Digital Commons Network^™

Disrupted Self-Perception In People With Chronic Low Back Pain. Further Evaluation Of The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire, B Wand, M Catley, M Rabey, P O'Sullivan, E O'Connell, A Smith

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Several lines of evidence suggest that body-perception is altered in people with chronic back pain. Maladaptive perceptual awareness of the back might contribute to the pain experience as well as serve as a target for treatment. The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) is a simple questionnaire recently developed to assess back-specific altered self-perception. The aims of this study were to present the outcomes of a comprehensive evaluation of the questionnaire’s psychometric properties and explore the potential relationships between body-perception, nociceptive sensitivity, distress and beliefs about back pain and the contribution these factors might play in explaining pain and disability. Two-hundred …

Epigenetic Regulation Of Brca1 Expression And Its Role Inbreast Cancer Stem Cell Development, Elena Shestakova

Turkish Journal of Biology

The tumor suppressor breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) plays an important role in maintaining the genome integrity, actively participating in DNA repair via homologous recombination. The level of functional final BRCA1 protein is precisely regulated in cells. Epigenetic regulation of BRCA1 gene expression is one of the most important mechanisms for BRCA1 level fine-tuning. In this review the main epigenetic mechanisms of BRCA1 expression regulation are presented, including DNA methylation, histone covalent modifications, and regulation with transcription factors. Another important function of BRCA1 emerging in recent years is its role in the regulation of breast cancer stem cell development. …

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Methods, Disease Modeling, And Microenvironment For Drug Discovery And Screening, Suresh Palamadai Krishnan

Turkish Journal of Biology

The raging ethical, religious, moral, political, and safety issues pertaining to the use of embryonic stem cells for therapy and research have prompted researchers to develop possibly better alternatives that are more efficacious and serve multiple purposes. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) developed by multiple methods provide an unparalleled source of cells that could be differentiated into progeny cells. In cell-based disease models the progeny cells mimic, at least in part, the pathology of the studied disease and are used to improve the mechanistic understanding of the pathology. Furthermore, these cells could be used to test the efficacy and safety …

Glioblastoma Stem Cells: A Therapeutic Challenge, Erdoğan Pekcan Erkan, Ufuk Vurgun, Reşat Serhat Erbayraktar, Zübeyde Erbayraktar

Turkish Journal of Biology

The outcome for glioblastoma patients remains extremely poor, despite the advances in surgical and medical fields. It is hypothesized that glioblastoma progression, as well as tumor recurrence, is driven by a small number of cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are characterized by their ability of self-renewal and proliferation, giving rise to progeny of transformation into multiple neuroepithelial lineages. Understanding the biology of CSCs is likely to explain why existing treatment strategies fail to affect the relatively quiescent and resistant CSC compartment. Here, we review the current knowledge on CSCs in glial tumors. In addition, we discuss the importance …

Current Status Of Stem Cell Therapy: Opportunities And Limitations, Elena Rusu, Laura Georgiana Necula, Ana Iulia Neagu, Mihail Alecu, Cristian Stan, Radu Albulescu, Cristiana Pistol Tanase

Turkish Journal of Biology

Over recent years stem cells have stood out as a promising tool for regenerative medicine, providing alternative therapeutic solutions for a large number of diseases. Many clinical trials using stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells are focused on the repair and regeneration of various tissues and organs in degenerative diseases, whose current treatment only succeeds in slowing down the progression of the disease. Although the preliminary results are interesting, further studies are required in order to evaluate the safety and benefits of stem cell therapy, considering the teratoma development and ethical considerations in embryonic stem cell cases or reprogramming-induced …

Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency: Special Focus On Tracking Limbal Stem Cells, Santhosh Kacham, Bhaskar Birru, Sreenivasa Rao Parcha, Ramaraju Baadhe

