Medical Sciences Commons^™

Resting-State Functional Connectivity In Youth With Gender Dysphoria, Felix L. Garcia

All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Current developmental models of gender identity and gender dysphoria (GD) lack sex-specific profiles of brain function that differentiate between typically-developing and cross-gender identified youth, as postulated by models like the unified theory of the origins of sex differences (Arnold, 2009) and the neurobiological theory of the origins of transsexuality (Swaab & Garcia-Falgueras, 2009). Previously, investigators have used brain imaging modalities such as Resting-State functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (R-fMRI) to demonstrate differences in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between typically-developing male and female youth, and between typically-developing and GID-diagnosed youth. In the present pilot study, I used R-fMRI to investigate differences in RSFC between typically-developing and cross-gender identified male and female youth subgroups, with the hypothesis that GID-diagnosed subgroups would demonstrate connectivity patterns in between those of typically-developing males and females. Eleven youth diagnosed with gender identity disorder (four males, ages 9 to 20 years; seven females, ages 12 to 20 years) were matched on age and assigned gender with 11 typically-developing youth. All participants completed written informed consent to undergo the IRB-approved research procedures. R-fMRI were collected while the participants were lying down and resting, with their eyes closed. Primary analyses focused on 14 ...

An Investigation Of The Order Of Applying An Emollient With A Topical Steroid In The Treatment Of Atopic Dermatitis, Andrea Conner, Ashlee Tietje

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

In 2007, the prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis had increased two to three-fold within the last three decades and affected 15-20% of young children (Buys, 2007). Current treatment includes the use of both steroid and emollient creams. Current suggestions for the order of application are contradictory. This study aims to examine the role of the order of application of treatments for Atopic Dermatitis (AD). Hairless mice (SKH-1) were induced to a mild AD flare-up using 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) and treated with either 1% hydrocortisone (Maximum Strength Cortizone 10 cream) alone, 1% hydrocortisone followed by Cetaphil (emollient), or Cetaphil followed by 1 ...

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Building Soft Nanomachines From Polydiacetylene Liposomes, Timothy W. Hanks

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Introductory Medical Microbiology, Veronica Morin, Andrew Dawson

Biological Sciences Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Introductory Medical Microbiology was created under a Round Nine ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Introductory Medical Microbiology Ancillary Materials, Veronica Morin, Andrew Dawson

Biological Sciences Ancillary Materials

This set of lecture materials, laboratory notes, and activities are ancillary materials created for use with OpenStax Microbiology. The materials were created under a Round Nine Textbook Transformation Grant.

Topics covered include:

• The Cell
• Prokaryotes
• Eukaryotes
• Acellular Pathogens
• Microbial Metabolism
• Microbial Growth
• Biochemistry of the Bacterial Genome
• Microbial Genetics
• Microbial Growth
• Antimicrobial Drugs
• Pathogenicity
• Epidemiology
• Immune System

Functional Polymorphisms Of Alcohol Metabolism Genes And Their Protection Against Alcoholism Via Gene Therapy: A Systematic Review, Olivia Tzeng

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Around 45% of East Asians are unable to fully metabolize ethanol due to functional

polymorphisms of alcohol metabolism genes, specifically alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). These individuals display high levels of toxic blood acetaldehyde when consuming alcohol, causing symptoms such as tachycardia, vomiting, and flushing. The studies included in this review examine how functional polymorphisms of ADH and ALDH protect against alcoholism in addition to how polymorphisms can be utilized as protection against alcoholism via gene therapy. The studies included found that carriers of the ADH and ALDH polymorphisms were 66 to 99% genetically protected against alcoholism. Through ...

Preparation And Characterization Of Functionalized Heparin-Loaded Poly-Ɛ-Caprolactone Fibrous Mats To Prevent Infection With Human Papillomaviruses, Daniela Gonzalez, Jorge Ragusa, Peter C. Angeletti, Gustavo F. Larsen

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering -- All Faculty Papers

In this study, heparin-loaded poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) fibrous mats were prepared and characterized based on their physical, cytotoxic, thermal, and biological properties. The main objective of the work described here was to test the hypothesis that incorporation of heparin into a PCL carrier could serve as bio-compatible material capable of inhibiting Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The idea of firmly anchoring heparin to capture soluble virus, vs. a slow heparin release to inhibit a virus in solution was tested. Thus, one material was produced via conventional heparin matrix encapsulation and electrohydrodynamic fiber processing in one step. A second type of material was ...

