Matching Items (33)
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- All Subjects: Obesity
- Creators: School of Life Sciences
- Creators: School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Description
Dogs' health and wellbeing is of great importance to their owners. The most common nutritional problem for pet dogs is obesity, with 22-40% of pet dogs being classified as overweight or obese. With many adverse health effects associated with obesity, this is a major concern for owners and veterinarians. The degree to which dogs enjoy consuming certain foods can have substantial implications for their body weight, so it is important to understand which aspects of foods make them appealing to dogs. This study aimed to determine whether nutritional aspects of commercial dog foods predict dogs' preferences for those foods. It was found that consumption preference is positively correlated with protein content (p < .001), therefore implying that the protein content of commercial dry dog foods may predict dogs' consumption preferences. Consumption preferences were not predicted by other available measures of food content or caloric value. Dogs' preference for foods high in protein content may be due to the satiating effect of protein. Since foods high in protein both reduce the amount of energy consumed and are found to be palatable to dogs, high-protein dog foods may offer a way for dog food manufacturers, veterinarians, and pet owners to combat obesity in pet dogs.
ContributorsPrevost, Emily Danielle (Author) / Wynne, Clive (Thesis director) / Hall, Nathaniel (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation have been found to affect metabolic processes, which leads to conditions like type 2 diabetes and obesity. The aim of this project was to validate differentially methylated cytosines (DMCs) identified in skeletal muscle from seven obese, non-diabetic women pre- and 3 months post- Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. DNA samples extracted from skeletal muscle were sent to the Mayo Genotyping Core to undergo reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS). Differentially methylated cytosines at chr14.105353824 of the gene CEP170B, chr19.16437949 of the KLF2 gene, chr7.130126082 of MEST, and chr15.62457572 of C2CD4B were captured from the RRBS analysis using MethylSig. Bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) was performed on all DMCs listed above which resulted in no significant changes in methylation post-surgery. It was concluded that an alternate, more precise method should be used for validation of the RRBS, such as pyrosequencing.
ContributorsKelley, Conley Lane (Author) / Coletta, Dawn K. (Thesis director) / Roust, Lori R. (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Obesity has become a major area of research in many fields due to the increasing obesity rate not only in The United States, but also around the world. Research concerning obesity stigma has both physical and mental health implications. Weight bias and obesity stigma represent important research areas for health professionals as they confront these issues on a daily basis in interactions with their patients. To explore how gender, ethnicity, and a person's own BMI affect the stigma of certain weight related terms, a set of 264 participant's surveys on weight related situations on the campus of Arizona State University were analyzed. Using univariate analysis to determine frequency of words deemed most or least acceptable as well as independent t-test for gender and ANOVA for ethnicity and own BMI, we found that participant's view more clinical terms such as "unhealthy BMI" and "BMI" as acceptable words for use during a physician-patient interaction. Analysis across genders revealed the highest number of differences in terms, with females generally ranking terms across the board as less acceptable then men. Differences varied little between ethnicities; however, own BMI revealed more differences between terms; underweight participants did not rank any terms as positive. We analyzed average ATOP (Attitudes Toward Obese People) scores and found that there was no significant difference in average ATOP scores between gender and a participant's own BMI, but a statistical significance did exist between ethnic categories. This study showed that the term "obese/obesity", although normally considered to be a clinical term by many was not ranked as very positive across gender, ethnicity, or own BMI. Based on these findings, new material should be created to inform physicians on how to talk about weight related problems with certain populations of patients.
ContributorsBlasco, Drew Adair (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Brewis Slade, Alexandra (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This project explores a variety of ways of framing the problem of obesity, beginning with a multidisciplinary assessment of genetic, environmental, cultural, nutritional, and socioeconomic factors involved in the structure and the consequences of each frame. How obesity is framed as a problem has a profound impact on the kinds of solutions that may be deemed scientifically appropriate. But frames are not entirely evidence-based, inasmuch as political and moral values infuse debates about the nature of obesity. Drawing on interdisciplinary resources from bioethics and the philosophy of science, I strive to offer strategic insight in to how to navigate the complexity of these issues.
