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Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2020, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

Effects Of Insulin Against Aluminium Induced Neurotoxicity In Wistar Rats, Md Amir Alam, Garima Bansal

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Aluminium toxicity is well known to cause neurotoxicity leading to Alzheimer disease with dementia. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of Insulin in Aluminium induced neurotoxicity. Thirty male wistar rats randomized into three groups (group V, C, T) of ten each were used for the study after obtaining institutional animal ethics committee approval. Chronic aluminium neurotoxicity was induced in the rats and the neurobehavior was evaluated using Morris water maze test, elevated plus maze test and rotarod test using standard methodologies. Group C rats exhibited significant deviation in performance of behavioural test of the study …

Therapeutic Potential Of A Ketogenic Diet In The Treatment Of Major Depressive Disorder, Jordan A. Murrin

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the second most common mental health condition and a leading cause of disability in the world. It is theorized that MDD develops from a combination of biological, psychological, and social stressors. The condition is typically treated using pharmaceuticals and psychotherapy. However, not all individuals with MDD have access to or choose to use these treatments, or may prefer to incorporate therapeutic lifestyle changes such as exercise, sleep, and healthy eating. Even with treatment, MDD can alter brain structure and function, leading to the development of comorbid mental health and chronic metabolic conditions like obesity, cardiovascular …

Neural Activity During Facial Memory Retrieval In Patients With Asthma: Associations With Peripheral Airway Inflammation And Hpa-Axis Activity, Juliet Kroll

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Accumulating research indicates that individuals with asthma are at an increased risk for mild cognitive impairment; however, neural contributions to these detected neurocognitive deficits are yet to be elucidated. Recent neuroimaging studies in asthma observe volume reductions in the hippocampus, the primary neural region involved in memory, as well as alterations in the hippocampal chemical composition indicative of neuronal integrity. These studies highlight how both neural structure and chemical composition may be associated with detected neurocognitive deficits in asthma. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has examined indicators of dynamic neural activity captured by blood oxygenated level …

2020-August-04-A Life With Flavor, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (Aug. 4, 2020) – When Dr. Cecilia McIntosh retires from East Tennessee State University one day, she hopes to leave “a whole chapter in the book” on plant biochemistry.

That goal is important to the researcher, but equally important is the legacy she leaves with her students – undergraduate and graduate – a legacy of critical thinking skills, hands-on and high-tech laboratory practices and a drive to keep asking, seeking, discovering and sharing.

Exhibiting a mathematical mind at an early age, McIntosh was encouraged and challenged by her grandfather, who gave her math problems to work in her …

The Role Of Simulation In Urban Design Decisions: Microclimate And Human Comfort Considerations In Planning, Ingy El-Darwish, Amany Ragheb, Ahmed Sherif

Architecture and Planning Journal (APJ)

This paper reviews the usage of simulation tools that can evaluate outdoor thermal comfort and to predict outdoor environmental conditions with specific focus on decision making. The literature also highlights on the use of simulation as a tool in the field of urban design and the microclimatic enhancement approaches. Finally, the paper discusses the moderation of the built environment’s components on the climate with the aim for optimizing the thermal comfort level in outdoor urban space (Setaih K. et al., 2013). The aim of the paper is to highlight on the importance of simulation methods that can influence urban space …

Porcine Cytokines, Chemokines And Growth Factors: 2019 Update, Harry D. Dawson, Yongming Sang, Joan K. Lunney

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Pigs are a major food source worldwide as well as major biomedical models for human physiology and therapeutics. A thorough understanding of porcine immunity is essential to prevent and treat infectious diseases, and develop effective vaccines and therapeutics. The use of pigs as biomedical models is dependent on the growing molecular and immune toolbox. This paper summarizes current knowledge of swine cytokines, chemokines and growth factors, identifying 289 pig proteins, characterizing knowledge of their gene structures and families. It identifies areas in the current swine genome build that need to be clarified. A broad-based literature and vendor search was conducted …

