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The Effect Of Step Rate Training On Running Economy And Biomechanics, Nahir Negron-Fernandez Dec 2023

The Effect Of Step Rate Training On Running Economy And Biomechanics, Nahir Negron-Fernandez

All NMU Master's Theses

It is known that running economy is a determinant of running performance. Increased step rate has been correlated with improved running economy, but it is unknown whether these improvements can be maintained with chronic training. The purpose of this study was to determine if a step rate training intervention improves running economy and improves lower body kinetic factors in distance runners. Nine participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 7) undergoing a 6-week supplemental training program, or a non-training control group (n = 2). The intervention group trained three times a week, running at a higher …


The Impacts Of Embryo Development And Asynchronous Hatching On Morphology, Growth, And Development Of Larval Burbot (Lota Lota)., Andrew J. Shapiro Nov 2023

The Impacts Of Embryo Development And Asynchronous Hatching On Morphology, Growth, And Development Of Larval Burbot (Lota Lota)., Andrew J. Shapiro

All NMU Master's Theses

Burbot (Lota lota) are native fish in Lake Superior and typically spawn during the winter under the ice or by migrating up rivers. The early life history of larval burbot, where they dispurse, how fast they develop, and what their survival rates have not been extensively studied. Asynchronous hatching is a strategy used by other cod species as a bet-hedging strategy to ensure that some larvae are hatched in more advantageous conditions in a varying environment. Asynchronous hatching has been documented in burbot, but the extent of the period and the impacts that asynchrony has on the development of …


The Effects Of Dormant Season Burning And Flooding On Invasive Cattail, Typha X Glauca, On Rainy Lake And Lake Kabetogama In Northern Minnesota, Erika Meints Aug 2023

The Effects Of Dormant Season Burning And Flooding On Invasive Cattail, Typha X Glauca, On Rainy Lake And Lake Kabetogama In Northern Minnesota, Erika Meints

All NMU Master's Theses

Typha x glauca is one of the most invasive plants in North America. The plant exhibits hybrid vigor and displaces native flora by rapidly forming dense monotypic stands that can break free from the substrate and form floating mat types when established. I tested the effects of prescribed burning, on Typha x glauca in wetlands to adjacent large lakes in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota. My team surveyed four wetlands that were burned in late winter of 2020-21, and six that were unburned controls. Pre-burn data was also collected for all ten wetlands. Pre-flooding data from other wetlands within …


Sympatric Soil Microbe Interactions Between Streptomyces And Fusarium Isolates, Lehren A. Olk-Szost Jul 2023

Sympatric Soil Microbe Interactions Between Streptomyces And Fusarium Isolates, Lehren A. Olk-Szost

All NMU Master's Theses

Interkingdom interactions between soil bacteria and fungi may play a critical role in occurrence of disease suppressive soils, yet our understanding of these interactions remains limited. Streptomyces are well-known producers of antimicrobial compounds important to medicine and agriculture. Production of these secondary metabolites is often mediated by quorum sensing. Most Streptomyces research occurs in single species experiments, yet new metabolites have been discovered in interspecies co-culture experiments. Interspecies, intergenic, and interkingdom co-culture research will likely reveal many valuable compounds, and strengthen our understanding of complex ecological interactions in soil microbiomes. Interactions between sympatric Streptomyces and Fusarium isolates from disease suppressive …


Trophic Dynamics Of The Lake Superior Fish Community, Ariel Edwards Jun 2023

Trophic Dynamics Of The Lake Superior Fish Community, Ariel Edwards

All NMU Master's Theses

The Lake Superior food web has undergone many changes in recent decades, including the rehabilitation of the native apex predator lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush) and the introduction of several nonnative species. The trophic linkages and ecological requirements of the entire fish community, including predators and prey fishes, has not been assessed on a whole-lake scale in over a decade. Here, I investigated the trophic dynamics across multiple regions of the lake, and estimated the consumptive effect of lean lake charr in one region of Lake Superior. From April to October of 2021, a total of five predator, four …


Science, Community, And Culture: A Holistic Approach To Ecological Research And Education, Laura Whipple May 2023

Science, Community, And Culture: A Holistic Approach To Ecological Research And Education, Laura Whipple