ContributorsYanamandra, Meghana (Author) / Robert, Jason (Thesis director) / Wharton, Christopher (Committee member) / Drago, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Obesity is a growing issue in the Western world, as well as other international countries. This is leading to increases in complications associated with obesity. One such complication is osteoarthritis (OA) of load bearing joints that requires surgical treatment by total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Obesity is also associated with an increase in surgical complications that may lead to poor TKA outcomes. Additionally, the female gender is also known to be associated with increased rates of severe, clinical OA. This study was designed to determine the comparative efficacy of two knee implants in the obese female population through retrospective chart review and data analysis. The implants differ in their level of constraint, with the total stabilizing (TS) being more constrained than the posterior stabilizing (PS). We hypothesized that the TS implants would be associated with improved functional outcomes in the obese female population. The TS implant was observed to be associated with earlier improvement of both passive and active range of motion. This implant also showed greater improvement from pre-operative condition in stability, rejecting our null hypothesis and supporting our hypothesis.
ContributorsWorhacz, Kellen Michael (Author) / Hinrichs, Richard (Thesis director) / Jacofsky, Marc (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Background: Measles virus (MV) infections are the main cause of vaccine-preventable death in children younger than 5 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated there are over 20 million cases of measles every year. Currently, diagnostic methods rely on enzyme immunoassays (EIA) to detect IgM or IgG Abs in serum. These commercial assays measure reactivity against the immunodominant N antigen and can have a false negative rates of 20-30%. Centralized testing by clinical labs can delay rapid screening in an outbreak setting. This study aims to develop a rapid molecular diagnostic assay to detect IgG reactive to five individual MV proteins representing 85% of the measles proteome. Methods: MV genes were subcloned into pANT_cGST vector to generate C-terminal GST fusion proteins. Single MV cistrons were expressed using in vitro transcription/translation (IVTT) with human cell lysate. Expression of GST-tagged proteins was measured using a sandwich ELISA for GST expression using relative light units (RLUs) as readouts. Single MV antigens were used as bait to determine the IgG-dependent reactivity in 12 serum samples obtained from immunized animals with previously determined neutralization titer (NT) and the correlation between NT and ELISA reactivity was determined. Results: Protein expression of five measles genes of interest, M, N, F, H, and L, was measured. L exhibited the strongest protein expression with an average RLU value of 4.34 x 10^9. All proteins were expressed at least 50% greater than control (2.33 x 10^7 RLU). As expected, reactivity against the N was the highest, followed by reactivity against M, F, H and L. The best correlation with NT titer was reactivity against F (R^2 = 0.62). Conclusion: These data indicate that the expression of single MV genes M, N, F, H, and L are suitable antigens for serologic capture analysis of measles immunity.
ContributorsMushtaq, Zuena (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Reyes del Valle, Jorge (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
There has been an alarming rise in the prevalence of obesity which has been attributed to the paralleled rise in consumption of high-fat foods. It’s commonly accepted that high-fat diets can lead to increased weight gain, however not all fats have the same physiological action. This study primarily focuses on the effect of canola oil, a monounsaturated fat, on energy homeostasis and body composition when it’s given as a supplement to a high-fat diet composed of saturated fatty acid. Rodent models were divided into three dietary groups: 1) low-fat diet (LFD), 2) high-fat diet (HFD) and 3) canola oils supplemented HFD (HF+CAN). After 4 weeks of dietary intervention, samples of epididymal fat, perinephric fat, and liver were analyzed across the three groups to see if the changes in energy homeostasis could be explained by the cellular behavior and composition of these tissues. Interestingly, the supplement of canola oil appeared to reverse the deleterious effects of a saturated fat diet, reverting energy intake, body weight gain and adipose tissue sizes to that (if not lower than that) of the LFD group. The only exception to this effect was the liver: the livers remained larger and fattier than those of the HFD. This occurrence is possibly due to a decrease in free fatty acid uptake in the adipose tissues—resulting in smaller adipose tissue sizes—and increased fatty acid uptake in the liver. The mechanism by which this occurs has yet to be elucidated and will be the primary focus of upcoming studies on the effect of monounsaturated fat on other diets.
