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- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
Humans are seemingly unique among the great apes with regard to their monogamous mating behavior. Since chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are humans closest living relative, understanding their actions may give insight into the evolutionary development of certain behaviors. In this paper, the mating behavior of chimpanzees will be evaluated in hopes of better understanding any similarities or differences compared to that of humans. Wild male chimpanzees have shown to reject solicitations from females at full swelling. The hypothesis being tested was that a male chimpanzee will reject a female who solicits a mating event due to age, rank, and parity. Long term data from Gombe National Park in Tanzania, Africa was used to test this. As expected, parous females were less likely to be rejected than nulliparous females, rejection was more likely if several other swollen females were present, and rejection was less likely if the female was higher-ranking/older. Surprisingly, it was found that younger males were more likely to reject females than prime males were. This was most likely due to the fact that almost always, higher-ranking males were also present, which may have deterred young males from mating. The results also showed that there was no effect of male rank and female reproductive state on the probability of rejection. The findings of this study may help to show a potential evolutionary step towards conscious mate selection as seen in humans.
ContributorsTrenter, Kayla Ashley (Author) / Gilby, Ian (Thesis director) / Silk, Joan (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Background.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a leading cause of health disparities, among Hispanic populations, which are disproportionately afflicted by T2DM. The growing research strongly argues that diabetes treatment interventions should be culturally sensitive to address the needs of their target populations. Nonetheless, there is little consensus regarding the necessary components of a culturally sensitive intervention. This review will examine the intervention contents and activities, and the strategies that have been implemented into culturally sensitive diabetes treatment interventions. This review will also to observe how interventions handle complex issues such as the heterogeneity of Hispanic populations and communities. The overarching research questions examined in this study were, “What are the core components of the culturally tailored diabetes interventions currently implemented with Hispanic populations in the US, and why are they needed?” and 2) “How are studies evaluating the impact of their interventions, and how can the proposed study designs be improved?”
Method.
A systematic review across 3 databases was used to identify culturally sensitive diabetes treatment interventions (CSDTI) developed for Hispanic populations. Accordingly, we searched for studies designed to treat Hispanic individuals already diagnosed with having T2DM. All identified studies provided information on the core components of these culturally sensitive interventions, while only studies that included a control or comparison group were used to assess how the studies evaluated outcomes.
Results.
First, we examined intervention effects as examined from two study designs. We examined a total of [17] interventions in this section. Our review of one study design (Design #1 Studies) includes 12 studies that developed a culturally sensitive intervention and evaluated it using a one-group pretest posttest design, or did not evaluate their intervention at all. A second study design (Design #2 Studies) includes 5 studies. These consisted of a two-group randomized controlled field study that conducted pre-post analyses of the culturally adapted intervention comparing it against a control or comparison group. The heterogeneity of all studies made a conventional meta-analysis impossible.
Second, another review section focused on examining and describing various culturally sensitive core components, we examined a total of 17 studies to describe the types of culturally sensitive components that were incorporated into the diabetes treatment intervention. This analysis resulted in a list of 11 general types of culturally sensitive components as included within these 17 interventions. Of the articles that used control or comparison groups, the manner in which interventions evaluated different outcome measures and their conclusions regarding success were examined.
Discussion.
The culturally sensitive aspects identified from these articles were used to address diverse issues that included: (a) communication barriers, (b) the inclusion of cultural relevant content, for relevance to Hispanic/Latinx patients’ lives, (c) selecting appropriate channels and settings for interventions, and (d) addressing specific cultural values, traditions, and beliefs that can either help or hinder healthy behaviors. It should be noted that the Hispanic populations are extremely heterogeneous, and so interventions that would be sensitive culturally to some sectors of a Hispanic community may not be sensitive to other Hispanic sectors of that same community. The issue of heterogeneity of Hispanic communities was addressed well by the authors of some articles and ignored by others.
Conclusions.
It was ultimately impossible draw quantitative conclusions regarding the efficacy or effectiveness of these two types of diabetes treatment interventions (CSDTIs) as delivered to their targeted sample of Hispanic participants. An emerging conclusion is that factors including ethics, cost, and lack of community acceptance, may constitute factors contributing to the higher proportion of one-group pre-test post-test designs and lower proportion of rigorous scientific designs. In the latter case, some communities oppose the use of randomized controlled studies within their community, and thus that objection may explain the low numbers of these randomized controlled studies. The use of viable and rigorous alternatives to RCTs have been proposed to address this community concern. In this review, the author sought to conduct comparative studies between culturally adapted interventions and their associated unaltered or minimally altered evidence-based interventions, although there exists various difficulties that are associated with the conduct of these analyses.