All NMU Master's Theses

Global biodiversity has declined at an alarming rate over the past century as a result of many complex human-induced environmental changes. Standardized surveys have historically been used to identify drivers of species declines, but such studies are often resource-intensive, resulting in significant spatial and temporal data gaps when researchers lack the resources necessary to maintain such studies. One promising solution for overcoming gaps in standardized studies is the integration of species observations by community members (e.g., community science). Along with improving modeling techniques to address biodiversity declines, the education of future ecologists on the importance of Indigenous ecological knowledge, robust …


Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation Does Not Decrease Torque Loss Over High Intensity Repetitions, Ian Koskinen May 2023

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation Does Not Decrease Torque Loss Over High Intensity Repetitions, Ian Koskinen

All NMU Master's Theses

Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation, TENS, has been used widely as an analgesic and ergogenic aid for many years. Compared to other modalities of electrical stimulation, TENS has been shown to provide some benefits in exercise performance by reducing pain and increasing endurance in low intensity applications, such as time trial cycling or isometric endurance. While TENS has been shown to have a significant effect on exercise induced pain in individuals performing endurance activities, to my knowledge it has not been examined in high intensity contractions. 18 active young adults (age: 23.11 years ± 2.08, resistance training experience: 7.08 years ± 3.79, …


Fecal Cortisol Metabolites: A Non-Invasive Method For Monitoring The Long-Term Health Of Free Ranging Brown Bears, Justin A. Pinero May 2023

Fecal Cortisol Metabolites: A Non-Invasive Method For Monitoring The Long-Term Health Of Free Ranging Brown Bears, Justin A. Pinero

All NMU Master's Theses

Ecotourism is a rapidly growing industry worldwide and has been used as a tool that can promote conservation. While ecotourism can serve as a mechanism to help conserve natural areas, increases in visitors present challenges for managers tasked with balancing conservation goals while ensuring positive visitor experiences. As such, managers and ecologists are increasingly using fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) to index stress associated with ecotourism. In this study, I sought to (1) quantify the relationship between blood cortisol levels and FCM concentrations in brown bears (Ursus arctos), and (2) evaluate whether ecotourism elicits a measurable stress response in …


The Possible Role For Basigin Receptor Function In The Induction Of Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression In Human Endometrial Stromal Cells, Amy Abel Apr 2023

The Possible Role For Basigin Receptor Function In The Induction Of Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression In Human Endometrial Stromal Cells, Amy Abel

All NMU Master's Theses

10-15% of couples worldwide are affected by infertility. The leading cause of infertility is implantation failure. Molecular communication in precise time and space between an implanting embryo and a receptive uterus is essential for successful implantation. Basigin has been shown to have vital functions within the implantation process. Basigin is best known for inducing the expression of matrix metalloproteinases. Basigin has been shown to induce MMP expression in vitro in human endometrial stromal cell lines (HESC). Understanding how basigin induces matrix metalloproteinases within normal cellular conditions will help researchers understand how these signaling cascades flow in the framework of implantation. …


The Status Of Invasive Dusky Slug (Arion) Species In The Upper Great Lakes: A Molecular Approach, Olivia W. Hall Apr 2023

The Status Of Invasive Dusky Slug (Arion) Species In The Upper Great Lakes: A Molecular Approach, Olivia W. Hall

All NMU Master's Theses

I update the distribution of two cryptic slug species, Arion fuscus and Arion subfuscus, in the Upper Great Lakes of the United States using molecular identification methods. Arion fuscus has not previously been reported in the literature in this region, and Arion subfuscus has previously been reported as abundant. However, all previous distribution studies were determined using visual identification tools, which can result in misidentification between cryptic species. To molecularly re-examine these distribution maps, I used a mitochondrial ribosomal subunit 16S PCR amplification and subsequent SSpI and MfeI restriction enzyme digest to identify slug specimens. I collected slugs in …


Simple Organic Fertilizer Amendments For Farming In Degraded Soils: Effects On Plant-Microbe Interactions, Andrew Adamski Nov 2022

Simple Organic Fertilizer Amendments For Farming In Degraded Soils: Effects On Plant-Microbe Interactions, Andrew Adamski

