The Influence Of Scientific, Genetic, And Health Literacy On Carrier Screening Decision-Making,
2025
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
The Influence Of Scientific, Genetic, And Health Literacy On Carrier Screening Decision-Making, Brenna D. Albracht
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
For those wishing to assess their reproductive risks and make informed decisions in their reproductive planning, carrier screening for autosomal recessive and X-linked conditions, as well as cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening for aneuploidy, are recommended during pregnancy. Despite similarities in purpose, sample requirements, insurance coverage, and safety, a lower percentage of individuals elect carrier screening than cfDNA screening, suggesting there may be a disconnect in what patients perceive as valuable information for their pregnancy. Previous studies have attempted to explain the factors associated with carrier screening uptake or decline; however, no models have yet accounted for a patient’s literacy level …
The Role And Expression Of Pros-1 In The C. Elegans Gonad,
2025
Bellarmine University
The Role And Expression Of Pros-1 In The C. Elegans Gonad, Brandon W. Thomas, Mary B. Kroetz, Roberta Challener
Undergraduate Theses
The nematode, formally known as Caenorhabditis elegans, has served as an excellent model organism in understanding fundamental biological processes, including those governed by conserved genes like pros-1. pros-1 is partially responsible for the formation of tubular structures within the organism. Glial cells and excretory canals are both examples of tubular structures governed by pros-1. pros-1 orchestrates the embryonic development of these cell types by modulating cell proliferation and differentiation, thus ensuring proper morphogenesis and organogenesis. Its regulatory influence likely extends beyond embryogenesis, potentially affecting reproductive processes as well. Furthermore, the evolutionary conservation of pros-1 underscores its significance …
Highly Targeted Metabolomics Coupled With Gene Expression Analysis By Rt–Qpcr Improves Beef Separation Based On Grass, Grain, Or Grape Supplemented Diet,
2025
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Highly Targeted Metabolomics Coupled With Gene Expression Analysis By Rt–Qpcr Improves Beef Separation Based On Grass, Grain, Or Grape Supplemented Diet, Lucas Krusinski, Chloe Castanon, Rosalee S. Hellberg, Isabella C. F. Maciel, Muhammad Ahsin, Stephan Van Vliet, Jason E. Rowntree, Jennifer I. Fenton
Food Science Faculty Articles and Research
The objective of this study was to use a multi-omics (i.e., gene expression quantification, metabolomics, and fatty acid [FA] profiling) approach to separate and authenticate beef from three different dietary groups. In this 2-year study, Red Angus steers (n = 54) were randomly allocated to one of three treatments: (1) complex biodiverse pasture (GRASS), (2) total mixed ration (TMR) in feedlot (GRAIN), or (3) TMR in feedlot supplemented with 5% (dry matter) grapeseed extract for the last 30 days (GRAPE). FAs were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS), secondary metabolites were identified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry …
The Impact Of Paternal Obesity On Placental Development And Function During Pregnancy,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
The Impact Of Paternal Obesity On Placental Development And Function During Pregnancy, Delaney G. Wolfe, Delaney G. Wiolfe
Department of Nutrition Student Projects
Paternal obesity is a rising concern in conception and reproductive health, with increasing evidence suggesting its impact on pregnancy outcomes. While maternal obesity's effects on fetal development and placental function are well-documented, the role of paternal obesity remains less understood. The placenta, crucial for nutrient exchange and fetal development, can be disrupted by inflammation, oxidative stress, and epigenetic modifications, potentially leading to long-term health implications for both maternal and fetal health. Understanding the paternal influence on placental development is essential for improving pregnancy outcomes and offspring
health. This study aims to investigate the relationship between paternal obesity on placental function …
Precision Metagenomics In Elder Care: Renovating Infection Diagnostics And Antimicrobial Stewardship,
2025
University of Texas at Tyler
Precision Metagenomics In Elder Care: Renovating Infection Diagnostics And Antimicrobial Stewardship, Rob E. Carpenter
Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains a critical challenge in elder care, where frequent infections, polypharmacy, and immunosenescence contribute to poor outcomes. Traditional diagnostic methods, including culture-based and polymerase chain reaction assays, often fail to provide timely, comprehensive microbial identification, leading to prolonged empirical antibiotic use and worsening resistance trends. Precision metagenomics, a clinically refined application of next-generation sequencing, represents a transformative advancement in infection diagnostics and antimicrobial stewardship. By enabling culture-independent, high-resolution pathogen detection directly from clinical samples, precision metagenomics provides real-time identification of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic pathogens, along with their antimicrobial resistance profiles. This approach facilitates early intervention, …
