Bachelor's Essays (Embargoed)

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Browsing Bachelor's Essays (Embargoed) by Issue Date "2022-03-29T19:01:24Z"

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    Effect of High-Sodium Beverage on Rehydration Following Exercise-Induced 2% Dehydration
    Watts, Amanda L; Dudgeon, Wes
    Exercise-induced dehydration is dehydration that develops during exercise. Exercise-induced dehydration can markedly impair performance and many recommendations have been published to avoid this repercussion. Several beverages have been studied to gauge their effectiveness at rehydrating following exercise-induced dehydration. A new beverage recently introduced to the market is BANa, which has a high sodium content. In this study, BANa (BAN) was compared to plain water (PW), coconut water (CW), and a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink (SD) for their rehydrating abilities. Six volunteers (mean age and VO2peak of 21.5 ± 0.8 years and 35.1 ± 10.8 ml min kg-1 respectively) exercised at 60% of VO2peak in a room heated to 90° until 2% of their body weight was lost. After exercise the subject sat for 2 hours and drank a volume of PW, CW, SD and BAN on different occasions representing 120% of the fluid lost. Blood and urine samples, as well as body weight, were taken throughout. Each fluid was consumed in 3 portions representing 50%, 40%, and 30% of the 120% fluid loss at 0, 30, and 60 min of the 2-hour rehydration period. Urine and blood samples were collected to measure USG, hemoglobin and hematocrit. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were then used to calculate plasma volume. There were no significant differences found for any of the measured variables except for a time effect for USG, indicating that our dehydration-rehydration protocol was effective. Also, there was a trend toward BAN maintaining plasma volume the best. In conclusion, all tested beverages are capable of promoting rehydration and little difference is seen between the four tested conditions. However, BAN seems to be most effective at retaining plasma volume.
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    Sorption and Transport of Naproxen and Cetirizine in Natural Soils
    Johnson, Katherine M; Vulava, Vijay M
    Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) can be found globally in trace quantities. There is a growing concern over what effect these PPCPs will have on natural environments as a result of long term accumulation. At present, the end fate of these chemicals is unknown. The main objective of this project was to determine the sorption and transport behavior of two PPCPs, naproxen and cetirizine in natural soils. Chromatography experiments were used to compare sorption behavior in clean soils with differing amounts of organic matter (OM) and clay mineral content. By calculating retardation factors and distribution coefficients, the results show that naproxen binds more strongly to OM in soils than to clay minerals and desorbs relatively easily. Cetirizine shows stronger reaction than naproxen with both types of soils but sorbs the strongest to clay mineral-rich soils. Implications from this study for future use include risk assessments and predictions of the behavior of PPCPs for mitigation purposes. There are positive potentials for this research including improved geopurification methods to treat contaminated water.
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    The Effects of Fingolimod Administration in Dysbindin-1 Null-Mutant Mice, a Genetic Model of Cognitive Deficits
    Becker-Krail, Darius D; Hurd, Mark; Lavin, Antonieta$
    Estimated to affect 1 % of the population worldwide, schizophrenia is a mainly heritable neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by a range of symptoms from hallucinations and delusions to social withdrawal and cognitive deficits. Schizophrenia related deficits in the social and memory domains may be associated with diminished expression of the dystrobrevin-binding protein-1 (dysbindin-1). The lab has previously shown that lacking dysbindin-1 reduces glutamate release in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) through decreases in the ready releasable pool of synaptic vesicles, decreased rates of exo- and endocytosis, and diminished expression of L- and N-type Ca2+ channels. Fingolimod (Gilenya®), a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis and Rett syndrome, is known to increase endogenous levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and in turn, it has been shown that BDNF increases N-type Ca2+ channels. To explore a potential means of restoring glutamate release, and perhaps improving cognitive deficits, we investigate the effects of fingolimod using a dysbindin-1 null mutant mouse. The mice were divided into two groups: saline or fingolimod treatment (1 mg/kg, IP injection; 7 days). Social interactions and memory were assessed across three genotypes (WT, HET and MUT) using both the social choice and preference for social novelty tasks. For both groups, BDNF concentration was assessed in PFC homogenate using an ELISA, and levels of intracellular [Ca2+] were analyzed in a crude PFC synaptosome preparation using a Fluo-4 Ca2+ assay. Relative to WT mice, dysbindin-1 MUT mice demonstrated impairments in novel social interaction, deficits in memory as measured through preference for social novelty, and a lower presynaptic intracellular [Ca2+]pfc. However, fingolimod treated MUT mice show significantly improved social interaction with novel mice, significantly improved memory as measured through preference for social novelty, higher [BDNF]pfc, and an increase in presynaptic intracellular [Ca2+]pfc. These results show promise for counteracting social and cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia, and may shed light on the possible role of dysbindin-1 in symptom pathogenesis.