Potential Applications of Capsaicinoids in Small Cell Lung Cancer Therapy

Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. Lung cancer is not a single disease but an umbrella that encompasses two major classifications, nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). SCLC represents about 15- 20% of all lung cancer cases and is almost exclusively diagnosed in smokers. Typically, patients will respond very well to first line treatment, but face inevitable relapse. The fact that SCLC still carries a grim 5-year survival rate of less than 5% highlights the lack of advancement in treatment options to effectively improve patient response and survival. Capsaicinoids, in particular Capsaicin (the spicy compound in chili peppers), have previously been reported to be an advantageous adjunct treatment with traditional chemotherapeutic options in several cancer types. One challenge to the use of capsaicin is the variety of side effects, such as gastrointestinal pain, sweating and ulcers that are frequently reported with clinical administration. Synthetic nonpungent capsaicinoids, which show many of the same bioactive properties as capsaicin may, however, be a promising alternative. The studies in this dissertation investigated the use of capsaicin and several non-pungent analogs as chemotoxic or adjuvant therapy for SCLC. Utilizing various in vitro and in vivo models we investigated the synergistic effects of capsaicin and camptothecin. We provide new evidence that capsaicin synergistically sensitizes SCLC to the effects of camptothecin, inducing a rise in intracellular calcium levels and activating the calpain pathway to induce apoptosis. Analysis of the antineoplastic capacity of various capsaicinoid analogs found arvanil to be the most potent capsaicinoid at inducing apoptosis in SCLC cell lines. Similar to capsaicin, arvanil also induced apoptosis in SCLC cell lines by raising intracellular calcium levels leading to increased calpain activity. The chemotoxic potency and non-pungent character of arvanil supports the future investigation of the adjuvant use of arvanil with camptothecin or other chemotherapeutic agents to find a combination therapy that provides the same synergistic effects as capsaicin, while lacking the adverse side effect profile. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that capsaicin and arvanil have the potential to successfully treat SCLC in combination with conventional chemotherapeutics, as well as possibly treating other cancer types

Ethical Data Considerations for Engaging in Reparative Archival Practice

Archival textually-rich materials--such as warranty deeds, mortgages, legal documents, and letter correspondence--can provide valuable historical insights, and if transcribed and analyzed, can produce data points in the form of unstructured text, tabular data, and geospatial assets. This presentation will provide an overview of the process Florida International University librarians went through to turn the papers of Dana A. Dorsey, Miami\u27s first Black Millionaire, into data. Their work is guided by the concept of collections as data as a form of reparative archival practice, enabling the elevation of marginalized individuals\u27 histories. The goal of reparative archival practice is to create a reflective practice that informs and challenges librarians and archivists to engage with different types of historical data to provide a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of the past. The presentation will cover the ways in which ethical practices were implemented in each step of the initiative, including project planning, stakeholder involvement, data selection, and access

Community Partnerships - What do we want? When do we want it? Access, Impact, Sustainability, and Equity

There is a lot of great work being done in changing community partnership practices to guide organizations toward fair and equitable collaboration, particularly where there is an imbalance of resources. In addition to the work archives and libraries are doing, many funding agencies are also focused on equity in community project planning. Some existing strategies include radical collaboration, equal distribution of funding, and post custodial community archiving. As community partnership practices are evolving and pushing the boundaries toward decolonization of the archives, how do we ensure fair and equitable collaborations? We would like to explore these concepts and engage the audience in brainstorming additional strategies that promote tenants of Access, Impact, Sustainability, and Equity with particular thought to our South Florida community

Pros in Parks: Integrated Programming for Reaching Our Urban Park Operations Audience

In addition to regular job duties, such as tree care, mulching, irrigation, and pesticide management, urban park workers have faced environmental changes due to drought, wildfires, and West Nile virus. They simultaneously have endured expectations to manage growing, diversifying park usage and limitations on career development. An integrated programming approach is used to provide training to frontline parks department employees in the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth, Texas. Results indicate high levels of adoption of practices, enhanced staff morale, and identification of potential future leaders. The program also introduces an urban audience to the broader array of Extension programming and services

