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Description
Sophia’s Stuffed Friends is a book written for children of divorce, aged five to eight years. The story deals with anxiety, depression, and misappropriated guilt in the form of character traits in Sophia’s stuffed animals. The story takes place in a dream world after the stuffed animals are thrown into the washer of the new family house. The washer acts as a portal to the dream world. The lessons of the story are learned through flashbacks to Sophia’s life when she personally experienced anxiety, depression, and guilt. Each character learns coping mechanisms and strategies to overcome those feelings.
Squeakie is a positive influence on the way the other characters perceive themselves. The shadow turns each character’s self-doubt and negative feelings into fuel, which he stores in a paintbrush. When he takes the fuel from the character, it fades their body color. Phan has anxiety and uses the 4-7-8 breathing technique to overcome her panic attacks. Her range of color is blue to light blue. Ovid feels guilty and exercises to take his mind off his guilty thoughts. Ovid is either red or light pink. Amelia is depressed and reframes her way of thinking to overcome her inability to fly. Visually she is green or light green. The shadow is later revealed as a misguided character who was just looking to escape the dream world and find friends.
The story is resolved by the stuffed animals joining forces with the perceived antagonist, the shadow, to operate a plane. They each use their strength of color to fuel the plane, which takes them back to the real world. When Sophia’s mom pulls the stuffed animals out of the washer, the shadow comes with them. The shadow, now a cat with rainbow patches, is instantly loved by Sophia. The story ends with the stuffed animals drying on the porch bench while Sophia plays with the shadow in the new backyard.
Squeakie is a positive influence on the way the other characters perceive themselves. The shadow turns each character’s self-doubt and negative feelings into fuel, which he stores in a paintbrush. When he takes the fuel from the character, it fades their body color. Phan has anxiety and uses the 4-7-8 breathing technique to overcome her panic attacks. Her range of color is blue to light blue. Ovid feels guilty and exercises to take his mind off his guilty thoughts. Ovid is either red or light pink. Amelia is depressed and reframes her way of thinking to overcome her inability to fly. Visually she is green or light green. The shadow is later revealed as a misguided character who was just looking to escape the dream world and find friends.
The story is resolved by the stuffed animals joining forces with the perceived antagonist, the shadow, to operate a plane. They each use their strength of color to fuel the plane, which takes them back to the real world. When Sophia’s mom pulls the stuffed animals out of the washer, the shadow comes with them. The shadow, now a cat with rainbow patches, is instantly loved by Sophia. The story ends with the stuffed animals drying on the porch bench while Sophia plays with the shadow in the new backyard.
ContributorsWheeler, Isabella (Author) / Wells, Cornelia (Thesis director) / Fontinha de Alcantara, Christiane (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Climate change has the potential to reduce the amount of land that is suitable for crop growth. Such changes may cause food shortages, which would most likely disproportionately affect the poorest regions of the world. While GMO crops showed potential to increase crop yield and agricultural efficiency, significant public pushback has led to a search for alternative methods to generate similar results. Compounds produced by bacteria, such as 2,3-butanediol, offer a potential way to change the phenotypes of plants without the deliberate genomic changes involved in the development of GMOs which are often the subject of great controversy. These compounds influence how plants grow and function. Through precise application, the compounds could be used to improve crop yield and stress tolerance. While these effects are not completely understood, they may be due to changes in transcription and translation of certain proteins, the microbiome surrounding the plants and its interactions with the compounds, or other unknown factors. The compound 2,3-butanediol appears to increase biomass, lead to larger root systems and more root hairs, and increase germination rates in a variety of plants. All these traits are favorable for producing higher yields and enduring stress conditions. The phenotypes induced by this compound are similar to plants engineered to over express a type I proton pyrophosphatase. Plants treated with 2,3-butanediol offer a potential option to achieve the benefits of GMO crops without the attached social stigma.
