Digital Commons Network^™

Biomimetic Strategies To Control Therapeutic Release From Novel Dna Nanoparticles, Robert J. Mosley

Theses and Dissertations

The inherent chemical, mechanical, and structural properties of nucleic acids make them ideal candidates for the formulation of tunable, personalized drug nanocarriers. However, none so far have exploited these properties for the controlled release of therapeutic drugs. In this dissertation, a biomimetic approach to controlling drug release is exhibited by specifically manipulating the architecture of novel, DNA nanoparticles to take advantage of drug binding mechanisms of action. Rationally designed DNA strands were immobilized on gold surfaces via a terminal thiol modification. Immobilized monomers can be manipulated to form distinct monolayer architectures including flat, folded, coiled, or stretched structures. Increasing the …

Anxiety Of Struggling Readers And Excelling Readers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chelsey Taylor Lemmon

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is the most reported negative emotion in the academic setting. One of the specific forms of anxiety that children can experience is reading anxiety (RA). Children who experience RA are often at risk for reading failure; likewise, children who experience reading failure are likely to experience RA. Children who excel at reading can also experience anxiety, often in the form of harm avoidance. Bibliotherapy has been shown to help to mitigate the effects of specific types of anxiety in children. The purpose of this study was to understand the anxiety of children who excel at reading and children at …

Policies To Protect Healthcare Providers In Public Hospitals In Egypt Amid The First Wave Covid-19 Crisis: A Case Study, Moushira Hosny Ezzelarab Sayed

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 became a main public health problem among the worlds. Universally, healthcare workers were forced to face an unprecedented challenge since the outbreak COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been trying to reduce transmission of COVID-19 between different countries by setting regulations and standards in attempt to control the transmission of infection. The protection of healthcare workers working as frontline workers for COVID-19 is a priority. To assess the occupational workplace policies to protect healthcare workers in public university hospitals in Egypt during the first wave of COVID-19, this research …

Health-Related Caretaking In An Institutionalized Setting: Applying The Index Of Care To Burial 1 From The Mid-19th To Early-20th Century Mississippi State Asylum, Jackson, Ms., Darcie Badon

Theses and Dissertations

This project employs a modified version of the Bioarchaeology of Care (BoC) in an analysis of Burial 1 from the Mississippi State Asylum, Jackson, MS. Burial 1 is a skeletal individual recovered from the historic MSA cemetery. Notably, Burial 1 exhibits recidivistic cranial trauma in the form of cranial depression fractures (CDFs) and significant entheseal changes in the upper extremities. However, because there is no identifying information associated with Burial 1, interpretations of the caretaking they may have received, both prior to and after institutionalization, include short- and long-term outcomes from their community and the MSA. Additionally, Burial 1’s CDFs …

Novel Strategies In Near Infrared Spectroscopy (Nirs) And Multivariate Analysis (Mva) For Detecting And Profiling Pathogens And Diseases Of Agricultural Importance., Johjan Mariana Santos Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

The time required for the identification of pathogens is an important determinant of infection-related mortality rates and disease spread for species of relevance in agriculture. Conventional identification methods require a processing time of at least one to twenty days. Therefore, inaccurate empirical treatments are often provided while awaiting further identification, such that most cases progress with further aggravation of symptoms, contamination of other animals or plants, generating economic loss from decreased yield, and increased mitigation costs. Thus, there is a need for innovative, non-destructive, and rapid analytical techniques that provide reagent-free, portable, reliable, and holistic approaches to detect diseases in …

Identification Of Pneumococcal Membrane Proteins Involved In Colonization/Biofilm Formation And Cognate Host Cellular Receptors, Yoonsung Hu

