Matching Items (10)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

136252-Thumbnail Image.png
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

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
133588-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
With the new independence of adulthood, college students are a group susceptible to adopting unsupported, if not harmful, health practices. A survey of Arizona State University undergraduate students (N=200) was conducted to evaluate supplement use, trust in information sources, and beliefs about supplement regulation. Of those who reported using supplements,

With the new independence of adulthood, college students are a group susceptible to adopting unsupported, if not harmful, health practices. A survey of Arizona State University undergraduate students (N=200) was conducted to evaluate supplement use, trust in information sources, and beliefs about supplement regulation. Of those who reported using supplements, college students most frequently received information from friends and family. STEM majors in fields unrelated to health who were taking a supplement were found to be less likely to receive information about the supplement from a medical practitioner than those in health fields or those in non-STEM majors (-26.9%, p=0.018). STEM majors in health-related fields were 15.0% more likely to treat colds and/or cold symptoms with research-supported methods identified from reliable sources, while non-health STEM and non-STEM majors were more likely to take unsupported cold treatments (p=0.010). Surveyed students, regardless of major, also stated they would trust a medical practitioner for supplement advice above other sources (88.0%), and the majority expressed a belief that dietary supplements are approved/regulated by the government (59.8%).
ContributorsPerez, Jacob Tanner (Author) / Hendrickson, Kirstin (Thesis director) / Lefler, Scott (Committee member) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
134623-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Structure is a critical component in drug development. This project supports antibody- facilitated structure determination for the following eleven membrane proteins: the human histamine and dopamine G protein-coupled receptors (HRH4 and DRD2) involved in a wide variety of pathologies such as allergies, inflammation, asthma, pain along with Parkinson's and schizophrenia

Structure is a critical component in drug development. This project supports antibody- facilitated structure determination for the following eleven membrane proteins: the human histamine and dopamine G protein-coupled receptors (HRH4 and DRD2) involved in a wide variety of pathologies such as allergies, inflammation, asthma, pain along with Parkinson's and schizophrenia respectively, the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), the human NaV1.8 voltage-gated sodium ion channel, the human TPC2 two-pore channel, the SARS virus proteins 3a, E and M, the MERS virus protein E and M, and the malarial chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT). Serum antibodies against these proteins were generated by genetic immunization, and both in vitro and in vivo expressed membrane proteins were created to characterize the serum antibodies. Plasmid clones were generated for genetic immunization, in vitro protein expression, and in vivo expression (HEK293T transfection). Serum antibodies were generated by genetic immunization of mice by gene gun. Genetic immunization promotes an immune response that allows for the generation of antibodies in the absence of purified protein. In vitro expression was accomplished through the novel technique: in vitro translation with hydrophobic magnetic beads (IVT-HMB). Transfections were performed using the HEK293T cell line to express the protein in vivo. The generated protein was then used in gel electrophoresis and silver stain and/or Western blot analyses to identify and visualize the proteins. These expressed proteins will allow for forthcoming characterization of the generated antibodies. The resulting antibodies will in turn enable structure determination of these important membrane proteins by co-crystallization.
ContributorsDrotar, Beniamin (Author) / Fromme, Petra (Thesis director) / Hansen, Debra T. (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
162274-Thumbnail Image.png
Description

U.S. border colonias, otherwise known as Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities, are rural settlements along the U.S. Mexico border with substandard housing conditions. Colonia residents often face inadequate access to necessities such as appropriate shelter, septic and sewer systems, and potable water. Water insecurity in colonias poses a particularly difficult challenge for

U.S. border colonias, otherwise known as Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities, are rural settlements along the U.S. Mexico border with substandard housing conditions. Colonia residents often face inadequate access to necessities such as appropriate shelter, septic and sewer systems, and potable water. Water insecurity in colonias poses a particularly difficult challenge for residents who require clean water not only for consumption, but also household use in sanitation and hygienic practices. As of 2015, an estimated 30% of over five million US colonia residents lack access to clean drinking water, resulting in health complications and unsanitary living conditions. Preliminary health data collected indicates that due to water insecurity, colonia residents are more likely to contract gastrointestinal disease, be exposed to carcinogenic compounds from contaminated water, and experience psychosocial distress. Yet more comprehensive research needs to be conducted to understand the full breadth of the public health issue. A scoping review on water insecurity in colonias has not been completed before and could be beneficial in informing policymakers and other stakeholders on the severity of the situation while advising possible solutions.

