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Proteomic Analysis Of Platelet-Rich And Platelet-Poor Plasma, Olga Miroshnychenko, Robert J. Chalkley, Ryan D. Leib, Peter A. Everts, Jason L. Dragoo

Publications and Research

Background

Autologous blood products, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are commercial products broadly used to accelerate healing of tissues after injuries. However, their content is not standardized and significantly varies in composition, which may lead to differences in clinical efficacy. Also, the underlying molecular mechanisms for therapeutic effects are not well understood.

Purpose

A proteomic study was performed to compare the composition of low leukocyte PRP, platelet poor plasma (PPP), and blood plasma. Pathway analysis of the proteomic data was performed to evaluate differences between plasma formulations at the molecular level. Low abundance regulatory proteins in plasma were identified and …

Obtaining A Reference For Calibrating Broadband Multibeam Seabed Backscatter, Ivan Bodra Guimaraes

Master's Theses and Capstones

Standard calibration procedures for multibeam sonars currently only address the fidelity of the bathymetric data. Equivalent effort is needed to ensure that the acquired seabed backscatter strength measurements are referenced to a similarly precise level. This thesis presents an operational method for acquiring reference seabed backscatter data utilizing multiple pre-calibrated split beam echo sounders covering a wide range (45-450 kHz) of frequencies. This is needed to cover the full range of frequencies utilized by multi-sector multibeam systems operating in continental shelf depths.The method considers both the frequency and the angle of incidence dependence of the backscatter strength of a homogenous …

Detecting Snake Fungal Disease (Ophidiomyces Ophiodiicola) In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Manuel Zavala

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging diseases such as Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Oo) have caused population declines in various snake species in the United States which play a crucial role in the ecosystem as a natural pest control. This fungus targets the scales as a medium to thrive on which can lead to facial disfiguration and respiratory infections. We examined snakes to see if SFD was present in the LRGV and if other fungal species pose a threat to the various snake species population. The data for this study consisted of 14 live snakes captured in …

Investigation Of Sulfur Cycling In Marine Sponge Cinachyrella Spp. From A South Florida Reef, Shelby K. Cain

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Symbionts within marine sponges are actively participating in the biogeochemical cycles. Among them, the role of symbiont microbes in the sulfur cycle remains a mystery. This study measured the abundance of microbes within the genus Cinachyrella before and after exposure to hydrogen sulfide. A four-part study was conducted: a) five-hour drop experiments, b) vertical distribution experiments, c) five-hour uptake experiments, and d) long-term exposure experiments. The five-hour drop experiment utilized a microsensor to measure sulfide levels, which was lowered 1.0 mm every thirty minutes for a total of 5 hours. Three trials were performed, each with one sponge and a …

Physiological And Predicted Metagenomic Analysis Of Soil Aggregate Microbial Communities Under Different Tillage Regimes, Lukas Bernhardt

Master's Theses and Capstones

Soils are spatially heterogeneous environments, and the distribution of microorganisms and carbon is organized at the scale of millimeters in soil aggregates. The physio-chemical environment within macroaggregates and microaggregates differ, which may lead to the selection of microbial communities with different survival and growth strategies- here termed life history strategies. Using an aggregate scale survey of microbial communities in agricultural soils, I show that soil aggregates harbor distinct communities with life history characteristics that align with the Yield, Acquisition, Stress tolerator framework (Y-A-S). Soils collected from an eight- year tillage experiment were isolated into four aggregate size classes and physiological …

Target Treatment With Stereotactic Radiation For Recurrent Gliomas, Ayesha Ali, Victor E. Chen, Claire Zurlo, James M Taylor, Christian Fernandez, Wenyin Shi

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

High grade gliomas (HGG) have a propensity to recur locally and have poor outcomes. As such, safe and effective treatment is paramount. Target treatment with stereotactic radiation allows safe re-irradiation through minimizing normal brain tissue radiation due to its high precision. In this review, we evaluated the clinical experiences using SRS and FSRT for re-irradiation in HGG. We report the radiobiological advantages and disadvantages of both modalities as well as the safety and efficacy published in current literature.

