Chemicals and Drugs Commons^™

Effects Of Repeated Quetiapine Treatment On Conditioned Avoidance Responding In Rats, Jun Gao, Min Feng, Natashia Swalve, Collin Davis, Nan Sui, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The present study characterized the behavioral mechanisms of avoidance–disruptive effect of quetiapine in the conditioned avoidance response test under two behavioral testing (2 warning signals vs. 1 warning signal) and two drug administration conditions (subcutaneous vs. intravenous). In Experiments 1 and 2, well-trained adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were tested under the subcutaneous (s.c.) quetiapine treatment (5.0, 15.0, 25.0, 50.0 mg/kg) for 7 days in a novel procedure consisting of two conditioned stimuli (CS) (white noise serving as CS1 and pure tone as CS2). Only the highest dose (50.0 mg/kg) produced a persistent suppression of the avoidance response without impairing the …

Application Of Ichip To Grow “Uncultivable” Microorganisms And Its Impact On Antibiotic Discovery, Rinzhin T. Sherpa, Caretta J. Reese, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose. Antibiotics have revolutionized modern medicine, allowing significant progress in healthcare and improvement in life expectancy. Development of antibiotic resistance by pathogenic bacteria is a natural phenomenon; however, the rate of antibiotic resistance emergence is increasing at an alarming rate, due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics in healthcare, agriculture and even everyday products. Traditionally, antibiotic discovery has been conducted by screening extracts of microorganisms for antimicrobial activity. However, this conventional source has been over-used to such an extent that it poses the risk of “running out” of new antibiotics. Aiming to increase access to a greater diversity of microorganisms, …

Investigation Of Stilbenoids As Potential Therapeutic Agents For Rotavirus Gastroenteritis, Judith M. Ball, Fabricio Medina-Bolivar, Katelyn D. Defrates, Emily Hambleton, Megan E. Hurlburt, Lingling Fang, Tianhong Yang, Luis Nopo-Olazabal, Richard L. Atwill, Pooj Ghai, Rebecca D. Parr

Faculty Publications

Rotavirus (RV) infections cause severe diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide. Vaccines are available but cost prohibitive for many countries and only reduce severe symptoms. Vaccinated infants continue to shed infectious particles, and studies show decreased efficacy of the RV vaccines in tropical and subtropical countries where they are needed most. Continuing surveillance for new RV strains, assessment of vaccine efficacy, and development of cost effective antiviral drugs remain an important aspect of RV studies. This study was to determine the efficacy of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory stilbenoids to inhibit RV replication. Peanut (A. hypogaea) hairy root cultures were induced …

Molecular Overlap In The Regulation Of Sk Channels By Small Molecules And Phosphoinositides, Miao Zhang, Xuan-Yu Meng, Ji-Fang Zhang, Meng Cui, Diomedes E. Logothetis

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) directly interacts with the small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ 2-a (SK2-a) channel/calmodulin complex, serving as a critical element in the regulation of channel activity. We report that changes of protein conformation in close proximity to the PIP2 binding site induced by a small-molecule SK channel modulator, NS309, can effectively enhance the interaction between the protein and PIP2 to potentiate channel activity. This novel modulation of PIP2 sensitivity by small-molecule drugs is likely not to be limited in its application to SK channels, representing an intriguing strategy to develop drugs controlling the activity of the large number of PIP2-dependent proteins.

Analysis Of Synthetic Cannabinoids By Direct Analysis In Real Time Quadrupole Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry And Gas Chromatography Quadrupole Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry, Tyler S. Torbet

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of direct analysis in real time quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry in the analysis of 162 different synthetic cannabinoids. Direct analysis in real time quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry is shown to be a rapid and accurate analytical method for synthetic cannabinoids. Spectra can be generated with less than 1.5 ng of the drug in under a minute and be successfully searched against previously generated ESI-QTOF libraries in most cases (118/130 drugs tested) as well as can also be applied to the identification of synthetic …

Effect Of Novel Dietary Supplement On Metabolism In Vitro And In Vivo, Robert A. Vaughan, Ailish C. White, Jason R. Beam, Nicholas P. Gannon, Randi Garcia-Smith, Roy M. Salgado, Marco Bisoffi, Kristina A. Trujillo, Carole A. Conn, Christine M. Mermier

