Digital Commons Network^™

Does Exercise Reduce Mind Wandering: The Role Of Mood And Exercise Frequency, Divya Mittal, Mahati Dharanikota, Carlos Riveria-Vasquez

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Chronic exercise provides various physical health benefits (Penedo & Dahn, 2005) but also results in a variety of benefits to cognitive functioning including improving working memory (Padilla, Perez, & Andres, 2014) and attention (de Sousa et al., 2019). Exercise also releases various endorphin hormones that contribute to increased positive mood (Rokade, 2011). However, less is known about how chronic exercise influences frequency of mind wandering. Mind wandering, defined as experiencing an off-task thought, has been linked to mood such that negative mood predicts higher rates of mind wandering (Smallwood & O’Connor, 2011). The current study examined the relationship between exercise …

Effect Of Methylphenidate On Alzheimer's And Dementia, Smrithi Mukund, Priyanka Prasanna, Aishwarya Muppoor, Maheen Khan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is a neurogenerative disorder that causes impairments in cognitive abilities, behavior, and personality. AD is distinguished by extracellular plaques containing beta-amyloid proteins and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing hyperphosphorylated tau proteins. Current FDA-approved drugs for AD have questionable efficacy and carry potential risks. Methylphenidate (Ritalin), a stimulant drug currently used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, has been used off-label to treat AD patients, primarily for relieving the symptom of apathy. While our literature review suggests that relatively short-term (< 6 weeks) use in patients with AD and related diseases is safe and effective in clinical trials, little is known about the longer-term effects of the drug in this population. More work is needed, as there is also a paucity of animal research investigating chronic effects of methylphenidate in rodent models of AD and related disorders. Findings from animal studies in wild-type rodents on chronic use of methylphenidate, as well as cell culture studies, have reported adverse effects of methylphenidate, including increases in neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, neurodegeneration, vascular impairments (e.g. blood brain barrier dysfunction), and altered cognitive-behavioral performance. While the clinical significance of methylphenidate treatment in AD patients may be unclear, studies over longer periods of time including testing on animal models will help us understand how methylphenidate treatment can affect our brain activity in the long term and how it can be administered more safely and effectively.

Effects Of Altered Tpp-1 Expression In Human Neural Progenitor Cells, Nitisha Gajavalli, Julia Langman

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Batten’s Disease or neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2) is a pediatric autosomal recessive, neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder due to a deficit of the lysosomal protease tripeptidyl peptidase (TPP-1). The lack of TPP-1 leads to an accumulation of lysosomal waste and cell death. The disease is characterized by language delays, seizures, cognitive and motor decline, blindness, as well as early death. Currently, a clinical trial of the experimental treatment Brineura® (Cerilponase Alfa) is the only approved treatment for CLN2. The clinical trial involves infusion of human recombinant TPP-1 (rhTPP-1) into the ventricles of the brain. Diffusion models suggest the protein …

Effects On High Fat And Ketogenic Diet On Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Pathology In Male And Female Mice, Nitish Dundigalla, Shalet James, Iliana Uribe, Zachary Lawrence, Ariana Hernandez, Blanche Tamiya, Eleanor Wind

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition where excess fat builds up in the liver, affecting 25% of Americans. Interestingly, NAFLD is associated with neurological symptoms, including anxiety, depression, cognitive dysfunction/dementia. Given the high rates of these diseases, understanding risk and protective factors for NAFLD is crucial. Individuals with obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and related conditions are prone to NAFLD. While consumption of high fat/Western diet increases risk, there is evidence to suggest that ketogenic diet, which is high in fat but low in carbohydrates, may protect against NAFLD. Biological sex may influence NAFLD, but the evidence is conflicting …

Impacts Of Social Enrichment On Shelter Operations And Canine Welfare, Julia Capirano, Apoorva Bommanaveni, Robyn Hugh Sam, Emily Jiron, Raquel Walton

