Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating Targets And Therapeutics For The Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer, Shelby M. Knoche

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer has a dismally low survival rate, due to inadequate understanding of the processes that are involved in disease development and progression. Despite the identification of oncogenic drivers such as KRAS and p53, there is a need for the identification of molecular targets to improve and develop novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Studies from our laboratory have identified and evaluated targets and therapeutic approaches that can aid in our understanding of pancreatic cancer disease progression and improve patient outcomes. Through the use of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands (EGF and TGF-α) and small molecule …

1-Check Unmc Mobile App Usage: A Quantitative Analysis Of The Data, Molly Pofahl

Theses & Dissertations

As COVID-19 cases continued to rise in Nebraska, universities and colleges were faced with unique challenges in the effort to continue providing quality education for students. The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) took on especially difficult challenges due to its status as an academic medical center. By the Fall of 2021, students, faculty, and staff were beginning to return to campus. The 1-Check UNMC app was created to help keep sick people from coming to campus. The UNMC community was expected to screen themselves for COVID-19 using this app each day before coming to campus. This thesis is an …

Novel Molecular Mechanisms Of C-Terminal Eps15 Homology Domain (Ehd) Proteins In Endocytic Trafficking And Primary Ciliogenesis, Tyler M. Jones

Theses & Dissertations

Endocytic membrane trafficking is a key cellular process that is critical for regulating the transport of internalized cargoes such as lipids and receptors. Our lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms and cellular functions of the proteins that regulate this pathway. One family of proteins that has seen significant interest over recent years is the C-terminal Eps15 Homology Domain (EHD) family of proteins. Mammalians have four EHD paralogs (EHD1-4) that are expressed ubiquitously in tissues. These proteins have distinct yet overlapping functions in regulating endocytic pathways. EHD1 has been shown to induce constriction and is recruited to induce fission of tubular …

Teachering Protective Skills To Address Risk Factors Associated With Emerging Problem Behavior, Javid A. Rahaman

Theses & Dissertations

A common approach to prevention aims to proactively teach skills suited to specific situations commonly correlated with emerging problem behavior. However, an alternative approach may teach skills that generalize to various situations found to influence problem behavior (protective effect). The current study aimed to extend previous prevention programs by evaluating the efficacy of an approach to teach skills and evaluate protective effects that address challenging situations associated with emerging problem behavior. Teaching and protective effects were assessed with 4 children using a multiple probe design across challenging situations. The results suggest protective skills are needed to address situations that are …

Linking Spinal Cord Circuits With Upper Limb Sensorimotor Control In Adults With Cerebral Palsy, Saihari Dukkipati

Theses & Dissertations

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common neurological disorder originating in childhood, but most of the people living with CP are currently adults. While people with CP continue to get older, the amount of research focused on adults has been rather limited. The early childhood insults leading to CP are thought to originate in the brain, but the effects on the entire neuromuscular system across the lifespan have only recently started to be explored. Of note, recent neuroimaging evidence suggests that the cervical spinal cord structure is atypical in adults with CP. However, it is largely unclear how the neurophysiological …

The Role Of Calprotectin In T-Lymphocyte Driven Inflammation In A Mouse Model Of Psychological Trauma, Cassandra Moshfegh

Theses & Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological disorder that affects nearly 45 million Americans. This mental disorder is characterized by behavioral symptoms such as learned helplessness, hyperarousal, withdrawal, and flashbacks. The deleterious effects of PTSD are far-reaching and go beyond behavioral dysfunction, as these individuals are at a three-fold higher risk of comorbid inflammatory diseases. Autonomic, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases plague these individuals later in their lifetime, however, the mechanistic link connecting psychological trauma to this systemic peripheral immunological dysfunction remains elusive. T-lymphocyte-induced inflammation plays a significant role in all these disease pathologies. Previous work from our laboratory demonstrated …

Establishing A Generalized Qualifying Autoclitic Repertoire In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Todd M. Owen

