Digital Commons Network^™

Environmental Justice Analysis Of Drinking Water Policies In Michigan Cities, Annika Paldan

Honors Theses

This thesis examined environmental justice aspects of drinking water policies in four cities across Michigan: Flint, Birmingham, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor. An overview of the history of the environmental justice movement, environmental racism, and drinking water policies provided the basis for a four-part evaluative criterion to assess environmental justice components at the municipal level. These criteria include (1) housing tenure, (2) age, size, and service line composition of the infrastructure, (3) public participation in the policy process, and (4) emergency management of the city. Findings indicate that environmental justice has come a long way, with cities now incorporating components …

Literature Review Of Human Hdr Syndrome With Gata3 Haplo Insufficiency, Olivia Ambursley-Gries

Honors Theses

This literature mining project is regarding mutations that cause hearing loss in patients with human hypo parathyroid, deafness, and renal dysplasia (HDR) syndrome caused by a mutation in the GATA3 gene. The disease is unique; not all diagnosed individuals present with all symptoms of the triad. Van Esh et al. found that the haploinsufficiency of the GATA3 is found on chromosome 10p14-p15 (ref.1). The focus of this work is to condense the literature on GATA3 haploinsufficiency correlating to human HDR syndrome. Due to the lack of global healthcare access, it can be assumed that many cases remain undiagnosed; 180 have …

Retinal Regeneration In A Genetic Mouse Model Of Glaucoma, Joshua Paris

Masters Theses

Glaucoma is a degenerative retinal disease characterized by progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Previous studies have shown that application of a specific α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, PNU-282987 (PNU), onto the murine retina induces neurogenesis of numerous retinal cell types, including RGCs. The aim of this study is to characterize the short-term and long-term effects of PNU in a glaucoma model. The effects of PNU were analyzed in a DBA/2J mouse model that auto-induces a glaucoma-like condition in adulthood. These mice manifest an elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) starting at 6 months, followed by loss of RGCs. To assess …

Effects Of Traditional And Microbially-Focused Restoration Techniques On Soil Communities In Tallgrass Prairies, Zachary J. Whitacre

Masters Theses

Tallgrass prairies have virtually disappeared in many parts of their former range due to the conversion of this ecosystem to farmland. In more recent years there have been efforts to restore these prairies on reclaimed agricultural land. However, these restored prairies do not resemble their remnant counterparts in many ways, such as in soil microbial community composition and metrics related to carbon storage. In Chapter 1, I show that bacterial communities in a restored prairie and an adjacent remnant prairie in southwest Michigan differ in their immediate and longer-term responses to prescribed fire, a commonly used prairie restoration and maintenance …

Effects Of High Intensity Interval Training On Cardiorespiratory Fitness And Body Composition In Women: A Review, Rachel Marie Dykstra

Dissertations

Background: A growing body of literature indicates that women, in comparison to men, report significantly more barriers to exercise, often times related to perceived lack of time due to their social roles (e.g. family responsibility, childcare). Therefore, it has been considered that exercise programs that require less time commitments would be more attractive for women to alleviate this concern. Objective: This review was conducted to comprehensively understand the present literature surrounding women and such a time-efficient protocol: high intensity interval training (HIIT). The primary aim was to determine the impact of HIIT on both cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition. …

Strong Women Breaking Ground: Roles Of Women In Agriculture In Michigan, April L. Shirey

Masters Theses

Agriculture in Michigan is changing. While the number of farms and farmers continue to decrease, women are increasingly taking on the role of farmer instead of the “farmer’s wife”. The number of female producers increased from 8,275 to 26,059 where the number of producers in Michigan decreased from 56,014 to 47,641 from 2007 to 2017 (USDA, 2007, 2017). Women are becoming the face of farming in Michigan, yet little research examines the impacts of these shifts. In this research, I conduct semi-structured interviews with female farmers throughout lower Michigan beginning in the summer of 2020 to learn more about these …

