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Comparing Effectiveness of Nanog/Pou5f3 and SOX2/Lin28a in Pluripotent Stem Cell Induction of Leghorn Chicken Fibroblasts
No full textPluripotent stem cells have incredible differentiation potential, making them ideal candidates for various therapeutic and research applications. One particularly interesting application involves the use of stem cells from endangered species for conservation purposes. Naturally harvesting pluripotent stem cells, however, involves significant health risks and is, therefore, avoided in the context of conservation. Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) can serve as a replacement due to their minimally-invasive potential. Previous literature tends to utilize a large and possibly redundant amount of genes to induce pluripotency. While effective, issues may arise regarding vector capacity and potential transcription factor conflicts. Our study sought to elucidate the necessary genes to induce pluripotency in avian fibroblasts by comparing the effectiveness of two common gene combinations, Nanog/Pou5f3 and Sox2/Lin28a, using the Leghorn Chicken as a model organism. Due to the essential nature of genes Nanog/Pou5f3, we hypothesized that they would be more effective at inducing pluripotency than genes Sox2/Lin28a. Using RT-qPCR, we quantified the gene expression of pluripotent maintenance genes and found that the overexpression of Sox2/Lin28a upregulated Sall4 and Klf4 more effectively than Nanog/Pou5f3. We also found that the presence of Nanog/Pou5f3 may inhibit the upregulation of Sall4 via Sox2/Lin28a. Finally, we present evidence of Klf4 upregulation via both Nanog/Pou5f3 and Sox2/Lin28a, a potentially novel mechanism.CFAES Small Grant AwardA one-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Animal Science
Evaluating the impacts of amenity-based tourism on human capital and culture in two Appalachian Ohio counties
Get PDFAmenity-based tourism is often championed as a solution for economically lagging places with natural assets to provide development and increased employment opportunities to residents without putting a strain on local ecosystems. Appalachian Ohio is a region currently investing in amenity-based tourism development to bolster the hospitality and service industries in the absence of extraction and decline of manufacturing in the region. This thesis is an undergraduate inquiry using the Community Capitals Framework created by Emery and Flora (2006) to understand the observed impacts of amenity-based tourism from community leadership. This project is a comparative case study between neighboring counties, Ross and Hocking County, Ohio, and uses a mixed method analysis to determine how the development of amenity-based tourism has impacted human and cultural capital in their communities respectively. Researching changes in cultural and human capital can give insight to how local people in economically lagging communities respond to this kind of regional development. Studying amenity-based development can also uncover lacking areas of these community improvement schemes to better prevent negative impacts in the future to strengthen local economies and maintain a sense of identity. This study has found, in the case of Hocking County, that the surge of popularity in their local amenities is viewed as a threat to community culture, however it has supported small businesses in the area. Local leadership acknowledges, however, that amenity-based development has not brought jobs comparable with other industries. Ross County has had less development to bolster amenity-based tourism in the area, but those interviewed were optimistic about the potential impacts. Future research should evaluate communities with long established amenity-based tourism development to observe best practices in maintaining community character and creating diverse economies that can support the local workforce.No embargoAcademic Major: Environmental Policy and Decision Makin
Determination of Charge Diffusion in Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Detectors
No full textThe Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is an observatory motivated by the search to understand dark energy, find exoplanets, and expand general astrophysics. Roman will bring unprecedented amounts of precision to weak gravitational lensing measurements, which necessitates a developed understanding of systematic errors. This motivates efforts to understand the intrinsic features of the infrared detectors, building a comprehensive understanding of sources of error, and allowing for optimal measurements of cosmological behaviors. One such feature is the modulation transfer function (MTF) which includes contributions from charge diffusion, a description of how charges move through the detector and smear images. Using data from a structured light experiment performed on the detectors, we collected MTF measurements in several wavelengths to produce a comprehensive, robust model of charge diffusion in the Roman detectors. The model informs survey strategy for weak lensing measurements and included in simulations used to develop software for the Roman mission.No embargoAcademic Major: Astronomy and Astrophysic
Enhancing Dosage Calculation Accuracy and Student Confidence Through Simulation: A Quality Improvement Project
Get PDFMedication dosage calculation errors are a significant issue in healthcare, leading to patient harm, extended hospital stays, and financial consequences. Nursing students often struggle with dosage calculations due to poor math skills, lack of confidence, and anxiety, particularly in high stakes testing environments. A systematic literature search revealed simulation as an effective teaching/learning strategy that aids students in improving skills, accuracy, and confidence. Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) method, this quality improvement project aimed to implement a content review session followed by two low-fidelity simulations to determine the impact of simulation on student accuracy and confidence in medication dosage calculations and satisfaction with the simulation learning activity. The evidence-based quality improvement project was implemented at a Midwest, private, Catholic-affiliated university with a traditional and accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Pre- and post-intervention data from eight participants was collected through confidence surveys, dosage calculation examinations, and post-intervention confidence and satisfaction of simulation as a learning modality with the National League for Nursing Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Scale. This project was cost-effective and required minimal low-fidelity simulation equipment, making it replicable at any level of nursing school. In conclusion, the implementation of simulation as a low-stakes active learning strategy significantly enhanced students' confidence and precision in medication dosage calculations.No embarg
