Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Serpin-Derived Novel Peptide For The Treatment Against Hiv-Induced Inflammation In The Central Nervous System, Yemmy Soler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the brain, HIV predominantly infects microglia/macrophages and astrocytes to a lesser extent. These cells form virus reservoirs with low levels of infection that are very hard to eradicate. Even though the use of cART increases survival rate in HIV patients, the virus persists as a chronic condition. cART is not able to effectively cross the BBB, control HIV replication, or attenuate inflammation in brain reservoirs. Therefore, the virus still causes neuronal dysfunction, pain-related pathology, and ultimately HAND. In this study, we decided to test the hypothesis that a serpin-derived small peptide, SP16, can serve as an anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, pro-survival, …

The Politics Of The Self: Psychedelic Assemblages, Psilocybin, And Subjectivity In The Anthropocene, Joshua Falcon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how psychedelic substances become drawn into particular sociohistorical and political arrangements, and how psychedelic experiences with psilocybin ‘magic mushrooms’ are used as tools of subjectivation. Guided by literatures in philosophy, critical theory, and the social sciences that focus on subjectivity, assemblage theory, and critical posthumanism, I argue that psychedelics are drawn into variegated assemblages, each of which conceptualizes the nature of psychedelics in highly specific ways that reflect implicit conceptions of the world and the self. In developing the concept of psychedelic assemblages, this research provides a window onto the politics of the self in the Anthropocene. …

Discovery Of First-In-Class Small Molecule Agonists Of The Rxfp2 Receptor As Therapeutic Candidates For Osteoporosis, Maria Esteban Lopez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Osteoporosis is a chronic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass and increased risk of developing fractures, predominantly observed in the elderly. The pathophysiological cause of the disease is a decrease in the activity of the bone-forming cells (osteoblasts) that alters bone remodeling in favor of bone resorption, leading to a decrease in bone mass. Recent studies identified the relaxin family peptide receptor 2 (RXFP2), the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for insulin-like 3 peptide (INSL3), as an attractive target expressed in osteoblast cells to increase bone formation. The goal of this dissertation is to discover and characterize small molecule agonists …

Development Of A Microwave-Based Dna Extraction Method To Increase The Success Of Direct And Rapid Pcr Technique, Fabiana Taglia

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project was to develop a fast, microwave-based extraction technique that could be employed for direct and rapid DNA analysis. The hypothesis was that the use of a microwave could increase the yield of DNA by opening the cell membrane, rendering the DNA available without the use of any other chemical treatment, and improving results from very low quantity samples.

At present rapid human DNA analysis is mainly restricted to genotyping saliva and sometimes blood samples. We hypothesized that microwave processing could expand the types of samples assessable to these procedures and increase sensitivity.

There were two …

Therapeutic Approaches To Alter Mineral Formation And Growth In Vascular Calcification, Amirala Bakhshiannik

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases represent the global leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular calcification is the most significant predictor of cardiovascular events, but no therapeutic options exist to prevent or treat mineral formation in the vasculature. The presence of bone-like mineral increases cardiac work required to move blood through systemic circulation and can lead to mechanical stress in atherosclerotic plaques, promoting plaque rupture events that cause heart attacks. Clinical trials correlated bisphosphonates (BiPs), common anti-osteoporosis pharmaceuticals, with contradicting cardiovascular outcomes. Here, we demonstrated the importance of treatment timing in BiP-induced mineral disruption or promotion. We showed that BiPs can alter morphological …