Undergraduate Student Symposium

~2,000,000 dogs are adopted from shelters each year; many have long and stressful residencies and ~10% are returned after adoptions for behavioral or other complications. Social enrichment programs aim to reduce shelter residencies and improve adoption placement success by providing stress-reducing social enrichment to resident animals. In this study, we test whether these programs measurably impact stress biomarkers in dogs, and whether they result in more rapid or successful adoption outcomes. We will use public data from Broward County Shelter (including the focal dogs’ in-shelter enrichment regimes), to test our hypothesis that enrichment expedites adoption and/or increases the likelihood of …

Implications Of Covid-19 In Global Anatomy And Physiology Education: A Comprehensive Analysis, Sneh Patel, Sean Mahajan

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Owing to the Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the higher education sector worldwide saw a significant disruption in several disciplines – especially the ones in STEM and healthcare sciences that require active, experiential learning via practical application of concepts centering around Anatomy and Physiology. Dynamic instructional and technological interventions took place rapidly in an effort to minimize the adverse repercussions of moving away from traditional means of education in these critical scientific fields. COVID-19 necessitated administrators, faculty, students, and interns at colleges, universities, medical/healthcare science programs and residencies to pursue teaching, learning, and assessment of Anatomy and Physiology courses/curricula through …

Investigating Structural Alterations In Antagonistic Peptides For The Development Of Orally Bioavailable Pcsk9 Inhibitors, Pritika Vemulapalli, Bhavya Soni

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal genetic disease that causes elevated blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). One of the leading causes of FH is gain-of-function mutations in the gene coding for proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9). The PCSK9 protein binds to LDL receptors (LDLR) on the surface of hepatocytes and promotes their degradation, preventing the recycling of LDLRs and thus increasing LDL blood levels. Monoclonal antibody therapies that bind to PCSK9 inhibiting LDLR binding are currently only available as an injection. However, several orally bioavailable PCSK9 inhibitors have been formulated and are undergoing clinical trials. One such therapy …

Postpartum Depression: The Effects Of Misdiagnosis On Maternal And Infant Health, Karen Jurando-Lopez, Shreya Madhudi, Niral Paveen

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Postpartum depression is a psychiatric disorder that has been recognized since 460 B.C., thousands of years before it was officially classified in 1926. Although awareness of postpartum depression, its signs, and treatment of women affected by the disorder has been increasing throughout the century, around 66% of postpartum depression cases are often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Postpartum depression negatively impacts the development of mothers and optimal development of a child as it fosters an unhealthy environment. Detecting postpartum depression at an early stage, such as the postnatal period, allows for it to be treated as soon as possible to minimize the …

Sex-Specific Effects Of High-Fat And Ketogenic Diets On Cognition And Hippocampal Neurogenesis In C57b16/J Mice, Shalet James, Zachary Lawrence, Iliana Uribe, Ariana Hernandez, Eleanor Wind, Blanche Tamiya, Victoria Pulido-Correa, Natalia Noto, Yazmin Restropo

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Poor diet and metabolic diseases (obesity, Type 2 diabetes), are associated with increased risk of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression. Previous studies suggest that high-fat diet results in sex-specific effects in mice, including adult hippocampal neurogenesis, neuroinflammation, and performance on cognitive-behavioral tasks. The ketogenic diet, a popular weight loss regimen, is characterized by a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet. Under carbohydrate restriction, the body enters ketosis, producing ketones bodies as a source of energy. While the ketogenic diet is very high in fat content, it may also possess neuroprotective properties against brain aging and neurodegenerative …

Synthesis Of Antimicrobial Polymers Via Raft Polymerization, Naga Ganti, Saipranavi Reddy Kethireddy, Rehan Contractor, David Kurian

