Matching Items (19)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Creative Project
- All Subjects: Obesity
- Creators: School of Molecular Sciences
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
DescriptionThis project is designed to generate enthusiasm for science among refugee students in hopes of inspiring them to continue learning science as well as to help them with their current understanding of their school science subject matter.
ContributorsSipes, Shannon Paige (Author) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Thesis director) / Gregg, George (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is thought to be important in combating obesity as it can expend energy in the form of heat, e.g. thermogenesis. The goal of this study was to study the effect of injected norepinephrine (NE) on the activation of BAT in rats that were fed a high fat diet (HFD). A dose of 0.25 mg/kg NE was used to elicit a temperature response that was measured using transponders inserted subcutaneously over the BAT and lower back and intraperitoneally to measure the core temperature. The results found that the thermic effect of the BAT increased after the transition from low fat diet to a high fat diet (LFD) yet, after prolonged exposure to the HFD, the effects resembled levels found with the LFD. This suggests that while a HFD may stimulate the effect of BAT, long term exposure may have adverse effects on BAT activity. This may be due to internal factors that will need to be examined further.
ContributorsSion, Paul William (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Students Organize for Syria (SOS) is the student led initiative for Syria. With 18 registered chapters across the United States, this student organization is targeting a multidimensional cause by different means. Though it is now a national movement, it started off with one group at Arizona State University, with one student. Zana Alattar, founder and student director of SOS, tells the story of how she took an ASU organization, Save Our Syrian Freedom (SOS Freedom), to the national level as SOS. As a pre-medical student, she also combines her work in human rights with her future in healthcare. After all, health and human rights have long maintained a synergistic relationship.
ContributorsAlattar, Zana (Author) / Graff, Sarah (Thesis director) / McClurg, Sharolyn (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Dante's Divine Comedy has been around for eight centuries, and its imaginative vision of the afterlife truly resembled the ideology of 13th century. However, time has passed, and now, in 21st century, the societies have made major technological advancements that distinct themselves from the past. Consequently, with recent technology in mind, one could imagine an afterlife with robotic Minos and Cerberus, and possibly the circles of hell residing within an earth resembling death star that is controlled automatically using artificial intelligence. The symbolic representation of punishments could have been altered throughout time, and more recent criminals may be seen in the circles of hell. By identifying and correlating contemporary style of art with a classic literature such as Dante's Divine Comedy, one could better understand the essence of literature without the disconnect from current world, and appreciate the deep underlying ideology that Dante offers within his literature. Sculptures that encompass nine circles of hell and heaven would demonstrate structural aptitude and symbolic representation of what Dante would have imagined if he were to write his literature in the 21st century. Throughout the project, connection between the literature and the sculptures is observed. Some of the sculptures were meant to be abstract and some literal. Even though the medium used in each of the sculptures were different, the correlation between each sculpture unifies everything together into one theme, Dante's Divine Comedy.
ContributorsKim, David (Author) / Neubauer, Mary (Thesis director) / Harp, Hilary (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Within our current educational infrastructure, there’s a lack of substantial preventive care knowledge present among elementary schoolchildren. With education cuts occurring statewide, many schools are left impoverished and schools are incapable of implementing various programs to benefit their local communities. This endeavor aims to visit public and charter elementary schools in the Phoenix Valley to educate youth regarding easily avoidable health risks by implementing healthy eating habits and exercise. Project BandAid will immerse students ages 7-9 in hands-on activities to enhance their knowledge on hygiene, healthy eating habits, and safety. This project incorporated funding from the Woodside Community Action Grant and Barrett, the Honors College as well as the help from Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) volunteers.
ContributorsCovarrubias, Sidney Alicia (Co-author) / Kothari, Karishma (Co-author) / John, Benson (Co-author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Holechek, Susan (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Future of Innovation in Society (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
For the past couple decades, there has been a continuous rise in obesity and Type II Diabetes which has been attributed to the rise in calorically dense diets, especially those heavy in fats. Because of its rising prevalence, accompanied health concerns, and high healthcare costs, detection and therapies for these metabolic diseases are in high demand. Insulin resistance is a typical hallmark of Type II Diabetes and the metabolic deficiencies in obesity and is the main focus of this project. The primary purpose of this study is (1) detect the presence of two types of insulin resistance (peripheral and hepatic) as a function of age, (2) distinguish if diet impacted the presence of insulin resistance, and (3) determine both the short-term and long-term effects of caloric restriction on metabolic health. The following study longitudinally observed the changes in insulin resistance in high-fat fed and low-fat fed rodents under ad libitum and caloric restriction conditions over the course of 23 weeks. Fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, body weight, and sensitivity of insulin on tissue were monitored in order to determine peripheral and hepatic insulin resistance. A high fat diet resulted in higher body weights and higher hepatic insulin resistance with no notable effect on peripheral insulin resistance. Caloric restriction was found to alleviate insulin resistance both during caloric restriction and four weeks after caloric restriction ended. Due to sample size, the generalizability of the findings in this study are limited. However, the current study did provide considerable results and can be viewed as a pilot study for a larger-scale study.
