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2025

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Articles 91 - 99 of 99

Full-Text Articles in Pharmacology

Impact Of Tetrahydrocannabinol (Thc) On Daphnia Magna Heart Rate, Ashley Cosgrave Jan 2025

Impact Of Tetrahydrocannabinol (Thc) On Daphnia Magna Heart Rate, Ashley Cosgrave

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Marijuana (Cannabis) is currently federally illegal within the United States and classified as a Schedule I drug. This leaves a large research gap on the impacts of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) use. Daphnia magna are frequently used as a model organism for the human heart and toxicology screenings due to their myogenic heart, similarities in physiological pathways, and sensitivity to toxins. As such, in order to bridge the research gap and uncover potential use of Daphnia magna as a model organism for humans in regard to impact on heart rate, we hypothesized that if Daphnia magna possess CB1 receptors or an equivalent …


Biodistribution And Method Validation Of Xylazine In A Mouse Model Using Liquid-Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry, Julia E. Perschbacher Jan 2025

Biodistribution And Method Validation Of Xylazine In A Mouse Model Using Liquid-Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry, Julia E. Perschbacher

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Xylazine is a nonopioid veterinary sedative and an α2 adrenergic receptor agonist. It emerged in the opioid epidemic as an adulterant of illicit fentanyl. As xylazine becomes more involved in fatal overdoses, it is relevant to elucidate its biodistribution post-exposure due to its exacerbation of adverse events, namely respiratory depression, as xylazine’s contributions to existing adverse effects of synthetic opioids is understudied. A bioanalytical method to quantify xylazine and select metabolites in tissue using LC-QToF was validated and applied to a preclinical mouse model in order to characterize xylazine’s biodistribution in whole blood and six tissues at a dose known …


Tick Responses To Diverse Chemical Attractants To Enhance Tick Surveillance Methods' Efficacy, Pamela Kelman, Tyler Chavers, Emily Owens Pickle, Daniel Sonenshine, Melissa S. Nolan, Holly Gaff Jan 2025

Tick Responses To Diverse Chemical Attractants To Enhance Tick Surveillance Methods' Efficacy, Pamela Kelman, Tyler Chavers, Emily Owens Pickle, Daniel Sonenshine, Melissa S. Nolan, Holly Gaff

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Amblyomma maculatum Koch (Acari: Ixodidae), Ixodes scapularis Say, and Dermacentor variabilis Say are three hard-bodied ticks responsible for vectoring pathogens that cause most human tick-borne diseases in the United States of America (USA). Tick surveillance is critical to elucidate high-risk areas for targeted vector control and public health interventions. Despite tick-borne diseases having a higher annual incidence compared to mosquito-borne diseases in the USA, tick traps used for surveillance are grossly under-developed compared to the suite of sophisticated mosquito traps available on the commercial market. This study sought to identify potential prospective tick trap improvements by evaluating the relative attraction …


Unleashing Serine Palmitoyltransferase In Test Tubes And Mice, Matthew W. Peart Jan 2025

Unleashing Serine Palmitoyltransferase In Test Tubes And Mice, Matthew W. Peart

Theses and Dissertations

Canonically known both for structural contributions to lipid bilayers and roles in cell signaling, the sphingolipids comprise a dynamic, multifaceted class of molecules which are studied to understand homeostatic cell biology as well as pathophysiology. Sphingolipids contribute to tissue-specific structures such as myelin, a multilayer membrane that allows for rapid conduction of action potentials along neuronal axons. All sphingolipids are downstream products of the rate-limiting and initiating enzyme in the de novo sphingolipid synthesis pathway, Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT). Demonstrative of its status as the enzyme that catalyzes a crucial step in a biochemical pathway, SPT activity is strictly regulated. This …


Scopolamine-Induced Modulation Of Serotonin And Dopamine Transporters Activity: Behavioral And Molecular Insights Into Rapid Antidepressant Action, Deepak Karunakaran Jan 2025

