Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Barriers And Facilitators To Infant Feeding Among Low-Income African American Women, Cecilia E. Barbosa

Theses and Dissertations

Objective The purpose of the mixed methods study was to compare barriers and facilitators encountered by low-income African American women who engaged in different infant feeding practices. Methods Using the positive deviance approach and modified Integrated Model as theoretical frameworks, the research began with a qualitative study that informed a survey examining intention, skills, and environmental factors differentiating women’s infant feeding practices. Results Twenty-eight and 190 low-income African American adult women participated in focus groups or interviews and a survey, respectively. In the qualitative study, positive deviants, who breastfed for at least four months, seemed to have stronger breastfeeding intentions, …

Isolation And Characterization Of Multipotent Lung Stem Cells From P53 Mutant Mice Models, Venkat Sundar Gadepalli

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in understanding lung biology have shown evidence for the existence of resident lung stem cells. Independent studies in identifying and characterizing these somatic lung stem cells have shown the potential role of these cells in lung repair and regeneration. Understanding the functional characteristics of these tissue resident stem/progenitor cells has gained much importance with increasing evidence of cancer stem cells, cells in a tumor tissue with stem cell characteristics. Lung cancer is most commonly characterized by loss of p53 function which results in uncontrolled cell divisions. Incidence of p53 point mutations is highest in lung cancer, with a …

A Systems Biology Approach To Detect Eqtls Associated With Mirna And Mrna Co-Expression Networks In The Nucleus Accumbens Of Chronic Alcoholic Patients, Mohammed Mamdani

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol Dependence (AD) is a chronic substance use disorder with moderate heritability (60%). Linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated a number of loci; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying AD are unclear. Advances in systems biology allow genome-wide expression data to be integrated with genetic data to detect expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), polymorphisms that regulate gene expression levels, influence phenotypes and are significantly enriched among validated genetic signals for many commonly studied traits including AD.

We integrated genome-wide mRNA and miRNA expression data with genotypic data from the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major addiction-related brain region, of 36 …

Symptoms, Cytokines, And Quality Of Life Of Patients With Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Debra Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a serious complication following allo-HSCT characterized by immune dysregulation, organ dysfunction, risk for infection, and distressing symptoms. Complications may include scleroderma, hepatic dysfunction and bronchiolitis obliterans. Advances in allo-HSCT for many hematologic dyscrasias (e.g. acute and chronic leukemias, aplastic anemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome) have improved survival which has generated a renewed focus on survivorship issues. Distressing symptoms are noted as negatively impacting quality of life (QoL). The relationship between inflammation and behavioral responses may impact symptoms. Examining patterns and levels of inflammation with symptoms is relevant. Objective: The aims of this study were to …

An Analysis Of Fatty Acid Metabolism’S Role In The Development Of Acute Functional Tolerance To Ethanol In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Richard Raabe

Theses and Dissertations

An individual’s naïve level of response (LR) to ethanol is predictive of their lifetime likelihood to abuse alcohol. LR is heavily genetically influenced, suggesting that the genes responsible for LR may also be central to the development of abuse disorders. Our laboratory uses the model organism C. elegans to investigate the genetic influences on responses to acute ethanol exposure. We recently found that changes in TAG levels can alter LR. From this result we investigated the role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) as well enzymes involved in lipid modifications of proteins. We found that LC-PUFAs are necessary for acute …

The Cytotoxic Effect Of The Bcl-2 Family Of Proteins In Breast Cancer Cells, Yamileth Chin

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death amongst women ages 20 to 59. Despite advancements in cancer therapies, more research is necessary to improve the diagnoses and treatment of several types of breast cancer. Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a commonly utilized anti-cancer drug for various types of solid tumors. However, the molecular mechanism utilized by paclitaxel to induce cell death is still elusive. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that the pro-apoptotic BCL-2 family protein, BAK (BCL-2 homologous antagonist/killer) plays an important role in paclitaxel-induced cell death. In untreated breast cancer cells, BAK is associated with the anti-apoptotic …

