Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Renal Cold Storage And Transplantation On Immunoproteasome And The Complement System, Savannah Stacks

Honors Theses

Renal transplantation is the preferred method of treatment for end stage kidney disease. The majority of donor kidneys come from deceased donors and have to be stored in cold storage solution (CS) until the recipient is identified. However, prolonged CS is associated with poor long-term outcome. Unfortunately, the mechanisms of CS-related damage are largely unknown. Our laboratory recently reported that the proteasome and renal function were significantly decreased in rat kidney transplants that involved CS combined with transplantation (CS/Tx), as opposed to those that did not undergo CS (auto-transplantation/ATx). The long-term goal is to improve the transplant outcome by identifying …

Protective Effects Of Aqueous Extract Of Terminalia Arjuna Bark Against Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity, Sarah Elizabeth Bishop

Honors Theses

The bark of Terminalia arjuna (TA), a tropical tree, has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for treatment of cardiovascular disease. TA bark is known to contain various antioxidants, and recently it has been suggested to enhance function of the normal heart as an over-the-counter supplement in the USA. The mechanism underlying cardiac actions of TA bark are unknown. Doxorubicin (DOX), a commonly-used anticancer drug, is known to cause cardiotoxicity, a major concern in chemotherapy. The aim of this study is to investigate whether aqueous extracts of TA bark (TAaq) protect the heart from DOX treatment by …

Neuroplasticity And Speech-Language Pathology: What It Means For Language Development And How To Apply It To Therapy, Kiley Gamble

Honors Theses

Research about the brain's ability to adapt and change is important for speech-language pathologists working with children with language disorders. It offers the possibility to go beyond teaching a simple skill or concept and address the brain itself. Teaching the brain new ways to process information would allow speech-language pathologists to reach the root of the problem, rather than just stopping at the surface symptoms. Research findings in neuroplasticity have important implications for how speech-language pathologists work with language disorders in preschool and school-age children, and techniques based on these findings, such as attention and music training, may produce greater …

Calcium Metabolism Of Bone In Microgravity: An Investigation And Simulation Of Bone Demineralization In Space, Benjamin Peacock

Honors Theses

Extended space exploration poses many physiological problems that must be overcome before humanity can reach past the boundaries of Earth's orbit. The farthest a human has been able to travel is to the moon and back, and currently astronauts are confined to orbiting the Earth. While many astronauts and cosmonauts have remained aboard the space station Mir for months, their stay was not without detrimental effects upon their return. Currently, the International Space Station and missions to Mars are the projects involving humans in space at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

In this experiment, a ground-based simulation utilizing …

Cystic Fibrosis: Biological And Ethical Considerations, Sarah Elizabeth Milam

Honors Theses

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, multisystem disease whose etiology is a genetic mutation in the CF gene product, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The disorder affects all exocrine glands, with common symptoms involving the lungs and pancreas. Although the CF gene and its protein product have been identified, two aspects of the disease make CF particularly difficult to diagnose and manage: (a) variability in both degree and pattern of the mutation in different individuals and (b) lack of information regarding the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible. Let us begin by examining the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the …

The Basics Of Behavior Genetics: A Study Of Heredity, William Edwin Walker

Honors Theses

The general issue of the significance of genetic contributions to individual differences may be approached in two ways, through population genetics and through physiological genetics. The first has no logical meaning when applied to an individual, for his whole genotype and total life experience contribute to every aspect of his behavior, and their influences cannot be separated. The second is rather light on the emphasis of environment and its influence.

The two approaches to the problem on individual differences complement each other. Knowledge of heritability is paramount when one attempts to change phenotypes by selection. Possibly the most significant contribution …