Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Women's Attitudes Towards Genetic Testing For Hereditary Breast Cancer, Taylor Jane Apostolico

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVES: Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) is an autosomal dominant cancer predisposition syndrome with a 46-87% lifetime risk of breast cancer. Unaffected women who have HBOC are eligible for more screening procedures and prophylactic surgeries that may reduce the risk of developing cancer by up to 95%. The objectives of this study were to assess women’s awareness of and interest in breast cancer genetic testing services, as well as women’s attitudes and beliefs regarding the clinical utilization of HBOC genetic testing across demographic categories. METHODS: Two-hundred and sixty-eight women completed a 35-item survey designed to capture perceptions of HBOC …

The Energetic Consequences Of Temperature Variation And Sequential Autotomization For The Stone Crab, Menippe Spp., Eric R. Hancock

Theses and Dissertations

The stone crab, Menippe spp., is harvested in a claw only fishery along the Gulf and southeastern Atlantic coasts of the United States. As climate change continues to warm these areas, crabs are forced to cope with higher water temperatures and lower dissolved O2 concentrations. These altered environmental conditions may influence crab energetics by altering both energy intake and expenditure. To inform fishery sustainability as well as prepare for a potential range expansion of the crab, this study investigates the energetic intake and expenditure of individual stone crabs. Crabs were found to respire 80 and 69% more following the loss …

Causes And Consequences Of Individual Phenotypic Differences In Brachyuran Crabs With A Focus On Behavior, Benjamin A. Belgrad

Theses and Dissertations

Individual variation defines almost every morphological, physiological, and behavioral aspect of populations and is a fundamental component of many ecosystem processes. Recent work indicates that accounting for these individual differences can enhance our ability to predict community responses to environmental disturbances which is becoming increasingly important in an era of extraordinary global change. However, our understanding of how different individual characteristics are connected to each other and governed by the environment remains limited.

This study sought to evaluate the relationship between individual behavior, physiological condition, and local habitat for Brachyuran crabs as well as the subsequent strength of their predator-prey …

The Nutrition Assistance Landscape In Afterschool Programs: Understanding The Gap Between Research, Policy, And Practice, Falon Elizabet Tilley

Theses and Dissertations

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) aims to increase children’s access to healthful foods in out-of-home care. Approximately half of the 10.2 million children enrolled in afterschool programs (ASPs) are eligible for nutrition assistance through programs like CACFP. Despite awareness of its potential impact on the nutritional status of millions of children, CACFP is underutilized among ASPs and notably understudied in comparison to other federal nutrition assistance programs.

This dissertation addresses key gaps in CACFP research and provides a deeper understanding of the nutrition assistance landscape in afterschool programs by (1) assessing the type of afterschool snacks served …

The Role Of Exercise Dose On Ghrelin Concentration In Postmenopausal Women, Kimberly Bowyer

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: As obesity continues to be a major public health concern, exercise is continually at the forefront of combating this epidemic. This thesis aims to examine how two different doses of exercise may affect the “hunger hormone”, ghrelin; in postmenopausal, non-obese women. Methods: 54 non-obese postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to either a higher dose (energy expenditure = 14 kilocalories/per kilogram of body weight/per week) or lower dose (energy expenditure = 8 kcal/kg/week) aerobic exercise training group for 16 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and at post intervention for analysis of ghrelin via multiplex immunoassay. Results: Only …

Muscle Inflammatory Signaling Regulates Eccentric Contraction-Induced Protein Synthesis During Cancer Cachexia, Justin Perry Hardee

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer-related cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome that involves the unintentional loss of skeletal muscle mass that cannot be reversed by standard nutritional intervention. Skeletal muscle mass depletion directly impacts patient survival and life quality, and therefore treatments that preserve muscle mass and function may have significant implications for cancer patient treatment and survival. Systemic and muscle inflammation has been implicated in the regulation of skeletal muscle homeostasis, and the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and muscle gp130 receptor signaling have established roles in cancer-induced muscle wasting. Resistance exercise is a nonpharmacological treatment that can improve physical function and metabolic health in …

Mismatch Tolerance During Homologous Recombination In Mammalian Cells, Shen Li

Theses and Dissertations

Homologous recombination (HR) serves critical roles in DNA repair to maintain genome stability, and the malfunction of HR contributes to carcinogenesis and cancer development. Current research focuses on the regulation against deleterious recombination between imperfectly matching sequences, which has been documented in certain myeloid leukemias, hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers and other genetic diseases. Homology dependency of recombination was examined in cultured thymidine kinase-deficient mouse fibroblasts. Cells have chromosomal integration of DNA constructs harboring a herpes tk gene (the “recipient”) and a closely linked truncated “donor” tk sequence. The recipient was rendered non-functional by insertion of the recognition site for endonuclease …