All NMU Master's Theses

The rapid loss of topsoil, biodiversity, and water quality across agricultural land in the United States and the industrialized world poses some of the most important risks to the future of global and domestic food security. Not only is arable land being lost at an unsustainable pace, but the average age of farmers has also steadily been rising due to a myriad of barriers young, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and beginning farmers face. In an attempt to address these issues, worm castings, bokashi tea, fish hydrolysate, and biochar were applied alone and in combination to an extremely …


Purification And Characterization Of An Anti-Basigin Monoclonal Antibody: Application To The Study Of Human Uterine Cells And Tissues, Jeannine M. Barna Nov 2022

Purification And Characterization Of An Anti-Basigin Monoclonal Antibody: Application To The Study Of Human Uterine Cells And Tissues, Jeannine M. Barna

All NMU Master's Theses

Between 1990 and 2017, the global rate of female infertility increased by over 15% (Sun et al., 2019). An embryo's failure to implant into the uterus is the primary cause of early pregnancy loss. Several studies have identified molecules necessary for successful implantation, but their function during implantation remains poorly understood (S. Zhang et al., 2013). The cell surface glycoprotein basigin-2 is necessary for embryo implantation in the mouse and plays a role in several cellular functions, including cell communication and extracellular matrix remodeling (Chen et al., 2009; K. Li & Nowak, 2020). In vitro studies using human uterine cells …


Larval Fish Export In Response To Varying Compensating Gate Discharge At The Sault Rapids, St. Marys River, Signe F.K. Vandrunen Nov 2022

Larval Fish Export In Response To Varying Compensating Gate Discharge At The Sault Rapids, St. Marys River, Signe F.K. Vandrunen

All NMU Master's Theses

The St. Marys River (SMR) forms the border between Michigan, USA and Ontario, Canada connecting lakes Superior and Huron. Discharge is controlled by a compensating gate system upstream of the SMR rapids. Because spring and summer discharge fluctuates widely, resource managers required information on how flow variability influences larval fish drift. I estimated annual larval fish export in relation to variable discharge during 2018-2021 and compared results to published habitat model predictions. Mean discharge and water temperature were lowest in 2021 and highest in 2019. Water warming rates during high discharge differed from low discharge trends. Across years, I identified …


The Effects Of Exogenous Virilizing Testosterone On Strength Training And Self-Compassion In Transgender Nonbinary Individuals, Nadine Sikora Aug 2022

The Effects Of Exogenous Virilizing Testosterone On Strength Training And Self-Compassion In Transgender Nonbinary Individuals, Nadine Sikora

All NMU Master's Theses

Previous exercise science research has excluded transgender nonbinary individuals from their studies. Exercise has been shown to improve symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as improve body composition. Purpose: Identify the impacts of exogenous testosterone on relative strength and levels of self-compassion in transgender nonbinary individuals. Methods: Eighteen untrained individuals (6 transgender nonbinary, 6 ciswomen, and 6 cismen, mean age of 23.7 ± 3.5 years) were recruited and randomly assigned to an 8-week resistance training group or a non-exercise control group. Participants completed a 12-question survey of self-compassion followed by, assessment of strength for chest and leg …


Evaluation Of A Hands-On Cooking Class And Its Effects On Self-Efficacy In Relation To Healthy Eating In Type 2 Diabetics, Codi A. Jenshak-Gorzinski Mar 2022

Evaluation Of A Hands-On Cooking Class And Its Effects On Self-Efficacy In Relation To Healthy Eating In Type 2 Diabetics, Codi A. Jenshak-Gorzinski

DNP Scholarly Projects

The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is alarming and poses a great threat to U.S. national health. Chronic diabetes can lead to serious conditions such as heart attack and stroke, and can result in premature mortality (World Health Organization, 2018). Diabetes can be prevented or treated by eating a healthy diet. Cooking classes are a potential way to improve American’s knowledge of nutritional principles and help them become confident that they have the capacity to eat a healthy diet. The purpose of this DNP project was to determine if participation in cooking classes enhanced self-efficacy as it pertains to healthy …


Relating Metabolic Phenotypes To Movement Behavior In Brook Trout, Jacob E. Bowman Mar 2022

