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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

On The Anti-Adipogenic Function Of Collagen Triple Helix Repeat-Containing Protein 1, Matthew E. Siviski Dec 2023

On The Anti-Adipogenic Function Of Collagen Triple Helix Repeat-Containing Protein 1, Matthew E. Siviski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adipogenesis is regulated by the coordinated activity of adipogenic transcription factors, including PPAR-gamma (PPARG) and C/EBP alpha (CEBPA). Thus, dysregulated adipogenesis predisposes adipose tissues to adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia. We have previously reported that mice possessing a homozygous null gene mutation in collagen triple helix repeat-containing protein 1 (CTHRC1) have increased adiposity compared to wildtype mice, supporting the concept that CTHRC1 regulates body composition. Herein, we investigated the anti-adipogenic activity of CTHRC1. Using 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, we showed significantly reduced adipogenic differentiation in the presence of CTHRC1 commensurate to marked suppression of Cebpa and Pparg gene expression. In addition, CTHRC1 increased …


Ethanol Dysregulates Sirt1-Mediated Lipogenic Signaling Pathways Through Α4*-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors In Hepatocytes., Caitlin Christina Wilkerson Dec 2023

Ethanol Dysregulates Sirt1-Mediated Lipogenic Signaling Pathways Through Α4*-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors In Hepatocytes., Caitlin Christina Wilkerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a broad spectrum of diseases ranging from steatosis to severe hepatic cirrhosis, none of which have any FDA approved therapies. Downregulation of hepatic Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) activity by ethanol has been shown to lead to an upregulation of the pro-lipogenic gene targets under its jurisdiction, resulting in increased lipogenesis and triglyceride accumulation. It was hypothesized that ethanol acts on α4*-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α4*-nAChRs) in hepatocytes to decrease Sirt1 expression, which ultimately dysregulates lipid metabolic homeostasis. Ethanol’s effects were investigated in cultured AML12 hepatocytes and in WT primary mouse hepatocytes acutely exposed to ethanol. Consistent with …


Investigating The Effects Of Subchronic Dietary Zinc Supplementation On Diet-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease., Oluwanifemi Esther Bolatimi Dec 2023

Investigating The Effects Of Subchronic Dietary Zinc Supplementation On Diet-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease., Oluwanifemi Esther Bolatimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Zinc deficiency is associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Previous studies show zinc supplementation improves steatosis, but its therapeutic effects in established MASLD remain unclear. We developed a model to characterize the effects of zinc supplementation on high-fat diet (HFD) induced MASLD and hypothesized established MASLD would be attenuated. Mice were fed control diet or HFD for 12 weeks and then grouped into normal or zinc-supplemented diets for 8 additional weeks. At euthanasia, plasma and liver tissues were collected for phenotypic analysis. Twelve weeks of HFD altered glucose clearance and body composition. Eight weeks of subsequent zinc supplementation …


Investigation Of Heterocyclic Amines And N-Acetyltransferase 2 Genetic Polymorphism In The Dysregulation Of Hepatic Energy Homeostasis: A Gene-Environment Approach., Kennedy M Walls Dec 2023

Investigation Of Heterocyclic Amines And N-Acetyltransferase 2 Genetic Polymorphism In The Dysregulation Of Hepatic Energy Homeostasis: A Gene-Environment Approach., Kennedy M Walls

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagens generated when cooking meat for prolonged periods of time or until well-done. Recent epidemiological studies reported significant associations between dietary HCA exposure and insulin resistance and type II diabetes. However, no previous studies have examined if HCAs, independent of meat consumption, contributes to pathogenesis of insulin resistance or metabolic disease. It is well known that HCAs require hepatic bioactivation by cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) and N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2). NAT2 expresses a well-defined genetic polymorphism in humans that, depending on the combination of NAT2 alleles, correlate to rapid, intermediate, or slow acetylator phenotypes that exhibit differential …


Analyzing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa With Bacteriophage Tags Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jennifer C. Schinke Aug 2023

Analyzing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa With Bacteriophage Tags Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jennifer C. Schinke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The number of daily bacterial infections is climbing and the CDC explains that this is due to the antibiotic-resistant threat in the United States. Finding a faster way of bacterial identification is necessary as it currently takes 1-4 days for a medical lab to culture and identify bacteria. Photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) can be used as an alternative method resulting in swift identification within an hour (Edgar, 2019). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell line PA01, will be coated in up to a few hundred red dyed phages making it detectible by the photoacoustic flow cytometry system. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that …


Injury Induced Neuroplasticity And Cell Specific Targeting Of The Lumbar Enlargement For Gene Therapy., Brandon Lee Brown Aug 2023

Injury Induced Neuroplasticity And Cell Specific Targeting Of The Lumbar Enlargement For Gene Therapy., Brandon Lee Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination of spinal cord injury induced neuroplasticity and tests whether noninvasive gene therapy can successfully target neurons in the lumbar spinal cord. It begins with an overview of neural control of locomotion and a brief summary of therapeutics that are used and/or in development for treating spinal anatomically characterize s subset of neurons in the spinal cord, long ascending propriospinal neurons, that are involved in interlimb coordination. Characterization of these neurons allows for subsequent evaluation of their potential involvement in injury induced neuroplasticity. This dissertation is divided into five chapters, covering spinal cord injury and therapeutics. …