"Through A Forest Wilderness:” Native American Environmental Management At Yosemite And Contested Conservation Values In America’S National Parks, Rochelle Bloom, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Chapter 9. The philosophies and views of nature prevalent in the 19th century West shaped the early National Park Service, and continue to influence park policy today. Park-builders incorrectly viewed early parks as untouched “wilderness,” even as Native peoples continued to occupy, revere, and actively manage lands and resources on these lands. This misapprehension fostered the creation and enforcement of park regulations meant to protect wild spaces, resulting in the displacement of both Native peoples and the culturally significant habitats that they had helped sustain for millennia. Among these regulations, federally imposed restrictions on burning and other traditional plant community …

Geodermatophilaceae Biofilm Formation And Rock Recolonization, Krista Greengrass

Master's Theses and Capstones

The Geodermatophilaceae genera—Geodermatophilus, Blastococcus, and Modestobacter—live on rock surfaces and create biofilms that deteriorate stone architecture and monuments. Their biofilms increase the rate of weathering and erosion but are not well studied. Recently, thirteen strains were isolated, and their genomes sequenced. These new Geodermatophilaceae isolates along with Modestobacter marinus strain BC501 and Blastococcus saxobsidens strain DD2 were used in this study to evaluate biofilm formation under different environmental factors including temperature, light, and salt and heavy metal exposure. Ten isolates were used for experiments to recolonize back onto the rock substrates from which the isolates were obtained. For most of …

Immunohistochemical Characterization Of A Novel Population Of Reticular Thalamic Neurons Expressing Cholecystokinin And Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptors, Shayna Mallat

Master's Theses and Capstones

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) filters somatosensory stimuli by providing inhibition to the excitatory thalamic relay nuclei, which then communicate with the cortex to appropriately integrate and respond to sensory stimuli. The TRN is also responsible for generating and maintaining sleep spindles, which are important for memory and cognition, and are disrupted in various psychiatric disorders. Previous studies have shown that the TRN is comprised of several neuronal subpopulations that carry out specific functions. These neurons can be distinguished using peptide markers such as parvalbumin (PV), somatostatin (SST), and calbindin (CB). In this thesis, I identified a novel neuronal population …

In A Nutshell: Nutritional And Environmental Factors Impacting Small Mammal Seed Selection In Northeastern Forests, Nicholas Bryan Moore

Master's Theses and Capstones

Rodents often play vital roles in their ecosystems as seed predators and dispersers and can significantly influence the succession and assembly of plant communities. We conducted seed tray experiments to assess the nutritional and environmental factors that influence selection and foraging time of three common rodent granivores: the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), and the southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi) for three common seeds: American beech (Fagus grandifolia), red maple (Acer rubrum), and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). This work was conducted at Bartlett Experimental Forest located within White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. Using mixed-effects …

Case Manager Perceptions Of The Effects Of Caseload Level Reduction In A Child Welfare Agency, Julie Steen

Journal of Family Strengths

This study sought to assess the effects of caseload level reduction in a child welfare agency that provides in-home supervision and out-of-home care in the United States. Focus groups were conducted to collect the perceptions of case managers employed by the agency, which reduced caseloads from the 40s to the 20s. Transcript passages revealed that the perceptions were overwhelmingly positive, with the case managers describing positive impacts for job satisfaction, retention, foster child well-being, permanency, and safety. The case managers also described the mechanisms by which caseload level reduction exerted its effects. Specifically, the reduction allowed for additional/extended home visits …

Beyond The Nuclear Family: A Qualitative Examination Of Extended Family Involvement Among American Indian Families, Ashleigh Coser, Maureen Sullivan, Hannah Espeleta

Journal of Family Strengths

A common practice among American Indian (AI) families, as well as many ethnic minority families, is involving both nuclear and extended family members in raising children. This practice is believed to serve as a protective factor for families against negative outcomes and provide a potential avenue for social support. Several authors have described extended family members being involved in helping to care taking, sharing cultural knowledge and customs, and disciplining youth. As a result, it has been proposed that extended family members help to nurture the parent-child relationship and provide various forms of support to parents. Despite this, the available …

