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Characterization Of Folic Acid, 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate And Synthetic Folinic Acid In The High-Affinity Folate Transporters: Impact On Pregnancy And Development, Ana M. Palacios, Rachel A. Feiner, Robert M. Cabrera

Health Policy & Community Health: Faculty Publications

Objectives:

Folates are B vitamins that are essential for several molecular, cellular, and biological processes, including nucleotide synthesis, methylation, and methionine cycling. The physiological impacts of these processes on health also extend to cell proliferation, folate deficiency anemia, and reduction of the risk of birth defects during pregnancy. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the binding affinities of different folate forms, folic acid (FA), 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5MTHF), and folinic acid, to the folate receptors α and β, and to the bovine milk folate binding protein. These three dietary forms of folate are found in enriched grains (FA), various …

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Examining The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Covid-19 Vaccine Safety And Intention To Receive It Among African Americans In Mississippi, Tija L. Johnson

Honors Theses

In March of 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 disease. While scientific developers were seeking to understand the biochemical mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, political and public health leaders implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing measures, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. As the world began to adjust to the new realities, the race to create an effective vaccine was on. With the later development of the COVID-19 vaccine, receptiveness to the vaccine across the world varied, and in the United States, vaccine hesitancy was an …

Combining Pharmacokinetics And Vibrational Spectroscopy: Mcr-Als Hard-And-Soft Modelling Of Drug Uptake In Vitro Using Tailored Kinetic Constraints, David Perez-Guaita, Guillermo Quintas, Zeineb Farhane, Roma Tauler, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is a label-free technique which is very suited for the investigation of pharmacokinetics of cellular uptake, mechanisms of interaction, and efficacies of drugs in vitro. However, the complexity of the spectra makes the identification of spectral patterns associated with the drug and subsequent cellular responses difficult. Indeed, multivariate methods that relate spectral features to the inoculation time do not normally take into account the kinetics involved, and important theoretical information which could assist in the elucidation of the relevant spectral signatures is excluded. Here, we propose the integration of kinetic equations in the modelling of drug uptake and …

Enantiomer-Selective Characterization Of The Adsorption, Dissipation, And Phytotoxicity Of The Plant Monoterpene Pulegone In Soils, Jose Antonio Galán-Pérez, Beatriz Gámiz, Ivana Pavlovic, Rafael Celis

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Plant monoterpenes have received attention for their ecological functions and as potential surrogates for synthetic herbicides, but very little is known about the processes that govern their behavior in the soil environment, and even less about the possible enantioselectivity in the functions and environmental behavior of chiral monoterpenes. We characterized the adsorption and dissipation of the two enantiomers of the chiral monoterpene pulegone in different soils, and their phytotoxicity to different plant species through Petri dish and soil bioassays. R-and S-pulegone displayed a low-to-moderate non-enantioselective adsorption on the soils that involved weak interaction mechanisms. Soil incubation experiments indicated that, once …

Social (In) Justice, Climate Change And Climate Policy In Western Australia, Naomi Joy Godden, Doreen Wijekoon, Kylie Wrigley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Climate change is a social justice issue, and people who experience disadvantage and marginalisation are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In 2019–2020, the government of the state of Western Australia (WA) held the world’s first inquiry into climate change and health. The Inquiry report, submissions, and hearing transcripts make an important contribution to a small but growing body of evidence that climate change exacerbates and reinforces existing social inequalities in WA in areas such as health, economics, gender relations, and access and inclusion. However, in late-2020, the WA government released its 38-page Climate Policy, with very limited …

