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Investigation of the Toxicology of Phytoecdysteroids and their Mammalian Metabolites using an Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Cell Line
Get PDFObjective: To evaluate the toxicological effects of a phytoecdysteroid and their mammalian metabolites through in vitro experiments using the MCF-7 cell line. Turkesterone levels of 11 commercially available turkesterone supplements were measured using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Methods: The phytoecdysteroid 20-hydroxyecdysone (20HE) underwent two chemical reactions to synthesize two mammalian metabolites; 14-deoxy-20-hydroxyecdysone (14DO) and poststerone. These reactions were accomplished by zinc-mediated reduction and Jones oxidation, respectively. The structure of the products was confirmed via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The turkesterone supplements were investigated using a HPLC on a Kinetex 2.6 μm C18 column, and a Hitachi L-2000 chromatograph. The associated Hitachi software was used to control and process the results of the chromatograph. Ultraviolet (UV) detection was used to determine the presence and quantity of turkesterone. Toxicological analysis was performed by utilizing the sulforhodamine-B (SRB) assay to determine relative changes in cellular proliferation. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was also employed to determine the changes in expression of estrogen response element-positive genes (BRCA1, BCL2, and CHAT). Results: Analysis of the NMR and LC-MS spectra confirmed that the synthesis of 14DO and poststerone was successful. After evaluating the peaks of the turkesterone standard samples, a calibration curve was built. The brand Vinatura has been shown to have the highest concentration (110 μg/mL) of turkesterone. No significant changes in cell proliferation were seen with any of the drug treatments. The qPCR results suggest that the metabolites of 20HE and the supplement can significantly decrease BRCA1 expression in MCF-7 cells as compared to 20HE. 20HE, poststerone, and the Vinatura supplement were able to inhibit BCL2 expression to the same capacity of estradiol, while 14DO was significantly more effective at inhibiting BCL2 expression compared to estradiol. Conclusions: These results can potentially help to determine proper safety parameters for people that use phytoecdysteroid supplements who either have or are at risk for breast cancer
Microfluidic Chip for Uniform Size Distribution of a Lipid Nanoparticle Emulsion
Get PDFAn advanced drug delivery system known as lipid nanoparticles, which manipulates particle flow on a nanoscale, is favored in the pharmaceutical industry for its personalized precision therapy capabilities. This drug delivery system can cross the blood brain barrier, due to its immense size reduction. Formulating a uniform size distribution of a lipid nanoparticle product is a major challenge associated with current nanoparticle synthesis methods. However, an emerging technique utilizing microfluidic technology and devices have shown promise in synthesizing nanoparticles. Existing microfluidic chip designs were adapted and improved to enhance the mixing capabilities to yield a lipid emulsion on the device. This thesis aimed to design a microfluidic chip for a uniform size distribution of a lipid nanoparticle emulsion and was achieved. The final microfluidic chip was fabricated featuring a flow focus “cutting” geometry to cut particles at a two-inlet flow rate system. The device particle generation and characterization were analyzed with particle size analysis via dynamic light scattering and consistently yielded precise nanoparticles with a size of 860 nm – 920 nm and a PDI \u3c 0.5
THE PROMISE AND THE LAW—PART I: ESTABLISHING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROMISE KEEPING AND CONTRACT LAW
Get PDFMany accounts of contract law are promise based, however, these accounts fail to treat The Promise as a tangible social institution. Also, legal realist and law and economic accounts of contract law fail to acknowledge that The Promise exists at all. Using scholarship from political economy, this Article shows that The Promise and contract law are distinct entities. This differs from promissory accounts which treat contracts as a subspecies of promises. This gap in the scholarship matters because the existence of The Promise raises important normative considerations that existing accounts cannot accommodate by failing to address the existence of The Promise
Barreling Down on Ergonomics to Improve Occupational Functioning: Exploration of an Ergonomic Program to Decrease Occupational Deficits & Musculoskeletal Disorders for Brewers
Get PDFErgonomics is an important consideration for all workspaces due to its impact on the productivity and health of employees. Poor ergonomics can lead to the development of musculoskeletal disorders which have detrimental effects on long-term physical and mental health. These factors influence the workplace but also impact the daily occupations of employees outside of work and may affect their quality of life. Based on the literature, ergonomic programs have been found to be an effective form of improving body mechanics and environmental factors to improve productivity and health in the workplace. An online ergonomic program was developed for brewers employed at breweries around America to improve ergonomics and decrease the likelihood of developing musculoskeletal disorders
Evaluation of a competition using a fitness tracker for increasing physical activity
Get PDFPhysical activity has been associated with numerous health benefits, including improved sleep and decreased risk of diabetes. However, individuals rarely meet the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control recommendation of 150 min per week of moderate-to-vigorous-physical activity (MVPA). Therefore, identifying new strategies for increasing MVPA is an important goal for promoting health and wellness. One helpful tool for measuring physical activity is a fitness tracker that automatically records heart rate, step count, exercise minutes, calories, and stand hours. In addition to these features, some fitness trackers offer a competition feature that allows users to challenge other individuals to compete for points gained through physical activity. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of the competition feature on MVPA among typically developing adults. If the competition alone was insufficient, additional components, including differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, differential observing response, and a contingency contract, were evaluated. Participants (n = 20) were paired with another adult (n = 10 pairs) and competitions were arranged. In experiment 1, the competition increased levels of MVPA to criteria performance for 5 of 6 participants. For the remaining participants (n = 14), additional intervention components (i.e., differential observing response and contingency contracts) were subsequently combined with the competition feature to evaluate MVPA in experiment 2
