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Factors Associated With Acoustic Bat Presence During Spring Emergence In The Appalachian Mountains Of Western Virginia, Emily Kirk Pody Jan 2024

Factors Associated With Acoustic Bat Presence During Spring Emergence In The Appalachian Mountains Of Western Virginia, Emily Kirk Pody

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Studies of threats that bats face during hibernation have increased in response to white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that has ravaged North American bat populations. However, impacts of WNS on bat ecology during spring emergence, when bats are potentially recovering from infection and allocating resources for reproduction, is relatively understudied. As more bat species become listed at the federal and state level, the need to understand the factors associated with spring emergence is critical for improving conservation guidelines and habitat management practices. Acoustic monitoring is an efficient method for monitoring bat presence for prolonged periods of time, giving biologists …


Factors That Influence Small Mammal Long Bone Morphology: An Analysis Of The Femora, Tibiae, And Humeri Of The Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis), Tyler Everette Blake Jan 2024

Factors That Influence Small Mammal Long Bone Morphology: An Analysis Of The Femora, Tibiae, And Humeri Of The Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis), Tyler Everette Blake

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The goal of this study is to examine the effect of urbanization and latitude on bone morphology, specifically limb length and bone density among gray squirrels endemic to the eastern United States. This study’s hypotheses are as follows: gray squirrels occupying lower latitudes will have larger body sizes and longer limbs relative to body size than those at higher latitudes following Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules. Further, squirrels in urban habitats will have greater bone density than those in rural habitats. Results show moderate correlation between body mass and respective proxies and latitude following Bergmann’s rule. Weak correlations were found between …


The Comparison Of Different Wetland Fish Assemblages Over Time, Robert Edward Adelstein Jan 2024

The Comparison Of Different Wetland Fish Assemblages Over Time, Robert Edward Adelstein

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Wetlands provide essential ecosystem services. Historically, we have drained and filled 73% of wetlands for agricultural use throughout the United States from the 1780s to the 1980s (Dahl, 1990). A nationwide focus on restoring wetlands has since occurred. Literature on restored/mitigated wetlands is rife with examples that do and do not support the same ecosystem services as natural wetlands (Langston, 1997; Meil, 2014). Restoration of wetlands occurred at the Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area (GBWMA) over several decades. Various sections of the wetland were classified by age, water depth, and vegetation. One hypothesis was that differences in fish assemblage would …


Assessing The Unionid Assemblage Of The Robert C. Byrd Pool, Ohio River, Ethan Hunter Bellamy Jan 2023

Assessing The Unionid Assemblage Of The Robert C. Byrd Pool, Ohio River, Ethan Hunter Bellamy

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Unionid mussels are the most imperiled taxa in the United States and are vastly understudied. The entire Robert C. Byrd (RCB) pool of the Ohio River is the study area. I selected sites from the 2019 and 2013 ORSANCO RCB pool assessments that utilize random site selection across the pool. I used SCUBA to survey and collect data on unionid diversity, reproduction, and habitat. I collected 1,083 individuals over 19 species in RCB pool. I compared results from RCB pool survey to two similar surveys conducted in Greenup Pool. Both richness and abundance in the Upper Section of Greenup Pool …


Assessing Ecotoxicity Of Surface Water And Sediment In The Little Scioto River, Leah Suzanne Morgan Jan 2023

Assessing Ecotoxicity Of Surface Water And Sediment In The Little Scioto River, Leah Suzanne Morgan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Aquatic toxicology evaluates the impact of pollution on freshwater and marine biota. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one class of chemicals prevalent in the environment that impair aquatic organisms. This study examined the effect of contaminated surface water and sediments from a former wood treatment facility on four aquatic species: Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow), Ceriodaphnia dubia (water flea), Chironomus dilutus (midge), and Daphnia magna (water flea). The findings showed that sediment contamination had no significant effect on survival and growth of C. dilutus or on survival of D. magna. Surface water contamination began to have a significant effect on …


Characterizing The Vegetation And Effects Of Climate Change On Parris Island, A Sea Island Ecosystem, Cody Hart Goodson Jan 2023

