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Strategies For Preventing Age And Neurodegenerative Disease-Associated Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Vedad Delic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a pivotal role in the development of aging phenotypes and aging-associated neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Strategies that restore mitochondrial dysfunction may rescue the deficits of central metabolism in these disorders and improve cell survival. For example, we found that modulating the mTOR signaling pathway in a tissue culture model of aging-induced mitochondrial DNA mutation enhanced mitochondrial function as evidenced by increased oxygen consumption. Our previous melatonin studies also led us to hypothesize that caloric restriction and the hormone melatonin would reverse brain mitochondrial dysfunction in animal …

Maternal Stress, Breastmilk Igf-1, And Offspring Growth Among Breastfeeding Mothers-Infant Pairs In The Tampa Bay Area, Lauren Michelle Gottfredson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Maternal stress during utero has been shown to have negative health consequences on the offspring, including low birth weight and increased risk of adult disease. Variation in breastmilk may act as an environmental cue of maternal stress and continue to program the infant during early life. This research aimed to explore the role of breastmilk on developmental programming of the infant. Specifically, to examine how breastmilk may act as a medium for the exposure of stress between the mother and the offspring, and see if variation in insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) a potential mechanism for the relationship.

Methods: …

Theoretically Guided Examination Of Caregiver Strain And Its Relationship With School-Based Mental Health Services Utilization And Parent Engagement In Services, Amy Lynn Green

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Broadly, the purpose of this study was to address the gaps in the knowledge base of caregiver strain through an examination of this and other theoretically related constructs in a sample of parents of high-risk youth. In the last two decades, a growing body of research has pointed to the significance of strain that can result from this caregiving experience, particularly as it relates to patterns of mental health services utilization. Despite the fact that the majority of children who receive mental health receive them from the school, few studies have examined caregiver strain in the context of school-based mental …

Neuroinflammatory Alterations Via Cd-36 In Traumatic Brain Injury, Diana G. Hernandez-Ontiveros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become an increasingly unmet clinical need due to intense military conflicts worldwide. Directly impacted brain cells suffer massive death, with neighboring cells succumbing to progressive neurodegeneration accompanied by inflammatory and other secondary cell death events. Subsequent neurodegenerative events may extend to normal areas beyond the core of injury, thereby exacerbating the central nervous system’s inflammatory response to TBI. Recently CD-36 (cluster of differentiation 36/fatty acid translocase (FAT), a class B scavenger receptor of modified low-density lipoproteins (mLDLs) in macrophages, has been implicated in lipid metabolism, atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, and tissue injury in cerebral ischemia, and …

Multiple Stain Histology Of Skeletal Fractures: Healing And Microtaphonomy, John Wellington Powell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The forensic examination of wounds is one of the key elements of analysis performed by forensic anthropologists and forensic pathologists. Gross examination and histological analysis can be used to determine the timing of the wound and its cause. While forensic pathologists are trained to analyze hard and soft tissue wounds, forensic anthropologists, bioarchaeologists, and paleopathologists, focus on hard tissue. Forensic anthropologists have the added benefit of potentially working with residual soft tissue and would benefit from the incorporation of microscopy techniques that take advantage of the soft tissue to better understand perimortem events. Little research has been published that examines …

Ecological Sanitation In Uganda: Promotion Through Demonstration Facilities And Potential For Ascaris Reduction By Free Ammonia Inactivation Using Stored Urine, John Thomas Trimmer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As Uganda works to transform itself into an industrialized, middle-income country in the coming decades, the country is faced with a number of problematic trends that could hinder this transition. High population growth and urbanization are quickly forcing small towns to deal with issues of limited space and the aesthetic conditions within sanitation systems, while declining soil fertility in surrounding rural areas calls into question the future nutritional security of the growing population. Ecological Sanitation (Eco-San) systems, which are designed to recover nutrients from human excreta, may help to address these trends.

Improved sanitation coverage in Uganda is currently estimated …

Exploring The Role Of Intracellular Aminopeptidases In Staphylococcus Aureus Pathogenesis, Devon Nicole Marking

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a remarkably pathogenic bacterium that is widely prevalent among the human population. It is the leading agent of skin and soft tissue infections, and is also responsible for causing an array of severe and life threatening diseases. The invasiveness of the pathogen, coupled with increasing antibiotic resistance seen for S. aureus infections, makes this bacterium a prominent public health concern. The extended pathogenicity of S. aureus is largely due to its repertoire of virulence factors, which are typically characterized by being bound to the cell wall, or secreted into the extracellular environment. Previously, our lab identified a …

