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From Pathology To Circuits: Loss Of Pink1 Function In Parkinson’S Disease, Rose Berthe Creed Jan 2020

From Pathology To Circuits: Loss Of Pink1 Function In Parkinson’S Disease, Rose Berthe Creed

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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common neurogenerative motor disorder, affecting over 10 million people worldwide. Clinically, PD is diagnosed by presentation of hypokinetic movements such as bradykinesia, rigidity, and resting tremor. Additionally, PD patients have non-motor symptoms that include anosmia, constipation, and hypophonia. Current therapeutics have been successful in treating many of the locomotor symptoms, however no therapies stop or slow disease progression and the effectiveness of current medications diminishes as the symptoms invariably become more severe over the course of many years. Histopathologically, PD diagnosis is confirmed postmortem by two pathological hallmarks: 1. loss of dopaminergic neurons in …

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Impact Of Diet And Meal Timing On Time-Of-Day Dependent Hippocampal Function, Jennifer Davis Jan 2020

Impact Of Diet And Meal Timing On Time-Of-Day Dependent Hippocampal Function, Jennifer Davis

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Circadian rhythms are biological processes that cycle every ~24 hours and have allowed life to adapt for optimal function across the day. These rhythms are present in all tissues in the body and are coordinated to the light/dark cycle by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus. Along with active-rest cycles, cognitive performance fluctuates across the course of the day, peaking during the active phase. In addition to the light cycle, food and meal timing can provide signaling cues to extra-SCN tissues. Food access only during the inactive phase results in weight gain and memory impairment. High fat diet protocols …

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Mechanisms Of Virtual Reality To Improve Walking And Reaching Behavior In Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain, Rebecca Hennessy Jan 2020

Mechanisms Of Virtual Reality To Improve Walking And Reaching Behavior In Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain, Rebecca Hennessy

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Chronic low back pain (cLBP), low back pain persisting longer than three to six months, is a prevalent condition that can greatly interfere with movement quality. Specifically, cLBP can result in slower walking speeds and negatively affect reaching movements. Virtual reality (VR) encompasses a variety of technologies which may potentially improve therapeutic interventions for individuals with cLBP by presenting users with fun, distracting, and engaging challenges that align with their rehabilitative goals. While VR systems have become more accessible to everyday users, there is limited research which specifically examines VR mechanisms to improve walking and reaching quality. This dissertation presents …

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Characterization Of Intraocular Pressure Fluctuations, Intracranial Pressure And Translaminar Pressure Measured With Wireless Telemetry In Nonhuman Primates, Jessica Violet Jasien Jan 2020

Characterization Of Intraocular Pressure Fluctuations, Intracranial Pressure And Translaminar Pressure Measured With Wireless Telemetry In Nonhuman Primates, Jessica Violet Jasien

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Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and third leading cause of visual impairment worldwide; 180 million people suffer from a glaucomatous visual disability. Glaucoma is an ocular neurodegenerative disease with several risk factors. The major identified risk factors of glaucoma are intraocular pressure (IOP), age, race, central cornea thickness, family history, and low diastolic blood pressure. The lowering of IOP is the only modifiable risk factor for the disease. However, we know little about the true character of IOP. Periodic IOP measurements are obtained every few months or at the discretion of the clinician during office hours and …

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Restricting Access To Employment: A Study Of A Human Rights Violation Against Lebanon's Palestinian Refugee Population, Samih Mohamad Ali Eloubeidi Jan 2020

Restricting Access To Employment: A Study Of A Human Rights Violation Against Lebanon's Palestinian Refugee Population, Samih Mohamad Ali Eloubeidi

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While there has been an increase in refugees worldwide over the past several years, some groups, namely Palestinian refugees, have been refugees since their expulsion from Palestine in 1948. Many countries have accepted and allowed Palestinian refugees to integrate into their societies, both socially and economically, but Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are not granted many basic rights. One of these is the right to employment, which has been heavily restricted by the Lebanese government. While policy reports have described the detrimental ramifications of this lack of access to employment on Palestinian refugees’ livelihood, almost none of these have documented Palestinian …