Characterization Of Retinal Drusen In Subjects At High Genetic Risk Of Developing Sporadic Alzheimer’S Disease: An Exploratory Analysis, Inés López-Cuenca, Elena Salobrar-García, Inés Gil-Salgado, Lidia Sánchez-Puebla, Lorena Elvira-Hurtado, José A. Fernández-Albarral, Federico Ramírez-Toraño, Ana Barabash, Jaisalmer De Frutos-Lucas, Juan J. Salazar, José M. Ramírez, Ana I. Ramírez, Rosa De Hoz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Having a family history (FH+) of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and being a carrier of at least one ε4 allele of the ApoE gene are two of the main risk factors for the development of AD. AD and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) share one of the main risk factors, such as age, and characteristics including the presence of deposits (Aβ plaques in AD and drusen in AMD); however, the role of apolipoprotein E isoforms in both pathologies is controversial. We analyzed and characterized retinal drusen by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in subjects, classifying them by their AD FH (FH-or FH+) and …

A Most Unusual Tail: Scoliosis In A Wild Australian Skink, And Reported Incidences And Suggested Causes Of Similar Malformations Amongst Squamates, Philip W. Bateman, Robyn Benken, Ryan Glowacki, Robert A. Davis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Malformations of vertebrae potentially occur across many taxa, particularly in Testudines, which are susceptible to kyphosis (dorsoventral curvature of the spine). Such malformations may stem from either genetic or environmental origins, and their prevalence and associated impacts on survival remain poorly understood. However, scoliosis (sideways curvature of the spine) is rarely reported and especially so in wild lizards. We report here on the first known case of scoliosis in a wild Australian lizard, the skink Ctenotus fallens, from Perth, Western Australia. This occurrence is the first of 805 individuals captured in a natural population monitored annually for the past 11 …

Bullied Because Of Their Teeth: Evidence From A Longitudinal Study On The Impact Of Oral Health On Bullying Victimization Among Australian Indigenous Children, Md Irteja Islam, Verity Chadwick, Tuguy Esgin, Alexandra Martiniuk

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Making life better for Indigenous peoples is a global priority. Although bullying and oral health have always been a topic of concern, there is limited information regarding the impact of this problem on the general population, with no evidence in this regard among the Australian Indigenous population. Thus, we aimed to quantify the relationship between bullying victimization and oral health problems by remoteness among 766 Australian Indigenous children aged between 10–15-years using data from the LSIC study. Bivariate and multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression analyses were employed. Findings indicated children self-reported bullying more than parents reported their children were being bullied …

Resistance Training Effectiveness On Body Composition And Body Weight Outcomes In Individuals With Overweight And Obesity Across The Lifespan: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Pedro Lopez, Dennis R. Taaffe, Daniel A. Galvão, Robert U. Newton, Elisa R. Nonemacher, Victória M. Wendt, Renata N. Bassanesi, Douglas J. P. Turella, Anderson Rech

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

To systematically review and analyze the effects of resistance-based exercise programs on body composition, regional adiposity, and body weight in individuals with overweight/obesity across the lifespan. Using PRISMA guidelines, randomized controlled trials were searched in nine electronic databases up to December 2020. Meta-analyses were performed using random-effects model. One-hundred sixteen articles describing 114 trials (n = 4184 participants) were included. Interventions involving resistance training and caloric restriction were the most effective for reducing body fat percentage (ES = −3.8%, 95% CI: −4.7 to −2.9%, p < 0.001) and whole-body fat mass (ES = −5.3 kg, 95% CI: −7.2 to −3.5 kg, p < 0.001) compared with groups without intervention. Significant results were also observed following combined resistance and aerobic exercise (ES = −2.3% and −1.4 kg, p < 0.001) and resistance training alone (ES = −1.6% and −1.0 kg, p < 0.001) compared with no training controls. Resistance training alone was the most effective for increasing lean mass compared with no training controls (ES = 0.8 kg, 95% CI: 0.6 to 1.0 kg, p < 0.001), whereas lean mass was maintained following interventions involving resistance training and caloric restriction (ES = ~ − 0.3 kg, p = 0.550–0.727). Results were consistently observed across age and sex groups (p = 0.001–0.011). Reductions in regional adiposity and body weight measures were also observed following combined resistance and aerobic exercise and programs including caloric restriction (p < 0.001). In conclusion, this study provides evidence that resistance-based exercise programs are effective and should be considered within any multicomponent therapy program when caloric restriction is utilized in individuals with overweight or obesity.

