Diseases Commons^™

Investigating The Interactions Between Individual Calmodulin And Hiv-1 Protein Domains, Riley K. Kendall, Jerry Larue

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The World Health Organization found that 37.9 million people were living with HIV by the end of 2018. HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system through viral replication and the destruction of CD4⁺ T-cells, which are white blood cells that detect infection and make antibodies. A cure for HIV has not yet been discovered. HIV-1 contains a Gag polyprotein which regulates the stages of viral replication. Previous studies suggest that the myristoyl group of a matrix protein peptide found on the Gag polyprotein, MA, forms a complex with a calcium-binding, multifunctional regulatory protein called Calmodulin (CaM). CaM …

Volatile Organic Compound Exposure And Cardiometabolic Syndrome Risk In A Nationally Representative Cohort., Stacey Lane Konkle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: The relative importance of environmental exposures such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is one of the paramount public health priorities of our time, yet is presently unstudied. VOCs are ubiquitous in the environment and have been associated with numerous adverse health effects, including a number of cardiovascular and metabolic effects that are components of Cardiometabolic Syndrome (CMS). OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between CMS and individual-level exposures to VOCs, measured as urinary metabolites of VOCs (UM-VOCs), in a nationally representative sample. METHODS: Associations between urinary biomarkers of exposure to 19 parent VOCs and CMS were assessed using the National …

Tobacco-Derived Aldehydes: Platelet Activation, Thrombosis, And The Role Of Trpa1., Andre Dwayne Richardson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is the single largest risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) pathophysiology. Numerous researchers have shown potential associations between aldehydes in tobacco-derived aerosols from mainstream cigarette smoke (MCS) or electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) and their cardiotoxicity by damaging blood vessel endothelium. The severity of exposure to these toxicants can furthermore lead to adverse cardiovascular outcomes such as myocardial infarctions, stroke, coronary and peripheral artery disease, or atherosclerosis due to blood clots, a pro-thrombotic event. However, the mechanisms by which levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) such as aldehydes induce thrombosis are not well-known. Of specific interest, evidence has …

Covid-19 Pandemic & Skin Care Guidelines For Health Care Professionals, Sadia Masood, Saadia Tabassum, Shaheen Naveed, Palwasha Jalil

Section of Internal Medicine

The Novel corona virus is bringing multiple challenges for health care professionals. Skin is the biggest organ and the first line of defense against different infections and external factors. Being the front line warriors, health care professionals are susceptible to various skin conditions due to prolonged use of personal protective equipment. These adverse skin conditions are redness, irritation, itching, contact dermatitis, and aggravation of underlying skin conditions like seborrheic dermatitis and acne vulgaris. In the current global situation, the potential incidence of such adverse dermatological effects does not in any manner cause the HCPs to deviate from the strict specific …

Targeting Natural Killer Cells For Improved Immunity And Control Of The Adaptive Immune Response., Stephen Pierce, Eric S. Geanes, Todd Bradley

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Natural killer (NK) cells are critical for targeting and killing tumor, virus-infected and stressed cells as a member of the innate immune system. Recently, NK cells have also emerged as key regulators of adaptive immunity and have become a prominent therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy and infection control. NK cells display a diverse array of phenotypes and function. Determining how NK cells develop and are regulated is critical for understanding their role in both innate and adaptive immunity. In this review we discuss current research approaches into NK cell adaptive immunity and how these cells are being harnessed for improving …

Calcitonin Prescribing Criteria For The Management Of Hypercalcemia In A Community Hospital, Jessica Hernandez, Radhan Gopalani, Heidi Clarke, Joyce Lee, Alyssa Donadio

All Publications

Purpose/Background: Hypercalcemia is a clinical condition in which serum calcium levels exceed the upper limit of normal (>10.5 mg/dL). The most common causes of hypercalcemia are primary hyperparathyroidism and malignancy, however, it can also be caused by vitamin D intoxication, endocrine disorders, and immobilization due to an increase in bone resorption. First-line treatment of hypercalcemia includes hydration with intravenous (IV) normal saline and IV bisphosphonates. Calcitonin (Miacalcin®) is a synthetic hormone with a rapid onset of action and used intramuscularly (IM) or subcutaneously (SQ) as a second-line treatment in the management of hypercalcemia, specifically in severe and in symptomatic …