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Assessment Of Neuropsychological Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury And Association With Early Orientation Performance, Christina Diblasio Jan 2020

Assessment Of Neuropsychological Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury And Association With Early Orientation Performance, Christina Diblasio

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Moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of permanent disability, and cognition plays a critical role in overall function and life after TBI. Moderate-severe TBI often creates long-term deficits in the domains of attention, processing speed, memory, and executive function. Given the prevalence of cognitive deficits following injury and the debilitating effects these deficits can have on functioning, it is important to monitor cognition directly following injury and across recovery. Routine cognitive assessment is essential in order to identify deficits, track recovery, and better guide rehabilitation and educational efforts. It is also critical to identify accurate and feasible …

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Noninvasive Neuromodulation Using A Benchtop Approach To Mri-Guided Focused Ultrasound Blood Brain Barrier Opening, Megan Rich Jan 2020

Noninvasive Neuromodulation Using A Benchtop Approach To Mri-Guided Focused Ultrasound Blood Brain Barrier Opening, Megan Rich

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Fundamental neuroscience research has provided a deeper understanding of the genes, molecules and cellular circuitry involved in neurological disorders, however translating discovery into clinical application remains a major challenge. This bench to bedside gap is in part due to the discrepancy in techniques used in the laboratory vs. the clinic for targeting the mechanisms that underlie disease. Ideally this discrepancy would be resolved not only by implementing novel clinical techniques to provide more precise targeting of disease foci, but also by using the same techniques in the clinic that are used at the lab bench to provide a direct bench …

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The Reproductive Ecology Of The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin Pileata) In Coastal Alabama: Implications For Conservation Amid Global Climate Change, Catherine Audrey Sirgo Jan 2020

The Reproductive Ecology Of The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin Pileata) In Coastal Alabama: Implications For Conservation Amid Global Climate Change, Catherine Audrey Sirgo

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The diamondback terrapin is the only emydid turtle within the United States that exclusively resides in salt marsh habitats. Over the past century, the species has seen dramatic declines in numbers due to being exploited for terrapin soup as well as other threats, including crab trap induced mortality, nest depredation, and habitat alteration or loss. In addition to these well-known historic threats, global climate change has become a growing concern due its potential threats on the terrapin and its habitat. The goal of this study was to assess the reproductive ecology of the Mississippi diamondback terrapins that reside within the …

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Exploring The Roles Of Long Non-Coding Rnas In Glioblastoma Tumor Recurrence And Therapy Resistance, Christian Tyler Stackhouse Jan 2020

Exploring The Roles Of Long Non-Coding Rnas In Glioblastoma Tumor Recurrence And Therapy Resistance, Christian Tyler Stackhouse

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ABSTRACT Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and devastating primary CNS brain tumor with a median survival time of around 14 months. Most patients succumb to re-current disease which is often more malignant than the primary tumor and is frequently therapy resistant. There have not been significant advances in the treatment of GBM despite decades of research. This is partly due to the lack of accurate preclinical models and of the focus on primary rather than recurrent tumors. We created a 350 gene custom GBM-specific panel which contains 16 molecular signatures including molecular sub-typing signatures. We have demonstrated concordance of …

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Functionalized Aromatic Organic Scintillators As Tools For Non-Invasive Optogenetics, David French Jan 2020

Functionalized Aromatic Organic Scintillators As Tools For Non-Invasive Optogenetics, David French

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Optogenetics is a growing discipline of neuroscience that attempts to control brain circuits using light. Current techniques involving surgically implanted light-emittingdiodes are highly invasive. This limitation could be avoided by the use of a tissuepenetrative light source, such as x-rays, and a locally applied down-converting material. This work describes the design, optimization, and proof-of-concept application of organic aromatic-based scintillators as non-invasive tools for optogenetics. The first chapter describes the synthesis of 2-anthryl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate copolymers and an evaluation of their use as x-ray induced scintillators (radioluminescence). The 2-anthryl methacrylate monomer and the copolymers all exhibited radioluminescence in the solid state. …