Relating Metabolic Phenotypes To Movement Behavior In Brook Trout, Jacob E. Bowman

All NMU Master's Theses

Brook trout movement-related life history strategies vary considerably and range from individuals that stay within the same 100 meters their entire life to individuals that are potamodromous or anadromous. Potential drivers of movement life histories have been the subject of much research in fish, with genetic subpopulation explanations often failing to explain the phenomenon. Metabolic phenotypes have been suggested as a possible driver for expression of different movement life histories. I investigated if metabolic phenotypes are related to movement strategies within a population of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Unnamed Creek, a tributary to the Rock River, Alger …


Trophic Ecology Of Juvenile Lean And Siscowet Lake Trout (Salvelinus Namaychush) From U.S. Waters Of Lake Superior, Will Otte Dec 2021

Trophic Ecology Of Juvenile Lean And Siscowet Lake Trout (Salvelinus Namaychush) From U.S. Waters Of Lake Superior, Will Otte

All NMU Master's Theses

In this study, I investigated the spatial overlap, diet similarity, and isotopic niches of juvenile Lean and Siscowet Lake Trout ecotypes across six ecoregions of Lake Superior. Spatially, Lean and Siscowet were observed in overlapping depth distributions. Leans were most abundant in shallow waters (60m). The greatest levels of cohabitation were observed in waters from 40-60m. Trophic position (as measured by δ 15N) was similar for both ecotypes at small sizes (mm), but Siscowet exhibited a higher trophic position than Lean Lake Trout at larger sizes (>400mm) and older ages (>5 years). Base of production (as measured by …


The Brown Bear Gut Microbiome: A Novel Tool For Conservation & Management, Sarah M. Trujillo Dec 2021

The Brown Bear Gut Microbiome: A Novel Tool For Conservation & Management, Sarah M. Trujillo

All NMU Master's Theses

Gut microbiomes (GMBs), complex communities of microorganisms inhabiting the gastrointestinal tracts of their hosts, perform countless micro-ecosystem services such as facilitating energy uptake and modulating immune responses. While scientists increasingly recognize the role GMBs play in host health, the role of GMBs in wildlife ecology and conservation has yet to be realized fully. Here, I use brown bears (Ursus arctos) as an ecological model to investigate (1) how both extrinsic and intrinsic factors influence GMB community membership and structure; and (2) the correlation between GMB membership and brown bear health metrics. To achieve these aims, I subsampled archived …


Coordination Variability And Injury Risk In Experienced Collegiate Dancers, Emily Klinkman Oct 2021

Coordination Variability And Injury Risk In Experienced Collegiate Dancers, Emily Klinkman

All NMU Master's Theses

Dance is a sport that places a number of physical demands upon the human body, and injuries are a common occurrence in the sport. While it has not yet been linked to dance-related injury, coordination variability (CV) is a measure of how much movement strategy changes between repetitions of a task and low levels of CV have been linked to injury in other sports. This study aimed to determine the relationship between CV and dance injury in collegiate dancers. Eight (8) undergraduate student subjects were recruited from the dance major and minor, BFA major and minor, and recreational dancers who …


Cerebellum-Seeded Functional Connectivity Changes In Trait-Anxious Individuals Undergoing Attention Bias Modification Training, Katherine Elwell Jul 2021

Cerebellum-Seeded Functional Connectivity Changes In Trait-Anxious Individuals Undergoing Attention Bias Modification Training, Katherine Elwell

All NMU Master's Theses

Anxiety and anxiety related disorders are increasing at a drastic rate in the past decade, with the NIMH reporting that 31.1% of U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Anxiety is commonly characterized by increased attention bias to threat. Attention Bias Modification (ABM) is a new treatment used to reduce individual’s attention bias towards threat. The extent to which ABM leads to underlying neural changes is still unknown. The cerebellum is a neglected brain structure, with new research provides evidence that cerebellum’s functional connectivity and shared networks with threat processing regions has a direct …


Sensitive And Specific Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 In Saliva Using Reverse Transcriptase Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification, Casey Juntila Jul 2021

Sensitive And Specific Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 In Saliva Using Reverse Transcriptase Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification, Casey Juntila

