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Taurine's Effect On Cocaine Reward And Neurogenesis In The Adolescent Male Rat Brain., Avery E. Villa-Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescence is a developmentally critical transition from childhood to adulthood including both maturation of the body and the brain. Neuroplastic changes result in dynamic organization of the brain during adolescence, leaving them vulnerable to development of mental illness and drug-seeking behavior. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the psychostimulant cocaine is the second most popular illicit drug in the world. Cocaine, amongst having many detrimental effects, has shown to also decrease hippocampal neurogenesis, resulting in decreased neuroplasticity and cognitive dysfunction. Previous students in our laboratory have shown that treatment of adult male rats with the essential …

Influence Of Fibroblasts On Metastatic Cancer Cell Drug Resistance In A 3d Microfluidic Cell Array, Elizabeth C. Benoy

Dissertations and Theses

Modeling an accurate depiction of the tumor microenvironment, (TME), is essential to observe the effect external factors might have on the tumor in vivo. In cancer therapy specifically, the outcomes of clinical treatments are heavily dependent on drug testing methods despite the cytotoxic effects these methods might have on the patient. Our lab has previously developed a three layered microfluidic cell array (3D μFCA) to reconstruct the relevantly spatial configuration of tumor and microvasculature found in vivo in order to develop a more efficient tool of high throughput drug discovery and screening. In this study, we optimized this device to …

Defining The Relationship Between Maternal Care Behavior And Hearing Development In Wistar Rats, Jingyun Qiu

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies in rodents have demonstrated the profound effects that variations in maternal care play during the postnatal development of the brain. However, much less is known about how maternal care affects hearing development. Recently, manipulations of maternal care have been investigated to accelerate hearing onset. We hypothesized that accelerated hearing development results from changes in maternal care behavior. To test this hypothesis, we used a selection model in which natural variations in maternal care were identified in a large cohort of dams by measuring the frequency of different behaviors including LG followed by selection of dams with LG scores …

The Socio-Political And Economic Causes Of Natural Disasters, Nicole Southard

CMC Senior Theses

To effectively prevent and mitigate the outbreak of natural disasters is a more pressing issue in the twenty-first century than ever before. The frequency and cost of natural disasters is rising globally, most especially in developing countries where the most severe effects of climate change are felt. However, while climate change is indeed a strong force impacting the severity of contemporary catastrophes, it is not directly responsible for the exorbitant cost of the damage and suffering incurred from natural disasters -- both financially and in terms of human life. Rather, the true root causes of natural disasters lie within the …

Cross-Modal Recipe Retrieval: How To Cook This Dish?, Jingjing Chen, Lei Pang, Chong-Wah Ngo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In social media users like to share food pictures. One intelligent feature, potentially attractive to amateur chefs, is the recommendation of recipe along with food. Having this feature, unfortunately, is still technically challenging. First, the current technology in food recognition can only scale up to few hundreds of categories, which are yet to be practical for recognizing ten of thousands of food categories. Second, even one food category can have variants of recipes that differ in ingredient composition. Finding the best-match recipe requires knowledge of ingredients, which is a fine-grained recognition problem. In this paper, we consider the problem from …

Health Behaviors Contributing To Overall Perceived Health, Mental And Physical Health Status, And Functional Impairment In Psychologists And Trainees, Natasha J. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the health behaviors and overall perceived health among psychologists and psychology trainees. Results revealed significant correlations between overall perceived health and physical activity, BMI, fruit and vegetable intake. Additionally, results revealed significant correlations between days of poor mental health and physical activity, fruit intake and vegetable intake. Lastly, results revealed correlations between days of functional impairment and physical activity. The results of this study expand upon the growing literature related to health professionals’ personal health behaviors and how they impact one’s perceived health. Further research is required to identify and expand investigation of factors impacting psychologists and …

Consciousness In Teleosts: There Is Something It Feels Like To Be A Fish, Michael L. Woodruff

Animal Sentience

Ray-finned fish are often excluded from the group of non-human animals considered to have phenomenal consciousness. This is generally done on the grounds that the fish pallium lacks a sufficiently expansive gross parcellation, as well as even minimally sufficient neuronal organization, intrinsic connectivity, and reciprocal extrinsic connections with the thalamus to support the subjective experience of qualia. It is also argued that fish do not exhibit the level of behavioral flexibility indicative of consciousness. A review of neuroanatomical, neurophysiological and behavioral studies is presented which leads to the conclusion that fish do have neurobiological correlates and behavioral flexibility of sufficient …

Dynamic Regulatory Constitutionalism: Taking Legislation Seriously In The Judicial Enforcement Of Economic And Social Rights, Richard Stacey