Evaluation Of Clinical Outcomes Of 4-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate Versus Andexanet Alfa In The Treatment Of Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Eduardo Guizan Corrales, Radhan Gopalani, Heidi Clarke, Jonatha Kline, Felipe De Los Rios La Rosa, Thomas Wolfel

All Publications

Purpose: Oral anticoagulants account for up to 20% of intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH) with one-year mortality estimated as high as 54%. Several studies have examined the use of 4-Factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCC) and andexanet alfa in the treatment of factor Xa associated ICH. High cost burden, lack of clinical outcomes, and risk of thromboembolic events continues to be a major dilemma behind product selection at many healthcare systems. The purpose of this project is to compare clinical outcomes between 4F-PCC and andexanet alfa in the management of patients with ICH secondary to apixaban and rivaroxaban at Baptist Hospital of Miami …

The Physiological And Psychological Effects Of Indoor Versus Outdoor Aerobic Exercise In Female Cancer Survivors: A Literature Review, Emily Ferroni

All NMU Master's Theses

Moderate aerobic exercise is advantageous to physiological and psychological well-being among healthy and diseased populations. Investigating the physiological and psychological effects of indoor and outdoor aerobic training on ROS, antioxidants, QOL, vitamin D, estrogen, kynurenine, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and the immune system within cancer patients and survivors may be imperative to their recovery and survival. Outdoor aerobic exercise within a greenery-rich environment elicits greater positive changes within overall well-being compared to outdoor exercise in an urban setting or indoor exercise. However, both indoor and outdoor aerobic exercise produce benefits in mood state, the immune system, cardiovascular health, bone health, and …

Characterization Of A Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Cards Toxin Mutant, Nikaash Pasnoori

Honors Scholar Theses

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a high-burden pathogen which causes mild to significant infections of the respiratory system. According to the CDC, an estimated two million cases occur yearly in the United States alone, demonstrating the widespread effect of the pathogen. In addition to being the cause of respiratory infections, M. pneumoniae has also been implicated in exacerbating pre-existing asthma conditions. These morbidities make finding a vaccine candidate a vital part of easing the healthcare burden caused by the pathogen. The current mechanism of infection is unknown, but recent evidence points to the Community Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome (CARDS) toxin as being …

Optical Clearing Reveals Tnbs-Induced Morphological Changes Of Vglut2-Positive Nerve Endings In The Colorectum, Shivam Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Sensitization of colorectal afferents and colorectal hypersensitivity have been observed in a mouse model of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome via intracolonic treatment of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). In this study, we investigated the distribution and morphology of microscopic colorectal afferent endings before and after intracolonic treatment of TNBS. We genetically labeled predominantly extrinsic colorectal afferents using the vesicular glutamate transporter type 2 (VGLUT2) promoter. Then, we used an optical tissue clearing method of whole-mount colorectum to image labeled VGLUT2-nerve endings that are otherwise obscured in untreated samples. We used vector path tracing to quantify the density and degree of curliness of …

A Replication And Extension Of A Prediction Tool Identifying Need For Treatment Among Opioid Exposed Infants, Loni Parrish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The incidences of maternal opioid use and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) have increased by nearly 400% over the past decade. Isemann and colleagues (2017) developed prediction tools (TiTE/TiTE²) to differentiate, within the first two days of life, between infants who will require pharmacotherapy for NOWS from those infants who will not require pharmacotherapy for NOWS. The goal of the current experiment was to replicate and extend their prediction model. The present experiments successfully replicated Isemann et al., (2017) results and also established alternative cutoff values for requiring treatment that provide better balance between all four metrics. Moreover, …

Forecasting The Essential Chemotherapy Needed For Treatment Of Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Brian T. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric cancer, with contemporary therapy resulting in a 90% survival in high-income countries (HIC). However, an estimated 89% of the world’s children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where survival is much lower. Lack of access to essential chemotherapy contributes significantly to the decreased survival rates for LMIC, and inaccurate forecasting of chemotherapy needed may lead to stockouts or oversupply. This chapter describes a simple forecasting system with population and patient-based multipliers for each drug used in the treatment of pediatric ALL, thus estimating the essential chemotherapy quantities needed for a …