The Role Of Secondary And Tertiary Structure In The Cap-Independent Translation Of Fgf-9 And Hif-1-Alpha,
2025
CUNY Graduate Center
The Role Of Secondary And Tertiary Structure In The Cap-Independent Translation Of Fgf-9 And Hif-1-Alpha, Amanda Michelle Whittaker
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Under normoxic conditions, eukaryotes initiate translation of RNA through eIF4E recognition of the 5’ cap. However, under cellular stress, eukaryotic translation must be initiated through a 4E-independent, or “cap-independent” mechanism, involving eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) binding directly to the 5’ untranslated regions (5’ UTR) of the RNA. eIF4G binding then recruits the ribosome to the transcript. While this mechanism is useful for translation of apoptotic transcripts and transcripts involved in cell survival, cap-independent translation is also utilized by oncogenic RNA for tumorigenesis. Previous work by our lab and others has categorized this recruitment and initiation mechanism as either internal-ribosome-entry-site …
Investigating The Dna-Binding Role Of Tbp1 In Toxoplasma Gondii: Expression And Characterization Of A Recombinant Protein,
2025
University of New Hampshire - Main Campus
Investigating The Dna-Binding Role Of Tbp1 In Toxoplasma Gondii: Expression And Characterization Of A Recombinant Protein, Madison T. Jeckell
Honors Theses and Capstones
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite with a complex life cycle and an unusual transcriptional machinery compared to other eukaryotes. Unlike most organisms, Toxoplasma lacks multiple well-conserved promoter motifs and has multiple TATA-binding proteins (TBPs), including TBP1, whose function in DNA binding and transcription regulation is poorly understood. This study aimed to generate and express a recombinant TBP1 protein from Toxoplasma to enable future DNA-binding assays and motif identification. Using RT-PCR, the TgTBP1 gene was amplified and cloned into a pGEX vector to produce a GST-tagged protein. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 cells, and protein …
The Role Of Horizontal Gene Transfer In Antibiotic Resistance Amidst Prevalent Community And Healthcare-Associated Mrsa Rates,
2025
Georgia Southern University
The Role Of Horizontal Gene Transfer In Antibiotic Resistance Amidst Prevalent Community And Healthcare-Associated Mrsa Rates, Gabrielle Nascimento
Honors College Theses
In recent decades, cases of community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) and healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) have been on the rise. The ability of antibiotic resistance to transfer between microorganisms greatly expands its threat to the effective treatment and containment of bacterial infections. The mecA gene is found on a mobile cassette within the Staphylococcal cell and encodes for PBP2a, an alternate version of penicillin-binding protein (PBP) with less binding affinity for β-lactam antibiotics, increasing resistance to the effects of antibiotics. The goal of this research is to investigate the horizontal transfer of the mecA gene between various Staphylococcus species as well as to …
Genetic Property Rhetoric And The Public Domain,
2025
Emory University School of Law
Genetic Property Rhetoric And The Public Domain, David Fagundes
Faculty Articles
Among the many themes that illuminate Jorge Contreras’s The Genome Defense, this Essay focuses on property. It considers the rhetorical role played by property in convincing both courts and the public that patenting genetic data was legally and ethically objectionable. This Essay begins by locating property—and public property—as a major theme in the dialogue surrounding the Myriad litigation. It then situates this rhetorical move in the context of property-talk generally, highlighting the distinctiveness of leveraging public rather than private ownership as a means of accessing moral intuitions. Finally, this Essay reflects on what the use of public property rhetoric …
Karyotyping As A Method To Verify Phylogenetic Relationships Among The Enneacanthus Species,
2025
Lehman College City University of New York
Karyotyping As A Method To Verify Phylogenetic Relationships Among The Enneacanthus Species, Ophelia A. Anderson
Theses and Dissertations
The Enneacanthus genus consists of three species of freshwater fish endemic to eastern North America: E. obesus (Banded Sunfish), E. gloriosus (Blue Spotted Sunfish), and E. chaetodon (Black Banded Sunfish). Previous studies using molecular data suggest that E. obesus and E. gloriosus are more closely related, with E. chaetodon as the most distantly related species in the genus. This study investigates the phylogenetic relationship among the Enneacanthus species, using karyotype characteristics - chromosome number, morphology and fundamental number - as comparative metrics. Chromosome spreads were obtained from scale and gill epithelium samples collected between 1993 and 1994. Prepared slides …
Dna Methylation Variation In Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus) On A Georgia Barrier Island,
2025
Georgia Southern University
Dna Methylation Variation In Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus) On A Georgia Barrier Island, Megan Hoog