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Antimicrobial polymers are important in the field of medicine as they are able to kill bacteria and reduce bioburden by mechanisms that differ from traditional antibiotics. Due to their different mechanism of action, antimicrobial resistance is less likely to occur, and many antimicrobial polymers show great biocompatibility with eukaryotic cells, reducing potential side effects. Most antimicrobial polymers are inspired by naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides which typically contain nitrogen cations that can break up the negatively charged cell wall of bacteria, ultimately leading to cell death. The main purpose of this study is to synthesize several different antimicrobial monomers that are …

The Impact Of Playing Music In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Amaya Allen, Angela Razo

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at increased risk for developmental delays, anxiety, and stress. Additionally, parents and caregivers are susceptible to an increased risk for trauma due to the hospital admission. This occurs secondary to the medical environment, including negative medical touch and unnatural motoric and sensory stimulation to the developing brain. The purpose of this scoping review of the literature, is to determine if music therapy in the NICU decreases stress and trauma.

A scoping review will be completed of peer reviewed articles assessing the impact of music therapy on infants in the NICU and …

Locomotor Biomechanics In Stream Gobies, Rhinogobius Sp.: Functional Performance Of Waterfall-Climbing Behavior, Ernest W. Murphy

Student Scholar Showcase

Gobiidae is the taxonomic classification of a large fish family comprising over 2,000 species. A few goby species have the unique ability of scaling waterfalls using pelvic fins that are fused into a suction disc (pelvic sucker) located on the ventral side of the body, aiding them in upstream migration to freshwater feeding and reproduction locations. This study aimed to investigate the locomotor biomechanics of Rhinogobius goby fish due to the lack of literature in the area. In particular, climbing performance variables (pressure differential, force, endurance, and kinematics of attachment), pelvic sucker fatigability, and ontogenetic patterns of physical development and …

Pass The Salt: Problem-Resolution Lawyering Across The Twenty-First Century Law Curriculum, Kris Franklin, F. Peter Phillips

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Attorneys work with clients to resolve problems. Legal education can help prepare law graduates to do that work. As an added bonus, doing so would in turn help law students understand and retain the subjects they study. Law professors who teach alternative dispute resolution, lawyering skills, clinics, and sometimes traditional doctrinal courses, have all called for greater inclusion of dispute resolution in the law school curriculum. Some have urged the introduction of specific courses to prepare contemporary law students to work as problem resolvers. This Article builds on these and other calls for reform, but urges a genuine reconceptualization of …

The Application Of Virtual Reality Scenarios Coupled With Education And Recognition Of Soul Injury Can Promote Pathways Of Care For Healthcare Workers And The Public Affected By The Present Covid-19 Pandemic And Subsequent Variants., Jamie Anne Marcus

FDLA Journal

Historical learning from the 1918 Pandemic assists with grasping and focus of the present one. Engaging multi-disciplinary healthcare students in virtual reality scenarios with visual inclusion of Soul Injury staging will promote new pathways of care for healthcare workers, families, and the public affected by the present Pandemic. Virtual reality scenario simulation success is supported by social presence, social learning, and media richness theories. The Covid-19 and variant Pandemics effects include, insurmountable loss of life, loss of economic stability, loss of normal lifestyle, family function, and culture. Therefore, development of The Soul-Injury-Pathway-of-Care for patients, ancillary healthcare workers, families, and the …

Suffolk Journal, Vol.86, No. 16, 4/5/2023, Suffolk Journal

Suffolk Journal

No abstract provided.

