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Description
Background: Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental impacting reading and writing ability present in around 5 to 9 percent of the population. The etiology of the condition is not currently well understood.
Purpose: To identify new genes of interest regarding the etiology of dyslexia, describe the interaction of those genes within known gene networks, and discuss potential relationships between their expression in the early developing brain and phenotypic outcomes.
Method: With informed consent, participants’ phenotypic and exome data were collected. Phenotypic data were collected using assessments measuring reading and spelling ability. Exome data were collected via saliva samples and processed at the UW-CRDR. Exome data were then filtering using Seqr and compared across participant families. Certain genes with identical variations were visually validated using the Integrated Genome Viewer, and then investigated using STRING Network Analysis and the Human Brain Transcriptome.
Results: Three genes were identified: BCL6, DNAH1, and DNAH12. Protein-protein interactions were confirmed between DNAH1 and DNAH12 via STRING Network Analysis. BLC6 and DNAH1 experience higher postnatal expression in the cerebellar cortex. DNAH12 experiences higher prenatal expression in the hippocampus.
Discussion: The findings appear to be consistent with a heterogenous and polygenic model of dyslexia. The correlation between the participants’ genotypes and phenotypes is not strong enough to draw significant conclusions regarding genotype/phenotype connections. A larger participant sample size and analysis of a large pool of shared genes may reveal a clearer relationship.
ContributorsBanta, Claire (Author) / Peter, Beate (Thesis director) / Liu, Li (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
As obesity rates continue to rise in adolescents and young children, the concern for poor future health of the younger population grows. Physical activity and improving nutrition are two ways to combat obesity rates, and the Sustainability via Active Gardening Education (SAGE) project addresses this in underserved and low-income communities in Maricopa County. This project employs a curriculum designed to promote physical activity and healthy eating for Early Care and Education (ECE) sites, most of which are daycares. Further, utilizing indicators of future health can also allow for us to understand and lower obesity rates. One indicator of future health is grip strength: greater grip strength is associated with healthier outcomes such as lower triglycerides, blood pressure, and body mass index. Grip strength has been observed in the older population; however, there are few studies looking at grip strength in younger children, namely preschoolers. As grip strength is a predictor of health, it follows that it should be observed in preschoolers, and improved, if possible, by factors such as physical activity, which would ultimately improve obesity rates. This study aimed to see if there was any relationship between physical activity and grip strength in preschoolers aged 3-5 years old. To do so, grip strength, hand length, height, weight, and information regarding physical activity of preschoolers enrolled in the SAGE project were collected.
Physical activity and grip strength were not found to be significantly associated in this study; however, hand length and hand strength were associated. Among secondary outcomes, it was observed that males of ages 3 to 5-years-old may have greater hand grip strength than females of the same age group. Although this was not statistically significant, there was a trend toward statistical significance. Small sample size hampered observation of expected relationships between hand grip strength and dominant hand of the participants, and hand grip strength was not significantly related with BMI. Future directions would consist of collecting longitudinal data, as well as calling back previous years’ participants for additional data, so that there is a larger sample size for data analysis.
ContributorsAtluri, Haarika (Author) / Lee, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Tucker, Derek (Committee member) / Cantu Garcia, Lisbeth (Committee member) / De Mello, Gabrielli (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Purinergic receptors play an important role in the response to infectious diseases by sensing damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). The P2X family of purinergic receptors is known to recognize extracellular ATP (eATP) at different affinities. One of these receptors, P2X3, shows high affinity for eATP, but its role in modulating responses to infectious diseases has not been studied. Using the pulmonary infection model with influenza virus PR8 strain on wild type (WT) and P2RX3-deficient (P2RX3-KO) mice, we aimed to discover the role of P2RX3 in influenza infection in the lungs. We found that there was not a significant difference in the severity of disease in WT and P2RX3-KO mice during the acute phase, but there was more fibrotic tissue visible in P2RX3-KO mice lungs on day 40 post infection (p.i.) using Masson’s trichrome staining. To further investigate these differences, we analyzed myeloid cell populations and flu-specific lymphocytes in the infected lungs. We found that there was a significant decrease in the number of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells in the lungs of P2RX3-KO mice after 7 days p.i. After performing t-SNE (t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding) analysis on CD4+ T cells of P2RX3-KO and WT mice, we discovered that P2RX3-KO mice had a population of cells which was not present in the WT mice. This population showed high expression of most proteins such as T-bet and BCL6, which is not characteristic of the typical Th1 population induced by influenza virus. Using in vitro activation and differentiation of Th1 CD4+ T cells from WT and P2RX3-KO mice, we found that P2RX3-KO CD4+ T cells had greater expression of markers related to Tfh (T follicular helper cells), such as ICOS and CXCR5, and overall hyperactivation, demonstrating irregular Th1 differentiation. Taken together, these results suggest that P2RX3 may be linked to the maintenance of “healthy” CD4+ T cells and may be important in preventing fibrosis in influenza infection.