College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations
The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus, EDB) is the largest rattlesnake in the world and is thought to be declining in many portions of its range. Genetic venom studies in the Southeast United States have shown evidence of fine-scale differences within two main geographic groups on Jekyll Island. My objective is to expand on this finding to determine if epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation, varies among different populations of EDB in similar environments, age classes, and sexes. I collected EDB blood samples through a partnership with the Jekyll Island Authority and screened 44 individuals for epigenetic variation from …
“Regression To The Mean”: The Confluence Of Eugenics And Statistics In The 19th And 20th Centuries,
2025
Pomona College
“Regression To The Mean”: The Confluence Of Eugenics And Statistics In The 19th And 20th Centuries, Emrys G. King
Pomona Senior Theses
The work of this thesis is twofold — first, qualitatively characterizing the confluence between the British eugenics and statistics movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and second, quantitatively analyzing the effect of this foundation on pedagogical materials in the growing field of statistics between 1880 and 1970. Towards the first goal, the history of the method of least squares, state statistics, and positive and negative eugenics are outlined, followed by a close reading of the foundational texts authored by Francis Galton and Karl Pearson that introduced linear regression. Towards the latter goal, English-language statistics textbooks published between …
A Non-Toxic Analgesic Elicits Cell-Specific Genomic And Epigenomic Modulation By Targeting The Pag Brain Region,
2025
LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans
A Non-Toxic Analgesic Elicits Cell-Specific Genomic And Epigenomic Modulation By Targeting The Pag Brain Region, Hernan A. Bazan, Brian L. Giles, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, Scott Edwards, Nicolas G. Bazan
School of Medicine Faculty Publications
Acetaminophen (ApAP) is widely used for pain management, but overuse or overdose leads to hepatotoxicity, making it the leading cause of acute liver failure globally. There is an urgent need for safer pain medications, as other non-opioid analgesics like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are nephrotoxic. We have identified SRP-001 as a safer, non-hepatotoxic, novel analgesic that overcomes ApAP's limitations by avoiding NAPQI formation and preserving hepatic tight junctions. Using coupled RNA and ATAC sequencing, from the periaqueductal gray (PAG) midbrain region, we compared the genetic and epigenetic signatures of SRP-001 and ApAP treatments following complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain …
Genome-Wide Expression Profiling And Phenotypic Analysis Of Downstream Targets Identify The Fox Transcription Factor Jumeau As A Master Regulator Of Cardiac Progenitor Cell Division,
2024
Indiana State University
Genome-Wide Expression Profiling And Phenotypic Analysis Of Downstream Targets Identify The Fox Transcription Factor Jumeau As A Master Regulator Of Cardiac Progenitor Cell Division, M. Rezaul Hasan
Bakerman Student Research Awards
Forkhead box (Fox) transcription factors (TFs) mediate multiple conserved cardiogenic processes in both mammals and Drosophila. Our prior work identified the roles of two Drosophila Fox genes, jumeau (jumu) and Checkpoint suppressor 1-like (CHES-1-like), in cardiac progenitor cell specification and division, and in the proper positioning of cardiac cell subtypes. Fox TF binding sites are also significantly enriched in the enhancers of genes expressed in the heart, suggesting that these genes may play a core regulatory role in one or more of these cardiogenic processes. We identified downstream targets of Jumu by comparing transcriptional expression profiles of flow cytometry-sorted mesodermal …
Use Of A Novel Combination Of Multiplex Pcr And Dna Barcoding In Assessing Authenticity Of Ginseng Products,
2024
Chapman University
Use Of A Novel Combination Of Multiplex Pcr And Dna Barcoding In Assessing Authenticity Of Ginseng Products, Diane Y. Kim, Donna Miranda-Romo, Adriana R. Ten Cate, Rosalee S. Hellberg
Food Science Faculty Articles and Research
Ginseng (Panax sp.) is a medicinal plant used for its purported health benefits, primarily in East Asian countries. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in sales of dietary supplements, including ginseng supplements, to purportedly support immune health and provide other health benefits. However, this heightened demand has subsequently increased the risk of adulteration in these dietary supplements. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a novel combination of DNA barcoding and multiplex PCR to identify species in ginseng supplements. A total of 50 commercial ginseng supplements containing Panax ginseng, Panax quinquefolius, or Panax notoginseng were obtained …
Onsite Microbial Analyses In One Of The Most Remote Quartzite Subterranean Environment On Earth: Imawarì Yeuta On Venezuelan Tepuis,
2024
University of Bologna
Onsite Microbial Analyses In One Of The Most Remote Quartzite Subterranean Environment On Earth: Imawarì Yeuta On Venezuelan Tepuis, Martina Cappelletti
FRONTIERS UNBOUND: Exploring Extreme Environments
No abstract provided.