Core components of CSDTIs for Hispanic adults were identified, and their purposes were explained. Additionally, suggestions for improvement to studies were made, to aid in improving our knowledge of CSDTIs through future studies.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a leading cause of health disparities, among Hispanic populations, which are disproportionately afflicted by T2DM. The growing research strongly argues that diabetes treatment interventions should be culturally sensitive to address the needs of their target populations. Nonetheless, there is little consensus regarding the necessary components of a culturally sensitive intervention. This review will examine the intervention contents and activities, and the strategies that have been implemented into culturally sensitive diabetes treatment interventions. This review will also to observe how interventions handle complex issues such as the heterogeneity of Hispanic populations and communities. The overarching research questions examined in this study were, “What are the core components of the culturally tailored diabetes interventions currently implemented with Hispanic populations in the US, and why are they needed?” and 2) “How are studies evaluating the impact of their interventions, and how can the proposed study designs be improved?”
Method.
A systematic review across 3 databases was used to identify culturally sensitive diabetes treatment interventions (CSDTI) developed for Hispanic populations. Accordingly, we searched for studies designed to treat Hispanic individuals already diagnosed with having T2DM. All identified studies provided information on the core components of these culturally sensitive interventions, while only studies that included a control or comparison group were used to assess how the studies evaluated outcomes.
Results.
First, we examined intervention effects as examined from two study designs. We examined a total of [17] interventions in this section. Our review of one study design (Design #1 Studies) includes 12 studies that developed a culturally sensitive intervention and evaluated it using a one-group pretest posttest design, or did not evaluate their intervention at all. A second study design (Design #2 Studies) includes 5 studies. These consisted of a two-group randomized controlled field study that conducted pre-post analyses of the culturally adapted intervention comparing it against a control or comparison group. The heterogeneity of all studies made a conventional meta-analysis impossible.
Second, another review section focused on examining and describing various culturally sensitive core components, we examined a total of 17 studies to describe the types of culturally sensitive components that were incorporated into the diabetes treatment intervention. This analysis resulted in a list of 11 general types of culturally sensitive components as included within these 17 interventions. Of the articles that used control or comparison groups, the manner in which interventions evaluated different outcome measures and their conclusions regarding success were examined.
Discussion.
The culturally sensitive aspects identified from these articles were used to address diverse issues that included: (a) communication barriers, (b) the inclusion of cultural relevant content, for relevance to Hispanic/Latinx patients’ lives, (c) selecting appropriate channels and settings for interventions, and (d) addressing specific cultural values, traditions, and beliefs that can either help or hinder healthy behaviors. It should be noted that the Hispanic populations are extremely heterogeneous, and so interventions that would be sensitive culturally to some sectors of a Hispanic community may not be sensitive to other Hispanic sectors of that same community. The issue of heterogeneity of Hispanic communities was addressed well by the authors of some articles and ignored by others.
Conclusions.
It was ultimately impossible draw quantitative conclusions regarding the efficacy or effectiveness of these two types of diabetes treatment interventions (CSDTIs) as delivered to their targeted sample of Hispanic participants. An emerging conclusion is that factors including ethics, cost, and lack of community acceptance, may constitute factors contributing to the higher proportion of one-group pre-test post-test designs and lower proportion of rigorous scientific designs. In the latter case, some communities oppose the use of randomized controlled studies within their community, and thus that objection may explain the low numbers of these randomized controlled studies. The use of viable and rigorous alternatives to RCTs have been proposed to address this community concern. In this review, the author sought to conduct comparative studies between culturally adapted interventions and their associated unaltered or minimally altered evidence-based interventions, although there exists various difficulties that are associated with the conduct of these analyses.
Core components of CSDTIs for Hispanic adults were identified, and their purposes were explained. Additionally, suggestions for improvement to studies were made, to aid in improving our knowledge of CSDTIs through future studies.
ContributorsDilli, Christopher Joe (Author) / Castro, Felipe Gonzalez (Thesis director) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Diabesity is a global epidemic affecting millions worldwide. Diabesity is the term given to the link between obesity and Type II diabetes. It is estimated that ~90% of patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes are overweight or have struggled with excess body fat in the past. Type II diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance which is an impaired response of the body to insulin that leads to high blood glucose levels. Adipose tissue, previously thought of as an inert tissue, is now recognized as a major endocrine organ with an important role in the body's immune response and the development of chronic inflammation. It is speculated that adipose tissue inflammation is a major contributor to insulin resistance particular to Type II diabetes. This literature review explores the popular therapeutic targets and marketed drugs for the treatment of Type II diabetes and their role in decreasing adipose tissue inflammation. rAGE is currently in pre-clinical studies as a possible target to combat adipose tissue inflammation due to its relation to insulin resistance. Metformin and Pioglitazone are two drugs already being marketed that use unique chemical pathways to increase the production of insulin and/or decrease blood glucose levels. Sulfonylureas is one of the first FDA approved drugs used in the treatment of Type II diabetes, however, it has been discredited due to its life-threatening side effects. Bariatric surgery is a form of invasive surgery to rid the body of excess fat and has shown to normalize blood glucose levels. These treatments are all secondary to lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise which can help halt the progression of Type II diabetes patients.
