Life Sciences Commons^™

Effectiveness Of Probiotic Therapy On The Symptoms Of Major Depressive Disorder (Mdd), Lydia L.M. Sprague

Non-Thesis Student Work

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) represents a pervasive mental health challenge globally, necessitating effective treatment approaches. This paper examines the efficacy of probiotic therapy compared to placebo in individuals diagnosed with MDD, addressing the PICOT question: In people diagnosed with MDD, what effect does probiotic therapy versus placebo have on their symptoms of depression? Through a review of six randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the study elucidates the potential of probiotics as adjunctive treatments for MDD. Findings indicate that probiotic interventions may yield improvements in depression symptoms, reflecting promising avenues for complementary therapeutic strategies. However, variations in study designs and probiotic strains …

Mind The Gap: A White Paper On Maine's Missing Covid-19 Surveillance Data, How They Perpetuate Health Disparities Of Maine's Citizens With Disabilities, And What Can Be Done To Increase Maine's Public Health Data & Service Equity, Michelle Fong

Student and Trainee Scholarship

A white paper by Michelle Fong, a 2023 NH-ME Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) trainee and MPH student at the University of New England. Equitable health data represents all populations and can be linked to their common characteristics. Maine’s COVID-19 data can be disaggregated by gender, race, ethnicity, and age, but not by disability status or type. It is an example of inequity in data collection, or a data gap, that prevents analysis of pandemic health outcomes for Mainers with disabilities.

An Examination Of The Social And Ecological Risk Factors For Lyme Disease Exposure Amon High School Students In Penobscot County, Maine, Willow Throckmorton-Hansford

Honors College

The intertwining effects of biological and social factors recently have led to a dramatic increase in Lyme disease cases in Maine. These factors include environmental exposure to ticks, a lack of knowledge of prevention measures against ticks, and an increasing population of blacklegged ticks throughout the state. High school students have seldom been used as a group of interest involving Lyme disease prevention research, yet they may be exposed to ticks while engaging in extracurricular activities, outdoor recreation, and in-class lessons that occur outdoors. In addition, social and ecological factors contributing to this issue have never been investigated in tandem …

Characterization Of Manganese-Induced Neurodegenration In C. Elegans Treated With Winterberry Leaf Extract, Brendan Moline

Honors College

Neurodegeneration is a condition present in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) in which the cells of the nervous system experience loss of function and death. Around the world, each year PD and AD affect 6.2 million and 29.8 million people, respectively, with the exact causes remaining unknown. Manganese (Mn) is a transition metal which is essential for human survival in trace concentrations. However, overexposure to Mn can induce neurodegeneration through the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and the eventual onset of oxidative stress. An extract produced from winterberry leaves (Ilex verticillata) exhibits antioxidant properties as it has been …

Evaluating Edna Metabarcoding As A Mic-Roe-Scopic Net To Catch Salmon Pathogens, Noah Burby

Honors College

Wild Atlantic salmon in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) is a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) that has been listed since 2000 as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The current challenge is year-over-year decreases in the number of mature salmon returning to the Penobscot River for reproduction. Early detection of pathogen presence could allow for the identification of infection and the application of corrective measures. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is simply DNA that is collected from environmental samples (e.g., water, air, and soils), which consists of whole microorganisms and genetic …

Comprehensive Overview Of Causative Agents Of Alzheimer's Disease: Tau Protein And Amyloid Betas With Their Biochemical Pathways And Proposed Treatments Including Cost Analysis, Ethan Johnson

Honors College

Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease found within the brain, interfering with neuron function, eventually leading to widespread atrophy. The disease effects millions of Americans with neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid beta plaques, both protein deposits with unclear causes. The goal for this thesis was not only to understand how these proteins form but how to safely interfere with their production. This was completed by a comprehensive overview of the form of the buildups and their precursors, tau proteins and amyloid beta precursor protein, respectively. An emphasis was put on the molecular biology and genetic causes of the amyloids rather than the …

Socioeconomic Status And Cognitive Function: What Is The Role Of Social Stress?, Zoe Prats

Honors College

Higher socioeconomic status (SES), as indicated by income, educational attainment, and/or occupational class, has been consistently related to higher late-life cognition; however, why and how these variables are related remain unclear. As low-SES individuals experience more stressful life events and perceive these events to be more stressful than their higher-SES counterparts, patterns of stress exposures and reactivity may in part explain this gradient. Thus, the goal of this study was to characterize the relationship between educational attainment and global cognition in a sample of older adults and determine whether social stress - a composite of family stress, spouse/partner stress, and …

