Texas Southern University
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A positive–negative switching LC-MS/MS method for quantification of fenoldopam and its phase II metabolites: Applications to a pharmacokinetic study in rats
No full textFenoldopam is an approved drug used to treat hypotension. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate an LC-MS method to quantify fenoldopam and its major metabolites fenoldopam-glucuronide and fenoldopam-sulfate in plasma and apply the method to a pharmacokinetic study in rats. A Waters C18 column was used with 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid in water as the mobile phases to elute the analytes. A positive–negative switching method was performed in a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode. A one-step protein precipitation using methanol and ethyl acetate was successfully applied for plasma sample preparation. The method was validated following the FDA guidance. The results show that the LLOQ of fenoldopam, fenoldopam-glucuronide and fenoldopam-sulfate is 0.98, 9.75 and 0.98 nM, respectively. The intraday and interday variance is less than 8.4% and the accuracy is between 82.5 and 116.0 %. The extraction recovery for these three analytes ranged from 81.3 ± 4.1% to 113.9 ± 13.2%. There was no significant matrix effect and no significant degradation under the experimental conditions. PK studies showed that fenoldopam was rapidly eliminated (t1/2 = 0.63 ± 0.24 h) from the plasma and glucuronide is the major metabolite. This method was suitably selective and sensitive for pharmacokinetic and phase II metabolism studies
ADMINISTERING ONLINE EXAMS FROM HESITANTLY TO INNOVATIVELY - A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE THROUGH AN ACTION RESEARCH
Get PDFIn the midst of COVID-19, university campuses were shut down and faculty had to move their classes online. The abrupt change opened up many challenges. One of them was how to handle online exams. This paper recounted how one instructor had managed the exams online. The paper presents this experience from an action research perspective. At the core is the narrative that captures the exam design process, the tools used, and the proctoring setup. The results are based on the interpretation of the phenomenon through a lens of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The insights reveal some qualitative evidence to support relevant factors in UTAUT
Incorporating Online Simulated Environments into an MIS Curriculum to Accommodate for Disruptions Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThe Covid-19 pandemic has become a major disruption to colleges and universities around the world with most institutions moving to online-only instruction. As a result, the use of controlled environments to deliver hands-on experiences in typical MIS curriculum courses, such as programming, database management, network administration, information security, and web design was no longer available. This paper discusses a variety of simulated environments where students get hands-on experiences to replace the traditional learning environment in a classroom or computer lab setting
Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Business Education: Case for the AACSB’s Agility Standard
Get PDFWe explored an undergraduate business program’s navigation of an unplanned change, response to the Covid-19 pandemic-occasioned move to online learning, and the resilience of its curriculum by following cohorts of students through two consecutive courses from the end of 2019 through 2020 up to summer 2021. The exploration was aimed at the assessment of the impact of the pandemic-induced disruptions, i.e., how the school’s curriculum fared through the pandemic. Premised on the school’s accreditor, AACSB’s agility-cultivating curriculum guideline, the curriculum should adapt and stabilize post-pandemic. To identify the appropriate cohort for observation, we scrutinized the four progressive levels of agility inculcation in the program, then we picked the cohort enrolled in the agility reinforcement course. We followed this cohort into their subsequent coursework to check how they adapted to online learning through the pandemic in 2020 to 2021. Overall, this program curriculum seems adequately agile as it appears to engender resilient students and faculty who adapted and adjusted to online learning post-pandemic as indicated by the relatively comparable learning outcomes for over a year
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Compound-20 (Analog of Curcumin) Prevents Acrolein-Induced Changes in Rats