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy

The international human rights revolution in the decades after the Second World War recognized economic and social rights alongside civil and political rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in 1966, regional treaties, and subject-specific treaties variously describe rights to food, shelter, health, and education, and set out state obligations for the treatment of children. When they first appeared, these international, economic, and social rights instruments raised questions about whether economic and social rights are justiciable in domestic legal contexts and whether they can be meaningfully enforced by courts …

Aging Injunctions And The Legacy Of Institutional Reform Litigation, Jason Parkin

Vanderbilt Law Review

Institutional reform litigation has been an enduring feature of the American legal system since the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. The resulting injunctions have transformed countless bureaucracies notorious for resisting change, including public school systems, housing authorities, social services agencies, correctional facilities, and police departments. But these injunctions face an uncertain future. The Supreme Court has held that institutional reform injunctions must be easier to terminate than all other injunctions issued by the federal courts. Some institutional reform injunctions go unenforced or are forgotten entirely. Others expire due to sunset provisions. At the same time, doctrinal …

Setting Them Up For Success: Assessing A Pre-Research Assignment For First-Year International Students, Susan Avery

Communications in Information Literacy

As the international student population continues to grow, librarians must adjust their instruction to meet the needs of students who are adapting to a new country, culture, and language. This study assesses first-year international students as they engage in the research process through the completion of concept maps that precede database searches. Librarians assessed concept maps of international students completed prior to information literacy instruction to better understand the difficulties they experienced defining research topics and identifying keywords and alternatives. The results of this assessment provide a deeper understanding of the challenges first-year international students face with creating search strategies. …

Prosociality And Risk: How Risky Decision-Making In Young Adults Relates To Altruistic Tendencies, Empathic Concern, And Prosocial Peer Affiliation, Sarah J. Beard

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence involves an increase in risky decisions, such as reckless driving and illicit substance use, but prosocial characteristics and peer affiliation have yet to be investigated as protective factors. The present study assessed altruistic tendencies, prosocial peer affiliation (PPA), and empathic concern as predictors and moderators of risk-taking, including both self-reported health risks and riskiness in a behavioral task. Young adults from ages 20 to 25 (M = 22.55, SD = 1.38) completed a battery of behavioral tasks (including the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and the Dictator Game) and questionnaires on Amazon MTurk, measuring risk-taking (drunk driving, texting while …

Perceptions Of First-Generation College Students Of Color: The Road Less Traveled, Jennifer L. Jackson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of first-generation college students of color in a predominantly White institution (PWI) who successfully completed the first two years of college. This qualitative research utilized semi-structured interviews to understand the perceptions of first-generation college students of color and how they viewed their secondary and post-secondary experiences. The conceptual framework was supported through the literature by analyzing the intersectionality of historical factors, socioeconomic status, critical race theory, and educational programs. Although these students of color faced the anxieties, confusion, and difficulties that all college students encounter when they transition to college, …

Systematic Review Of Countermeasures To Minimise Physiological Changes And Risk Of Injury To The Lumbopelvic Area Following Long-Term Microgravity, Andrew Winnard, Mona Nasser, Dorothee Debuse, Maria Stokes, Simon Evetts, Mick Wilkinson, Julie Hides, Nick Caplan

More Faculty of Health Research

No abstract provided.

Demographic Differences In The Causal Effects Of Obesity Status On Child Academic Achievement, Yoshie Hayasaka Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have found a negative correlation between obesity and academic achievement; however, determining and reaching a consensus about the nature of causality between these two variables have posed a challenge for scholars and researchers. If obesity does indeed have a negative causal effect on academic achievement, it has significant policy implications as it affects human capital investment. In this paper, I use the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-1979, Child and Young Adult data and estimate OLS, FE, traditional IV, and Lewbel IV models for children ages 5-12, stratified by race and gender. Under an individual fixed-effects model, I find …

An Evaluation Of Elk Home Range Variation In North Dakota, Jacqueline Marie Amor

Theses and Dissertations

In North Dakota, dispersing elk (Cervus elaphus) were colonizing areas of suitable habitat in Turtle Mountain, Pembina Hills, and Porcupine Hills, ND, USA. Although these 3 elk herds were small (~100–250 individuals each), they had been responsible for crop depredation in these areas. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) had little information on these elk herds. In cooperation with Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and Manitoba Department of Sustainable Development, NDGF contracted with the University of North Dakota (UND) to collect and analyze critical baseline information to better manage these elk herds. The objectives of this study were to …

The Association Between Body Esteem And School Engagement : The Role Of Victimization As A Mediator, Jacqueline Klossing

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Little research has examined the how body esteem impacts the educational environment for students, yet there are copious amounts of research indicating that body image and body esteem is a defining experience for individuals, particularly adolescents. The current study collected data in a sample of 669 middle school students from northern Illinois using self-report measures to examine the relation between body esteem and school engagement, with the prediction that victimization (both global and appearance-based) plays a mediating role in this relationship. The associations between these variables were explored, as well as the role gender plays in these relations. Results indicated …