Determining The Population Dynamics And Reproductive Life History Of Commercially Important Tunas In The Gulf Of Mexico, Katrina C. Hounchell

Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is an important spawning ground for many commercially important fish species including yellowfin, skipjack, and blackfin tunas. In particular, it is an essential spawning habitat for Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose stock status is of great international concern. It is vital to the appropriate conservation management of these species to determine both the location of their spawning grounds and the genetic diversity found within them. Fish eggs are a fisheries-independent source of spawning information that can provide more accurate estimates of spawning sites compared to larvae. This study describes population diversity and reproductive life histories in …

Development Of A Sandwich Hybridization Assay For The Harmful Cyanobacteria Microcystis Spp., Nicole M. Dearth

Theses and Dissertations

Cyanobacteria are responsible for the largest number of harmful blooms (HABs) worldwide. HABs caused by the genus Microcystis pose public health threats because they often occur within close proximity to humans and produce microcystin (hepatotoxin), which can contaminate drinking water and recreational areas. Novel molecular techniques facilitate monitoring, ‘early warnings’ of HAB events, and appropriate management responses. Sandwich hybridization assay (SHA), the technique considered here, directly (no amplification) identifies and quantifies planktonic species using ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-targeted oligonucleotides. This project developed SHA for Microcystis 16S rRNA and validated the assay using laboratory cultures and samples from a multi-specific cyanobacteria bloom …

Maternal Physical Activity And Cardiorespiratory Fitness During Pregnancy And Its Relation To Infant Size, Samantha M. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

Recent evidence indicates that U.S.-born infants are larger today compared to 20 years ago. A strong determinant of neonatal size is maternal body mass, where larger mothers deliver larger infants. Consistent evidence indicates that higher levels of maternal physical activity (PA) during pregnancy reduce the risk of delivering a larger infant. However, this protective effect has only been demonstrated in normal weight pregnant women. Little is known about the relationship between maternal PA and neonatal size in overweight or obese pregnant women. Moreover, no studies have examined the association between maternal cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), an indicator of habitual PA, on …

Molecular Exploration Of Bioavailable Dissolved Organic Matter Across Aquatic Ecosystems, Yuan Shen

Theses and Dissertations

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems is a large reservoir of reduced carbon that is mostly resistant to degradation. A small fraction of DOM cycles relatively quickly and is biologically utilized on timescales of days to months. This bioavailable DOM (BDOM) supports aquatic food webs, drives major elemental cycles, and is coupled to atmospheric CO2. Despite wide-ranging importance, bioavailability of DOM and its linkages to ecosystem properties (e.g., primary production, nutrients) are poorly characterized, particularly at the ecosystem level. Bioassay experiments are commonly used to determine BDOM, but this approach alters conditions and has limited spatial and temporal coverage. …

The Regulation Of Glycoprotein130 Dependent Inflammatory Cytokines One Basal And Mechanical Stimuli Induced Protein Synthesis In Myotubes And Skeletal Muscles, Song Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining skeletal muscle mass has a well-documented role in health and quality of life. Two members of IL-6 family of cytokines, IL-6 and LIF, and have a paradoxical role in skeletal muscle mass regulation: short term elevation of IL-6 and LIF plays a key role in mechanical stimuli induced muscle growth and muscle hypertrophy, while the long term elevated IL-6 and LIF regulate muscle wasting during cancer cachexia by disrupting muscle protein turnover regulation. The regulation of muscle protein synthesis is an important determinant of mechanical stimuli induced muscle hypertrophy and muscle wasting during cancer cachexia. IL-6 family of cytokines …

Children’S Obesogenic Behaviors During Summer Versus School, Keith Brazendale

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging evidence shows children gain 3-5 times the amount of weight and lose cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) during summer compared to the 9-months of the school year. Notably, this trend is more pronounced in children who are already overweight or obese going into summer and/or from low-income ethnic minority households. There is little evidence to investigating the underlying mechanisms driving the pronounced occurrence of these negative health outcomes during summer.

The purpose of this dissertation as a whole was to investigate children’s obesogenic behaviors (physical activity, sedentary/ screen time, sleep, and diet) during summer versus school, and compare any differences in …

Marine Phosphorus Biogeochemistry Ecological Insights From Analytical Chemistry, Douglas W. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

The supply of phosphorus (P) directly impacts the growth and speciation of marine microbes (i.e., phytoplankton, bacteria, Archaea). In turn, microbial communities shape the magnitude and rate of marine biogeochemical cycles, ultimately affecting global climate and food production. This dynamic reflects the continuum of temporal and spatial scales at which the marine P cycle operates. However, linking multiple scales of cycling remains a consistent challenge. The primary objective of my dissertation was to gain insight into marine P biogeochemistry, by means of analytical chemistry, at the molecular and environmental scales of cycling. The first component of my research was to …

