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Articles 1 - 20 of 20
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A 2-Part Study Examining; Hepatitis B Vaccination Rates Among High-Risk Adults And The Influence Of Education On Knowledge And Awareness Of Hepatitis B And The Use Of Vaccines As A Safe, Preventative Measure Among University Of Ms Students, Ariel Wilson
Honors Theses
Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can be prevented and controlled through vaccination. However, vaccination among high-risks adults in the U.S. is still low (50%). This poses serious threats for HBV transmission between infected individuals and high-risk individuals. Objective: The specific aims of this research were to (a) explore the prevalence of hepatitis B vaccination uptake from 2011-2014 (b) to examine intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational level factors associated with receiving hepatitis B vaccination among high-risk adults. Methods: Data were analyzed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011-2014 to (1) assess the prevalence of hepatitis B vaccination and …
Culture-Independent Analysis Of Microbial Communities Associated With Hydroponically Grown Living Lettuce, Abby Matthews
Culture-Independent Analysis Of Microbial Communities Associated With Hydroponically Grown Living Lettuce, Abby Matthews
Honors Theses
The bacteria associated on and within a plant make up that plant's microbiome. Given recent interest in how microbes can affect human health, as well as developments in DNA sequencing that allow us to examine microbial communities without culture techniques, a number of recent studies have investigated the composition of the microbial communities on edible plants. Leafy green salad vegetables pose an added interest, since they are consumed without sterilization or cooking. This study investigated the bacterial composition of endophytic and epiphytic communities of hydroponically grown green leaf lettuce that is sold with the roots intact and referred to as …
Bring Your Own Device Initiative To Improve Engagement And Performance In Human Anatomy And Physiology I And Ii Laboratories, Kelsey Hillhouse
Bring Your Own Device Initiative To Improve Engagement And Performance In Human Anatomy And Physiology I And Ii Laboratories, Kelsey Hillhouse
Honors Theses
At the University of Mississippi, just 4.93% (2014) and 6% (2015) of Human Anatomy and Physiology students responding to an informal, opinion survey stated that their favorite lab activity was using microscopes. In addition, performance on lab practical questions involving the identification of specimens under a microscope is low with the average percent correct being as low as 31.85% and no higher than 41.94%. These numbers are troubling in that Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II are required courses for students desiring entry into many allied health professions where knowledge of tissues, obtaining samples for biopsy, and interpreting microscopic …
Effects Of Mutating Ctra-Binding Sites Within The Pile Promoter Of Caulobacter Crescentus, Sarah Chong
Effects Of Mutating Ctra-Binding Sites Within The Pile Promoter Of Caulobacter Crescentus, Sarah Chong
Honors Theses
This project investigated the regulation of pilA by the global transcriptional regulator CtrA in the dimorphic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. The pilA gene encodes the pilin subunits which are polymerized into helical filaments to produce pili, and the gene is directly activated by CtrA such that filaments are produced after cell separation. The pilA promoter harbors three regions that have been shown to bind CtrA (Binding Regions 1, 2, and 3), and multiple CtrA recognition sites are found in these regions, which is unusual for CtrA-dependent promoters. However, none of the binding sites match the CtrA consensus binding sequence. The canonical …
The Impact Of Simulated Microgravity On The Growth Of The Model Legume Plant Medicago Truncatula, Gemma Elizabeth Lionheart
The Impact Of Simulated Microgravity On The Growth Of The Model Legume Plant Medicago Truncatula, Gemma Elizabeth Lionheart
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Simulated microgravity has been a useful tool to help understand plant development in altered gravity conditions. Thirty-one genotypes of the legume plant Medicago truncatula were grown in either simulated microgravity on a rotating clinostat, or a static, vertical environment. Twenty morphological features were measured and compared between these two gravity treatments. Within-species genotypic variation was a significant predictor of the phenotypic response to gravity treatment in 100% of the measured morphological and growth features. In addition, there was a genotype–environment interaction (G×E) for 45% of the response variables, including shoot relative growth rate (p < 0.0005), median number of roots (p ∼ 0.02), and root dry mass (p < 0.005). These findings are discussed in the context of improving future studies in plants space biology by controlling for genotypic differences, and by connecting traits to their underlying genetic causes by using genome-wide association (GWA) mapping. In the long-term, manipulation of genotype effects, in combination with M. truncatula’s symbiotic relationships with rhizobacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, will be important for optimizing legumes for cultivation on long-term space missions.