Antioxidating Effect Of Ampelocissus Sp. (Isi Nyaru) On Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats, Zamri Elly Zulaikha

Student Works (2020-2029)

The Ampelocissus sp. locally known as Isi Nyaru has been traditionally used by native Malaysian for medical purpose. The tuber was extracted with hexane, petroleum-ether, chloroform, methanol and water solvents. The seperation and detection of bioactive compounds were done using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) methods. The TLC results showed the presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids and terpenoids. While in GCMS has revealed the presence of hydrocarbon groups such as alkene, ester and ether, amino acid groups, dicarboxylic acid and cyclic aromatic compound. The total phenol content and total flavonoid content were highest in methanolic …

In Vitro Bioactivities Of Single Or Combined Extracts From Three Selected Asian Vegetables, Mahmud Norfaizah

Student Works (2020-2029)

Three underutilized folklore oriental-based vegetables Acalypha indica (AI), Centella asiatica (CA), and Sesbania grandiflora (SG) have been investigated for pharmacological activities relevant to wound healing process and synergistic actions. Single and combination of aqueous (A) and methanol (M) extracts of the three vegetables namely AI-A, CA-A, SG-A, AI-M, CA-M, SG-M, AI-A+CA-A, AI-A+SG-A, CA-A+SG-A, AI-M+CA-M, AI-M+SG-M, and CA-M+SG-M were assessed for stimulation of wound closure by normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cells, antioxidant, protection against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), stimulation of nitric oxide (NO) from RAW264.7 macrophages and antimicrobial activities. The combined vegetable extracts AI-A+CA-A (90.76%) showed the highest percentage of wound …

Novel Inference Methods For Generalized Linear Models Using Shrinkage Priors And Data Augmentation., Arinjita Bhattacharyya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Generalized linear models have broad applications in biostatistics and sociology. In a regression setup, the main target is to find a relevant set of predictors out of a large collection of covariates. Sparsity is the assumption that only a few of these covariates in a regression setup have a meaningful correlation with an outcome variate of interest. Sparsity is incorporated by regularizing the irrelevant slopes towards zero without changing the relevant predictors and keeping the resulting inferences intact. Frequentist variable selection and sparsity are addressed by popular techniques like Lasso, Elastic Net. Bayesian penalized regression can tackle the curse of …

Tobacco Product-Derived Aldehydes: Effects On Circulating Angiogenic Cells & Implications For Cardiovascular Disease., Jordan B. Lynch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Tobacco smoke is the most significant modifiable risk factor in CVD development and contains numerous toxic compounds, including aldehydes, which have been linked to CVD. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and crotonaldehyde have been identified as significant contributors to cigarette-induced health effects, but the mechanism of these effects is not well understood. These aldehydes are also found in aerosols produced by e-cigarettes (e-cigs). The goal of this dissertation was to explore the systemic, hematological, and endothelium-related effects of exposure to tobacco products and constituent aldehydes and to identify potential mechanisms of injury. …

Development Of Rationally Designed Live Attenuated Vaccines For Lassa Fever And Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis., Dylan Macgregor Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lassa Virus (LASV) and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV) are two single stranded RNA viruses belonging to the Arenavirus and Alphavirus families, respectively. Both are emerging pathogens without approved vaccines or treatments. VEEV is an important biothreat pathogen because it has been weaponized and is extremely infectious as an aerosol. VEEV causes biphasic febrile illness that can progress to a viral encephalitis with low mortality, but high morbidity. LASV causes a viral hemorrhagic fever, Lassa Fever (LF), which is endemic in West Africa, and responsible for between 100-500k annual infections with a 1-2% overall mortality rate. ML29 and VEEV TC-83 …

Dual Role Of Antimicrobial Peptide Cathelicidin In Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease., Fengyuan Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) have high morbidity and mortality in its severe forms. One of the major features in different forms of ALD is the altered gut microbiota. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a crucial role in maintaining gut microbiota homeostasis. LL-37 (known as CRAMP in mouse) is the sole member of the human cathelicidin family and has piqued great research interest for its dual role in modulating microbiota and the immune response in metabolic diseases. Inflammasome activation is an important component of the liver pathophysiology in ALD and requires two signals for its full activation to induce the …