Assessing State Communication Of Resources And Education Effectiveness For Well Owners In Northern Maine: A Case Study, James Greenwood

Honors College

Private well water is an essential resource in the state of Maine, as over 38% of

the state’s population relies on it every day (Johnson et al. 2020). Unprotected by the provisions of the national Clean Water Act of 1974, which keeps public drinking water sources safe through regulation, well owners have to protect themselves against harmful environmental contaminants that threaten their water. However, as noted by research and leaders in the drinking water field, well owners generally have low well testing behaviors, leaving their safety up to fate. A common reason for this, as research as observed more than …

Seasonal Affective Disorder Treatment: Light Therapy Versus Ssri Therapy, Gabriella M. Hinde, Hannah Dyer, Ash Werner, Michaela Cisowski

Non-Thesis Student Work

To determine the effect of pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments for seasonal depression in college students, we asked the following evidence-based PICO question: In college students (ages 18-25) with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), how does SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) therapy compared to light therapy affect seasonal depression syndrome? Seasonal affective disorder is synonymously used with the terminology seasonal depression due to the clinical manifestations that encompass depression, such as low energy, feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness. SAD begins in the fall months and peaks in the winter months due to a decrease in Vitamin D and ultraviolet (UV) ray …

Human Cryptosporidiosis: A Review And Staining Method, Amatullah Ahmad

Honors College

Cryptosporidiosis is increasingly emerging as the most significant cause of infectious diarrhea in humans and livestock. In humans, studies show that Cryptosporidiosis disease is more prevalent in the immunocompromised and young ones. However, outbreaks from contaminated water sources have caused disease in healthy adults, too. Two main species of the protozoan causative agent,Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis are responsible for most human infections. Cattle, pets, mice, and other livestock can transmit theCryptosporidiumparvumvariantsto humans through fecal transmission. Other species of Cryptosporidium can infect domestic animals, but their host range is narrow; therefore, they are not of significant concern to human health. …

Research Skills Combining Microbes And Social Equity (Avs 590-0980), Sue Ishaq, School Of Food And Agriculture

General University of Maine Publications

To understand a microbiome, you must learn about the bustling community of microorganisms and the complex ecosystems they live in, because one cannot exist without the other. So, too, does microbiome research rely on understanding the lives and ecology of humans, because there is no aspect of human life which does not involve microbes in some way. To become better microbiome researchers, we must understand social and environmental contexts which affect humans and, in many cases, prevent them from making choices which result in beneficial microbial exposures. This symposium will focus on developing research skills to create transformative research, including …

Optical Illusions To Schizophrenic Delusions: How Your Brain Can Alter Reality, Kathryn Stanislaski

Honors College

Widely misunderstood, stigmatized and understudied, schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. While people diagnosed with schizophrenia are often thought to misinterpret reality, they may be more adept at processing visual sensory information and perceive reality better than those without schizophrenia. Studies involving patients with schizophrenia have shown consistent and extensive insusceptibility of these patients to a variety of optical illusions. In this paper, I propose that when processing visual information, people with schizophrenia rely greater upon the dorsal stream and areas in the brain associated with bottom-up processing, as opposed to those without schizophrenia that utilize the ventral stream …

Implementing Landscape Design Principles To Improve Green Spaces And Promote Ecotherapy On A College Campus, Jessica Hutchinson

Honors College

As students in Maine are subject to harsh winters and a disconnectedness due to the pandemic, the creation of an ecotherapy focused garden may benefit the community at the University of Maine. Mental health is a rising concern within the United States, where anxiety has been the most frequent in students at 62.7% from a survey conducted by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (Son et al., 2020). Ecotherapy is the practice of holistic psychology where healing is derived from interactions with the surrounding ecosystem (Summers and Vivian, 2018). Through literature review and gardening, this creative project provides a green …

Impact Of Probiotics On Black Soldier Fly Larvae Transmission Of Stenotrophomonas Maltophilia, Emily Marie Mclaughlin

Honors College

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an opportunistic pathogen which can cause a variety of infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. It has recently been found that black soldier flies can act as carriers for S. maltophilia (Callegari et al., 2020). I have investigated how probiotics impact their vector capabilities. Black soldier fly larvae have been fed substrate spiked with S. maltophilia. After several days of feeding, the larvae were investigated by PCR and plating (Sveensson-Stadler et al., 2011). Two groups of larvae were fed with potatoes infected with S. maltophilia. Persistence of S. maltophilia was determined using PCR by taking samples …

Covid-19_Umaine News_Pen Bay Pilot Advances New Amphibian Study Led By Leclair, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of UMaine in the News regarding StudyFinds reporting on a new University of Maine-led study which found that fewer frogs died from vehicle collisions in spring 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, than during the season in other recent years.

