With cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and neurodegenerative conditions on the rise, understanding their pathogenesis is paramount to tackling this public health crisis. Current research indicates that the primary cause of these diseases is mitochondrial dysfunction in the affected patients. While genetics plays a role in these conditions, lifestyle choices and exposure to toxins also significantly contribute to their development. Unfortunately, early-stage diagnosis can be difficult due to overlapping symptoms with other diseases. Developing innovative therapies that can prevent or reverse the deterioration of metabolic dysfunctions is critical to establishing early intervention. My research focused on investigating molecular targets linked with Friedrich's Ataxia, an inherited metabolic disorder, through conducting functional in-vitro studies using human-derived cell samples, as well as developing inventive animal models created via Xenopus laevis tadpoles to evaluate the effects of environmental stressors. My investigations have uncovered promising treatment options that improve mitochondrial function, mitigate oxidative stress, and elucidate critical mechanisms involved in environmentally induced disruptions to mitochondria. / Doctor of Philosophy / Metabolic dysfunction is a widespread health issue that affects millions of individuals each day. Its associated disorders, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative conditions, are rising due to various factors ranging from genetic predispositions to environmental and lifestyle-related risks. Therefore, there's an urgent need to identify this disorder early on and develop innovative treatment options. Considering this growing public health concern, it has become imperative to establish new methods for detecting metabolic dysfunction at its nascent stage while also exploring potential therapeutic interventions. Our research utilized cells derived from affected patients and animal models in devising novel approaches toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning metabolic dysfunction. Our findings revealed several pathways and molecular targets contributing significantly to this condition, which could effectively be leveraged to develop targeted therapeutic strategies to combat its effects. Expanding our knowledge base will enable us to stay updated with emerging insights on treating metabolic dysfunction effectively while substantially improving patient outcomes.

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The purpose of this study was to analyze and quantify the effects of a nebulized saline treatment on speech production in eight females with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). The duration, formant frequency onset and offset, and slope were measured to determine the quality of participants' production of diphthongal American English vowels. Acoustic data were examined before treatment began, immediately following treatment, and during a one-week follow-up to determine the effects of a laryngeal hydration program that used nebulized saline to increase hydration of structures in the vocal tract. The vowels produced during the initial baseline condition were acoustically relatively similar to the productions of typical speakers not diagnosed with SS. Although some differences in mean vowel duration and formant frequency values were found in the recorded vowel productions, results indicated that the participants' vowel productions remained relatively stable across the different phases of treatment. The absence of large treatment effects, in terms of vowel acoustics, may be due to the possibility that although the dryness associated with SS is an irratant for speakers, it may not affect their ability to produce diphthongal vowels in a significant manner.

The purpose of this project was to clarify the methodological considerations involved in the posttreatment follow-up evaluation of alcohol-abuse patients. A two-part project was undertaken in an attempt to answer the follow-up questions of how and when to measure treatment effects with discharged alcoholics. In Part I, a large-scale survey was utilized to examine return rates across various program evaluation methods and time frames. In Part II, the predictive validity of scores received at short-term follow-up in relation to scores received at 1-year follow-up was assessed for measures of psychosocial functioning and alcohol consumption.

Individuals in the final stages of life are often cared for by informal caregivers whose interpretation of the patient’s signs, symptoms and treatment needs and options may be incongruent with that of healthcare providers (Docherty et al., 2008). Nurses need to fully understand the scope of this disparity. The purpose of this study was to determine how Black caregivers interpreted signs, symptoms, and treatments for symptom relief during the last months of their loved one’s life. The effect on caregiver decision making was explored. This project is a secondary analysis of preexisting qualitative data. Transcripts from 5 focus groups encompassed 53 participants. All participants were Black and informal caregivers or decision makers for a loved one at their loved one’s end of life. Eighty-seven percent of caregivers were female, and a majority had a high school education. The mean age was 66. Transcripts were coded for themes independently by two researchers. To allow for the most open interpretation, no a priori set of codes was utilized. 3 main categories of signs, 4 main categories of symptoms, 4 themes of the interpretation of signs and symptoms, 4 main categories of treatments and interventions, 5 themes of the interpretation of treatments, and 3 themes describing the effect of signs, symptoms, and treatments on decision making were identified. Case examples of the caregiver interpretation process are included. Health care providers need to provide time, clear and simplified language, and additional explanation in communication. Further research combining health literacy measures and qualitative data on interpretations should be conducted.

Problem: Vulvodynia, an unexplained vulvar pain, is a medical condition affecting women of all ages, races, and ethnicities and causes pain levels ranging from very mild discomfort to extreme suffering. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore women’s knowledge toward seeking care for vulvodynia and to explore the different types of treatments prescribed after diagnosis. The secondary purpose of this review was to describe the treatments most effective in reducing pain caused by vulvodynia. Methods: A review of the literature was conducted using articles from 2001 to 2021 that focused on diagnosis of vulvodynia and the relief of pain with various types of treatment options for women diagnosed with vulvodynia. Multiple databases were used, and world-wide research was compiled for context on diagnosis of vulvodynia and treatment options that worked best to reduce pain. From the literature review, 14 articles met the inclusion criteria and were used to compare diagnosis of vulvodynia and the different treatment methods to relieve pain. Results: All studies suggest women did not seek immediate care or have a timely diagnosis for vulvodynia because of speculation by health care providers that vulvodynia is a pseudoscience. Women avoided seeking early diagnosis due to embarrassment discussing the condition and fear of skepticism about the level of pain associated with vulvodynia. The studies showed topical ointments and complementary treatments were the most prescribed agents. Effectiveness ranged from no pain relief to complete relief, but the conclusions were relatively similar in all the results. A multidisciplinary approach to vulvodynia, with mental health professionals and gynecologic providers had the best outcomes in relieving pain and optimizing treatment. Conclusion: Knowledge about vulvodynia is very limited due to under diagnosis and embarrassment of admitting that something is wrong. Most of the research conducted was a general overview of cases and is focused on diagnosis of the condition. Benefits of therapy differ from woman to woman and complete pain relief, or remission is elusive in many instances. CAM therapies in combination with medications for individuals with vulvodynia to alleviate pain can be useful and finding multiple methods that can be used together for pain relief is of value for further research.