ContributorsOlson, Erik Jon (Co-author) / Olson, Erik (Co-author) / Gaxiola, Roberto (Thesis director) / Mason, Hugh (Committee member) / Riley, James (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Human health risk assessment is the process by which regulatory agencies estimate the potential for adverse health outcomes as a result of exposure to contaminated food, water, or environmental conditions (US EPA, 2014). However, the risk assessment process typically does not require inputs to be culturally sensitive to the groups facing the potential health outcomes, and the guidelines suggest little emphasis on food security or food sovereignty, concepts which highlight the importance of access to healthy and culturally appropriate foods. This thesis outlines the theoretical concepts of food and environmental justice, framing them in the context of application to land based, rural communities such as Native American groups. This is significant due to the historically disproportionate contamination of Native lands by hazardous waste or other toxins. Three noteworthy case study examples featuring elements of oral exposure pathways to environmental contamination will be outlined and analyzed to articulate how, by incorporating locally-grounded knowledge, a risk assessment could uncover more accurate information, leading to more appropriate and effective mitigation techniques that uphold food and environmental justice principles. Finally, the trade offs between the expansion of local knowledge and the limitations on cultural consumption are discussed, with the conclusion that supports balancing these trade offs through locally grounded, community-driven assessment and mitigation of contamination.
ContributorsDineen, Lillian K (Author) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Thesis director) / Jehn, Megan (Committee member) / Gonzales, Melissa (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
My central hypothesis is that macroaggressions and microaggressions seem to be prevalent as the outcome of immigration policies and some may be regarded as macroaggressions themselves. Utilizing established research from 1991 to the present, it is highly probable that even though there were a plethora of immigration laws prior to 2001, the terrorist attack on September 11, 2002 initiated even more severe measures that resulted in immigrant populations suffering numerous aggressions as a consequence to the present. My research has uncovered three central themes from the literature on the social determinants of health which were used to outline the differences in effects that the immigrant related macroaggressions and microaggressions have on Mexican-origin and Latino youth and adults. In order to properly determine how to consider possible interventions, there must be an understanding of their impacts on the social and community context, mental health and health care issues that arise, and finally, impacts on education and the lived environment of this vulnerable population.
ContributorsMartinez, Natalie (Author) / Velez-Ibanez, Carlos (Thesis director) / Vargas, Edward (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Cervical cancer, which many physicians of 2019 consider to be a success in terms of establishing widely used forms of early preventative and diagnostic technologies, experienced a reduction in incidence rates in women by over fifty percent between 1975 and 2016. Cervical cancer does not often present in women with symptoms until it has entered a later stage of the disease. Because of this fact, in the early twentieth century, physicians were often only able to diagnose cervical cancer when either the woman reported complaints or there was a visual confirmation of lesions on the cervix. The symptoms women often reported included vague abdominal pain, bleeding after sex, and abnormal amounts of vaginal discharge, all of which are non-specific symptoms, making it even harder for women to be diagnosed with cervical cancer. This thesis answers the following question: How does the history of cervical cancer show that prevention helps reduce rates of cancer-related deaths among women? By studying the history of cervical cancer, people can understand how a cancer that was once one of the top killers of women in the US has declined to become one of the lowest through the establishment of and effective communication of early prevention and diagnostics, both among the general public and within the medical community itself. This thesis is organized based on key episodes which were pertinent to the history of cervical cancer, primarily within the United States and Europe. The episodes are organized in context of the shifts in thought regarding cervical cancer and include topics such as vaccine technologies like the Gardasil and Cervarix vaccines, social awareness movements that educated women on the importance of early detection, and analyses of the early preventative strategies and attempts at treating cervical cancer. After analyzing eleven key episodes, the thesis determined that, through the narrative of early attempts to treat cervical cancer, shifting the societal thought on cancer, evolving the importance of early detection, and, finally, obtaining a means of prevention, the history of cervical cancer does demonstrate that the development of preventative strategies has resulted in reducing cancer-related deaths among women. Understanding what it took for physicians to evolve from simply detecting cervical cancer to being able to prevent it entirely matters because it can change the way we think about managing other forms of cancer.
ContributorsDarby, Alexis Renee (Co-author) / Darby, Alexis (Co-author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Abboud, Carolina (Committee member) / Ellison, Karin (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Worldwide there are over 50 million people suffering from epilepsy, eighty percent (80%) of whom live in low to middle income countries. Of that eighty percent (80%) of people suffering from this disease, seventy-five percent (75%) do not receive treatment. The current design and treatment methods of epilepsy have many limitations in these specific countries. These limitations include: lack of education about the disease leading to stigmas surrounding it, inability to afford treatment options, and the absence of healthcare practitioners who specialize in the treatment of neurological illnesses. Additionally, the healthcare system worldwide is a large contributor to climate change calling for a need to implement sustainable practices in both the treatment of patients and creation of healthcare centers. This thesis has been developed in order to theorize the design of a clinic that can be beneficial to epileptics in developing countries and to the environment. Through the methodology of case studies and research on existing strategies implemented in specific hospitals, we were able to focus on three main aspects that should be taken into consideration for an epilepsy clinic: the ambient environment, sustainability, and target demographic - developing countries. The idea ambient environment, it was found, plays a large role in the healing process through reduction of stress on patients. From there the most important features specific to epilepsy were able to be considered and synthesized for the best possible theoretical design of a clinic focused on the treatment and diagnosis of epilepsy in a developing country.