Turkish Journal of Biology

The cornea, the transparent part of the eye that helps in the formation of images, has multiple layers. Among them, the superficial epithelial layer is protected and maintained homeostatically by the limbus, located in the periphery of the cornea. Limbal stem cells are located at the basal layer of the limbus and the loss of these cells is called limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). LSCD is characterized by corneal vascularization, inflammation, and conjunctivalization, which ultimately lead to blindness. Several clinical transplantation procedures used for the treatment of LSCD are cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation, simple limbal epithelial transplantation, and cultured oral …

Epigenetic Regulation Of Specific Transcription Factors In Osteogenicdifferentiation Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Milad Zadi Heydarabad, Mousa Vatanmakanian, Mina Nikasa, Majid Farshdousti Hagh

Turkish Journal of Biology

An abundance of experiments have been performed to clarify the differentiation process of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Osteogenic differentiation and in vitro conditions favoring these cell lineages have attracted the attention of many researchers. Moreover, the gene expression profile during MSC differentiation toward its main specialized cells (bone, cartilage, and adipose cells) has been mostly understood. In the last decades another layer of investigation has attempted to clarify the epigenetic mechanisms underlying MSC differentiation into its specialized cells. It has been shown that as MSCs progress through the differentiation process, more nonspecific genes undergo DNA methylation to prevent differentiation into …

The Heart Of The Matter: Cardiac Stem Cells, Esra Çağavi̇, Arzuhan Koç, Sevi̇lay Şahoğlu Göktaş

Turkish Journal of Biology

Cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of death in the world. Pharmacological and surgical approaches are the main treatment options for heart disease; however, heart transplantation may be the only option for advanced heart failure patients despite its limited nature. Recent advances enabled stem cell-based therapies to become a promising treatment approach for injured or weakened cardiac tissue. With the identification of resident and heart-specific stem cells in early 2000, new avenues of research have been opened to understand heart development, disease, and regeneration. In this review article, different cardiac stem cell subpopulations are classified and defined based on the …

Myelin Disorders And Stem Cells: As Therapies And Models, Fatmagül İlayda Aydinli, Eşref Çeli̇k, Burcu Kurt Vatandaşlar, Bi̇lal Ersen Kerman

Turkish Journal of Biology

Myelin disorders burden millions of people around the world, yet existing therapies are inadequate to cure them. Current remedies commonly treat the symptoms with minimal to no effect on the actual cause of the disorder. The basis and/or the mechanism of demyelination is not known for many of the disorders either. In recent years, stem cells of variable origin have been used in clinical trials as transplant agents to restore the defective biochemical process or the damaged tissue. We summarize the outcomes of these trials for demyelination disorders. The capability of reprograming mature cells into stem cells equips researchers with …

Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Differentiation Into Epidermal Cells And Interaction With Human Keratinocytes In Coculture, Alexandra Gaspar, Daniel Constantin, Ana-Maria Seciu, Lucia Moldovan, Oana Craciunescu, Elena Ganea

Turkish Journal of Biology

Current procedures used for skin injury reepithelization have yet to improve. At present, stem cell-based therapies provide great potential in repairing different damaged tissues due to the multipotent character of these cells. This study aimed to investigate the in vitro differentiation capacity of human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) into epidermal cells and to evaluate their interaction with HaCaT keratinocytes in coculture experimental models that mimicked the living environment of human skin. The mesenchymal phenotype of isolated stem cells was indicated by their spindle-shaped morphology and the expression of specific surface markers CD73, CD90, and CD105. After 21 days of cultivation …

Comparison Of The Osteogenic Differentiation Capacity Of Adipose Tissuederived Mesenchymal Stem Cells From Humans And Rats, Seçi̇l Erden Tayhan, Şeyma Taşdemi̇r, Sai̇me İsmet Deli̇loğlu Gürhan, Erol Mi̇r

