Digital Commons Network^™

Shared And Distinct Cortical Morphometric Alterations In Five Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Of Parkinson’S Disease, Qianling Lu, Zhuang Zhu, Heng Zhang, Caiting Gan, Aidi Shan, Mengxi Gao, Huimin Sun, Xingyue Cao, Yongsheng Yuan, Joseph I Tracy, Qirui Zhang, Kezhong Zhang

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (including anxiety, depression, apathy, impulse–compulsive behaviors and hallucinations) are among the most common non-motor features of Parkinson’s disease. Whether these symptoms should be considered as a direct consequence of the pathophysiologic mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease is controversial. Morphometric similarity network analysis and epicenter mapping approach were performed on T1-weighted images of 505 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 167 age- and sex-matched healthy participants from Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative database to reveal the commonalities and specificities of distinct neuropsychiatric symptoms. Abnormal cortical co-alteration pattern in patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms was in somatomotor, vision and frontoparietal regions, with epicenters in …

A Comparison Of Diploid And Triploid Eastern Oysters For Aquaculture Production Under Extreme Temperatures And Salinities, Joshua H. Kim

LSU Master's Theses

Off-bottom aquaculture of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) is a nascent industry that is increasingly supported by the use of triploid oysters, which grow faster than diploids. Despite their growth advantage, elevated triploid mortality compared to diploids under high temperature, low salinity, or a combination of these conditions challenge consistent triploid production. Identifying the environmental thresholds at which differential triploid mortality occurs and predicting its economic impact are important to informing decision-making in oyster aquaculture. The goal of this thesis was to compare the biological and economic performance of diploid and triploid oysters under high temperature and low salinity conditions. …

Maximizing Legged Accelerations: A Matter Of Force, Time, And Gravity, Lance Brooks

Applied Physiology and Wellness Theses and Dissertations

Sprint running accelerations require runners to apply surface forces that: support body weight by pushing downward, accelerate the body horizontally by pushing backward, and align the direction of the push with the body’s mass center to maintain balance and posture, which imposes an upper limit on the average forward acceleration force equal to the average gravitational force (1.0 G) acting on the runner. This expectation arises from the mechanical constraints imposed by the need to generate sufficient vertical force to support body weight against gravity while simultaneously producing horizontal force to accelerate forward and aligning the push through the center …

Blood, Sweat, And Tears: Implications For Hydration Testing In Combat Sports—Investigating Body Mass Loss And Biomarker Changes, Colin S. Doherty, Lauren V. Fortington, Oliver R. Barley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Combat sports athletes often undergo rapid body mass loss (BML), which presents health risks. Hydration testing has been proposed as a possible solution to reduce or eliminate rapid BML. However, combat sports athletes may exhibit distinct physiological characteristics due to repeated exposure to BML. Thus, traditional and emerging hydration biomarkers should be investigated to determine their potential suitability for field use in this cohort. This study examined whether BML can explain changes in serum and urine osmolality (SosmΔ, UosmΔ), tear osmolarity (TosmΔ), hematocrit (HctΔ), and urine-specific gravity (USGΔ) after mild–moderate passive dehydration. Biomarker reliability was also assessed across two trials. …

The Aquatic Microbial Environment Shapes The Gut Microbiota, Brain, And Behavior Of Larval Amphibians, Kyle Emerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microbial communities comprising bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists live within and on the surfaces of animal hosts. These microbial communities exist in symbiosis with the host, and heavily influence host physiology, development, health, and fitness. Gut-dwelling microbes (i.e., gut microbiota) contribute to host neurodevelopment through a bidirectional Microbiota-Gut-Brain (MGB) axis. Evidence of the MGB axis has been primarily derived from studies that use germ-free (GF) models, which commonly display altered neurophysiology and behavior compared to conventionally raised counterparts. Almost all studies of the MGB axis have used mammalian models in a biomedical framework, leaving a knowledge gap regarding the role …

The Effects Of Water Submersion On Skeletal Muscle Activation, Fatigue, And Whole-Body Gas Exchange, Caroline Griffin, Robert J. Shute

Honors Projects

THE EFFECTS OF WATER SUBMERSION ON SKELETAL MUSCLE ACTIVATION, FATIGUE, AND WHOLE-BODY GAS EXCHANGE

C.C. Griffin. Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, VA.

