Digital Commons Network^™

Vitamin D Deficiency And Its Role In Pathologies Of Oxidative Stress: A Literature Review, Philippe Dentino, Johanna Mora, Li Zuo

School of Medicine Publications

Vitamin D (VD) is a key mineral providing critical modulation of reduction-oxidation homeostasis within biological systems. VD and the VD receptor coordinate essential cellular activities, including mitochondrial electron transport, respiration, antioxidation, gene regulation, and calcium transportation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), a natural by-product of cellular metabolism, play a prominent role in the mechanisms of biological antioxidant systems and form the basis of antioxidant therapies. However, ROS may also perpetuate pathological processes when produced in excess secondary to inflammatory pathways. Aging processes within cells rely on this reduction-oxidation homeostasis. Thus, the interaction with VD, its receptor, mitochondria, and oxidative stress forms …

Structural Insights Into Ssna1 Self-Assembly And Its Microtubule Binding For Centriole Maintenance, Lorenzo Agostini, Jason A Pfister, Nirakar Basnet, Jienyu Ding, Rui Zhang, Christian Biertümpfel, Kevin F O'Connell, Naoko Mizuno

2020-Current year OA Pubs

SSNA1 is a fibrillar protein involved in dynamic microtubule remodeling, including nucleation, co-polymerization, and microtubule branching. The underlying molecular mechanism has remained unclear due to a lack of structural information. Here, we determine the cryo-EM structure of C.elegans SSNA-1 at 4.55-Å resolution and evaluate its role in embryonic development. We find that SSNA-1 forms an anti-parallel coiled-coil, with self-assembly facilitated by an overhang of 16 C-terminal residues that form a triple-stranded helical junction. The microtubule-binding region is within the triple-stranded junction, suggesting that self-assembly of SSNA-1 creates hubs for effective microtubule interaction. Genetical analysis elucidates that SSNA-1 deletion significantly reduces …

Development Of Emerin Mrna Lipid Nanoparticles To Rescue Myogenic Differentiation., Nicholas Marano, Liza Elif Guner, Rachel S Riley, James M Holaska

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy 1 (EDMD1) arises from mutations in EMD. Most EDMD1 patients lack detectable emerin expression. They experience symptoms such as skeletal muscle wasting, joint contractures, and cardiac conduction defects. Currently, physicians rely on treating patient symptoms without addressing the underlying cause-lack of functional emerin protein. Thus, there is a need for therapeutic approaches that restore emerin protein expression to improve patient outcomes. One way would be to deliver emerin mRNA or protein directly to affected tissues to restore tissue homeostasis. Here, we evaluated the utility of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver emerin mRNA to diseased cells. LNPs …

Effect Of Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet On Ldl Cholesterol: A Scoping Literature Review, Joel Gregory Mueller

Nursing Capstones

Background: The whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet includes whole grains, whole plants, unrefined sugars, beans, and legumes. The diet excludes meat, dairy, and added fats. The diet has been popularized by documentaries .The diet claims to lower total and LDL cholesterol to a safe level as both a primary and secondary mode of prevention.

Purpose: Review existing studies to see whether the WFPB diet will lower LDL cholesterol in adult males over a 14 day or more duration.

Methods: A scoping literature review was completed of the University of North Dakota’s library system for keyword combinations. The returned 102 studies were …

Comparative Analysis Of Risk Factors Associated With Guinea Worm Disease In Five Endemic Countries, Junerlyn Virrey Agua

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Guinea worm disease (GWD) has persisted in a small number of endemic countries despite decades of eradication efforts. Ongoing GWD transmission in these countries underscores the need to examine behavioral, environmental, and surveillance-related drivers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess associations among risk factors, including dog tethering, pond treatment with Abate, and community awareness, and GWD incidence. The study also examined the relationship between climate-related environmental factors and GWD case distribution, as well as the influence of awareness levels on GWD rumor reports. Guided by the PRECEDE–PROCEED framework, this retrospective secondary analysis used data from national eradication …

Volume Ii | Issue I | 2025

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Restrictions On Veto Power: Holding The Permanent Five Accountable In The Face Of Intervention And Peacekeeping Operations, Theo Aldrighi

