Digital Commons Network^™

Controlled Release Matrix Tablet Formulation Of Verapamil Hydrochloride, Shapali Anil Bagde

Theses and Dissertations

Three major challenges face the formulation of a successful hydrophilic polymer matrix. The objective of the formulation research is to concentrate on these issues. The first challenge is to maintain consistent drug release from these matrix systems; swelling and polymer dissolution occur when these systems are placed in a dissolution medium. A gel layer forms as the polymer swells, increasing the matrix tablet thickness. Polymer dissolution starts with chain disentanglement over time causing the matrix tablet thickness to gradually decrease until it undergoes complete dissolution. In the release of water-soluble drugs through a hydrophilic matrix, the thickness of the gel …

A Diet Comparison Of Bluegill And Bluegill X Pumpkinseed Hybrids, Russell D. Zwiers

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus and pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus commonly prey upon macroinvertebrates but have been found to show different preferences to what type of macroinvertebrates. Hybrids of the two species have been found to display physical characteristics of both parents but prey selection of the hybrids compared to the parents is unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the diets of bluegill and bluegill x pumpkinseed hybrids to understand what each species’ preference is when it comes to food as well as finding how a hybrid’s diet compares to the pure breed of one of the two crossed …

Effects Of Velocity And Substrate Size On The Formation Of Zebra Mussel Druses, Ian Mott

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Zebra Mussels Dreissena polymorpha are an invasive bivalve species that are highly successful at dominating new environments. These invaders have been known to colonize substrate so thoroughly that all they have to attach to are members of their own species. When large mats of interconnected mussels completely cover a riverbed, it can have a drastic effect on the surrounding environment. This study serves to create a better understanding of the hydrologic parameters needed for Zebra Mussels to create these ecosystem-transforming colonies known as druses. Data was collected on a small stretch of the Upper Mississippi River in Northern Minnesota, previously …

Estimate Of Long-Term Phytoplankton Biomass In Lake Bemidji, William J. Peterson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Phytoplankton are photosynthetic organisms that are the base of aquatic food webs. In a dimictic temperate lake such as Lake Bemidji, the environment adjusts with the changing water temperatures and sunlight levels. The phytoplankton in a dimictic lake are adapted to subsist in long term seasonal changes but the exact change to the number of phytoplankton in unknown. The focus of this study was to estimate the biomass of phytoplankton in a long term period including winter stratification and summer peak. From a period between March 2023 and October 2023 water samples were collected from the lake in the south …

Associations Between Stress, Intuitive Eating, And Adiposity In A Cohort Of Midlife Women, Bridget A. Owens

Open Access Dissertations

Stress and eating behaviors can influence the health of midlife women, a population at risk for weight gain and redistribution of fat to the abdominal area related to shifts in reproductive hormones and aging. Higher stress is associated with negative health outcomes such as increased abdominal adiposity, depression, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Women report higher stress and more emotional and physical side effects from stress than men and are more likely than men to engage in emotional eating in response to stress. Further, the desire to lose weight and the prevalence of body dissatisfaction is high among …

Stunned And Stranded: Characterizing Hypothermic Threats To Sea Turtles In The Northwest Atlantic And Enhancing Conservation By Fostering Community Engagement, Felicia M. Page

Open Access Dissertations

Over 40 years of conservation efforts have led to increases in sea turtle populations, but all species found in U.S. waters are still at risk of extinction. While the contributions of such programs like the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network and bi-national Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Restoration and Enhancement Program have rescued and rehabilitated stranded sea turtles, and protected sea turtles and their nests, there are still substantial knowledge gaps that could significantly enhance current conservation programs protecting the most imperiled sea turtle species - Kemp’s ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii).

Manuscript 1 is an overview of the efforts …

Heterogeneous Ribosomes And Bs21: An Investigation Of Impacts And Mechanisms Of Altered Translation In Francisella Tularensis, Hannah Trautmann

Open Access Dissertations

Francisella tularensis is a pathogenic bacterium that requires coordinated regulation of gene expression to cause disease. In this dissertation, I explore a novel area of translation-level gene regulation in F. tularensis: heterogeneous ribosomes that preferentially translate specific mRNAs. Through mass spectrometry and immunoblotting, I find that wild-type F. tularensis ribosomes are heterogeneous with respect to the small ribosomal protein bS21 and all three bS21 homologs are able to be incorporated into ribosomes. Comparing proteomics and transcriptomics data, I determine that cells lacking one homolog, bS21-2, have genome-wide changes in protein abundance that are not explained by changes in transcript …

Systematizing Scents: The Case For Chemically Standardized Nontraditional Scent Trademarks, Jared Novitzke

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

None.