Covid-19_Umaine News_Fewer Frogs Died By Vehicles In The Outset Of The Pandemic, Study Finds, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of UMaine News press release regarding the fact that fewer frogs died from vehicle collisions in spring 2020, when the COVI0-19 pandemic began, than during the season in other recent years, according to a new study led by Greg Leclair, a University of Maine graduate student and community science project coordinator.

Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Amphibian Road Mortality, Gregory Leclair, Matthew H. Chatfield, Zachary Wood, Jeffrey Parmelee, Cheryle A. Frederick

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related human activity shutdowns provide unique opportunities for biodiversity monitoring through what has been termed the “anthropause” or the “great human confinement experiment.” The pandemic caused immense disruption to human activity in the northeastern United States in the spring of 2020, with notable reductions in traffic levels. These shutdowns coincided with the seasonal migration of adult amphibians, which are typically subject to intense vehicle-impact mortality. Using data collected as part of an annual community science monitoring program in Maine from 2018 to 2021, we examined how amphibian mortality probabilities responded to reductions in traffic during …

Understanding The Role Of Prophage Encoded Polymorphic Toxins In Mycobacterial Superinfection Immunity And Drug Resistance, Dakota Archambault

Honors College

Mycobacterium abscessusis the leading cause of lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients and is often resistant to all antibiotics. There is an urgent need for alternative therapies such as lytic bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria). Phage therapy has been successful in the treatment of a drug-resistantM. abscessusinfection in a teenaged cystic fibrosis patient but there are challenges to broad use as most M. abscessusisolates are highly resistant to lytic bacteriophage infection. Prophage, or integrated bacteriophage genomes within the M. abscessusgenome, likely defend against phage superinfection via prophage-encoded viral defense systems. The Molloy lab has shown that the Mab cluster R …

The Relationship Between Kidney Function And Cognitive Function In Type Ii Diabetes, Erika Pacheco

Honors College

Individuals who are diagnosed with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) have shown decline in proper kidney function, ultimately leading to a form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in about one-third of T2DM cases. Even though these are alarming rates of both diseases, these conditions are rarely studied concurrently. The general focus for this research is to identify whether or not kidney function in individuals with T2DM relates to their cognitive function. Specifically, is albuminuria in individuals with T2DM a risk for poorer cognitive performance? Maine Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS) data for the 121 participants with T2DM was analyzed through correlational …

Identifying Risk Factors Of Anaplasma Infection In Plains Zebra Of Etosha National Park, Namibia, Madison Stahle

Honors College

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne illness that is caused by bacteria from the genus Anaplasma which infect the blood cells of their hosts. Anaplasmosis can affect the health and life expectancy of zebra, however, little is known about what makes drives the variability in infection within this species. The purpose of this study is to (1) determine the prevalence, and (2) identify risk factors for Anaplasma infections in plains zebra (Equus quagga) from the Etosha National Park, Namibia, including whether Anaplasma infections correlate with other parasite infections (ectoparasites and gastrointestinal parasites).Other possible risk factors for Anaplasma infection that are …

Assessment Of Potential Measures At Admit Of Harbor Seal Pup Rehabilitation Success, Shannon Brown

Honors College

Harbor seals frequently strand along the northeast coast of the United States due to injury, illness, disease, and human interaction. In Maine, a non-profit organization, Marine Mammals of Maine (MMoME), is federally authorized to respond to these stranded animals and provide short-and long-term rehabilitation, with the ultimate aim to release the seals back into the wild. I investigated the role of multiple potential measures of marine mammal health that are evaluated at admit in determining rehabilitation success of dependent and weaned harbor seal pups from 2016 to 2019. The variables assessed were the day of the year the patients were …

Ecological Niche Modeling Of Lyme Disease Risk In Maine Based On Human Case Data, Elizabeth Dee

Honors College

Ixodes scapularis, the blacklegged tick,is the primary vector for the Lyme disease-causing bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States.Lyme disease poses a significant concern to the state of Maine, as both the number and geographic distribution of cases across the state have been steadily increasing over the past two decades. In 2001, there were 108 confirmed or probable cases of Lyme disease in Maine compared to 1404 cases in 2018. Using tick-borne disease human case data from the Maine CDC andArcGIS software, I created three Lyme disease maps for the years 2001, 2009, and 2017. These maps show the number …

