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Non-Invasive Drug Delivery To The Posterior Segment Of The Eye: Development Of Formulation Strategies And Evaluation Of Ocular Distribution And Pharmacological Activity, Goutham Reddy Adelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diseases of the posterior segment of the eye such as diabetic retinopathy, age related macular degeneration and glaucoma are the leading causes for blindness throughout the world. Topical eye drops is the most convenient formulation for daily application. The human eye, however, presents major physiological and dynamic barriers for the topically administered drug/molecule from reaching the retina. Similarly, the blood-retinal and blood-aqueous barriers restricts passage of drug from systemic circulation into the eye. Although intravitreal injections are the gold standards for the treatment of posterior segment ocular diseases, they are associated with pain, inflammation, endopthalmitis and infection. So there is …

Screening Of Natural Products For Their Effect On Kallikrein-Kinin System: Potential Implications In The Treatment Of Hereditary Angioedema, Hassan Abdu Madkhali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plasma prekallikrein (PK) activation exerts both physiological and pathological effects within the cardiovascular system and central nervous system (CNS). Activated PK (kallikrein) controls cytokine release from human mononuclear cells and controls both the intrinsic blood coagulation and the alternative complement cascades. The uncontrolled activation of these cascades results in the development of pathological pain and angioedema. Increased plasma kallikrein levels are associated with hereditary angioedema (HAE) and myocardial infarction, whereby kallikrein amplifies the generation of activated factor XII (FXIIa) and bradykinin (BK) release from high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK). The primary objective of this study was to screen natural products …

Fetishizing Southern Brutality: An Intersectional Analysis Of Animalistic Dehumanization In Interracial Pornography, Shawna Faye Felkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pornography has been a widely debated issue within the feminist movement since the sex wars of the 1970’s. The conversation has shifted to a sex radical position within the third movement, seeking to be “sex positive” in representations of pornography as a potential site of empowerment. This work, however, seeks to complicate the idea that all depictions of sex are empowering by examining the popular genre of interracial pornography through the lens of the southern tropes that are often enacted within them: the jezebel, southern belle, and black brute. By using these historical tropes with the work of Judith Butler …

The Influence Of Current Year Fire On Leaf Litter Decomposition Rates And Microbial Enzyme Activity In Forests Undergoing Ecological Restoration, Megan E. Overlander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a result of fire suppression, open oak woodlands, once characteristic of the interior of the southern USA, are being lost to mesophication. This process leads to changes in the plant community and has the potential to change rates of decomposition and nutrient cycling through changes in environmental conditions or leaf litter composition. Restoration projects to reduce the effects of mesophication include thinning the canopy to remove mesophytic species and prescribed burn regimens to return the plant community to a fire tolerant and dependent one. However it is unclear what effects restoration (or mesophication) has on the decomposition of leaf …

Invisible Suffering: Practitioner Reflections On Peacebuilding Programs With Youth Exposed To Traumatic Stressors In Intergroup Conflict, Liza Hester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, the international community has recognized that youth are some of the most vulnerable to mental and emotional distress within the intractable and cyclical nature of identity-based violent conflict. Exposure to traumatic stressors within these intergroup conflicts poses unique risks not only to the neurological and social development of youth, but also to the capacities of youth to fully participate in peacebuilding interventions. The peacebuilding field has yet to strongly consider how traumatic stress affects dynamics within programs for youth and how these programs may need to modify expectations of youth’s cognitive, social, and emotional functioning to account for …

Secretion Of Malaria Transmission-Blocking Proteins From Paratransgenic Bacteria, Nicholas Bongio

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a debilitating and deadly disease that afflicts over 200 million people and kills over 600 thousand each year. Due to quickly evolving drug resistance and lack of an affordable vaccine, novel interventions are needed to fight the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria. Targeting Plasmodium inside their mosquito hosts is one approach that could complement other preventative and medicinal interventions by reducing the ability of the mosquitoes to transmit the disease to humans. The research presented here uses paratransgenesis, the genetic modification of symbiotic bacteria within the mosquito midgut, to provide antimalarial protein to the mosquito and to interfere …