Diversity And Pollination Activity Of Flower Visiting Insects Associated With Avocado Along The Slopes Of Taita Hills In Kenya, Eric Bushuru Luvonga

All Master’s Theses

Avocado is a horticultural crop of increasing economic importance in Kenya and around the world. Avocado production has been declining partly due to inadequate pollination. This decline in avocado pollination is currently linked to habitat fragmentation and climate change that negatively affects insect pollinators, especially in high altitude areas such as Taita Hills in coastal Kenya. However, there is scarcity of information on avocado flower visiting insects in Taita Hills. The main objective of this study was to assess the diversity and pollination activity of flower visiting insects associated with avocado along the slopes of Taita Hills. The research was …

Growing Inequality And Children, Naomi Cahn, June Carbone

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Trial Of Short-Course Antimicrobial Therapy For Intraabdominal Infection, J E. Mazuski, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Α,Β-Unsaturated Ketones As Antileishmanial Agents, Miguel A. Vasquez, Eva Iniguez, Umashankar Das, Stephen M. Beverley, Linda J. Herrera, Jonathan R. Dimmock, Rosa A. Maldonado

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Genetic Variants Modify The Effect Of Age On Apoe Methylation In The Genetics Of Lipid Lowering Drugs And Diet Network Study, Ingrid B. Borecki, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Protein Disulfide Isomerase 1 As A Key Isomerase For Disulfide Bond Formation In Apolipoprotein B100, Shiyu Wang, Shuin Park, Vamsi K. Kodali, Jaeseok Han, Theresa Yip, Zhouji Chen, Nicholas O. Davidson, Randal J. Kaufman

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Pre-Radiotherapy Feeding Tube Identifies A Poor Prognostic Subset Of Postoperative P16 Positive Oropharyngeal Carcinoma Patients, Vivek Verma, Jingxia Liu, Laura Eschen, Jonathan Danieley, Christopher Spencer, James S. Lewis, Jason Diaz, Jay F. Piccirillo, Douglas R. Adkins, Brian Nussenbaum, Wade L. Thorstad, Hiram A. Gay

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Secreted Clca1 Modulates Tmem16a To Activate Ca2+-Dependent Chloride Currents In Human Cells, Monica Sala-Rabanal, Zeynep Yurtsever, Colin G. Nichols, Tom J. Brett

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Nutrition Transition In Colombia Over A Decade: A Novel Household Classification System Of Anthropometric Measures, Diana C. Parra, Lora Iannotti, Luis F. Gomez, Helena Pachon, Debra Haire-Joshu, Olga L. Sarmiento, Anne Sebert Kuhlmann, Ross C. Brownson

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Association Between Dietary Patterns During Pregnancy And Birth Size Measures In A Diverse Population In Southern Us, Uriyoán Colón-Ramos, Susan B. Racette, Jody Ganiban, Thuy G. Nguyen, Mehmet Kocak, Kecia N. Carroll, Eszter Völgyi, Frances A. Tylavsky

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Travel Advice For The Immunocompromised Traveler: Prophylaxis, Vaccination, And Other Preventive Measures, Rupa R. Patel, Stephen Y. Liang, Pooja Koolwal, Frederick Matthew Kuhlmann

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Role Of Copper Efflux In Pneumococcal Pathogenesis And Resistance To Macrophage-Mediated Immune Clearance, Michael D L Johnson, Thomas E. Kehl-Fie, Roger Klein, Jacqueline Kelly, Corinna Burnham, Beth Mann, Jason W. Rosch

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Relevance Of The Colon To Zinc Nutrition, Geetha Lavaniya Gopalsamy, David H. Alpers, Henry J. Binder, Cuong D. Tran, B. S. Ramakrishna, Ian Brown, Mark Manary, Elissa Mortimer, Graeme P. Young

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Association Of Knowledge, Preventive Counseling And Personal Health Behaviors On Physical Activity And Consumption Of Fruits Or Vegetables In Community Health Workers, Alex A. Florindo, Ross C. Brownson, Gregore I. Mielke, Grace Ao Gomes, Diana C. Parra, Fernando V. Siqueira, Felipe Lobelo, Eduardo J. Simoes, Luiz R. Ramos, Mario M. Bracco, Pedro C. Hallal

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Asset-Based Community Development Practices In International Service-Learning: A Content Analysis Of Short-Term Programs In Nicaragua, Kara Christine Poppe

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of the study is to explore how students on short-term international service-learning programs in Nicaragua interact with local communities by analyzing the structure of the programs as evidenced by course syllabi and website content. After extensive online research of international service-learning programs offered in Nicaragua, seven programs became the focus of the study. The four research questions included: 1) In what ways do the international service-learning programs support key components of service-learning, such as academic connections and reflection? 2) In what ways do the international service-learning program structure the time in the host country for service and tourism? …