Email: Cgriffin@eagles.bridgewater.edu

Fatigue of skeletal muscle can be affected by multiple environmental elements. Fatigue threshold can be measured by VO2 max on a cycle ergometer combined with the use of a metabolic cart and Electromyography (EMG) measurements. PURPOSE: The purpose of this experiment is to determine if water submersion affects skeletal muscle activation, fatigue, and whole-body gas exchange. METHODS: Three participants were recruited to participate in a cold and no temperature trial. Participants arrived and baseline vitals and measurements were …

Effect Of Short-Term Exposure To Pesticide Mixture On Tissue Architecture, Body Fluid Conditions, Nitrative Stress And Osmoregulation Of American Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Asif Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Pesticides are used widely to control weeds and pests in agricultural settings but harm non-target aquatic organisms. We examined the effect of short-term exposure (one week) to pesticide mixtures (low dose: 0.5 μg/L Roundup®, 0.5 μg/L 2,4-D, and 0.4 μg/L atrazine; high dose: 1 μg/L Roundup®, 1 μg/L 2,4-D, and 0.8 μg/L atrazine) on American oyster (Crassostrea virginica, an important shellfish and seafood species) under controlled laboratory conditions. Histological analyses demonstrated the atrophy in oysters' gills, digestive glands, and connective tissue. The protein concentrations and glucose levels dropped significantly in the high-dose treatment. The number of hemocytes in connective tissue …

Educating Anesthesia Providers On The Physiological Effects And Anesthesia Implications Of Cannabis, Carmel Loud

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

In the U.S., currently 37 states have legalized cannabis for medicinal use prescribed by qualified medical professionals (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], 2022). In 2012, the legalization of recreational cannabis began; as of 2022, 19 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana (NCSL, 2022). This project aimed to optimize care for patients using cannabis by increasing anesthesia provider knowledge about cannabis. The project's aim was accomplished through a thorough review of the current medical literature and implementation of education to anesthesia providers about the physiological effects and anesthesia implications of cannabis. Thirteen CRNAs took a pre- and post-quiz …

Survival Strategies In Arid Environments: Exploring Desert Adaptations In Peromyscus Eremicus, Danielle Blumstein

Doctoral Dissertations

Desert environments pose extreme challenges for organisms, necessitating the evolution of specialized physiological, biochemical, and genomic mechanisms for survival. My research focuses on the cactus mouse (Peromyscus eremicus), exploring real time long term physiological changes and multi-tissue transcriptomics. The advent of both modern metabolic and sequencing technologies has revolutionized our approach to studying whole organismal responses on a fine scale, offering the ability to analyze changes during environmental fluctuations. However, these methods bring a new viewpoint that has highlighted our lack of understanding of the associated biology. My Ph.D. research takes an interdisciplinary approach, summarizing the interaction between metabolism and …

Dissecting The Tissue-Specific Contributions To Seizures, Cardiorespiratory Dysfunction, And Sudden Death In The Kv1.1 Mouse Model Of Epilepsy Using Conditional Knockout Approaches, Kelsey Paulhus

Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), the primary cause of mortality in epilepsy, remains poorly understood. Studies suggest seizures may trigger dangerous signals affecting the heart and lungs leading to collapse and death. The Kv1.1 deficiency mouse model mirrors clinical SUDEP cases, showing spontaneous seizures, cardiorespiratory issues, and premature death. However, this model lacks regional specificity in Kv1.1 deletion, hindering insights into SUDEP’s mechanisms and anatomical substrates.

This dissertation employs three distinct conditional knockout (cKO) techniques to investigate the individual roles for the forebrain, brainstem, and heart in SUDEP related phenotypes. The findings reveal that the forebrain alone can trigger …

Stress Hormone And Heart Rate Responses To Various Exercise Training Methods, Tomas Gomez Jr., Rebekah Schlatter, Megan Zamora, Marco Arriago, Sue Anne Chew, Murat Karabulut

Research Symposium

Background: Blood Flow Resistance (BFR) training has garnered attention for its ability to induce positive physiological adaptations with low-load resistance exercise. The present study aimed to examine the responses of catabolic hormones and heart rates (HR) to various BFR training protocols. This investigation seeks to provide insights into the stress levels induced by different protocols and identification behind the most effective protocol for optimal positive exercise-related adaptations.

