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Investigating The Role Of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes In Triazole Drug Efficacy And Toxicity In Whole Organism Zebrafish Model, Heather Cosh

Honors College Theses

Invasive fungal infections account for nearly 1.5 million deaths a year and therefore are considered one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The first line of therapy towards these infections are antifungal drugs in the triazole class such as voriconazole, posaconazole, itraconazole, and isavuconazole. However, these antifungal drug therapies fail in a large number of patients and can produce toxic side effects, therefore increasing the risk of mortality worldwide. While prior research has demonstrated the efficacy of these drugs in mitigating fungal growth in vitro, it is unclear why these drugs fail to protect patients infected with fungal …

Pharmacy Matters - May 2023, University Of Mississippi. School Of Pharmacy

Pharmacy Matters Newsletters

Featured stories: "Natural Products Center Hosts 21st International Botanicals Conference," "Distinguished Teaching Scholars Announced," "Alumni Honored at Annual Banquet," "Hayes, Khan Represent Ph.D. Graduates as Class Marshals," "Journey to Commencement: Passion for Politics, Policy and Professional Advocacy," "Pharmacy School Pioneers Receive Recognition," "Minority Association Sponsors Gordon Mental Health Research Talk"

Detecting Pathobiomes Using Machine Learning, Valerie Jackson, Valerie Jackson

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Machine learning is a field with high growth potential due to the overall continuous progressions, developments, advancements, and improvements caused by the way it is used to help interpret and use large amounts of data [1]. One type of data that can be collected and analyzed by these machine learning models is data that is associated with DNA and information that the DNA gives. The research will be focusing specifically on using machine learning technology to detect pathobiomes indicative of salmonella pork. The pathobiome associated with salmonella is very similar to others, and this causes a problem for classification/detection with …

Detection Of Enterovirus D68 In Samples Enrolled In The New Vaccine Surveillance Network From January To December 2022, Amanda Hayes, Dithi Banerjee, Anjana Sasidharan, Minati Dhar, Gina Weddle, Kirsten Weltmer, Jennifer E. Schuster, Mary Moffatt, Rangaraj Selvarangan

Research at Children's Mercy Month 2023

Background: In 2014, the largest cohort of pediatric EV-D68 disease in the U.S. was reported by a large mid-west free-standing children’s hospital. Shortly after, reports of increased EV-D68 around the world were announced. Since then, EV-D68 has circulated even years during the summer to fall months. In June 2022, an increase in Rhinovirus/Enterovirus (RV/EV) infections with symptoms resembling EV-D68 outbreaks were noted earlier than usual in Kansas City’s clinical setting. Common symptoms of EV-D68 infection resemble asthma and severe EV-D68 infection has been linked to those with a history of asthma. Our aim was to investigate the rate of EV-D68 …

Characterization Of Trimethoprim Metabolism And Metabolite Reactivity In Human Liver, Lung, And Skin, Robert T. Tessman, Whitney M. Nolte, Ashlynn Chipman, Jennifer Goldman

Research at Children's Mercy Month 2023

Idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions (IADRs) occur in a small but significant percentage of the population, are unpredictable, and frequently cause life-threatening events requiring intensive medical care. The antibiotic, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is generally considered a safe and effective drug but has a relatively high rate of IADRs. Through metabolism, drugs may be bioactivated, yielding reactive metabolites which covalently bind to proteins making them a target for immune-mediated responses, and in some cases, fulminant drug hypersensitivity. Although the liver is the dominant contributor to drug metabolism, other organ systems are known to be metabolically active. Interestingly, TMP-SMX IADRs are associated with serious …

Rapid & Sensitive Detection Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes By Utilizing New Diagnostic Probe Tales With 2d-Nanosheet Graphene Oxide, Jihye Kang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As antibiotic resistance is one of the major health concerns in infectious diseases because of reducing the efficacy of antibiotics, rapid and sensitive detection of antibiotic resistance genes is critical for the effective treatment of infectious diseases. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is widely used to detect nucleic acids, but it requires additional steps involved in DNA denaturation and subsequent hybridization. A new class of DNA-binding domains called transcriptional activator-like effectors (TALEs) provide a novel scaffold for designing versatile DNA-binding proteins due to their modularity and predictability. Here, we developed a simple, rapid, and sensitive system for detecting antibiotic resistance genes …