ContributorsZuo, Dana (Author) / Trumble, Benjamin (Thesis director) / Herman, Richard (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
With the influence of the Western Diet, obesity has become a rising problem in the country today. Western Diet is characterized by the overconsumption of processed food that is low in nutritional values and high in saturated fats. Study showed that every two out of three adults in the United States are either overweight or obese. Being obese increase the risk of many other disease such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. Besides being a great health concern, obesity is also cause a great financial burden. Many efforts have been made to understand the defense against obesity and weight loss. The goal of this study was to understand the characterization of food intake and weight gain responses when imposed on a high-fat diet (HFD) using rats. It was predicted that weight gain would be dependent on energy intake and it would have a significant effect on adiposity compared to energy intake. Data showed that energy intake had high significance with adiposity whereas weight gain showed no significance. Also for the rats that were on HFD, the obesity-prone (OP) rats exhibited a great amount of weight gain and energy intake while the obesity-resistance (OR) rats showed a similar weight gain to the controlled group on low-fat diet (LFD) despite being hyperphagic. This suggests that OR is characterized by equal weight gain despite hyperphagia but this alone cannot explain the boy defense against obesity. More research is needed with a larger sample size to understand weight gain responses in order to fight against the epidemic of obesity.
ContributorsMao, Samuel (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Baluch, Page (Committee member) / Lamb, Timothy (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The tarot is a means of communication with the world. It allows readers to interpret signs from their surroundings, gather information, and use this information to make inferences about a posed question. Its origins can be found in mid-15th century Europe as playing cards with four suits commonly used for gambling. Several hundred years later during the 18th century, it began to be used as a tool for divination; the Major Arcana, a set of 22 trump cards representing various archetypes, evolved as a supplement to a new tarot that has become associated with mysticism. The tarot’s foundation is based on archetypes that build society. It can serve as a visual lens to understand the experiences, thoughts, and actions of a person posing a question, allowing the reader to offer a solution by understanding and interpreting the specific visual language of a deck.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and one of the most practiced today. It is full of fantastical myths and heroic legends, as well as undercurrents of feminism contrasted with misogyny and patriarchy. Hindu myths are contradictory as stories have evolved over time and have been retold with millions of differing perspectives.
In my thesis, I portrayed the 22 archetypes of the Major Arcana of the tarot through the lens of Hindu mythology as well as the broader pan-Indian culture. I include ancient stories and references to modern social issues. I visually communicated the connections between characters of Hindu mythology and the archetypes of the tarot with 22 watercolor paintings. This project was an opportunity to explore both the tarot through Hinduism, vice-versa. It allowed for the development of a deeper connection with spirituality and religion, along with a greater understanding of visual communication.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and one of the most practiced today. It is full of fantastical myths and heroic legends, as well as undercurrents of feminism contrasted with misogyny and patriarchy. Hindu myths are contradictory as stories have evolved over time and have been retold with millions of differing perspectives.
In my thesis, I portrayed the 22 archetypes of the Major Arcana of the tarot through the lens of Hindu mythology as well as the broader pan-Indian culture. I include ancient stories and references to modern social issues. I visually communicated the connections between characters of Hindu mythology and the archetypes of the tarot with 22 watercolor paintings. This project was an opportunity to explore both the tarot through Hinduism, vice-versa. It allowed for the development of a deeper connection with spirituality and religion, along with a greater understanding of visual communication.
ContributorsHarve, Prathima (Author) / Jenik, Adriene (Thesis director) / Codell, Julie (Committee member) / Zirbel, Lisa (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
DescriptionThis creative project provides documentation and an exploration of my interactions with individuals encountered while hitchhiking up the west coast.
ContributorsGerber, Evan Howard (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Over 40% of adults in the United States are considered obese. Obesity is known to cause abnormal metabolic effects and lead to other negative health consequences. Interestingly, differences in metabolism and contractile performance between obese and healthy weight individuals are associated with differences in skeletal muscle fiber type composition between these groups. Each fiber type is characterized by unique metabolic and contractile properties, which are largely determined by the myosin heavy chain isoform (MHC) or isoform combination that the fiber expresses. In previous studies, SDS-PAGE single fiber analysis has been utilized as a method to determine MHC isoform distribution and single fiber type distribution in skeletal muscle. Herein, a methodological approach to analyze MHC isoform and fiber type distribution in skeletal muscle was fine-tuned for use in human and rodent studies. In the future, this revised methodology will be implemented to evaluate the effects of obesity and exercise on the phenotypic fiber type composition of skeletal muscle.
ContributorsOhr, Jalonna Rose (Author) / Katsanos, Christos (Thesis director) / Tucker, Derek (Committee member) / Serrano, Nathan (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05