Turkish Journal of Biology

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be found in many types of adult tissues such as the bone marrow, adipose, placenta, liver, and periosteum. Recently, adipose tissue-derived MSCs (ADMSCs) have become one the most preferred MSC types because of their fast proliferation rate, abundance, and high plasticity for variable cell types. It is known that ADMSCs are able to differentiate into various cells, including osteoblasts, so they are quite promising for orthopedic clinical trials. The present study aimed to compare the osteogenic differentiation conditions of MSCs from human adipose tissue (hADMSC) and those of MSCs from rat adipose tissue (rADMSC). Therefore, …

Baculoviral Vector Loaded Mesenchymal Stem Cells As Efficient Gene Therapy Tools For Cancer Treatment, Sedef Hande Aktaş, Hakan Akbulut, Ayşe Eser Elçi̇n, Mahmut Parmaksiz, Arzu Keski̇n Aktan, Arzu Çöleri̇ Ci̇han, Yaşar Murat Elçi̇n, Fi̇kri̇ İçli̇

Turkish Journal of Biology

Insufficient targeting of the therapeutic genes to tumor cells is one of the major reasons for failure in cancer gene therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seem to be a good candidate as a carrier for gene therapy because of its selective tumor tissue-homing properties. In the current study, we constructed baculoviral vectors (BVs) carrying cytosine deaminase (CD) (BV-CD) or green fluorescence protein (GFP) genes (BV-GFP) and tested the transduction efficiency of the vectors in tumor and mesenchymal stem cells. We also tested the in vivo efficacy of the BV-CD vector in a colon cancer model. Our results showed that the …

Aqueous Reactive Species Induced By A Surface Air Discharge: Heterogenous Mass Transfer And Liquid Chemistry Pathways, D. X. Liu, Z. C. Liu, C. Chen, A. J. Yang, D. Li, M. Z. Rong, H. L. Chen, M. G. Kong

Bioelectrics Publications

Plasma-liquid interaction is a critical area of plasma science and a knowledge bottleneck for many promising applications. In this paper, the interaction between a surface air discharge and its downstream sample of deionized water is studied with a system-level computational model, which has previously reached good agreement with experimental results. Our computational results reveal that the plasma-induced aqueous species are mainly H+, nitrate, nitrite, H2O2 and O-3. In addition, various short-lived aqueous species are also induced, regardless whether they are generated in the gas phase first. The production/loss pathways for aqueous species are quantified for an air gap width ranging …

Musical Listening Interest, Socio-Demographic And Socio-Psychological Factors As Predictors Of Test Anxiety Among Students Of A Christian University In Jamaica, Wayne E. N. Ireland-Cleghorne

Dissertations

Problem

There is an enormous deficit in the literature on the factors associated with test anxiety generally, and test anxiety and music listening interest in particular, in the Caribbean region. This deficit is made even more distinct by the numerous studies that exist on test anxiety elsewhere and the effect it has on students’ behavior and performance in the classroom.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between musical listening interest and test anxiety, while controlling for variables that are deemed plausible predictors of test anxiety. Predictor variables utilized include sociodemographic factors such as gender, age, …

Self-Efficacy, Locus Of Control, Perceived Stress And Student Satisfaction As Correlates Of Dissertation Completion, Gabriela A. Dumitrescu

Dissertations

Purpose of the Study

Doctoral students face a multitude of challenges in the process of completing their degree, and barriers to the success of doctoral program completion can occur at many different levels. Many factors contribute to dissertation completion or non-completion. Studying the influence of these factors on the task of dissertation completion may result in enhancing dissertation progress and program completion. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of self-efficacy, locus of control, perceived stress and student satisfaction on dissertation completion among doctoral students in educational psychology at selected university in the United States.

Method

Survey …

Unchanged Gender Expectations: Women In The Workplace, Sheena M. Mayo

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

No abstract provided.