Agricultural Biotechnology: Drawing On International Law To Promote Progress, J. Janewa Oseitutu

Faculty Publications

In Bowman v. Monsanto, the Supreme Court declined to apply the principle of exhaustion to limit the patentee’s ability to control the reproduction of self-replicating inventions. This decision was justified from a patent law perspective on the basis that patent holder has a right to prevent others from making the invention. But what happens when we take other perspectives into account? For instance, a farmer might have human rights or other rights that may need to be balanced against the patentee’s right. Since globalized intellectual property standards were established through international agreements and much of the resistance to intellectual property …

Injunctive And Descriptive Norms Effect On Physical Activity, Monica Lynn Ehn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Nearly half of adults in the United States do not meet the recommended guidelines for both aerobic and strengthening activities despite the benefits of regular physical activity (National Center for Health Statistics, 2014; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). The purpose of the current study was to test whether normative feedback (i.e., descriptive and descriptive plus injunctive norms) affects levels of physical activity. Participants wore a Fitbit Zip pedometer to record exercise behavior and received normative feedback messages sent to their mobile phones. Participants were 52 undergraduate students with a mean age of 18.66 (SD = 0.83); 27 …

University Of North Florida Journal Winter 2015, University Of North Florida

UNF Journal

A university periodical for alumni and friends of the University of North Florida. Division of University Relations.

Dementia And Primary-Care Health Measures:Hearing, Gait, And Markers Of Inflammation, Elsa Lindgren

Honors Theses and Capstones

Dementia is a syndrome associated with declining cognitive function that has a variety of types and causes, and is encountered frequently in general medical practice. Researchers are actively exploring possible risk factors for dementia. The St. Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) exam is a dementia-screening exam used in primary care visits to detect cognitive impairment that may be a sign of dementia. This study compared scores on the SLUMS exam to other measures recorded in a typical primary care visit in 86 patients of age 65 and older to look for correlations between indicators of health, such as physical examination …

Gastrointestinal Nematodes Of Ovis Aries In Eastern Cape, South Africa And An Evaluation Of Current Anthelmintic Procedures, Melyssa Rowell

Honors Theses and Capstones

Humans have known about helminth infections since ancient times. Today half of the human population is plagued by a nematode infection. Nematodes are responsible for billions of dollars in global crop damage annually and have had devastating effects on the global livestock industry. Due to the lack of a vaccine, and only a handful of approved classes of anthelmintics, nematode resistance has become a serious global phenomenon, and the South African commercial sheep industry has been one of the worst affected worldwide. The current study used fecal float parasitology to determine the nematode species found on a commercial sheep farm …

Finding Childcare For The Disabled Child: The Process And Decisions Through The Primary Caregiver’S Lens, Misty Dawn Torres

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In this qualitative, Grounded Theory study, the researcher examined the process that primary caregivers go through when selecting a childcare placement for children who have special needs. Data were collected through participant interviews with primary caregivers (n=10) who responded to recruitment notices posted on (1) listservs by organizations directly affiliated with early intervention and child care services; (2) local Internet classified sites; and (3) through word of mouth. The research demonstrated that caregivers who learned of their child’s disability in a prenatal diagnosis or prior to an adoption identified with having a greater sense of choice and control over their …

Utilization Of Placebo Response In Double-Blind Psychopharmacological Studies, Contextual Perspective, Margarita Olegovna Ashirova

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Placebo response has been an elusive phenomenon in the fields of medicine, medical research, and psychology. Even though it has been heavily utilized as a comparator treatment in double-blind psychopharmacological studies, the reliable definition and consistent understanding of placebo response are missing. In this contextual exploration, I outlined the state of current placebo response research and variable rates of placebo response reported in double-blind studies. I identified the gap in the literature—lack of consistent understanding of placebo response—that has led to a waste of resources by the psychopharmacological research industry. Further, I compared and contrasted the current inconsistent Western medical …

Human Kaleidoscopes: Cultivating Success In Non-Traditional Students, Carolyn Coles Benton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Non-traditional students are a growing population in higher education, yet our understandings of the unique factors that predict their success have not increased. This narrative inquiry examines the lived experiences of high school dropouts entering the college arena as non-traditional students, attempting to improve their personal and academic lifestyles by acquiring a General Education Diploma (GED) in addition to obtaining an associate’s degree from a for-profit postsecondary educational institution. The purpose of this study is to better understand the lives and circumstances of students, leading up to their dropping out of high school. Participants’ reflections of their own college experiences, …