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

ABSTRACT: This article examines the structural constraints of the United Nations Security Council, with a focus on the veto power of its permanent members and its implications for intervention and peacekeeping. Through a realist lens and grounded in structural analysis, it contends that the recurrent paralysis of the Council in the face of mass atrocities stems from entrenched power asymmetries. The paper advances a bifold proposal: the adoption of the French-Mexican initiative to suspend veto use in cases of mass atrocities, and the entrenchment of the Council’s authority to authorize the use of force under defined conditions. Drawing on case …

Clickbait Economics: When Narratives Outshine Fundamentals, Esther Eisenstat

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Development Analysis Of South Africa: Potential Impacts Of The Democratic Alliance’S Presence In The New Coalition, Mitchell Susswein

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

No abstract provided.

Quality Improvement Project Implementing Test Anxiety-Reducing Methods In Senior-Level Nursing Students, Ashley Brooke Gray

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Test anxiety is a common occurrence among university students, particularly nursing students. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project was to address the problem of test anxiety among senior-level nursing students and the lack of faculty intervention in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. This DNP project aimed to increase awareness of test anxiety among nursing students and provide faculty development training on identifying symptoms, utilizing the Westside Test Anxiety Scale (WTAS), and implementing test anxiety-reducing measures in the classroom. The DNP student provided training to senior-level nursing faculty in integrating relaxation methods, …

Charting New Territory: Ai Applications In Dental Caries Detection From Panoramic Imaging., Man Hung, Daniel Yevseyevich, Milan Khazana, Connor Schwartz, Martin S. Lipsky

Institute on Aging Publications

Dental caries remains a public health concern, and early detection prevents its progression and complications. Panoramic radiographs are essential diagnostic tools, yet the interpretation of panoramic X-rays varies among practitioners. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising approach to enhance diagnostic accuracy in detecting dental caries. This scoping review examines the current literature on the use of AI programs to analyze panoramic radiographs for the diagnosis of dental caries. This scoping review searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. The review included peer-reviewed, original research published in English that investigated the use …

Extracellular Vesicles For Clinical Diagnostics: From Bulk Measurements To Single-Vesicle Analysis, Hai Linh Tran, Wenshu Zheng, David A Issadore, Hyungsoon Im, Yoon-Kyoung Cho, Yuanqing Zhang, Dingbin Liu, Yang Liu, Bo Li, Fei Liu, David Tai Wai Wong, Jiashu Sun, Kun Qian, Mei He, Meihua Wan, Yong Zeng, Ke Cheng, Tony Jun Huang, Daniel T Chiu, Luke P Lee, Lei Zheng, Andrew K Godwin, Raghu Kalluri, Steven A Soper, Tony Y Hu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in intercellular communication, signaling pathways, and disease pathogenesis by transporting biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids derived from their cells of origin, and they have demonstrated substantial potential in clinical applications. Their clinical significance underscores the need for sensitive methods to fully harness their diagnostic potential. In this comprehensive review, we explore EV heterogeneity related to biogenesis, structure, content, origin, sample type, and function roles; the use of EVs as disease biomarkers; and the evolving landscape of EV measurement for clinical diagnostics, highlighting the progression from bulk measurement to single vesicle …

Non-Isolated Tetralogy Of Fallot (Tof+): Exome Sequencing Efficacy And Phenotypic Expansions, Julia Volpi, Xiaonan Zhao, Nichole Owen, Tia Evans, Muriel Holder-Espinasse, Nayana Lahiri, Eleanor Sherlock, Gemma Poke, Jeroen Breckpot, Koen Devriendt, Bjorn Cools, Alfredo Brusco, Giovanni Battista Ferrero, Enrico Grosso, Pradeep Vasudevan, Sara Loddo, Antonio Novelli, Maria Cristina Digilio, Aafke Engwerda, Marrit Hitzert, Alison Male, Lucy Bownass, Ruth Newbury-Ecob, Zosia Miedzybrodzka, Ruth Armstrong, Sally Ann Lynch, Gunnar Houge, Shiyi Xiong, Seema R Lalani, Jill A Rosenfeld, Pamela N Luna, Chad A Shaw, Daryl A Scott