ContributorsZheng, Madeleine (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Brewis, Alexandra (Committee member) / Kavouras, Stavros (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2021-12
132133-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the primary bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, one of the most dangerous diseases, and top causes of death worldwide, as identified by the World Health Organization in a 2018 report. Diagnostic tools currently exist for identifying those who carry active or latent versions of the infection including chest

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the primary bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, one of the most dangerous diseases, and top causes of death worldwide, as identified by the World Health Organization in a 2018 report. Diagnostic tools currently exist for identifying those who carry active or latent versions of the infection including chest radiographs, a Mantoux tuberculin skin test, or an acid-fast bacilli smear of sputum samples. These methods are standard in the medical community of high income countries, but pose challenges for lower-income regions of the world as well as vulnerable populations. The need for a rapid, inexpensive, and non-invasive method of tuberculosis detection is evident by the ten million that contracted and 1.6 million that died from TB in 2017 alone. In our study, we used a previously developed nanoplasmon-enhanced scattering technology combined with dark field microscopy in order to investigate the potential for a blood-based TB detection assay. Twenty-eight capture antibodies were screened using cell culture exosomes and human serum samples to identify candidates for a TB-derived exosome biomarker. Four antibodies demonstrated potential for distinguishing negative controls from positive controls in this study: anti-AG85, anti-AG85B, anti-SodA, anti-Ald. These capture antibodies displayed significant differences (p<0.05) for both cell culture exosomes and human serum samples on more than one occasion. The work is significant in its ability to distinguish potential capture antibody targets, and future experimentation may yield a technology ready for clinical settings to address the gap in current TB detection methods.
ContributorsWalls, Robert (Author) / Hu, Tony (Thesis director) / Fan, Jia (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Over the last century, the Latino population in the United States has increased dramatically. Like most ethnic groups, Latinos highly value their culture and bring aspects of it with them when they come to the United States. One such aspect of Latino culture is the use of traditional medicine. As

Over the last century, the Latino population in the United States has increased dramatically. Like most ethnic groups, Latinos highly value their culture and bring aspects of it with them when they come to the United States. One such aspect of Latino culture is the use of traditional medicine. As the Latino population in the United States continues to grow, it is important that physicians and future physicians understand how the use of and belief in traditional medicine within different Latino populations can affect the healthcare experience for both provider and patient. Many physicians lack this knowledge and therefore are unsure how to proceed when confronted with these situations; in order to remedy this issue, this project seeks to propose and demonstrate a potential course that would be intended to inform pre-medical and pre-health students about traditional medicine in different Latin American countries so that they will be better prepared.
In this 3-credit course, students will gain awareness and understand the importance of Latino traditional medical practices from the perspective of future medical professionals. Students will learn about concepts such as folk illnesses and traditional religious practices within different Latino populations and will discover how these cultural beliefs can affect a patient’s attitude and cooperation in the medical office.
Through study of the traditional medicines of Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba, students will be exposed to new concepts that will allow them to gain a broader understanding of their future patients, which will allow them to provide the best possible care as a physician. Students will reflect on the importance of having respect for a patient’s cultural beliefs in the medical profession, regardless of their knowledge of Spanish, so that they will be best equipped to handle these situations within the United States and abroad.
ContributorsIncha, Carmen (Author) / Estévez, Dulce (Thesis director) / Oberstein, Bruce (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
131404-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
As of March 2020, there were over 112,400 patients actively waiting on the United States national organ transplant waitlist with only about 3,300 donors1. Although transplantation is an effective treatment for end-stage organ failure, the access to a procedure will vary depending on national regulations, cost of health care, extensive

As of March 2020, there were over 112,400 patients actively waiting on the United States national organ transplant waitlist with only about 3,300 donors1. Although transplantation is an effective treatment for end-stage organ failure, the access to a procedure will vary depending on national regulations, cost of health care, extensive screening processes, and the availability of organs2. Organ shortage is a worldwide problem, and the growing insufficiency has resulted patients becoming too for ill or dying while waiting3. Due to the varying wait times and costs of procedures, some patients have begun to outsource their own transplantation through international transactions, also known as transplant tourism2. The 2004 World Health Assembly resolution recognized these trades as a significant health policy issue, while also acknowledging the inability of national health care systems to meet the needs of patients4. To address this issue, a proposal will be made such that all live kidney and liver donors will be compensated $22,500 and $12,150 respectively through a cost-neutral scheme based on annual healthcare expenditures per organ that would be eliminated by a transplant. With this proposal, it is suggested that the organ transplant waitlist would not only be significantly reduced, but potentially eliminated, and the crisis of organ shortage would be defeated.
ContributorsMartin, Starla (Author) / Kingsbury, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Edmonds, Hallie (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
165676-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The Founder’s lab is a year-long program that gives students an opportunity to participate in a unique team-based, experiential Barrett honors thesis project to design and apply marketing and sales strategies, as well as business and financial models to start up and launch a new business. This Barrett honors thesis