Characterizing The Role Of The E3 Ligase Itch In Gut Mucosal Homeostasis, Heather L. Mentrup

Theses and Dissertations

The mucosal barrier of the small intestine is highly dynamic, enabling the passage of nutrients that are necessary for the body’s function while simultaneously preventing a breach by harmful microorganisms that are damaging to the host. The effectiveness of the mucosal barrier is dependent on the cohesive relationship established between the luminal mucosal epithelium and the underlying immune compartment in the small intestine. The epithelium provides the first line of defense against pathogens by establishing a physical barrier separating the external environment from the body’s internal milieu, while the immune system secondarily responds to clear bacteria that have breached the …

Mercury Bioaccumulation In Three Popular Subsistence And Recreational Estuarine Fishes From Southeastern U.S.A., Taylor Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

A rising concern in recent years has occurred over the presence of methylmercury in seafood, particularly fishes, and its impact on human health. However, fish also provide many health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health and neurodevelopment. Because fishes are the main source of methylmercury exposure to humans, and are such an integral part of the human diet, understanding the risks versus the benefits of fish consumption is imperative in allowing the public to make healthy, educated choices. One way that state and federal governments attempt to do this is through issuing fish consumption advisories. Unfortunately, these advisories do not always …

The Addition Of A Concurrent Bimanual Task Influences Postural Sway And Walking Speed Performance And Prioritization Across All Ages, Derek Matthew Liuzzo

Theses and Dissertations

As individuals age, there is an increase in attentional demands, a heavier reliance on vision, reduction in efficiency of both tasks, and longer processing intervals causing greater dual task interference on postural sway and walking speed. While cognitive-motor interference has been investigated, the impact of adding a functional, manual task while balancing or during gait is poorly understood across all ages. The overall purpose was to examine the relationship between age and task automaticity in dual-task conditions with a functional bimanual task, and describe how age influences attentional prioritization strategies. Older adults demonstrated differences in single and dual task performance …

Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure Through Rice Consumption In Rural China, Chuan Hong

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Methylmercury is one of the most toxic forms of mercury, which severely afflicts the developing fetus. Methylmercury exposure occurs not only through fish consumption but also through rice consumption. However, rice does not contain the same beneficial micronutrients that fish/shellfish has. Therefore, prenatal methylmercury exposure through maternal rice consumption may potentially increase adverse health effects on the developing fetus.

Objectives: The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the magnitude of prenatal methylmercury exposure through rice consumption and the relationship between maternal mercury biomarkers and birth outcomes.

Methods: A total of 398 pregnant women were recruited at parturition in …

Air- Sea Interactions And Ocean Dynamics In The Southwest Tropical Indian Ocean, Jessica Maureen Burns

Theses and Dissertations

The Southwest Tropical Indian Ocean (SWTIO) features a unique, seasonal upward lift of the thermocline, which is known as the Seychelles-Chagos Thermocline Ridge (SCTR; 55°E-65°E, 5°S-12°S). It is known that a high correlation exists between the depth of the thermocline and sea surface temperature (SST; a key ingredient for tropical cyclogenesis). With a particular focus on 2012/2013, this study reveals the dynamic properties of the SCTR that play an important role in the modulation of tropical cyclones in the SWTIO. Phenomena including Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are also well correlated to cyclogenesis through changes …

The Influence Of Phytoplankton Size And Community Composition On Carbon Cycling And Planktonic Food Webs In The Sargasso Sea, Bridget Elise Cotti-Rausch

Theses and Dissertations

The Sargasso Sea is a dynamic physical environment located in the western North Atlantic where strong seasonal variability combines with forcing by mesoscale (~100 km) eddies. These drivers determine nutrient, light, and temperature regimes, and ultimate the size, composition and productivity of the phytoplankton community. My general objective was to determine how the structure and function of planktonic communities affected carbon export from the surface ocean in the Sargasso Sea. On four cruises (2011 and 2012; one eddy per cruise), I investigated links between water column structure, plankton community composition, size, and primary production (PP). I then combined PP data …

The Role Of Lipocalin-2 In The Hepatic Microenvironment Of Colorectal Cancer Metastasis, Daniel Titus Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. The major cause of death is metastasis and the frequent target organ is the liver. When diagnosed early at a localized stage, the five year survival rate after resection is 90%. However, after metastasis has occurred, this drops to less than 12%. Metastasis is often asymptomatic and diagnosed at the final stage when therapeutic options are limited. Because of this, the genetic and cellular mechanisms regulating metastasis are still poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that prior to the arrival of cancer cells at the …

Identifying Associations Between Religious Commitment And Preventive Health Behaviors In A Southeastern Rural County, Nathan A. Peters