Characterization Of Complement Evasion Of The Periopathogen, Treponema Denticola, Daniel Patrick Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Periodontitis is a polymicrobially-induced, chronic inflammatory disease of the tissues that support and surround the tooth. While greater than 500 organisms are found in dental plaque, Treponema denticola is one of only a few species associated with disease. It has been hypothesized that oral bacteria disrupt host homeostasis through manipulation of the innate immune system. In this study, we examine the impact of binding and subsequent cleavage of factor H, a complement regulator, by T. denticola in the evasion and subversion of complement. The molecular interaction between the sole FH-binding protein, FhbB, and FH was detailed by x-ray crystallography, site-directed …

Hiv And Opiates-Mediated Neurotoxicity: Gsk3Β Is A Potential Therapeutic Target, Ruturaj Masvekar

Theses and Dissertations

HIV-1 enters the CNS soon after initial systemic infection. HIV-1 can induce a wide range of neurological deficits, collectively known as HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Mature neurons are not infected by HIV-1; instead, infected and/or activated glial cells release various viral and cellular factors that induce direct and/or indirect neuronal toxicity, leading to HAND. Injection drug abuse is a significant risk factor for HIV-infection, and opiate drug abusers show increased HIV-neuropathology, even with anti-retroviral treatments. Our previous work has largely modeled HIV-neuropathology using the individual viral proteins Tat or gp120, with murine striatal neurons as targets. To model disease processes …

Evaluating The Antibody Response Against Ospa, Ospc, And Ospe Recombinant Proteins Over Time In Borrelia Burgdorferi Positive Serum Samples, Bridget Dillon

Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in North America. It can be hard to detect using blood tests, especially in the early stage. Due to the number of significant complications from untreated or undertreated Lyme disease, better methods need to be found to detect the disease. Some surface lipoproteins may be used to detect early disease due to their early expression. Others are maintained for the duration of the infection and can be used to detect chronic Lyme disease. Antibody responses to OspA, OspC and OspE were measured in sera from experimentally infected dogs. The response to OspA …

Characterization Of Tonb-Dependent Metal Transporters Within Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Mary Kathryne Dickinson

Theses and Dissertations

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the etiologic agent of gonorrhea, utilizes TonB-dependent transporters to import essential nutrients such as iron. Study of TonB-dependent transporters is extremely important due to the fact that they make excellent vaccine targets. In order to learn more about the structure, function, expression, and regulation of selected TonB-dependent transporters, three goals were established for this study. The first goal was to examine the role of two highly conserved regions of TbpB in lipidation. One of the conserved regions of TbpB, the LSAC motif, was shown to be critical for lipidation. The second goal was to determine whether MisR/MisS regulates …

Characterization Of A Putative Tonb Deficient Porphyromonas Gingivalis Mutant, Soheil Rostami

Theses and Dissertations

Porphorymonas gingivalis is one of the major bacterial pathogens responsible for the initiation and progression of periodontal disease. The bacterium requires hemin uptake for its growth and has developed sophisticated mechanisms to extract hemin from hemin containing proteins in the oral cavity. Hemin first binds to receptors on the surface of P. gingivalis and is then taken up in an energy dependent manner. TonB is an inner membrane bound protein that spans the periplasm and is believed to be involved in the passage of hemin through the double membrane of P. gingivalis. However, the TonB protein in P. gingivalis is …

Android-Based Smartphone Application Simulation And Systematic Design To Reduce Medication Administration Error In Prehospital Emergency Care., Natalie Vazquez

Theses and Dissertations

Since 1999 when the report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System was released, medical errors have come into focus (Kohn, 2000). In an effort to reduce medication administration errors in prehospital emergency care, an android-based smartphone application simulation was created. The app has components including QR barcode scanning, text to speech for medication cross-checking, weight-based medication dose calculations, and time stamped medication data wirelessly transferring to a database in real-time. Color standard identification was implemented, aiding to a designed systematic process for patient treatment to reduce medication errors. Direct observation was performed of emergency patient calls with …

Identifying Functional Variation In Schizophrenia Gwas Loci By Pooled Sequencing, Erik Loken

Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia demonstrates high heritability in part accounted for by common simple nucleotide variants (SNV), rare copy number variants (CNV) and, most recently, rare SNVs Although heritability explained by rare SNVs and CNVs is small compared to that explained by common SNVs, rare SNVs in functional sequences may identify specific disease mechanisms. However, current exome methods do not capture a large proportion of potentially functional bases where rare variation may impact disease risk: as much as two-thirds of conserved sequences lie outside the exome in non-coding regions of cross-species evolutionary constraint. We reasoned that the candidate loci from the Psychiatric Genomics …

Dr. Who?: The Science And Culture Of Medical Wear Design, Patricia Duignan

Theses and Dissertations

The multi-million-dollar medical uniform industry has not utilized advancements in garment and textile technology that could positively impact the protection of healthcare professionals and patients. In most cases the uniforms meet basic requirements – they clothe the professional in a recognizable way. Little innovation in design, function and performance, has been applied to these garments. This is particularly evident in the case of the stereotypical white lab coat worn by many physicians, despite evidence indicating that these lab coats may carry contamination and play a role in the spread of deadly bacteria. Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are among the most …

Transformation Of Human Mast Cells By Interferon-Gamma And The Potential Role Of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells In Mastocytosis., Sahar Lotfi-Emran

Theses and Dissertations

Mast cells respond to a variety of signals, are associated with both increased inflammation and regulation of the immune response, and are able to interact with a variety of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells. The majority of the work that highlights mast cell pleiotropic abilities has been completed in murine models. Though these models have significantly advanced our understanding of what mast cells can do, they cannot inform us as to what mast cells actually do in human beings. The goal of this dissertation is to assess fully mature, primary human mast cell function beyond the well-defined type 1 hypersensitivity function …

Hydropathic Interactions And Protein Structure: Utilizing The Hint Force Field In Structure Prediction And Protein‐Protein Docking., Mostafa H. Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Protein structure predication is a field of computational molecular modeling with an enormous potential for improvement. Side-chain geometry prediction is a critical component of this process that is crucial for computational protein structure predication as well as crystallographers in refining experimentally determined protein crystal structures. The cornerstone of side-chain geometry prediction are side-chain rotamer libraries, usually obtained through exhaustive statistical analysis of existing protein structures. Little is known, however, about the driving forces leading to the preference or suitability of one rotamer over another. Construction of 3D hydropathic interaction maps for nearly 30,000 tyrosines extracted from the PDB reveals their …

Examining The Effect Of Race On The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Metabolic Syndrome In Women, Leia Harper

Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition affecting approximately 8% of the adult U.S. population with rates twice as high in women than men. Increasingly, evidence has suggested a close relationship between PTSD and increased risk of metabolic diseases. However, the literature on PTSD and metabolic disease risk factors has been limited by the lack of investigation of the potential influence of race on this relation. The current study examined the possible effect of race on the relation between PTSD and metabolic risk. Data for this study were provided from sample of that included 50 African American women and …

Novel Therapeutic Strategies For Pancreatic Cancer, Bridget A. Quinn

Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease that leaves patients with a very poor prognosis and few therapeutic options. Many of the treatment options available are the same that have been used for almost 2 decades. There is a dire need for both novel treatments for this disease as well as novel strategies of treatment. This body of work will introduce and provide evidence in support of a novel combination therapy for pancreatic cancer treatment, a novel strategy of modifying currently used chemotherapeutics for pancreatic cancer therapy, and a novel transgenic preclinical mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Sabutoclax, an antagonist of …

Mda-9/Syntenin: From Glioblastoma Pathogenesis To Targeted Therapy, Timothy P. Kegelman

Theses and Dissertations

The most common malignant glioma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), remains an intractable tumor despite advances in therapy. Its proclivity to infiltrate surrounding brain tissue contributes greatly to its treatment failure and the grim prognosis of patients. Radiation is a staple in modern therapeutic regimens, though cells surviving radiation become more aggressive and invasive. Consequently, it is imperative to define further the cellular mechanisms that control GBM invasion and identify promising novel therapeutic targets. Melanoma differentiation associated gene-9 (MDA-9/Syntenin) is a highly conserved PDZ domain-containing scaffolding protein that promotes invasion and metastasis in human melanoma models. We show that MDA-9/Syntenin is robustly …