All NMU Master's Theses

A novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 has caused the emergency release of the most well-known molecular assay, the CDC N1 RT-PCR assay, causing reports of poor analytical performance resulting in false-negative results (20, 26), and inconsistent testing kits received (23, 32). An immediate and dire need for a rapid and reliable SARS-CoV-2 testing workflow specifically designed for a university setting is the purpose this project is aiming and intended to fulfill. The workflow design uses a less invasive saliva sample for rapid screening using colorimetric RT-LAMP detection of three SARS-CoV-2 gene regions for Orf1ab, envelope, and nucleocapsid. Purified SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA …


A Dynamic Landscape Of Fear: Human Impacts On Carnivore Communities, Tru Hubbard Jun 2021

A Dynamic Landscape Of Fear: Human Impacts On Carnivore Communities, Tru Hubbard

All NMU Master's Theses

Mammalian carnivores are elusive, enigmatic species that often play keystone roles in ecosystems through direct (i.e., predation) and indirect (i.e., perceived predation risk) effects. Worldwide many carnivore species are experiencing rapid human-mediated population declines due to landscape change and habitat disturbance. For researchers, carnivores present unique challenges due to their large home ranges, low population densities, sensitivity to human disturbance, and direct persecution. Further, growing evidence shows that human activity can impact carnivore behavior and community structure by altering predator-prey interactions, shifting diel activity patterns, and altering wildlife movement leading to increased sightings, nuisance reports, and harvests. To investigate how …


The Physiological Effects Of Therapy Dogs During Exercise For Sedentary Adults, Josie Lynne Mazzone May 2021

The Physiological Effects Of Therapy Dogs During Exercise For Sedentary Adults, Josie Lynne Mazzone

All NMU Master's Theses

Previous research has shown therapy dogs may be utilized to attenuate heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) responses during various types of stressors due to an increase in oxytocin (OT) and decrease in cortisol (CL) production. These hormonal changes have also been shown to enhance exercise performance. Purpose: This study aimed to determine if physiological responses to exercise changed in the presence of a therapy dog for sedentary adults. Methods: Seven adult subjects (mean age of 30.86 ± 14.07 years) who self-reported less than 150 min of physical activity per week participated in a graded walking test with a …


Wolf Selection Of Human-Modified Linear Features And Cover Types When Hunting And Killing White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Austin T. Homkes Apr 2021

Wolf Selection Of Human-Modified Linear Features And Cover Types When Hunting And Killing White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Austin T. Homkes

All NMU Master's Theses

Predators must optimize and adapt foraging behavior for multiple spatial scales to take advantage of abundant and vulnerable prey. Wolves (Canis lupus) live in human-modified landscapes where anthropogenic disturbances and landscape alterations can influence predator-prey dynamics. In southern boreal ecosystems, wolves rely heavily on seasonally abundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns, which are highly susceptible to predation in their first weeks of life. My objective was to understand how anthropogenic disturbances—specifically timber harvest areas and linear features—and cover types influence where wolves hunt and kill fawns. During 2016–2019, I fit wolves with 20-min-fix-interval Global Positioning System …


Using Acoustic Telemetry To Analyze The Impacts Of Common Carp On Wild Rice Restoration, Franklin Zomer Mar 2021

Using Acoustic Telemetry To Analyze The Impacts Of Common Carp On Wild Rice Restoration, Franklin Zomer

All NMU Master's Theses

Wild rice (Zizania palustris) is an important cultural, spiritual, and dietary resource to Lake Superior Ojibwe. Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) are an introduced species that negatively impact aquatic vegetation through changes in water quality, uprooting of plants, and consumption of seed. Acoustic telemetry was used to document Common Carp movements in Waishkey Bay in the upper St. Marys River, MI where wild rice habitat is present. Exclosures were established to measure the influence of carp presence on wild rice seeding success. Common Carp were observed to spend much of their time in Waishkey Bay but also …


The Role Of Skeletal Muscle-Synthesized Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor In The Maintenance Of Motor Neuron Mitochondrial Populations, Mikel Cawley Aug 2020

The Role Of Skeletal Muscle-Synthesized Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor In The Maintenance Of Motor Neuron Mitochondrial Populations, Mikel Cawley