Associations Between Personality Style, Perceptions Of Health Coaching And Percent Of Starting Weight In Meal Replacement Program Participants, Anne E. Sawyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To determine if personality style and an individual’s perception of their health coaching experience impact their ability to lose weight and/or maintain weight loss. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to 20,000 current and past meal replacement program participants. Personality style was assessed via the Ten Item Personality Inventory, providing individual perceptions of each of the Big Five personality domains (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). The Working Alliance Inventory (Short Revised) was used to assess three key perceptions of health coaching: 1) agreement on the goals of coaching (goal), 2) agreement on the tasks of …

Effect Of Grazing Pressure On Cattle Grazing Cool Season Annual Forages, Brooke Brunsvig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ruminants can use plant fiber to produce food products that provide nourishment to humans. However, a precise understanding of specific plants selected by grazing ruminants remains elusive. Many long- and short-term factors impact cattle grazing behavior. Ultimately, grazing behavior can affect forage available for grazing, nutrient density of forage, dry matter intake, and animal performance. A myriad of grazing management strategies have been developed utilizing animal behavior to allow more efficient use of forage resources. Many management strategies based on manipulation of grazing behavior are simple and cost effective. Optimal performance of individual animals and amount of animal products produced …

Using Gluten Index To Improve Spring Wheat Loaf Volume Prediction, Yaming Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most widely cultivated crop in the world and contributes about 20% of the total dietary calories and proteins globally. Unique properties of doughs formed from wheat flour make it feasible to produce a range of food, including bread. Loaf volume is the most perceptible indicator for breadmaking quality. Selection in the early generations for loaf volume is difficult due to the requirement of the large volume of grains and due to the costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive evaluation process. Identification of simple and reliable predictive tests for loaf volume is highly desirable. This study …

Goals Of Exclusive Breastfeeding And The Effectiveness Of Programs And Initiatives In Attaining Them, Natalie Scott

Senior Honors Theses

Over recent years, breastfeeding has gained renewed significance in research and practice. Both in the United States and around the world, especially in poor countries that do not have easy access to quality healthcare, breastfeeding has been shown to dramatically and positively affect the health and lifespan of infants. However, there is still a low prevalence of effective breastfeeding practices universally. Even with the presence of global programs and goals that are geared toward exclusive breastfeeding habits, global rates are lower than what is desired. There are various determinants of breastfeeding that factor into a woman’s decision and practice of …

Antibiotic Overuse: The History, Consequences, And Possible Solutions, Brooke A. Bost

Senior Honors Theses

Antibiotic overuse has become alarmingly accepted in the developed world. This overuse is leading to drug resistance in microbes, resulting in bacterial infections that are impossible to treat. Steps must be taken to reverse the damage that has already been done and prevent further resistance from developing. This thesis will examine the context and societal situations that led to this acceptance of antibiotic overuse and misuse seen in both health care professionals and the public, the biochemical and genetic pathways that allow a microbe to develop drug resistance, the various methods that have been suggested by experts to prevent and …

Disease Prevalence And Health Determinants In Nevada, Takashi Yamashita, Roberto Millar

Social Health of Nevada Reports

In this report, we use recent data to describe the health of Nevada and update the previous report (Monnat, 2012) on health outcomes and health determinants in the Silver State. Data for this report are mainly obtained from the County Health Rankings, America’s Health Rankings, and the 2016 Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity report.

In line with the previous report by Monnat (2012), we reference Nevada’s disease prevalence in relation to the U.S. average and other states, as well as disease distribution among counties in Nevada. We also compaire health indicators in …

Aging Trends & Challenges In Nevada, Jennifer R. Keene, Jacqueline Ragin

Social Health of Nevada Reports

Societal aging is one of the most important social trends of the 21st century. It affects our political, social, and economic institutions and also the nature of our interpersonal and family relationships (Quadagno 2011). In the coming decades, both as individuals and as a society, we will have to make important decisions regarding the consequences of our aging population. Policy makers, families, businesses, local, state, and federal governments, health care providers will have to meet the growing needs of the older population in the U.S. and in Nevada.