The Roles Of Krüppel-Like Factor 1 (Klf1) In The Human Fetal Erythroid Compartment., Safa Mohamad

Theses and Dissertations

Erythroid Krüppel-like factor (EKLF or KLF1) is a transcription factor with roles in embryonic and adult erythropoiesis. KLF1 knockout mouse embryos die due to severe anemia. Dominant human mutations in KLF1 can cause hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin. We show that KLF1 positively regulates β-globin and Bcl11A gene expression using KLF1 knockdown in in vitro-differentiated CD34+ human umbilical cord blood cells. -globin expression appears dependent on KLF1; it is increased with modest KLF1 knockdown but not in cells with low KLF1. KLF2 mRNA amounts are usually increased in KLF1 knockdown. KLF1 knockdown in CD34+ cells results in reduced colony forming …

Synthetic, Sulfated, Lignin-Based Anticoagulants, Akul Mehta

Theses and Dissertations

Chemoenzymatically synthesized low molecular weight lignin polymers have been previously found to be potent inhibitors of a number of serine proteases via allosteric mechanisms targeting heparin binding sites. Herein, we describe the creation of synthetic sulfated β-O4 lignin (SbO4L) polymer, which is more homogenous compared to previous lignins with respect to its inter-monomeric linkage. SbO4L is a selective inhibitor of thrombin and plasmin. SbO4L was found to act via a unique mechanism targeting thrombin exosite 2 in a manner similar to platelet glycoprotein Ibα (GPIbα). Advanced hemostasis and thrombosis assays demonstrated that SbO4L acts via a dual mechanism: as an …

The Effect Of Obesity On Il-1Β, Il-1ra, And Leptin Following Acute Mental Stress, Heather Caslin

Theses and Dissertations

Research regarding the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is important because CVD is the leading cause of death in the United States (US) and many countries abroad. Risk factors, such as obesity and psychological stress, should be studied in order to understand contributing factors for CVD and the cellular mechanisms which link risk factors with the development of disease. Specifically, the combined influence of multiple risk factors on inflammation is of interest because many individuals have more than one risk factor, which additively increases an individual’s risk for CVD. Obesity is already characterized by disordered inflammation, which suggests that the …

Integrating Phage Therapy Into Western Medicine, Jacob B. Jaminet

Undergraduate Research Posters

The World Health Organization has described the rise of antibiotic use as a “global heath security emergency” (who.int). With the growing concern about antibiotic resistant bacteria, there has been an increased interest in bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are high-specific viruses that only infect bacteria. The use of bacteriophages medicinally to treat bacteria is called phage therapy. Research in phage therapy gained momentum until the introduction of antibiotics. While the USA and other Western countries accepted antibiotics, the Soviet Union and their satellite nations still continued to research phages. Since the funding for research was supplied by the Soviet military, the results of …

Receptor Of Advanced Glycation Endproducts (Rage) Is Positively Correlated With Tumor Necrosis Factor-Α In Adolescents With Obesity, Tasnim Rahman, Daniel H. Conrad, Anshu Gupta

Undergraduate Research Posters

Introduction: Obesity in childhood is associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes and other traditional cardiometabolic risk factors, suggesting an epidemic of premature cardiovascular disease among today’s youth. Glycotoxins, known as advanced glycationend products (AGE’s), activating via the membrane-bound receptors (mRAGE), have been implicated in the pathophysiology of inflammation, (increased tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α ]), insulin resistance and vascular dysfunction in adults, but the role of RAGE in the early stages of metabolic disorders is unknown. In this study, we assessed relationship of cardiometabolicrisk factors, mRNA expression of TNF-α and RAGE in peripheral monocytes in adolescents with obesity.