Multiomic Immune Clockworks Of Pregnancy, Laura S. Peterson, Ina A. Stelzer, Amy S. Tsai, Mohammad S. Ghaemi, Xiaoyuan Han, Kazuo Ando, Virginia D. Winn, Nadine R. Martinez, Kevin Contrepois, Mira N. Moufarrej, Stephen Quake, David A. Relman, Michael P. Snyder, Gary M. Shaw, David K. Stevenson, Ronald J. Wong, Petra Arck, Martin S. Angst, Nima Aghaeepour, Brice Gaudilliere

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Preterm birth is the leading cause of mortality in children under the age of five worldwide. Despite major efforts, we still lack the ability to accurately predict and effectively prevent preterm birth. While multiple factors contribute to preterm labor, dysregulations of immunological adaptations required for the maintenance of a healthy pregnancy is at its pathophysiological core. Consequently, a precise understanding of these chronologically paced immune adaptations and of the biological pacemakers that synchronize the pregnancy “immune clock” is a critical first step towards identifying deviations that are hallmarks of peterm birth. Here, we will review key elements of the fetal, …

Factors That Impact Glycemic Control In Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Kelsey Mcfarling

Theses and Graduate Projects

The incidence of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is increasing worldwide and is diagnosed disproportionately in adolescent populations. Additionally, studies show that adolescents with T1D experience worse glycemic control during this developmental period. Maintaining glycemic control in patients with T1D decreases the risk of developing future diabetic-related complications. Factors such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and medical comorbidities influence disparities in maintaining glycemic control in adolescents. The recognition of these factors on the management of T1D through an integrative team approach leads to increased glycemic control and decreased diabetic- related complications. This paper explores the effects of …

Analysis Of Center Of Pressure And Center Of Mass To Determine Patterns Of Postural Stability In Neurotypical Subjects, Natalie Tipton

Masters Theses

The body’s postural control mechanism is responsible for responding to perturbations of balance and keeping the body upright. One of the main ways that this is completed during quiet standing, where both feet are planted on the ground, is through center of pressure oscillations. In these oscillations, the center of pressure circles around the center of mass, constantly counteracting any lean that exists in the body. These oscillations can be recorded with floorembedded force plates and center of mass can be recorded with a motion capture system. In this research, these signals were recorded for stances with feet together and …

The Influence Of Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Motor Function In Parkinson’S Disease, Lidio Lima De Albuquerque

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder and the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. PD is characterized by dopaminergic cell loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta, which leads to a reduction in dopamine in the striatum. These physiological mechanisms lead to a number of motor impairments such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability that severely limit the ability of individuals with PD to perform many essential daily living activities. Although current pharmacological, surgical, and physical exercise treatment approaches are valuable they are either only mildly effective, expensive, or associated with a variety of side effects. Therefore, …

Development Of An Endothelial Cell-Restricted Transgenic Reporter Rat: A Resource For Physiological Studies Of Vascular Biology, Mikhail Alexeyev, Aron M. Geurts, Naga S. Annamdevula, C. Michael Francis, Silas Josiah Leavesley, Thomas C. Rich, Mark S. Taylor, Mike T. Lin, Ron Balczon, Jennifer Michelle Knighten, Diego F. Alvarez, Troy Stevens

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Here, we report the generation of a Cre-recombinase (iCre) transgenic rat, where iCre is driven using a vascular endothelial-cadherin (CDH5) promoter. The CDH5 promoter was cloned from rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells and demonstrated ~60% similarity to the murine counterpart. The cloned rat promoter was 2,508 bp, it extended 79 bp beyond the transcription start site, and it was 22,923 bp upstream of the translation start site. The novel promoter was cloned upstream of codon-optimized iCre and subcloned into a Sleeping Beauty transposon vector for transpositional transgenesis in Sprague-Dawley rats. Transgenic founders were generated and selected for iCre expression. Crossing …

Detecting Periods Of Eating In Everyday Life By Tracking Wrist Motion — What Is A Meal?, Surya Sharma