ContributorsRobles, Alondra Maria (Author) / Woodbury, Neal (Thesis director) / Redding, Kevin (Committee member) / Allen, James (Committee member) / Hendrickson, Kirstin (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The human gastrin receptor (CCKBR or CCK2R) is a class A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) found throughout the central nervous system, stomach, and a variety of cancer cells. CCK2R is implicated in the regulation of biological processes, including anxiety, satiety, arousal, analgesia, psychosis, and cancer cell growth and proliferation. While CCK2R is an attractive drug target, few drugs have managed to effectively target the receptor, and none have been brought to market. Contributory to this is the lack of high-resolution crystal structure capable of elucidating the binding regions of CCK2R to streamlining drug screening. While GPCRs are not amenable to traditional structural analysis methodologies, the advent of lipidic cubic phase (LCP) crystallography and serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs), has extended the applicability of X-ray crystallography to these integral membrane proteins. LCP-SFX depends on optimizing the protein of interest for extraction, purification, and crystallization. Here we report our findings regarding the optimization of CCK2R suggesting the synergistic relationship between N-terminal truncations and the insertion of a fusion protein along ICL3, in addition to a 30-residue truncation of the C-terminus. Samples were expressed in Sf9 insect cells using a Bac-to-Bac baculovirus expression system, extracted using n-Dodecyl-β-D-Maltoside detergent, and purified via TALON immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography. The constructs were characterized via SDS-PAGE, Western blot, and size exclusion chromatography. These findings demonstrate the improvements to CCK2R’s crystallographic amenability upon these modifications, however significant improvements must be made prior to crystallization trials. Future work will involve screening C-terminal truncations, thermostabilizing point mutations, and co-crystallizing ligands. Ideally this investigation will serve as a model for future CCK2R structural analysis and contribute to a heightened interest in CCK2R as a therapeutic target.
ContributorsStevens, Alexander Wade (Author) / Liu, Wei (Thesis director) / Chiu, Po-Lin (Committee member) / Mills, Jeremy (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The entirely soft-tissue anatomy of the octopus arm provides the animal with a large amount of freedom of movement, while still allowing the specimen to support itself despite the lack of a skeletal system. This is made possible through the use of various muscle layers within the octopus arm, which act as muscular hydrostats. Magnetic Resonance imaging of the octopus arm was employed to view the muscle layers within the octopus arm and observe trends and differences in these layers at the proximal, middle, and distal portions of the arms. A total of 39 arms from 6 specimens were imaged to give 112 total imaged sections (38 proximal, 37 middle, 37 distal). Significant increases in both the internal longitudinal muscle layer and the nervous core were found between the proximal and middle, proximal and distal, and middle and distal sections of the arms. This could reflect selection for these structures distally in the octopus arm for predator or other noxious stimuli avoidance. A significant decrease in the transverse muscle layer was found in the middle and distal sections of the arms. This could reflect selection for elongation in the proximal portion of the octopus arm or could be the result of selection for the internal longitudinal muscle layer and nervous core distally. Previous studies on Octopus vulgaris showed a preference for using the proximal arms in the pushing movement of crawling and a preference for using the anterior arms in exploring behaviors (Levy et al., 2015 and Byrne et al., 2006). Differences between the anterior and posterior arms for the transverse muscle layer, internal longitudinal muscle layer, and the nervous core were insignificant, reflecting a lack of structure-function relationships. This could also be due to a low sample size. Differences between the left and right arms for the transverse muscle layer, internal longitudinal muscle layer, and the nervous core were insignificant, supporting previous evidence that left versus right eye and arm preferences in octopus are not population-wide, but individual. Some slight trends can be found for individual arms, but the sample size was too small to make definitive statements regarding differences among specific arms.
ContributorsRoy, Cayla C (Author) / Fisher, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Marvi, Hamid (Committee member) / Cherry, Brian (Committee member) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Experimentation with glaze materials resulted in 2 functional and interesting base glazes with multiple color variants each. A semi-matte stoneware glaze was created, however after being unable to replicate a specific coloring without drying out the glaze, it was discovered that using this glaze to spray over specific studio glazes produced a more pleasant color effect than the glaze by itself. A glossy clear glaze was created. The glaze crazed minimally, and color variants were created with the rare earth metals erbium, praseodymium, and neodymium, resulting in celadon-like glazes that were pink, green, and bluish purple respectively. Finally, A semi-matte stoneware glaze with high spodumene content was created with two specific color variations
ContributorsVilen, Zachary Kwochka (Author) / Beiner, Susan (Thesis director) / Steimle, Timothy (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
OP50 Esherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium with a fast replication rate and can be easily manipulated, making it a model species for many science disciplines. To probe this bacterium’s search strategy, cultures were starved and the cell velocity was probed at various points later in time after perturbing the buffer in which the bacteria were located. To start, we added E.coli OP50 filtrate. In yet another experiment filtrate from a Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus (Gram-negative predator) culture was added to monitor the OP50’s differential response to cues from its environment. Using MATLAB code, thousands of E.coli tracks were measured.
