Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Safety Of Saccharomyces Boulardii (Florastor) In Solid Organ Transplant Patients, Nicole Marie Dores

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Probiotics have been promoted for use in many gastrointestinal ailments. Most studies find probiotics safe for human use, reporting no severe adverse effects. However, probiotics are live microorganisms and thus have the potential to cause infection. Transplant recipients are considered at high risk for infectious complications from probiotics due to the immunosuppressive medications used to prevent organ rejection. Nonetheless, clinicians are currently utilizing probiotics in the transplant population, due to their benefit in gastrointestinal disorders, particularly recurrent Clostridium difficile. Limited knowledge and paucity of prospective trials in this patient population demands the need for completion of studies to identify the …

Pharmacy And Empathy: Evaluating The Impact Of A Pharmacy Student's Project In A Service-Learning Course, Carly D'Agostino

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Background: Empathy is taking on a larger role in the pharmaceutical field as pharmacists place emphasis on patient centered care. Service-learning courses can expose pharmacy students to future patients, allowing them to interact and develop empathy. While this study suggests service-leaming can foster empathy, further research is needed to assess the specific outcome of empathy as a result of incorporating a project in a service-learning course for pre-pharmacy students.

Objective: To evaluate the effect on a pharmacy student's empathy after completing a one-on-one patient interview project during a service-learning experience. A secondary objective is to assess tile validity of a …

Over-The-Counter Non-Steroidal Anti-Anflammatory Drugs In Adolescent Athletes, Anna Christine Parada

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are common medications used by the general population due their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. These are especially popular in athletes since they are not prohibited in many rules of athletic competition. Over-the-counter (OTC) NSAIDs comprise several drugs that may be purchased without a prescription. These are often over-utilized by the general population due to their accessibility and relatively low cost. The unsuspecting victims are the children, especially adolescent athletes, who deem OTC NSAIDs safe without realizing the potential adverse effects of inappropriate consumption of these medications. This article reviews the approved indications and side effects of …

Linguistic Devices, Emotionality, And Memorability Of Computer Mediated Communication, Angela M. Mion

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

I examined whether college students use shortcuts, pragmatics, and errors in text messages differently depending on their gender and the emotionality of the message. Results indicate that the prevalence of particular shortcuts differed across happy, sad, and angry messages, but gender did not influence use of linguistic devices. In a second study, I examined the emotionality and memorability of text messages versus voicemails. Results indicate that texts may be remembered better than voicemails, and happy, sad, and angry messages may be remembered differently by men and women.

Expressed Emotion And Attitudes Toward Body Image And Food, Toni Marie Maraldo

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In numerous studies over the years, body image and dysfunctional attitudes toward food have shown to be related to the genesis of eating disorders. Recent research has particularly focused on the influence that families have on both the development of eating disorders as well as their impact on their child's body image and eating attitudes. In general, higher levels of expressed emotion are often found in families with children who have either anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. However, there is a lack of research on sub-clinical populations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the influence that expressed …

P-Glycoprotein Functional Studies To Evaluate The Effect Of Cyclosporine Emulsion Formulations On Reversal Of Resistance In The Multidrug Resistant Cancer Cell Line Mes-Sa-Dx5, Katherine E. Cich

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Background: The overexpression of an efflux protein, p-glycoprotein (P-gp), is a leading cause of multi drug resistance (MDR). This research project is based on designing emulsions containing optimal doses of cyclosporine (CyA) and Pluronic® P-85 (P85), two agents found to be effective in inhibiting P-gp. Study

Objective: To investigate whether CyA exposure affects the quantity or functionality of P-gp in vitro.

Methods: To study the functionality of P-gp, MDR cells were incubated with CyA solutions containing the P-gp substrate and fluorescent dye Rhodamine 123 (RI23). P-gp inhibition was measured by fluorescence spectrophotometry, which indicates the accumulation of R123 inside the …