Characterizing The Vegetation And Effects Of Climate Change On Parris Island, A Sea Island Ecosystem, Cody Hart Goodson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Coastal habitats provide many ecosystem services, protecting coastlines from storm surges and erosion, diminishing the effects of eutrophication, sequestering large amounts of carbon, and acting as vital wildlife habitat. Sea-level rise and increased storm surge intensity associated with climate change are increasingly disrupting coastal habitats. These disturbances can shift environmental gradients that drive the zonation of coastal vegetation types, driving habitat conversion. Monitoring coastal habitat conversion can improve our understanding of the dynamic effects of climate change on these landscapes. Therefore, our objectives for chapter 1 were to identify and describe the distributions of vegetation types present on Marine Corps …


An Analysis Of The Preferences, Morphometrics, And Survey Efficacy Of The Freshwater Mussel Community In The Greenup Pool, Ohio River, Jacob Miller Jan 2023

An Analysis Of The Preferences, Morphometrics, And Survey Efficacy Of The Freshwater Mussel Community In The Greenup Pool, Ohio River, Jacob Miller

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Greenup Pool is one of the most unique pools of the Ohio River in terms of habitat richness and anthropogenic impact both historical and current. The Greenup Pool spans 61.8 miles reaching from Greenup Dam in Greenup, KY to Robert C. Byrd Dam in Apple Grove, WV. We surveyed 17 sites to assess mussel communities within the Greenup Pool using the 2017 West Virginia Mussel Survey Protocol. At these sites, six 100-meter transects were surveyed for surface and subsurface mussels. Each transect was divided into 10-meter intervals. These surveys resulted in 4,041 live individuals from 21 species, including eight …


Gut Microbial Metabolite Indole: A Stimulator Of Enteroendocrine Cell Differentiation Via Activation Of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, James Hart Jan 2023

Gut Microbial Metabolite Indole: A Stimulator Of Enteroendocrine Cell Differentiation Via Activation Of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, James Hart

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Enteroendocrine cells (EECs) regulate energy balance and glucose homeostasis by releasing hormones in response to food intake. Dysregulated EEC differentiation is observed in obesity, while gut microbiota metabolites influence this process. Here, we investigated the role of indole, a biologically active gut microbial metabolite, in EEC differentiation through aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation. Human intestinal organoids derived from jejunal mucosal biopsies were exposed to indole. Indole treatment significantly increased mRNA levels of chromogranin A, an EEC marker. The effect was reversed by an AhR antagonist, indicating AhR involvement. Indole also upregulated AhR target gene mRNA levels. These findings highlight the …


Spatially Controlled Monolayers For Electrically Switchable Biomolecule Detection, Eduard Lukhmanov Jan 2022

Spatially Controlled Monolayers For Electrically Switchable Biomolecule Detection, Eduard Lukhmanov

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The development of biosensors that are low-waste, highly stable, and possess an ability to be interchanged between capturing and non-capturing configurations is promising for the biodetector field. Stable packing and attachment of the sensor, the ability to create an interchangeable detecting probe of interest relatively easily, and dynamic control of the probe via a reversible bias can provide for that. With the set goals to control all those properties, DNA-dendron conjugate molecules were designed, synthesized in solution, purified, and utilized to make self-assembled monolayers of single-stranded DNA on gold. To be able to manipulate the conjugates’ sensing qualities in the …


Mortality Risk Associated With Urban Land Use For Adult Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus), Mya Wiles Jan 2022

Mortality Risk Associated With Urban Land Use For Adult Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus), Mya Wiles

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Snakes have been a traditionally under-represented organism in urban ecology, but they face similar, if not greater challenges in the face of growing urban sprawl. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus, EDBs) are under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act due to population declines resulting from historical human persecution and habitat loss. This study used radio-telemetry data from a long-term monitoring project of adult EDBs on a developed sea island in South Carolina, USA. I reclassified a National Land Cover Dataset to reflect relative mortality risk for snakes attempting to move through the landscape. High-risk cover types …