Autonomous Raman Hyperspectral Imaging And Analysis; Advances Towards Mapping Crystalline Character In Biologically Important Polymers, Sadeq H. Alkhalifa

ETD Archive

Poly-l-lactic acid has been of a great interest to the medical profession in recent years because of its biodegradability and biocompatibility. The biodegradation rate can be controlled by its crystallinity content. One method to modify its crystallinity content is by cold drawing. Raman spectroscopy is utilized to distinguish between the different crystalline content on the sample. However, a chemical imaging method is needed to characterize the polymer on the macro level. Chemical imaging using Raman spectroscopy is an important method of characterization that is non-invasive and non-destructive. The emphasis of my research has been to develop a method to characterize …

In-Service Education And The Provision Of Educational Materials To Improve Awareness Of Chronic Wasting Disease Management Efforts In Arkansas, Mary Claire Stewart

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a disease caused by an accumulation of misfolded prions throughout the nervous system. This disease affects animals within the Cervidae Family, which includes deer, elk, moose, and caribou. This disease is fatal and physical symptoms often do not materialize until the animal is near death. CWD has become an increasing issue in Arkansas since an elk (Cervus canadensis) in Newton County tested positive for CWD in 2016. Since then, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) has worked with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA) and others to develop management strategies to slow …

Regime-Dependent Financial Risk Transmission And Connectedness In Mena Economies: A Smooth Transition Threshold Vector Autoregressive Analysis, Mehmet Balcilar, Ojonugwa Usman

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

This study examines the impact of global financial market conditions on risk connectedness and transmission among MENA economies. Using weekly stock market volatilities and a smooth transition threshold vector autoregressive model, the authors analyze risk transmission under varying financial stress levels. Results show stronger risk interdependency during high-stress periods, with Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE as net risk transmitters. The regime-dependent model reveals stronger risk transmission compared to the overall mean-based VAR model.

Comparing Development Of Drug Resistance By Cryptococcus Neoformans To Chemically Distinct Azole Anti-Fungal Compounds, Lindsey Burke

Honors College Theses

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungus that primarily infects humans who have weakened immune systems. An azole drug, Fluconazole, is commonly administered against C. neoformans in regions were cryptococcosis is most prevalent, most notably Sub-Saharan Africa. However, C. neoformans can gain resistance to Fluconazole through becoming an aneuploid. To better understand the basis of resistance, we employed a disk diffusion assay and investigated several chemically-distinct azole compounds with anticryptococcal properties for their effectiveness against C. neoformans and to identify potential differences in the capacity of the fungus to become resistant to each of the tested compounds. Different C. neoformans strains were …

Pancreatitis, Panniculitis And Polyarthralgia Syndrome: A Rare Complication Of Pancreatic Pathology, Harjinder Singh, Parth Patel, Shamik Parikh, Hassan Zreik, Neil Caliman, Vivek Kak

Internal Medicine Articles

Pancreatitis, panniculitis, and polyarthralgia (PPP) syndrome is a rare complication of chronic pancreatitis and occurs due to leakage of pancreatic enzymes in the systemic vasculature. This enzyme leakage leads to multiple manifestations such as polyarthralgia, panniculitis, and bone necrosis due to tissue autodigestion. The inciting pancreatic pathology may be masked, and the presentation may be due to one of the systemic consequences of enzyme leakage, which can present as a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Here we present a patient who presented with nodular lesions and bone necrosis, and was found to have PPP syndrome. Therefore, a proper understanding of pathophysiology …

Examining The Relationship Between Anxiety And Depression Symptoms, Protective Behavioral Strategies And Opioid Use Outcomes, Melissa Rose Hatch

