9547 research outputs found
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Personalized Adult Preventive Screening Tool to Improve Access and Health Literacy in a Multilingual Population
No full textMany adults are unaware of which preventive screenings apply to them, leading to missed opportunities for early disease detection and under-utilization of evidence-based services. Barriers such as limited appointment time, complex screening guidelines, and wide variation in health literacy and language proficiency contribute to this gap, especially in culturally diverse areas like Danbury, CT. This project aimed to create a multilingual, web-based personalized screening tool based on the 2024 USPSTF A & B recommendations. The tool generates screening suggestions using inputs such as age, sex at birth, BMI, smoking status, and more. Interviews with a clinic preceptor and a public health leader emphasized the importance of patient education, simplified language, and culturally relevant delivery. The tool supports English, Spanish, and Portuguese and is optimized for both in-clinic and home use. Future plans include print and mobile app access, expanded language support, and pilot testing to assess usability and impact
Self-Management of Cystic Fibrosis in Adolescents and Young Adults: The Role of Behavioral Motivation and Executive Skills for Treatment Engagement
No full textAdolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis in the modern modulator era are experiencing improved health and longer lifespans than ever before. However, these advancements may also create a lower symptom context that reduces engagement in complex, time-intensive treatment regimens, particularly respiratory therapies, that remain essential to medical care. Drawing on behavioral theory and developmental neuroscience perspectives, this study explored how improved health and competing psychosocial priorities influence treatment engagement and if executive functioning may contribute to increased engagement in therapies for adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis. A secondary data analysis was conducted using survey data from 31 participants with cystic fibrosis (ages 15–20). Participants completed validated measures assessing treatment frequency, perceived physical health, psychosocial quality of life, and executive functioning. Results showed that better perceived physical health and greater psychosocial quality of life were marginally associated with large effect sizes with lower treatment engagement; however, executive functioning did not significantly moderate these relationships. These findings support the hypothesis that improved physical well-being may be associated with decreased reinforcement value of treatments, and improved psychosocial well-being may be related to increased competing reinforcers from immediately rewarding normative activities of this developmental period. Further, although executive functioning is theoretically working in support of goal-directed behavior, the role of executive functioning in treatment engagement for youth with cystic fibrosis may be more nuanced and context-dependent. In conclusion, these findings point to a need to consider the potential impact of modern treatment approaches to cystic fibrosis on treatment engagement and novel intervention approaches to address those changes while supporting long-term health and well-being in adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis.PsychologyDoctor of Philosophy (PhD
The Effect Of A Physical Activity Intervention On Preschoolers’ Physical Activity Variability And The Role Of Adhd Symptoms
No full textThere is a need to investigate adjunct interventions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that are effective and accessible for children and families while they await evidence-based treatments. One such intervention that has shown promise in promoting self-regulation skills and decreasing ADHD symptoms is physical activity (PA). However, the effects of PA interventions on ADHD symptoms are less widely studied in the preschool age, a critical period for the emergence of ADHD symptoms. Therefore, more research is needed to examine the mechanisms through which PA interventions may affect behavior change in preschoolers. The current study examined the effects of a structured PA intervention, Kiddie Children and Teachers on the Move (Kiddie CATs), on intra-individual variability in PA (PA-var) throughout the school day to investigate whether PA-var varies across days preschoolers are exposed to a PA intervention versus days they are not, and whether change in PA-var across PA intervention condition (i.e., days in which the preschoolers received Kiddie CATs versus days they did not) varies as a function of preschoolers’ ADHD symptom levels. Two hundred and fifteen preschoolers (Mage = 4.02, SD = 0.60, 52.1% male) recruited from 14 classrooms participating in the Kiddie CATs program across five non-consecutive academic years were included. Baseline assessments of teacher-reported ADHD behaviors and accelerometry during the two-week fall intervention assessment period were used. Multi-level modeling was used to examine the effects of PA intervention condition on PA-var and the interactive effect of ADHD symptoms on PA-var, controlling for accelerometer wear time. Hyperactive/impulsive (HI) and inattentive (IA) symptoms were examined separately. Results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in PA-var across the PA intervention conditions. However, there was a significant interaction effect between PA intervention condition and HI symptoms on PA-var in that children with higher levels of HI symptoms demonstrated lower levels of PA-var on days they participated in Kiddie CATs than on days they did not. There was no significant effect of PA intervention condition on PA-var at low levels of HI symptoms. Although there were no observed overall differences in PA-var across PA intervention conditions in the current study, future research should continue to examine the relation between PA interventions and PA-var while also examining the longer-term effects Kiddie CATs may have on PA-var across a school year.PsychologyDoctor of Philosophy (PhD