The Founder’s lab is a year-long program that gives students an opportunity to participate in a unique team-based, experiential Barrett honors thesis project to design and apply marketing and sales strategies, as well as business and financial models to start up and launch a new business. This Barrett honors thesis project focuses on increasing the accessibility of health and wellness programs for small businesses and their employees through a customizable and easily implemented third party program that encourages employee retention.
ContributorsSharifi, Megan (Author) / Chiarello, Allyssa (Co-author) / Germer, Brendan (Co-author) / Kwapiszeski, Jacob (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Larson, Wiley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor)
Created2022-05
165750-Thumbnail Image.png
Description

Diabetes affects millions of people globally and can lead to other severe health complications when undiagnosed or not properly managed. The incidence of diabetes has rapidly increased over the past several years, however, not all individuals have access to affordable or convenient healthcare. We hypothesize that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has

Diabetes affects millions of people globally and can lead to other severe health complications when undiagnosed or not properly managed. The incidence of diabetes has rapidly increased over the past several years, however, not all individuals have access to affordable or convenient healthcare. We hypothesize that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has the potential to assess community health status by analyzing biomarkers indicative of human health and disease, including diabetes. Used in tandem with current methods, monitoring indicators of diabetes in community wastewater could provide a comprehensive assessment tool for disease prevalence in large and small populations. Specifically, the proposed targeted biomarker evaluated in this study to indicate population-wide diabetes prevalence was 8-hydroxy-2’- deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). This work combines a rigorous literature review and initial laboratory studies to explore the possibility of diabetes monitoring at the community level using WBE. Here, 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected from within two wastewater sub-catchments of Greater Tempe, AZ. Overall goals of this study were to: i) Determine the feasibility to detect endogenous markers of diabetes in community wastewater; ii) Assess the potential impact of confounding factors, such as smoking, cancer, and atherosclerosis, through a literature analysis; and iii) Evaluate the socioeconomic status and demographics of the study population. Preliminary results of the experiments suggest this methodology to be feasible, as indicated by the observation of detectable signals of 8-OHdG in community wastewater collected from the sewer infrastructure; however, future work and continued experimentation will be required to address low signal intensity and assay precision and accuracy. Thus, the work presented here provides valuable proof-of-concept data, with detailed information on the method employed and identified opportunities to further determine the relationship between 8-OHdG concentrations in municipal wastewater and diabetes prevalence at the community level.

ContributorsNguyen, Jasmine (Author) / John, Dona (Co-author) / Halden, Rolf (Thesis director) / Driver, Erin (Committee member) / Bowes, Devin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2022-05
165754-Thumbnail Image.png
Description

Diabetes affects millions of people globally and can lead to other severe health complications when undiagnosed or not properly managed. The incidence of diabetes has rapidly increased over the past several years, however, not all individuals have access to affordable or convenient healthcare. We hypothesize that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has

Diabetes affects millions of people globally and can lead to other severe health complications when undiagnosed or not properly managed. The incidence of diabetes has rapidly increased over the past several years, however, not all individuals have access to affordable or convenient healthcare. We hypothesize that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has the potential to assess community health status by analyzing biomarkers indicative of human health and disease, including diabetes. Used in tandem with current methods, monitoring indicators of diabetes in community wastewater could provide a comprehensive assessment tool for disease prevalence in large and small populations. Specifically, the proposed targeted biomarker evaluated in this study to indicate population-wide diabetes prevalence was 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). This work combines a rigorous literature review and initial laboratory studies to explore the possibility of diabetes monitoring at the community level using WBE. Here, 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected from within two wastewater sub-catchments of Greater Tempe, AZ. Overall goals of this study were to: i) Determine the feasibility to detect endogenous markers of diabetes in community wastewater; ii) Assess the potential impact of confounding factors, such as smoking, cancer, and atherosclerosis, through a literature analysis; and iii) Evaluate the socioeconomic status and demographics of the study population. Preliminary results of the experiments suggest this methodology to be feasible, as indicated by the observation of detectable signals of 8-OHdG in community wastewater collected from the sewer infrastructure; however, future work and continued experimentation will be required to address low signal intensity and assay precision and accuracy. Thus, the work presented here provides valuable proof-of-concept data, with detailed information on the method employed and identified opportunities to further determine the relationship between 8-OHdG concentrations in municipal wastewater and diabetes prevalence at the community level.

ContributorsJohn, Dona (Author) / Nguyen, Jasmine (Co-author) / Halden, Rolf (Thesis director) / Driver, Erin (Committee member) / Bowes, Devin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2022-05