Psychology ETDs

Protective behavioral strategies (PBS), behaviors individuals use to reduce negative consequences of substance use, have been shown to mediate and moderate the relationship between mental health and substance use outcomes. The present study aimed to examine the relationships between anxiety and depression symptoms and opioid PBS on risky opioid use and opioid-related consequences. Participants in this secondary data analysis were non-treatment seeking individuals who reported past-month opioid use (n=257). Structural equation modeling was used to examine 1) PBS as a mediator of the relationship between anxiety/depression symptoms and opioid use outcomes, and 2) anxiety/depression symptoms as a moderator …

Enhancing Health Tweet Classification: An Evaluation Of Transformer-Based Models For Comprehensive Analysis, Foram Pankajbhai Patel

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

The task of health tweet classification entails identifying whether a given tweet is health-related or not. While existing research in this area has made significant progress in classifying tweets into specific sub-domains of health, such as mental health, COVID-19, or specific diseases, there is a need for a more comprehensive approach that considers a broader range of health-related topics. This thesis addresses this need by proposing a diverse and comprehensive dataset that includes various existing health-related datasets, data collected through a keyword-based approach, and manually annotated data. However, the use of health-related keywords in a figurative or non-health context poses …

The Ethical And Validity Conundrum In Epilepsy Research In Lmic Settings, Pauline Samia, Adeel Shah, Archana Patel, Philip Olielo, Lionel Mudave, Samson Gwer

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

In the last few decades, research in epilepsy has significantly improved understanding of risk factors and etiologies associated with epilepsy, promoting greater access to interventions and medications that have improved health-related outcomes for patients. However, these advances and benefits are not being felt evenly on a global scale due to significant inequalities in access to and utilization of research resources and expertise in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

To promote effective research output, and advance evidence-based practices; the context, disease burden, and challenges that hinder good research need to be re-defined and addressed. This is key in facilitating implementation of coherent …

Kinetic Barriers For Leakage Reduction In Dna Autocatalytic Strand Displacement Networks, Drew Lysne

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Currently medical diagnostic methods suffer from the need for skilled labor, bulky, sophisticated and expensive equipment, ideal lab environments and ample time. A point-of-care biosensor can alleviate these problems and allow for more mobile disease detection. To meet this need, researchers have looked to DNA strand displacement networks to perform molecular level computation through a series of DNA strand displacement reactions in which disease associated biomarker inputs can trigger a cascaded signal to produce a readable output downstream in a matter of minutes. Such quick readable outputs require signal amplification. While amplification can be achieved through enzymatic activity, enzymes introduce …

Effects Of Reporting Fever Sessions And Caresense On Fever Reporting By Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy, Odasy Elejarde

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Patients with cancer who undergo chemotherapy are at risk of immune system compromise. Fever in a patient with cancer who receives chemotherapy can indicate presence of an infection. In patients with a compromised immune system, an infection requires immediate further evaluation and management. Thus, patients receiving chemotherapy must understand when to notify physicians of a fever for prompt evaluation and management.

Purpose. This project aimed to increase the number of fevers gastrointestinal oncology patients receiving chemotherapy reported within 24 hours of detection to MyChart messaging, CareSense, or by calling the physician's office.

Methodology.All gastrointestinal oncology patients who underwent chemotherapy …

Medication Compliance And Decreases In Viral Load Status In Patients With Hiv, Tangela Woodland- Ballard

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic has been a worldwide challenge for several decades. Proper medication adherence, following the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, has proven effective in decreasing patients’ viral load, thus improving their quality of life, and reducing the spread of the disease. The current literature identifies a lack of knowledge, support, and resources as barriers to medication compliance.

Purpose: To increase medication compliance among persons with HIV.