Methods: Study population involved 10 healthy adult males (height: 175.0±5.0 cm, weight: 96.67±26.6 kg, age: 21.3±2.67 yr.) in a five-session investigation. Informed consent paperwork, pre-testing and anthropometric measurements served as session 1; sessions …

Establishing The Validity And Reliability Of The Astroskin® Biometric Shirt, Alex Macquarrie, Jasmin Sidhu, Chloe Deetlefs, Steve Whitfield, Matt Stainer

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 5: Issue 1, Article 4, 2024. Biometric garments such as the Astroskin® biometric shirt (Carre Technologies, Montreal, PQ) may be useful for non-invasively monitoring human physiology in a number of applied settings. The Astroskin® biometric shirt measures and records continuous heart rate (HR), blood oxygenation (SPO2), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and respiratory rate (RR). The aim of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the Astroskin® biometric shirt. This was achieved through comparing the Astroskin® with a commercially available hospital-grade cardiac monitor, the corpuls3® (Stemple GmbH, Kaufering, Germany) for the …

Anatomy And Physiology Of Intraosseous Infusion, Andrew Mizerowski, James Paxton

Medical Student Research Symposium

The introduction of fluids and medications via intraosseous (IO) infusion is highly dependent upon many unique aspects of bone anatomy and physiology. Key considerations include differences in the medullary cross-sectional area between insertion sites, age- and location-dependent variation in the distribution of red and yellow bone marrow, volume and pressure capacity within the venous system, and the influence of hormones and other chemical messengers on vasomotor tone. In addition to an exploration of these concepts, this chapter will also discuss the physiologic basis for pharmacokinetic relationships reported in the prevailing literature and propose methods to optimize the use of IO …

Ethical Implications Of Space Colonization, Anna K. Orta, Jose Lopez, Carlos Ontiveros

Young Scientists and Philosophers on the Border

No abstract provided.

Inter-Individual Variations In Circadian Misalignment-Induced Nafld Pathophysiology In Mice, Nobuya Koike, Yasuhiro Umemura, Hitoshi Inokawa, Isao Tokuda, Yoshiki Tsuchiya, Yuh Sasawaki, Atsushi Umemura, Naoko Masuzawa, Kazuya Yabumoto, Takashi Seya, Akira Sugimoto, Seung-Hee Yoo, Zheng Chen, Kazuhiro Yagita

Faculty and Staff Publications

Pathological consequences of circadian misalignment, such as shift work, show considerable individual differences, but the lack of mechanistic understanding hinders precision prevention to prevent and mitigate disease symptoms. Here, we employed an integrative approach involving physiological, transcriptional, and histological phenotypes to examine inter-individual differences in pre-symptomatic pathological progression, preceding irreversible disease onset, in wild-type mice exposed to chronic jet-lag (CJL). We observed that CJL markedly increased the prevalence of hepatic steatosis with pronounced inter-individual differences. Stratification of individual mice based on CJL-induced hepatic transcriptomic signature, validated by histopathological analysis, pinpoints dysregulation of lipid metabolism. Moreover, the period and power of …

Biol 462-002: Comparative Biomechanics, Brooke Flammang

Biology Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Biol 698-002: St: Comparative Biomechanics, Brooke Flammang

Biology Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Innate And Adaptive Immune System Consequences Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tatlock H. Lauten, Tamara Natour, Adam J. Case

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

In the field of psychiatry, biological markers are rarely, if ever, used in the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Clinicians rely primarily on patient histories and behavioral symptoms to identify specific psychopathologies, which makes diagnosis highly subjective. Moreover, therapies for mental health disorders are aimed specifically at attenuating behavioral manifestations, which overlooks the pathophysiological indices of the disease. This is highly evident in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) where inflammation and immune system perturbations are becoming increasingly described. Further, patients with PTSD possess significantly elevated risks of developing comorbid inflammatory diseases such as autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases, which are likely linked …

Ketogenic Diet, Caloric Restriction And Intermittent Fasting Increase The Mitochondrial Activity In Aged Rats, Mohamed H.A. Hassan, Hesham A.D. Abdel-Razek, Yahya M. Naguib, Eman A. Badr, Sara E. Abdou, Ahmed M. Gaafar