Evaluation Of Α-Pyrrolidindovalerophenone (Α-Pvp) And Its Isomers In Male And Female Sprague-Dawley Rats Trained To Discriminate Mdpv, Kaley Cargile

Masters Theses

Recreational use of synthetic cathinones, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and α‐pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α‐PVP), has become increasingly popular, thus prompting characterization of their behavioral and neurochemical effects. MDPV has been studied for several years now, though there is still much unknown about α‐PVP, and its isomers. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the discriminative effects of α‐PVP and its isomers in comparison to MDPV. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 0.5mg/kg MDPV from saline injections under a fixed ratio 20 (FR 20) schedule of food reinforcement. Substitution tests were conducted with MDPV (0.05-0.5mg/kg), α‐PVP (0.05-0.5mg/kg), (S)-α‐PVP (0.05-1mg/kg) and …

How Gata3 Affects Neuronal Survival In The Inner Ear, Hiba Ahmad

Honors Theses

Broadly speaking, Gata3 is a transcription factor involved in neurosensory specification and hair cell differentiation. Previous studies have shown that Gata3 null mutants do not develop neurons, so Gata3 appears to be necessary for neuronal survival. To better understand the role of Gata3 in spiral ganglion neurons of the inner ear, a Neurod1-cre model was used to conditionally knock out Gata3 at E9-E9.5, the timepoint when neuroblasts first begin to delaminate from the otic placode. The mutants used in this study were Nd1-cre: Gata3 f/f mutants. In situ was performed to determine gene expression within the cochlea, and immunohistochemistry was …

Crayfish And Climate Change: How The Growing Acidity Of Freshwater Lakes, Streams, And Ponds Negatively Impact The Nervous System Of Crayfish, Lauren Irmen

Honors Theses

The nervous system of crayfish, a freshwater crustacean, is largely regulated by the flow of calcium (Ca²⁺) ions in a cell across a concentration gradient that produces electrical impulses and controls movement (Krause et al., 1998). Crayfish obtain Ca²⁺ from their external aquatic environment. Therefore, rapid changes in the concentration of Ca²⁺ in freshwater environments may cause negative impacts to the neural system of crayfish and subsequently the freshwater food chain. These impact of altered Ca²⁺ levels may create hyperactive or hypoactive movement due to over-, under-stimulation, respectfully in the skeletal muscle of the crayfish, …

Comparison Of Cardiac Muscle Between Male And Female Rats With Exercise And Aging: Analyzing Vitals, Gdnf Expression, Ngf Expression, Rna Expression, Sympathetic Innervation, Parasympathetic Innervation, And Sensory Innervation, Katelyn Kurrie

Honors Theses

The direction of my research-based thesis answers the question of how exercise affects the cardiovascular system with aging in male and female rats. My study would highlight the important differences of the cardiovascular system of both sexes which could lead to sex-specific insight on the cardiovascular disease epidemic which prevails as the most common cause of death in the United States. The studies completed will test the hypothesis: neurotrophic factor will be higher in females than males due to the higher presence of estrogen in females. The trophic factor is predicted to increase in both males and females with regular …

An Examination Of Barriers And Determinates Impacting The Healthcare Of Kalamazoo County's Transgender And Non-Binary Young Adult Population, Tyler Signorella

Honors Theses

Historically non-binary and transgender individuals have faced and continue to face a unique set of obstacles and challenges in seeking and receiving general healthcare. Within the US this is well documented on a national level. In this exploratory study we will seek to understand the experience of young adults in Kalamazoo County comparing their perspectives to the already established pool of information. This will be accomplished through surveying emergent adults identifying as either transgender or gender non-binary within Kalamazoo County and then synthesizing this data into an analyzable collective format.