Methods: This evidence-based practice project utilized the Modified Morisky Scale to help minority HIV patients adhere to strict medication regimens. Repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to …

Effects Of Land Use On Soil Microbial Communities In Tropical Montane Forests Of Malaysian Borneo, Yang Kai Tang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Land use, such as logging and forest conversion to agriculture, can modify soil physicochemical and biological properties, and affect soil health. To understand how land use change can impact soil properties and canopy structure, we used a land use gradient in Malaysian Borneo consisting of six sites, including old growth forests, mixed forests, and agriculture fields. Specifically, we aimed to answer the following questions: (1) How do soil physicochemical properties vary across land use types? (2) Does bacterial diversity and composition vary across different land use types? (3) Does fungal diversity and composition vary across different land use types? We …

Prevalence Of Ehrlichia And Rickettsia Within Ticks In Arkansas State Parks, Haley Stanton

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Within the past few decades, the number of diagnoses of tick-borne diseases – such as spotted fever rickettsiosis and ehrlichiosis – has steadily increased throughout the United States, with Arkansas having one of the highest rates in the country. These diseases pose a risk to both humans and animals, as both can acquire these infections from ticks. Due to the increasing geographic range of ticks, rise in cases, and likely underdiagnosis of these diseases, this study aimed to identify the infection rate of ticks themselves in multiple state parks in Arkansas. Four Arkansas state parks were each visited once a …

Symptom Patterns And Their Association With Influencing Factors In Adults With Long Covid - A Secondary Analysis, Maaham Chaudhry

2023 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Currently available information on the risk factors, manifestation, treatments, and long-term effects of the long COVID is inconclusive, requiring further research to identify timely interventions that may help treat long COVID patients, reduce symptom burden and restore functional abilities. This research aims to analyze symptom patterns and their association with influencing factors in adults with long COVID by examining intercorrelations among symptoms, identifying influencing factors of symptoms, and examining the associations of symptoms with disability and quality of life over time in long COVID patients. The Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms developed by Lenz et al. (1997) is applied as the …

Cell Division In Mycobacteria: The Role Of Sepiva, Angela H. Freeman

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Today, about a quarter of the world’s population are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and therefore, are at risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) disease. Tuberculosis, on average, takes about six months to treat, and even longer for those with drug resistant Mtb infections (World Health Organization, 2022). Extended treatment times for these infections are caused by the inherent tolerance to antibiotics conveyed by mycobacteria’s distinct cell wall. Mycobacteria have a wide variety of cell wall regulators that help the cell adapt to stress, such as antibiotics. By understanding how these regulators work, we can learn how mycobacteria evade killing by …

Covid-19 Patients Who Discharge With Home Oxygen Have Lower Readmission Rates Than Covid-19 Patients Who Discharge Without Oxygen, Samantha G. Landers

2023 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore what the best care should be at discharge after being diagnosed with COVID-19. This was a retrospective study using data from electronic health records. Patients discharged to home with oxygen (O2) were less likely to be readmitted within 30 days. Linear Regression was computed to determine variables that could predict if discharge with and without O2 would affect readmission rates. When adjustments were made for co-variants, it was determined that patients having been in the ICU on the ventilator were 2.6 times more likely to be readmitted within 30 days. However, COVID-19 …

Evidence-Based Approaches To Lowering Uti Rates In Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Review Of The Literature And Application To A Local Skilled Nursing Home, Hailey Griffin

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this paper may be divided into two parts. The first part was a literature review that sought to determine the most common risk factors for developing a urinary tract infection in nursing homes, as well as to identify evidence-based practice interventions for decreasing UTI rates within that specific patient population. The second part consisted of a case study that sought to apply the principles gathered from the literature review to the UTI logs of a deidentified local nursing home. It was found that indwelling urinary catheters and age are the two most common precipitating risk factors for …

The Levant: Climate Change’S Effects On Domestic And Foreign Security Policy, Mary Mckenna Kump

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This project applies a comparative analysis of climate effects on security perspectives in the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon) with evidence from historical events and modern processes. In other words, how do the effects of climate change threaten states’ core national security interests? What areas of the system are likely to be impacted by climate effects? Researchers project that climate change will affect current and future global conditions, so how does it impact how states perceive the environment in relation to their national security interests? To examine these questions, I have developed a relatively informal cause-and-effect relationship between climate …