ContributorsWhite, Emily (Author) / Florsheim, Esther (Thesis director) / Borges da Silva, Henrique (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Engaging in regular physical activity is critical for physical, emotional, and cognitive health, yet only 49.6% of adults meet the minimum weekly guideline of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity. Therefore, it is important to understand key components of behavioral change to increase physical activity. The purpose of this thesis was to examine baseline to 1-month changes in self-regulation and self-efficacy among insufficiently active midlife adults enrolled in 6-month physical activity intervention. Self-regulation and self-efficacy were selected based on previous literature establishing their significant roles in behavior changes related to physical activity. Six variables were self-reported monthly throughout the 6-month study including general self-regulation, physical activity self-regulation, strategies for physical activity, general self-efficacy, walking self-efficacy, and exercise confidence. Paired samples t tests to evaluate the changes in variables of interest from Baseline to Month 1 participation in the parent study. The findings indicated that enrollment in a study focused on increasing physical activity through goal setting, including virtual coaching and self-monitoring, led to greater self-reported levels of self-regulation, and walking specific self-efficacy within one month. We consider the implications of these findings for future research and endeavors to best increase long term physical activity and goal setting adherence.
ContributorsWu, Emily (Author) / Maxfield, Molly (Thesis director) / Joseph, Rodney (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This world promises just one thing: continuous change. As humanity has moved through time much has changed in the worlds of science, mathematics, and physics. These changes in humanity's understanding of the world often come in quick unsuspecting waves of education, innovation, and experimentation. Such waves can be thought of as a series of technology shocks which are known to cause significant disruptions within an industry and the economy broadly as firms permanently change the ways they produce and distribute goods and services in response to the new technologies or information. The recent flurry of innovation and interest into Artificial Intelligence leads us to believe that many industries may be experiencing such a wave of change today. The healthcare industry currently employs the most workers of any other sector in the United States (outside of the government) and is made up of an unprecedented 77% of female workers making the outcomes of changes in its labor market demands particularly important. In this paper we discuss the current state of Artificial Intelligence adoption within the clinical side of healthcare, what sub sectors and occupations are most exposed, and to what extent the FDA approved AI-enabled clinical healthcare products replace or complement those tasks of existing occupations. We also interviewed a few healthcare professionals with different levels of seniority and exposure to AI enabled products to develop a holistic understanding of current AI adoption, employee preparation, and potential labor market implications over the short and long term. We find that AI implementation within clinical healthcare settings is young in its life cycle yet fast growing. Current use cases are mostly in the earlier stages of the patient’s care journey assisting workers in various capacities in the processes of patient testing, diagnosis, care planning, and post treatment monitoring. The tasks associated with patient interaction and care administration do not appear to be threatened by AI automation at this point in time. Additionally, approved Artificial Intelligence products for clinical use are disproportionately concentrated in the subsectors of radiology, neurology, and cardiology. Finally, our interviews revealed a concerning lack of consideration and preparation, among healthcare workers, of the potential automation of their fundamental tasks. Going forward, we believe it believe wise for healthcare workers to monitor the evolution of clinical AI use cases as well as the FDA approval of AI enabled products and prepare for potential automation by continuing to learn new skills, take on additional responsibilities, and generally inject themselves into as many stages of the patient’s healthcare journey as possible to differentiate among other workers and avoid automation.
ContributorsMehta, Ari (Author) / Asheim, Brody (Co-author) / Dolasinski, Nicholas (Thesis director) / McElenney, Nicholas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This study aimed to assess the impact of local insecticide fogging procedures (carried out by Maricopa County Vector Control) on the development of insecticide resistance mechanisms in field populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. To address this aim, Cx. quinquefasciatus eggs were collected from six field sites ranging from levels of high, medium, and no exposure to insecticides. The collected eggs were then reared, and adult mosquitoes underwent topical application bioassays to determine if deltamethrin resistance levels were associated with the fogging frequency of the field site from which the eggs were collected. The results suggest the presence of pyrethroid resistance amongst all field populations in comparison to an insecticide susceptible strain of Culex mosquito. However, the deltamethrin resistance levels of mosquitoes from each site were not significantly different. These results suggest that, outside of government insecticide fogging, there are other sources acting as selective pressures for resistance mechanisms in local Cx. quinquefasciatus mosquito populations.