"Fewer And Better Doctors:" Medical School Admission In The United States, 1900-1970, Andrew Simmons

Open Access Master's Theses

Two perennial problems facing the medical profession in the United States are a lack of diversity among practitioners (both racial and socioeconomic) and physician shortages. Historically, the profession sought to control the number of physicians it produced in the nation’s medical schools while also failing to admit applicants from diverse backgrounds. This study explores the history of medical school admission and how its legacies of discrimination and deliberate restriction of places in medical schools, particularly for women and African Americans, continue to disadvantage promising applicants from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the medical profession. Sources for this study include oral histories, …

Convolutional Neural Networks For Classification Teeg And Eeg, Thao Nguyen Ngoc Pham

Open Access Master's Theses

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a commonly used non-invasive method that acquires voltage of the brain during neural activities by using conventional disc electrodes. However, there are some fundamental limitations associated with EEG such as poor spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), inaccurate data due to overlapping information, and artifact contamination. Also, the EEG software filtering solutions had the potential of distorting EEG data making the results unreliable. The tripolar electroencephalogram (tEEG) records brain signals by using the tripolar concentric ring electrodes (TCRE). Based on the surface Laplacian algorithm, signals recorded from TCRE overcome the limitations of EEG. tEEG has better SNR …

Impacts Of Seasonal Variations On Phytoplankton Growth And Grazing In Narragansett Bay, Andria M. Miller

Open Access Master's Theses

Primary production by phytoplankton is essential to global biogeochemical cycles and is the base of the aquatic food web. One of the major impacts on phytoplankton production in the global ocean is grazing by microzooplankton. While there are well known factors (e.g., light availability, nutrients, and temperature) that impact phytoplankton abundance and distribution, factors that drive microzooplankton grazing pressures are more poorly constrained. Phytoplankton primary production is high in temperate estuaries, and these ecosystems are subject to large seasonal variations in abiotic factors such as temperature and biotic factors such as plankton assemblages, making them an ideal area to study …

Dietary Whey Protein Increases Brain Leukocytes In Mice Regardless Of Their Hypersensitivity Status, Dilini Ekanayake

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) often manifests as milder reactions and may be linked to neurological problems. Previously, we demonstrated that C57BL/6J mice sensitized to a bovine whey allergen, β-lactoglobulin (BLG, Bos d 5), moderately increased BLG-specific IgE levels and exhibited behavioral changes without severe allergic reactions. When these non-anaphylactic CMA mice were placed on a whey-protein (WP)-containing diet for 2 weeks to simulate continuous dairy consumption, we found neuropathology indicative of neuroinflammation and cortical demyelination. Since immune cells migrate to the central nervous system (CNS) and promote neuroinflammation in demyelinating conditions such as multiple sclerosis, we hypothesized that the number …

Investigating The Potential Role Of Akkermansia Muciniphila Supplementation In Neuroinflammation: A Progress Report, Geetika Verma

Biomedical Sciences Posters and Presentations

Gut bacteria are important for proper development and function of the host immune system (1). Recent studies have provided association of altered microbiome in both food allergy and neuropsychiatric disorders (2, 3) indicating potential role of microbiome in regulating Gut-Brain-Axis. Akkermansia muciniphila belongs to the phylum Verrucomicrobia, is a commensal mucin degrading bacterial species (4). A. muciniphila protects the gut barrier by facilitating host mucus production. Since patients with food allergy have increased gut permeability, protection of intestinal barrier by increased mucus production may be beneficial in preventing allergen and pathogen infiltrations, hence, minimizing inflammation. A. muciniphila is well known …

Native Amphibian Toxin Reduces Invasive Crayfish Feeding With Potential Benefits To Stream Biodiversity, Gary M. Bucciarelli, Sierra J. Smith, Justin J. Choe, Phoebe D. Shin, Robert N. Fisher, Lee B. Kats