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect (CHD). TOF may present in isolation or in conjunction with one or more non-cardiac congenital anomalies or neurodevelopmental disorders (TOF+). Uncertainty regarding the efficacy of various genetic testing strategies, and an incomplete understanding of the genetic causes of TOF+, may lead to hesitancy in recommending genetic testing, particularly, clinical exome sequencing (cES). Here, we analyzed cES data from 131 individuals with TOF+. A definitive or probable diagnosis was made for 31 individuals, yielding a diagnostic rate of 23.6% (31/131). One individual received three diagnoses. Commercially available CHD panels …

Bclaf1 Restrains Stress Responses In Hematopoietic Stem Cells To Support Expansion And Repopulation, Stephanie J Crowley, Wei Yang, Lynn S White, Jun Wu, Yanan Li, Haley Schmidt, Kyunghee Choi, Jeffrey A Magee, Jeffrey J Bednarski

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) rapidly expand during fetal development and after stress. Here, we identify B-cell lymphoma-2-associated factor 1 (BCLAF1) as a regulator of HSC repopulation activity, with roles in the expansion of fetal HSCs and hematopoietic reconstitution after stem cell transplantation. Using mice with hematopoietic-specific and inducible deletion of Bclaf1, we find that BCLAF1 promotes fetal HSC development but is dispensable for the maintenance of adult HSCs at steady state. Loss of BCLAF1 in either fetal or adult HSCs significantly impairs their self-renewal and multilineage reconstitution activity after stem cell transplantation. Single-cell RNA sequencing of fetal hematopoietic progenitors reveals …

The Interplay Of Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, And Neuroinflammation In Autism Spectrum Disorder: Behavioral Implications And Therapeutic Strategies, Ansab Akhtar, S K. Rahaman

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) deals with several symptoms, including language and speech impairment and developmental delays. The main brain regions affected could be the prefrontal cortex (PFC) or the temporal lobe. The detrimental features could include oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation. Most often, these phenomena are interrelated and can lead to one another, creating a vicious cycle. They also influence the regulation of certain genes involved in the pathogenesis of ASD or related behavior. In the brain regions prone to these detrimental features, a cascade of free radicals, inflammatory cytokines, and mitochondrial energy disruptions is initiated. These actions during …

Impact Of Urban Fine Particulate Matter Exposure On Cardiovascular Health, Shelby P. Briggs

Honors Theses

Air pollution, particularly exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), poses a growing threat to cardiopulmonary health. PM2.5 consists of microscopic particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter and originates from industrial combustion, transportation, and urban dust. These particles are classified as xenobiotics and are capable of bypassing respiratory defenses to enter systemic circulation, where they cause oxidative stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular dysfunction. This study examines the effects of PM2.5 on cardiovascular function using a murine model. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into control (saline), subchronic (10 µg), and chronic (100 µg) groups and were exposed weekly for 11 weeks via …

Hippocampal Avoidance During Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation For Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer: Randomized Phase Ii/Iii Trial Nrg-Cc003, Vinai Gondi, Stephanie L Pugh, Minesh P Mehta, Jeffrey S Wefel, Wolfgang A Tomé, Alexander Y Sun, John Grecula, Kristin J Redmond, Shannon Fogh, Laurie Gaspar, Andre Konski, Joseph Bovi, Clifford G Robinson, Benjamin Corn, Gregory M Videtic, Benjamin H Lok, Harold A Yoon, John H Heinzerling, Albert S Denittis, Ronald C Mcgarry, Kiran Devisetty, Vijayananda Kundapur, Abraham J Wu, Edward C Mccarron, Isabelle Thibault, Edmund L Simon, Andrew M Baschnagel, Samir Narayan, Jondavid Pollock, Rebecca Paulus, Lisa A Kachnic

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Hippocampal avoidance (HA) during therapeutic whole-brain radiotherapy reduces the risk of neurocognitive function (NCF) toxicity in patients with brain metastasis. This trial hypothesized that HA during prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) leads to noninferior intracranial relapse (ICR) and reduction in NCF toxicity.