The Effect Of A Physical Activity Intervention On Preschoolers’ Physical Activity Variability And The Role Of Adhd Symptoms
No full textThere is a need to investigate adjunct interventions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that are effective and accessible for children and families while they await evidence-based treatments. One such intervention that has shown promise in promoting self-regulation skills and decreasing ADHD symptoms is physical activity (PA). However, the effects of PA interventions on ADHD symptoms are less widely studied in the preschool age, a critical period for the emergence of ADHD symptoms. Therefore, more research is needed to examine the mechanisms through which PA interventions may affect behavior change in preschoolers. The current study examined the effects of a structured PA intervention, Kiddie Children and Teachers on the Move (Kiddie CATs), on intra-individual variability in PA (PA-var) throughout the school day to investigate whether PA-var varies across days preschoolers are exposed to a PA intervention versus days they are not, and whether change in PA-var across PA intervention condition (i.e., days in which the preschoolers received Kiddie CATs versus days they did not) varies as a function of preschoolers’ ADHD symptom levels. Two hundred and fifteen preschoolers (Mage = 4.02, SD = 0.60, 52.1% male) recruited from 14 classrooms participating in the Kiddie CATs program across five non-consecutive academic years were included. Baseline assessments of teacher-reported ADHD behaviors and accelerometry during the two-week fall intervention assessment period were used. Multi-level modeling was used to examine the effects of PA intervention condition on PA-var and the interactive effect of ADHD symptoms on PA-var, controlling for accelerometer wear time. Hyperactive/impulsive (HI) and inattentive (IA) symptoms were examined separately. Results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in PA-var across the PA intervention conditions. However, there was a significant interaction effect between PA intervention condition and HI symptoms on PA-var in that children with higher levels of HI symptoms demonstrated lower levels of PA-var on days they participated in Kiddie CATs than on days they did not. There was no significant effect of PA intervention condition on PA-var at low levels of HI symptoms. Although there were no observed overall differences in PA-var across PA intervention conditions in the current study, future research should continue to examine the relation between PA interventions and PA-var while also examining the longer-term effects Kiddie CATs may have on PA-var across a school year.PsychologyDoctor of Philosophy (PhD
Self-Management of Cystic Fibrosis in Adolescents and Young Adults: The Role of Behavioral Motivation and Executive Skills for Treatment Engagement
No full textAdolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis in the modern modulator era are experiencing improved health and longer lifespans than ever before. However, these advancements may also create a lower symptom context that reduces engagement in complex, time-intensive treatment regimens, particularly respiratory therapies, that remain essential to medical care. Drawing on behavioral theory and developmental neuroscience perspectives, this study explored how improved health and competing psychosocial priorities influence treatment engagement and if executive functioning may contribute to increased engagement in therapies for adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis. A secondary data analysis was conducted using survey data from 31 participants with cystic fibrosis (ages 15–20). Participants completed validated measures assessing treatment frequency, perceived physical health, psychosocial quality of life, and executive functioning. Results showed that better perceived physical health and greater psychosocial quality of life were marginally associated with large effect sizes with lower treatment engagement; however, executive functioning did not significantly moderate these relationships. These findings support the hypothesis that improved physical well-being may be associated with decreased reinforcement value of treatments, and improved psychosocial well-being may be related to increased competing reinforcers from immediately rewarding normative activities of this developmental period. Further, although executive functioning is theoretically working in support of goal-directed behavior, the role of executive functioning in treatment engagement for youth with cystic fibrosis may be more nuanced and context-dependent. In conclusion, these findings point to a need to consider the potential impact of modern treatment approaches to cystic fibrosis on treatment engagement and novel intervention approaches to address those changes while supporting long-term health and well-being in adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis.PsychologyDoctor of Philosophy (PhD
Investigating Post-Taconic Deformation In The Pine Hill Thrust, Southern Vermont
