Bachelor's Essays (Embargoed)
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Browsing Bachelor's Essays (Embargoed) by Issue Date "2015-05"
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- ItemAnchoring and Adjustment of Autobiographical MemoriesMugayar-Baldocchi, Marino; Greenberg, Daniel L.
- ItemAssessment of the Factors Associated with the Enrollment of Patients in Heart360®Hill, Allyson; Triblehorn, Jeffrey T; Lackland, Daniel D$Cerebrovascular disease is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Hypertension is known to be the primary risk factor for stroke. Adequate control of blood pressure has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke. However, only half of the treated hypertensives have controlled blood pressures. While various methods of anti-hypertensive medications decrease blood pressure, home blood pressure monitoring increases patient adherence to medications and the number of blood pressure measurements. Home blood pressure monitoring is an economical way to provide a clear representation of patients’ hypertension and overcome white coat hypertension. The Heart360® program, sponsored by the American Heart Association, gives patients the ability to record blood pressure readings onto an online database so that clinicians can better treat hypertension, thereby increasing high blood pressure compliance.
- ItemAssessment of the Transition Program: Integrating Pediatric and Adult Clinical Care at the MUSC Cystic Fibrosis CenterHarper, Rachel; Virella-Lowell, MD, Isabel; Geslain, PhD, Renaud$The purpose of the study was to assess the Transition Program using adolescent, young adult, and parent/caregiver input in order to improve the success of the Program at the MUSC Cystic Fibrosis Center. Transition Programs are integral in the treatment of chronic illness in order to encourage compliance and foster independence in adolescents prior to transferring to adult clinical care, around age 18. The study took place in three stages: patients and families were surveyed regarding the Transition Program, a change in the Program was implemented in order to meet a few of the goals highlighted by the results of the surveys, and the patients were re-surveyed following the change. The results showed an emphasis on the importance of keeping medication lists up to date and knowing how to manage medications. The MyChart application, a secure online patient portal that can be downloaded onto mobile devices, was identified as an addition to the Transition Program to meet these goals. Adolescents showed interest and enthusiasm in using MyChart to help become more independent during the transition process.
- ItemBehavioral Evidence for Enhanced Intracellular Calcium Signaling in Cocaine SensitizationBailes, Carrie Ann; Meyer-Bernstein, Elizabeth; Buchta, William C$; Riegel, Arthur C$Chronic cocaine use causes cellular adaptations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that contribute to addiction and relapse. A better understanding of these cellular adaptations will promote the development of effective relapse pharmacotherapies. By enhancing dopamine receptor signaling, chronic cocaine disrupts multiple intracellular signaling cascades in the PFC, including calcium release from intracellular stores. However, the behavioral role for intracellular calcium signaling in addictive behaviors is unclear. Therefore, using cocaine sensitization to model aspects of addiction, we designed experiments to test the hypothesis that an elevated release of calcium from PFC stores contributes to cocaine sensitization. To establish behavioral sensitization, we administered daily cocaine (15mg/kg IP) to rats and assessed their locomotor responses. Following four days of cocaine injections, rats developed robust locomotor sensitization which appeared sensitive to pharmacological manipulation of calcium release from intracellular stores. PFC infusion of Thapsigargin (5-500μM) or Xestospongin C (3ng/0.5uL), inhibitors of Ca2+ re-entry into intracellular stores, augmented locomotor activity in sensitized animals but had no effect in non-sensitized animals. Moreover, pre-treatment with a D1 receptor antagonist during the establishment of sensitization did not prevent sensitization to cocaine or alter XeC sensitivity, suggesting that changes in Ca2+ signaling may not be dependent on D1 receptor activation. 2-APB (10ng/0.5uL), an inhibitor of InsP3 receptors on the ER, did not alter locomotor activity, suggesting the underlying adaptations are independent of InsP3 receptors. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that increases in intracellular calcium signaling within the PFC contribute to the expression of cocaine sensitization. These underlying cellular adaptations may represent mechanisms by which drugs of abuse induce PFC dysfunction and lead to addiction.