Methods: This randomized phase II/III trial enrolled patients with SCLC, no brain metastases, and response to chemotherapy. The primary end points were 12-month ICR (noninferiority design, randomized phase II) and 6-month Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) Delayed Recall (DR) failure (phase III). Secondary end points were failure in any NCF …

Keap1 And Stk11/Lkb1 Alterations Enhance Vulnerability To Atr Inhibition In Kras Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Ana Galan-Cobo, Natalie I Vokes, Yu Qian, David Molkentine, Kavya Ramkumar, Alvaro G Paula, Marlese Pisegna, Daniel J Mcgrail, Alissa Poteete, Sungnam Cho, Minh Truong Do, Amirali Karimi, Yifan Kong, Anisha Solanki, Ankur Karmokar, Nicolas Floc'h, Adina Hughes, Rebecca Sargeant, Lucy Young, Li Shen, Gozde Kar, Caezaan Keshvani, Claudio Arrechedera, Sharia Hernandez, Katharina Schlacher, Jing Wang, Sonia Iyer, James Conway, Mohamed Reda Keddar, Marta Milo, Ilario De Toma, Susan E Critchlow, J Carl Barrett, Jan Cosaert, Alan Lau, Viia Valge-Archer, Lauren A Byers, Simon T Barry, John V Heymach

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

KRAS mutations frequently co-occur with alterations in STK11/LKB1 and/or KEAP1, defining an aggressive subset of lung cancers resistant to immuno- and chemotherapy. While LKB1 loss is associated with vulnerability to DNA damage response-based therapies, the impact of KEAP1 alterations remains unknown. We demonstrate that KEAP1-NRF2 pathway drives a compensatory modulation of ATR-CHK1 signaling, enhancing vulnerability to ATR inhibitors (ATRi), particularly in the setting of increased replication stress associated with LKB1 loss. ATRi shows enhanced anti-tumor activity in LKB1 and/or KEAP1-deficient non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) models and synergizes with gemcitabine. ATRi also enhances antitumor immunity and mitigates the immunosuppressed phenotype …

Polo-Like Kinase 1 Inactivation Enhances Pi3k Inhibition-Mediated Apoptosis Of Notch1-Mutant Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Pooja A Shah, Tuhina Mazumdar, Soma Ghosh, Lacin Yapindi, Reid T Powell, Yong S Park, Li Shen, Anne M Fernandez, Clifford C Stephan, Jing Wang, Andrew G Sikora, Jawad Kazi, Mitchell J Frederick, Faye M Johnson

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

PI3K inhibition causes apoptosis selectively in NOTCH1-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but modest single-agent responses and acquired resistance (AR) limit the clinical efficacy of targeted agents. To address these limitations, we investigated novel combination therapies. We tested the efficacy of 5768 compounds as single agents and 139 in combination with PI3K inhibitors in sensitive and AR NOTCH1-mutant HNSCC cell lines. We generated synergy/efficacy classifications for the combinations using multiple metrics of statistical drug synergy and growth rate indices. The PLK1/PI3K combination's efficacy was validated using orthogonal in vitro methods and in two HNSCC xenograft models. Compound efficacy …

Mutant P53 Confers Chemoresistance By Activating Kmt5b-Mediated Dna Repair Pathway In Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Haidan Luo, Mo-Fan Huang, An Xu, Donghui Wang, Julian A Gingold, Jian Tu, Ruoyu Wang, Zijun Huo, Yen-Ting Chiang, Kuang-Lei Tsai, Jie Su, Danielle A Bazer, Mien-Chie Hung, Canmao Xie, Yubiao Guo, Dung-Fang Lee, Huiling Yang, Ruiying Zhao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a malignancy arising from the nasopharyngeal epithelium, is common in the east and southeast area of Asia. Treatments for locally advanced and recurrent NPC include chemotherapy (usually combined with 5-Fluorouracil, 5-FU) and radiotherapy, but response is limited due to chemo-resistance. p53 mutation is a critical factor for 5-FU resistance in some cancers, but its role in NPC chemo-resistance remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that p53(R280T), a common p53 somatic mutation found in multiple NPC tumor samples, induces gain-of-function upregulation of DNA repair genes which leads to 5-FU resistance in NPC. p53(R280T) specifically upregulates the expression of DNA …