Theses & Dissertations

Autoclitics are secondary verbal operants that are controlled by a feature of the conditions that evoke a primary verbal operant (e.g., tact, mand). Among the types described by Skinner, qualifying autoclitics extend, negate, or assert a speaker’s primary verbal response and modify the intensity or direction of the listener’s behavior. In the only study to date on teaching qualifying autoclitics, Howard and Rice (1988) established generalized autoclitics that indicated weak stimulus control (e.g., “like a [primary tact]”) with four typically developing preschool children. However, generalization to newly acquired tacts was limited. In Experiment 1, we extended Howard and Rice to …

Erα As A Modulator Of The Sle1b Lupus Susceptibility Locus And B Cell Receptor Signaling, Jared H. Graham

Theses & Dissertations

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by loss of immune tolerance and the production of anti-nuclear autoantibodies. 90% of lupus patients are women, and this sex bias is due to the actions of estrogens, which promote lupus pathogenesis. Our lab has shown that estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) mediates the effect of estrogens in lupus and that ERa acts in a B cell intrinsic manner to promote the development of autoantibodies and SLE. Genetic factors also contribute to lupus. One major lupus susceptibility locus, Sle1, controls loss of tolerance and autoantibody development as well as immune cell …

Genome-Wide Distribution Of Acape1 And Its Implications In Dna Repair And Transcription, Mason Tarpley

Theses & Dissertations

Endogenous DNA damage can occur throughout the genome and is resolved through the Base Excision Repair (BER) pathway. The apurinic/apyrimidinic sites that result from endogenous DNA damage, called AP-sites, are created by DNA glycosylases removing oxidized or modified bases. These AP-sites are primarily repaired by AP endonuclease 1 (APE1) through the BER pathway. Modification of APE1 by acetylation of specific lysine residues in the proteins’ unstructured, N-terminal tail, have been shown to increase the residence time of APE1 (AcAPE1) at the AP-sites. It is unknown where AcAPE1 is binding to chromatin in the genome. Here, we are testing the hypothesis …

Determining The Role Of Mir-133a In The Diabetic Heart, Tyler Kambis

Theses & Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hypoinsulemia, each of which disrupt intracellular mechanisms in the heart. DM is a chronic metabolic disease delineated into two categories: insulin deficient-type 1 DM and insulin resistant-type 2 DM. Although they differ in underlying genetic and physiological factors, both significantly increase the risk of heart failure. Impaired insulin signaling shifts energy dependency from glycolysis towards fatty acid β-oxidation in the DM heart. This DM-induced metabolic shift increases mitochondrial stress leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in the heart. The metabolically entwined ferroptosis is a novel form of myocardial cell death …

Metagenome-Wide Associations And Metabolic Modeling To Predict The Biomarkers For Colorectal Cancer, Nagavardhini Avuthu

Theses & Dissertations

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common malignancy and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. It is a multifactorial disease mediated by genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Over time, the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes results in the activation of oncogenes and deactivation of tumor suppressor genes in the colon and rectal region which finally leads to tumor development. The gut microbiome is the main factor linking the effects of diet and environmental factors to host metabolism. Several studies showed the dysbiosis of gut microbiota in CRC patients with an increased proportion of pathogenic …

Paf1/Pd2 Augments Pancreatic Cancer Progression And Mediates Radiation And Chemoresistance, Sanchita Rauth

Theses & Dissertations

NA

Innate Immunity In The Pathobiology And Treatment Of Infectious And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Mai Mostafa

Theses & Dissertations

Mononuclear phagocytes (MPs; monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells) are the governors of innate immunity which is the body’s first line of defense against microbial pathogens. They act beneficial or detrimental. They are crucial for an effective non-specific immune response to invading pathogens by engulfing, destroying, then eliciting an adaptive specific immune response. Given their pivotal functions in the host immune defense, studying MP immune responses in disease is paramount important for understanding disease pathobiology and uncovering therapeutic strategies.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the driver of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) amongst …

Use Of Machine Learning Algorithms And Highly Multiplexed Immunohistochemistry To Perform In-Depth Characterization Of Primary Pancreatic Tumors And Metastatic Sites, Krysten Vance