On-Campus Mental Health Service Use Among College Students With Autism: A Case Study Applying The Andersen Behavioral Model Of Health Services Use, Estella C. Lilyquist Jul 2023

On-Campus Mental Health Service Use Among College Students With Autism: A Case Study Applying The Andersen Behavioral Model Of Health Services Use, Estella C. Lilyquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique set of impairments and limitations presented by students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make the accessing of campus-based nonacademic resources more difficult and complicated than their typically developed peers. Each year, the rate of students entering college with disabilities continues to grow, but their mental well-being is relatively poor. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply the conceptual framework of the Andersen behavioral model of health services use (ABMHSU) to the experiences of college students with ASD to understand and predict their utilization of campus-provided mental health resources. The participants were seven college students with …


Temporospatial Characteristics Of The Effect Of A Sound On The Response To Another Sound In Neurons In The Rat Auditory Midbrain, Olivia Elizabeth Sauvé Jun 2023

Temporospatial Characteristics Of The Effect Of A Sound On The Response To Another Sound In Neurons In The Rat Auditory Midbrain, Olivia Elizabeth Sauvé

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The soundscape of a natural environment can often contain multiple complex sounds, which are perceived binaurally, i.e., by both ears. Under such conditions, the perception of one sound can be affected by another sound. This study was conducted to find the neural basis of such a perceptual phenomenon. The rat is used as an animal model. Action potentials were recorded from individual neurons within the rat inferior colliculus in response to acoustic stimulation. The inferior colliculus is an auditory midbrain structure which receives converging inputs from many other structures along the auditory pathway. It plays a significant role in the …


Toward A Comprehensive Account Of Orientation Selectivity In The Retina., Megan Zipperer May 2023

Toward A Comprehensive Account Of Orientation Selectivity In The Retina., Megan Zipperer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retinal Ganglion Cells (RGCs) form functionally distinct signaling channels that selectively encode features of the visual input including direction of motion, contrast polarity, size, and color. A highly conserved visual channel amongst vertebrates conveys orientation selectivity, i.e., the selective firing of neuronal cells in response to elongated stimuli along a preferred orientation. Orientation selectivity is an apparent critical computation and several studies have reported aspects of it, including cell type identity in anatomical reconstructions, and functional characterization of at least four different identified RGC types. But how cell types in the different studies relate is not well resolved; the mechanisms …


Irreversible Electroporation Potentiates Beta Glucan Induced Trained Innate Immunity: A Novel Combination Treatment For Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma., Matthew Woeste May 2023

Irreversible Electroporation Potentiates Beta Glucan Induced Trained Innate Immunity: A Novel Combination Treatment For Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma., Matthew Woeste

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a challenging diagnosis yet to benefit from advances in immune oncologic treatments. Irreversible electroporation, a non-thermal method of tumor ablation, is used in treatment of select patients with locally advanced unresectable PC and has potentiated the effect of certain immunotherapies. Yeast-derived particulate β-glucan induces trained innate immunity and successfully reduces murine PC tumor burden. This study tests the hypothesis that IRE may augment β-glucan-induced trained immunity in the treatment of PC. β-Glucan-trained pancreatic myeloid cells were evaluated ex vivo for trained responses and anti-tumor function after exposure to ablated and un-ablated tumor conditioned media. β-Glucan and …


Factors Associated With Patient Portal Utilization, Preventive Services Utilization, And Health Promoting Behaviors Among Adults In The United States, Elizabeth Ayangunna Jan 2023

Factors Associated With Patient Portal Utilization, Preventive Services Utilization, And Health Promoting Behaviors Among Adults In The United States, Elizabeth Ayangunna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Nearly 60% of adults in the United States are estimated to have one or more chronic conditions, necessitating strategies to improve the health status of persons with chronic disease. Given that health information technology (HIT) is considered highly valuable for superior disease management, it is imperative to examine how HIT use can improve health behaviors, which can in turn improve health status. This study aimed to examine if there was an association between patient portal utilization and the use of preventive services & health-promoting behaviors. Also, this study examined the influence of self-efficacy on preventive health behaviors among adults …


Development And Praxis Of Ph Drug Delivery System Contra Zika, Julissa Rodriguez Jan 2023

Development And Praxis Of Ph Drug Delivery System Contra Zika, Julissa Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the effects of global warming continue to spread throughout the world, another critical issue is slowly gaining attention in many urban tropical countries. The Emerging Infectious Diseases/ Pathogens list from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) listed the Zika virus as a potential pandemic threat. In 2015, an outbreak of Zika was noted in several South American countries until the spread reached an all-time high of 87 countries in 2017. During the outbreaks, adults affected were noted to have joint and muscle pains, fevers, and rashes. The worst cases reported would ultimately lead to Guillain-Barre symptoms. Still, pregnant women …


The Influence Of Administrative Timing In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatments, Emily Mailloux Jan 2023

The Influence Of Administrative Timing In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatments, Emily Mailloux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer accounts for 25% of all cancers in Canadian women, and 15-20% of these are triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC), which have a poorer prognosis than other breast cancer subtypes. TNBC lacks expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which are common therapeutic targets in breast cancer. Due to the lack of target therapy, generalized chemotherapy treatments are used instead. The standard of care for treatment of TNBC instead consists of doxorubicin (A), cyclophosphamide (C) paclitaxel (T), and carboplatin (Carbo), that target various aspects of the cell cycle to induce cell …