ContributorsZuo, Connie Wanda (Author) / Washo-Krupps, Delon (Thesis director) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Herman, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This project aims to address the current protocol regarding the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in medical industries around the world. Although there are various methods used to qualitatively determine if TBI has occurred to a patient, this study attempts to aid in the creation of a system for quantitative measurement of TBI and its relative magnitude. Through a method of artificial evolution/selection called phage display, an antibody that binds highly specifically to a post-TBI upregulated brain chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan called neurocan has been identified. As TG1 Escheria Coli bacteria were infected with KM13 helper phage and M13 filamentous phage in conjunction, monovalent display of antibody fragments (ScFv) was performed. The ScFv bind directly to the neurocan and from screening, phage that produced ScFv's with higher affinity and specificity to neurocan were separated and purified. Future research aims to improve the ScFv characteristics through increased screening toward neurocan. The identification of a highly specific antibody could lead to improved targeting of neurocan post-TBI in-vivo, aiding researchers in quantitatively defining TBI by visualizing its magnitude.
ContributorsSeelig, Timothy Scott (Author) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The diagnosis of bacterial infections based on phage multiplication has the potential for profound clinical implications, particularly for antibiotic-resistant strains and the slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The possibility of hastening the diagnosis of antibiotic-resistant mycobacterial infections was accomplished via the study of Mycobacterium smegmatis, a generally non-pathogenic, comparatively fast growing microorganism to M. tuberculosis. These proof-of-concept studies established that after transduction of M. smegmatis cells with bacteriophages, MALDI-TOF MS could be used to detect increased amounts of phage proteins. Recording the growth of M. smegmatis over an 8-hour period, starting with very low OD600 measurements, simulated bacterial loads in clinical settings. For the purposes of MALDI-TOF MS, the procedure for the most effective lethal exposure for M. smegmatis was determined to be a 1-hour incubation in a 95°C water bath. Successful precipitation of the lytic mycobacteriophages D29 and Giles was performed using chloroform and methanol and overlaid with 1-2 μL of α-cyano-4-hydoxycinnaminic acid, which allowed for more distinct and repeatable MALDI-TOF MS spectra. Phage D29 was found to produce an m/z peak at 18.477 kDa, which may have indicated a 2+-charged ion of the 34.8 kDa minor tail protein. The Giles proteins that were identified with MALDI-TOF MS have not been directly compared to protein values reported in the scientific literature. However, the MALDI-TOF MS spectra suggested that distinct peaks existed between M. smegmatis mc2155 and mycobacteriophages, indicating that successful infection with lytic phage and replication thereafter may have occurred. The distinct peaks between M. smegmatis and the phage can be used as indicators of the presence of mycobacteria. At this point, the limits of detection of each phage must be elucidated in order for MALDI-TOF MS spectra to be successfully implemented as a mechanism to rapidly detect antibiotic-resistant mycobacteria.
ContributorsBarrett, Rachael Lauren (Author) / Haydel, Shelley (Thesis director) / Sandrin, Todd (Committee member) / Maarsingh, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A chimeric, humanized monoclonal antibody that recognizes a highly conserved fusion loop found on flaviviruses was constructed with a geminiviral replicon and transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants through Agrobacterium tumefaciens infiltration. Characterization and expression studies were then conducted to confirm correct assembly of the antibody. Once the antibody was purified, an ELISA was conducted to validate that the antibody was able to bind to the flavivirus fusion loop.
ContributorsPardhe, Mary (Author) / Mason, Hugh (Thesis director) / Chen, Qiang (Committee member) / Mor, Tsafrir (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05