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The Evolution Of Racism Through The Lens Of Lynching Rhetoric And Memory, Tammy Blue Jan 2020

The Evolution Of Racism Through The Lens Of Lynching Rhetoric And Memory, Tammy Blue

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The Evolution of Racism Through the Lens of Lynching Rhetoric and Memory, examines the use of ‘lynching’ in its definition, legislation and politics. Rhetoric has the power to influence and persuade, therefore when public figures manipulate lynching rhetoric, the meaning of lynching becomes distorted. In part, this thesis explores the difficulty of defining lynching. Among others, key players in this process included Walter White of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Monroe Work of the Tuskegee Institute, and Jessie Daniel Ames of the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching (ASWPL). Their battle to …

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Psychosocial And Physiological Correlates Of Chronic Pain In Persons Living With Hiv, Michael Owens Jan 2020

Psychosocial And Physiological Correlates Of Chronic Pain In Persons Living With Hiv, Michael Owens

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Due to recent advancements in antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV (PLWH) who respond well and remain adherent to their medication regimens are achieving “near normal” life expectancies. As a result, HIV is no longer considered a death sentence, but rather a chronic health condition to be managed. However, the longer a person lives with the virus, the more prone to HIV-associated chronic diseases he or she becomes. One particularly important health condition with the potential to significantly and negatively impact quality of life is chronic pain. The prevalence rates of chronic pain in PLWH are estimated to be …

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Novel Mechanisms Of Nitric Oxide Activation In The Kidney, Randee Sedaka Jan 2020

Novel Mechanisms Of Nitric Oxide Activation In The Kidney, Randee Sedaka

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Globally, adult sodium consumption has far exceeded daily intake recommendations, leading to one in ten cardiovascular deaths. Given the rise in hypertension prevalence, uncontrolled hypertension with antihypertensive medication use, and significant associations between high salt intake and high blood pressure, there is a need to better understand the mechanisms involved in hypertension. Nitric oxide synthase 1 (NOS1) is a well-established regulator of fluid and electrolyte balance in the renal collecting duct (CD) with highest activity in the inner medulla (IM). We previously reported that high salt (HS) intake stimulates CD endothelin B receptor (ETBR)/NOS1-dependent generation of NO, thereby inhibiting the …

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Diurnal Dysfunction In Control Of Sodium Excretion In Diet-Induced Obesity, Reham Soliman Jan 2020

Diurnal Dysfunction In Control Of Sodium Excretion In Diet-Induced Obesity, Reham Soliman

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The renal endothelin system plays a key role in sodium excretion, particularly under high salt (HS) diet. HS stimulates renal endothelin-1 (ET-1), which binds and activates the endothelin receptor B (ETB) to excrete the excess salt. Loss of ETB receptor is linked to the development of hypertension under HS. Central clock genes are important in maintaining rhythmic patterns of sodium excretion and ET-1 is identified as a target for clock genes, including Period and Bmal1. ET-1 excretion follows a diurnal rhythm along with sodium excretion. Sexual dimorphism is evident in the diurnal regulation of endothelin-mediated natriuresis and its downstream targets. …

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Mitochondrial Priming Of Tumor Initiating Cells Involves Repression Of Mitochondrial Fission Activity Towards Redox Regulation Of The Cell Cycle Regulator Cyclin E, Brian Spurlock Jan 2020

Mitochondrial Priming Of Tumor Initiating Cells Involves Repression Of Mitochondrial Fission Activity Towards Redox Regulation Of The Cell Cycle Regulator Cyclin E, Brian Spurlock

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Mitochondrial dynamics primarily refers to the opposing fission or fusion events between individual mitochondria, which maintains steady-state mitochondrial morphology in cells. Fission and fusion activities maintain the energetics of normal and neoplastic stem cells. We developed the novel approach mito-SinCe2 to study the bidirectional relationship between mitochondrial dynamics and energetics. Application of this method led to the hypothesis that mitochondria-dependent ovarian tumor initiating cells interconvert between 3 states with distinct mitochondrial energetics/dynamics relationships. Cells in one state, characterized by high mitochondrial ROS and low fission activity, appear to be primed for self-renewal by mitochondria. We call these cells mitochondria-primed stem …