Infection And Diet-Induced Gut Dysbiosis: Impact On Sleep Quality In Danio Rerio, Benjamin Williams

Honors College

A known bidirectional relationship between intestinal microflora and the central nervous system, coined the gut-brain-axis, has stimulated work on the association between gut dysbiosis and inflammation, and sleep quality. Previous studies in the Hayes Lab have reported that a high fat (HF) diet was correlated with immobile phases, a marker of low motility during sleep found in some neurological disease and sleep duration[1]. Long sleep duration (>1 S.D. above norms for age) is associated with poor sleep quality or sleep fragmentation in participants who are overweight or obese according to body mass index values[2]. The current work utilizes a …

The Role Of Accessory Domain In Cpsa Function And Capsule Production In Group B Streptococcus, Gina Difederico

Honors College

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) can be found in the vaginal and genitourinary tract of females, as well as the genitourinary tract of males, where it behaves as a commensal organism. However, as an opportunistic pathogen, GBS has the capability to infect the immunocompromised, making it a major threat to neonates and fetuses. The pathogen can be passed from mother to baby either in utero or during birth. The capsule, which is a polysaccharide coating on the outside of the cell, is considered the most important virulence factor in GBS.Expression of capsule plays a role in evasion of the host immune …

Investigating The Link Between Aging-Related Vascular Dysfunction And Peripheral Neuropathy Through Pressure Myography, Bailey Woodard

Honors College

Peripheral neuropathy can be defined as any condition that reduces the innervation of peripheral tissues. Pathologies such as diabetes and aging are catalysts for the development of peripheral neuropathy starting in the skin. It is known that neuropathy with aging and obesity extends into adipose in the C57BL/6 mouse model.Losing proper nerve communication between brain and adipose tissue is detrimental to metabolic health because it reduces the capacity of adipose to undergo necessary processes such as browning and lipolysis. Additionally, it can also worsen obesity and diabetes. Since aging increases the risk for these pathologies, a better understanding of neuropathy …

Compilation And Review Of Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Protocols And Career Guidance From Conservation Professionals In The Eastern United States, Kelsey Davis

Honors College

Seven species of sea turtle are found on earth and all are either threatened or endangered. Unfortunately, these animals are under duress due to numerous anthropogenic causes. The increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere has led to extreme global weather fluctuations, which leads to the cold stunning events seen among turtles in the north eastern United States every year. Illegal fishing practices and illegal boating lead to severe and critical injuries. Coastal development destroys integral nesting grounds. The rehabilitation of sea turtles is one solution to the preservation and conservation of these species. This thesis analyzes current rehabilitation …

A Comprehensive Look Into The Rates Of Obesity In African American And White 6-11-Year-Old Children Relating To Their Socioeconomic Status And Caloric Intake From Fast Food, Sophia Lafrance

Honors College

Obesity levels in adults and children in the United States and around the world have been closely monitored for years. Research in the field of obesity has demonstrated a clear understanding that with increased calorie consumption compared to calories expended, an overall weight gain will occur. Through a collection of cited resources about the factors that affect obesity, a research problem arose considering what is accounting for the increase in calories in groups of children with high rates of obesity. Socioeconomic status has a major influence on the environment that children are raised in, and this factor can affect both …

Covid-19_Umaine News_New International Study Shows Alternative Seafood Networks Provided Resilient Diversity During Pandemic, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of UMaine News press release regarding a University of Maine study into the need for greater functional diversity in supply chains led by Joshua Stoll, assistant professor of.marine policy at the University of Maine.

Connectivity, Reproduction Number, And Mobility Interact To Determine Communities’ Epidemiological Superspreader Potential In A Metapopulation Network, Brandon Lieberthal, Allison M. Gardner

School of Biology & Ecology

Disease epidemic outbreaks on human metapopulation networks are often driven by a small number of superspreader nodes, which are primarily responsible for spreading the disease throughout the network. Superspreader nodes typically are characterized either by their locations within the network, by their degree of connectivity and centrality, or by their habitat suitability for the disease, described by their reproduction number (R). Here we introduce a model that considers simultaneously the effects of network properties and R on superspreaders, as opposed to previous research which considered each factor separately. This type of model is applicable to diseases for which …

Covid-19_Umaine News_Press Herald Opinion Cites Darling Center Aquaculture Research, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of UMaine in the News regarding a Portland Press Herald opinion column cited aquaculture research conducted at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center in calling for faster turnaround on shellfish aquaculture licenses from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and a return to scoping and public hearing practices impacted by the pandemic.