All NMU Master's Theses

Mitochondria are essential for the high energy demands of the neuromuscular junction and, as a consequence, leave motorneurons susceptible to dysfunction. A potential origin of progressive pathology may be a reduction in brain-derived neurotrophic-factor (BDNF) signaling at the motor unit. We have shown that mice deficient in skeletal muscle-synthesized BDNF (msBDNF) demonstrate progressive motorneuron and muscle pathology at 120d. We hypothesize mitochondrial populations will be altered in motorneurons of msBDNF deficient-mice. At 117d, msBDNF deficient-mice received intramuscular injections of MitoTracker™ dye targeting the right gastrocnemius muscle. At 120d experimental groups underwent a gastrocnemius harvest or a sciatic nerve ligation protocol …


The Consequences Of Non-Native Species Invasions On The Contemporary And Historic Trophic Ecology Of Native Sport Fish In A Lake Michigan Embayment, John Whitinger Jul 2020

The Consequences Of Non-Native Species Invasions On The Contemporary And Historic Trophic Ecology Of Native Sport Fish In A Lake Michigan Embayment, John Whitinger

All NMU Master's Theses

The widespread establishment of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena spp.) in Lake Michigan has strongly altered energy flow by sequestering nutrients in nearshore benthic habitats. Despite these ecosystem changes, little is known about their influence on resource partitioning in nearshore fish communities. Here we use stable isotope analysis to characterize the contemporary fish community and historic walleye (Sander vitreus) population of Lake Michigan’s Little Bay de Noc. We found species-specific differences in the δ15N and δ13C values for 14 fish species. High degrees of niche overlap between walleye, northern pike (Esox lucius), …


Evaluating The Effects Of Fasting Conditions In Combination With Temozolomide For The Treatment Of Glioblastoma Multiforme, Joseph Duffy Jul 2020

Evaluating The Effects Of Fasting Conditions In Combination With Temozolomide For The Treatment Of Glioblastoma Multiforme, Joseph Duffy

All NMU Master's Theses

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and lethal form of adult brain cancer. The standard of care for GBM is maximal surgical resection followed by adjuvant treatment with the chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide (TMZ) and radiotherapy. O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is a DNA repair protein involved in TMZ resistance. Known as the Warburg effect, cancer cells will preferentially oxidize glucose to lactate in glycolysis. This less effective pathway of energy production means cancer cells must uptake significantly greater amounts of glucose to sustain physiological needs. One method that directly targets the bioavailability of glucose is fasting. Among other adaptations, fasting lowers …


Plant Medicine: The Use Of Medicinal Plants As Green Manures In The Treatment Of Streptomyces Scabies Infection And Potato Scab Disease, Ben Bolcer Apr 2020

Plant Medicine: The Use Of Medicinal Plants As Green Manures In The Treatment Of Streptomyces Scabies Infection And Potato Scab Disease, Ben Bolcer

All NMU Master's Theses

Potato scab disease is caused by the pathogen Streptomyces scabies and leads to significant crop losses annually worldwide. There is growing public and scientific concern regarding the human and environmental safety with the use of many pesticides and current disease control measures. In lieu of this, the use of medicinal plant species as organic green manure treatments against potato scab disease was evaluated in field studies. Green manure applications of calendula (Calendula officinalis resina) and comfrey (Symphytum officinale) simultaneous to potato (Solanum tuberosum) planting in field studies were evaluated for scab reduction qualities. Treatments …


Serum-Based Biomarkers And Magnetic Resonance Imaging Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Collegiate Athletes Post Return-To-Play, Taylor R. Susa Apr 2020

Serum-Based Biomarkers And Magnetic Resonance Imaging Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Collegiate Athletes Post Return-To-Play, Taylor R. Susa

All NMU Master's Theses

Recently there has been an increase in the use of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), to measure the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Proteins such as BDNF, S100B, UCH-L1, and Tau have been found to have altered levels in blood serum after TBI. However, there is limited knowledge about the relationship between serum-based and MRI-based biomarkers in concussed athletes post return-to-play. This study aimed to bridge this gap by collecting serum samples from 42 participants across two groups. The first group (n = 21) consisted of recently cleared to return-to-play collegiate athletes after experiencing a sports-related concussion. The second group …