Postviral Gastroparesis Associated With Sars-Cov-2 Infection In A Pediatric Patient, Courtney M. Rusch, Jerome M. Molleston, Matthew F. Glasser, Steven Don, Sakil S. Kulkarni

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Postviral gastroparesis has been described in children, but it has not yet been attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our case report describes a teenager with abdominal pain, early satiety, and vomiting who likely had an asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection 2 months before presentation. Through investigation of epidemiologic links, antibody testing, and clinical course, it is hypothesized that her significant reduction in gastric emptying was due to postviral gastroparesis secondary to SARS-CoV-2. She was treated with supportive care and prokinetic agents. The patient demonstrated symptom resolution and near normalization of gastric emptying by the time of 1 month follow up.

The Heritage Family Study: A Review Of The Effects Of Exercise Training On Cardiometabolic Health, With Insights Into Molecular Transducers, Mark A Sarzynski, Treva K Rice, D C Rao, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The aim of the HERITAGE Family Study was to investigate individual differences in response to a standardized endurance exercise program, the role of familial aggregation, and the genetics of response levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors. Here we summarize the findings and their potential implications for cardiometabolic health and cardiorespiratory fitness. It begins with overviews of background and planning, recruitment, testing and exercise program protocol, quality control measures, and other relevant organizational issues. A summary of findings is then provided on cardiorespiratory fitness, exercise hemodynamics, insulin and glucose metabolism, lipid and lipoprotein profiles, adiposity and …

Strategies For Protection Of The Blood Brain Barrier In Rodent Models Of Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Derek Sunil Nowrangi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating disease that causes a cascade of both mechanical and molecular injury to the central nervous system. It is a debilitating disease that has no well-established treatments, thus leaving an important area to study the pathophysiology of the disease so that new clinically translatable treatments can be found. In the development of translational treatments in experimental ICH, several challenges exist including the designing of studies, method to deliver drugs, proper dosages, and development of models. In our exploration to establish new therapies for ICH, we studied several methods and models that may help to develop …

Phytochemical And Synthetic Ahr Ligands As Novel Therapy For Refractory Breast Cancer, Jonathan V. Wooten

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) possess tumors that lack estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human growth factor receptor 2 expression. Such patients have lower survival rates than those diagnosed with other breast cancer subtypes in part, due to the scarcity of targeted therapy for TNBC. In addition to chemotherapy, patients with TNBC often consume natural remedies, which has led us and others to evaluate the ability of plant isolates to confer anticancer and chemopreventive actions. Poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) is an enzyme that promotes DNA single-strand break repair. PARP inhibitor olaparib exploits DNA repair enzyme deficiency in tumors to …

Evaluation Of Mealsense©: A Sensory Integration-Based Feeding Support Program For Parents., Audrey Trewin, Zoe Mailloux, Roseann C Schaaf

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience feeding challenges related to difficulties with sensory integration.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the content, acceptability, and usefulness of MealSense©, an online parent education program for children with ASD who have feeding challenges related to poor sensory integration.

DESIGN: A descriptive study in which experts reviewed and rated MealSense content for consistency with Ayres Sensory Integration® (ASI) principles and evidence-based practices in feeding.

PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of expert reviewers (n = 5) and parents of children with ASD and feeding challenges (n = 5).