ContributorsSanchez, Alec Jesus (Author) / Presse, Steve (Thesis director) / Gile, Gillian (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Hygiene stigma can exist in tandem to gender stigma which could mean the marginalization of certain groups due to stigmatized identities, specifically women. The marginalization of women is important because of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Empowering women and girls and achieving equity. Figuring out how hygiene stigma specifically affects women in Fiji required researching the effects of hygiene stigma, gender inequity and indigenous Fijian societies could influence respondents’ answers. After researching these different topics, these questions were developed: does hygiene stigma and gendered stigma have an overlap? If so, are men more biased than women when it comes to objectifying women? Do indigenous Fijian societies possess an immunity to objectifying women since are considered to have Fijian women have more agency? The data was retrieved from the Global Ethnohydrology Study from 2015-16 in the Viti Levu, Fiji, which was specifically researching whether hygiene stigma is an effective method of helping people have better hygiene norms. A thematic analysis was then conducted, and the data was coded. Based on the results from 28 respondents we were able to conclude that there is gendered stigma within Fijian populations. We found that both men and women objectified women at similar rates and Fiji is not immune to hygiene stigma. The limitations to this analysis were there was no statistical analysis to find correlations hygiene stigma and gendered stigma. There was only one specific code that was being analyzed in this research project which limits the other types of stigma that may exist.
ContributorsKibuka Musoke, Paula Kulabako (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / Schuster, Roseanne (Committee member) / Brewis Slade, Alexandra (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Oncolytic virotherapy (OV) is the use of viruses that do not target normal human cells to infect and destroy cancer cells; some also stimulate the immune system against the tumors. Myxoma virus (VMYX) is a candidate for use as an oncolytic agent, as it is not pathogenic to humans and can infect a variety of human cancer cells. VMYX also can initiate immune responses against the virus-infected tumor. Thus, we investigated the oncolytic efficacy of a few recombinant constructs of VMYX on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a highly aggressive subtype of breast cancer with limited treatment options. TNBC lacks an estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2, which render hormone-based therapies useless. Further challenges of TNBC include early metastasis and recurrence, as well as poor prognosis due to a lack of molecular targets. Here, we utilized 4T1-Luc2 cells, an in vitro mouse model of TNBC, to examine the oncolytic potential of recombinant viral constructs of VMYX. Ability to infect was measured by fluorescence intensity, while ability to induce cytotoxicity was measured through MTS and SYTOX assays. Further characterization of cell death was performed using Caspase 3/7 activity assay, immunofluorescent staining and confocal microscopy to detect ecto-expression of calreticulin, and ATP release assays. We demonstrated the ability of recombinant VMYX constructs to infect and induce cell death in 4T1-Luc2 cells. VMYX-p14-FAST-GFP induced the most cell death, while VMYX-M011LKO-GFP best activated Caspase 3/7. Through ATP release assays and examination of ecto-expression of calreticulin, preliminary data indicated that VYX-135KO-GFP is unable to stimulate immunogenic cell death, a form of cell death that stimulates an adaptive immune response, in these cells. Future directions include further characterization of cell death in vitro, as well as in vivo studies.
ContributorsBelmont, Laura (Author) / McFadden, Grant (Thesis director) / Chen, Julian (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Menstruation - a stigmatized topic and a social taboo- has led to a lack of menstrual hygiene awareness and improper practices impacting women’s health adversely over generations in India. Akshara aims to increase menstrual hygiene education and reduce stigma in India. A creative children’s illustrated book, and interactive workshop curriculum about menstruation were designed and published in Hindi and English. Menstrual hygiene workshops, utilizing the designed tools, were conducted in Delhi and Ghaziabad, India to over 230 students through NGO partnerships in December 2018. The response to the menstrual hygiene and stigma workshops was overwhelmingly positive, and a significant increase in the knowledge and awareness survey scores was observed after the curriculum teachings and classroom discussions. This evaluation highlights and provides a potential solution path to eradicate the root cause of the menstruation stigma in underprivileged women through education and open conversations on the topic starting at a pivotal young age. The main aim of the workshop was to help eradicate the stigma associated with menstruation and menstrual health in India through education.
ContributorsBhalla, Jahnavi (Co-author) / Dani, Advika (Co-author) / Schuster, Roseanne (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05