By the year 2020, the percent of the U.S. population over age …

Comparative Proteomic Analyses Of The Parietal Lobe From Rhesus Monkeys Fed A High-Fat/Sugar Diet With And Without Resveratrol Supplementation, Relative To A Healthy Diet: Insights Into The Roles Of Unhealthy Diets And Resveratrol On Function, Aaron M. Swomley, Judy C. Triplett, Jeriel T. Keeney, Govind Warrier, Kevin J. Pearson, Julie A. Mattison, Rafael De Cabo, Jian Cai, Jon B. Klein, D. Allan Butterfield

Chemistry Faculty Publications

A diet consisting of a high intake of saturated fat and refined sugars is characteristic of a Western-diet and has been shown to have a substantial negative effect on human health. Expression proteomics were used to investigate changes to the parietal lobe proteome of rhesus monkeys consuming either a high fat and sugar (HFS) diet, a HFS diet supplemented with resveratrol (HFS+RSV), or a healthy control diet for 2 years. Here we discuss the modifications in the levels of 12 specific proteins involved in various cellular systems including metabolism, neurotransmission, structural integrity, and general cellular signaling following a nutritional intervention. …

The Impact Of Conditional Cash Transfers On Nutrition: Evidence From Mexico, Natalie Kronebusch

Economics Honors Projects

In this paper, I study the effect of Oportunidades, a conditional cash transfer program in Mexico, on the micronutrient and macronutrient levels of program recipients. Overall, I find that Oportunidades has a positive, significant impact on micronutrient acquisition for Oportunidades beneficiaries. Program participants consume 20.5% more vitamins and 10.1% more minerals than individuals living in non-treatment households. This change could be critical for reducing rates of micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, I conclude that although Oportunidades induces higher micronutrient consumption, program recipients also consume higher levels of calories, fat, and sodium, all of which could be …

Encouraging Young Nevadans To Choose And Complete Stem Degrees: A Choice And Retention Perspective On Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Workforce Development, Matthew L. Bernacki, Harsha N. Perera

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

No abstract provided.

Early Childhood Education Personnel Pipeline And Retention In Nevada, Maryssa Kucskar, Jennifer Buchter, Conrad Oh-Young, Jenna Welgarz-Ward

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

No abstract provided.

Irisin Levels Are Not Associated To Resistance Training-Induced Alterations In Body Mass Composition In Older Untrained Women With And Without Obesity, R A. Tibana, D Da Cunha Nascimento, N M. Frade De Souza, V C. De Souza, I V. De Sousa Neto, F A. Voltarelli, G B. Pereira, J W. Navalta, J Prestes

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

Objective: The present study aimed to determine whether Irisin levels are correlated with body composition changes following 16 weeks of resistance training (RT) in older women with and without obesity. Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention: We recruited 49 inactive women (n = 23, non-obese: < 41.0% and n = 26, obese: ≥ 41.0% of body fat) aged 61–68 years to perform 16-week of RT consisting of 10 exercises (three sets of 10 exercises, 6-12 repetitions maximum and 1-min and 30-s rest intervals between sets and exercises, respectively) with two sessions per week. Measurements: Before and after the intervention period, blood samples were collected to determine Irisin levels and body composition (percentage body fat and fat-free mass) was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results: Circulating Irisin displayed a decrease for the non-obese group as compared with pre-intervention and obese group (p = 0.01 and p = 0.04, respectively), with no change for the obese group (p = 0.79). In addition, fat mass displayed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) following the training period only for the obese group. Furthermore, there was no association between changes in circulating Irisin with body mass index, body fat, fat-free mass and muscle strength. There was an increase in muscle strength (p < 0.05), regardless of obesity status. Conclusion: The modulation of body composition and muscle strength induced by 16-week of resistance training in older women with and without obesity is not associated with changes in circulating Irisin levels. © 2016, Serdi and Springer-Verlag France.

A First Look Into The Influence Of Triathlon Wetsuit On Resting Blood Pressure And Heart Rate Variability, A. Prado, Janet S. Dufek, James W. Navalta, Nancy Lough, John A. Mercer

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wearing a wetsuit on resting cardiovascular measures (blood pressure (BP), heart rate variability (HRV)). The influence of position (upright, prone) and wetsuit size were also explored. Participants (n=12 males, 33.3±12.1 years) had BP and HRV measured during six resting conditions: standing or prone while not wearing a wetsuit (NWS), wearing the smallest (SWS), or largest (LWS) wetsuit (based upon manufacturer guidelines). Heart rate was recorded continuously over 5-mins; BP was measured three times per condition. HRV was represented by the ratio of low (LF) and high (HF) frequency (LF/HF …

Vitamin D Status And Bone Mineral Density In Female Collegiate Dancers And Cheerleaders, Tara Sue Kenny, Damon Mccune, Laura J. Kruskall, James Navalta, John C. Young

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Research

Bone mineral density reflects an athlete’s cumulative history of energy availability, physical activity, and menstrual status, as well as nutritional and environmental factors. Although sports with high-impact loading are associated with higher bone mineral density than low-impact or non-impact sports, confounding variables are differences in the athletes’ body size and sport-specific training. The purpose of this study was to determine if bone mineral density (BMD) and vitamin D status are different between two groups of female collegiate athletes who have comparable body size/weight requirements, but who engage in qualitatively different training regimens. Full body, spine and dual femur BMD was …