Identification Of A Role Beyond Iron Acquisition For Yersiniabactin During Yersinia Pestis Infection., Sarah Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yersinia pestis is a Gram-negative re-emerging bacterial pathogen that is responsible for bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague. Y. pestis and other bacteria require transition metals, such as iron, zinc, and manganese, to maintain intermediary metabolism, transcriptional regulation, and virulence. To inhibit infection, eukaryotic organisms have developed distinct mechanisms, called nutritional immunity, to sequester these important nutrients from invading bacteria. For pathogens to colonize the vertebrate host, they have evolved dedicated acquisition systems for transition metals. During infection, Y. pestis overcomes iron limitation by secreting the siderophore yersiniabactin. Additionally, Y. pestis requires zinc for infection and utilizes high affinity transporters to …

Our Story, Our Song: Assessing And Addressing Black Women's Healthcare Experiences., Jason Deakings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite advancements in medicine and health sciences, health disparities and declining life expectancy persists among Black women in the United States. Researchers and non-traditional healthcare providers suggest alternative healing (e.g., music and Sister Circles) and research methodologies to achieve a culturally conscious, traumainformed, quality, and holistic care and practice. The intersecting identities and cultural responsibility of Black women highly influences the barriers and facilitators on the uptake of healthcare services. Utilizing a community engaged research approach, this qualitative study assessed the healthcare experiences, as well as the role of music in the lived and retold experiences of Black women navigating …

Establishment Of A Transgenic Human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 Hamster Infection Model For The Evaluation Of Therapeutics Against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, Scott A. Gibson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The virus SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019 and has gone on to spread throughout the global population. The virus is still the cause of a healthcare crisis two years after being identified. Viral infection in humans leads to the development of the disease COVID-19. A complex disease that can result in a wide variety of outcomes for infected individuals. In the majority of individuals, COVID-19 will manifest as either an asymptomatic disease state or a mild to moderate disease state that is resolved in approximately one week. In some infected patients COVID-19 will manifest with the rapid onset of severe …

Evaluating Methods For Pathogen Spillover Detection And Forecasting In Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis Nelsoni), Grete E. Wilson-Henjum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Managers mitigate the effects of disease on wildlife populations by detecting outbreaks and predicting disease transmission. Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations face threat from the introduced pathogen Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovipneumoniae). In the eastern Mojave Desert, managers detect pathogen outbreaks in desert bighorn (O. c. nelsoni) through aerial population surveys, which produce irregular and coarse population information. Furthermore, managers model the risk of M. ovipneumoniae transmission amongst desert bighorn populations, however these models assume that desert bighorn space use is unchanging across years. Here, I evaluate methods used by managers to detect disease outbreaks …

Power, Pleasure, And Privilege: Defining Depauw’S Hookup Culture And Its Mental Health Implications, Reanna Stiehler '23

Honor Scholar Theses

Hookup culture is not primarily about sex, pleasure, connection, or freedom. Hookup culture is about power—how power is used, distributed, and desired. Previous work in hookup culture discusses a discourse of desire; however, the root and nature of this desire are unclear. I posit that hookup culture, as it currently exists, is strongly related to rape culture. In this thesis, I will explicate my anecdotal, qualitative, and quantitative evidence supporting this hypothesis.

Synthetic Or Not: Implications Of Hormonal Birth Control On Women’S Hormones And The Cortisol Stress Response, Maddie Perry '23

Honor Scholar Theses

Women’s bodies are the subject of decision-making and control, yet women’s lives are dismally ignored. The field of women’s health is highly understudied, and the demand for that adequate research must be granted to the women’s health field. This interdisciplinary research study investigated stress response differences between hormonal birth control users and non-users. Hormonal birth control (HBC) is one of the greatest technologies afforded to women and further research is necessary to ensure women are guaranteed bodily autonomy and women’s health education. Due to altered hormonal signaling, HBC has been linked to behavioral and decision making differences in women. Building …