The Emerging Oral Pathogen, Filifactor Alocis, Disrupts Neutrophil Functions To Enhance Survival And Dysregulate Inflammation., Irina Miralda Molina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontitis is an irreversible, chronic inflammatory disease where pathogenic microbial communities accumulate in the gingival crevice. Advances in culture-independent techniques have facilitated the identification of new bacterial species in periodontal lesions, such as the Gram-positive anaerobe, Filifactor alocis. Neutrophils are a major component of the innate host response, and the outcome of their interaction with F. alocis may be a determinant of oral health status. While neutrophil functions typically protect the host against periodontal disease, oral pathogens have adapted to evade or disarm neutrophil microbicidal functions while promoting mechanisms that drive inflammation, which also provides a source of nutrients …

Elucidating The Developmental Defects In Zebrafish Associated With The Cardiac Drug Verapamil, Blake Stephan Justis

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Birth defects are abnormalities in a developing organism that lead to a malformation in structure or function. Over half of birth defects have no determined cause; however, known causes occur by genetic anomalies, exposure to environmental agents (a.k.a. teratogens), or multifactorial reasons. To explain the unknown causes of birth defects, an area of focus in this study is to identify potential teratogens. Identifying these teratogens, is key to preventing future birth defects. An obvious source of teratogens in pregnant women would be that of pharmaceuticals. Thus, a main goal of this study is to identify drugs that cause birth defects. …

Effects Of Alternative Chemotherapeutic Agents On Thyroid Cancer Cell Line Ml-1, Husref Rizvanovic

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Though differentiated thyroid carcinomas have decent prognosis when detected early, radioactive iodine (RAI) resistant and advanced thyroid cancers are still difficult to treat with existing therapies. Better therapeutic agents are needed. Studies have shown that aggressive thyroid cancers (ML-1) express the extracellular matrix protein, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2). MMP-2 has been linked to metastasis and aggressiveness of several cancers and has been shown to play a crucial role in tumor invasion. Chlorotoxin is a selective MMP-2 receptor agonist, and Saporin is a well-known ribosome-inactivating protein used for anti-cancer treatment; however, these two agents have never been studied when conjugated together. I …

The Effects Of Zoledronate And Sleep Deprivation On The Distal Femur Trabecular Thickness Of Ovariectomized Rats: Application Of Different Statistical Methods, Erin Nolte

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the degradation of bone, leading to an increased risk of fracture. 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 will be affected by Osteoporosis. This study aims to understand how bone is affected by sleep deprivation in estrogen-deficient rats, and how Zoledronate might negate the inimical effects of sleep deprivation on bone. As bone mineral density (BMD) is a crude evaluation of the architectural changes seen in Osteoporosis, trabecular thickness may serve as a better single evaluation of bone health. 31 Wistar female rats were ovariectomized and separated into 4 random groups. The …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Multi-Drug Resistant Enterococci, Ayesha Khan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Antibiotic resistance is a major global public health threat. Enterococci are recalcitrant, nosocomial pathogens that can be intrinsically resistant to valuable antibiotics, like beta-lactams, or evolve resistance to all existing antimicrobials. The LiaFSR system regulates resistance to cell membrane (CM) stressors like daptomycin (DAP), a front-line drug for multi-drug resistant infections. DAP resistance (DAP-R) in E. faecalis is mediated by CM phospholipid alterations. Emergence of DAP-R often leads to b-lactam resensitization, a phenomenon called the seesaw effect. The molecular mechanism of DAP-R and the seesaw effect are unknown. Here we show that LiaX is a surface exposed protein whose C-terminal …

Factors That Impact Uptake Of Carrier Screening By Male Reproductive Partners Of Female Prenatal Patients, Wendi Betting

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Carrier screening is a genomic technology that is used to identify individuals who are carriers of autosomal recessive conditions. Despite published recommendations, the majority of male partners do not complete carrier screening after their female partner is identified to be a carrier. Previous studieshave examined reasons why women elect or decline carrier screening, but there have been few published studies that examine factors that influence a male partner’s decision to elect or decline carrier screening, particularly when the female has been identified as a carrier. The aim of the study was to determine the factors that influence the uptake of …

Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein K (Hnrnp K) Overexpression And Its Interaction With Runx1 Rna In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Marisa Aitken

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an often devastating hematologic malignancy with 5-year overall survival lingering near 20%. Acquiring a deeper understanding of molecular underpinnings of leukemogenesis will provide a basis for developing more effective therapeutic strategies for patients with AML.