ContributorsPenrose, Nicole Ellen Youzhi (Co-author) / Gonzalez, Bianca (Co-author) / Vallerand, Olivier (Thesis director) / Brunner, Lori (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are important limiting or co-limiting nutrients in many aquatic ecosystems. Consumers such as fishes can significantly impact the balance and redistribution of these nutrients through consumer-driven nutrient recycling. Intraspecific variation in nutrient excretion rates can therefore have significant ecosystem impacts. Among individuals of sexually dimorphic consumers, variation in population size structure and sex ratio could potentially have impacts of similar magnitude. We tested for the effects of body size and sex on consumer-driven nutrient recycling by measuring N and P excretion rates from eight species of poeciliid fishes. We found a strong positive effect of size on N excretion rates, as has been previously described among species. However, we found no effect of size on P excretion rates, nor did we find any difference in N or P excretion rates between sexes. Our work provides a preliminary analysis of how sexual dimorphism can lead to disparate nutrient excretion rates within consumer populations. These results indicate that variation in population sex ratios of sexually dimorphic consumers could have impacts at the ecosystem scale.
ContributorsAmbus, Nicholas George (Author) / Jon, Harrison (Thesis director) / Eric, Moody (Committee member) / Jordan, Okie (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive adult brain tumor with a devastating median survival time of about fourteen months post-surgery and standard of care therapy with radiation and temozolomide. The low incidence of GBM, cost of developing novel therapeutics, and time cost of clinical trials are dis-incentives to develop novel therapies. To overcome that obstacle, we investigated the efficacy of repurposing four FDA approved drugs known to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB), minocycline, propranolol, chlorpromazine, and metformin, to inhibit signaling and metabolism in GBM cells.
Minocycline is a tetracycline class broad spectrum antibiotic commonly used to treat severe acne and other skin infections. Propranolol is a beta blocker type heart medication primarily used to treat high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. Chlorpromazine is a phenothiazine antipsychotic usually used for schizophrenia. Metformin is the most widely used first-line oral treatment for type-2 diabetes. Based on a literature survey, minocycline is expected to prevent the phosphorylation of STAT3, a transcription factor downstream of EGFR; propranolol is expected to disrupt EGFR trafficking; chlorpromazine is expected to target the PI3K/mTOR/Akt signaling pathway; metformin is believed to exploit vulnerabilities in cancer cell metabolism, as well as upregulate AMPK against the PI3K/mTOR/Akt pathway.
Efficacy of minocycline in inhibiting EGFR-driven STAT3 activation was investigated using western blot analysis. Our results demonstrate that Minocycline effectively inhibits activation of EGFR-driven STAT3 in U373 glioma cells at 100μM. The ability of chlorpromazine to inhibit the PI3K/mTOR/Akt pathway was similarly tested via western blot, which showed inhibition of phosphorylated Akt and S6 at 10μM. Efficacy of propranolol in perturbing EGFR trafficking was evaluated using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence, which failed to depict altered membrane-associated EGFR abundance. Finally, concentration-dependent inhibition of colony formation was tested for all four drugs. Propranolol and minocycline showed potential biphasic stimulatory effects at 10μM, but all drugs inhibited cell growth at 50μM and higher. Efficacy of these drugs in the treatment of GBM is being further evaluated using in vitro neurosphere cultures from patients identified as having the cellular vulnerabilities potentially targeted by these drugs. Successful completion of this project will lead to in vivo efficacy testing of these four drugs in orthotopic GBM PDX models.
Minocycline is a tetracycline class broad spectrum antibiotic commonly used to treat severe acne and other skin infections. Propranolol is a beta blocker type heart medication primarily used to treat high blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. Chlorpromazine is a phenothiazine antipsychotic usually used for schizophrenia. Metformin is the most widely used first-line oral treatment for type-2 diabetes. Based on a literature survey, minocycline is expected to prevent the phosphorylation of STAT3, a transcription factor downstream of EGFR; propranolol is expected to disrupt EGFR trafficking; chlorpromazine is expected to target the PI3K/mTOR/Akt signaling pathway; metformin is believed to exploit vulnerabilities in cancer cell metabolism, as well as upregulate AMPK against the PI3K/mTOR/Akt pathway.