Aars Online: A Collaborative Database On The Structure, Function, And Evolution Of The Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetases,
2024
University of Auckland
Aars Online: A Collaborative Database On The Structure, Function, And Evolution Of The Aminoacyl-Trna Synthetases, Jordan Douglas, Haissi Cui, John J. Perona, Oscar Vargas-Rodriguez, Henna Tyynismaa, Claudia Alvarez Carreño, Jiqiang Ling, Lluís Ribas De Pouplana, Xiang-Lei Yang, Michael Ibba, Hubert Becker, Frédéric Fischer, Marie Sissler, Charles W. Carter Jr., Peter Wills
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) are a large group of enzymes that implement the genetic code in all known biological systems. They attach amino acids to their cognate tRNAs, moonlight in various translational and non-translational activities beyond aminoacylation, and are linked to many genetic disorders. The aaRS have a subtle ontology characterized by structural and functional idiosyncrasies that vary from organism to organism, and protein to protein. Across the tree of life, the 22 coded amino acids are handled by 16 evolutionary families of Class I aaRS and 21 families of Class II aaRS. We introduce AARS Online, an interactive Wikipedia-like …
Rna Secondary Structures: Structure-Function Studies In Viral And Neurodegenerative Diseases,
2024
Duquesne University
Rna Secondary Structures: Structure-Function Studies In Viral And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Caylee Cunningham
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The studies within this dissertation highlight the importance of RNA structure and function, highlighting potential mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and hallmarks of ALS. Specifically, the s2m, a 41-nt structure found within the hyper variable region of the 3’ UTR of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was investigated as this element has no definitive role in viruses but its high conservation in several viral families warrants investigation. We used various biophysical techniques to determine if a palindromic sequence in the terminal loop could participate in dimerization activities, which may have implications in recombination and the longevity of the virus. …
The Effect Of Acute Social Isolation On Neural Molecular Responses In Components Of The Social Decision-Making Network,
2024
Chapman University
The Effect Of Acute Social Isolation On Neural Molecular Responses In Components Of The Social Decision-Making Network, Patricia C. Lopes, Madeleine Chang, Faith Holloway, Biola Fatusin, Sachin Patel, Chandler Siemonsma, Morgan Kindel
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Prolonged or chronic social isolation has pronounced effects on animals, ranging from altered stress responses, increased anxiety and aggressive behaviour, and even increased mortality. The effects of shorter periods of isolation are much less well researched; however, short periods of isolation are used routinely for testing animal behaviour and physiology. Here, we studied how a 3 h period of isolation from a cagemate affected neural gene expression in three brain regions that contain important components of the social decision-making network, the hypothalamus, the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, using a gregarious bird …
Exploring The Role Of The Arginine-Methylation Writer-Reader Pair Prmt5/Snd1 In Jak2-Mutant Myeloproliferative Neoplasms,
2024
The Texas Medical Center Library
Exploring The Role Of The Arginine-Methylation Writer-Reader Pair Prmt5/Snd1 In Jak2-Mutant Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, Rocio Rubiano
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a hematopoietic disease characterized by hyperproliferation of cells of the myeloid lineage for which current therapeutic options are limited. Discovered in 2005, the JAK2V617F mutation is the most common driver mutation in BCR-ABL negative MPNs, resulting in constitutive activation of the JAK2 protein and the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. A role for the methyltransferase activity of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) has been proposed in JAK2-mutant MPN, highlighting both a mechanism through which this mutation can drive disease progression and a potential mode of therapeutic intervention. Staphylococcal Nuclease Domain-Containing Protein 1 (SND1) is the effector molecule responsible …