Menoufia Medical Journal

Objective: Studying the effect of multiple dietary strategies on mitochondrial activity of aged rats. Background: Healthy aging may be achieved by intermittent fasting, caloric restriction or ketogenic diet regimens. Material and methods: Thirty-two male Wistar rats, 20-22-week-old, were randomized into four equal groups: control, ketogenic diet (KD), caloric restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF) groups. After 8 weeks, rats were weighed, and subjected for measurement of systolic blood pressure (SBP) using a rat-tail sphygmomanometer, and neurobehavioral assessment via open field examination. Then, fasting retro-orbital blood samples were collected to measure free fatty acids (FFA), liver and kidney function tests and …

Physiological Responses Of The American Lobster Cardiovascular System To Neuropeptide Sgrnflrfamide (Sgrn), Andre Eden

Honors Projects

During every second of a human’s life, the cardiovascular system is modulated by factors both intrinsic and extrinsic to the physiology of the heart. We can uncover new insights regarding the nature of our system through investigations of similar systems in other model species. One example materializes itself in the form of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) whose single-chambered heart finds resemblance to the function and anatomy to that of humans. The lobster heart is powered by the cardiac ganglion (CG), a group of neurons that drive contractions of surrounding heart muscles, known as the myocardium. Both the …

The Impacts Of Anthropogenic Activity And Climate Change On The Formation Of Harmful Algal Blooms (Habs) And Its Ecological Consequence, Zhangxi Hu, Aifeng Li, Zhun Li, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences In The Effects Of Cortisol On Muscle Characteristics: A Meta-Analysis, Natalie Bitetti

CMC Senior Theses

Background: Cortisol plays a central role in both muscle breakdown and growth. These effects are highly dependent on dose and interactions with other hormones. It is known that men and women show considerable differences in their muscle structure and physiology, which are largely driven by hormonal differences. Cortisol release patterns may also vary between the sexes, with current research showing considerable disagreement. The interplay between cortisol and muscle, two highly variable and sexually dimorphic factors, may prove to have different effects in males versus females.

Objective: This meta-analysis integrates existing research on sex differences in cortisol-muscle physiology with existing research …

Effect Of Type 2 Diabetes Milletus On Glycemic State, Cognitive Brain Functions And Hippocampus Dna In Adult Male Rats, Sohair A. Saleh, Gergess S. Hanna, Sobhy E. El-Naby, Suzy F. Ewieda, Rasha Sa. Elseadawy, Basma S. Ghoneim, Shaimaa M. Motawea

Menoufia Medical Journal

Objective: To investigate the impact of type 2 diabetes milletus on glycemic state, cognitive brain function, and hippocampus DNA in adult male rats as well as potential underlying mechanisms.

Background: It has been predicted that the number of diabetics will more than likely double by the year 2030 as a result of urbanization, obesity, and ageing. Diabetes mellitus is linked to the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: Thirty-six male albino rats of local strain, at 6 weeks of age weighing 150 - 200 gm each, were divided into 2 equal groups: non-Diabetic and Diabetic non-treated groups. After 4 …

The Positive Functional And Structural Cardiovascular Impact Of Homoarginine In Aged Rats Via Modulation Of Cardiac Inos/Fibrosis Pathway And Ampk, Heba Fathy El-Domiaty, Walaa Abdellah Esa, Nesrin Abd Allah Salman

Menoufia Medical Journal

Objectives To investigate the cardiovascular protective effect of HA in aged rats and to clarify the underlying mechanisms. Background: Aging is a natural process, which has a gradual biological impact on the normal functions of different organs. Methods Thirty male Wistar rats were divided in to 3 groups: adult (4-6 months), aged (23-24 months) and aged HA supplemented groups. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), electrocardiogram (ECG) and aortic blood flow parameters were recorded for all rats. Then, rats were sacrificed and cardiac tissue was dissected to measure the cardiac levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). …

Comparing Ionoregulation And Modes Of Nitrogen Excretion Across The Life Cycle Of Parasitic And Non-Parasitic Lamprey Species, Shannon Davidson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Ionoregulation and nitrogenous waste (N-waste) metabolism in fishes has been extensively documented in teleosts and elasmobranchs, but less so in lampreys (Petromizontiformes). All lamprey species undergo metamorphosis which drastically changes their physiology and modes of feeding. However, differences in ionoregulatory mechanisms due to anadromous versus non anadromous life history strategies emerge following metamorphosis in different lamprey species. Furthermore, some species, such as anadromous juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), are parasitic and migrate to seawater (SW) to ingest blood protein from host fishes, while juveniles of freshwater (FW), non-parasitic species, such as the American brook lamprey …