ContributorsUtnehmer, Mikayla (Author) / Huijben, Silvie (Thesis director) / Ward, Donald (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Anelloviruses are small, negative-sense, single-stranded DNA viruses that have are found to be present in over 90% of adult humans. Despite being highly prevalent, little is known about the biology or pathogenic potentials of the anelloviruses. Initially, the family Anelloviridae, contained 14 genera. However, in the last few years, there have been an abundant number of diverse anelloviruses that were identified in various organisms. Thus, a new criterion for anelloviruses classification was necessary to establish new genera and species to accommodate unclassified anelloviruses. As part of an ongoing effort to characterize the human virome of female genital tract (FGT), we performed virome metagenomic sequencing of Peruvian women living with HIV, and we have identified 7 novel anellovirus genome sequences found in cervicovaginal clinical specimens. Through phylogenetic and sequence analyses of the new characterization criteria, we classified the genome sequences as three novel anellovirus genera, provisionally named, Petorquevirus, Sadetorquevirus, and Quoptorquevirus.
ContributorsDo, Eric (Author) / Lim, Efrem (Thesis director) / Kaelin, Emily (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
In the United States, the most common type of cancer is skin cancer. The most common forms of skin cancer are: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. There are numerous organizations that have created awareness campaigns to inform the public about the risks of skin cancer and the methods that they can use to protect themselves. The organizations analyzed in this paper were: Melanoma Education Foundation, Melanoma Research Foundation, AIM at Melanoma Foundation, Melanoma Research Alliance, The Skin Cancer Foundation, and The American Cancer Society. After an analysis of the organizations’ skin cancer prevention methods, three themes were developed. These themes consist of: “Self Awareness”, “Nothing is Perfect”, and “Language of Prevention Techniques”. The articles informed the public that they needed to make a conscious effort to protect their skin, and even with the proper protection methods it is still possible to be diagnosed with skin cancer.
The goal of informing the public about the risks of skin cancer was achieved, and it was done in a specific manner.
ContributorsMungia, Antigone (Author) / SturtzSreetharan, Cindi (Thesis director) / Ruth, Alissa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Cancer is a disease that occurs when the cells in the body grow and replicate uncontrollably while spreading throughout the body. Apart from the pre-existing treatments, bacteria based treatments maybe used as an alternative. The main system used to deliver antigens to host tissues was Salmonella. In order to use Salmonella as an anti-cancer platform, there are three major steps which must be followed: cell lysis, tumor navigation, and Salmonella tumor persistence.
ContributorsBharath, Shreya (Author) / Kong, Wei (Thesis director) / Fu, Lingchen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder that can affect individuals at nearly every stage of life. Women are especially vulnerable to MDD in part, from ovarian hormone level fluctuations. In this thesis, I focused on MDD using a rat model in middle-age to explore potential sex differences in response to a corticosterone (CORT) – induced depressive-like state. Estradiol (E2), a naturally occurring steroid sex hormone in humans and rats, is implicated in mood changes, which is especially prominent during the menopause transition. CORT, a stress hormone, was used to create a depressive-like state in middle-aged female (F) and male (M) rats with their gonads surgically removed. This produced the following independent treatment groups: Sex (F, M), CORT (vehicle = V ml/kg, C 40mg/kg), E2 (V 0.1 ml, E 0.3µg/0.1ml). CORT and E2 injections were injected daily, s.c) for 7 days before behavioral testing began and continued throughout the study when behavior was assessed. For my honor’s thesis, I focused on the social interaction test and elevated plus maze to investigate whether CORT enhanced social avoidance and anxiety, and whether E2 mitigated the CORT effects. In the social interaction test, three new behaviors were assessed (interacting, grooming, and immobility) to better understand exploratory and anxiety profiles of the rats, and these behaviors were quantified over two 5-minute periods in the 10-minute trial. These new quantifications showed that for the female rats, C+E and V+V enhanced the interaction with the novel rat significantly more than an inanimate object, which was not observed in the females given CORT only or E2 only. The males in all conditions showed a significant preference for side with the novel rat compared to the object, however no treatment differences were observed. In both sexes, the overall time spent interacting decreased in the second five minutes of quantification compared to the first five minutes. No effects were observed with grooming or immobility, in part from the high variability across rats. For EPM, female rats treated with CORT and E2 exhibited a lower anxiety index than compared to female rats given CORT only, indicating that E2 mitigated the depressive-like effects of CORT. Males showed no CORT or E2 effects. The result in part supported my hypothesis, as the CORT-treated females exhibited reduced socialization and E2 improved socialization in CORT-treated females, as this was seen in the F-C-E group. Interestingly, CORT failed to produce a depressive-like effect in males in both behavioral tests, which was an unexpected outcome. These results suggest that administration of E2 with CORT mitigated the depressive-like state created by CORT in female rats, however failed to produce these outcomes in males. The outcome of this work will give us insight into the potential mechanisms that may contribute to sex differences with MDD.
ContributorsSladkova, Sara (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Amdam, Gro (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05