Examining The Effects Of Exercise-Induced, Physical Stress Overtraining On Stress Biomarkers In Adolescent, C57bl/6 Mice, Curtis Scotty Davis Jan 2022

Examining The Effects Of Exercise-Induced, Physical Stress Overtraining On Stress Biomarkers In Adolescent, C57bl/6 Mice, Curtis Scotty Davis

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Exercise has long been established as a therapeutic modality to improve health and related physical fitness, sports performance, and injury/risk reduction in both adults and adolescents (Haff & Triplett, 2015; Kaminsky, 2010). Nonetheless, there is a lack of research investigating the negative effects of exercise overstress (i.e., overtraining syndrome) in these populations, particularly adolescents (Brenner & American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness, 2007; Matos & Winsley, 2007). The objective of this study was to examine hormone biochemical markers, anthropometric markers, and behavioral traits, which are associated with overtraining syndrome, in adolescent C57BL/6 mice. A total of …


Using Occupancy Modeling For Protocol Development And Habitat Assessment Of Necturus Maculosus In A Large Nagivational River, Alyssa Rachelle Jones Jan 2022

Using Occupancy Modeling For Protocol Development And Habitat Assessment Of Necturus Maculosus In A Large Nagivational River, Alyssa Rachelle Jones

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Determining the survey effort required to reliably detect population change can be challenging for cryptic, elusive species. The secretive nature of amphibians makes it difficult to monitor population status and gather information about their natural history, including habitat use, which is essential for amphibian monitoring programs. The goals of this study were to examine if detection probabilities were affected by bait (i.e., light and food), breeding activity, and environmental covariates in a population of fully aquatic salamanders, Necturus maculosus. I evaluated the effectiveness of three bait treatments (light bait, food bait, combined light and food bait) and an unbaited …


Leveraging Herbaria Specimens: A New 3d Imaging Protocol And Analyses Of Diversity Of West Virginia Rosids, Zachary Scott Shamblin Jan 2022

Leveraging Herbaria Specimens: A New 3d Imaging Protocol And Analyses Of Diversity Of West Virginia Rosids, Zachary Scott Shamblin

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Herbaria are repositories of plant natural history, whose data can provide insights into the life histories of plant taxa over space and time. Recent initiatives to digitize herbarium data have made studies over broad geographic and taxonomic extents possible, with the ability of scientists to access data from large databases of herbaria. Most of the digitization initiatives have focused on flat 2D herbaria sheets, but herbaria also include 3D collections, such as fungi, mosses, lichens, and dry fruits. In Chapter 1 we propose an easy and cost-effective workflow that uses free photogrammetry software to produce 3D images of 3D herbaria …


The Future Of The Big Sagebrush Ecosystem: Plant Community Response To Grazing, Wildfire, And Invasive Annual Grass In A Changing Climate, Margaret Eleanor England Jan 2022

The Future Of The Big Sagebrush Ecosystem: Plant Community Response To Grazing, Wildfire, And Invasive Annual Grass In A Changing Climate, Margaret Eleanor England

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Climate change is increasingly affecting the plant communities across the world. In the Western United States, these changes are affecting plant communities and their risk of invasive species, as well as the frequency and severity of wildfire. Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystems of the Western United States are facing threats of increasingly frequent wildfire and invasion of the annual grass cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), which may be exacerbated by global climate change. Past studies have found cheatgrass to exhibit a positive feedback loop with wildfire, and climate change is expected to facilitate expansion of the cheatgrass …


Application Of Confocal Microscopy To Study The Neural Mechanisms Underlying Insect And Rodent Behavior, Christian Michelle Harris Jan 2022

Application Of Confocal Microscopy To Study The Neural Mechanisms Underlying Insect And Rodent Behavior, Christian Michelle Harris

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Posture and walking require support of the body weight, which is thought to be detected by sensory receptors in the legs. Specificity in sensory encoding occurs through the morphological properties of the sense organs (numerical distribution, receptor size) and their physiological response characteristics. These studies focus upon campaniform sensilla, receptors that detect forces as strains in the insect exoskeleton. To study the morphology of campaniform sensilla, the sites of mechanotransduction (cuticular caps) were imaged by light and confocal microscopy in four species (stick insects, cockroaches, blow flies and Drosophila). These data indicate that the gradient (range) of cap sizes may …


