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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Kavazanjian, Edward
- Creators: Allenby, Braden
- Creators: Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby
DescriptionThis study aimed to: (a) examine adolescents' knowledge, attitudes and behavioral intention about HPV and vaccination in adolescent boys and girls aged 11-17; and (b) examine gender differences in responses given by adolescent boys and girls aged 11-17.
ContributorsReidhead, Whitney Brooke (Author) / Chen, Angela (Thesis director) / Stevens, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is seen in up to 90% of cases of cervical cancer, the third leading cancer cause of death in women. Current HPV screening focuses on only two HPV types and covers roughly 75% of HPV-associated cervical cancers. A protein based assay to test for antibody biomarkers against 98 HPV antigens from both high and low risk types could provide an inexpensive and reliable method to screen for patients at risk of developing invasive cervical cancer. Methods: 98 codon optimized, commercially produced HPV genes were cloned into the pANT7_cGST vector, amplified in a bacterial host, and purified for mammalian expression using in vitro transcription/translation (IVTT) in a luminescence-based RAPID ELISA (RELISA) assay. Monoclonal antibodies were used to determine immune cross-reactivity between phylogenetically similar antigens. Lastly, several protein characteristics were examined to determine if they correlated with protein expression. Results: All genes were successfully moved into the destination vector and 86 of the 98 genes (88%) expressed protein at an adequate level. A difference was noted in expression by gene across HPV types but no correlation was found between protein size, pI, or aliphatic index and expression. Discussion: Further testing is needed to express the remaining 12 HPV genes. Once all genes have been successfully expressed and purified at high concentrations, DNA will be printed on microscope slides to create a protein microarray. This microarray will be used to screen HPV-positive patient sera for antibody biomarkers that may be indicative of cervical cancer and precancerous cervical neoplasias.
ContributorsMeshay, Ian Matthew (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Magee, Mitch (Committee member) / Katchman, Benjamin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of 99.7% of cervical cancers. Research of cervical cancer has made this disease mostly curable in the developing world. Head and neck cancer, which is increasingly caused by HPV, still is associated with a mortality rate of 50,000 in the US annually. This study proposed to evaluate the biology of HPV-16 in head and neck tumors by using RT-qPCR to measure the RNA expression and its relation to physical status of the virus. Methods: This study was to develop an assay that uses RT-qPCR to determine the quantitative expression of HPV-16 RNA coding for proteins E1, E2, E4, E5, E6, and E7 in tumor samples. The assay development started with creation of primers. It went on to test the primers on template DNA through traditional PCR and then on DNA from HPV-16 positive cell lines, SiHa and CaSki, using RT-qPCR. This paper also describes the troubleshooting methods taken for the PCR reaction. Once the primers are verified, the RT-qPCR process can be carried out on RNA purified from tumor samples. Results: No primer sets have been confirmed to produce a product through PCR or RT-qPCR. The primer sequences match up correctly with known sequences for HPV-16 E1, E2, E4, E5, E6, and E7. RT-qPCR showed results consistent with the hypothesis. Conclusion: The RT-qPCR protocol must be optimized to confirm the primer sequences work as desired. Then primers will be used to study physical status and RNA expression in HPV-positive and HPV-negative head and neck tumor samples. This assay can help shed light on which proteins are expressed most in tumors of the head and neck and will aid in the development of future screening and treatment options.
ContributorsKhazanovich, Jakob (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Mangone, Marco (Committee member) / Sundaresan, Sri Krishna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Currently conventional Subtitle D landfills are the primary means of disposing of our waste in the United States. While this method of waste disposal aims at protecting the environment, it does so through the use of liners and caps that effectively freeze the breakdown of waste. Because this method can keep landfills active, and thus a potential groundwater threat for over a hundred years, I take an in depth look at the ability of bioreactor landfills to quickly stabilize waste. In the thesis I detail the current state of bioreactor landfill technologies, assessing the pros and cons of anaerobic and aerobic bioreactor technologies. Finally, with an industrial perspective, I conclude that moving on to bioreactor landfills as an alternative isn't as simple as it may first appear, and that it is a contextually specific solution that must be further refined before replacing current landfills.