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Yes / Rhodium nanoparticles or rhodium organometallic complexes are mainly used in catalysis for reduction or hydroformylation reactions. In this work instead, we explored the capabilities of Rh nanoparticles as an oxidation catalyst, applied to the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde under very mild conditions (100 °C, and atmospheric pressure) as a model reaction. Here we report the preparation of novel Rh/C catalysts by using an impregnation protocol, with particular emphasis on the pre-treatment of the carbon supports by using HNO3 and HCl, as well as the characterization of these materials by using an array of methods involving TEM, XPS and XRPD. Our preparation method led to a wide Rh particle size distribution ranging from 20 to 100 nm, and we estimate an upper limit diameter of Rh nanoparticles for their activity towards benzyl alcohol oxidation to be ca. 30 nm. Furthermore, a HNO3 pre-treatment of the activated carbon support was able to induce a smaller and narrower particle size distribution of Rh nanoparticles, whereas a HCl pre-treatment had no effect or sintered the Rh nanoparticles. We rationalise these results by HNO3 as an acid able to create new nucleation sites for Rh on the carbon surface, with the final effect of smaller nanoparticles, whereas for HCl the effect of sintering was most likely due to site blocking of the nucleation sites over the carbon surface. The roles of acid centres on the carbon surfaces for the oxidation reaction was also investigated, and the larger their amounts the larger the amounts of by-products. However, by treatment with HNO3 we were able to convert neutral or basic carbons into supports capable to enhance the catalytic activity of Rh, and yet minimised detrimental effects on the selectivity of the oxidation to benzaldehyde.

Imports of fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States have grown by more than 350 percent since 1989. Factors such as rising consumer incomes, the desire for greater variety and availability of fresh produce throughout the year, and a reduction in trade barriers through multi-lateral and bi-lateral trade agreements have contributed to this growth in imports. In addition, since the implementation of the Agreement on Agriculture and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures from the Uruguay Round of the World Trade Organization negotiations, there have been numerous requests to export fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States. From 1996 to 2008, the United States has granted new market access to 204 exporter/commodity combinations. Given this large increase in new market access, this thesis assesses the success of the new entrants in terms of contributing to the increase in fresh fruit and vegetable imports and whether they exported on a continual basis after gaining import eligibility. In addition, this thesis estimates a gravity model to assess the differences in fresh fruit and vegetable exports from new entrants subject to phytosanitary measures relative to those with no such restrictions in place and to determine whether these effects vary by commodity sector and exporter's size. The major finding of this thesis is that in general, new entrants have contributed little to the growth in U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable imports. For most commodities, new entrants do not provide a significant proportion of imports potentially because new entrants are not able to compete with existing suppliers. This study finds differences in fresh fruit and vegetable exports from new entrants subject to specific phytosanitary treatments relative to entrants with no such restrictions in place. / Master of Science

Historical land use and changes in climate have altered fire behavior and severity in fire-prone ecosystems of western North America. A variety of fuels treatments are used to abate fire hazard, restore ecosystem processes, and increase forest resilience. Mechanical fuels treatments are increasingly used to alter forest structure and fuel continuity due to impediments to the use of prescribed fire. An increasingly common fuels treatment is mechanical mastication. Mastication does not remove fuels, but instead rearranges live and dead vertical woody fuels into a compacted layer on the forest floor. While mastication reduces potential fire intensity, these compacted fuels are flammable and capable of causing tree mortality and other negative ecological consequences when they burn in prescribed fires or wildfires. A current knowledge gap is quantitative information about the rate at which masticated fuels decompose and the rate at which vegetation reestablishes within sites previously masticated. Using 25 sites across northern California and southern Oregon, this thesis examines how masticated fuels change over time. Results from this study demonstrate that the majority of mass lost from masticated fuel beds occurred in the 1 and 10-hour woody fuel classes. Because surface fire behavior is driven by these fine fuels, these findings are valuable to the planning and retreatment of masticated fuels treatments and the corresponding fire suppression efforts in masticated sites. In combination with masticated wood surface fuels, shrubs and small trees play an important role in fire behavior, acting as ladder fuels that exacerbate surface fire behavior and threaten to ignite residual trees. A lack of understanding of how woody vegetation recovers following masticated fuel treatments gives rise to questions and challenges regarding treatment longevity. In this study, species with the ability to resprout tended to recover more quickly than obligate seeding species. Residual conifer saplings or trees that establish in masticated fuelbeds also recovered rapidly, reducing the efficacy of fuels treatments. Future implementation of masticated fuels treatments should consider both woody fuel decomposition and the corresponding recovery of shrubs and small trees to maximize treatment longevity. / Master of Science