Ephemeroptera Culturing Methods: An Analysis On Rearing And Toxcity Testing On Sensitive Early Life Stages Of Native Mayfly Taxa, Geneve Rainette Edwards Jan 2022

Ephemeroptera Culturing Methods: An Analysis On Rearing And Toxcity Testing On Sensitive Early Life Stages Of Native Mayfly Taxa, Geneve Rainette Edwards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Standard toxicity testing organisms are utilized for regulatory purposes and often ecological risk assessments. Ephemeroptera taxa have been reported to be more sensitive to aquatic contaminants than the standard toxicity testing organisms currently used in determining effects on aquatic ecosystems. Establishing methods for culturing native Ephemeroptera taxa will provide a more sensitive test organism to determine the toxicity of contaminants and will be more representative of the responses of native taxa. Additionally, it will provide a test organism at the most sensitive life stages. The objective of this research is to develop methods for culturing and testing of native Ephemeroptera …


Ephemeroptera Culturing Methods: Development Of Culturing And Rearing Methodology And High Sulfate Simulated Mine Effluent Toxicity Test Using Field Collected Water, Daniel Edward Brady Jan 2022

Ephemeroptera Culturing Methods: Development Of Culturing And Rearing Methodology And High Sulfate Simulated Mine Effluent Toxicity Test Using Field Collected Water, Daniel Edward Brady

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Ephemeroptera taxa are not frequently used in toxicity testing; however, some mayfly taxa may be more sensitive to aquatic pollutants than standard test organisms used to determine anthropogenic effects on aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, some standard test organisms are not native to the Appalachian region and may not be truly reflective of the effects on native organisms. With mayflies not being the typical test organism, there is not a great deal of literature on culturing methods for this organism. For a standard acute toxicity test, there must be 80% survival within the control organisms for the test to be considered viable. …


Investigation Of The Effects Of Prenatal Drug Exposure On Astrocyte-Mediated Synaptogenic Signaling, Taylor Christian Boggess Jan 2022

Investigation Of The Effects Of Prenatal Drug Exposure On Astrocyte-Mediated Synaptogenic Signaling, Taylor Christian Boggess

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

One of the most significant outcomes of the rise in rates of opioid abuse in the United States has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), the clinical diagnosis for the collection of withdrawal-like signs and symptoms commonly observed in the newborns of mothers who abused certain drugs, such as opioids, during pregnancy. While a great deal of research has investigated the short-term symptoms and potential treatments for NAS, including my own studies to identify emerging trends among a local population of NAS patients, there remains a critical need to investigate the long-term effects of …


Fish Community Trends In The Greenup Pool, Ohio River, Nathaniel Kingsley Fleshman Jan 2022

Fish Community Trends In The Greenup Pool, Ohio River, Nathaniel Kingsley Fleshman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix), collectively referred to as Asian carps, are invasive species that may negatively affect native species through plankton resource exploitation mechanisms. Bighead and silver carp escaped into the Mississippi River basin in the early 1970s and have been steadily migrating upstream. The Greenup Pool lies upstream of the current known invasion of Asian carp in the Ohio River. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) has conducted probabilistic electrofishing community surveys in the Greenup Pool since 2006 on a five-year cycle. The objective of this study was …


Seasonal Variation In Home-Range And Core-Area Size In Verreaux's Sifaka, Brynn Harshbarger Jan 2021

Seasonal Variation In Home-Range And Core-Area Size In Verreaux's Sifaka, Brynn Harshbarger

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Primates living in seasonal forests must adapt to extreme fluctuation in resource availability. Verreaux’s sifaka ( ) live in Madagascar’s highly seasonal tropical dry forests and experience periods of extreme resource abundance and scarcity. Home- range and core-area size were measured using 95% and 50% kernel estimation, and 95% minimum convex polygons to compare seasonal shifts in space use based on resource availability. There have been no long-term space use studies on Verreaux’s sifaka; therefore, we do not know how their space use changes over time in an environment which is both highly seasonal and highly variable. Our study leverages …


