Digital Commons Network^™

Cellular Consequences Of Lysosomal Rupture Induced By Alpha Synuclein, Zachary Carpenter Green

Master's Theses

Misfolded, toxic forms of amyloid alpha synuclein (α-syn) have been implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathology and have been shown to spread throughout the brain in a prion-like manner, explaining the progressive loss of neurons in PD. The mechanisms of spread and cell death are unknown, however, evidence from previous studies suggests that neurons may undergo apoptosis due to the uptake of exogenous α-syn aggregate through the endocytic pathway and subsequent lysosomal rupture.

This study aimed to corroborate previous evidence of α-syn induced lysosomal rupture and investigate the cellular repercussions of rupture with respect to cell death and α-syn transfer. …

Estrogen Regulation Of Mir-181a Stability In Neurons, Chun Kim

Master's Theses

Estrogens are an important class of steroid hormones involved in many cellular signaling processes. Levels of estrogens fluctuate across the lifespan suggesting that they target intracellular mediators, such as microRNAs, to fine-tune homeostatic cellular processes. Previous work in our lab demonstrated that 17β-estradiol (E2), the predominant circulating estrogen, stabilized miR-181a in a neuronal cell line derived from rat hypothalamus. These results lead to the hypothesis that E2 regulated miR-181a stability by altering the pool of endogenous RNA and by recruiting PNRC2 away from the miRNA degradation machinery. By utilizing miRNA degradation assays and immunostaining techniques, it was determined that the …

Interfering In A Non-Interference Policy: Defining Star Trek's Prime Directive, Andrew Steele

Master's Theses

The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive definition of the Prime Directive, a concept that was developed in Star Trek: The Original Series, as well as provide a non-fictionalized version of the edict.

The Prime Directive is an edict that governs Starfleet not to interfere with a society’s development.

The first main section will discuss in further detail why The Original Series account of the Prime Directive was selected. Furthermore, it will discuss how members of academia interpret the Prime Directive.

The second main section will be an episode-by-episode analysis of each Prime Directive centered episode to …

Psychological Predictors Of Community Violence Exposure In Ethnic Minority Male Adolescents, Amanda Burnside

Master's Theses

Urban, minority males are disproportionately impacted by community violence exposure (ECV). However, person-based analyses have demonstrated variability in rates of ECV, suggesting that demographic risk factors do not always result in increased ECV, and it may be important to examine the utility of psychological factors in this relationship. Research suggests that depressive symptoms may actually exacerbate the risk of ECV. The current study examines the effect of internalizing symptoms on future ECV. Data were derived from a larger longitudinal study of adolescents who had committed a criminal offense. This subset of 184 participants ranged in age from 14-18. Results indicated …

Parenting-Related Stress, Parental Distress, And Youth Health-Related Quality Of Life In Families Of Youth With Spina Bifida: Parenting Behaviors As Mediators, Colleen F. Bechtel

Master's Theses

Research has shown that youth with spina bifida (SB) have poorer psychosocial outcomes, including health-related quality of life (HRQOL), compared to typically developing youth. Demographic and illness-severity factors that may affect HRQOL have been identified, but modifiable factors affecting HRQOL have not yet been identified in this population. Potential modifiable factors include parent factors. In fact, in other pediatric populations, parent factors have been found to impact HRQOL above and beyond illness-severity. This impact may be especially salient for youth with SB, as these youth are more socially isolated and depend on parents for both medical and non-medical caregiving needs. …

In Plain Sight: How Social Images In Education Shape The Social Identity Of Black Students, Kandyce Cabacar

Master's Theses

This thesis will postulate social identity development in Black students is shaped by their school experience. Reviewing how racial grouping is a critical factor in how we engage with others socially, this study will curate the variables of society that assembles the Black image. Social construction influenced by media messages and the neighborhoods that determine our respective schools will also be analyzed. By borrowing from the research of social psychology and contributions of sociologists on race relations, this thesis will demonstrate how expectations influenced by racial stereotypes of Black students create a correlation to social identity. These findings are discussed …

Haitian Representation In The Media: A Comparative Analysis Between An African American Owned Newspaper And A Mainstream Newspaper, Stephanie Jean-Baptiste

Master's Theses

Are the portrayals of Haitian immigrants in an African-American owned newspaper, different from their portrayal in a white owned newspaper? In this paper I examine newspaper articles covering Haitian immigrants and refugees. The articles selected were published in 2004 and sampled from the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Defender. Although the journals have distinctive goals and market reach, there were similarities in their portrayal of Haitian immigrants. Both journals referred to Haitian immigrants as victims of Haiti’s failed democracy. However, each journal advertised the reception of this migrant group differently. The African American owned newspaper advertised inclusion, while the white-owned …