A Call To Integrate Neuroscience And Translational Research In Psychopathology: A Literature Review Of The Rdoc And Substance Abuse Disorder, Jaclyn Dell

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

In general medicine, and much more in the treatment of psychiatric illness, one size does not fit all. Expansive breakthroughs in science and medicine have given scientists insight into the biological causes of diseases and disorders heretofore unimaginable until the past several years. Moreover, the field of neuroscience has begun to unravel the complicated networking systems of the human brain, and scientists are slowly beginning to comprehend how humans process the world around them. This has allowed for personalized treatment and improved results in physical health. But what of emotional and mental health? The focus of this review is to …

The Examination Of Peer Support On Psychological And Academic Functioning In A Sample Of Inner-City Latino Students, Carly Bosacker Ma, Ms

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Research has shown that peer relationships influence both psychological and academic functioning (Woolley, Kol, & Bowen, 2008; Zimmer-Gembeck & Pronk, 2012). Peer relationships have also been found to be important components of a child’s emotional and behavioral functioning across cultures (Ladd, 1999; Jensen-Campbell & Malcolm, 2007; Parker et al., 2005; Parker & Asher, 1993; La Greca & Harrison, 2006)). However, there is a lack of research on peer relationships in minority youth, specifically Latino youth (Way & Chen, 2000). This study examined the relationship between peer support and psychological and academic functioning in a sample of Latino middle-school students. Self-report …

Correlates Of The Perception Of Recovery-Oriented Treatment In An Inpatient Setting, Beau Brendley

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

In 2003, the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health articulated a call for mental-health-care service systems to transform their service systems to a recovery-oriented model. Current research regarding the integration of recovery-based services has predominantly been conducted in outpatient and community provider settings (Crane-Ross, Lutz & Roth, 2006; Deegan et al., 2008; Matthias et al., 2012; Salyers & Tsemeris, 2007; Solomon & Stanhope, 2004). The following study examines whether adult inpatients with serious mental illnesses perceive their treatment to meet recovery-related standards at a private psychiatric hospital that uses a recovery-oriented treatment system. The study will further identify if there …

Exploring Perfectionism As A Cognitive Vulnerability To Psychological Distress: The Mediating Role Of Cognitive Distortions, Jennifer Caso Tolliver

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

In this study, perfectionism was examined as a potential disposition for psychological distress, and cognitive distortions were evaluated as a mediator. Three hundred fifty-two graduate students from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine were recruited to participate in the study during the 2015 summer and fall terms, of which a total of 147 completed the surveys on both occasions. Using a two-wave longitudinal design, we assessed perfectionism, cognitive distortions, stressors, and symptoms of psychological distress using the following self-report measures: the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire, the Cognitive Distortions Scale, the Life Experiences Survey, and the Brief Symptom Inventory-18. Findings revealed that …

Perceptions And Attitudes Of A Sample Of Primary Care Patients Receiving Psychological Care From Their Pcp, Nadine Henzes Gowarty

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

With millions of Americans suffering from a mental health disorder and slightly more than half receiving treatment, the demand for psychological services far outweighs the number of practitioners available to provide direct care. Therefore, the majority of all primary-care visits are based on psychosocial factors; one third of a PCP’s caseloads consist of patients with mental-health problems. Given the fact that PCPs provide comprehensive psychosocial care, it is important to determine the beliefs and perceptions of their patients. Results from this study identified numerous factors that influence the relationship between patients receiving mental health care from their PCP. Specifically, if …

Effect Of A Brain Based Learning Program On Students' Use And Recognition Of Self-Advocacy Skills, Megan Maynard

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Students' abilities to employ self-advocacy skills have a wide research base; however, the research behind the use of students' self-advocacy skills used in conjunction with brain-based learning theory has not been widely explored. This is also true when one considers the population of children who have been studied; it is particularly true about those who have been diagnosed with language-based learning disabilities. This study, conducted using archival data at an independent school in the Philadelphia suburbs, used a variety of statistical methods to determine whether or not a brain-based learning self-advocacy program would increase students identified with a language based …