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer is currently the third leading cause of cancer death and projected to be the second by 2030. Metastatic pancreatic cancer, the most common form of the disease, has a dismal 3% five-year survival rate. However, understanding of the metastatic disease and particularly the metastatic tumor microenvironment (TME), which includes all non-cancerous cells in and around the tumor, has remained limited. The well-documented impact of the TME on cancer cell proliferation, chemoresistance, and patient survival in the primary tumors, indicates that the study of the microenvironment in metastatic cancer is integral to treating advanced patients. To better comprehend this …

Macromolecular Fluorescent Conjugates For Bioimaging Applications, Paul Lovell

Theses & Dissertations

Bioimaging tools enable the visualization of small anatomical features as well as structures that may be obscured by other tissue. One such group of tools are fluorescent probes, molecules that emit detectable signals when stimulated by an excitation source. Incorporating fluorescent conjugates for clinical purposes would enable direct usage for the diagnosis, detection, or treatment of diseases. The development of specific targeting agents is feasible due to the number of nanomaterials and biological products that contain fluorophores. Specific targeting agents can target a particular region of interest, such as a cancerous tumor for removal or vital nerve structure for avoidance …

Polymeric Nanocarriers For Delivery Of Small Molecules Inhibiting Tubulin Polymerization For The Treatment Of Pancreatic Cancer And Lung Metastatic Melanoma, Rajan Sharma Bhattarai

Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to develop delivery systems for the novel small molecules which inhibit tubulin polymerization. One of the small molecules was modified to lipid conjugate to increase the lipophilicity of the molecules which in turn drastically improved the drug loading in amphiphilic polymeric system. The second molecule was conjugated to the amphiphilic polymeric backbone with pH sensitive Schiff’s linker for the tumor site specific delivery in lung metastatic melanoma model.

Chapter 1 discusses the tumor microenvironment for the solid tumor especially focusing on Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Further the drug delivery system currently researched for addressing …

Gender Nonconformity In Mexico: A Study Of Community And Isolation In Carmín Tropical, Maddox Arnold

Honors College Theses

As media representation of minority communities becomes more common, it is important to consider how such representation reflects the real-life experience of the communities in question. Rigoberto Pérezcano’s 2014 film Carmín Tropical offers a clear view of the gender nonconforming experience in Mexico. Although Mexico remains one of the deadliest countries for transgender people, over the last decade many states have introduced legislation to advance the rights of the transgender and gender nonconforming community. This places Mexico in a unique position as the country finds itself balancing between violence and progress. Carmín Tropical tells the story of Mabel, a muxe …

Evidence Of Areca Nut Consumption In The United States Mainland: A Cross‑Sectional Study, Irene Tami‑Maury, Suzanne Nethan, Jessy Feng, Hongyu Miao, George Delclos, Ravi Mehrotra

School of Medicine Publications

Background

Areca nut (AN) is an addictive substance consumed in the Southeast region and is highly associated with oral premalignant lesions and oral cancer. The impact of AN use in the United States (US) is largely unknown, but the products are readily available and probably used by a significant fraction of Asian immigrants or descendants living in the US. We aimed at assessing AN use prevalence among the Asian community in Houston, Texas.

Methods

A cross-sectional questionnaire was used to interview adult individuals (≥ 18 years of age) who self-identified as Asian immigrants or descendants residing in Houston. Means, frequencies, …

Food Insecurity Among Niu College Students, Hannah Schaumberg

Student Projects

Many people with certain privileges never notice them, because they are so fixated on the hasty generalizations of what is seen on the surface rather than the interior aspects. For many students, understanding and recognizing privileges is the main concept to understanding their surroundings. The concept of reflecting on their interactions and knowledge of food insecurity will be curasol among communities. By researching the concepts of food insecurities among NIU students, we can bring awareness of the topic within society. The focus is to understand which intersectional groups are affected by food insecurity and to bring awareness of the subject …

Ms. Kathy Hobbs

African American Funeral Programs

Ms_Kathy_Hobbs.pdf - Funeral program for Ms. Kathy Hobbs

2022-May-07-Pomp And Circumstance, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – (May 7, 2022) East Tennessee State University conferred degrees to more than 2,000 graduates today during Commencement Exercises at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Michael Ainslie, venture investor and philanthropist and an East Tennessee native, delivered the keynote address during the 10 a.m. event.