Office Holders and Disabilities: A Question of Accessibility

As the stigmas around disabilities continue to disappear, the dialogue regarding the subject has begun to saturate the American political sphere as well, not only in terms of law, but accessibility and officeholders themselves. While officeholders have begun to shy away from hiding their disabilities, as the historical norm suggests they would, more and more questions of accessibility are raised, as well as differentiating and defining disabilities

An exploration of the relationship between use of parks and access, park appeal, and communication effectiveness

Understanding what variables influence park use would assist park providers and policy makers in acquiring, designing, managing, and funding initiatives which encourage or support park use. Previous studies indicate that access to parks (measured by both objective and perceived distances), park appeal in terms of being well-maintained, and effective communication between constituents and park suppliers, relate positively to park use. This study explores the relationships between access, appeal, and communication and park use. Access is operationalized as four objective distances from household to nearest park using both Euclidian and Network measures, and by subjective self-reported measures of ability to access parks on foot or by bicycle. Appeal is concerned with the influence of parks’ perceived level of maintenance and availability of amenities on the probability of park use. Effective communication is operationalized by three variables: perceptions of being well-informed, being included in the planning process, and being able to give feedback to park leaders. These variables and selected demographic data were extracted from an existing data set: the City of College Station Needs Assessment. Findings indicated that a) respondents with access to parks are more likely to use parks, b) level of maintenance and available amenities influenced use, and c) respondents who are well-informed are more likely to use parks

Examining mode of experience: implications for linear trail design and conflict management

Jacob and Schreyer (1980) define mode of experience (e.g. the degree to which participants experience an environment as focused or unfocused) as one of four major factors underlying outdoor recreation conflict. To discover the degree to which mountain bikers and hikers focus in the environment and to identify the key environmental elements and cognitive processes relevant to creating the mode of experience and underlying conflict, Visitor Employed Photography, VEP, and follow-up interviews were combined to explore mountain bikers' and hikers' perceptual experiences. Twelve mountain bikers (7 males, 5 females) rode about four and one half miles of the Lake Bryan East Loop Trail and 12 hikers (6 males, 6 females) hiked about 1.5 miles. Each participant was given a digital camera and tape recorder and was instructed to stop and take a picture of whatever they were looking at right when they heard music play. Findings indicate that mountain bikers tended to concentrate on Trail Corridor elements while forming or creating their Path/Line to travel while hikers tended to look around, scan, or take in full views of Wildlife, Vegetation, and Noises. Combined analyses suggested that mountain bikers photographed On-Trail Tread-Specific and Path/Line perceptions while hikers photographed Off/Off Distant-Views of Vegetation and Noises. Consensus existed among both for photographing On Distant at Trail Corridor elements down the Path/Line; On Distant at Trail Corridor elements Panoramic Forward; and at the Edge of Specific Vegetation elements. Interview findings indicated that participants rely on complex cognitive processes that involve focusing on many areas of the trail at one time. The participant's cue formation processes, foreground/background formation, goals, sequencing, and dynamic movement influenced their mode of experience. Using the findings, this paper presents a graphic representation of mode of experience accounting for the changes participants experience; discusses lingering appraisals' affects on participants' future perceptions during linear trail experiences; discusses conflict mitigation using trail design techniques; provides design suggestions for diminishing hiker and mountain biker conflicts; suggests an adapted ROS, Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, to manage trails for setting based outcomes from a mode of experience perspective; and discusses integrating user participation in management decisions

Digital Activities: Florida International University Libraries Annual Report, FY 2016-2017

This report provides information on the digital activities for the fiscal year 2016-2017

Changes in Illegal Behavior During Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adulthood marks a critical developmental juncture during which some individuals disengage from the illegal behavior of their adolescence while others continue to use substances and commit crimes. While risk factors for delinquency during adolescence are well studied, factors that influence persisting or desisting from illegal activities during emerging adulthood have not been fully explored. This mixed methods study utilizes a sample of college students aged 18-25 (N=74) and examines factors differentiating those who abstained from illegal behaviors, desisted from illegal behaviors, and persisted in illegal behaviors. Multinomial logistic regression models indicated peers offending and hours spent studying predicted desisting and peers offending predicted persisting (compared to the abstaining group). Three qualitative themes: family and peer bonds, morals and values, and fear of consequences further explained factors influencing emerging adults’ persisting and desisting choices. Implications for social work practice are explored