All Dissertations

Eating is one of the most basic activities observed in sentient animals, a behavior so natural that humans often eating without giving the activity a second thought. Unfortunately, this often leads to consuming more calories than expended, which can cause weight gain - a leading cause of diseases and death. This proposal describes research in methods to automatically detect periods of eating by tracking wrist motion so that calorie consumption can be tracked. We first briefly discuss how obesity is caused due to an imbalance in calorie intake and expenditure. Calorie consumption and expenditure can be tracked manually using tools …

Bammsat-On-Bexus: A Technology And Operation Demonstration Of A Biocubesat Platform On A Stratospheric Balloon Flight Educational Program, Aqeel Shamsul, Giovanni Sinclair, Adrien Bolliand, Amin Chabi, Miguel Martinez De Bujo, Mateusz Zalasiewicz, David C. Cullen, Mike Cooke, T. Etheridge

Small Satellite Conference

This paper reports the current use of the REXUS/BEXUS educational program. The program allows university students across Europe to carry out scientific and technology experiments on research sounding rockets and balloons. BAMMsat-on-BEXUS (BoB) is an experiment from Cranfield University and University of Exeter performing a technology and operation demonstration of a bioCubeSat on a stratospheric balloon at an altitude of ~30km above the ground. BEXUS stands for Balloon Experiments for University Students and is realized under an agreement between the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA), European Space Agency (ESA), and EuroLaunch. The term bioCubeSat could be …

Validation Of Nanosecond Pulse Cancellation Using A Quadrupole Exposure System, Hollie A. Ryan

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) offer a plethora of opportunities for developing integrative technologies as complements or alternatives to traditional medicine. Studies on the biological effects of nsPEFs in vitro and in vivo have revealed unique characteristics that suggest the potential for minimized risk of complications in patients, such as the ability of unipolar nsEPs to create permanent or transient pores in cell membranes that trigger localized lethal or non-lethal outcomes without consequential heating. A more recent finding was that such responses could be diminished by applying a bipolar pulse instead, a phenomenon dubbed bipolar cancellation, paving the way …

A Novel Non-Enzymatic Glucose Biofuel Cell With Mobile Glucose Sensing, Ankit Baingane

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Herein, we report a novel non-enzymatic glucose biofuel cell with mobile glucose sensing. We characterized the power generation and biosensing capabilities in presence of glucose analyte. This system was developed using a non-enzymatic glucose biofuel cell consisting of colloidal platinum coated gold microwire (Au-co-Pt) employed as an anode and the cathode which was constructed using a Gas diffusion electrode (GDE) with a platinum catalyst. The non-enzymatic glucose biofuel cell produced a maximum open circuit voltage of 0.54 V and delivered and a maximum short circuit current density of 1.6 mA/cm2 with a peak power density of 0.226 mW/cm2 at a …

Influence Of Local Ph Environment And Zn(Ii) On The Structure Of The Antimicrobial Peptide Clavanin A And Its Dynamics With Different Membrane Models In Md Simulations, Searle Aichelle Duay

Doctoral Dissertations

In the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on antimicrobial resistance, this problem remains to be an urgent global threat, infecting about three million people and killing about 36,000 people in the United States annually. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer a number of advantages over small molecule antibiotics, such as their structural flexibility in response to different local environments, allowing for having environment-responsive modes of action. In this dissertation, we will focus on Clavanin A (ClavA), an AMP that was identified and can be extracted from the tunicate Styela clava. Experimentally, it was shown that …

Assessment Of The Ways Stress Affects The Occupational Performance Of Librarians In Federal University Libraries In South East, Nigeria, Enweremadu Isaac Usuka Cln, Ebubechukwu Okonkwo Cln, Abu Umaru Isaac Cln, Collins Odili Cln

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Stress has been identified as one of the factors that affect the job performance level of employees. The paper investigated the effect of stress on the occupational performance of librarians in federal university libraries in South East, Nigeria. Three specific objectives and research questions that focused on causes of stress, effect of stress on the occupational performance of librarians and the strategies for encouraging stress management practices guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The entire population of 191 librarians were studied; therefore, no sampling was made. A 43 items questionnaire was used for data collection. Cronbach …

The Role Of The Chaperone Cct In Assembling Cell Signaling Complexes, Nicole C. Tensmeyer