Fostering Place-Based Education And Inclusion In The Classroom Through School Grades, Karina Gonzales-Smith

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Place-based education expands the space where students learn by connecting to the outdoors, such as garden-based lessons that are dynamic and have a multidisciplinary curriculum. Students are given the opportunity to learn healthy behaviors, environmentally sustainable practices, and life skills. Inclusion is fostered by giving teachers and students agency in the learning experience. The purpose of this study was to view garden education through the lens of place-based education, critical pedagogy, and social justice. To this end, a lesson plan template was created to facilitate future development of garden-based lessons characterized by responsive curriculum and alignment with academic standards. A …

The World Is Our Oyster: Natural Products Used In Medicine Today, Michaela Anelundi

Senior Honors Projects

The world will always demand further development in the pharmaceutical field. Recent times have shown us how devastating a disease can be when there is no cure available. Many scientists dedicate their lives to find such cures, turning to the outside world for assistance by choosing active components within natural products, whether that be flora or fauna. A large portion of this world waits to be explored, and there is no telling where a medicinal ingredient may be found. Many natural products that we encounter in our day to day lives are used for medicinal purposes of all shapes and …

Life In The Medical Field Before, During, And Projected After Covid19, Eliza Clarke

Senior Honors Projects

My podcast “Life in the Medical Field Before, During, and Projected After COVID19” is a mini-series podcast in which I interviewed different members of a local primary care office about their thoughts and experiences being on the frontlines during a global pandemic that escalated exponentially in March of 2020. Lack of PPE and preparation for such a situation caused an already stressful job to become overwhelming where healthcare workers were risking their lives every day to save the lives of others. The goal of this project was to capture how life in this setting has changed during the different stages …

Public Health State Of Emergency: Executive Order By The Governor Declaring A Public Health State Of Emergency, Rebecca Hu, Ellen Y. Min

Georgia State University Law Review

The Executive Order primarily functions to enumerate the Governor’s emergency powers during a Public Health State of Emergency. The Executive Order allows for the Governor to assist health and emergency management officials by deploying available resources for the mitigation and treatment of COVID-19 within Georgia.

Modeling Neurofibromatosis Type Ii In Zebrafish, Hannah Nuszen

University Honors Program Senior Projects

Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) is a rare genetic disorder, classified as a neurocutaneous syndrome inherited through an autosomal dominant genetic mutation or deletion of the NF2 gene in humans. The tumor suppressor gene NF2 encodes the cytoskeletal protein MERLIN to promote apoptosis and inhibit abnormal cellular proliferation. Mutations in NF2 lead to a deficiency of functional MERLIN in humans and can result in hearing loss, disability, and premature death. These symptoms are due to uncontrollable growth of schwann cells generating bilateral benign tumors (schwannomas) within the nerve sheath of cranial nerve VIII. Here we seek to understand the function of …

Ctrp3 And Serum Triglycerides In Children Aged 7-10 Years, Arsham Alamian, Jo Ann Marrs, W. Andrew Clark, Kristy L. Thomas, Jonathan M. Peterson

ETSU Faculty Works

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction The prevalence of obesity-related disorders has been steadily increasing over the past couple of decades. Diseases that were once only detected in adults are now prevalent in children, such as hyperlipidemia. The adipose tissue-derived hormonal factor C1q TNF Related Protein 3 (CTRP3) has been linked to triglyceride regulation especially in animal models. However, the relationship between circulating CTRP3 levels and obesity-related disorders in human subjects …

Wicked Problems, Foolish Decisions: Promoting Sustainability Through Urban Governance In A Complex World Symposium: Governing Wicked Problems, Scott D. Campbell, Moira Zellner

Vanderbilt Law Review

Why do wicked problems often give birth to bad policy choices? Put another way, why do people—in the face of complex social challenges—make misdiagnoses, ineffective decisions, or no decisions at all? Typical answers point to a plethora of suspects: impatience, myopia, political stalemate, narrow-mindedness, fear and risk aversion, hubris, greed, rational self-interest, ignorance, reliance on emotionally appealing but misleading anecdotal stories, misuse of evidence, and misunderstanding of uncertainty.