Exploring the implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) group training with student leaders in higher education
Get PDFThe scholarly component of the doctoral experiential (DEx) project was to conduct a social-emotional learning (SEL) training with student leaders at Western New England University (WNE). The training was done with Orientation Group Leaders. The project\u27s overall objective was to understand the participants\u27 perceived stress, enhance SEL awareness, and educate on the benefits of on-campus involvement to combat mental health issues through the delivery of an SEL training. According to Horton (2015), developing students’ social-emotional skills is shown to improve academic performance and provide students with a solid foundation for achieving success in post-secondary environments and in the workplace. This project highlights the potential benefit of including SEL as a requirement for student leadership groups to participate in
Effects of myofascial decompression on reducing pain and muscle tension in the lumbar region of the spine and improving daily functional performance
Get PDFThis study investigates the impact of myofascial decompression (MD) on pain, muscle tension in the lumbar region, and daily occupational performance. Utilizing negative pressure to enhance blood circulation and tissue healing, MD was administered to nine Western New England students with low back pain (LBP) twice a week for four weeks. The Wong-Baker Pain Scale and World Health Organization\u27s Quality of Life (QOL) Scale were utilized for data collection and analysis. Findings reveal that MD yields immediate pain reduction, suggesting its potential as a preparatory method for occupational therapy interventions like therapeutic exercises or activities. Further research should explore the combined effects of MD and therapeutic exercises, as well as the standalone effects of MD, to advance understanding in this area
Implementation of pediatric services at a pro bono university OT center
Get PDFWith a focus on bringing equity, accessibility, and rehabilitation to all people, and achieving wellness in the Greater Springfield area, a student-run Occupational Therapy (OT) center should serve all populations. The completion of this Doctoral Experiential (DEx) capstone project allowed the BEAR PAW OT Center (BPC) at Western New England University (WNE) to officially provide services to all populations within the community. The process of implementing pediatric services at the BPC included redesigning and organizing the designated pediatric space, which meant designing the space to be appealing for the pediatric population, ordering supplies and equipment, and ensuring the space is accessible and safe. When the space was equipped and redesigned, utilizing a custom playgroup protocol, weekly playgroups were held in the space for pediatric community members and their caregivers. Additionally, a model was developed for pediatric clients to be seen for direct OT services. Caregivers who spent time in the space participated in a IRB-approved survey that gathered their perceptions of the newly developed space
A Contingency Analysis of Social Referencing
Get PDFSocial referencing is a social communicative response that emerges within the first year of life (Feinman, 1992). Defined as a two-component behavior chain (Dequinzio et al., 2016), social referencing consists of a gaze shift from an ambiguous stimulus to a familiar adult (i.e., an observing response) and a conditional discrimination toward the ambiguous stimulus. To date, there are few studies that have evaluated the impact of ambiguity as a variable that exerts control over the observing response. In this study, a multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effect of a brief contingency exposure protocol on the probability of the observing response across five participants. A multielement design was used to evaluate the impact of ambiguous and familiar stimuli on the observing response for each participant. Results of this study indicate that brief exposure to consequences is sufficient to increase the probability of an observing response in neurotypical infants and toddlers and may be an effective strategy by which researchers can set the occasion for future assessment of social referencing. Results for three of five participants provide support for the role of ambiguity as a motivating operation
Evaluating the Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Human Services Across Supervisors
No full textThe Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Human Services (PDC-HS; Carr et al., 2013) is an assessment used to identify the variables that lead to satisfactory staff performance in human service settings. Although there is a growing body of research showing that the PDC-HS can be a useful tool for this purpose (Wilder et al, 2020), a number of questions remain. In the current study, we evaluated using the form as a questionnaire and examined test-retest reliability with individual raters with different levels of experience and education. We then compared the results of the questionnaires to the results obtained when the PDC-HS was presented in an interview format with the same raters. Finally, based on a review of the interviews, an intervention was implemented to address the staff performance problem. Three supervisors from varying backgrounds and one case manager participated. The PDC-HS was administered in three iterations on the target behavior of case managers summing and transferring daily data onto an online database. The first two iterations were self-administered by the supervisors who completed the forms independently. The second iteration included edits made by the researcher for clarifications. The final iteration was interview-led and was completed by the lead researcher with each supervisor independently. In the interview-led iteration, two supervisors identified Performance, Consequences, Effort, and Competition as the top-ranked domain of concern. Performance feedback was the selected intervention. Results indicated that performance feedback was effective in improving case managers summing of daily data on time