Impact Of A Multi-Strain L. Crispatus-Based Vaginal Synbiotic On The Vaginal Microbiome: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial, Jacques Ravel, Sheri Simmons, Eleni Greenwood Jaswa, Sara Gottfried, Miriam Greene, Susan Kellogg-Spadt, Dirk Gevers, Diane M. Harper

Institute of Emerging Health Professions Faculty Papers

A clinical trial of a multi-strain vaginal synbiotic (NCT05659745, registered 12/19/2022 at clinicaltrials.gov) led to an optimal vaginal microbiome dominated by L. crispatus (CST I). The synbiotic led to a significant increase in L. crispatus compared to placebo (p <  0.05), and conversion to CST I was significantly higher with the vaginal synbiotic than with placebo (90 vs 11%; p <  0.002). Mechanistically, the synbiotic reduced Gardnerella vaginalis and Candida, clinically important microbes.

Enhancing Target Dose Conformity While Effectively Sparing The Spinal Cord In Proton Arc Treatment Plans For Cervical Chordomas And Chondrosarcomas, Jon Blalock

Masters Projects

Cervical spinal chordomas and chondrosarcomas present significant therapeutic challenges due to their proximity to the spinal cord and resistance to conventional radiotherapy. This retrospective study investigated the capability of proton arc therapy (PAT) to maintain or improve adequate target coverage while reducing dose to the spinal cord for cervical spinal chordomas and chondrosarcomas over standard fixed beam intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT). While both IMPT and PAT use pencil beam scanning (PBS) to with energy modulation to deliver dose in discrete layers, IMPT relies on a limited number of fixed beam angles, whereas PAT delivers dose over an arc trajectory. …

Vaccination With Acinetobacter Baumannii Adhesin Abp2d Provides Protection Against Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection, Morgan R Timm, Kevin O Tamadonfar, Taylor M Nye, Jesús Bazán Villicaña, Jerome S Pinkner, Karen W Dodson, Ali H Ellebedy, Scott J Hultgren

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) contribute greatly to the burden of healthcare-associated infections. Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative bacterium with high levels of antibiotic resistance that is of increasing concern as a CAUTI pathogen. A. baumannii expresses fibrinogen-binding adhesins (Abp1D and Abp2D) that mediate biofilm formation on catheters, which become coated with fibrinogen upon insertion. Here we develop a protein subunit vaccine against the Abp1D and Abp2D receptor binding domains (RBD) and show that vaccination significantly reduces bacterial titers in a female mouse model of CAUTI. We further demonstrate that immunity to Abp2D

The Impact Of Pet Therapy On Stress Reduction And Academic Performance Among Allied Health Students, Catherine Brock

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Interest in pet therapy is increasing due to its potential to alleviate internal and external stress signs through the human-animal bond. This study investigates the effects of pet therapy compared to environmental and behavioral modifications on allied health students' stress levels and exam performance. Methods: We conducted an anonymized randomized intervention design with allied health students to compare perceived stress and test scores. Eighty-five students were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups. We hypothesized that students who participated in pet therapy before their exam would report lower anxiety and achieve higher exam scores than those who received …

Regional Heterogeneity Of The Blood-Brain Barrier, Marie Blanchette, Kaja Bajc, Benjamin D Gastfriend, Caterina P Profaci, Nadine Ruderisch, Cayce E Dorrier, Guo Zhong, Raquel Cuevas-Diaz Duran, Sean S Harvey, Iris H Garcia-Pak, Lucija Pintarić, Manon Leclerc, Louise Reveret, Vincent Émond, Annette Wang, Deepti Pant, Linus T Tsai, Frédéric Calon, Nina Isoherranen, Sean P Palecek, Eric V Shusta, Jiaqian Wu, Richard Daneman

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), formed by specialized endothelial cells (ECs), regulates the extracellular composition of the central nervous system (CNS). Little is known about whether there are regional specializations of the BBB that may control the function of specific neural circuits. We use single cell RNA-seq to characterize ECs from nine CNS regions in male mice: cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, spinal cord, striatum, thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, and medulla/pons. Although there is a core BBB transcriptional profile, there are significant regional specializations. Stra6, a retinoid transporter, is highly enriched in the BBB of the nucleus accumbens shell (ShNAc) and ventral cochlear nucleus, …