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Role Of Endogenous Tau In Lewy-Like Pathology, Lindsay Stoyka Jan 2020

Role Of Endogenous Tau In Lewy-Like Pathology, Lindsay Stoyka

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Lewy Body Diseases (LBDs) are a group of disorders characterized by intracellular inclusions of misfolded alpha-synuclein (α-synuclein). Of these, Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia. PD is characterized clinically by bradykinesia, resting tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. In addition, up to 80% of patients eventually develop dementia, termed Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD). DLB is characterized by onset of dementia before or concurrently with parkinsonism. Currently, no disease-modifying therapies exist for either of these diseases. Lewy pathology is found in regions important for cognition …

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Assessing The Potential Of Public Transit Utility In Medium-Sized Cities Using Agent-Based Simulation, Taniya Sultana Jan 2020

Assessing The Potential Of Public Transit Utility In Medium-Sized Cities Using Agent-Based Simulation, Taniya Sultana

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At the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States was leading in the public transit sector, but following World War II, private car trips became more affordable and more popular, specially, in the last few decades. Transportation infrastructure investments that increased road capacity enabled the development of suburbs leading to urban sprawl and increase in automobile use at the expense of reduced public transit ridership. With the increase of dependency in automobiles and the continuing growth of private automobile ownership and use, various problems became major challenges in big cities of USA. These include traffic congestion, air pollution, road …

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Exploring The Development Of Logico-Mathematical Knowledge In 5- 6-Year-Olds In Kuwait, Mohammad Alazemi Jan 2020

Exploring The Development Of Logico-Mathematical Knowledge In 5- 6-Year-Olds In Kuwait, Mohammad Alazemi

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The purpose of the qualitative case study was to explore the development of logico-mathematical knowledge in twenty 5- and 6-year-old children in Kuwait. The researcher conducted the study in a real-life bounded system over approximately two-months. The researcher utilized constant comparison analysis to interpret the responses of children during clinical interviews to explore hierarchical classification and seriation as two types of logico-mathematical knowledge. The researcher also observed children and used constant comparison analysis to interpret the behaviors of children throughout physical knowledge activities to explore the nature of each child’s thinking. The central research questions were: 1) What types of …

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Uav Navigation, Tracking, And Interception Using Deep Reinforcement Learning, Ali Alhaj Darwish Jan 2020

Uav Navigation, Tracking, And Interception Using Deep Reinforcement Learning, Ali Alhaj Darwish

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We propose a self-supervised, model-free deep reinforcement learning architecture with cascade reward for unmanned aerial vehicle navigation and target interception in a 3D environment. The first contribution of the dissertation solves the problem of partial observability when non-linear function approximators are used for learning stochastic policies. The second contribution optimizes the problem of maximizing the total expected rewards. The third contribution trains the agent in a photo-realistic environment with a real physics engine. To achieve these goals, a deep Q-network that combines double and dueling architectures is adopted as a value function approximator, and the prioritized experience replays the sample …

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Mid-Fusiform Sulcus Anatomy And Its Relationship To Face Processing And Social Functioning In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carla Ammons Jan 2020

Mid-Fusiform Sulcus Anatomy And Its Relationship To Face Processing And Social Functioning In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Carla Ammons

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests. One of the most consistent findings in ASD is reduced attention to and atypical processing of faces. However, the brain basis of aberrant face processing in ASD remains opaque. A novel neuroanatomical feature, the mid-fusiform sulcus (MFS), is strongly associated with face-selective regions of the fusiform gyrus (FG) as well as other large-scale functional and structural divisions in the ventral temporal cortex (Weiner et al., 2014). However, this feature is unexplored in ASD. The overarching goal of this dissertation …