ContributorsWhitten, George Avery (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis director) / Allenby, Braden (Committee member) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is the world's sixth most common cancer and in many cases is associated with infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16. Antibodies (Abs) to HPV16 viral antigens are potential diagnostic biomarkers of HPV-associated OPC (HPV OPC). A custom multiplexed bead array assay was used to detect Abs to HPV16 antigens E1, CE2, NE2, E4, E5, E6, E7, L1, and L2. Following extensive optimization of the assay, these genes were expressed as GST-fusion proteins and captured onto anti-GST magnetic beads. Serum was obtained from 256 OPC patients at the time of diagnosis and from 78 healthy controls. The median fluorescent intensity (MFI) was determined for each antigen and ratios of MFI to control GST-fusion protein were determined for each serum sample. Cutoff values were set as the mean + 3 SD of the MFIs of healthy controls and p-values were calculated using Wilcoxon unpaired and Fisher's exact test. Results of this experiment showed that HPV16 E1, CE2, NE2, E4, E6, and E7 Ab levels were elevated in OPC patients compared to controls (p<0.001), as were Ab levels to L1 (p = 0.013) and L2 (p = 0.023), per Fischer's exact test. Abs to CE2, NE2, E6, and E7 were identified as a potential biomarker panel for early detection of HPV OPC. For the 111 patients with known HPV+ tumors as measured by tumor PCR of E6 and/or E7, this assay had a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 87% (AUC = 0.96). From these results, we conclude that custom bead array assays can be used to detect HPV16 Abs in patient sera, and we have identified a 4-Ab biomarker panel for the early detection of HPV OPC.
ContributorsGoulder, Alison Leigh (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Lake, Douglas (Committee member) / Cheng, Julia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Characterization and Manipulation of Microbiomes From Arid Landfills for Improved Methane Production
Description
Environmentally harmful byproducts from solid waste’s decomposition, including methane (CH4) emissions, are managed through standardized landfill engineering and gas-capture mechanisms. Yet only a limited number of studies have analyzed the development and composition of Bacteria and Archaea involved in CH4 production from landfills. The objectives of this research were to compare microbiomes and bioactivity from CH4-producing communities in contrasting spatial areas of arid landfills and to tests a new technology to biostimulate CH4 production (methanogenesis) from solid waste under dynamic environmental conditions controlled in the laboratory. My hypothesis was that the diversity and abundance of methanogenic Archaea in municipal solid waste (MSW), or its leachate, play an important role on CH4 production partially attributed to the group’s wide hydrogen (H2) consumption capabilities. I tested this hypothesis by conducting complementary field observations and laboratory experiments. I describe niches of methanogenic Archaea in MSW leachate across defined areas within a single landfill, while demonstrating functional H2-dependent activity. To alleviate limited H2 bioavailability encountered in-situ, I present biostimulant feasibility and proof-of-concepts studies through the amendment of zero valent metals (ZVMs). My results demonstrate that older-aged MSW was minimally biostimulated for greater CH4 production relative to a control when exposed to iron (Fe0) or manganese (Mn0), due to highly discernable traits of soluble carbon, nitrogen, and unidentified fluorophores found in water extracts between young and old aged, starting MSW. Acetate and inhibitory H2 partial pressures accumulated in microcosms containing old-aged MSW. In a final experiment, repeated amendments of ZVMs to MSW in a 600 day mesocosm experiment mediated significantly higher CH4 concentrations and yields during the first of three ZVM injections. Fe0 and Mn0 experimental treatments at mesocosm-scale also highlighted accelerated development of seemingly important, but elusive Archaea including Methanobacteriaceae, a methane-producing family that is found in diverse environments. Also, prokaryotic classes including Candidatus Bathyarchaeota, an uncultured group commonly found in carbon-rich ecosystems, and Clostridia; All three taxa I identified as highly predictive in the time-dependent progression of MSW decomposition. Altogether, my experiments demonstrate the importance of H2 bioavailability on CH4 production and the consistent development of Methanobacteriaceae in productive MSW microbiomes.