The Effect Of Hyperthermia On Liver Cell Viability, Jada Grant

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Hyperthermia is a treatment for liver cancer where the tumor is exposed to a relatively high heat temperature. This process is designed to make the tumor more susceptible to chemotherapy. My thought process was that if hyperthermia can kill cancerous cells, then there will be negative long term effects on the noncancerous cells surrounding the tumor. The project experimented on Kidney cells because the Kidney and Liver both go through the process of filtration. This means that the Kidney cells should give similar results that Liver cells would. Kidney cells were heated at 40 degrees Celsius for time amounts of ...

Cloning Of An Overexpression Vector For The Rare And Uncharacterized Kras Mutant R164l, Julliane Jeanne Negre

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Mutations in the coding DNA of KRAS, which encodes for an active protein in the Ras signaling pathway regulating cell proliferation and growth, may be critical in the development of lung and colorectal cancer in humans. Clinical tests and therapies for cancer specifically target mutations, some of which may cause erroneous prognosis and prescription of cancer therapy posing more danger for patients with unique mutations. Therefore, characterization of non-hotspot mutations is becoming more important, where, KRAS R164L is an existing uncharacterized mutation identified through the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC). The project aimed to clone a pTarget overexpression ...

A Humanized Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Model To Elucidate Molecular Mechanism In Disease Pathology, Ragavi Vijayakumar, Maxine Hong

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), that clinically manifests as an enlarged heart is a highly prevalent cardiac disorder with propensity towards arrhythmia-induced sudden cardiac death. The mechanism of HCM remains poorly defined, necessitating further understanding of the disease for improved therapeutic strategies. As it is challenging to obtain cardiac biopsies from human subjects, using induced pluripotent stem cells technology, we generated cardiomyocytes (CMs) in a dish from HCM patients. These HCM-CMs presented the clinical manifestation in that they were significantly larger in size in comparison to control (healthy)-CMs. Furthermore, gene expression profiling of cardiac ion channels revealed increased transcripts encoding for ...

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Homochiral Peptides Containing Arginine And Histidine As Molecular Transporters, Naglaa Salem El-Sayed, Taryn Miyake, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Shang Eun Park, Jimmy Clark, Stephani Buchholz, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Linear (HR)n and cyclic [HR]n peptides (n = 4,5) containing alternate arginine and histidine residues were synthesized. The peptides showed 0–15% cytotoxicity at 5–100 μM in human ovarian adenocarcinoma (SK-OV-3) cells while they exhibited 0–12% toxicity in human leukemia cancer cell line (CCRF-CEM). Among all peptides, cyclic [HR]4 peptide was able to improve the delivery of a cell impermeable fluorescence-labeled phosphopeptide by two-fold. Fatty acids of different alkyl chain length were attached at the N-terminal of the linear peptide (HR)4 to improve the molecular transporter property. Addition of fatty acyl chains was expected ...

Methods For The Investigation Of Microvascular Control Of Oxygen Distribution, Richard Sove

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this thesis was to develop tools for studying oxygen-dependent regulation of red blood cell (RBC) flow distribution in the microcirculation. At the microvascular level, arterioles dictate the distribution of oxygen (O₂) carrying RBCs to downstream capillaries, a process which needs to be tightly regulated and coupled to O₂ off loading from capillaries to the tissue. To investigate potential regulatory mechanisms, an O₂ exchange platform was developed to manipulate the RBC hemoglobin O₂ saturation (SO₂) at the muscle surface while limiting the changes in SO₂ to only a single capillary network. Decreasing ...

The Effect Of Hyperthermia On Liver Cell Viability, Jada Grant

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Hyperthermia is a treatment for liver cancer where the tumor is exposed to a relatively high heat temperature. This process is designed to make the tumor more susceptible to chemotherapy. My thought process was that if hyperthermia can kill cancerous cells, then there will be negative long term effects on the noncancerous cells surrounding the tumor. The project experimented on Kidney cells because the Kidney and Liver both go through the process of filtration. This means that the Kidney cells should give similar results that Liver cells would. Kidney cells were heated at 40 degrees Celsius for time amounts of ...

Cloning Of An Overexpression Vector For The Rare And Uncharacterized Kras Mutant R164l, Julliane Jeanne Negre

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Mutations in the coding DNA of KRAS, which encodes for an active protein in the Ras signaling pathway regulating cell proliferation and growth, may be critical in the development of lung and colorectal cancer in humans. Clinical tests and therapies for cancer specifically target mutations, some of which may cause erroneous prognosis and prescription of cancer therapy posing more danger for patients with unique mutations. Therefore, characterization of non-hotspot mutations is becoming more important, where, KRAS R164L is an existing uncharacterized mutation identified through the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC). The project aimed to clone a pTarget overexpression ...