Efficacy of minocycline in inhibiting EGFR-driven STAT3 activation was investigated using western blot analysis. Our results demonstrate that Minocycline effectively inhibits activation of EGFR-driven STAT3 in U373 glioma cells at 100μM. The ability of chlorpromazine to inhibit the PI3K/mTOR/Akt pathway was similarly tested via western blot, which showed inhibition of phosphorylated Akt and S6 at 10μM. Efficacy of propranolol in perturbing EGFR trafficking was evaluated using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence, which failed to depict altered membrane-associated EGFR abundance. Finally, concentration-dependent inhibition of colony formation was tested for all four drugs. Propranolol and minocycline showed potential biphasic stimulatory effects at 10μM, but all drugs inhibited cell growth at 50μM and higher. Efficacy of these drugs in the treatment of GBM is being further evaluated using in vitro neurosphere cultures from patients identified as having the cellular vulnerabilities potentially targeted by these drugs. Successful completion of this project will lead to in vivo efficacy testing of these four drugs in orthotopic GBM PDX models.
ContributorsNeal, Tristan Thomas (Co-author) / Neal, Tristan (Co-author) / Byron, Sara (Co-author) / Dhruv, Harshil (Co-author, Committee member) / Berens, Michael (Co-author) / Wilson, Melissa (Thesis director) / Ferdosi, Shayesteh (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STI), affecting over 267 million women worldwide. HSV-2 causes a chronic, latent infection that increases the risk for acquisition with other STI, including HIV. Currently, there is no vaccine against HSV-2 and novel anti-viral treatments are needed. IL-36γ is a newly characterized cytokine that has been shown to play a role in inflammation and be upregulated in response to microbial infection and tissue damage. We have shown that IL-36γ is expressed in the female reproductive tract (FRT) and is upregulated by HSV-2 infection in vitro and in vivo. IL-36γ in turn induces production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in human vaginal epithelial cells (VEC) that can aid in immune cell recruitment. We hypothesize that IL-36γ is a key regulator of mucosal inflammation in the FRT and functions to limit HSV-2 infection. We have demonstrated that IL-36γ treatment prior to infection protects against HSV-2 replication, disease severity, and promotes survival in a lethal mouse model. Thus, the objective of this study is to understand the mechanisms whereby IL-36γ inhibits HSV-2 replication. To understand the impact of IL-36γ on the HSV-2 lifecycle, we pretreated VEC with IL-36γ and evaluated viral titer during virus attachment and entry, replication, and cell-to-cell spread by plaque assay. Pretreatment with IL-36γ 4h prior to infection did not significantly reduce viral titers in VEC monolayers relative to untreated groups. This suggesting that IL-36γ may play a more significant role in immune cell recruitment during HSV-2 infection. To test this, FRT tissue samples from HSV-2 infected IL-36γ -/- and WT mice were analyzed by histochemistry to characterize immune cell recruitment. No clear pattern was determined for tissue samples in which cell clusters were observed and cell type within recruited clusters was unable to be identified at the current magnification. As these projects continue, the data will aid in elucidating the mechanism and level to which IL-36γ impacts HSV-2 infection in human VEC and FRT models.
ContributorsAlexander, Thessaly E (Author) / Herbst-Kralovetz, Melissa (Thesis director) / Capco, David (Committee member) / Hogue, Ian (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This course will cover the history, ethics and impact of the fair trade movement for a variety of stakeholders in the Global South and Global North. We will be participating in various activities that will acquaint us with different topics, including globalization, the gender wage gap, environmental degradation and supply chain management. Guest speakers from the fair trade community will contribute their perspectives regarding the movement. Students will gain an understanding of the tradeoffs of the fair trade movement for the different actors throughout the length of the supply chain. Students will describe the purpose of the fair trade movement and who it seeks to serve. Students will explain what the Fair Trade certification entails for the actors who engage in the system. Students will debate the tradeoffs of the fair trade movement, incorporating the perspectives of multiple stakeholders from both the Global South and Global North. Finally, students will evaluate Fair Trade as a tool for sustainability both socially and economically.
ContributorsSimari, Daniella Jayne (Author) / Eakin, Hallie (Thesis director) / Walters, Molina (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05