Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Simulation Using A Standardized Patient To Measure Perception And Congruency Of Spiritual Care For A Veteran From Three Perspectives To Inform Nursing Education And Practice, Mary E. Desmond

Dissertations

Spiritual care refers to a purposeful process of helping another find meaning and purpose

in life through a mutual connection. Providing spiritual care is a professional nursing mandate, yet nurses report barriers in education and practice. Veterans want spiritual care to promote quality of life, and to cope with military experiences and chronic conditions. Patients report receiving less than desired spiritual care and nurses report infrequent provision of spiritual care. It is also unclear how congruent patients and nurses are in their perceptions of spiritual care. A spiritual care simulation and performance checklist was developed using a review of the …

Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure Selectively Enhances Matricellular Gene Expression In Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells, Jonathan Lautz

Dissertations

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a progressive optic neuropathy

characterized by loss of peripheral vision secondarily associated with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2 is markedly elevated in the aqueous humor (AH) of patients with POAG. It has been previously shown that TGF-β2 increases IOP, in part, by inducing expression and release of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) within the trabecular meshwork (TM). ET-1 and CTGF may ultimately lead to increases in IOP by enhancing TM cell contractility and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Here we confirm that TGF-β2 enhances mRNA content of ET-1, CTGF, and …

Correlation Of The Boost Risk Stratification Tool As A Predictor Of Unplanned 30-Day Readmission In Elderly Patients, Carol K. Sieck

Dissertations

Carol K. Sieck

Loyola University Chicago

CORRELATION OF THE BOOST RISK STRATIFICATION TOOL AS A PREDICTOR OF UNPLANNED 30-DAY REAMDISSION IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

Risk stratification tools can identify patients at risk for 30-day readmission but available tools lack predictive strength. While physical, functional and social determinants of health have demonstrated an association with readmission, available risk stratification tools have been inconsistent in their use of variables to predict readmission. The Better Outcomes by Optimizing Safe Transitions (BOOST) 8 P's tool is a risk stratification tool developed by the Society of Hospital Medicine but has no published validation studies. The theoretical …

Role Of Jagged1 In The Enrichment Of Cancer Stem Cells In Her2+ Breast Cancer, Deep Shah

Dissertations

Purpose: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) positive subtype of breast cancer is driven by a subpopulation of cells possessing stem cell properties of self-renewal and differentiation, known as Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs). CSCs are implicated in tumor growth as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy associated resistance. Notch receptors promote breast CSCs survival and self-renewal, and overexpression of Notch ligand Jagged1 predicts poor prognosis. We showed previously that Notch could be an important target in trastuzumab/lapatinib resistant HER2+ breast cancer.

Experimental Design: Here, we sought to …

Examining The Effects Of Adolescent Binge Alcohol Exposure On The Negative Feedback Of The Hpa Axis And Adult Responses To Psychological Stress, Audrey Rose Torcaso

Dissertations

Binge drinking during adolescence is a common occurrence which is associated with increased risk of developing alcohol dependence and other mental health disorders. Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction is one characteristic commonly observed in many affective disorders, including anxiety and depression. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that adolescent binge-pattern alcohol exposure results in long-term dysfunction of the HPA axis in a Wistar rat model, characterized by deficient glucocorticoid feedback inhibition. The current study aimed to characterize the behavioral phenotype of these rats in response to psychological stress during adulthood, and furthermore sought to understand the molecular mechanisms by which adolescent binge …

It Is Always The Monkey On My Back: The Diagnosis Of Cirrhosis, Mary Tiberg

Dissertations

Mary Tiberg

Loyola University Chicago

IT IS ALWAYS THE MONKEY ON MY BACK: THE DIAGNOSIS OF CIRRHOSIS

A significant current challenge in health care today is meeting the needs of a population that has chronic disease, especially for those that have a health condition with a life threatening long -term outcome (Falkenstern, et al., 2005). In these health illness transitions, when there are no secure expectations, there are the additional burdens of enduring emotional unease, facing the closing stages of physical stamina, and confronting an indeterminate future. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experience of …

What Is The Relationship Between Vitamin D Status, Pregnancy Symptoms And Quality Of Life?, Jennifer Woo

Dissertations

Purpose and Background/Significance: The main purpose of the study is to determine: (1) to determine if there is a relationship between vitamin D status, pregnancy symptoms, health promoting behaviors, and quality of life and (2) to determine if differences exist in pregnancy symptoms, health promoting behaviors and quality of life between African American and Hispanic women. There is evidence to show that vitamin D deficiency has been associated with numerous symptoms such as musculoskeletal pain, poor sleep, and depression. However, whether low levels of vitamin D is associated with these and other symptoms during pregnancy is unknown. What is known …