Genomes Of Three Arsenic Metabolizing Bacteria, Xue Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although arsenic is toxic to most living cells, many microbes live in environments with high concentrations of arsenic. In addition to being resistant to arsenic, some actively couple arsenic oxidation/reduction reactions to respiration gaining energy in the process. Following a current review of the literature, the genomes of the three such bacteria, one arsenite oxidizer, Alkalilimnicola ehrlichii MLHE-1, and two arsenate reducers, Alkaliphilus oremlandii OhILAs, and Bacillus selenitireducens MLS-10 are presented. The genome of Alkalilimnicola ehrlichii MLHE-1 consists of 3,275,944 bp with a 67.53% GC content; the genome of Alkaliphilus oremlandii OhILAs consists of 3,123,558 bp with a 36.26% GC …

Lgb Sexual Orientation And Perceived Parental Acceptance, Sarah Dalton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether perceived maternal, paternal, and/or parental acceptance for a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) person's sexual orientation correlated with well-being and/or moderated the relationship between the LGB person's levels of self-acceptance and well-being. The following dissertation outlines the negative mental health and well-being implications of unsupportive social and family systems for LGB individuals. Given the importance of parental support for all individuals, the study extends the available research literature as it seeks to understand how parental acceptance for one's sexual orientation impacts self-acceptance and well-being, for which little research has previously been …

Design And Synthesis Of Pyrimido[4,5-B]Indoles And Furo[2,3-D]Pyrimidines As Single Agents With Combination Chemotherapy Potential Or As Inhibitors Of Tubulin Or Thymidylate Synthase, Ravi Kumar Vyas Devambatla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes an introduction, background and research progress in the areas of multitargeted single agents and tubulin inhibitors in cancer chemotherapy and selective Toxoplasma gondii TS inhibitors for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.

Tubulin inhibitors are important antitumor agents that disrupt microtubule dynamics. Thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitors prevent cell division by interfering with de novo thymidylate synthesis. Antiangiogenic agents target tumor angiogenesis crucial for tumor growth and metastasis. Under normal circumstances, angiogenesis is typically limited to tumor cells and is mediated by receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Combination chemotherapies of RTK inhibitors with cytotoxic agents that target either TS or tubulin …

The Feasibility, Acceptability, And Effectiveness Of A School-Based Motivational Interviewing Intervention For Adolescent Females, Vanessa Durand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach shown to elicit behavior change in adolescents engaged in risky behavior. MI is used to increase the individuals feeling of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. Female adolescents engaged in substance use, sexual activity and identified as academically disengaged were provided an MI intervention in their alternative education setting. According to the Social Cognitive Theory, MI is well suited toward supporting individual behavior change. Results showed that MI is an acceptable intervention to at-risk adolescent females. However, feasibility considerations highlighted the implementation barriers present in this alternative high school as well as those in …

The Effects Of Stressors And Stress Hormones On Behavior, Physiology, And Disease Susceptibility In Terrestrial Salamanders, Christopher Fonner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amphibians are exposed to numerous environmental stressors, which may contribute to population declines being experienced by amphibians worldwide. Upon exposure to stressors, animals will release the glucocorticoid hormone, corticosterone (CORT), which typically mediates physiological and behavioral responses for resisting or coping with the stressor. Additionally, amphibians are at risk from a chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). After Bd infection, amphibians may develop the potentially fatal disease chytridiomycosis. To better understand how CORT mediates responses to different stressors, and possible immunosuppressive effects of CORT on Bd susceptibility, I performed several experiments. First, I tested the predation stress hypothesis in terrestrial …