Methods: Thirty …

Cultural Factors Associated With Utilization Of Antenatal Care Services In Rural India, Anjali Om

Undergraduate Research Posters

Despite vast economic growth in developing countries in the past few years, infant mortality continues to plague underdeveloped regions, particularly rural regions of India. Many of these deaths are caused by a lack of education and motivation in regard to utilization of antenatal and neonatal care services to prevent and treat consequences of unhygienic umbilical cord care.

For years, high incidences of neonatal tetanus have plagued rural areas of India as a result of cultural practices that encourage topical applications of cow dung to cut umbilical stumps either directly or by using ghee heated with cow dung to warm umbilical …

Aftermath Of The Hobby Lobby Decision: Implications For Women In The Workforce, Hirsh Shah

Undergraduate Research Posters

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is a landmark Supreme Court case in which it was ruled that the contraceptive mandate from the Affordable Care Act was an unnecessary and substantial burden on Hobby Lobby’s corporate exercise of religious freedom. This is the latest of many court cases that have expanded corporation’s rights to equal those of humans, giving them individual status without the responsibilities that come along with it. By citing religious liberty rights, closely held corporations such as Hobby Lobby can impose their religious viewpoints on their employees, specifically by not providing certain contraceptive care coverage. Other corporations …

Differential Effects Of Endocannabinoid Catabolic Inhibitors On Opioid Withdrawal In Mice, Thomas Gamage

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of cannabinoids in reducing somatic signs of opioid withdrawal have been known for some time. In morphine dependent rodents, opioid withdrawal following precipitation with the mu opioid antagonist naloxone elicits robust withdrawal behaviors including jumps, paw flutters, head shakes, diarrhea and weight loss. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol has been shown to reduce this opioid withdrawal in mice via activation of the cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptor and recently it has been shown that inhibition of the catabolic enzymes for endocannabinoids also reduce somatic signs of opioid withdrawal. Specifically, inhibition the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the catabolic enzyme for the endocannabinoid …

Tobramycin Disposition In The Lung Following Airway Administration, Min Li

Theses and Dissertations

Tobramycin disposition following airway administration was evaluated by meta-analysis of human data in the literature and, experimentally, using a realistic ex vivo model, the isolated perfused rat lung preparation (IPRL). Pulmonary bioavailability of inhaled tobramycin in published studies was re-evaluated separately for CF and healthy adults, with the drug’s intrinsic pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters obtained from intravenous (IV) studies in the literature. While large variations in tobramycin’s clearance precluded accurate assessment of its bioavailability, the results were indicative of substantial pulmonary absorption, in spite of its hydrophilic and poly cationic properties. To explore its disposition kinetics and mechanisms following airway administration, …

Clostridium Difficile Infection Occurrence In Academic Health Centers: Do Organizational Factors Matter?, Amy Pakyz

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare-associated infections occur commonly in hospitals and have a major impact on patient well-being. The occurrence of the healthcare-associated infection, Clostridium difficile, has been occurring more frequently among hospitalized patients due to an epidemic strain, and is an important cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. This study examined the impact of several organizational factors on the occurrence of C. difficile infection (CDI) in hospitals using an institutional theory perspective. Administrative claims were utilized from University HealthSystem Consortium hospitals to obtain hospital-level data for the calendar year 2011. Data were available for 89 hospitals. Hospital-level analyses, negative binomial regression models, were …

Transcriptional Crosstalk Between Helper Bacteriophages And Staphylococcal Aureus Pathogenicity Islands, Kristin Lane

Theses and Dissertations

Acquisition of a superantigen pathogenicity island (SaPI) significantly increases virulence in Staphylococcus aureus. Horizontal transfer of SaPIs occurs at high frequency and depends upon a helper bacteriophage, either through direct infection or SOS-mediated induction of a lysogen. SaPIs hijack the packaging machinery of the helper phage, leading to the formation of SaPI-containing transducing particles that can introduce the pathogenicity island into neighboring SaPI-negative cells. All SaPIs contain a conserved core of genes, some of which are co-transcribed as an operon and encode functions involved in helper exploitation. The goal of this study was to more fully understand the intricate relationships …