Max Lucado Papers, (1965-2016), Max Lucado

Center for Restoration Studies Archives, Manuscripts and Personal Papers Finding Aids

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Gamma Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (Tacs) On Cognitive And Memory Processes In Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment Or Alzheimer’S Disease: A Literature Review, N.R. Nissim, D.V.H. Pham, T. Poddar, E. Blutt, R.H. Hamilton

Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Papers

BACKGROUND: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)-a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that modulates cortical oscillations through entrainment-has been demonstrated to alter oscillatory activity and enhance cognition in healthy adults. TACS is being explored as a tool to improve cognition and memory in patient populations with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

OBJECTIVE: To review the growing body of literature and current findings obtained from the application of tACS in patients with MCI or AD, highlighting the effects of gamma tACS on brain function, memory, and cognition. Evidence on the use of brain stimulation in animal models of AD is …

The Parthenon, April 5, 2023, Evan Green, Conner Woodruff, Matt Schaffer, Chayce Matheny, Victoria Ware, Shauntelle Thompson, Rafael Alfonso, Scott Price

The Parthenon

No abstract provided.

What's In A Name? The Politics Of Commemoration From The Un-Naming Of The Alexander Graham Bell Dorm At Rit To The Samuel Schmucker Controversy At Wcu, Brent Ruswick

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor Brent Ruswick, History - What's in a Name? The Politics of Commemoration from the un-naming of the Alexander Graham Bell dorm at RIT to the Samuel Schmucker controversy at WCU

Species Survival Or The “3s Method”? How The Endangered Species Act Disincentivizes Landowner Cooperation And Threatens The Species It Supposedly Saves, William Edward Mahaffy

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) places restrictions on landowners when their property harbors endangered species. Though well-intentioned as a method of promoting species recovery, these restrictions actually have the reverse effect. Instead of accepting ESA regulations, landowners secretly eliminate endangered species from their property in what is colloquially known as “shoot, shovel, and shut up.” Collaboration between landowners and agencies is essential for species preservation. This Article illustrates the collaboration options, some within the limits of the ESA and others requiring its reform. The four options analyzed are (1) landowner peer review of species listing procedures, (2) congressional clarification of …

Application Of A Novel Lytic Jerseyvirus Phage Lpsent1 For The Biological Control Of The Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Enteritidis In Foods, Rashad R. Al-Hindi, Mona G. Alharbi, Ibrahim Alotibi, Sheren A. Azhari, Khloud M. Algothmi, Ahmed Esmael

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Non-typhoidal Salmonella is the tremendously predominant source of acquired foodborne infection in humans, causing salmonellosis which is a global threat to the healthcare system. This threat is even worse when it is combined with the incidence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains. Bacteriophage therapy has been proposed as a promising potential candidate to control a diversity of foodborne infective bacteria. The objective of this study designed to isolate and characterize lytic phages infecting zoonotic multi-drug resistant and strong biofilm producer Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis EG.SmE1 and then apply the isolated phage/s as a biocontrol agent against infections in ready-to-eat food articles including …

The Rise Of Agenda Diversity In America: Its Cause And Consequences, John K. Wagner

Political Science ETDs

More than ever, Americans disagree on what issues are important. This diversity in the public agenda has received scant attention in recent years. Consequently, our understanding of why agenda diversity developed relies on a single analysis method, and we know next to nothing about the consequences for the American polity. Using a novel approach to measuring agenda diversity and an advanced experimental design, this dissertation demonstrates the causal connection between issue-based selective exposure to news and higher agenda diversity. Concerning its consequences, this work investigates congressional responsiveness. Results from a complex analysis of constituency public opinion, Congress bill sponsorship, and …

The Application Of Microbial Source Tracking To Aid In Site Prioritization For Remediation In Lower Michigan, John J. Hart

Masters Theses

Non-point source fecal pollution is a threat to both the environment and public health. Climate change, aging infrastructure, and intensified agricultural practices are predicted to accentuate this issue. In Michigan, due to the high instance of aging infrastructure and intensified agriculture, non-point source fecal pollution has caused many waterbodies to exceed the state standards posing a risk to recreational activities and source water. Due to this threat, there is an increased effort to identify and remediate these sources. My study focused on improving the identification of non-point source fecal pollution through a combination of culture-based and molecular fecal indicator bacteria …

Reproductive Success Of Jack And Full-Size Males In A Wild Coho Salmon Population, Erika M. King, David Tallmon, Scott C. Vulstek, Joshua R. Russell, Megan V. Mcphee