Non-Traditional Therapeutic Interventions For At-Risk Youth & Students With Complex Support Needs: Equine Therapy, Erin J. Grimm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increased need for effective interventions and the challenge of working with children and youth with complex support or at-risk needs such as emotional disorders, physical and mental health needs as well as autism; have resulted in the design of many non-traditional therapeutic interventions, such as various experiential therapies, animal-assisted therapy, expressive therapies, wilderness therapy, and adventure-based therapy (Suarez, 2005). For the purpose of this dissertation, the researcher will explore the non-traditional therapeutic intervention of equine therapy and its effect on the social and emotional development of three diverse families who reside in Western Pennsylvania. The researcher will also investigate …

Development Of Extraction Method For Persistent Organic Pollutants In Water And Dietary Supplement Using Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction And Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry, Weier Hao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in drinking water and dietary supplements can be sources of xenobiotic pollutants in human body and cause detrimental impacts on human health. In this study, an accurate, precise, sensitive, reproducible, and green method was developed to quantify POPs in water and dietary supplements using stir bar sorptive extraction- gas chromatography- mass spectrometry and isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Different analytical parameters were tested for method optimization. Based on efficiency as well as recovery of the analytes, stirring at room temperature for one hour with water and methanol as solvent was selected as the optimal method. After validation, …

Interaction Effects Of Parenting Styles And Child Temperament: Motor, Cognitive, And Language Development In Children Prenatally Exposed To Alcohol, Jenna Hennessey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the social stigma and attempts over the years to increase public awareness of the risks of drinking during pregnancy, there has been little change in women's prenatal drinking patterns (Bhuvaneswar, Change, Epstein, & Stern, 2007; Ernhart, Morrow-Tlucak, Sokol, & Martier, 1988). In the literature it is unclear to what extent alcohol exposure in utero has on motor, cognitive, and language development. Although, due to the plasticity of the immature nervous system, long-term effects of early exposure to negative teratogens (alcohol exposure in utero) need to be researched to determine if a child's development can be ameliorated by positive parenting …

Modeling The Binding Of Inhibitors/Drugs To The Human Serotonin Transporter, Kalyan Immadisetty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human serotonin transporter (hSERT), a membrane protein from the neurotransmitter sodium symporter family, is implicated in depression disorder and has been the primary target of antidepressant discovery research for several decades. Since the currently available antidepressants may cause adverse effects and have several limitations, novel drugs are highly desired. However, the efforts to develop better therapeutics are hampered by the lack of a crystal structure of hSERT. Knowledge of the binding site of the drug and its orientation in the protein is crucial in structure-based drug discovery. We employed a novel computational protocol comprised of active site detection, docking, scoring, …

A Psychometric Examination Of Prosocial Behavior Across Cultural Contexts, Thomas Knight

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acts of aggression and violence within the school setting have compelled researchers and professionals to develop and implement interventions designed to cultivate student safety. Recently, the focus of these interventions has been on prosocial behaviors, which are broadly defined as acts intended to benefit others above oneself and can include actions such as helping and cooperating (Batson & Powell, 2003). From a theoretical perspective, previous researchers (Piaget, 1932; Kohlberg, 1984) have generally postulated that moral reasoning and its corollaries (e.g., prosocial behavior) generally develop according to a prescribed trajectory. Yet, additional research in this area has supported the notion that …

Improving Higher Education Attainment Among African American Women, Renee Knox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American women enroll and persist in post-secondary education at higher rates than African American males yet there is little research on the factors that contribute their disproportionate college persistence in comparison with their White female counterparts. While this study reviewed critical theories that detail the educational challenges for African American female students, the study also interviewed women who experienced success in higher education attainment. This combined review illustrates strategies that break patterns that impede African American women's efforts and based on the findings suggest approaches to improve higher education attainment.