No full textThe Pine Hill thrust, a western frontal thrust of the Green Mountain massif in southern Vermont, is characterized by reverse faults that place Precambrian basement rocks and the Cambrian Dalton Formation over Upper Ordovician rocks. Based on cross-cutting relationships, it has been considered a late-stage Taconic thrust. However, recent investigations in the western front of the Sutton Mountains, Green Mountain massif, and Berkshire massif of southern Quebec, Vermont, and Massachusetts, respectively, suggest fault displacement at ca. 420 Ma and younger. Therefore, motion on these faults may instead be associated with the late Salinic or early Acadian orogeny. This study investigates the hypothesis that the Pine Hill thrust records post-Taconic deformational events via the integration of detailed field structural mapping with thin section microstructural analysis of oriented samples to analyze the structural evolution of the rocks. LiDAR imagery was used to refine the detailed location of the thrust in the study area. The results allow targeting of meaningful 40Ar/39Ar geochronology samples for constraining the timing of deformation along the Pine Hill thrust. The transects across the Pine Hill thrust, where the lower Cambrian Dalton Formation is mapped as thrust over the Upper Ordovician Ira Formation, preserve at least three generations of foliation. In both the hanging wall (Cambrian Dalton Fm) and the footwall (Upper Ordovician Ira Fm), S2 is the dominant foliation and S1 is locally preserved in S2 microlithons. S3, the youngest foliation, is a crenulation cleavage most intensely developed in samples along the fault zone. These data suggest multiple phases of motion along the Pine Hill thrust. Based on relative age relationships, all three foliations (in the footwall) must be younger than the depositional age of the Ira Formation (< ca. 455 Ma). Quartz microstructures across the fault system are dominated by subgrain rotation recrystallization with local grain boundary migration and bulging recrystallization with no evidence of static recrystallization or recovery phases in microstructures, confirming that the rock records ductile deformation at greenschist-facies conditions. Although 40Ar/39Ar geochronology results are pending, the selected white mica samples tied to each foliation generation will enable direct linkage of fabric development to absolute ages once analyses are complete. These results show that the Pine Hill thrust is, rather, a steep, east-dipping reverse fault, that emplaced the Grenville basement and Cambrian Dalton Formation over the Upper Ordovician Ira Formation. The surface trace of the thrust coincides with locations at which the S3 foliation is most strongly developed. Further geochronology of these deformation fabrics will help establish the timing of deformation and its tectonic significance, helping to correlate surface geology with results from New England Seismic Transect (NEST) imaging of crustal and mantle lithospheric structure in the northern New England Appalachians.GeologyMaster of Science (MS
Miro1-Mediated Mitochondrial Positioning In The Development And Metastasis Of Breast Cancer
No full textBreast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide, with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) representing one of the most aggressive and therapeutically challenging subtypes. Mitochondrial positioning within cells has emerged as a critical determinant of cancer cell metabolism, signaling, and survival, yet the molecular mechanisms governing these spatial dynamics and their contribution to tumorigenesis are not well understood. Miro1 (mitochondrial Rho GTPase 1) is a protein embedded in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Miro1 is essential for coordinating mitochondrial trafficking along microtubules through its interactions with adaptor proteins such as TRAK1/2 and motor proteins. Beyond its canonical role in mitochondrial transport, Miro1 is also involved in calcium homeostasis, organelle contact site formation, and mitophagy. Importantly, published data indicate that breast cancer patients whose tumors express high levels of Miro1 have significantly poorer survival outcomes compared to those with low Miro1 expression, highlighting the importance of investigating its role in the molecular mechanisms that drive breast cancer progression.In recent years, Miro1 has been implicated in supporting cellular processes such as migration and proliferation in both normal and malignant cells, including breast cancer. To investigate the role of Miro1 in breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis, we generated MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells with stable knockdown of Miro1. Loss of Miro1 led to increased phosphorylation of ERK1/2, loss of DUSP6 translation, and increased 4EHP expression. In our functional assays, Miro1 knockdown was associated with reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. In vivo, xenografts derived from Miro1 knockdown cells resulted in significantly reduced tumorigenesis compared to wild-type controls. To further assess the role of Miro1 in mammary tumor development in vivo, we generated a novel transgenic mouse model with inducible, tissue-specific deletion of Miro1 in mammary epithelial cells, in combination with polyomavirus middle T-antigen (PyVMT) oncogene activation. In this model, Miro1 wild-type mice developed tumors at all mammary gland sites and exhibited pulmonary metastases. In contrast, mice with complete Miro1 deletion failed to form tumors despite oncogene activation. Notably, heterozygous mice with only one