Faculty, Staff, and Students

Despite the wealth of research on Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. life histories there is limited understanding of the lifetime reproductive success of males that spend less time at sea and mature at a smaller size (jacks) than full-size males. Over half of returning male spawners can be jacks in some populations, so it is crucial to understand their contribution to population productivity. We quantified adult-to-adult reproductive success (RS) of jacks and their relative reproductive success (RRS) compared to full-size males in a wild population of coho salmon in the Auke Creek watershed, Juneau, Alaska. We used genetic data from nearly …

Evaluation Of Reproductive Phenology, Space Use, And Ecology Of The Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris) In West-Central Louisiana, Chad Argabright

LSU Master's Theses

Nest site selection is a driving demographic force behind eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) populations. However, previous research was likely not focused on the actual time of nest site selection, considering that nest site selection is likely only able to occur on the day of the first egg being laid. My objective was to determine if selection for any vegetation characteristics was occurring on the first day of laying. I estimated the path taken from the roost to the nest on the first day of egg laying (i.e., laying path) using GPS data collected from 164 unique …

Effects Of Stereotypes On Black Women Audiences, Darian M. Shorts

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on the effects that televised racial stereotypes have on the self-perception of viewers who identify as Black women. This paper lists three commonly used stereotypes for Black women in television and provides detailed background and analysis of each. There were three goals that I wanted to achieve with this study. The first goal of this study was to measure the amount of stereotyped entertainment these specific viewers consume. The second goal of this study was to understand the positive and negative effects that racial stereotypes have on Black women. The last goal of this study was to …

20-Year Assessment Of Total Suspended Sediment (Tss) Variability In Barataria Bay From Modis Ocean Color Using A Combination Of Adaptive Semi-Analytical And Neural Network Algorithms, Bijaylaxmi Sahoo

LSU Master's Theses

Barataria Bay, a hydrologically dynamic basin in the northern Gulf of Mexico, exhibits a distinct spatio-temporal distribution of total suspended sediment (TSS). However, studies on sediment distribution are limited by availability of in-situ data as well as the limitation of ocean color algorithms for suspended sediments in shallow optically complex waters. Barataria Bay TSS concentration profile is complex, influenced in the upper basin by fresh water sources such as the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion, and in the lower bay by the river plume and marine influence near the mouth of the bay. To efficiently study the sediment dynamics in the …

The Influence Of Native Language And Sentence Form On Memory Of Motion Events, Stephanie L. Lopez

LSU Master's Theses

This study utilized four experiments to investigate the extent to which native language influences memory in accordance with linguistic relativity. In Experiment 1, monolingual English speakers and Spanish/English bilinguals were divided into a verbal encoding condition and a verbal suppression encoding condition and watched motion events of low or high physical salience. Participants engaged in a recognition memory task followed by an event memory similarity judgment task. In Experiment 2, native monolingual English speakers were divided into an English-like (or manner-on-verb) description group, a Spanish-like (or path-on-verb) description group, mimicking the language groups of Experiment 1 respectively, and a verbal …

Cannabis Use Across The Menstrual Cycle: The Impact Of Negative Affect And Coping Motives, Paige Morris

LSU Master's Theses

Women appear to use more cannabis during the premenstrual and menstrual phases of the menstrual cycle, presumably because women use cannabis to manage increases in negative affect associated with these phases. Yet little work has tested this hypothesis or examined individual difference variables associated with greater coping-motivated cannabis use. The current study tested whether state negative affect interacts with coping motives to predict greater cannabis use during the premenstrual and/or menstrual phases and whether trait anxiety or difficulties with emotion regulation moderate these relations. Female undergraduate students with regular monthly menstrual cycles and who were not using hormonal contraceptives ( …

The 5 Rs Of Environmentally Conscious Research, Nicholas Gosling

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.