Beyond Biology: Bases For A Child-Centered And Functional Account Of Parenthood, Jacob Kohlhaas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that the presently influential Catholic theological account of parenthood is indebted to an essentialist theory of gender and the system of sexual ethical reasoning it produces. In consideration of the family, Catholicism tends to favor the differentiated gender roles of the father as the primary financial provider and the mother as the primary caregiver. Though such thinking is often justified as natural or traditional, it relies heavily upon a post-Victorian social context. This gender complementarity is often accompanied by an idealization of the autonomous biological-nuclear family. This family is autonomous in granting parents alone direct responsibility for …

Women In Alcoholics Anonymous: A Qualitative Research Study, Ariel Larson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research looks at how women in particular navigate the complicated power dynamics of twelve-step programs, specifically AA, to achieve long-term sobriety. This study attempts to understand how women in AA are appropriating and shaping AA and its reliance on the twelve-steps in unique and resourceful ways to make recovery their own. The methodological approach of this study is empirical-phenomenological. Interviews with five female members of Alcoholics Anonymous were conducted, transcribed and analyzed in an attempt to identify and understand how women approach and adapt recovery strategies and technologies that evolved during the twentieth century to meet the needs of …

Well Water Quality In Southern Butler County, Pennsylvania, Scott Mayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increase in unconventional shale gas extraction in Pennsylvania has resulted in an increased number of groundwater contamination claims. Well water quality was investigated in southern Butler County, PA where 387 unconventional gas wells have been drilled since 2006. A total of 121 households participated in a survey and 238 well water samples were tested. Specific conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen in these samples were measured in the field and seven anion concentrations and thirty metal concentrations were measured in the lab. A subset of 91 water wells was also tested for light hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, ethylene, propylene, propane, butane). …

How Motivational Interviewing Affects The Motivation, Self-Efficacy, And Outcome Expectancies Of Adjudicated Adolescents In A School Setting, Sarah Paret Rabkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unfortunately, substance use is prevalent among adolescents. Data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that in 2009, 46.7% of 12th grade students reported that they had tried an illicit substance in their lifetime (NIDA, 2010). Substance use in adolescence is the strongest predictor of drug and alcohol disorders in adults. Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory suggests there is a reciprocal interaction between personal, environmental, and behavioral factors that contribute to substance use. This theory is also useful for identifying factors (e.g. motivation, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancies) that are central to behavior change.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an …

Facilitating Healthy Interpersonal Relationships For Adolescents With Autism: An Examination Of Knowledge Acquisition And Retention Over Time, Elizabeth Pask

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the Healthy Relationships & Autism (HR) curriculum (Sutton & Wesley Spectrum Services, 2013), which is a developmentally sequenced, manualized treatment intended for children and adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The HR curriculum is designed to facilitate healthy interpersonal relationships in children and adolescents with ASD. Specifically, this study investigates the effectiveness of Module 2 of the curriculum, which focuses on teaching basic biological sex education, using well researched techniques designed to reach individuals with ASD. The paper elaborates on the history and development of the need to address these issues, …

Spinoza's Ethology: Recognizing Dynamic Transitions Between Imagination, Reason, And Intuition, Christina Rawls

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seventeenth Century lens grinder and Dutch philosopher, Benedict de Spinoza, illuminates a rigorous and dynamic theory of knowledge and action in his major system the Ethics. What we learn by adequately learning Spinoza's epistemology is that within it is a proto-physics of ideational force between the three kinds of knowledge expressed by the attribute of thought and, simultaneously, expressed as ratios of motion and rest, speed and slowness, intensity and transformation by the attribute of extension. Such dynamic processes or ways lead to one's capacity for increased rational thought and action, increased uses of creativity, and the enhanced ability to …

Macrophage Cox-2 As A Target For Imaging And Therapy Of Inflammatory Diseases Using Theranostic Nanoemulsions, Sravan Kumar Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Personalized medicine can be an approach to address the unsatisfactory treatment outcomes in inflammatory conditions such as cancer, arthritis, and cardiovascular diseases. A common feature of chronic diseases is the infiltration of pro-inflammatory macrophages at the disease loci. Infiltrating macrophages have been previously utilized for disease diagnosis. These features suggest that macrophages can be broadly applicable targets for simultaneous therapy and diagnosis. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of a lipid inflammatory mediator, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), is over expressed in macrophages infiltrating the pathological site. Inhibition of PGE2 leads to reduced inflammation, pain and macrophage infiltration. To utilize …