Amid these divergent explanations, two classes emerge: one lies in the shortcomings and mistakes of the problem solvers, and the other lies in the nature of the problem itself. One stance is …

Resilience Theory And Wicked Problems, Robin Kundis Craig

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article posits, first, that resilience theory offers important insights into our understanding of wicked problems and, second, that to understand the value of resilience theory to wicked problems, we should start by going back to the context of Rittel’s and Webber’s 1973 delineation of the ten characteristics of a “wicked problem.” Rittel and Webber were in fact among the vanguard of researchers beginning to articulate the realization that social and ecological systems—now social-ecological systems (“SESs”)—do not follow the predictable and mechanistic rules of Newtonian physics. As a result, SESs do not yield, at least not over the long term, …

Aging, But Not Sex And Genetic Diversity, Impacts The Pathobiology Of Bacterial Endophthalmitis, Pawan Kumar Singh, Sukhvinder Singh, Robert Emery Wright, Ramandeep Rattan, Ashok Kumar

Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health Services Articles

Purpose: Age, sex, and genetics are important biological variables in determining an individual's susceptibility or response to infectious agents; however, their role has not been evaluated in intraocular infections. In this study, we comprehensively examined the impact of these host biological factors in the pathogenesis of experimental bacterial endophthalmitis.

Methods: Endophthalmitis was induced by intravitreal injection of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) in the eyes of male and female C57BL/6 mice of different ages: group I (young, 6-8 weeks), group II (mid-age, 18-20 weeks), and group III (old, 1 year). Highly heterogeneous outbred J:DO mice were used for genetic diversity analysis. Eyes …

A Gene Expression Profile Associated With Successful Cns Axon Regeneration In Xenopus Laevis, Jamie L. Belrose

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background: The South African claw-toed frog, Xenopus laevis, is uniquely suited for studying differences between regenerative and non-regenerative responses to CNS injury within the same organism, because some CNS neurons (e.g., retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve crush (ONC)) regenerate axons throughout life, whereas others (e.g., hindbrain neurons after spinal cord injury (SCI)) lose this capacity as tadpoles metamorphose into frogs. Tissues from these CNS regions (frog ONC eye, tadpole SCI hindbrain, frog SCI hindbrain) were used in a three-way RNA-seq study of axotomized CNS axons to identify potential core gene expression programs for successful CNS axon regeneration.

The Relationship Between Group Identification And Perceived Control Under Stressful Conditions, Fanshu Jin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Group identification provides important psychological resources. One potential benefit is that it may relieve individuals’ strain in stressful situation by increasing their perceived personal control. The current research explores the different roles that group identification plays in reaction to stressful performance situations. In particular, it investigates the extent to which group identification impacts perceived control in performance contexts. It was hypothesized that activating group identification prior to performing a challenging task will bolster perceptions of personal control, thereby sustaining or improving performance. An experimental study was conducted that manipulated salience of group identification, either before or after exposure to a …

Trading Privacy For Promotion? Fourth Amendment Implications Of Employers Using Wearable Sensors To Assess Worker Performance, George M. Dery Iii

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

This Article considers the Fourth Amendment implications of a study on a passive monitoring system where employees shared data from wearables, phone applications, and position beacons that provided private information such as weekend phone use, sleep patterns in the bedroom, and emotional states. The study’s authors hope to use the data collected to create a new system for objectively assessing employee performance that will replace the current system which is plagued by the inherent bias of self-reporting and peer-review and which is labor intensive and inefficient. The researchers were able to successfully link the data collected with the quality of …

The Link Between Heart Disease In Low Socioeconomic Communities In America, Khristopher Chea