Get PDFResearch has shown that acrolein, a known environmental pollutant, contributes to generation of free radicals leading to oxidative stress and physiological damage. Curcumin has been known to improve damages from oxidative stress due to its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. It has been reported that to exert such an effect, a large dose of curcumin needs to be consumed on daily bases due to its high excretion through kidney. Here in collaboration with Dr. Chelliah from department of pharmaceutical, an analog form of curcumin (compound-20) was synthesized with promising more potent activity and absorption. The objective of this study was to investigate if compound-20 could prevent acrolein induced oxidative stress in rats. Acrolein is a reactive aldehyde, which is released as a byproduct of organic combustion such as in cigarette smoke, burning of wood, automobile exhaust, diesel fuel, paraffin wax, and heating cooking oil at high temperatures. (Tanel et al., 2014; Stevens et al., 2008). Acrolein has its uses which include production of pesticides, algaecide, and aquatic herbicide in irrigation canals (Arntz et al., 2013). High level of acrolein has been reported in different disease conditions such as spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, neurological, nephrological and hepatological toxicity, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular disease (Akshata et al., 2015). Curcumin is a natural product, widely used in cooking preparations thorough out the world. As a polyphenol compound, curcumin (CUR) is isolated from the rhizome of Curcuma longa and chemically defined as diferuloylmethane. CUR has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities (Kunnumakkara et al., 2017). However, when consumed as a spice in preparation of food, large amount of the compound will be excreted due to its poor absorption from small intestine as well high metabolism by liver (Dei Cas and Ghidoni, 2019). To overcome these limitations, different approaches including synthesizing novel solid or liquid forms have investigated Here at Texas Southern University, our collaborator, Dr. Chelliah and his group have been successful in synthesizing several solid analogs of curcumin with more potent and absorption property (Chelliah et al., 2019). In this study, we hypothesized that one of the curcumins analog, which is referred as compound-20 here on, is effective on prevention/reversal of toxic damage caused by acrolein by improving antioxidant system, removing free radicals and ultimately, reducing the inflammation. Effects of compound-20 in amelioration of changes caused by acrolein was examined in rat’s serum. Lipid peroxidation, total glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione-s-transferase activities were measured using ELISA kits from ABCAM including Lipid peroxidation assay kit (Colorimetric), GSH + GSSG/GSH assay kit (Colorimetric), Superoxide dismutase activity (colorimetric), and GST activity assay kit (colorimetric) respectively.Male Sprague Dawley rats weighing 250-350kg were purchased from Envigo (Indianapolis 190 United States) and were divided into three groups: Control group (same amount of vehicle), acrolein group (2mg/kg/day, i.p 7days), and Group 3 includes rats treated with compound-20 (10mg/kg/day, 3days, gavage) before acrolein treatment of (2mg/kg/day, 4days i.p). At the end of the treatment, rats were sacrificed, and tissues and blood were harvested for further analysis. Blood was collected in heparin containing syringes (cardiopuncture, 8-10 ml) in anesthetized rats. Collected blood was centrifuged at 1000 X g for 10 minutes and the supernatant was collected. We used the serum to carry out different assays following manufacturer protocols. The results were analyzed using Unpaired t-test and one-way ANOVA and the data with P values P≤0.05 were reported as significant change. Our result showed a decreased level of GST activity, Glutathione, and SOD activity, but increased lipid peroxidation, in the group treated with acrolein. Addition of compound-20 (C20) increased glutathione, GST, AND SOD activities, while lipid peroxidation was decreased. In conclusion, based on our results, we are reporting that changes in rats after exposure to acrolein are ameliorated after addition of C20. Furthermore, we are including that daily dose of C20 might be a preventive approach to reduce effects of compounds like acrolein in population that are living in areas with high level of acrolein in the environment
Miss/Ms/Mr-Re-examining Gender and Language in Archetypal Figures and Patterns of Morrison and Walker
Get PDFLanguage, as an expression of consciousness, is an integral tool of construction and destruction, because it serves as the foundation of an individual’s perception and affects one’s ability to process information. One cannot conceptualize that which they have no language for, and throughout literary periods and genres, language has been intentionally used to articulate the various manifestations of consciousness that exist beyond time, cultures, and individual experiences. In literature, this is demonstrated through the presence of archetypal patterns and figures that contribute to the development of a character’s mythic journey. Although archetypes demonstrate the commonalities within humanity, much of the language that defines their function and nature is inherently gendered, and consequently contributes to the erasure, minimization, subjugation, or vilification of marginalized individuals who do not uphold the implicit gender assignments that exist within them. This contributes to limited, and often inaccurate interpretations of characters that exist outside of pre and post-colonial, patriarchal, heteronormative informed perspectives. Because of this, the language used to describe and define archetypal figures and patterns should be examined irrespective of gender, so that they do not further perpetuate perspectives that intentionally marginalize people that exist beyond these antiquated interpretations of consciousness