Siren's Downfall
Get PDF100 years after a killing gone wrong, Elora finds herself a forced prisoner upon Siren’s Downfall. But when her own secret agenda gets blurred between love and hate, she must confront her past or risk being consumed by it. With forbidden secrets, a mistaken death, and a lover’s fury firing at her from all sides, Elora must navigate the stormy waters of the sea, while fighting back the monsters that threaten to devour her. With nowhere to turn and no one to trust, one thing is for sure, everyone’s a target aboard the Hunters’ ship. In this thrilling Dark Fantasy, fate is tested. Lines are drawn. Revenge is the goal. In the end, Elora must decide if it’s worth a watery grave.No embargoAcademic Major: Englis
Influence of Different Coagulants on Microplastics Removal
Get PDFMicroplastics (MPs) have become a topic of concern for human health over the past several years and drinking water has been identified as an important pathway for MP exposure. Coagulation processes in conventional drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) have been found to significantly reduce MPs in treated water. Most research to date on the effects of coagulation and MP removal has been conducted using pristine plastic particles or lab-aged model particles. These pristine and model plastics lack many important surface characteristics of the environmental MPs found in the raw water treated by DWTPs. In this project, I analyzed the effectiveness of different coagulants, doses, and coagulant aids to remove environmental MPs under typical conditions used in DWTPs.
This project utilized raw water from the Olentangy River to analyze MP concentration and removal via coagulation. Three different chemical coagulants commonly used in DWTPs (ferric chloride, aluminum sulfate, and aluminum chlorohydrate) were compared for MP removal using jar testing methods. Microplastics were isolated from the raw and treated water and imaged using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to quantify MP content and determine removal efficiencies. The samples were also analyzed using optical photothermal infrared (OPTIR) spectroscopy to characterize polymer types present in raw and treated water samples.
The results showed the dose of aluminum sulfate (alum), ferric chloride (FeCl3), and aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH) that provides optimal removal of MPs was 30 mg/L. Across all doses, coagulation provides significant removal of MPs of 69.1-93.7% as particles/L and 57.6-95.7% as µg/L), with observed removal for the tests conducted with ACH being the largest (86.9-93.7%). Turbidity was used to assess its relationship to MP removal. Alum had the largest reduction in turbidity compared to FeCl3 and ACH (79.5-92.9% across all three coagulants). This shows that turbidity is not necessarily an indicator of MP removal in drinking water, while it is an important water quality parameter in drinking water treatment.
Removal efficiencies achieved in this study demonstrated greater MP removal during coagulation when compared to some studies that used model plastics. However, some studies using extensive aging methods for model plastics showed removal efficiencies consistent with the results of this test. Overall, this research demonstrated that lab-aged MPs can act as a model for environmental MPs when sufficiently weathered with treatments that mimic natural weathering processes.No embargoAcademic Major: Environmental Engineerin
Enhancing Acute Care Nursing Leader Knowledge, Competency, and Confidence in Evidence-Based Practice Through Immersive Workshops: An Evidence-Based Practice Project
No full textIntroduction: Evidence-based practice (EBP) enhances patient outcomes by integrating the best available evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences. Nursing leaders must adopt EBP to ensure high-quality, safe care, but many lack the necessary competencies. Organizational support and targeted education programs are essential to bridging this gap. Literature highlights the need for professional development specialists to strengthen nursing leaders' EBP knowledge, competence, and confidence.
Purpose: The purpose of this EBP initiative was to implement an educational workshop focusing on the seven steps of EBP to increase nursing leader knowledge, competence, and confidence to implement the EBP process.
Methods: An interactive, four-hour workshop focused on the seven steps of EBP was conducted. The Evidence-Based Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire, EBP Nurse Manager Competencies Self-Assessment Tool, and EBP Implementation Strategies Self-Efficacy Scale were administered pre- and post-activity to measure nurse leader knowledge, competence, and confidence. Descriptive statistics, including mean scores and Hedge's G analysis, were used to analyze the results.
Results: 36 nurse leaders participated within the EBP workshop. A large effect was observed in nurse leader confidence, competence, and knowledge of the EBP process after participating in the workshop. The workshop equipped nursing leaders with the tools to implement evidence-based changes, positively impacting patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Conclusion: A workshop on the EBP process significantly enhanced nurse leaders' knowledge, competence, and confidence in driving departmental change. Further analysis is needed to evaluate the impact of expanding participation to include multidisciplinary teams in the workshop.A three-year embargo was granted for this item
A Serpent Runs Through It: Towards an Interpretation of the Curvilinear Guilloche Pottery Design Associated with the Fort Ancient Culture in the Midwest U.S.
