Medical Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Prebiotics On Gut Bacterial Communities And Healing Of Induced Colitis In Mice, Krystyn Elizabeth Davis

Master's Theses

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) cause chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and debilitating symptoms in those suffering from the diseases. After inducing colitis in a mouse model using Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS), prebiotics inulin and oligofructose enriched inulin (OEI) were used as treatments to determine their effects on the gut microbial community, physiological healing process, and immune response in the mice after initial inflammation and before subsequent inflammation, or relapse. The treatment with inulin led to an increase in regulatory T cell number, but this increase was not as significant as the increase induced by the OEI. Inulin increased the …

Proteomic Profiling Of Serum Derived Exosomes From Prostate Cancer Patients, David Turay

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Touted among the major achievements in the diagnosis and management of Prostate cancer (PCa) in the past few decades has been, the dramatic decline of men with advanced/metastatic PCa at diagnosis coupled with a significant improvement ( >90%) in the five and ten year survival rates of the disease. Non-palpable PCa (potentially clinically treatable disease) now accounts for 70-80% of all newly diagnosed cases of PCa. Preceding these changes by about a decade was the introduction of Prostatic Specific Antigen (PSA) into clinical practice; first as biomarker for monitoring response to therapy and subsequently as a complementary screening tool. It …

Transitioning Care From Hospital To Home, Increasing Awareness Of Take-Home Pressure Injury Prevention Kits, Erika A. Yazdanbakhsh Mrs

Master's Projects and Capstones

With proper implementation of evidence-based interventions, most pressure injuries (PI) can be prevented. While prevention is considered standard of care while inpatient, there is a need to transition this care from hospital to home. This CNL project aimed to increased awareness of take home PI prevention kits made available to staff nurses at on medical surgical hospital unit with 15 staff nurses. An author-blinded, internal chart review and a comprehensive review of evidence-based literature were studied to provide background data and support for implementation using the staff huddle. Direct observation and staff interaction was incorporated with Lewin’s change theory to …

Gross Anatomy Dissection Videos: Effect On Student Dissection Confidence And Laboratory Examination Scores, Kevin J. Selting

Theses & Dissertations

As medical colleges across the world experience cadaver shortages, faculty shortages, and decreased time allotted to teaching gross anatomy, a need for different teaching modalities has emerged. New ways of teaching are being studied to optimize efficiency and to acquire the same, or better, student outcomes as before the previously mentioned variables became prevalent. This was the stimulus for our research. Dissection videos were made, closely adhering to the dissections performed by Physician Assistant, Physical therapy, and Medical students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). The current Gross Anatomy course at UNMC involves four written examinations covering material …

Power Output And Loads On The Lumbar Vertebrae During A Power Clean 2016, Joseph Keleher

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to compare the peak resultant torque, shear, and compressive forces acting at the L3/L4 junction of the lumbar vertebrae and the peak power output during 40% one repetition maximum (1RM) and 80% 1RM attempts of the power clean. It was hypothesized that performance of a power clean at 80% 1RM will result in greater peak resultant compressive force, torque and shear force at the L3/L4 junction of the lumbar spine than that of a 40% 1RM attempt. Power cleans at 80% 1RM will also result in higher maximum instantaneous power outputs than that …

In Vitro Investigation Of The Effect Of Exogenous Ubiquitin On Processes Associated With Atherosclerosis, Chase W. Mussard

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Atherosclerosis, characterized by the build-up of cholesterol, immune cells and cellular debris within arterial walls, is accelerated following myocardial infarction by poorly understood mechanisms. Ubiquitin, a small, well-studied intracellular protein involved in protein turnover via the proteasome pathway, has recently been shown to exert extracellular effects on cardiac myocytes, in vitro, and in mice undergoing myocardial remodeling. This study investigates the potential role of extracellular ubiquitin in atherosclerosis by determining its effects on two critical atherosclerotic processes: the migration of vascular smooth muscles cells and the uptake of modified LDL by monocyte/macrophages in foam cell formation. In the presence …