RESULTS: Expert ratings (n = 5) met criteria …

Exploring The Role Of Metabolites In Cancer And The Associated Nerve Crosstalk, Inah Gu, Emory A. Gregory, Casey Atwood, Sun-Ok Lee, Young Hye Song

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since Otto Warburg's first report on the increased uptake of glucose and lactate release by cancer cells, dysregulated metabolism has been acknowledged as a hallmark of cancer that promotes proliferation and metastasis. Over the last century, studies have shown that cancer metabolism is complex, and by-products of glucose and glutamine catabolism induce a cascade of both pro- and antitumorigenic processes. Some vitamins, which have traditionally been praised for preventing and inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells, have also been proven to cause cancer progression in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, recent findings have shown that the nervous system is a key …

Increasing Nutrition And Healthy Eating Among Preschoolers, Veronica Trinidad

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There is a lack of nutrition education in preschool curriculum. Children are not being taught about the importance of consuming healthier foods. When children are taught about nutrition, they will be able to choose positive eating habits and less chance of having health complications. To address the lack of nutrition education for preschoolers, I will conduct a three-day lesson to increase the awareness of nutrition for preschool children at Teddy Bear Preschool in Monterey, California.

Impact Of School Lunches On Elementary School Students' Academics, Yudbeth Coronel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this senior capstone is to analyze the impact of school lunches on elementary student’s academic performance. It is obvious to note that the nutrition a student consumes can have a huge impact on their academics; whereas students who do not, students who do not receive the correct number of calories per day may adversely have the opposite outcome during class time. The finding indicates that school lunches with a healthy diet could impact students’ academic performance as opposed to those unhealthy diets that could result in student’s poor academic achievement.

Promoting Positive Body Image In Youth, Nancy Yaneli Fragosa Birruete

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adolescents may have a hard time maintaining a positive body image during the transition of puberty and early adolescence. When adolescents do not have a healthy body image, they tend to compare unrealistic ideals such as a thin ideal or an athletic ideal to their own size, shape, or appearance. A poor body image may also lead to developing low self-esteem, eating disorders, and depression. When they develop a positive body image, adolescents are more accepting of their bodies and are able to practice healthier behaviors, experience body satisfaction, and are more likely to practice self-care. To address the …

Cheers For A Cause: Raising Funds For Homeless Youth In Need, Clara Gonzalez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Thousands of homeless individuals in the United States do not have their basic hygiene and nutrition needs met. The Youth Homeless Response Team (YHRT) is a non-profit organization that works to connect homeless youth to wrap around services they need to thrive. YHRT works with unaccompanied at-risk youth in Santa Cruz between the ages of 15-24 who are either literally homeless, at risk of homelessness, or fleeing a domestic violence situation. Unfortunately, YHRT does not have sufficient funding to provide client assistance. This capstone project consisted of implementing “Cheers for a Cause”, a one-day online fundraising event that highlights the …

Intervention Program To Ease The Transition Out Of High School, Marissa Sareñana

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

“At-risk” youth are more likely to drop out of school and less likely to pursue higher education than their counterparts, hindering their economic future. This project was implemented at Learning for Life Charter School (LFLCS), an alternative 7th-12th grade school for at-risk youth. The project included conducting various readiness assessments and an education intervention designed to increase seniors’ level of preparedness for life after graduation. Seniors met individually with social work interns to identify a post-graduation plan, formulating short and long term goals. Once students formulated their post-graduation plans, they were guided on the necessary requirements to transition into their …

Parental Engagement To Influence Child Nutrition Habits, Mariah Van Ardenne

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Brighter Bites Salinas is a non-profit agency whose mission is to create healthy communities through fresh food. They do this by providing nutrition education to children and delivering free, fresh produce to parents. In the United States, obesity and food insecurity are common, intertwined issues among children. The contributing factors to these entangled issues are associated with living in poverty, acculturation of minority groups, and negative parental influence. The consequences of this include increased risk of chronic diseases, high-cost treatments, and mental health issues. This capstone project was created to positively engage parents in nutrition education to influence their children’s …

Why It’S Important To Have A Growth Mindset Over A Fixed Mindset, Erin Palafox

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

My abstract can help bring attention to teachers, mentors, and parents to help support kids on moving forward in a positive way.

Vol 2 May '22 Full Issue, Kari Fitzmorris Brisolara, Donna L. Williams

Journal of the Louisiana Public Health Association

No abstract provided.