Down And Out: College Students Experiencing Depressive Symptoms, Jenna Eileen Ofenloch

Master's Theses

Survey research that asks respondents to report on depression often ask

respondents whether they have been diagnosed with depression by a medical

professional. But such questions underestimate depression by leaving out respondents

who are unable or unwilling to seek professional help. Thus, other studies seek to ask

respondents to report symptoms of various dimensions of depression. This is especially

important because, according to the CDC, “persons with mild depressive symptoms, as

well as those with moderate or severe depressive symptoms, reported difficulties with

work, home, and social activities related to their symptoms”. But some groups are more

prone to depression. …

Results From The Survey Of Antibiotic Resistance (Soar) 2011-14 In The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Ivory Coast, Republic Of Senegal And Kenya, A. Kacou-Ndouba, Gunturu Revathi, P. Mwathi, A. Seck, A. Diop, M. J. Kabedi-Bajani, W. Mwiti, M. J. Anguibi-Pokou, I. Morrissey, D. Torumkuney

Pathology, East Africa

Objectives: To assess antibiotic susceptibility of community-acquired respiratory tract isolates from Ivory Coast, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Senegal in 2011–14.

Methods: Bacterial isolates were collected and MICs determined using Etest^® for all antibiotics except erythromycin, for which testing was by disc diffusion. Susceptibility was assessed using CLSI, EUCAST and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) breakpoints. For macrolide interpretation, CLSI breakpoints were adjusted for incubation in CO₂.

Results: Susceptibility to penicillin (using CLSI oral or EUCAST breakpoints) was low among isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from the DRC and Kenya (17.4% and 19%, respectively) but higher among isolates from …

Adding A Single Low-Dose Of Primaquine (0.25 Mg/Kg) To Artemether-Lumefantrine Did Not Compromise Treatment Outcome Of Uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria In Tanzania: A Randomized, Single-Blinded Clinical Trial, Richard Mwaiswelo, Billy Ngasala, Irina Jovel, Berit Aydin‑Schmidt, Roland Gosling, Zul Premji, Bruno Mmbando, Anders Björkman, Andreas Mårtensson

Pathology, East Africa

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended the addition of a single low-dose of the gametocytocidal drug primaquine (PQ) to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) in low transmission set‑ tings as a component of pre-elimination or elimination programmes. However, it is unclear whether that influences the ACT cure rate. The study assessed treatment outcome of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) plus a single PQ dose (0.25 mg/kg) versus standard AL regimen for treatment of acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tanzania.

Methods: A randomized, single-blinded, clinical trial was conducted in Yombo, Bagamoyo district, Tanzania. Acute uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria patients aged ≥1 year, …

Safety Of A Single Low-Dose Of Primaquine In Addition To Standard Artemether-Lumefantrine Regimen For Treatment Of Acute Uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria In Tanzania, Richard Mwaiswelo, Billy Ngasala, Irina Jovel, Roland Gosling, Zul Premji, Eugenie Poirot, Bruno Mmbando, Anders Björkman, Andreas Mårtensson

Pathology, East Africa

Background: This study assessed the safety of the new World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of adding a single low-dose of primaquine (PQ) to standard artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), regardless of individual glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) status, for treatment of acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Tanzania.

Methods: Men and non-pregnant, non-lactating women aged ≥1 year with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria were enrolled and randomized to either standard artemether-lumefantrine (AL) regimen alone or with a 0.25 mg/kg single-dose of PQ. PQ was administered concomitantly with the first AL dose. All drug doses were supervised. Safety was evaluated between days 0 and 28. …

Summertime Sleep And Bmi In Urban Minority Girls: Relations To Physical Activity And Executive Functions, Carolyn Rose Bates

Master's Theses

Urban minority youth, particularly females, are at high risk for increased weight gain during the summertime months, and may also experience insufficient sleep at this time. Few studies have objectively measured summertime sleep in this population or related sleep to weight gain during this season. The current study draws on a sample of 66 urban minority girls aged 10-to-14 who participated in a community-based summer day camp program promoting physical activity (PA). The study objectively characterizes sleep in this sample, both in unstructured and structured contexts. Additionally, the study examines potential pathways underlying summertime relations between sleep and weight, including …

Feminist And Gay Male Politics: New Issues For Political Collaboration And Activism, Adam Hii

Master's Theses

This project looks at political collaboration between people who self-identify as gay men

and those who self-identify as feminists. These two groups have been political aligned on numerous issues since the 1970s. The goal of this project is to see on which issues that political collaboration will continue moving forward. This research draws extensively on oral interviews conducted with gay men and feminists, as well as the current work of national advocacy organizations to see where political interest is high, and where networks already exist to foster future advocacy efforts. By focusing on these areas, this project predicts which issues …

Phosphodiesterase Inhibition As A Mechanism Of Ion Channel Modulation By Celecoxib, Christina Jean Robakowski

Master's Theses

The overall objective of this thesis work is to determine the mechanism by which celecoxib modulates Kv7 potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells. The central hypothesis of the project is that celecoxib modulates Kv7 potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells through inhibition of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4, which catalyzes the breakdown of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)), thereby activating a cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway. The aims of this thesis targeted different points in the cAMP/PKA pathway with pharmacological interventions using whole cell perforated patch clamp electrophysiology and biochemical methods.