Get PDFFirst Place, Human Experience, 30th Annnual Denman Undergraduate Research ForumIntroduction/Background: Considered the diagnostic feature of the Fort Ancient Culture, the curvilinear guilloche design appears on several ceramic vessels dated to between 1000 and 500 years before present. This banded motif exhibits high concentrations in the southwestern region of Ohio, closely correlated with the floodplains of the Ohio, and the Great/Little Miami rivers. Until recent, attempts at assigning a symbolic meaning for this design have been lacking, with theories suggesting influences arising from the distinct landscape and animalistic traditions embedded in the precolonial cosmologies of the Fort Ancient people. This research presents a theoretical and ethnographic-based approach to determining the symbolism of this design.
Methods: Research on the curvilinear guilloche began with a broad exploration of anthropological theory into cultural diffusion, the intersection of ecology and art, representations of parallelism and symmetry, and blended elements of psychology, including Jungian collective unconscious and biological concepts of parallel and convergent evolution. This allowed a grounded approach to identify examples of the curvilinear guilloche in global contexts and analyze specific regional depictions of the motif and their symbology. These examples provided close associations of the curvilinear guilloche with serpents and water, a consistent symbolism in multiple cultures.
Results/Current Status: The research was concluded with a focused study of Indigenous North American communities that have been posited to be the nearest descendants of the Fort Ancient culture. Thorough literature review on the Algonquian Miami, Shawnee, and the Dhegihan Siouan Ponca, Omaha, Osage, Kansa, and Quapaw suggested a cosmological root to the guilloche interpretation. It was highly supported by numerous traditions and stories that the curvilinear guilloche is indeed a possible representation of both serpents, and the watery underworld realm they inhabit.
Conclusions: Due to removal, and a paucity of ethnographic information, much has been lost in terms of what ancient art represents. This broad examination of the ultimate meaning of the curvilinear guilloche is a start, but clear possibilities of having a major association with the importance of the serpent as originator and integrator of this cultural tradition provides much for future research. The next steps in this undertaking are to scrutinize these findings with indigenous input from descendants of the associated tribes.No embargoAcademic Major: Anthropological Science
Enabling Tumor-Specific Activation of Prodrugs with Genetic Code Expansion
No full textCancer immunotherapy (CIT) is a promising area of study which leverages natural immune function to improve long term outcomes for cancer patients. Off target effects remain a primary concern of these therapies. However, by leveraging increased hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, concentrations in the tumor microenvironment (TME), prodrug immunotherapies can be designed to activate only at tumor sites. Boronic acid, B(OH)2, is a low-toxicity chemical leaving group which is replaced by alcohol during interactions with H2O2 under physiological conditions. To enable the logic gated endogenous activation of immunotherapeutic protein prodrugs, this thesis seeks to establish a prodrug platform based on genetic code expansion. Tyrosine is present in the binding region of many proteins; the non-canonical amino acid p-boronophenylalanine (Bpa), is similar to tyrosine, except the phenolic hydroxyl is a boronic acid group. We hypothesize that by enabling the incorporation of Bpa in place of bioactive tyrosine residues, future protein immunotherapies can be inactivated until they reach tumors. The proposed platform will enable prodrug development work on a nanobody, nEGFRvIII, which binds to epidermal growth factor receptors and is proposed to limit growth in malignant brain tumors and glioblastoma, which are difficult targets. This research lays a robust foundation for investigating the ability of Bpa prodrugs to prevent off target effects. Future work will contribute new data to the limited body of research in TME-activated site-specific cancer immunotherapy, and the prevention of immune related adverse events with endogenous prodrugs.The Ohio State University, Undergraduate Research Scholarship (URS), College of EngineeringA five-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Chemical Engineerin
Beyond Treatment and Diagnosis: Investigating the Depth and Geographic Distribution of Research on Holistic Recovery for First-Episode Psychosis Patients
Get PDFFirst-Episode Psychosis (FEP) refers to individuals early in the course of a psychotic illness or treatment for psychotic symptoms. This intervention period is especially critical in supporting the clinical recovery of patients. However, there is limited research examining non-clinical topics, such as social functioning, quality of life, employment, and social inclusion, for individuals treated for FEP in the United States. Understanding non-clinical impairments, behaviors, and life outcomes is crucial for enhancing comprehensive care that supports the overall reintegration of patients into society. This descriptive review aims to identify geographic trends in how these factors have been studied in patients treated for First-Episode Psychosis
(FEP). A search strategy was developed using a search of the term "First-Episode Psychosis" on Google Scholar to gather the 500 most relevant results, irrespective of researcher nationality or geographical context. Following this, studies addressing non-clinical life outcomes were categorized into 8 subtopics and analyzed based on geographic distribution between these categories. The results suggest that the United States lags behind countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada in non-clinical first-episode psychosis (FEP) research. Strengthening U.S. research in these domains could drive policy change by demonstrating service needs, potentially justifying further expansion of holistic care models like Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC)No embargoAcademic Major: Public Healt