Eat Well, Be Well: Basic Needs Initiative's Online Hub For Nutrition Education, Misha Moseley

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Basic Needs Initiative at California State University, Monterey Bay is a department that provides students with food, housing, and wellness resources. Over half of the university's students experience food insecurity, and over 85% use non-academic resources to learn about nutrition. This project adds a dietary health section to the department’s website to increase students’ access to nutrition education. It addresses the micro-level agency problem that too few students eat a healthy, balanced diet. Unhealthy eating is a risk factor for food insecurity, so the project indirectly addresses the macro-level health problem that too many college students in California experience food …

Academic And Social Effects Of Poverty On Elementary School Students, Nicole Sarkozy

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Poverty is incredibly stressful for low-income households and their students. This senior capstone examines how poverty affects Elementary School students academically and socially. Through the use of literature reviews and interviews with two teachers, the results indicated that poverty is the leading cause that has affected students’ academic performance and social performance.

Benefits Of School Gardening Programs In Education: Opportunities And Challenges Towards Sustainability, Alyssa Conte

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The benefits of school gardening programs in education are numerous; yet, there is still no formal inclusion of these practices into the California State curriculum. Currently, school gardening programs are generated through community effort. The benefits of these programs are limited by their challenges, but when these programs are effective, they enhance the entire curriculum. This senior capstone study takes a look at what school gardening programs have done to be successful, and what benefits may be gained from further funding these programs. Through the use of qualitative research and interviews with local teachers along with CSUMB students, the results …

Home Cooking Quality Assessment Tool Validation Using Community Science And Crowdsourcing Approaches, Margaret Raber, Nalini Ranjit, Larkin L Strong, Karen Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To refine a measure of home cooking quality (defined as the usage level of practices with the potential to influence the nutrient content of prepared foods) and conduct a construct validation of the revised tool, the Healthy Cooking Questionnaire 2 (HCQ2).

Design: Two validation approaches are described: (1) a community science approach used to refine and validate Healthy Cooking Questionnaire (HCQ) constructs, and (2) responses to the revised HCQ (HCQ2) in a sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers to determine questionnaire comprehension.

Setting: The Community Scientist Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center facilitated discussion …

Home Cooking Quality Assessment Tool Validation Using Community Science And Crowdsourcing Approaches, Margaret Raber, Nalini Ranjit, Larkin L Strong, Karen Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To refine a measure of home cooking quality (defined as the usage level of practices with the potential to influence the nutrient content of prepared foods) and conduct a construct validation of the revised tool, the Healthy Cooking Questionnaire 2 (HCQ2).

Design: Two validation approaches are described: (1) a community science approach used to refine and validate Healthy Cooking Questionnaire (HCQ) constructs, and (2) responses to the revised HCQ (HCQ2) in a sample of Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers to determine questionnaire comprehension.

Setting: The Community Scientist Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center facilitated discussion …

The Road Ahead: An Occupational Therapy Manual To Infant Development For Parents In The Nicu, Nicole Suzuki-Uyeno

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Occupational therapists have been collaborating with the parents of our tiniest patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for quite some time. They have a wealth of information and expertise in the area on infant development and parent education. Admitting a baby to the NICU is a shock for most parents and can take a toll on a family. The role of the occupational therapist is to help educate the family and to provide the tools to safely take care of their baby and to smoothen the transition from the hospital to home.

In the NICU, the OT has …

Examining The Role Of Prosocial Tendencies And Social Anxiety In Hazardous Drinking Practices Among College Students, Helena M. Berlin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over 40% of the United States (US) population aged 18 to 25 is enrolled at postsecondary institutions, and 31.4% of college students report risky alcohol use (i.e., binge drinking). Identifying risk and protective factors for this population is a public health priority. The primary objective of this study was to examine the additive and multiplicative relationship of prosocial tendencies and social anxiety on hazardous drinking (AUDIT scores). A secondary aim was to examine whether these relationships differed by participation in college organizations (Greekaffiliation, athletic participation, both, and neither). Cross-sectional data were collected from 9,196 college students (ages 18-25) from 12 …