Theses and Dissertations

In order to function, proteins must be folded into their native shape. While this can sometimes occur spontaneously, the process can be hindered by thermodynamic barriers, trapped intermediates, and aggregation prone hydrophobic interactions. Molecular chaperones are proteins that help client proteins or substrates overcome these barriers so that they can be folded properly. One such chaperone is the chaperonin CCT, a large MDa protein made up of 16 paralogous subunits that form a double ring structure. CCT encapsulates its substrates in a central cavity, where they are sequestered and folded, using ATP binding and hydrolysis to drive conformational changes in …

Change In Shock Attenuation During Marathon Running, Yasushi Enomoto

ISBS Proceedings Archive

The purpose of this study was to estimate shock attenuation during marathon running using inertial measurement units attached on the foot and sacrum. Eleven male runners were recruited as subjects from the participants of the official marathon race. Two inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached on the foot and sacrum operated at 200 Hz and stored three axis acceleration data in the memory through the marathon race. Absolute acceleration was transferred power spectrum density (PSD) by FFT and a transfer function was calculated by PSD of the sacrum relative to the foot. The results showed that the impact acceleration was recognized …

Estimation Of Ground Reaction Forces During Running Using Inertial Measurement Units And Artificial Neural Networks, Yuta Suzuki, Yasushi Enomoto, Michael Hahn, Takashi Yahata, Takehiro Aibara

ISBS Proceedings Archive

The purpose of this study was to develop a system to estimate ground reaction forces during running using inertial measurement units and artificial neural networks. Kinematics of the pelvis and feet and ground reaction forces were measured using an inertial measurement system developed by Casio and Kistler force plates from seventy-nine runners (57 males and 22 females). Two long short-term memory based neural networks were used to estimate the instants of foot-strike and toe-off, and anteroposterior and vertical ground reaction forces from the triaxial accelerations and angular velocities measured by inertial measurement units fixed to the pelvis and foot of …

In Vitro Interactions On Glucose By Different Fiber Materials Prepared From Mung Bean Hulls, Rice Bran And Lemon Pomace, S.-C. Huang, T.-S. Liao, T.-C. Cheng, H.-Y. Chan, S.-M. Hwang, D.-F. Hwang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Fiber was prepared from mung bean hulls, rice bran and lemon pomace by the chemical precipitation method and then characterized. The characteristics investigated included bulk density, water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity, swelling properties, water solubility and glucose adsorption and diffusion in vitro experiments. The results showed that the smaller the fiber particles were, the higher the bulk density was and the lower the ability of the fiber was to absorb water and oil. Mung bean hull fiber had a significantly higher bulk density and water-holding capacity than cellulose. The swelling property of mung bean hull fiber was also significantly higher than …

Antioxidant Activities Of Carnosine, Anserine, Some Free Amino Acids And Their Combination, H.-C. Wu, C.-Y. Shiau, H.-M. Chen, T.-K. Chiou

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

For the evaluation of antioxidant activities of dipeptides (carnosine, anserine), and free amino acids (histidine, 1-methylhistidine, taurine, glycine, alanine, β-alanine), four methods were used, including the analysis of the inhibition of linoleic acid autoxidation, scavenging effect on α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl free radical, reducing power, and chelating ability of Cu2+. Results showed that carnosine and anserine were antioxidants preventing lipid peroxidation in linoleic acid systems. They also possessed effective abilities as free radical scavengers, reducing agents, and copper ion chelators. The activities increased with increasing concentration. However, the constituent amino acids of dipeptides, β-alanine, histidine and 1-methylhistidine, were not as effective in inhibiting …

Comparison Of The Terpene Lactones And Flavonols Contents In G. Biloba Commercial Samples And The Nist Standard Reference Materials Using Lc/Uv/Ms, O. Mustafa, M. Brendan, C. Pei