intact Miro1 allele developed primary tumors but displayed a markedly reduced capacity for metastasis. Together, these findings demonstrate that Miro1 is not merely a regulator of mitochondrial positioning, but a key modulator of cellular behaviors that drive both the initiation and progression of breast tumors. Its loss impairs primary tumor formation, disrupts oncogenic signaling pathways, and diminishes the metastatic potential of breast cancer cells. The observed dose-dependent effects ranging from complete tumor suppression in Miro1-null mice to reduced metastasis in heterozygous models further emphasize the importance of Miro1 expression levels in determining tumor initiation. These data suggest that Miro1 may serve as a valuable biomarker for tumor status, reflecting both proliferative capacity and metastatic risk. Moreover, the findings highlight Miro1 as a promising therapeutic target, where modulation of mitochondrial positioning and associated signaling pathways could offer novel strategies for treating aggressive subtypes such as triple-negative breast cancer.Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical SciencesDoctor of Philosophy (PhD
Investigating the effect of genetic variation on inducible nitric oxide synthase enzymatic activity
No full textUndergraduateInducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS, NOS2/Nos2) is an enzyme that produces nitric oxide (NO) for antimicrobial immunity. NO production is a “balancing act;” Sufficient NO is required for immunity, while excess NO reduces long-term cell survival. Our group previously observed that the immune cells of in-bred B6 laboratory mice produce significantly more NO than that of wild-derived PWD mice and located seven amino acids differing between these iNOS variants. Six polymorphisms are conserved between the PWD-iNOS and human-iNOS sequences. This current study aims to investigate the effect of genetic variation on determining the functional capacities of these iNOS variants
A Better, Safer World: Agency, Masculinity, and The Implications of Social Media for ‘Digital Natives’
No full textIn this research, I outline current understanding of social media platforms and their relations to gender identity and agency. I conducted ethnographic interviews, which I provide details from in conjunction with autoethnography, in order to contextualize how these themes interconnect, specifically how social media platforms create and enforce normative categories like gender and remove privacy from the user in exchange for digital conveniences. Overall, I find that surveillance is a state of control that young adults have become resigned to, further adumbrating their potential for exploitation, and that while less vulnerable, digital realities cannot compensate for what the physical lacks.Anthropolog
Spectroscopic Investigations of the Primordial Chelatases CbiXS and CfbA
No full textFor decades, there has been a broad interdisciplinary interest in adapting the metal-tetrapyrrole (MTP) archetype in ways that extend beyond the chemistry of life. Large-scale syntheses of such artificial MTPs have, however, presented challenges in sustainability due to the large volumes of waste metal and solvent generated by traditional synthetic approaches. One alternative that has been proposed to this is to instead leverage the biological origins of these compounds – i.e., strategic modification of the pathways already involved in biosynthesizing MTPs. These pathways are characterized by the particular challenge of inserting a unique metal into the tetrapyrrole center, catalyzed by enzymes known as chelatases; thus, it follows that any biochemical approaches to synthesizing novel MTPs must first conquer the intricacies that dictate substrate scope in chelatases. The ``primordial'' chelatases that exist today among certain members of the archaea, such as the cobalt chelatase CbiXS and the nickel chelatase CfbA, are of particular interest to this endeavor. Having undergone minimal structural change over the eons, their broad reactivities make them excellent subjects for studying the substrate scopes of chelatases whilst simultaneously serving as prime structural foundations for the future engineering of de novo chelatase enzymes. With this in mind, we have investigated the reactivity of CbiXS across a panel of both metal and tetrapyrrole substrates. Through stoichiometrically controlled assays it was found that although CbiXS experiences product inhibition, the consistency in this inhibition across substrate pairs suggests that it is not a mechanism through which selectivity arises and is reflective of a broad substrate scope. Further analysis of reaction kinetics revealed that CbiXS is also substrate-inhibited, and this was discovered to be occurring independently through both the metal ion and the tetrapyrrole substrate. Chromatographic studies also found that CbiXS is in fact tetrameric in vitro, providing the necessary context to determine that an allosteric mechanism was likely driving its anomalous kinetic behavior. In addition to this, the nickel coordination environment of the closely related CfbA was characterized using magnetic circular dichroism. Energies of the observed d-d transitions were consistent with those from an octahedral ligand field, and exhibited temperature-dependent intensities indicating the presence of a spin-degenerate ground state. As such, it was determined that CfbA binds a high-spin, octahedral Ni(II). This in turn indicates that the Ni(II) is kinetically labile toward ligand exchange, providing valuable new mechanistic insights into CfbA as a chelatase.ChemistryDoctor of Philosophy (PhD