All Faculty Open Access Publications

Background: Biodiversity is generally reduced when non-native species invade an ecosystem. Invasive crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, populate California freshwater streams, and in the Santa Monica Mountains (Los Angeles, USA), their introduction has led to trophic cascades due to omnivorous feeding behavior and a rapid rate of population growth. The native California newt, Taricha torosa, possesses a neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX), that affects freshwater animal behavior. Given P. clarkii has a limited evolutionary history with TTX, we hypothesized that TTX may affect crayfish feeding behaviors. To determine if TTX affects P. clarkii behavior, we measured cumulative movement and various feeding behaviors of P. …

Climatic Stress Decreases Tick Survival But Increases Rate Of Host-Seeking Behavior, Caleb Nielebeck, Sang Hyo Kim, Antonio Pepe, Lucian Himes, Zachary Miller, Sophia Zummo, Mary Tang, Javier D. Monzón

All Faculty Open Access Publications

Ticks are vectors of many diseases and are expanding in geographic distribution. However, how ticks will fare in their new environments, where they may experience stressful climatic conditions at the expansion front, remains unclear. Since there is a trade-off in ticks between behaviors that promote longevity and behaviors that promote reproduction, we hypothesized that extreme climatic stress reduces the survivorship of ticks but increases the frequency of tick host-seeking behavior, or questing. Here, we used a novel method to simulate climatic stress on individual ticks of three species—Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis—to evaluate their survival, physiology, and questing …

The Mutational Landscape In Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia And Its Impact On Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Outcomes: A Center For Blood And Marrow Transplantation Research (Cibmtr) Analysis, Matthew Mei, Raju Pillai, Soyoung Kim, Noel Estrada-Merly, Michelle Afkhami, Lixin Yang, Zhuo Meng, Muhammad Bilal Abid, Mahmoud Aljurf, Ulrike Bacher, Amer Beitinjaneh, Christopher Bredeson, Jean-Yves Cahn, Jan Cerny, Edward Copelan, Corey Cutler, Zachariah Defilipp, Miguel Angel Diaz Perez, Nosha Farhadfar, César O Freytes, Shahinaz M Gadalla, Siddhartha Ganguly, Robert Peter Gale, Usama Gergis, Michael R Grunwald, Betty K Hamilton, Shahrukh Hashmi, Gerhard C Hildebrandt, Hillard M Lazarus, Mark Litzow, Reinhold Munker, Hemant S Murthy, Sunita Nathan, Taiga Nishihori, Sagar S Patel, David Rizzieri, Sachiko Seo, Mithun Vinod Shah, Melhem Solh, Leo F Verdonck, Ravi Vij, Ronald M Sobecks, Betul Oran, Bart L Scott, Wael Saber, Ryotaro Nakamura

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Somatic mutations are recognized as an important prognostic factor in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). However, limited data are available regarding their impact on outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). In this registry analysis conducted in collaboration with the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry database/sample repository, we identified 313 adult patients with CMML (median age: 64 years, range, 28- 77) who underwent allogeneic HCT during 2001-2017 and had an available biospecimen in the form of a peripheral blood sample obtained prior to the start of conditioning. In multivariate analysis, a CMML-specific prognostic scoring system (CPSS) score of …

Catalog 2023-2024, University Of North Florida

UNF Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Local-Level Maternal And Infant Health: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of The Relationship Between Social Determinants Of Health, Maternal And Infant Health Outcomes, And Public Health Programs In Florida, Jacquelyn Reiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Current data highlight significant disparities in infant and maternal health (IMH) outcomes both when comparing outcomes to other countries and between groups within the U.S. Previous studies indicate that disparities in health outcomes are caused by health inequities. Health inequities are a result of marginalized groups historically being denied resources and exposed to increased risk directly impacting health. These resources and risks are considered social determinants of health (SDoH), such as income, housing, transportation, and access to care. Although SDoH influence individuals across multiple levels of society, communities are sites where individuals directly access protective resources and are potentially exposed …

Inequitable By Design: The Patent Culture, Law, And Politics Behind Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access, Ximena Benavides

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

COVID-19 vaccine access has been highly inequitable worldwide, with coverage depending largely on a country’s wealth. By the end of 2021, 64.1% of people living in high-income countries had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to only 5.4% of those in low-income countries. Similarly, only high- and upper-middle-income countries had received the most effective vaccines.