“I want to challenge you to think differently about adversity,” Ainslie said to the graduates. “You will face it. Your first job may suck. You may run out of money and feel broke. You may already be there. You will have personal relationships that hit the skids. You may face a medical crisis. …

Novel Mobility Device For Conjoined Twins, Allyson Bowgren

Honors Capstones

This project provides a solution to a problem proposed by a pair of conjoined clients. With their desire to become fully independent, the clients need an improved mobility device. Being joined at the head, moving around was always difficult for them and their situation did not get any better after an accident left one of them immobile. Their current device was a decent and quick solution at the time it was first needed. However, since its conception the device quickly became obsolete, and they are now in need of a more effective device that allows them to travel easier. This …

Nitro-Aromatic Polymers For Conversion-Style Battery Cathodic Materials, Brady P. Samuelson

Honors Thesis

The development of organic electrode materials in rechargeable batteries has seen a resurgence in recent decades. This spike in interest is mostly due to the increased investments in renewable energy sources, grid-scale energy storage, and the rapid transition to electric vehicles. Current lithium battery cathode materials typically use some form of lithium metal oxide (specific capacity: 272 mAh g^-1 which has problems with limited capacity, thermal runaway, and an unreliable supply chain. Our research group’s solution involves investigating new lightweight, organic redox groups combined with a conductive polymer backbone to serve as a possible replacement for the cathode in …

Cobb Challenges Graduates To 'Dream As Big As You Want', Edwin B. Smith

University of Mississippi News

University confers degrees to more than 5,000 at 169th Commencement

Synthesis And Transition Metal-Catalyzed Coupling Of A-Chloro-B-Lactones, Tyler Lynn

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Astrocytic Contribution To Sensory Hypersensitivity In A Mouse Model Of Fragile X Syndrome, Lara E. Bergdolt

Theses & Dissertations

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability and a leading cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). FXS is caused by mutations in the fragile X mental retardation gene (FMR1), which result in complete or substantial loss of expression of its protein product fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Neuronal impairments in the absence of FMRP have been extensively characterized. However, much less is known about the impact that loss of FMRP has on the physiology and function of astrocytes and the implications for behavior. A common behavior exhibited by both FXS and ASD patients …

Influence Of Stocks Intrinsic Valuation On Investment Decision Making: A Literature Review, Maxwell Okpoti Mensah, Williams Kwasi Peprah, Adu Bismark Qwusu-Selyere, Mensah Morris Ayaa, Bamfo Daniel

Faculty Publications

All over the world, investment decisions are regarded as critical decisions. Investors prior to the investment decision would like to know the possible risk and returns associated with the kind of investment to be undertaken. Investors make an excellent investment decision based on facts and figures. Since an investor cannot just by looking at a stock say whether it is overvalued, undervalued or at a fair value. This study is based on a literature review determining the intrinsic value of a stock using the Discounted Cash Flow model, with a particular emphasis on the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and …

Magma Production Beneath Subduction Zones: Using Numerical Models To Evaluate Melt Production Under Batch And Fractional Melting Conditions, Francesca Burkett

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Reforming The United States’ Currency Production, William Cather

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Since the 1980s, the debate about the one-cent piece’s production and use has been discussed throughout relatively recent Congressional history; and has involved economic, financial, industry-based, as well as numismatic groups to weigh in on the topic. The question arises: Why have other countries successfully changed their lower-denomination currency and converted their economic system into one that incorporates cash-rounding while the United States has struggled to do so?

By observing international examples of the obsoletion of low-denomination coinage and the implementation of cash-rounding, the proposed economic and financial reform has proved to work as an economically-sound alternative to the current …

Ddx173.1 User Centered Design: Ux Report Presentation Example 1, Sae University College

Exemplars

UX Report for a public transit agency app.

The UX Report delineates the goals and deliverables for a mobile-responsive website. It provides a summary of the findings of a user experience study conducted using the Design Thinking Framework. The report accurately reflects the needs of the intended audience.