Nursing | Senior Theses

As a future medical professional in the healthcare field, we continue to see patients admitted for cardiovascular issues. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality among adults living in the U.S. despite advances in treatment throughout the past century. A number of risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity contribute to the significant rise of cardiovascular disease. Research data suggests that there is correlation between cardiovascular disease, low socioeconomic status, and diet. According to the American Phycological Association socioeconomic status is measured by income, educational status, and occupation, and has been shown to be closely …

The Effects Of Moderate-Severe Plaque Psoriasis On Patient Well-Being And Prevention Of Flares, Glenn Devera

Nursing | Senior Theses

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that is indicated by red, patchy and scaly skin that can be painful when irritated. Patients with psoriasis have an increased risk for a number of chronic diseases. Despite the expansion of treatments for moderate-to-severe psoriasis over the last decade, patients may still find that treatment strategies are not as successful, leaving them dissatisfied with their treatments. A relationship built upon trust between the nurse and the patient diagnosed with psoriasis may serve to help ensure optimal care. A comprehensive literature review was performed and found that best practices for patient management need to …

Characterizing The Impact Of Adversity, Abuse, And Neglect On Adolescent Amygdala Resting-State Functional Connectivity, Theresa W. Cheng, Kathryn L. Mills, Oscar Miranda Dominguez, Dagmar Zeithamova, Anders Perrone, Darrick Sturgeon, Sarah W. Feldstein Ewing, Philip A. Fisher, Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Damien A. Fair, Kristen L. Mackiewicz Seghete

Psychology Faculty Publications

Characterizing typologies of childhood adversity may inform the development of risk profiles and corresponding interventions aimed at mitigating its lifelong consequences. A neurobiological grounding of these typologies requires systematic comparisons of neural structure and function among individuals with different exposure histories. Using seed-to-whole brain analyses, this study examined associations between childhood adversity and amygdala resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) in adolescents aged 11–19 years across three independent studies (N = 223; 127 adversity group) in both general and dimensional models of adversity (comparing abuse and neglect). In a general model, adversity was associated with altered amygdala rs-fc with clusters within the …

A Content Analysis Of Dissertations On Business Topics: A Quantitative Study, Kat Yamamoto

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Many students explore business topics in their dissertations because they are relevant research areas for future scholar-practitioners such as leaders, educators, researchers, and consultants. Nevertheless, there is limited scholarship on the content of dissertations from PhD and practitioner doctoral programs. Dissertation research methodology choices, page lengths, and research topics have not been studied extensively. Few studies have been conducted to explore the differences and similarities between researcher-oriented and practitioner-oriented dissertations. This study examined dissertations written on business topics in the recent ten years using content analysis to address these gaps. A sample of dissertations uploaded in the years 2010, 2015, …

Missing In Action: Locating The Body In Interdisciplinary Studies, Ann Lenore Moradian

Master's Theses

This research project relied on the use of interdisciplinary literature, surveys and interviews to explore the prevalence of the human body and its movement across a variety of disciplines other than movement-based practices, and also to explore perspectives of movement experts regarding the knowledge, skills, and capacities they believed might be related to their practice-based work. In other words, what do movement practitioners and movement experts know, and who cares? The materials gathered were analyzed with the aim of understanding the range of possibilities for future work, and identifying areas of potential discourse, engagement, or collaboration across disciplines. The outcomes …

Synthesis And Evaluation Of N-(9'-Acridinyl)-O-Phenylhydroxylamines, Jana Forster

Master's Theses

Anilinoacridines are a class of compounds that are known to intercalate DNA. This class of compounds can be used as a target therapy to combat cell growth and replication. The anilinoacridines, DNA, and topoisomerase II will form a ternary complex that results in numerous strand scissions leading to apoptosis. Previous research has shown that the anilinoacridines can have a short half-life and produce harmful side products as a result of hydrolysis. The half-life could increase if this structure was slightly altered by making a molecule that does not readily hydrolyze. N-(9’-Acridinyl)-O-phenylhydroxylamines can be synthesized in three steps starting with commercially …