The uneven distribution of these lifesaving vaccines is made complex due to the convergence of several factors, but it suggests that the extraordinary expanding and ossifying market and political power of a few vaccine manufacturers founded on intellectual property and complementary policies …

The Relationship Between Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder And Criminal Responsibility, Taylor A. Chille

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

This original contribution to practice explores the significance of schizophrenia spectrum disorder, one of the most severe psychiatric disorders recognized in the DSM-5. This condition affects over 50 million people worldwide and is amongst one of the most common psychiatric illnesses diagnosed in criminal responsibility evaluations to date. Nonetheless, there is limited comprehensive literature specifically examining the relationship between schizophrenia and the insanity defense. Information provided in this literature review aims to fill that gap and act as a resource for clinical forensic practitioners who may encounter related cases. Specifically, this document will begin by introducing schizophrenia spectrum disorder and …

Group Ideation Treatment (Grit)-A Group Approach To The Treatment Of Suicidal Ideation And Relapse Into A Maladaptive Coping Skill, Hogan J. Gagle

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Suicidal ideation is experienced across both acute presentations and chronic conditions of suicidality. For some, the ideation may be the only symptom that is present while others who have undergone treatment for suicidality may find a relapse into suicidal ideation. With the prevalence and potential relapse back to this maladaptive coping skill, the development of an intervention is needed that directly targets this case presentation. Ideation acts just as any other maladaptive coping skill, and just as with those, there is support for the use of group intervention. The individual’s family or friends may become apprehensive towards being supportive if …

A Clinician-Created Art And Activity Workbook For Children And Adolescents Used During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Gabriella R. Martin

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

The Covid-19 Pandemic provided a unique need for telepsychology services. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach applicable to a variety of populations and referral concerns, applicable both for in-person or telehealth settings. In the literature review presented here, the development and use of CBT as well as the advantages, challenges, and considerations of teletherapy with children and adolescents is examined. After, a proposed supplemental intervention material is explored: an adaptable art and activity workbook for children and adolescents that is rooted in CBT. Designed for use during telehealth sessions, but adaptable for in-person sessions as well, this workbook …

Child Pain Matters: A Training Protocol For General Nursing Staff In An Infusion Center On Procedural Anxiety In Pediatric Patients With Crohn's Disease And Ulcerative Colitis., Mera El Ramahi

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Procedural anxiety is a broad concept that encompasses fear, distress, and pain. Anxiety is the most critical factor affecting pain perception. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that early pain might have long-term consequences. There is also research evidence that has linked inadequately managed pain in the pediatric population to negative behavioral and physiological consequences later in life. Pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. These chronic conditions often require multiple and repeated medical procedures that may cause pediatric patients to experience procedural anxiety. Needle related procedures are any procedures involving …

Dermatoses Of The Breast During Lactation, Divya Shan, Sindhuja Koppu, Valerie Coleman, Gauri Gulati, Kimberly Salkey

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

Out Of This World Innovations - But At What Cost? Innovations In Synthetic Biology Disrupt Billion-Dollar Industries, Maggie Wills

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Dermatologic Manifestations Of Rheumatic Disease: Malignant Cutaneous Tumors, Divya Shan, Julianna S. Kang, Allison Cinats, Julia R. Nunley, Beth Rubinstein

Open and Affordable Course Content at VCU

No abstract provided.

2023 Faculty Accomplishments Reception, University Of Richmond

Faculty Accomplishments Reception Programs

Program for the 2023 Faculty Accomplishments Reception In Honor of University of Richmond Faculty Contributions to Scholarship, Research and Creative Work, January 2022 - December 2022.

March 1, 2023, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. Boatwright Memorial Library.

Do Sleeper Cells Hold The Key To Immortality? Senescent Cells In Cancer And Aging, Kristin Aldridge

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Have We Found The Key To Sustainable Farming? Microbial Communities And Crops, Michael E. Harvey

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

It’S A Rat! It’S A Kangaroo! It… Smells? Musky Rat-Kangaroo Populations In Northeastern Queensland, Caroline Lee, Clay Ritter, Kristine Shaw

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.