Understanding The Solid State, Solubility And Dissolution Behavior Of Cefuroxime Axetil Diastereomers In Interactive Mixture Formulations, Namita Dalal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the first part of this work was to understand the solid-state and solution behavior of a cephalosporin antibiotic prodrug, cefuroxime axetil (CFA). CFA is present in commercial products as a mixture of diastereomers, which commonly form eutectic mixtures. A phase diagram was constructed utilizing differential scanning calorimetry. It was observed that the diastereomers formed a eutectic mixture with a composition of 75% isomer B and a melting temperature of 124.8±0.5 °C. Phase solubility studies on diastereomer mixtures of various compositions showed that the diastereomers interacted to form a complex in solution. This interaction resulted in a solubility …

Communicating Through Cork: Marcel Proust's Performative Call To Philosophy Of Communication, David Deiuliis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Philosophy of communication replaces modernity's metanarrative of progress with postmodernity's many works in progress. The metanarrative of postmodernity is fragmentation, the lack of a metanarrative. In postmodernity, progress sputters and stalls, then starts on new paths. Philosophy of communication responds to fragmentation by converging the fragments of philosophy and communication. In his life and work, Marcel Proust (1871-1922) embodied the duality of philosophy of communication. Proust recognized the false grandeur behind the gold gilding of the Belle Epoque in nineteenth-century France, and reframed progress as a series of fits and starts, where the self follows false scents in a search …

Severely Stressed Astrocytes Adapt To Injury And Still Protect Neighboring Neurons, Amanda Marie Gleixner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease are projected to affect 15.14 million people by the year 2050. All neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by protein-misfolding stress, or proteotoxicity, in both neurons and glia. However, the impact of proteotoxicity on glia is less well understood than in neurons. Astrocytes are an abundant type of glia and play an essential role in brain homeostasis by supporting neuronal functions. Therefore, one of the major goals of the present study was to identify ways to reduce the impact of proteotoxicity in astrocytes. In Aim 1, we examined natural adaptations to proteotoxic stress in …

"A Stranger To The World": Women, Bisexuality, And Performance In Eighteenth-Century England, Jade Higa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As queer theory has evolved and been adapted by scholars of various fields, queer studies has become increasingly important to academic understandings of the eighteenth century. However, the broadness of queer scholarship has resulted in specific sexualities becoming less visible. This project grapples with the concept of bisexuality and its relation to gender, performance, and women in the late eighteenth century. It proposes the intersection of queer temporalities and the gaze to develop a new methodology in which the scholar consciously looks back at the eighteenth century through the lens of the twenty-first century. The project considers representations of bisexuality …

A New Ethical Model For The Analysis Of Care For Refugee Women Who Experience Female Genital Cutting, Sharon R. Higginbothan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States is rapidly becoming a location for refugee women who are migrating from countries that embrace different and distinctive practices. One such practice is Female Genital Cutting/ mutilation (FGC/m). FGC is a medical procedure that alters the natural structure and functioning of the female body. It is also a cultural tradition and custom. Until recently, worldwide studies estimated that approximately 80 to 140 million women have undergone FGC and that 228, 000 of those women live in the U.S. However, the estimate of women and girls in the U.S. living with or at risk from FGC has grown …

Cytokine Dynamics, Diagnosis And Treatment Of Neuroinflammation In Chronic Constriction Injury Rat Model, Kiran Vasudeva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic neuropathic pain is a serious, worldwide health problem leading to life-long treatment and the possibility of significant disability. In this study, neuropathic pain was modeled using the chronic constriction injury (CCI) in rats. The CCI rats exhibited hypersensitivity (typical neuropathic pain symptom) to mechanical stimulation of the affected paw 11 days post-surgery, at a time when sham surgery animals did not. It is known that immune cells play a role in the development of neuropathic pain and to further explore the relationship between neuropathic pain and immune cells, we hypothesized that the infiltration of immune cells into the affected …