The Assessment Of Co2 Exposures, Workload Demands, And Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk On Heart Rate For Select Craft Brewery Job Tasks, David L. Huizen

Dissertations

Americans have embraced craft beer, and the ensuing demand has resulted in an ever-increasing number of craft breweries opening over the past 20 years. Craft brewers are generally small employers and, as such, lack the resources necessary to address the safety and health of their employees adequately. Brewers face many safety and health hazards in their work environment. These hazards include exposures to carbon dioxide (CO₂), workload demand, and MSD risk. It is essential to evaluate these hazards in craft breweries as they handle carbon dioxide (CO₂) differently than large breweries by having the CO_{2 …}

The Role Of Homologous Cyclin B’S In The Cell Cycle And, In Their Absence, The Effect On Zebrafish Early Development, Tetiana Petrachkova

Dissertations

Regulation of cell division is essential for normal embryo development. The Cyclins and their Cyclin-dependent kinases are key regulators controlling this process. In this thesis, I examine the role of cyclin B1 and cyclin B2 in zebrafish development. It is thought that both Cyclins are necessary for a cell to progress past the G2/M checkpoint into mitosis. First, I show that zygotic Cyclin B1 is essential for normal cell cycle progression, but not for cells to enter mitosis. Lack of zygotic Cyclin B1 in the early arrest mutant specter, which carries a nonsense mutation in the cyclin B1 gene, …

Changes In Gene Expression Profiles In Müller Glia Following Exposure To An Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonist, Megan L. Stanchfield

Masters Theses

Previous studies from this lab have determined that dedifferentiation of Müller glia (MG) occurs after application of an α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, PNU-282987 (PNU), to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in adult rodents. This study was designed to explore the role of the HB-EGF/Ascl1/Lin28a signaling pathway in MG dedifferentiation to retinal progenitor cells. RNAseq was performed on MG following contact with RPE-J cells treated with PNU-282987. Up- or down-regulated genes were compared with published literature of MG dedifferentiation that occurs in lower vertebrate regeneration or with transcript profiles during early mammalian development. Between 8-12 hours, up-regulation was observed in …

High-Efficiency Transformation Of Yeast By Electroporation, Lilly Ruell

Honors Theses

This paper analyzes and optimizes efficiency in the yeast transformation protocol using electroporation. Three variables were tested for optimization, they are the following: DNA concentration, cell density and electroporation voltage. Further verification of transformation was done through the analyzation of HPLC data to ensure protein production. The results conclude that DNA concentration was the most important dependent variable for transformation efficiency. A voltage of 2000V is the optimal condition to achieve efficient yeast transformation. Cell density had no observational difference in transformation efficiency at the range of DNA concentration necessary for research use. Improving this efficiency of the yeast transformations …

Putative Flagellar Channel-Lining Residues And Their Role In Filament Synthesis, Morphology And Stability, Troy Burtchett

Masters Theses

Bacterial flagella are comprised of ~20,000 repeating subunits called flagellin and are synthesized by transporting unfolded flagellin monomers through the central channel of the flagellar filament to the distal end where they are folded and incorporated into the growing structure. The transport mechanism is predicted to be facilitated by a hydrophilic coating of amino acid side chains on the inside wall of the central channel that repels the mostly hydrophobic surface of the unfolded flagellin monomer. The lack of interaction between the flagellin monomer and the central channel wall is thought to allow for the passive diffusion of protein monomers. …

Organized Caudal Photoreceptors In The Medicinal Leech, Baylee Bancroft

Honors Theses

Visual systems are essential to an organism’s survival. There are a wide range of photosensory organs across the animal kingdom, varying by means of structure, complexity, and the way in which they transduce information. Regardless of variation, visual systems provide the organism with information regarding external stimuli based on how light interacts with surrounding matter. The medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is one of the many important model organisms of neurobiology as this segmented annelid possesses a relatively simple nervous system and a rudimentary visual system. The leech also exhibits a restricted range of quantifiable overt behaviors and is capable of …

Examining The Effects Of Time On Antibiotic Resistance Within Prairie Restorations, Haley Ritsema

