ideally aid in patient selection for specific therapeutics, thereby enhancing treatment outcome. At MD Anderson, we have a 43% response rate to therapy when treating metastatic melanoma patients with adoptive cell therapy (ACT) of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), but it is unknown what makes the other 57% of patients not respond to therapy. It is further unknown how particularly early doses of checkpoint inhibitors, like anti-PD-1, attribute to TIL functionality, adding another confounding factor in determining …

Great Expectations: Phosph(On)Ate Prodrugs In Drug Design—Opportunities And Limitations, Victoria Yan

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Phosphate and phosphonates are chemical moieties with historical precedence in anticancer and antiviral nucleotide analogues. Synchronous to modern efforts identifying novel therapeutic targets in cancer, such chemical moieties are being investigated in the design of novel inhibitors with antineoplastic potential. A central challenge to the delivery of phosph(on)ate-containing drugs is their anionic character at physiological pH, which portends poor membrane permeability. This limitation has been successfully overcome through the use of prodrugs. When attached to the phosph(on)ate moiety, prodrugs mask the negative charge and easily enable cell permeability. Upon cellular entry, the promoieties are enzymatically or environmentally cleaved to unveil …

Validation Of Novel Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment With Silicone Gel Experimental Models, Dustin Walter Burd

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Predictive modeling to increase treatment success rates for surgical procedures is becoming more common in the scientific community. For obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), modeling has been predominately performed using computers as opposed to experimental models. Computer simulation saves time by eliminating the need to fabricate complex experimental models but comes at the expense of insight gained through physical observations made in real time. Experimental models for studying OSA are needed to validate computational work, provide perspective on anatomical scale and demonstrate complex deformations in real time. This work addresses prior hurdles in experimental model fabrication with a novel process using …

Electrical Identification Of Innate Immune Cells, Rasha Ayman Nasser

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the electrical characterization of the key players of the innate immune cells. Innate immunity is basically the nonspecific immune response that is triggered by any foreign body that attacks the human system. The key players of the innate immune system are mainly dendritic cells and macrophages. Accurately classifying these cell types helps us understand the mechanism of the immune system thereby enabling the development of models to improve new prospects for therapeutics and diagnostics. The characterization described in this thesis is based on extracting the capacitance for each biological cell using I-V curves. The main …

Technology Aiding In Neonatal Lung Developmental Care, Megan Kirk

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this paper, old as well as new technological findings to decrease premature infant mortality are reviewed. This paper discusses fetal development throughout pregnancy from conception to full-term status as well as fetal lung development specifically from conception until full-term status. Several ideas to rapidly develop and mature fetal lungs are discussed such as mothers ingesting artificial surfactant supplements, either independently or coupled with antenatal corticosteroids, as well as intra-amniotic instillation prior to 28 weeks gestational. Drawbacks regarding these two are mentioned as well such as the fetus’s lungs not being mature enough to use the artificial surfactant leading into …

Design Of Hfgf1 Variant(S) With Increased Stability And Enhanced Bioactivity, Shilpi P. Agrawal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are involved in various cellular processes such as cell growth,proliferation, differentiation, migration, angiogenesis, wound healing and embryonic development. Human acidic fibroblast growth factor (hFGF1) binds non-selectively to all the four FGF-receptors and is therefore considered as a powerful mitogen with broadest specificity. However, pharmacological applications of hFGF1 are restricted due to the low thermal stability of the growth factor. hFGF1 has low thermodynamic stability under physiological temperatures which leads to impairment of cellular signaling process thereby preventing its potential mitogenic properties. hFGF1 has a heparin binding pocket at the C-terminus which comprises of positively charges residues. …

Characterization Of Adiposity And Inflammation Genetic Pleiotropy Underlying Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Hispanics., Mohammad Yaser (Anwar)

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The observed overlap between genetic variants associated with both adiposity and inflammatory markers suggests that changes in both adiposity and inflammation could be partially mediated by common pathways. The pervasive but sparsely characterized “pleiotropic” genetic variants associated with both adiposity and inflammation have been hypothesized to provide insight into the shared biology. This study explored and characterized the genetic pleiotropy underpinning adiposity and inflammation using genetic and phenotypic observations from the Cameron County Hispanic Cohort (CCHC). A total of 3,313 samples and >9 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were examined in this study. Mixed model genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were …

Nuclear-Targeted Gold Nanoparticles Enhance The Effects Of Radiation Therapy With And Without Liposomal Delivery, Maureen Aliru

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Less that 10% of pancreatic cancer patients are eligible for curative resection, and clinical trials evaluating chemoradiation in locally advanced patients with unresectable disease have been largely disappointing. New and creative therapeutic approaches are needed to address the unment need for treatment options. The objective of this thesis is to advance radiosensitization of treatment-resistant densely desmoplastic pancreatic cancer using nanoparticles to surmount biological barriers to effective particle distribution for DNA-targeting.

Clinical translation of radiosensitizing nanoparticles has stalled owing to technical challenges. Current strategies to use AuNPs for radiosensitization require large quantities of gold, kilovoltage x-rays, immediate irradiation after intravenous administration, …

Cognition In Health And Disease: Two Mouse Model Studies, Heather Lynn Mahoney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive and circadian dysfunction are common aspects of neuropsychiatric disease that are often overlooked in disease models and treatment strategies. In this work, we first evaluated the potential for cognitive enhancement in healthy adult mice by targeting a kinase involved in regulation of the molecular circadian clock. We then developed and characterized a model of neuropsychiatric disease that could present a target for rescuing circadian and cognitive deficits using this treatment.

Time-of-day effects have been noted in a wide variety of cognitive behavioral tests, and perturbation of circadian rhythms impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. We first asked whether casein kinase …

Epidemiology And Pathophysiology Of Common Skin Diseases In West Africa: An Immunodermatological Framework, Osazomon Imarenezor

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This capstone reviews the common skin diseases on a global scale. With these dermatoses being further funneled into Africa and then magnified into common West African dermatoses, the meta-analyses of literature available paints a clear picture of the epidemiological & pathological factors and their contribution to the skin disease. Each article analysed in this analysis was taken from a 20-year span of January 2000 to December 2019. The selection of articles was fine-tuned by identifying the distribution of skin disease, revealing the populations affected (age, gender, ethnicity, etc), the main causes, country of origin, the prognosis of disease, and the …

Sexually Dimorphic Oxytocin Receptor-Expressing Neurons In The Anteroventral Periventricular Nucleus Regulates Maternal Behavior, Kaustubh Sharma

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The neurohypophysial hormone oxytocin is involved in the regulation of social behaviors, including social recognition, pair bonding, and sex-specific parental behaviors in a variety of species. Oxytocin triggers these social behaviors by binding to oxytocin receptors (OXTR) in various parts of the brain. Oxytocin-induced sex-typical behavior, therefore, suggests a sexual dimorphic distribution of OXTR in the brain. In recent years, the oxytocin system in the brain received tremendous attention as a potential pharmacological target for treatment of many psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, and even sex-specific psychiatric disorder like postpartum depression (PPD). An important problem and a …