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Prediction Of The Optimal Catheter Placement Selection For Therapy Infusion To Treat Brain Tumors, Lisa Hope Antoine Jan 2020

Prediction Of The Optimal Catheter Placement Selection For Therapy Infusion To Treat Brain Tumors, Lisa Hope Antoine

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ABSTRACT In 2020, the National Brain Tumor Society reported that physicians would diagnose more than 87,000 new cases of brain tumors. These cases will add to the approximately 700,000 individuals in the United States living with brain and central nervous system tumors. Almost 18,000 of these cases will prove fatal [1]. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) hinders the effective treatment of brain tumors. The task of this barrier is to protect the brain from composition instabilities in blood plasma and shield the brain from agents that may adversely impact brain functionality. However, by performing its tasks the barrier prevents potential effective …

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Understanding The Impact Of Diet And Obesity On Anti-Tumor Immunity And Therapeutic Efficacy In Kidney Cancer, Rachael Miller Orlandella Jan 2020

Understanding The Impact Of Diet And Obesity On Anti-Tumor Immunity And Therapeutic Efficacy In Kidney Cancer, Rachael Miller Orlandella

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Obesity is regarded as a major risk factor for developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Advanced-stage RCC exhibits chemotherapeutic resistance, but is responsive to immunotherapies such as the immune checkpoint inhibitor anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1). Despite some clinical successes, response rates remain low for anti-PD-1 monotherapy (20-30%). Preclinical evaluations of immunotherapeutic strategies typically use lean mice and do not account for patient comorbidities. This may explain the underwhelming success rates following clinical translation of new cancer treatments. Recent studies found that obesity was associated with favorable outcomes and responses to immunotherapy in melanoma. However, the effects of obesity on anti-tumor immunity …

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Role Of Trib3 In Progression And Pathogenesis Of Diabetic Retinopathy, Priyamvada Milind Pitale Jan 2020

Role Of Trib3 In Progression And Pathogenesis Of Diabetic Retinopathy, Priyamvada Milind Pitale

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Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is reported to be one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States by Center for Disease Prevention and Control. As the estimated prevalence of the disease will likely triple by 2020, the research in this area should focus on identifying novel targets and therapeutic approaches. One of the therapeutic approaches for DR is the reprograming of retinal metabolism to delay the progression of the disease. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is recognized as a cellular pathway activated in diabetic retina which interacts with key transcription factors to physiologically regulate glucose, lipid homeostasis, and angiogenic …

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Investigating Growth-Related Hormones And Their Roles In Metabolism In Fish Skeletal Muscle, Ross Michael Lee Reid Jan 2020

Investigating Growth-Related Hormones And Their Roles In Metabolism In Fish Skeletal Muscle, Ross Michael Lee Reid

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The endocrine system is essential for the maintenance and regulation of skeletal muscle growth and metabolic processes, as secretions of growth-related hormones directly regulate these systems. The roles of these growth-related hormones are well understood in mammals yet are not well defined in teleosts. Thus, the work outlined in these chapters provides novel insight for the actions of two growth-related hormones, Growth Hormone (GH) and Teneurin C-terminal Associated Peptide (TCAP), in fish skeletal muscle. First, Chapter 2 highlights the work expanding the application of resazurin as a novel method of in vivo metabolic assessment across fish life-stages, which was utilized …

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Investigating The Roles Of The Renal Primary Cilium Through The Use Of Intravital Imaging, Dustin Zachary Revell Jan 2020

Investigating The Roles Of The Renal Primary Cilium Through The Use Of Intravital Imaging, Dustin Zachary Revell

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Primary cilia are small microtubule based appendages present on nearly every cell type in the mammalian body, and are highly conserved from organisms as simple as algae to humans. Cilia function as complex signaling centers integrating a variety of pathways and play critical roles throughout development and in maintaining homeostasis. Mutations to ciliary proteins in humans result in a wide array of diseases termed ciliopathies, which have a broad range of symptoms affecting nearly every organ in the body. Renal primary cilia are present on the apical side of tubular epithelium, where they project into the lumen and are thought …