Honors Theses

Widespread antibiotic use in agriculture spreads antibiotic resistance (AR) genes throughout the ecosystem and can impact bacterial community composition and function. Restoring agricultural fields back to their native prairies has been shown to remediate other damaging effects of agriculture, and have the potential to remediate AR from the soil as well. In this study, our first aim was to determine if soil bacterial communities return to pre-agricultural conditions over time following restoration to native plant communities. We did this by assessing the soil characteristics, extracellular enzyme activities, bacterial community composition, and functional metagenomics across a chronosequence of seven restored prairies, …

The Effect Of Pre-Workout Supplementation On Fitness Assessment Tests, Kassidy Davis

Honors Theses

Research regarding the benefits and detriments of Pre-workout supplement has gradually increased since its popularity arose in the early 1980’s. There have been a number of studies on its effects on human physiology during a workout; however, there are few studies regarding Preworkout supplement during fitness assessment tests. Therefore, further insights concerning Preworkout supplement and fitness testing is needed. Pre-workout supplement is taken prior to a training session and has been shown to enhance a workout by increasing aspects such as focus, reaction time, stamina, and power. This could be viewed as solely a psychological enhancement than an actual physical …

Glut5 And Fructose Metabolism Inhibition In A Simulated Small Intestine Environment, Isabella Trainor

Honors Theses

This thesis describes an experiment that was designed in order to obtain information that could be useful for treating individuals with HFI. The author hypothesized that MSNBA would inhibit GLUT5 and fructose metabolism in the small intestine. The final experimental design involves exposing a small intestine cell line to fructose and MSNBA. The cell line would be exposed to MSNBA over the course of three different periods, and data was intended to be obtained using western blotting and a fructose assay kit. Although the final experimental design project was not fully carried out due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, a plausible …

Understanding Stem Instructors’ Experiences With And Perceptions Of Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students: The First Step Towards Increasing Access And Inclusivity, Makayla Long

Honors Theses

Through an anonymous survey we analyzed Western Michigan University (WMU) STEM instructors’ experience with and understanding of teaching and interacting with Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) students. The goal of this study was to capture the experiences of WMU STEM instructors and the resources available to them given their direct impact on Deaf/HoH students’ ability to succeed and receive a post-secondary education. The findings of this study support the claim that instructors are not well supported or aware of the needs of Deaf/HoH students, and do not have access to adequate resources to resolve the issue.

The first steps …

Gender And Socioeconomic Disparities In Iatrogenic In-Hospital Torsades De Points, Bradley Reinoehl

Honors Theses

It has been well established for decades that women are at increased risk for torsades de pointes (TdP). Additionally, it has been well documented that patients of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have inferior health outcomes compared to other patient populations. In this study we investigate the incidence of iatrogenic in-hospital TdP among these two demographic groups. Iatrogenic in-hospital TdP is a complex combination of medical issues and including danger from QT prolonging medications. In theory, a combination of identifiable, demographic risk factors coupled with specific clinical settings could be used to identify patients at high risk for iatrogenic …

Evaluation Of Autoreactivity In Vh4-34-Containing Antibodies From Human B-1 Vs B-2 Cells, Michelle E. Ray

Masters Theses

B-1 cells are a unique population of lymphocytes, with distinct phenotypic and functional characteristics in comparison to conventional B-2 cells. B-1 cells are thought to be more closely related to the innate immune system than the adaptive, and B-1 cells constitutively secrete antibody that is recognized as broadly reactive with low levels of autoreactivity. The antibody heavy chain segment, VH4-34, is overutilized by the human B-1 cell population. VH4-34 antibodies are associated with autoreactivity, although not all VH4-34 antibodies are autoreactive. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether autoreactive forms of VH4-34 antibodies are localized only to …

Exploring Song As A Reproductive Isolation Mechanism In A Hybridizing Population Of Winged Warblers, Amy E. Janik

Masters Theses

Reproductive isolation mechanisms such as song are used by birds to promote assortative mating by species and prevent gene flow when closely related species come into secondary contact. Based on the strength of a reproductive barrier, signals in hybrid zones can diverge and become more dissimilar to maintain species or converge to become more similar and make species discrimination more difficult. When two closely related species overlap in territories and have similar songs, song convergence is likely and has the capacity to disrupt species recognition. We test the hypothesis that song acts as a reproductive isolation mechanism by examining song …