The Effects Of Concussion On Quantity Of Sleep And Quality Of Sleep, Taren Asheton Bone Jan 2021

The Effects Of Concussion On Quantity Of Sleep And Quality Of Sleep, Taren Asheton Bone

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study observed how a concussion's effects change the quantity and quality of sleep in collegiate athletes. There is a lack of research pertaining to this topic, explicitly involving collegiate athletes and the changes in sleep outcomes during concussion recovery from a concussion. The study design is a convenient cohort in the field involving athletes from two local universities. Participants wore a Readiband™ device for seven to ten days or throughout their concussion recovery. There were differences in total minutes in bed and calculated minutes in bed between concussed and non-concussed participants. This study indicates that concussion affects the quantity …


Crippling Rapid Evolution Of Metastasis And Drug Resistance In A549 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells With The Clinically Relevant Hsp90 Inhibitor Auy922, Nickolas Anthony Bacon Jan 2021

Crippling Rapid Evolution Of Metastasis And Drug Resistance In A549 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells With The Clinically Relevant Hsp90 Inhibitor Auy922, Nickolas Anthony Bacon

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The ability for species to evolve new features in response to changing circumstances in order to survive and propagate is a ubiquitous observation on both the macroscopic and microscopic levels of living systems. It should be no surprise, then, that diseases such as cancer utilize their own forms of adaptation to perpetuate themselves when exposed to external threats. Indeed, concepts drawn from Darwinian evolution are now widely accepted to help explain certain aspects of carcinogenesis and malignant progression, the sum of which have come to be known as the theory of tumor evolution. Since metastasis and drug resistance are features …


Assessing The Toxicity Of A Reconstituted Water Simulating Streams Influenced By Mountaintop Mining In Central Appalachia, Benjamin David Browning Jan 2021

Assessing The Toxicity Of A Reconstituted Water Simulating Streams Influenced By Mountaintop Mining In Central Appalachia, Benjamin David Browning

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Freshwater ecosystems in Central Appalachia experience increased concentrations of manganese (Mn) and total dissolved solids from the runoff of surface mines and valley fills. Biological communities have been impacted by these surface mining operations and it has been suggested that the increase in total dissolved solids may contribute to these negative effects, but standard laboratory toxicity tests have not found increased concentrations of total dissolved solids to have such negative effects as seen in the field. The elevated total dissolved solids in mining influenced streams may only be toxic in conjunction with another toxicant that is presence in these systems …


The Effects Of Fire On Oak-Forest Plant Communities Along Soil Moisture Gradients: A 25-Year Study, Rebekah Frances Shupe Jan 2021

The Effects Of Fire On Oak-Forest Plant Communities Along Soil Moisture Gradients: A 25-Year Study, Rebekah Frances Shupe

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the eastern U.S., fire is a natural disturbance process in Quercus (oak) forests. Fire is thought to promote oak regeneration and plant diversity by reducing competition, preparing a suitable seedbed, and increasing light availability. However, the era of fire suppression that began in the early 20th century is thought to have negatively impacted oak regeneration and the biodiversity of the understory layer. In this study, we examined the effects of prescribed fire on tree regeneration and the understory layer over 25 years. From a study initiated in 1994, we resampled 45 permanent vegetation plots measuring 1250 m2 …


Role Of Na/K-Atpase Non-Enzymatic Signaling In Renal Proximal Tubule Sodium Transport, Shreya Tapan Mukherji Jan 2021

Role Of Na/K-Atpase Non-Enzymatic Signaling In Renal Proximal Tubule Sodium Transport, Shreya Tapan Mukherji

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The renal proximal tubule (RPT) is the center stage for renal handling of Na+ , a potent determinant of systemic Na+ and volume homeostasis in health and disease. In the RPT, through its classic ion-pumping function, Na + /K+ -ATPase (NKA) generates the Na+ gradient that drives apical Na+ absorption, mostly through Na+ /H+ exchanger (NHE3). In contrast, pharmacological evidence suggests that the activation of the NKA non-enzymatic signaling function, through Src and other signaling partners, triggers a cellular redistribution of NKA and NHE3 that decreases transcellular Na+ flux in cultured RPT cells. However, the physiological relevance of the nonenzymatic …