- ItemBehavioral Finance: A Case Study of Carmike Cinemas, Inc.Sayce, Katherine; Evans, Jocelyn
- ItemBreaking Down the Barriers of Artist Booking: How Web-Based Technologies Can Change the Live Event ModelHelms, Adam; McDonald, Heather
- ItemChronic Intermittent Ethanol Exposure Alters Synaptic Protein Expression in the Mouse Lateral Orbitofrontal CortexMoss, Julia Lois; Mulholland, Patrick J; Meyer-Bernstein, Elizabeth$Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are chronic, relapsing conditions characterized by excessive alcohol consumption and various behavioral deficits. Changes to brain regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a region involved in reversal learning tasks and the regulation of impulsive behaviors, have been linked to the functional impairments that follow chronic alcohol use in both humans and rodent models. A recent study from our lab demonstrated an increase in the density of long, thin dendritic spines of basal dendrites in the lateral OFC (lOFC) layer II/III pyramidal neurons following withdrawal from chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) treatment. We hypothesized changes in synaptic protein expression would accompany this alteration and performed a proteomics analysis to compare expression in the post-synaptic density of neurons in the lOFC of CIE-treated mice versus unexposed controls. CIE exposure significantly altered 29 proteins, many of which are involved in glutamatergic signaling and regulation of dendritic spine morphology. Western blot analysis confirmed significant changes in the expression of some of these proteins – growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43), elongation factor 1 (EF1-α1), synaptopodin, α actinin, and excitatory amino acid transporter-2 (EAAT2). Protein-level changes, such as those demonstrated in the present study, likely affect dendritic spine morphology and glutamatergic signaling, as many of these proteins are known to play a role in these processes. The OFC-dependent functional and behavioral deficits associated with chronic alcohol use likely are related to singular or combined effects of these physiological changes – altered protein expression, dendritic spine remodeling, and abnormal glutamatergic signaling – at the tripartite synapse.
- ItemDrug and Alcohol Addiction MemoirsMead, Kaya; Farrell, Susan; Heinen, Jonathan$; Beres Rogers, Kathy $
- ItemFiber Optic Reflectance Biomedical Applications and LimitationsWorks, Elizabeth Anne; Jones, Linda
- ItemLow dimensional attractor for neural activity from local field potentials in optogenetic miceLynn, Patrick; Oprisan, Sorinel
- ItemQuidditch: History of its Development and Progression, Injury Analysis and Prevention Strategies. (A Case Study of the College of Charleston Club Quidditch Team with Pre and Post Season Fitness Testing)Hammond, Elizabeth; Barfield, WilliamQuidditch is a developing sport modeled after a game described J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter book series. As such, its study could provide meaningful information about the evolution and growth of sports. Although there is an exceptionally high injury rate associated with the sport, little progress has made towards injury prevention. An analysis of the common types of quidditch-related injuries and the causes of such injuries could provide meaningful insight into the issue. This quantitative case study follows the College of Charleston’s club quidditch team over a competitive season. The goal of this study was to determine if participation on a quidditch team is associated with improvements in certain sport performance parameters. In addition to this, injuries incurred by the College of Charleston quidditch team during official tournaments were documented over the course of the season. The aim of this documentation was to provide more information about the typical cause and nature of quidditch-related injuries so that injury prevention strategies may be advanced. Participants included 26 College of Charleston students aged 18 to 22 years. Sport performance parameters included pre- and postseason tests of body composition, 40-meter dash time, and throw distance.
- ItemStructures of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Films Prepared from Binary Solvent MixturesLloyd, Lawson; Boucher, David SWell-ordered P3HT assemblies formed in solution can improve the crystallinity and morphological uniformity of thin films and composites, thereby providing a promising new route to more efficient polymeric optoelectronic materials. We have studied the assembly and crystallinity of two regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) samples, Mn ! 28 kDa and Mn ! 65 kDa, in several different binary mixtures of organic solvents. We use an excitonic coupling analysis of the UV/Vis absorbance spectra to assess the impact that the solvent and the molecular weight of P3HT have on the relative structural order of the polymer assemblies. In addition, we investigate the influence that the solvent composition and the structural order of P3HT aggregates have on the assembly and organization of P3HT films. We use optical and atomic force microscopy techniques to study thin films of P3HT processed from different solvent mixtures. Our results show that relatively small variations to the P3HT solutions can produce significant changes in the morphology and macromolecular structures of the P3HT films.
- ItemTatiana Hoover Senior Recital Program NotesHoover, Tatiana Siobhan; Templeton, DavidProgam notes on G. F. Handel, Franz Liszt, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, and Francis Poulenc. Original texts and translations for "Let the bright seraphim," "Die drei Zigeuner," "Es muß ein Wunderbares sein," "O lieb," "Donde lieta uscì," "Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald," "Hans und Grete," "Frühlingsmorgen," and <i>Le bestiaire</i>.
- ItemThe Ontogeny and Dentition of the Naked Goby <i>Gobiosoma bosc</i>Dossaji, Tasneem Abid; Harold, Antony SThis study’s primary focus is to correlate the shift in diet to the possible shift in the physical dental characteristics in the naked goby Gobiosoma bosc (n=30). A method of clearing and staining was used in order to observe the ontogeny and dentition of the samples. They number and size of teeth relative to body size was observed. Research found that there is a positive correlation between body size (measured in standard length) and premaxilary tooth number (R2= 0.60). There was a slight positive correlation between the standard length and dentary tooth number count, but not nearly as strong (R2= .34). The premaxilary tooth length and dentary tooth length has a positive regressions with body size (R2= .68 and R2= .58 respectively). It can be seen that there is a discrepancy between the development in premaxilary and dentary teeth and that there is more significant change in comparison to body size in the premaxilla part of the jaw.