Abstracts chitin, which produced promising results; however, the addition of pectin enhanced the mechanical structure of the scaffold. Our goal is to find an ideal concentration of pectin to optimize the tensile strength, cell viability, and ultimate decomposition of the nanofibrous scaffold.
biological samples with minor modifications to the method. Consumers as Curators: Brand Use in Social Media Lydia Liu, CURO Research Assistant Dr. John Hulland, Marketing, Terry College of Business
Sensitive Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for the Determination of a Novel Highly Lipophilic Anti-Cancer drug Candidate in Rat Plasma and Kidney Tissue Michael Linzey, CURO Research Assistant Dr. Michael Bartlett, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
Online consumer curation describes the behavior of gathering, selecting, and assembling online content into a display. Consumers may use art, photos, text, product images, and brands in their curation efforts. This behavior is an understudied way in which consumers are engaging with brands online, and thus is important for marketers to understand. The current research is focused on uncovering what information about curated brands is related to the popularity of an online display, in order to understand what characterizes an influential display. To address this question, data were collected from a social media site centered on the creation of curated displays. A regression analysis will uncover what information about the curated brands (e.g., the general popularity of the items, price statistics, and the number of unique brands) is related to the popularity of the curated display. Further, results will be compared across two groups on the social media site in order to address the generalizability of our findings. This research will move our knowledge of online consumer behavior forward and provide important information for managers about how consumers are using brands online.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in males. When PCa forms metastasis they develop onto the bone and it is these migratory tumor cells that cause most morbidity and mortality. There are currently no satisfactory treatment options for bone metastatic PCa. There is a great need to further develop treatments that will fill this need. There is a group called amino-bisphosphonate derivatives that have shown promise in targeting bone metastatic PCa. These compounds have been shown to be highly lipophilic so understanding where they partition is extremely important. LG1980 is a representative molecule of this class. It selectively induces apoptosis in aggressive PCa cells. This particular candidate is in pre-clinical studies to test its toxicity and pharmacokinetic properties in animals. There needs to be an accurate and reproducible method for quantifying the drug concentrations in various organs. The purpose of this investigation was to develop and validate a selective, sensitive, and robust LC-MS/MS method for quantification of this highly lipophilic anti-cancer drug candidate in rat plasma and kidney tissue. This bioanalytical method was validated in accordance with current FDA guidelines including accuracy and precision of inter- and intra-batch variation, specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, recovery, and stability. While this specific drug candidate may fail, it is worth noting that this method could be applicable for the quantifications of other amino-bisphosphonate derivatives in
Distribution of Ticks on Cervids and Prevalence of Selected Tick-Borne Pathogens in These Ticks from Kentucky Bessie Lockwood, CURO Research Assistant Dr. Michael Yabsley, Forestry, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources In recent decades, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations have increased dramatically, partially due to the conversion of farmland to forests. Furthermore, more people have moved to areas adjacent to woodland habitats. Thus, vector-borne diseases are becoming increasingly more prevalent in humans and domestic animals. Vector-borne pathogens can also cause disease in various wildlife species. 143