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Adapting New Technologies For Evaluating The Ecology And Distribution Of The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin) In Alabama, Nicole Mckim Conner Jan 2020

Adapting New Technologies For Evaluating The Ecology And Distribution Of The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin) In Alabama, Nicole Mckim Conner

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The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), an emydid turtle that plays an important ecological role in salt marsh ecosystems, has declined over the last century and is listed as a Priority One Species (highest conservation concern) in Alabama. Traditional surveying techniques have been employed to monitor diamondback terrapins on the coast of Alabama throughout the last decade; yet, these techniques can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and disruptive to terrapins and their habitats. This study evaluated the potential for UAS technology and eDNA methodologies to effectively monitor diamondback terrapin presence, abundance, and/or distribution in salt marsh habitats. UAS-based surveys were conducted in 2017 …

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An Evaluation Of Ontogenetic Allometry Of Defensive And Nutrient Acquisition Properties Of Select Skeletal Components Of The Regular Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Raven Amber Edwards Jan 2020

An Evaluation Of Ontogenetic Allometry Of Defensive And Nutrient Acquisition Properties Of Select Skeletal Components Of The Regular Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Raven Amber Edwards

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Ontogenetic allometric analyses can provide novel insights into aspects of evolution, ecology, and conservation. For example, a recent study found marine fish exhibit hyperallometric scaling of reproductive output in relation to body size. Accordingly, to sustain fish populations the largest size class of fish should be protected. The present study exploits a model sea urchin to explore allometry to evaluate the ontogeny of skeletal defense and feeding efficiency (Aristotle's lantern). Lytechinus variegatus were sampled from St. Joseph Bay, Florida. A range of different sized late juvenile to adult individuals were measured and then dissected into skeletal components. Skeletal defense was …

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Nutrition Transition And Ses As A Fundamental Cause: An Integrative Approach To Examine Weight Status Among Women In Nepal, Sanjeev Acharya Jan 2020

Nutrition Transition And Ses As A Fundamental Cause: An Integrative Approach To Examine Weight Status Among Women In Nepal, Sanjeev Acharya

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The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in developing countries is a public health problem. Globally and in Nepal, women have higher burden of overweight and obesity. Over the recent years, Nepal has made progress in human development and is also experiencing nutrition transition. In this context, the goal of this study is to investigate the change in association between socioeconomic status (SES) and body weight over time, examine whether SES – body mass index (BMI) varies across region and occupation, and test for the double burden of malnutrition among adult women. Using a novel framework that integrates nutrition transition …

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Genome-Wide Mirna Regulation Of Stress Susceptibility Across The Brain In A Rodent Model Of Early Life Stress, Lauren Alexis Allen Mckibben Jan 2020

Genome-Wide Mirna Regulation Of Stress Susceptibility Across The Brain In A Rodent Model Of Early Life Stress, Lauren Alexis Allen Mckibben

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Early life stress (ELS) affects a significant portion of the US population in the form of various types of abuse and neglect, as well as household dysfunction and loss of a loved one, among others. Although these experiences happen early in life, they increase risk for mental health disorders, especially major depression (MDD), across the lifespan. MDD is a debilitating psychiatric disorder marked by periods of depressed mood and loss of pleasure in once enjoyable activities. Patients with MDD also report trouble sleeping, unintentional weight loss or gain, feelings of worthlessness, and suicidal ideation. MDD is associated with annual $100 …

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T Cells In Synucleinopathies, Gregory Paul Williams Jan 2020

T Cells In Synucleinopathies, Gregory Paul Williams

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Synucleinopathies, which include Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), are a collection of neurodegenerative diseases that are in major part defined by the presence of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) rich protein aggregates in the brain. Increasing evidence has highlighted a neuroinflammatory phenotype also associated with these synucleinopathies. This neuroinflammatory phenotype includes the activation of central nervous system (CNS) microglia, increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the infiltration of peripheral T cells into the CNS. We sought to further explore the T cell responses associated with PD and MSA. Using two preclinical mouse models of PD and MSA, …

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