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The leaf extract of Ginkgo biloba has purported value for improving mental capacities in Alzheimer's patients. The flavonols and the terpene lactones are considered to be the two major groups of active components that influence human health. Almost all the clinical studies regarding G. Biloba were using either EGb 761®, a proprietary extract of G. Biloba leaves, or an extract prepared according to the standard set by it. Consequently, most of the commercial G. Biloba products were labeled with their content accordingly. This paper studied the compositions of both flavonols and terpene lactones of seven commercially available G. Biloba products …

Preparation And Physicochemical Properties Of Fiber-Rich Fraction From Pineapple Peels As A Potential Ingredient, Y.-L. Huang, C.-J. Chow, Y.-J. Fang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) peels as agricultural wastes represent around 35% of the whole fruit mass. By different preparation methods, the pineapple peel fiber was analyzed and evaluated for its composition and functional properties, which would provide a clue to its physiological function. The pineapple peel contained an appreciable amount of insoluble fiber-rich fraction (FRF) (41.8-48.0 g/100 g) including insoluble dietary fiber (IDF), alcohol-insoluble solids (AIS), and water-insoluble solids (WIS), which primarily consisted of cellulose, pectic substances and hemicellulose. These fractions also contained notable proportions of lignin (60.7-65.8 g/100 g). Compared with cellulose, these FRFs exhibited the greater water- …

Solvation Structures And Dynamics Of Small Molecules: Experimental And Computational Studies Using Carbonyl Vibrational Modes As Probe, Xiaoliu Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Solutions are ubiquitous in both the global environment and the human body, and play a significant role in scientific research and industrial production. The structures and dynamics of solutions have been studied for centuries. However, conventional experimental methods, whose intrinsic measuring time is on the order of nanoseconds to microseconds, could not detect the fast dynamics taking place in the solution on the timescale of femto- and pico-second. In this dissertation, the ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy was applied to characterize the structure and dynamics in three different types of solutions on the sub-picosecond timescale. Linear Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy …

Kujdesi Infermieror Tek Pacientët Me Infeksione Respiratore, Egzona Jashari

Theses and Dissertations

Në këtë punim do t’i trajtojmë disa infeksione të sistemit respiratore. Objektivi i përgjithshëm i temës së diplomës është të ofrojmë njohuri për infeksionet respiratore që të ngrihet vetëdijsimi i popullatës për infeksione respiratore që dita e ditës po bëhet një problem për shëndetin dhe mirëqenien e individëve. Njohja e infeksioneve respiratore është shumë e rëndsishme në parandalimin dhe trajtimin e infeksioneve respiratore si: njohja e simptomave, njohja e shkaktarëve si dhe për faktorët specifik që paraqiten tek infeksionet respiratore. Objektivi specifik është të krijojmë njohuri rreth mënyrës së trajtimit dhe diagnostikimit të këtyre infeksioneve dhe masat të cilat duhet …

Undergraduate And Graduate Course Descriptions, 2020 Summer, Wright State University

Course Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Spring 2020.

Life-History Factors Influence Teenagers’ Suicidal Ideation: A Model Selection Analysis Of The Canadian National Longitudinal Survey Of Children And Youth, John P. Ziker, Kristin Snopkowski

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Suicidality is an important contributor to disease burden worldwide. We examine the developmental and environmental correlates of reported suicidal ideation at age 15 and develop a new evolutionary model of suicidality based on life history trade-offs and hypothesized accompanying modulations of cognition. Data were derived from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (Statistics Canada) which collected information on children’s social, emotional, and behavioral development in eight cycles between 1994 and 2009. We take a model selection approach to understand thoughts of suicide at age 15 (N ≈ 1,700). The most highly ranked models include social support, early …

Metabolic Benefits Of Plant-Based N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids On Brown Thermogenesis, Kyung Ho Park

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There are two essential fatty acids for humans, a-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA), which should be taken from foods to maintain health. Once incorporated into cells, ALA and LA, which are omega-3 poly unsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) and n-6 PUFA respectively, undergo elongation and desaturation to generate longer and more unsaturated fatty acids influencing inflammation and immunological responses. Numerous studies showed a dietary reduction of n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio improves cardiovascular health, inflammation, and insulin resistance. Fish oil, the main resource for n-3 PUFA, is shown to increase these health benefits. In our lab, we investigated the efficacy …