Theses and Dissertations

Colonization is prerequisite for infection and transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. Currently available pneumococcal conjugate and pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines can provide protection against a limited number of capsular serotypes. Implementation of vaccines has decreased the frequency of invasive pneumococcal disease and their colonization rates, but only in a serotype-dependent manner. This has led to serotype replacement in pneumococcal ecology and increased invasive disease caused by non-vaccine serotypes. Development of conserved protein-based vaccine that can provide protection against all pneumococcal serotypes is needed. Numerous surface proteins are conserved in all serotypes, and some are known to be involved in …

Assessing The Microbiological Profile Of Raw Goat Milk And Understanding Producer Practices And Perceptions, Jacinda Skye Leopard

Theses and Dissertations

Raw milk sales are legal in 30 states, including Mississippi, where regulations are largely management-based and not food-safety related. The research objectives were to analyze the microbial profile of raw goat milk from Mississippi farms and assess food safety practices and perceptions of dairy goat farmers. Deficiencies and opportunities for improvement in raw goat milk safety were identified. Staphylococcus spp. was present in most (70%) milk samples but aligned with drying-off. E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and coliforms were observed in 4, 10, and 12 samples, respectively; no Salmonella spp. or Listeria monocytogenes were detected. The survey highlighted farmers' need for …

Insights Into Molecular Recognition And Reactivity From Molecular Simulations Of Protein-Ligand Interactions Using Md And Qm/Mm, Jerrano L. Bowleg

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we have employed two computational methods, molecular dynamics (MD) and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) MD simulations with umbrella sampling (US), to gain insights into the molecular mechanism governing the molecular recognition and reactivity in several protein-ligand complexes. Three systems involving protein-ligand interactions are examined in this dissertation utilizing well-established computational methodologies and mathematical modeling. The three proteins studied here are acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1). These enzymes are known to interact with a variety of ligands. AChE dysfunction caused by organophosphorus (OP) chemicals is a severe hazard since AChE is …

Ultrastructure Of Cimex Lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Salivary Glands After A Blood Meal Infected With Bartonella Henselae (Hyphomicrobiales: Bartonellaceae), Afsoon Sabet

Theses and Dissertations

Bed bugs (Hemiptera:Cimicidae) are a common, hematophagous ectoparasite of humans and other animals, and are experiencing an international resurgence. Cimicids have been implicated in the transmission many disease agents, including various Bartonella species, however disease transmission has not yet been confirmed. Bartonella spp. are transmitted by a variety of arthropods, including fleas, lice and sand flies, and it is speculated that bed bugs may also serve as a potential vector. In this study, we used an artificial membrane to feed two groups of adult Cimex lectularius rabbit blood, either infected or uninfected with Bartonella henselae. After two weeks, the …

Nutrients Associated With Stunting Among Children In Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review, Abby Mae Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify specific nutrients or nutritional biomarkers of dietary intake that are associated with stunting among children ages 2 and older in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a systematic review conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Twelve studies from sub-Saharan Africa met the eligibility criteria, including 11 observational studies and one randomized control trial. Nine of the 12 studies assessed dietary intake of macronutrients. Four studies found a significant association between proteins and stunting. Four found that children with stunting had lower dietary fat intakes or lower …

Secondary Teacher Perceptions On Lesson Planning And Delivery, Jonathan Watson

Theses and Dissertations

On March 17, 2020, Governor Asa Hutchinson closed all public schools in the state of Arkansas to on-site instruction through March 30 in an effort to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus. With schools closed, teachers and students made the pivot to online learning. School closures changed the way teachers prepared and delivered lessons. Changes in instruction varied from school building to school building, district to district, and teacher to teacher based on location, available equipment, and individual teacher technological skill sets. This scoping review examines the perceptions of teachers on the effectiveness of lesson planning and content delivery …

Using Geospatial Analysis To Evaluate Relationships Between Cancer Incidence And Social Factors In Brooklyn, Ny, Sheena Philogene

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the spatial distribution of cancer incidence in Brooklyn, NY. Using publicly available data, the relationships between cancer incidence and factors linked to cancer were investigated. Furthermore, the study explored the value of using large amounts of data with GIS techniques to quickly analyze geographic trends for cancer.