The data suggest multiple mechanisms by which celecoxib could …

Examining The Effects Of Coping Strategies Specific To Community Violence Exposure Among African American Adolescents, Suzanna So

Master's Theses

Variability in exposure to community violence (ECV) and aggressive behaviors in African American youth from urban communities can be attributed to general coping, but these studies have been inconclusive. Recent qualitative research identified four types of coping that are specific to ECV; however, quantitative research is needed to understand the adaptiveness of these strategies. The current study examined the factor structure of a measure for ECV-specific coping strategies. The current study also assessed how ECV-specific coping was associated with ECV and externalizing behaviors. Data from the current study were derived from an archival dataset comprised of 594 African American adolescents. …

Risk And Resilience Factors Among Low-Income Latino Adolescents: The Impact On Daily Ratings Of Mood, Stephanie Andrea Torres

Master's Theses

Given that Latino adolescents endorse more negative mood when compared to their counterparts of other backgrounds (CDC, 2012), it is especially advantageous to evaluate the impact of risk and resilience factors on mood among this population. The current study uses daily diary methodology to examine the impact that daily economic stress, daily family stress, familism, and ethnic identity commitment and exploration have on daily ratings of mood among 58 (M =13.31, 47% female) low-income Latino adolescents. Results show that daily family stress was strongly linked to daily mood while familism emerged as a salient resilience factor. Contrary to predictions, ethnic …

A Bioluminescence Sensor Of Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation, Michael Alexander Winek

Master's Theses

The innate immune system is many organisms first line of defense against pathogenic insult or tissue damage. This defense strategy is intent on restoring homeostasis upon perturbation. Upon activation of the innate immune system in humans, an oligomeric protein complex termed the “Inflammasome” forms in myeloid cells. The canonical output of activation of any subset of inflammasome is Caspase-1-mediated secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL1β and IL18. Chronic or uncontrolled inflammasome activation is at the core of myriad economically burdening diseases. In many of these diseases, endogenous factors chronically engage the innate immune system. To study these diseases in in vivo, …

The Moderating Role Of Emotion Regulation On Longitudinal Associations Between Stress And Mental Health In College Students, Evan Zahniser

Master's Theses

Emotion regulation is consistently linked to subsequent wellbeing, but little research has examined the moderating role of emotion regulation in associations between mental health and other relevant factors. Patterns of gender differences in emotion regulation also remain somewhat unclear. The present study targets these gaps by examining two specific emotion regulation strategies in interaction with stress and gender in predicting internalizing symptoms among college students, a population for whom emotion regulation may be particularly important given the high-stress nature of the college transition. A large sample of students (N = 1,130) provided self-report data at three time points over their …

Caregiver Involvement In Child And Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Care : A Clinician's Perspective, Erika Wentworth

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This mixed-methods exploratory study aimed to contribute to the knowledge about caregiver involvement during child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric treatment, as it is the most agreed upon factor of treatment outcomes by both psychiatric providers and previous research. Thirty-two licensed clinicians who either currently work or worked within the last five years on child and/or adolescent psychiatric inpatient units completed an online survey. The survey included both multiple choice and open ended questions about participants’ perceptions of how they involved caregivers during treatment as well as the involvement of the unit and day programming. The findings of the study confirmed …

Clinician Perceptions Of Harm Reduction, Psychotherapy And The Role Of Traditional Abstinence Models, Abigail R. Vayda

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study sought to better understand clinicians’ perceptions of harm reduction, psychotherapy, and the role of traditional abstinence models when working with actively using clients. This study analyzed the results from a survey completed by 52 practicing clinicians in the United States. The survey contained demographic questions and Likert scale questions measuring attitudes toward harm reduction, abstinence, and psychotherapy with actively using clients. In addition to rating questions, there was also one open-ended question allowing participants to express their understandings of the development of a substance use disorder. The overall response to this survey was a positive attitude toward harm …

Social Work Professional Ethics, As Affected By The Concept Of The Wounded Healer : An Investigation Into The Gatekeeping Practice Of Clinical Social Work Supervision, Cristina B. Bloom