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Obesity is an increasingly prevalent and preventable morbidity with multiple behavioral, surgical and pharmacological interventions currently available. Commercial dietary supplements are often advertised to stimulate metabolism and cause rapid weight and/or fat loss, although few well-controlled studies have demonstrated such effects. We describe a commercially available dietary supplement (purportedly containing caffeine, catechins, and other metabolic stimulators) on resting metabolic rate in humans, and on metabolism, mitochondrial content, and related gene expression in vitro. Human males ingested either a placebo or commercially available supplement (RF) in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over fashion. Metabolic rate, respiratory exchange ratio, and blood pressure were …

Flavour Chemicals In Electronic Cigarette Fluids, Peyton A. Tierney, Clarissa D. Karpinski, Jessica E. Brown, Wentai Luo, James F. Pankow

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Most e-cigarette liquids contain flavour chemicals. Flavour chemicals certified as safe for ingestion by the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association may not be safe for use in e-cigarettes. This study identified and measured flavour chemicals in 30 e-cigarette fluids.

Methods: Two brands of single-use e-cigarettes were selected and their fluids in multiple flavour types analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. For the same flavour types, and for selected confectionary flavours (eg, bubble gum and cotton candy), also analysed were convenience samples of e-cigarette fluids in refill bottles from local ‘vape’ shops and online retailers.

Results: In many liquids, total flavour chemicals …

Drug Testing Government Assistance Recipients, Justin Galles

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Eligibility for government assistance is based on income levels and is generally given to single parents and lower income families. Government assistance programs like welfare, SNAP (food stamps), and unemployment all help support people who have less income than what is necessary to support themselves and or their families. Programs like welfare and unemployment give checks that can be cashed and used at the discretion of the recipient. Who is to say recipients aren’t spending tax payer dollars on illegal drugs? People aren’t going to admit to government officials that they use illegal drugs so to be sure that they …

Effects Of (R)-(-)-5-Methyl-1-Nicotinoyl-2-Pyrazoline On Glutamate Transporter 1 And Cysteine/Glutamate Exchanger As Well As Ethanol Drinking Behavior In Male, Alcohol-Preferring Rats, Munaf Aal-Aaboda, Hasan Alhaddad, Francis Osowik, Surya M. Nauli, Youssef Sari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Alcohol consumption is largely associated with alterations in the extracellular glutamate concentrations in several brain reward regions. We recently showed that glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) is downregulated following chronic exposure to ethanol for 5 weeks in alcohol-preferring (P) rats and that upregulation of the GLT-1 levels in nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex results, in part, in attenuating ethanol consumption. Cystine glutamate antiporter (xCT) is also downregulated after chronic ethanol exposure in P rats, and its upregulation could be valuable in attenuating ethanol drinking. This study examines the effect of a synthetic compound, (R)-(−)-5-methyl-1-nicotinoyl-2-pyrazoline (MS-153), on ethanol drinking and expressions of …

Analysis Of Humira, Electro-Acupuncture, And Pulsatile Dry Cupping On Reducing Joint Inflammation In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Natalie Noll

Auctus: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Humira, an anti-TNF drug aimed at decreasing inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients, can cause skin diseases from rashes to skin cancer. Humira works by blocking the chemical receptor RANKL which inhibits the production of osteoclasts. Osteoclasts are cells that attack and eat bone and cartilage therefore an inhibitory mechanism would cause inflammation.. By analyzing Humira’s effect on the human body, Humira can be compared to other treatments such as electro-acupuncture and pulsatile dry cupping to determine the viability of these alternative treatment methods in regards to their abilities to decrease inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients through blocking RANKL. An analysis …

Connections Between The Effects Of Various Chemicals On The Development Of Drosophila Melanogaster And Homo Sapiens, Amy J. Brenner

Honors Program Projects

This study, funded by the Elbert Pence and Fanny Boyce grant, attempts to draw conclusions between the effects of selected chemicals on Drosophila melanogaster and their potential effects on humans. It explores the effects of theobromine, caffeine, ethylene glycol, and ammonia on adult D. melanogaster and its developmental stages. Effects of these four chemicals on D. melanogaster are expected to provide insight into possible effects on humans.

The study was run in triplicate with vials containing different concentrations of each chemical being tested, with a control group vial containing no added chemicals. Observation of each vial was documented daily, noting …