Cellulose Based Separator For High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries, Akshit Vaidya

Masters Theses

During the past two decades, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have gained great success in the field of portable devices, and currently, are penetrating to the market of vehicles. Compared to the fast development of LIBs, little efforts have been dedicated to the separator, which is one of the most important components of LIBs. Primarily, the lithium-ion battery separator has two functions, one is to prevent direct contact between the positive and negative electrodes, and the other is to provide a path for effective ionic transportation. Currently, the separator market of LIBs is dominated by polyolefin materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene, and …

Agritourism Development In Southwest Michigan: Motivations Of Agritourists And Operators, Esther Akoto Amoako

Masters Theses

National agricultural statistics show that the number of agritourism farms and the proportion of agritourism related revenues in the United States has steadily increased during the last ten years, especially among small family farms. The recent growth in agritourism is both demand - and supply-driven. However, there are limited studies that explore agritourism motivations from both the visitors' and operators’ perspectives. This study examines what the agritourists' and operators’ motivations are and the challenges facing the industry to provide information for those currently involved and those wanting to include agritourism in their operations. Online and in-person surveys and unstructured interviews …

The Macroevolution Of Diadromous And Non-Diadromous Clupeiformes., Lindsey Dehaan

Honors Theses

Migration is a common life history strategy across the animal tree of life. This behavior is energetically demanding and may trigger strong selection for the evolution of an optimal ecomorphology to lessen energetic costs, yet the ecomorphology of migratory aquatic species remains poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that migratory fishes exhibit predictable phenotypic patterns in body size evolution in response to evolving migration: migratory fishes are larger than non-migratory fishes. Migratory fishes may also have functional traits (e.g. fin shape) associated with locomotion that have experienced similar selective forces and exhibit predictable evolutionary patterns, resulting in migratory lineages sharing …

Supporting Black Mothers At The Transition: A Collaborative Design Prenatal Coparenting Program, Jordan Ebanaya

Masters Theses

Despite having the highest infant mortality rate of similarly developed nations, infant mortality rates have trended downward in the United States, however, the infant mortality disparity between Black and White infants persists. The causes of the disparity have been traced to social considerations of the mother especially while pregnant. These social situations include racism and discrimination, marital status of the mother, social support and pregnancy intentions, pointing to one commonality: stress. Using Boss and colleagues 2017 Conceptual Model of Family Stress, this study proposes a solution to address some of the social support, or resources, available to the expectant mother; …

Pcr Analysis On The Effects Of Alpha Synuclein Treatment On C6 Rat Glioma Cells, Michael John Helmus

Masters Theses

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurological disease that mainly implicates the neuronal protein, alpha synuclein, as being centrally involved in MSA pathology. Despite synucleinopathy dogma, little is known about alpha synucleins role in MSA pathogenesis. The Ide laboratory previously conducted an Affymetrix gene expression study utilizing the post-mortem pons tissue from eight individuals with MSA and five individuals without any known neurological disorders. One conclusion from that study was that downregulation of numerous mitochondrial homeostasis related genes had occurred. It is hypothesized that alpha synuclein can perturb mitochondrial homeostasis through direct interaction with mitochondria. This study utilized Reverse …

Functional Analysis In The Home Setting Of An Older Adult With Neurocognitive Disorder, Emily Norton

Masters Theses

Currently within the behavioral gerontology literature there are no published studies that include a functional assessment in the home setting. The primary goal of the present study was to address this gap by conducting a functional analysis on a challenging behavior of an older adult with neurocognitive disorder in the home. This study occurred in two phases. During phase one, researchers conducted an antecedent functional analysis on the bizarre speech of an 81-year-old female with suspected dementia across four conditions (television on, no interactions initiated; television on, interactions initiated; television off, no interactions initiated; television off, interactions initiated). Results from …