Spent hemp biomass (SHB) is a byproduct of the cannabinoid oil production which currently is not approved as a livestock feed ingredient. The 2018 Farm Bill defined the difference between varieties of the cannabis sativa plant as either non-hemp cannabis or hemp which has equal to or less than 0.3...
Skeletal muscle mitochondria are highly plastic organelles, integral to whole-body health. High-fat diet (HFD) and exercise remodel the skeletal muscle mitochondria. Whereby, altered skeletal muscle mitochondrial function is linked to decreased skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity which can be reversed by exercise. However, the mechanisms that contribute to skeletal muscle remodeling...
Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) affect over 1.9 billion adults and 12.7 million youth in the US. If all of today’s obese American youth become obese adults, the total societal costs over their lifetime may exceed $1.1 trillion. We show that feeding rodents a high-fat diet supplemented with xanthohumol (XN)...
Altered skeletal muscle fat metabolism is linked to changes in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. Whereby the accumulation of bioactive signaling lipids (i.e., diacylglycerols and ceramides) within skeletal muscle are negatively associated with insulin sensitivity and the exercise-induced changes to fatty acid trafficking are related to improved skeletal muscle insulin action....
Metabolic syndrome is a problem affecting people around the world. In a number of studies, soy intake has been documented to possess antidiabetic and anticardiovascular effect. My project is focused on the impact of the intake of compounds found within soy, the isoflavones, their impact on metabolic syndrome symptoms, and...
Osteoporosis is a common metabolic bone disease, affecting a third of women and a fifth of men over age 65. In the US, annual health care costs associated with osteoporosis are estimated to be over $20 billion. Osteoporosis is associated with increased fracture risk, which has been demonstrated to predict...
The primary goal of my study was to evaluate the effects of high dietary vitamin E on the rodent skeleton. The outcomes from my study assess the impact of high intakes of vitamin E and increased concentrations of its metabolite, carboxy ethyl hydroxy chromanol (CEHC), on bone turnover and skeletal...
This dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive portrayal of doula care in the lives of pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationships between psychosocial stress, social support, institutionalized constraints, and their impacts on health and well-being among adolescent mothers in the Northwestern...
The bulk of resilience research has focused on developmental outcomes in a single domain of functioning (e.g., academic achievement), overlooking the complex interplay of positive and negative developmental outcomes that may co-occur within an individual (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). Resilience may strengthen over time and across domains (e.g., psychological...
Research shows that Exercise-Associated Menstrual Dysfunction (ExMD) ranges from 6-79% of active women, depending on the sport. The primary contributor to ExMD is hypothesized to be low energy availability or relative energy deficiency in sport, due to insufficient energy intake to match exercise energy expenditure. Because many active women are...