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The objective of this exploratory qualitative study was to assess how the field of social work currently maintains and preserves professional social work ethics in the clinical practice field. This study sought to understand how, in a field where the self is one of the main tools utilized, the field ensures that the practitioner’s self is fit to practice and to do so ethically. This is of particular significance in a field that research indicates that high percentages of people are attracted to because of challenging personal life experiences (Lackie, 1982; Marsh, 1988; Vincent, 1996). More specifically, this study centered …

The Legal Capacity Of Deaf Persons In The Decisions Of The Imperial Court Of Justice Between 1880 And 1900, Raluca Enescu, Anja Werner

SOLON Law, Crime and History (previously SOLON Crimes and Misdemeanours: Deviance and the Law in Historical Perspective)

The inclusion of deaf persons in a judicial setting raised questions about their ability to bear witness, be convicted, conclude a marriage, make a will and, of course, about the ability of the court to communicate with them. In their decisions, the judges of the Imperial Court of Justice in Leipzig shed light on their interpretation of the capacity of deaf persons to participate in the legal realm. The motivation of their judgments drew comparisons with different categories of citizens to compensate for incomplete laws. They also took into account developments in the education of deaf persons regarding their communication …

Beyond The Binary, Petr Wiese

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Legalization Of Prostitution And Its Impact On The Market For Human Trafficking, Varunavi Newar

Senior Independent Study Theses

No abstract provided.

Just Let Them Move: Refugee Economic Integration And Conflict Spillover, Mohammad Sarhan

Senior Independent Study Theses

Previous studies have demonstrated that refugee presence makes host states more likely to experience conflicts. Although some refugees migrate with arms, combatants, and ideologies conducive to conflict, the vast majority almost never engage in violence. Their presence; however, impacts the economy and alters previously established social contracts, consequently making local groups more likely to engage in violence. The impact of a refugee population on a host economy; however, is conditional. While the factors that make refugees an asset in one country and a burden in another have a significant impact on the spread of conflict, they still remain undiscovered in …

Optimal Placement Of Family Planning Centers, Kiera Dobbs

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project investigates and begins to solve the problem of access to family planning services in the United States. We research and implement methods in Operations Research to optimize the location of publicly funded family planning centers in the United States by minimizing travel distance. The solution begins with a designated number of family planning centers for the country. An apportionment integer programming algorithm is then exercised to allocate centers to all the states based on population, percent of population in poverty, and state square mileage. At the state level, we use apportionment again to distribute centers to counties. At …

Factors That Influence Device Selection By Parents Of Pediatric Cochlear Implant Candidates, Zachary W. Moore

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors/variables and the importance of those factors during cochlear implant (CI) device selection by parents of recent pediatric CI recipients in the United States. The researcher created an electronic survey and asked audiologists and hearing-related professionals at various hospitals and CI centers across the United States to distribute the survey link to the parents of any of their pediatric CI patients who received CI surgery within the past two years under the age of five years. The survey included both Likert-type and open-ended questions regarding the importance of various factors/variables to the …

Creating The Middle-Class: The Impact Of Class Based Identity Appeals In Presidential Campaigns, Lois Kimmel

Senior Independent Study Theses

This paper investigates the effect of class-based identity appeals in presidential campaign speeches on voters’ subjective class-based identities and attitudes toward economic policies. Many scholars argue that the relevance of class is declining in contemporary American politics; however, I maintain that class persists as an influencing identity in American political behavior. I argue that recent presidential candidates make more appeals to class-based identities due to the heightened salience of economic inequality in America. Relying on Social Identity Theory, from research in political psychology, I find that more voters who receive a middle class-based identity appeal identified with the middle class, …

Opportunity And Empowerment In Female Prison Reentry In Wooster, Oh, Zoe E. Cunningham-Cook

Senior Independent Study Theses

This study investigates the process of reentry after prison for women in Wooster, Ohio, using theories of morality and punishment by Durkheim and Foucault, general strain theory by Broidy and Agnew, and intersectionality by Hill Collins. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected to gain a broad understanding of this particular court system and the people involved in it. Statistics on the people sentenced to prison through this court from January 2012 to October 2015 were gathered and analyzed to learn of the demographics of those sentenced to prison and how different backgrounds, especially gender, affect the charge and sentence …

The Puzzle Of Post-Conflict Justice: Identifying Factors That Influence State Selection Of Mechanisms, Taylor V. Knoop

Senior Independent Study Theses

The period of post-conflict is wrought with frustrations, broken trust and intense hurt as a state works to bring its society out of internal conflict. Post-conflict justice mechanisms are designed to provide tools to move a state towards stability. While scholars have evaluated the different post-conflict justice mechanisms in reaching their goals, there is limited research into understanding why a state may implement one post-conflict justice mechanism over another. Specifically, what factors impact the form of post-conflict justice mechanisms in states? This research presents six post-conflict justice mechanisms through three theoretical-derived categories, retributive justice, restorative justice and immunity measures, before …