Markerless Radiostereogammetry Of The Shoulder Joint In Humans: Comparisons Of Scapulohumeral Kinematics Between Individuals With Healthy And Supraspinatus-Impaired Shoulders, Ashley N. Hannon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this collection of studies was to further develop the knowledge of shoulder motion in order to better understand joint function through direct measurement of 3D scapulohumeral joint kinematics using a technique of high accuracy. Markerless, bi-planar fluoroscopic radiostereometric analysis using a generic shoulder model was developed in this thesis, reducing the amount of radiation exposure to subjects. The studies compared kinematic data of the scapulohumeral joint in six degrees of freedom with a precise, in-vivo measuring technique. Data were collected on young and older healthy individuals, individuals with a torn supraspinatus and post-surgical intervention.

Although this generic …

The Relationship Between Problem-Solving Ability/Eating Motivation And Perceived Quality Of Life In Individuals Diagnosed With Celiac Disease, Vincenzo Zaccheo

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Celiac disease (CD) is a digestive disorder resulting from gluten intolerance that leads to damage of the small intestine. The only current available treatment for CD involves adherence to a strict gluten-free diet. Due to the restrictive nature of this treatment diet, and the increasing prevalence of CD in recent years, much research has been conducted examining factors that impact the quality of life (QOL) of individuals with CD. However, there has been a dearth of literature identifying those factors which can be modified within a treatment setting. Thus, a need for further research in this area was identified. Through …

Chronic Pancreatitis, Pain, And Anxiety In An Alcohol And High Fat Mouse Model, Tiffanie Clinkinbeard

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Homeodynamic space (HDS) shrinks as vulnerability increases with aging and repeated damage to the cells. HDS is lost in alcoholic pancreatitis patients due to overconsumption of alcohol, smoking, and high fat diets. Etiologically relevant animal models for study of chronic pancreatitis (CP) are needed. In order to begin filling this gap a central purpose of this dissertation research was to examine relationships between the alcohol and high fat diet (AHF) and pancreatitis with attention to hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behaviors. The AHF diet induced pancreatitis described here etiologically mimics human risk factors of AHF consumption for advancement to alcoholic CP.

In …

Phonophobia Mediates The Relationship Between The Myelinated Vagus And Selective Mutism, Alexandra Sherwood Batzdorf

Senior Projects Spring 2016

When active, the myelinated vagus (the tenth cranial nerve) acts as a brake that inhibits sympathetic activity by reducing heart rate and blood pressure, and thus allows for social engagement by redirecting metabolic resources. Among those with selective mutism (SM), a disorder characterized by an inability to speak in certain situations, the vagal brake is dysregulated. One consequence of this is a weakening of the middle-ear acoustic reflex (MEAR), which helps clarify human voices and filters out low-frequency background noise, including the speaker’s own voice. I tested a proposed etiological model of SM and comorbid social anxiety disorder (SAD) by …

Human Oocytes And Embryos Viewed By Time-Lapse Videography, And The Development Of An Embryo Deselection Model, Yanhe Liu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Despite its wide application today, in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment continues to have relatively low efficacy, largely due to inaccuracy in selecting the best quality embryo(s) from the cohort for transfer. Novel methodologies for improved selection are being developed, and time-lapse observation of human embryos is gaining increasing popularity due to the more detailed morphokinetic information obtained plus uninterrupted culture conditions. The morphokinetic information enables the use of quantitative timings in developmental milestones of embryos and qualitative measures of abnormal biological events, to assist embryo selection/deselection. This project aimed to identify current limitations in the use of such measures and …

Looking To The Future Of Stroke Treatment: Combining Recanalization And Neuroprotection In Acute Ischemic Stroke, Michael E. Maniskas

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

Stroke is the 5^th leading cause of death in the U.S. with 130,000 deaths and around 800,000 affected annually. Currently, there is a significant disconnect between basic stroke research and clinical stroke therapeutic needs. Few animal models of stroke target the large vessels that produce cortical deficits seen in the clinical setting. Also, current routes of drug administration, intraperitoneal and intravenous, do not mimic the clinical route of intra-arterial drug administration. To bridge this divide, we have retro-engineered a mouse model of stroke from the current standard of care for emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO) stroke, endovascular thrombectomy, to …