Scopolamine-Induced Modulation Of Serotonin And Dopamine Transporters Activity: Behavioral And Molecular Insights Into Rapid Antidepressant Action, Deepak Karunakaran

Theses and Dissertations

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects over 350 million individuals worldwide and is characterized by profound dysregulation of serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) systems that govern mood, reward processing, and motivation. The serotonin transporter (SERT) and dopamine transporter (DAT), both dynamically regulated through phosphorylation, serve as critical determinants of synaptic monoamine signaling. Despite decades of therapeutic development, current antidepressants require 4-6 weeks to achieve efficacy, and approximately one-third to half of patients develop treatment-resistant depression. The emergence of rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine represents a paradigmatic shift, demonstrating symptom relief within hours; however, ketamine's therapeutic potential remains constrained by abuse liability, dissociative …


Weighted Family History Density Of Substance Use: Influence On Participant Substance Use Onset, Escalation, And Duration, Carleigh A. Litteral Jan 2025

Weighted Family History Density Of Substance Use: Influence On Participant Substance Use Onset, Escalation, And Duration, Carleigh A. Litteral

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Substance use disorders impose a staggering toll on the United States (U.S.), straining healthcare systems, destabilizing communities, and profoundly impacting both individuals and families. Approximately one in six Americans aged 12 and older had a past-year substance use disorder in 2022 (Key Substance Use, 2022), and nearly one-third of adults experience a substance use disorder in their lifetime (Wu, 2010), contributing to an economic burden exceeding $400 billion annually (National Drug Threat Assessment, 2011). Family history of substance use disorders is a key predictor of vulnerability, with individuals who have affected relatives being 2–8 times more …


The Effects Of Plx 3397 On Fentanyl Escalation In Male And Female Sprague-Dawley Rats, Jakob Shaykin Jan 2025

The Effects Of Plx 3397 On Fentanyl Escalation In Male And Female Sprague-Dawley Rats, Jakob Shaykin

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Purpose: A hallmark characteristic of opioid use disorder (OUD) is a persons’ ‘loss of control’, which leads to the compulsion to seek and obtain opioids, resulting in increased consumption. This phenomenon is known as ‘escalation of drug intake’. Chronic opioid use causes microglial reactivity and subsequent release of proinflammatory cytokines leading to neuroinflammation, weakening one’s executive control over drug taking and ultimately leading to greater use. Previous research in our laboratory has explored heterogeneity of fentanyl intake in extended access (6-hr) sessions and identified distinct endophenotypes of fentanyl intake. Moreover, we have observed a positive correlation between Treml1 expression …


Investigating Whether Txnrd2 Is A Therapeutic Target Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using African American-Derived Models, Keacha Chang Jan 2025

Investigating Whether Txnrd2 Is A Therapeutic Target Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using African American-Derived Models, Keacha Chang

Dissertations

Despite similar breast cancer incidence rates, African American (AA) women experience a 40% higher mortality rate compared to Caucasian American (CA) women. This disparity is multifactorial and particularly pronounced in the Chicago area. AA women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), often at a younger age and with more aggressive disease. TNBC is a heterogeneous subtype lacking targeted therapies and is associated with the poorest prognosis among breast cancer types. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies for TNBC, especially those tailored to AA patients. The thioredoxin pathway is essential for …


Identification Of Fentanyl And Fentanyl Analogs Found In Human Urine Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Adam M. Fisher Jan 2025

Identification Of Fentanyl And Fentanyl Analogs Found In Human Urine Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Adam M. Fisher

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Identification of fentanyl and its analogs in unknown samples is a frequent practice completed in forensic crime labs, as the fentanyl epidemic continues. With the continued increase in illicit drug use, crime labs are not able to keep up with the flooding of new fentanyl analogs being developed, resulting in new analogs slipping past the crime labs’ authority. This research is to start to develop a database of commonly found fentanyl analogs in New York State. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is a widely used method for the detection and identification of illicit drugs in forensic crime labs. A database that …