Cognitive Distortions: Predictors Of Medical Adherence And Health Behaviors Among Women At Risk For Breast Cancer, Amanda Viner

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between cognitive distortions and health behaviors among women at risk for breast cancer. Sixty-eight participants completed an online survey consisting of demographic information, the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), and the Health Adherence Behavior Inventory (HABIT). Results of the study indicate that health behaviors decrease as thinking becomes more distorted. The data also suggest that various cognitive distortions predict worse adherence, including fortune telling, minimization, and magnification. These findings have implications for the role of clinical psychologists in healthcare settings, and for the utility and implementation of cognitive behavioral interventions to increase early detection and …

Biologically Biased Beneficence, Jeffrey E. Stake

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Chronic Amphetamine Exposure Causes Long Term Effects On Dopamine Uptake In Cultured Cells, Nafisa Ferdous

Theses and Dissertations

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which belongs to the catecholamine and phenethylamine families of organic compounds, and plays an important role in the regulation of reward, movement, attention, behavior and cognition. Dopamine neurotransmission is marked by the initiation of its release from the pre-synaptic neurons and the signal is terminated by re-uptake of dopamine from the synapse. The synaptic concentration of dopamine and therefore, the level dopamine receptor stimulation is regulated to an extent by the activity of the dopamine transporter (DAT). DAT is responsible for the uptake of dopamine back into the presynaptic neuron from the synapse. DAT is known …

Factors That Influence The Adoption Of Geographic Information Systems In A Professional Work Environment: A Study Of The Property Assessment Profession, Daniel J. Fasteen

Theses and Dissertations

The adoption of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technology has been emerging in many professional work environments — including the property assessment discipline. Although many uses of GIS have been thoroughly documented throughout the literature in a variety of disciplines, there has been little research on the perceived factors that influence its adoption in professional work settings. The purpose of this research is to assess factors that influence the adoption of geographic information systems technology in a professional work environment. The work environment being studied is the property assessment profession. An online survey was sent out to property assessment professionals from …

The Same-Actor Inference Of Nondiscrimination: Moral Credentialing And The Psychological And Legal Licensing Of Bias, Victor D. Quintanilla, Cheryl R. Kaiser

Articles by Maurer Faculty

One of the most egregious examples of the tension between federal employment discrimination law and psychological science is the federal common law doctrine known as the same-actor inference.

When originally elaborated by the Fourth Circuit in Proud v. Stone, the same-actor doctrine applied only when an “employee was hired and fired by the same person within a relatively short time span.” In the two decades since, the doctrine has widened and broadened in scope. It now subsumes many employment contexts well beyond hiring and firing, to scenarios in which the “same person” entails different groups of decision makers, and the …

Understanding The Health In Healthcare: A Closer Look At Perspectives, Treatments, And Their Effectiveness, Carlo Chiana

Whittier Scholars Program

This project is interested in defining health as more than just Western medicine, it also encompasses the social implications that can have an impact on one’s health such as environment and psychological state. This study includes both Holistic Philosophy and philosophy of reductionism. This study includes descriptions of the philosophies and their methods, explains defensive medicine, comparing the models and their methods,

Competition Law For A Post-Scarcity World, Salil K. Mehra

Texas A&M Law Review

Writers, economists and IP scholars have hailed signs of an incipient shift to a post-scarcity world. Driving this change are rapid decreases not only in marginal cost, but also in the fixed or first-unit costs of production. Whether these changes become economy-wide, or remain confined to a subset of industries, they have dramatic implications for competition law and policy. This Article is the first to address these implications. In particular, because of the incentive for incumbent firms to engage in what may be termed “anti-disruption” – as examples such as the Apple/e-books antitrust case and the regulatory responses to Uber …

An Interpretive Approach: A Call For State Statutory Reform Governing Fetal Tissue Donation, Kirsten Eckroad

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.