ContributorsReynolds, Mark Christian (Author) / Cadillo-Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xuan (Committee member) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Zero-Valent Metals (ZVM) are highly reactive materials and have been proved to be effective in contaminant reduction in soils and groundwater remediation. In fact, zero-Valent Iron (ZVI) has proven to be very effective in removing, particularly chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and odorous sulfides. Addition of ZVI has also been proved in enhancing the methane gas generation in anaerobic digestion of activated sludge. However, no studies have been conducted regarding the effect of ZVM stimulation to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) degradation. Therefore, a collaborative study was developed to manipulate microbial activity in the landfill bioreactors to favor methane production by adding ZVMs. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of added ZVM on the leachate generated from replicated lab scale landfill bioreactors. The specific objective was to investigate the effects of ZVMs addition on the organic and inorganic pollutants in leachate. The hypothesis here evaluated was that adding ZVM including ZVI and Zero Valent Manganese (ZVMn) will enhance the removal rates of the organic pollutants present in the leachate, likely by a putative higher rate of microbial metabolism. Test with six (4.23 gallons) bioreactors assembled with MSW collected from the Salt River Landfill and Southwest Regional Landfill showed that under 5 grams /liter of ZVI and 0.625 grams/liter of ZVMn additions, no significant difference was observed in the pH and temperature data of the leachate generated from these reactors. The conductivity data suggested the steady rise across all reactors over the period of time. The removal efficiency of sCOD was highest (27.112 mg/lit/day) for the reactors added with ZVMn at the end of 150 days for bottom layer, however the removal rate was highest (16.955 mg/lit/day) for ZVI after the end of 150 days of the middle layer. Similar trends in the results was observed in TC analysis. HPLC study indicated the dominance of the concentration of heptanoate and isovalerate were leachate generated from the bottom layer across all reactors. Heptanoate continued to dominate in the ZVMn added leachate even after middle layer injection. IC analysis concluded the chloride was dominant in the leachate generated from all the reactors and there was a steady increase in the chloride content over the period of time. Along with chloride, fluoride, bromide, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and sulfate were also detected in considerable concentrations. In the summary, the addition of the zero valent metals has proved to be efficient in removal of the organics present in the leachate.
ContributorsPandit, Gandhar Abhay (Author) / Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Olson, Larry (Thesis advisor) / Boyer, Treavor (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Human papilloma virus infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US. This study aimed to examine (A) how adolescents’ HPV-related knowledge and vaccination intent differ by biological sex, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status; (B) the relationship between social media use and health information seeking among adolescents; and (C) how HPV-related knowledge, biological sex, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status influence their vaccination intent particularly among adolescents who use social media.
ContributorsCura, Jasmine Arlyn Mae (Author) / Chia-Chen Chen, Angela (Thesis director) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Han, SeungYong (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of educational videos on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination intent among young adults aged 18-26. A two-group randomized control trial (RCT) is conducted among 156 individuals (control group n = 79, intervention group n= 77). Inclusion criteria were English-speaking young adults aged 18-26 who have not been vaccinated against HPV. Participants who met the inclusion criteria based on an online screening form were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and invited to join the study. They first completed a pretest (T0) online via REDCap, randomly assigned to the intervention or control group, and completed a posttest (T1) after viewing their assigned intervention. Participants assigned to the intervention group watched two brief animated videos while participants assigned to the control group examined an HPV educational brochure created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, survey questions measured HPV-related knowledge, attitudes, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, vaccination intent (T0 and T1), sociodemographic characteristics, and health history (T0 only) of participants. The results showed the intervention group had an increase in vaccination intent while the control group had a decrease in vaccination intent. This shows that video education methods are more effective than traditional written education methods at increasing vaccination intention among young adults.
ContributorsShinherr, Sophia (Author) / Vasquez, Savannah (Co-author) / Chen, Angela (Thesis director) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Scott, Jason (Committee member) / Han, SeungYong (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor)
Created2022-05