Utilizing A Themed Workbook To Capture Insights To Young Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, And Mathematics (Steam/Stem) Using The Internet Of Things (Iot), Systems Engineering, And Data Science, Robert John Konczynski Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Young women may not realize that many of their cell phones, computers, TVs, cars, airplanes, and the technology around them, for the most part, have been designed by men. Men have been fundamental in designing these devices because women only account for a quarter of the workers in STEAM jobs. Because many women choose jobs and careers unrelated to STEAM, they are not part of the inclusive design and Engineering efforts that go into today’s products and technology. Given the underrepresentation of women as part of the design phase of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, society is missing out …

Emergency Preparedness: Perceptions Of People With Disabilities, Lidia Adamina Fonseca

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of emergencies and disasters has increased over the past decade which has caused cities, states and countries to routinely develop emergency preparedness and management plans (Turk, 2016). Although these demands have increased, individuals with disabilities have been less represented in the development of the plans (Timmons, 2017; Turk, 2016). According to The World Bank Disaster Risk Management Report (2020), disasters (e.g., infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, hurricanes, earthquakes, industrial accidents.) and post-disaster consequences have increased over recent years.

Although individuals with disabilities have become more aware of emergency preparedness and its importance, researchers have noted that there …

Examination Of 21st Century Organization Development: An Ethnography Of A Distance Learning Support Department At A Hispanic Serving Institution Of Higher Education, Bobbie Myatt

Theses and Dissertations

This study used an ethnographic lens to examine the historic organizational development of a distance education support department within a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education. The Borderlands University (BU; pseudonym) Online Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (OTLT) is representative of the structure and culture of a successful distance education support department for the 21st century. Through qualitative ethnography, this research study examined the development of cultural and structural components necessary for the success of this organization. This includes the internal community of support departments housed within institutions of higher education. Technologically raised generations emerging from traditional schools, “digital natives,” are …

Targeting Protein Synthesis In Clostridioides Difficile To Develop Antimicrobial Candidate, Elvira L. Alanis

Theses and Dissertations

Clostridioides difficile is a gram positive, spore forming, obligate anaerobic bacterium that causes Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) which can result in pseudomembranous colitis and toxic megacolon. In the case of this research a focus on Protein synthesis is made since it is an essential metabolic process and is a validated target for antibiotics. Protein synthesis begins with Initiation which includes the three translation initiation factors. Through the NMR chemical shift assignments, the IF1 structure was determined, and it was found to be composed of a short α helix and five β helixes. A peptide was designed after the short α …

Non-Negative Discriminative Data Analytics, Md Imrul Kaish

Theses and Dissertations

Due to advancements in data acquisition techniques, collecting datasets representing samples from multi-views has become more common recently (Jia et al. 2019). For instance, in genomics, a lymphoma patient’s dataset may include data on gene expression, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and array Comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) measurements. Learning from multiple views about the same objective, in general, obtains a better understanding of the hidden patterns of the data compared to learning from a single view data. Most of the existing multi-view learning techniques such as canonical correlation analysis (Hotelling et al. 1936) and multi-view support vector machine (Farquhar et …

Structures And Regulations Of Translation Initiation Factors In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Protein Biosynthesis To Develop New Potential Antimicrobial Agents, Nicolette Valdez

Theses and Dissertations

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, multidrug resistant bacterium that has been recognized as the prominent cause of nosocomial infections. Untreated acute and chronic infections associated with P. aeruginosa can develop into other diseases such as pneumonia, otitis externa, and osteomyelitis. P. aeruginosa infections commonly affect immunocompromised individuals such as cystic fibrosis, cancer, and burn patients. The misuse and overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the increased antibiotic resistance in P. aeruginosa and thus has led to an unmet need for discovery of novel antibiotic candidates. Protein biosynthesis is an essential metabolic process occurring in all bacteria and a validated target …

Community College Students' Sense Of Belonging And Care During Covid-19: A Grounded Theory Study, Lisa A. Dougherty

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative constructivist grounded theory research study was to understand and develop a theory about the experiences of community college students accessing online student support services, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when colleges were forced to close their in-person services. Interviews with seventeen students and a review of 57 email communications from the College yielded the data to construct a theory that extends the theories of sense of belonging and ethic of care to virtual student services – the Virtual Caring Campus Theory.