Unavoidable Pressure Ulcers: An Ethnonursing Study, Catherine M. Clarey-Sanford

Dissertations

Catherine M. Clarey-Sanford

Loyola University Chicago

UNAVOIDABLE PRESSURE ULCER: AN ETHNONURSING STUDY

In an effort to improve patient safety and the quality of care in the acute care setting, there has been an increased focus on the prevention of adverse events believed to be avoidable. Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU) have been listed as one of those adverse events, and hospitals are no longer reimbursed for related costs. However, there are patient conditions and clinical situations in which a pressure ulcer can be deemed unavoidable. In acute care, unavoidable means that the patient developed a pressure ulcer even though the provider …

Investigating Novel Methods Of Interaction With Pharmaceutically Relevant Enzymes, Cory T. Reidl

Dissertations

Metalloproteins requiring one or more metal ions for normal function make up 30% of all known proteins, and many critical biological pathways contain at least one metallo-enzyme. Di-nuclear metallo-proteins constitute a large class of these proteins yet we currently lack effective methods of inhibiting these enzymes for the development of new medical therapies, particularly for the discovery of new antibiotics. Our work has focused on developing novel functionalities that selectively interact with di-nuclear catalytic centers, and we are targeting three separate di-zinc-metallo-enzymes that are unique to bacteria and play key roles in their growth and development. These enzymes are DapE, …

The Effects Of Superordinate Identity Recategorization And Social Value Orientation On Ethical Decision-Making In A Business Dilemma, Thomas Steven Colville

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate potential solutions to the prevalence of unethical behavior in groups, specifically through the use of superordinate recategorization. Superordinate recategorization allows group members to feel an affinity with others not typically included in their in-group. This should promote ethical decision-making by enabling the inherent in-group favoring tendencies found in groups to be extended to a more inclusive category. In the context of the present study, the ethicality of participants' behavior in the Panalba scenario was determined by their choices on a 1 to 6 scale from least to most ethical. Additionally, participants’ …

Using Tcr Transgenic, Gp100 Reactive T Cells And Checkpoint Inhibition To Target Lymphangioleimyomatosis, Christian Ankney

Master's Theses

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a low-grade neoplastic disease affecting primarily women. It is characterized by cystic lung disease as well as renal and retroperitoneal tumors called angiomyolipomas and lymphangiomas. Tumor cells have smooth muscle features as well as neuroendocrine cell surface markers, and the disease can be diagnosed by HMB45 staining of tumor cells. We questioned whether expression of melanocytic antigens, specifically gp100, creates an opportunity to treat LAM by adoptive T cell transfer. LAM lung lesions demonstrate poor immune surveillance, therefore adoptive T cell transfer could offer benefits in this disease.

A link was made between melanoma and depigmenting vitiligo …

The Unconventional Secretion Of Alpha-Synuclein By Autophagic Mechanisms And The Novel Characterization Of Pathological Alpha-Synuclein Associated Extracellular Vesicles, Kevin Burbidge

Master's Theses

Synucleinopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases associated with the intracellular accumulation of aggregated α-synuclein, a neurotoxic process resulting in cell death. Research indicates that pathology results from α-synuclein misfolding and self-propagation, as well as, cell-to-cell transmission. Furthermore, pathological α-synuclein transmission may occur through unconventional secretion.

In this thesis, we investigated how autophagy influences unconventional secretion of our novel α-synuclein dual-split protein model that we first verified by reproducing documented results from treatment of known autophagic regulators. Afterwards, we investigated how knocking out autophagic proteins ATG7 and Beclin-1 influenced α-synuclein secretion.

Additionally, we developed a methodology for analyzing extracellular vesicles …

Creating A Bret Assay To Monitor The Interaction Between Β-Arrestin-1 And Stam-1, James Buhrmaster

Master's Theses

CXCR4 is a chemokine receptor that is overexpressed in multiple disease states, including cancer. Understanding the mechanisms by which cells regulate CXCR4 expression is of high importance, as they can reveal downstream effectors that can potentially be targeted pharmacologically to more effectively treat diseases with fewer side effects.

CXCR4 is internalized in response to stimulation by its ligand CXCL12, and localizes to early endosomes as part of a homologous desensitization mechanism. From the endosome, CXCR4 can enter one of two pathways whereby it is either recycled back to the plasma membrane, where it can undergo another signaling event, or it …

Comparative Studies On Biochemical And Pharmacological Profiles Of Bovine, Ovine And Porcine Heparins, Ahmed Kouta

Master's Theses

Heparin, a highly sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG), is used extensively as an anticoagulant. It consists of repeating disaccharide units, containing iduronic acid (or glucuronic acid) and glucosamine, exhibiting variable degrees of sulfation. Heparin, and its analogues, are used during surgery and dialysis, and are often used to coat indwelling catheters and other devices where the vascular system is exposed. Administered parenterally, often continuously due to its short half-life, over 0.5 billion doses are required per year. Heparin is currently obtained from mucosal tissue of meat animals, mainly porcine intestine, and to a lesser extent bovine and ovine sources. The early stages …