A Humanized Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Model To Elucidate Molecular Mechanism In Disease Pathology, Ragavi Vijayakumar, Maxine Hong

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), that clinically manifests as an enlarged heart is a highly prevalent cardiac disorder with propensity towards arrhythmia-induced sudden cardiac death. The mechanism of HCM remains poorly defined, necessitating further understanding of the disease for improved therapeutic strategies. As it is challenging to obtain cardiac biopsies from human subjects, using induced pluripotent stem cells technology, we generated cardiomyocytes (CMs) in a dish from HCM patients. These HCM-CMs presented the clinical manifestation in that they were significantly larger in size in comparison to control (healthy)-CMs. Furthermore, gene expression profiling of cardiac ion channels revealed increased transcripts encoding for ...

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle Treatment Ameliorates Peritonitis-Induced Diaphragm Dysfunction, Shinichi Asano, Ravikumar Arvapalli, Nandini D. Manne, Mani Maheshwari, Bing Ma, Kevin M. Rice, Vellaisamy Selvaraj, Eric Blough

Mani Maheshwari

The severe inflammation observed during sepsis is thought to cause diaphragm dysfunction, which is associated with poor patient prognosis. Cerium oxide (CeO₂) nanoparticles have been posited to exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities suggesting that these particles may be of potential use for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. To investigate this possibility, Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: sham control, CeO₂ nanoparticle treatment only (0.5 mg/kg iv), sepsis, and sepsis+CeO₂ nanoparticles. Sepsis was induced by the introduction of cecal material (600 mg/kg) directly into the peritoneal cavity. Nanoparticle treatment decreased ...

Increased Heme-Oxygenase 1 Expression In Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Adipocytes Decreases Differentiation And Lipid Accumulation Via Upregulation Of The Canonical Wnt Signaling Cascade, Luca Vanella, Komal Sodhi, Dong Hyun Kim, Nitin Puri, Mani Maheshwari, Terry D . Hinds, Lars Bellner, Dov Goldstein, Stephen J . Peterson, Joseph I. Shapiro M.D., Nader G. Abraham

Mani Maheshwari

Introduction:

Heme oxygenase (HO), a major cytoprotective enzyme, attenuates oxidative stress and obesity. The canonical Wnt signaling cascade plays a pivotal role in the regulation of adipogenesis. The present study examined the interplay between HO-1and the Wnt canonical pathway in the modulation of adipogenesis in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived adipocytes.

Methods:

To verify the role of HO-1 in generating small healthy adipocytes, cobalt protoporphyrin (CoPP), inducer of HO-1, was used during adipocyte differentiation. Lipid accumulation was measured by Oil red O staining and lipid droplet size was measured by BODIPY staining.

Results:

During adipogenesis in vitro, differentiating pre-adipocytes display ...

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Inhibit Lipopolysaccharide Inducedmap Kinase/Nf-Kb Mediated Severe Sepsis, Mani Maheshwari, Nandini Manne Phd, Shinichi Asano, Eric Blough, Kevin M. Rice, Niraj Nepa,, Erin Fankhanel

Mani Maheshwari

The life threatening disease of sepsis is associated with high mortality. Septic patient survivability with currently available treatments has failed to improve. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced sepsis mortality and associated hepatic dysfunction can be prevented by cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) treatment in male Sprague Dawley rats. Here we provide the information about the methods processing of raw data related to our study published in Biomaterials (Selvaraj et al., Biomaterials, 2015, In press) and Data in Brief (Selvaraj et al., Data in Brief, 2015, In Press). The data present here provides confirmation of ...

Concurrent Regulation Of Lkb1 And Camkk2 In The Activation Of Ampk In Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer By A Well-Defined Polyherbal Mixture With Anticancer Properties., Amber F. Macdonald, Ahmed Bettaieb, Dallas R. Donohoe, Dina S. Alani, Anna Han, Yi Zhao, Jay Whelan

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Zyflamend, a blend of herbal extracts, effectively inhibits tumor growth using preclinical models of castrate-resistant prostate cancer mediated in part by 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a master energy sensor of the cell. Clinically, treatment with Zyflamend and/or metformin (activators of AMPK) had benefits in castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients who no longer responded to treatment. Two predominant upstream kinases are known to activate AMPK: liver kinase B1 (LKB1), a tumor suppressor, and calcium-calmodulin kinase kinase-2 (CaMKK2), a tumor promotor over-expressed in many cancers. The objective was to interrogate how Zyflamend activates AMPK by determining the roles of ...