In the absence of a physical campus, colleges can create a virtual caring campus by …

Atg9a And Atg13 Cooperate To Drive Basal Autophagy, Daniel Morgan Poole

Theses and Dissertations

Autophagy, as the name suggests, is a cellular process of self-eating in which cytoplasmic debris is engulfed by a double membrane vesicle dubbed the autophagosome and is ultimately degraded and recycled by proteases in the lysosome. The process is initiated by a group of core ATG proteins, including a multi-pass transmembrane protein called ATG9A. Although ATG9A has been shown to be essential for both stress induced and basal autophagy, its mechanism and interaction network remain largely illusive. Our current study employs BioID proteomics to identify a network of interactors, including regulators of membrane fusion and vesicle trafficking, such as TRAPP, …

S-Equol: A Novel Therapeutic For Hiv-1 Induced Gut Dysbiosis, Mason T. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

HIV-1 infection affects approximately 38 million people around the world. The advent of cART has greatly improved the quality of life of infected individuals; however, roughly 50% of these individuals will still experience HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Additionally, the gut microbiome has been reported to be dysbiotic in HIV-1 infected individuals, regardless of adherence to cART. Current research has pointed to the gut-brain-microbiota axis as a potential target to treat both cognitive deficits and microbial changes. The present study investigated S-equol (SE) as a potential therapeutic for HAND by modulating the gut microbiome. The study included 21 HIV-1 Tg …

Resurrecting A Nation Through Silk And Diplomacy: American Material Culture And Foreign Relations During The Reconstruction Era, Paige Weaver

Theses and Dissertations

The Reconstruction Era, a time of immense change in American culture and society, is often conceptualized as a wholly domestic affair; however, a closer analysis of the work of American diplomats scattered throughout the world reveals the impact of foreign policies and relationships on the development of the nation state, as well as cultural values. With this broadened perspective, Reconstruction becomes a more complicated period of entangled international concerns and influences in a globally connected world.

This thesis argues that intricate international relations and complex foreign policies helped shape American identity and values at home. Diplomats abroad in countries such …

Describing The Impact Of The Sales Of Antibiotics On The Environment And In Population Health, Andrés Gaviria-Figueroa

Theses and Dissertations

The role of antibiotics in human health is of significant importance in the advancement of the medical field. It has contributed to an improvement of the quality of life and the age expectancy of the population. Antibiotic resistance is an expected consequence of the use of antibiotics. Bacteria have developed biological mechanisms that would help them become resistant to antibiotics. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics is significantly contributing to the ability of bacteria to become resistant to those antibiotics. This study, using the model of the Socio-Ecological Coupling of Antibiotic Resistance, explains how social and environmental factors interact and impact …

“That Was Denied Thee On Earth”: An Intersectional Bioarchaeology Of Institutionalized Euro-American Women Throughout 19Th And 20Th-Century America, Madeline Maria Atwell

Theses and Dissertations

In the mid 19th-century, American state-supported insane asylums, later renamed state mental hospitals in the 20th-century, were constructed to house and humanely treat individuals perceived to be socially deviant or mentally and physically ill. Women were particularly vulnerable to undue institutionalization because of the prevailing patriarchal gender ideology within medical and colloquial spheres that contributed to the perception that they were biologically pathological. This dissertation interprets the findings of combined archival, historical, and osteological analysis from two U.S. skeletal collections: The Colorado State Insane Asylum (CSIA) Collection and the Hamann-Todd Human Osteological Collection (HT), to examine the embodied, physiological impact …