Here, we identified overexpression of hnRNP K as a recurrent abnormality in a subset (~20%) of AML patients. High levels of this RNA-binding protein associated with inferior clinical outcomes in de novo AML. Thus, to evaluate its putative oncogenic capacity in myeloid disease, we overexpressed hnRNP K in murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells isolated from fetal liver cells (FLCs). …

Food Safety Risk In An Indoor Microgreen Cultivation System, Gina Marie Misra

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microgreens are immature sprouts of edible plants, sharing some similarities with sprouted seeds and petite leafy greens. Since they are most often grown in containers in buildings or greenhouses, they present a new area for food safety research at the intersection of the built environment and produce farming. Contamination by human pathogens has been extensively studied in other types of produce typically eaten raw, including sprouted seeds, which have been implicated in numerous outbreaks of salmonellosis over the last several decades. There is a paucity of knowledge about the microgreen sector of the fresh-cut industry; thus, it was determined that …

Diabetic Retinopathy: Targeting Bigh3 To Develop Novel Molecular Therapies, Reanna Rodriguez, Anjalee Choudhury, Daniela Gonzalez, Cristian Mercado, Andrew Tsin

School of Medicine Publications

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes due to damage of blood vessels in the retina. Aside from being a major cause of blindness in the world, DR also has a significant impact on quality of life. Although there are methods to delay the progression of DR, there are no existing therapeutic regimens for early intervention. Thus, it is critical to develop cost-effective therapies towards preventing DR development.

Ape1 Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Proliferation Through Gfrα1/Src/Erk Axis-Cascade Signaling In Response To Gdnf, Yoo-Duk Choi, Ji-Yeon Jung, Minwoo Baek, Sheema Khan, Peter I. Song, Sunhyo Ryu, Joo-Yeon Koo, Subhash C. Chauhan, Andrew Tsin, Chan Choi, Won Jae Kim, Mihwa Kim

School of Medicine Publications

Pancreatic cancer is the worst exocrine gastrointestinal cancer leading to the highest mortality. Recent studies reported that aberrant expression of apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1 (APE1) is involved in uncontrolled cell growth. However, the molecular mechanism of APE1 biological role remains unrevealed in pancreatic cancer progression. Here, we demonstrate that APE1 accelerates pancreatic cancer cell proliferation through glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)/glial factor receptor α1 (GFRα1)/Src/ERK axis-cascade signaling. The proliferation of endogenous APE1 expressed-MIA PaCa-2, a human pancreatic carcinoma cell line, was increased by treatment with GDNF, a ligand of GFRα1. Either of downregulated APE1 or GFRα1 expression using small interference …

Synthesis, Cytotoxicity And Apoptosis Studies On Nickel And Zinc Derivatives Of Testosterone-N4-Substituted-Thiosemicarbazones, Mok Piew Heng

Student Works (2020-2029)

The side effects of cisplatin such as toxicities are mainly due to the lack of selectivity of this chemotherapeutic agent. In order to increase the selectivity of an anticancer agent, hormone molecule that targets a specific receptor may be utilized. This research aimed to prepare cytotoxic Schiff base compounds (and their nickel and zinc complexes) with testosterone and derivatives of thiosemicarbazide, which are potentially selective towards cancerous cells. Three Schiff base ligands (TM, TF, and TP) were made from the conjugation of testosterone with three derivatives of thiosemicarbazide (N4= methyl, fluorophenyl, and ethylphenyl) and their respective nickel (NM, NF, and …

The Use Of Guedel Airway For Naso-Orogastric Tube Insertion In Patients With Covid-19. A Way To Minimize Aerosol Generation, Faraz Shafiq, Dileep Kumar

Department of Anaesthesia

No abstract provided.