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Scholarly Works (3 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2010)
In the "Fund for Peace Failed State Index of 2009" the Melanesian country of the Solomon Islands was named the "most failed state in Oceania". Since gaining independence from the British in 1978, the small island country has struggled to survive amid economic underdevelopment, political instability, violent civil conflicts, and social dissolution. The contemporary Solomon Islands, a product of European imperial expansion and British colonization, has neither a strong sense of national unity and identity, nor a functioning state apparatus and economy which could legitimize the existence of the country. The question, therefore, arises--why don't things fall apart? The aim of this paper is to address the survival of the Solomon Islands amid internal catastrophe. Utilizing a global system framework, I will demonstrate how the country has been maintained into the twenty-first century by the influence of external (global/historical) forces which stem from Western hegemonic systems. My argument is that the Solomon Islands exists not by virtue of internal forces such as national unity, socioeconomic benefit, or political representation, but, rather, by virtue of the external forces of colonization, integration, dependency, and intervention
    Cover page: Why don't things fall apart? : a study of the survival of the Solomon Islands state
    • Thesis
    • Peer Reviewed
    UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2022)

    Sleep deprivation has consistently been shown to have negative impacts on the health, wellbeing, and memory consolidation of organisms. Recent studies reveal that the overexpression of Bmal1 in skeletal muscle reduces homeostatic sleep responses to acute sleep loss. In this study, we examine the molecular mechanisms by which Bmal1 in the skeletal muscle is modulated by the sleep homeostatic response, and if Bmal1 muscle overexpression mice are protected against the cognitive impacts of sleep deprivation. Our primary targets for the molecular mechanism were the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ Coactivator (PGC-1α), and the Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF). Both have been shown to interact with the circadian clock and both have been shown to modulate sleep-wake architecture. We found that while sleep deprivation significantly decreased BMAL1 protein levels, it did not have a significant effect on BDNF and PGC-1α levels. However, female mice had significantly increased BDNF and PGC-1α levels compared to male mice. We examined memory via two behavioral tests — the Novel Object Recognition Test, which measures recognition memory, and the Novel Location Recognition test, which measures spatial memory. In the Novel Object Recognition test, we found that 6 hours of sleep deprivation was unable to disrupt novel object recognition in either Bmal1 muscle overexpression mice or wild-type littermates. However, we found that 12 hours of sleep restriction immediately after memory acquisition disrupted novel object recognition during the testing phase in wild types, but significantly improved novel objection recognition in Bmal1 muscle overexpression mice. In the Novel Location Recognition test, sleep deprivation significantly increased novel location recognition. Posthoc analysis revealed a significant improvement in sleep-deprived wild-types but not in sleep-deprived Bmal1 muscle overexpression mice. These results suggest that skeletal muscle Bmal1 confers resistance to recognition memory deficits caused by sleep deprivation, but not spatial memory deficits.

      Cover page: Molecular Mechanisms and Behavioral Outcomes in Bmal1 Muscle Overexpression Mice
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UCLA Previously Published Works (2024)
      STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep loss contributes to various health issues and impairs neurological function. Molecular hydrogen has recently gained popularity as a nontoxic ergogenic and health promoter. The effect of molecular hydrogen on sleep and sleep-related neural systems remains unexplored. This study investigates the impact of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) on sleep behavior and neuronal activation in sleep-deprived mice. METHODS: Adult C57BL/6J mice were implanted with electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) recording electrodes and given HRW (0.7-1.4 mM) or regular water for 7 days ad libitum. Sleep-wake cycles were recorded under baseline conditions and after acute sleep loss. Neuronal activation in sleep- and wake-related regions was assessed using cFos immunostaining. RESULTS: HRW increased sleep consolidation in undisturbed mice and increased non-rapid-eye movement and rapid-eye-movement sleep amount in sleep-deprived mice. HRW also decreased the average amount of time for mice to fall asleep after light onset. Neuronal activation in the lateral septum, medial septum, ventrolateral preoptic area, and median preoptic area was significantly altered in all mice treated with HRW. CONCLUSIONS: HRW improves sleep consolidation and increases neuronal activation in sleep-related brain regions. It may serve as a simple, effective treatment to improve recovery after sleep loss.
        Cover page: Hydrogen-rich water improves sleep consolidation and enhances forebrain neuronal activation in mice.Creative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
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