Engineering And Optimization Of An Aav Based Viral Vector To Limit The In-Vitro Expression Of Sars-Cov-2 Spike-Protein, Ronald Anderson Smithwick

Theses and Dissertations

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2, also known as SARS-CoV-2, is a newly emerged respiratory viral pathogen. The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 started in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and rapidly transformed into a pandemic. Several vaccines have been developed and are available to the public on an unprecedented timeline, protecting individuals from a severe infection and saving precious lives. However, none of the vaccines can provide a sterile immunity, and the SARS-CoV-2 transmission cycle continues. Additionally, because of the mutation-prone RNA genome and immunological selection pressure, SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly mutating, especially the Spike(S) protein, and new viral strains are arising …

British Colonial Strategies To Control The Influenza Epidemic Of 1918 To 1919 In Ashanti, Dennis Baffour Awuah

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to examine the strategies and policies that were employed by the British colonial administration to control the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 in Ashanti. I argue that the varying philosophies of both the colonial administration and the Native population in Ashanti on health and medicine influenced the response trajectory to the disease. It also explores the aspects of Indigenous medical practices which are largely concerned with the religion or beliefs of the people. Before the outbreak of influenza, the colonial administration started a campaign to promote Western medicine while antagonizing Indigenous medicine. To an extent, this made the …

Thermal And Hormonal Effects On Gene Expression And Development In The Red-Eared Slider Turtle, Rosario A. Marroquin-Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Sex determination refers to the process by which cues from genes (genotypic sex determination) or environmental conditions (environmental sex determination) trigger bipotential gonads to develop into either ovaries or testes. Temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) is a well-studied form of environmental sex determination in reptiles. The red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) exhibits a form of TSD where cool incubation temperatures produce males and warm incubation temperatures produce females. In species with TSD, gonadal differentiation is regulated by network of genes and hormones that induce male or female development. TSD is most frequently studied in the laboratory using constant male and …

Effect Of Covid-19 On The Wellbeing Of Healthcare Professionals In Public Isolation Hospitals In Egypt, Shaimaa Sabbah

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most vulnerable groups severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), especially the physicians, pharmacists, and nurses who work in public Isolation hospitals. The Egyptian medical syndicate declared the death of more than 600 physicians from February 2020 till January 2022. In the meantime, the Egyptian government has worked on different policies for relieving the negative effects of the pandemic on this vulnerable group; however, easing restrictions, no total lockdown implementation, and monitoring bureaucracy has negatively affected the wellbeing of those HCPs. The study aims to figure out recommended policies to protect HCPs’ …

Selective Gsk3Β Inhibition Mediates An Nrf2-Independent Anti-Inflammatory Microglial Response, Mohamed H. Yousef

Theses and Dissertations

Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3) is associated with the proinflammatory phenotype of microglia and has been shown to act in concert with Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). . GSK3 is also a suppressor of Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), the principal regulator of redox homeostasis. Agreeing with the oxidative paradigm of aging, Nrf2 is often deregulated in parainflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we aimed to explore a multimodal disease-modifying utility of GSK3 inhibition, beyond neuronal proteopathologies, Furthermore, we aimed to underscore the difference in therapeutic value between the two GSK3 paralogs by isoform-selective chemical inhibition.

The …

Identification Of Novel Phosphorylation Sites In Sars-Cov-2 Nucleocapsid Protein, Josie Daldegan Rezende

Theses and Dissertations

COVID-19, the 2019 disease outbreak, continues to cause severe mortality worldwide. Fast and reliable tests that identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for causing the COVID-19 disease, are crucial for controlling the spread of the virus. Antigen tests are ideal for the rapid diagnosis of COVID-19. Current antigen tests for COVID-19 detect the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein. The nucleocapsid is the most abundant protein produced by the virus upon infection, which makes it a superior target for detection by an antigen test. Nucleocapsid proteins from several coronaviruses, including SARS, have previously been shown to be modified by posttranslational modification …