Theses and Dissertations

Health disparities within the United States (US) are continuing to impact ethnic minorities living in rural areas nationwide. In response, there is growing interest in using faith-based settings as vehicles to deliver much needed disease prevention interventions. However, few studies have identified the relationship between private and public religious commitment, individually, and the behaviors or risk factors associated with chronic disease. The purpose of this study was to observe the association between religious commitment, both private (i.e., time spent trying to grow in one’s religious understanding) and public (i.e., frequency of attendance, time spent in fellowship with others) individually, and …

The Association Of Changes In Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Changes In Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Leanna Marie Ross

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is well established as having a strong inverse association with numerous cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and mortality. As CVD remains the number one cause of death in America, the detrimental effects of low CRF present a substantial health threat. The studies presented in this dissertation syndicate both epidemiologic and clinical data that will enrich the knowledge base regarding the magnitude of change in CRF in relation to CVD risk factors.

Recently, the American Heart Association established a new construct termed ideal cardiovascular health (CVH), which is characterized by seven metrics known as Life’s Simple 7. The …

The Effects Of A Game Simulation On Muscle Activation And Knee Kinematics In Females, Geoffrey Collins

Theses and Dissertations

Intro: Female athletes experience non-contact ACL injuries at 5 times the rate of male athletes. These injuries occur more frequently at the end of halves and may be associated with exercise-induced fatigue causing knee instability. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effect of strenuous exercise on lateral knee movement during the landing phase of a jump. Methods: Ten subjects completed both the exercise and the control trial consisting of two 25-min game simulations on a treadmill or on a separate day the equivalent rest. Before, at half time, and immediately following the interventions subjects performed sets …

Wind Driven Shelf Circulation: Effects Of Shoreline Orientation, Bathymetry, And Surface Cooling, Xiaodong Wu

Theses and Dissertations

The dynamic region extending from the inner- to outer-shelf is the nearshore region where an accurate understanding of the development of cross-shore flows is important as they control the exchange of constituents (e.g., pollutants, larvae, heat and biota) between the coastline and the open ocean. These flows are driven by a variety of forces, including wind and buoyancy. The wind forcing relevant to shelf circulation broadly falls within the synoptic scale of storm events, consisting of frontal systems (cold and warm fronts) and tropical storms. The buoyancy on the shelf is characterized by a vertical stratification or a pronounced cross-shore …

A Study Of Hepatic Purinergic Receptor X7 Molecular Mechanisms In Ectopic Intestinal Inflammation In Environmental Nafld, Varun Chandrashekaran

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the increased consumption of unhealthy foods rich in sugar and fat along with a highly sedentary lifestyle the prevalence of obesity has steadily increased in the United States and the rest of the world. In America about one third of the adult population is obese putting them at a greater risk for diseases such as cancer, cardio-vascular disorders, inflammation and metabolic diseases such as diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD can be classified into two major categories non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis depending on the extent of damage which ranges from simple fat accumulation …

The Effect Of Energy-Matched Exercise Intensity On Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor And Motor Learning, Jessica F. Baird

Theses and Dissertations

Brain plasticity is important to motor learning, and is a critical component of motor rehabilitation. Exercise prior to motor training may facilitate plasticity by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, many studies that have investigated exercise-enhanced plasticity have assessed motor skill performance on tasks involving single finger button presses or small movements of a joystick, results that may not relate to more complex, real-world movements. Additionally, while high-intensity exercise has been shown to benefit motor learning, the effects of low-intensity exercise have yet to be fully investigated. A bout of low-intensity exercise, when completed at an energy expenditure that is …

Patterns Of Participation And Performance In Youth Baseball Players, Amanda Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Baseball is a popular sport to play in the United States, with approximately 13-17 million athletes participating across all levels of competition. Youth (9-12 years) and adolescent (13-18 years) players comprise the majority of this population playing at the club and high school levels, yet less than 10% of research studies include athletes <18 years old. Despite increased awareness of the risks surrounding sports participation, youth and adolescent baseball players continue to report overuse injuries at alarming rates.

The lack of high-quality research describing athletic performance and injury risk factors, such as sport specialization, in young athlete populations poses a significant knowledge gap in the literature. The current investigation sought to establish the incidence of upper extremity (UE) injuries while examining population-specific risk factors in …

Molecular Evolution Of Major Epidermal Structure Genes And An Integrative Transcriptome Analysis Of Chicken Epidermal Embryogenesis, Weier Bao

Theses and Dissertations

Αlpha (α) and beta (β) keratins are the major structural proteins found in vertebrate epidermis and the β-keratins are only found in reptiles and birds. With the recent published 48 avian genomes, we searched and studied the molecular evolution of these gene families. We discovered that the expansion and contraction of different α- and β- keratins among the 48 phylogenetically diverse birds supports the importance of their role in the evolution of the feathers and the adaptation of birds to different ecological niches. Using a customized 44K microarray, we also performed transcriptome analysis on different epidermal regions (scutate scale, dorsal …