Na/K-Atpase Alphα1 Regulates Adipogenesis Via Its Conserved Caveolin Binding Motif, Minqi Huang Jan 2021

Na/K-Atpase Alphα1 Regulates Adipogenesis Via Its Conserved Caveolin Binding Motif, Minqi Huang

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Na/K-ATPase (NKA) was identified in 1957 by Dr. Jens C. Skou. It belongs to the P-type ATPase family, which can actively transport ions across cell membranes by using the energy from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) hydrolysis. During the second half of the 20th century, the molecular mechanism of the NKA catalytic cycle was clarified, and the isoform diversity of NKA in different species and organs was identified. The active ion transport through NKA generates cell membrane ion gradients and the electric potential. Hence, the enzymatic function of NKA is critical for cell viability as well as multiple physiological processes including …


Potential Counter Regulatory Effects Of A Gut Microbiota Metabolite In Alleviating Down-Regulation Krüppel-Like Factor 4 In Intestinal Inflammation, Ylva Forslund Jan 2021

Potential Counter Regulatory Effects Of A Gut Microbiota Metabolite In Alleviating Down-Regulation Krüppel-Like Factor 4 In Intestinal Inflammation, Ylva Forslund

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a medical condition characterized by chronic inflammation of the intestinal epithelium. Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), a zinc finger transcription factor, is vital for maintaining intestinal epithelial homeostasis. KLF4 promotes differentiation of goblet cells that generate the protective mucus layer. Reduced goblet cell number and defective mucus layer are associated with IBD. Shortchain fatty acids (SCFA) are known to play an important role in the maintenance of a strong and healthy intestinal epithelial layer and also in goblet cell differentiation. However, whether the positive effects of SCFAs on goblet cells are mediated, at least partly, via …


From Crib To Bench: Understanding Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (Nows) Using A Novel Rodent Model, Sarah Stevens Jan 2021

From Crib To Bench: Understanding Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (Nows) Using A Novel Rodent Model, Sarah Stevens

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

As the opioid epidemic continues to grow, opioid use among pregnant women is increasing significantly. This has led to a steady rise in the number of infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Although short-term withdrawal symptoms associated with NOWS are well characterized, there are many gaps in our understanding of the short and long-term effects of prenatal opioid exposure. In CHAPTER 1, we describe the clinical presentation, associated neurodevelopmental challenges, and current treatments of NOWS. Our current understanding of the neuropathology of NOWS is limited, and therefore further research is needed. However, current animal models are limited by …


Targeting Epigenetic Mechanisms In Endometriosis, Sarah Elizabeth Brunty Jan 2021

Targeting Epigenetic Mechanisms In Endometriosis, Sarah Elizabeth Brunty

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Endometriosis is a complex and elusive gynecological disease in which the inner lining of the uterus grows in locations outside of the uterus and forms lesions. It is known to affect 1 in 9 women of reproductive age worldwide. Symptoms of endometriosis include severe pain, heavy periods, and infertility. While multiple theories of origin exist, none fully encompass all aspects of the disease, although all theories agree that this is an inflammation-driven disease. Due to this, many researchers are turning towards epigenetics to explain the initiation and progression of endometriosis. However, what is causing these epigenetic changes is still a …


The Effects Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals On Plants, Christian Mathew Pridemore Jan 2021

The Effects Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals On Plants, Christian Mathew Pridemore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a diverse group of chemicals which can have a detrimental effect on human health, affecting any physiological body system sensitive to hormonal changes. Human exposure to EDCs is inevitable due to their prevalence in modern living; EDCs are integral compounds found in everyday items with which humans interact and ingest. These, along with other indirect avenues leading to EDC exposure, pose a threat to both human health and to the health of wildlife and agricultural environments. Studies on the effects of EDCs on plants can be substantially informative and necessary for progress towards solving the …