The Application Of Macrophage-Targeted, Anti-Inflammatory Celecoxib Nanoemulgel For Nerve Regeneration In Peripheral Nerve Injury, Lu Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) refers to damage to the nerve located outside the brain and spinal cord. PNI is commonly caused by a physical accident (trauma) or medical operation^{1, 2}. The impact on the quality of life of PNI patients is directly correlated to neuropathic pain, resultant depression, and increased stress². Even after recovering from the PNI, patients still experience phantom pain and lose the ability to work due to the loss of tactile sensory or motor function^2-4. However, unlike damage to the central nervous system (CNS), peripheral nerves can regenerate because macrophages clean …

Eco-Emotions And Climate Activism In Adolescents, Julianna Sahoo

Master's Projects and Capstones

Background. Youth are especially vulnerable to climate change, both physically and psychologically. Combatting climate change will require a coordinated, global effort. Understanding the motivations and emotions behind climate activism is essential to coordinate efforts to combat climate change.

Methods. This research uses survey data collected from first and second year undergraduates (n=521) at a private, urban university in California in the Fall of 2022. Youth were surveyed on emotions related to climate change, activism, compassion, eco-anxiety, and well-being.

Results. Experiencing positive emotions had a stronger relationship with environmental activism compared to negative emotions.

Conclusion. Results suggest climate change communications should …

Dietary Protein’S Effect On The Gut Microbiome And Its Metabolites: Protocol Description And Virtual Recruitment Efforts For A Remote Randomized Controlled Trial, Karyn M. Gallivan, Kristin S. Ondrak, Denise M. Danos, Meng Luo, Christopher M. Taylor, Lauren E. Meyer, Ann M. Byerley, Alexander W. Nguyen, Sabyasachi Chatterjee, Jiri Adamec, Lauri O. Byerley

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Fiber’s effect on our gut microbes has been studied extensively, while knowledge of the effect of protein is sparse. Colonic putrefaction of dietary protein is known to produce several potentially detrimental compounds. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) uses a pre- and post-study design to investigate the effect of consuming higher levels of dietary protein on the gut microbiota and the metabolites it produces. Here, we describe our virtual recruitment efforts and RCT protocol. Potential participants lived throughout the contiguous US. Several recruitment methods were employed, of which email reached the largest group of people (approximately 9,100) and generated a 0.3% …

Mirna-Mediated Regulation Of S100b: A Review, Animesh Dali, Suhana Basnyat, Rachel Delancey, Nipun Chopra

Psychology and Neuroscience Faculty Publications

S100β is a significant signaling molecule and biomarker that is primarily expressed in the brain. At low physiological concentrations, S100β induces astrocyte maturation, microglial migration, and neural proliferation. However, high concentrations activate inflammatory and pro-apoptotic pathways. Due to this dual role, increased research is being invested into the role of S100β in neuronal homeostasis and inflammation. In fact, increased S100β expression is seen in many neuropathologies including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral ischemia, and traumatic brain injury. High S100β is generally associated with worsened disease outcome. Here, we provide an overview of the structure and role of S100β in various …

Dual-Function Polyester Nanoparticles For Amplified Anti-Inflammatory Effects, Ingrid M Heyns, Abiodun T Wahab, Raghu Ganugula, David Sheikh-Hamad, M N V Ravi Kumar, Meenakshi Arora

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This study investigates a dual-acting drug delivery system using naringenin (NAR) as a folate receptor ligand to enhance intestinal uptake and encapsulated NAR for combating inflammation. The dual-acting systems were tested in vitro on cisplatin-induced human kidney-2 cells and in vivo in a mouse model of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). NAR-loaded passive nanoparticles [P2Ns(NAR)] and dual-acting systems [P2Ns-NAR(NAR)] showed notable advantages over unformulated NAR, reducing the required dose by up to 57 and 79%, respectively. These nanoparticles modulated immune responses, restored T cell function, and shifted macrophage polarization from proinflammatory M1 to tissue-repairing M2. In addition, P2Ns-NAR(NAR) alleviated AKI …