Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Acceleration Profiles Of Adolescent Soccer Players Across A Season, Jake A. Melaro

Doctoral Dissertations

The injury risk inherent to soccer can be affected by external training loads and intrinsic factors. These intrinsic factors (sex, mass, strength, coordination, etc.) in young athletes can be rapidly altered the near their peak height velocity (PHV) during puberty, modifying their movement complexity and, potentially, their injury risk. While quantification of movement complexity through multiscale entropy analysis have been used in past biomechanical investigations, no studies have incorporated this analysis on tibial accelerometry signals collected in these maturing athletes. The purpose of this study is to collect tibial acceleration data from youth soccer athletes during several discrete drills and …

Post-Concussion Experiences Of Collegiate Student-Athletes, Kaitlin Iris Singer

Doctoral Dissertations

Sports-related concussions are a major public health concern affecting a significant number of collegiate student-athletes. Medical and public health research has addressed every aspect of concussion management processes including concussion education, medical diagnosis, recovery, and returning to sport and classroom. This research has led to several best-practices for concussion management. Since 2010, the NCAA has mandated that its member institutions maintain concussion management policies and procedures. However, the current recommendations, based primarily on medical research, have been found in quantitative studies of the behaviors and practices of athletic trainers, coaches, and student-athletes to be ineffective. To date, no studies have …

Whole Genome Sequencing As A Tool For Identifying Phenotypic Properties And Underlying Genetic Mechanisms In Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius, Matthew C. Riley

Doctoral Dissertations

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a Gram-positive bacterial opportunistic pathogen commonly associated with dermal infections in canines, but capable of causing serious disease in other species. Reports of human infections caused by S. pseudintermedius along with an increase in resistance to multiple antibiotics highlights the importance of this organism. Whole genome sequencing can allow large scale investigation of genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic properties that contribute to the expansion of successful S. pseudintermedius clonal lineages.

The increase in multidrug and methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) may result from horizontal transfer of genetic material between bacterial isolates, yet is thought to be rare in Staphylococci …

The Metastatic Receptor Status Impact On First-Line Treatment Plans And Outcomes For Recurrent Metastatic Breast Cancer, T. Allen Pannell

Doctoral Dissertations

Background: For more than two decades, breast cancer researchers have studied the benefits, risks and clinical importance of testing the receptor status of metastatic tumors. While there is a growing consensus that the status should be re-tested and under what circumstances that re-testing should occur, there is little to no evidence that utilizing test results for metastatic tumor receptor status improves the clinical outcomes of patients. In fact, there is evidence that changes to treatment plans based on this re-testing can be harmful to patient outcomes.

Objective: This dissertation evaluates the current state of evidence related to altering patient treatment …

Effects Of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs On Cellular Structure And Adhesion Proteins In Human Colorectal Cancer, Jason Lee Liggett

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell proteins related to cellular structure and adhesion. NSAIDs are extensively used not only to treat inflammatory diseases but also to prevent cancer among high-risk groups. Their mechanisms are not fully understood, but both cyclooxygenase (COX) dependent and independent pathways play a role in NSAID-induced anti-tumorigenesis. Our lab previously reported that NSAIDs induce other anti-tumorigenic genes in a COX-independent manner (Chapter 1). Human CRC cells treated with the NSAID sulindac sulfide (SS) showed dramatic morphological changes under differential interference contrast and fluorescent microscopy, as well …

Development Of A Novel Technique For Predicting Tumor Response In Adaptive Radiation Therapy, Rebecca Marie Seibert

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation concentrates on the introduction of Predictive Adaptive Radiation Therapy (PART) as a potential method to improve cancer treatment. PART is a novel technique that utilizes volumetric image-guided radiation therapy treatment (IGRT) data to actively predict the tumor response to therapy and estimate clinical outcomes during the course of treatment. To implement PART, a patient database containing IGRT image data for 40 lesions obtained from patients who were imaged and treated with helical tomotherapy was constructed. The data was then modeled using locally weighted regression. This model predicts future tumor volumes and masses and the associated confidence intervals based …

A Description Of The Movement Of The Canine Pelvic Limb In Three Dimensions Using An Inverse Dynamics Method, And A Comparison Of Two Techniques To Surgically Repair A Cranial Cruciate Ligament Deficient Stifle, Jason Headrick

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of the dissertation were: 1) to describe three-dimensional (3D) motion of the canine pelvic limb using an inverse dynamics method, and 2) to compare these motion patterns between normal, healthy dogs and those that have had their stifles stabilized by one of two surgical methods approximately five years earlier.

Twenty-five dogs were allocated to three groups; healthy control dogs, dogs that had received the tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), and dogs that had received the lateral fabellar suture (LFS) stabilization technique. Both surgical techniques were performed approximately five years prior on stifles with surgically induced cranial cruciate ligament …

Characterization Of A Small Animal Spect Platform For Use In Preclinical Translational Research, Dustin Ryan Osborne

Doctoral Dissertations

Imaging Iodine-125 requires an increased focus on developing an understanding of how fundamental processes used by imaging systems work to provide quantitative output for the imaging system. Isotopes like I-125 pose specific imaging problems that are a result of low energy emissions as well as how closely spaced those emissions are in the spectrum. This work seeks to characterize the performance of a small animal SPECT-CT imaging system with respect to imaging I-125 for use in a preclinical translational research environment and to understand how the performance of this system relates to critical applications such as attenuation and scatter correction. …

Secular Change Of The Modern Human Bony Pelvis: Examining Morphology In The United States Using Metrics And Geometric Morphometry, Kathryn R.D. Driscoll

Doctoral Dissertations

The human bony pelvis has evolved into its current form through competing selective forces. Bipedalism and parturition of large headed babies resulted in a form that is a complex compromise. While the morphology of the human pelvis has been extensively studied, the changes that have occurred since the adoption of the modern form, the secular changes that continue to alter the size and shape of the pelvis, have not received nearly as much attention. This research aims to examine the changes that have altered the morphology of the human bony pelvic girdle of individuals in the United States born between …

Murine Herpetic Stromal Keratitis: Cellular And Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Its Pathogenesis, Kaustuv Banerjee

Doctoral Dissertations

Herpetic Stromal Keratitis (HSK) is a leading cause of infectious blindness resulting from corneal infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). Extensive corticosteroid therapy is required to achieve remission and sometimes corneal transplantation is the only means of restoring vision. Murine model research has revealed that the immunological process that clears infection conversely leads to corneal tissue damage. This immune-pathological reaction involves complex interactions of cellular and molecular events.

Current knowledge about human and murine HSK pathogenesis is summarized in Part I. Parts II, III and IV progresses this knowledge using knockout and transgenic mice. Results in Part II clarify mechanisms …

Beta-Adrenergic, Arachidonic Acid And Potassium Channel Associated-Regulation Of Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Yavuz Cakir

Doctoral Dissertations

During the late stages of breast cancer progression, breast cancer cell growth switches from steroid hormone to growth factor dependence, and it is assumed that invasive breast cancers are growth factor receptor positive and estrogen hormone resistant. The cellular arachidonic acid (AA) pathway is upregulated in a variety of cancer types, and it may play an important role in the growth regulation of breast cancer cells.

Recent evidence suggests that beta-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs) are expressed in some estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancers and that beta agonists not only can trigger AA release via the activation of cytosolic PLA2 or …