Towards A Better Understanding Of Secondary Metabolite Production In Toxic Marine Algae, Thuy My Nguyen
Towards A Better Understanding Of Secondary Metabolite Production In Toxic Marine Algae, Thuy My Nguyen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Roseofilum reptotaenium is a marine cyanobacteria responsible for the loss of 50% of corals worldwide due to Black Band Disease (BBD). Investigating the basis for secondary metabolite production by R. reptotaenium cultures revealed a suite of potent anti-malarial and anticancer compounds that likely include dolastatin 10 and monomethyl auristatin D (MMAD). These R. reptotaenium cultures are non-axenic (not pure monocultures) and R. reptotaenium appears to require the presence of several heterotrophic bacteria to survive. Scanning Election Microscope (SEM) images show closely associated bacteria. Preliminary metagenomic analysis indicates three dominant non-cyanobacterial phyla: Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes, and Proteobacteri (?-proteobacteria accounted for >50% of …
The Effect Of Road Crossings On Stream-Associated Salamanders Within Holly Springs National Forest, Caleb Ashton Aldridge
The Effect Of Road Crossings On Stream-Associated Salamanders Within Holly Springs National Forest, Caleb Ashton Aldridge
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Road crossings have significant effects on wildlife, but there is limited information on how road crossings affect stream-associated salamanders. Stream-associated salamanders are vital to their ecological communities and are likely to experience the effect of roads more readily than other species due to their physiological characteristics. To test the effects of road crossings on stream-associated salamanders, I surveyed 12 pairs of confluent streams – one stream crossed by a road and the other not in each pair – within Holly Springs National Forest, Mississippi. Surveys in the summer of 2015 were used to measure abundance and species richness of stream-associated …
Historical Refuges And Recolonization Routes In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Inferred Through Phylogeographic Analysis Of The Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila Maculata), John Daniel Banusiewicz
Historical Refuges And Recolonization Routes In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Inferred Through Phylogeographic Analysis Of The Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila Maculata), John Daniel Banusiewicz
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Phylogeography has recently benefited from incorporation of coalescent modeling to test competing scenarios of population history of a species. Ecological niche modeling has also been useful in inferring areas of likely suitable habitat during past climate conditions. Several studies have examined the population history of biota in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and how they responded to climate change associated with the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (~18,000 years ago), though few studies have focused on understory plants. This study redressed that knowledge gap thorough examination of the phylogeographic history of the understory plant Chimaphila maculata, which is native to …
Evidence Of Chemical Camouflage In Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus Sayanus); Avoiding Detection By Colonizing/Ovipositing Prey Through Chemical Crypsis, Tyler Breech
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
No abstract provided.
Conditions Responsible For The Success Of Carnivorous Plants In Nutrient-Poor Wetlands, Matthew John Abbott
Conditions Responsible For The Success Of Carnivorous Plants In Nutrient-Poor Wetlands, Matthew John Abbott
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Despite the vast array of past research focused on carnivorous plants, few studies have investigated the ecological interactions between carnivorous and non-carnivorous plant species. I addressed the following three questions: (1) does niche complementarity promote coexistence between fire-adapted carnivorous and non-carnivorous species? (2) do carnivorous plants rely on both leaf traps and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to access different nutrients that are in high demand after fire in nutrient poor bogs? (3) why are carnivorous plants largely absent from nutrient-rich wetlands? I addressed the first question by examining the three-way interacting effects of fire, prey-derived nutrient availability, and root competition from …
Responses Of The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris Ocellata) To Human Disturbance, Thomas Hughes Martin
Responses Of The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris Ocellata) To Human Disturbance, Thomas Hughes Martin
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Habitat loss and habitat degradation are major drivers of the current biodiversity crisis. Nowhere else are these threats more severe than in the tropics. Because the tropics are estimated to contain as much as 60% of all the species on Earth, they are critically important for the conservation of biodiversity. To conserve species we need to understand both the factors that lead to extinction and how the taxa that persist are able to adapt to the rapid anthropogenic change of their environment. The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a Neotropical galliform bird of conservation concern because it faces a rapidly …
The Reptile Gut Microbiome: Its Role In Host Evolution And Community Assembly, Timothy Colston Colston
The Reptile Gut Microbiome: Its Role In Host Evolution And Community Assembly, Timothy Colston Colston
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
I characterize the endogenous (gut) microbiome of Squamate reptiles, with a particular focus on the suborder Serpentes, and investigate the influence of the microbiome on host evolution and community assembly using samples I collected across three continents in the New and Old World. I developed novel methods for sampling the microbiomes of reptiles and summarized the current literature on non-mammalian gut microbiomes. In addition to establishing a standardized method of collecting and characterizing reptile microbiomes I made novel contributions to the future direction of the burgeoning field of host-associated microbiome research. Through persistent and rigorous fieldwork I amassed the largest …
Characterizing The Developmental And Reproductive Toxicities Of Cannabidiol And Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, Dennis Ray Carty
Characterizing The Developmental And Reproductive Toxicities Of Cannabidiol And Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, Dennis Ray Carty
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Medical marijuana is legal in twenty-nine of the United States and an additional nineteen states have passed legislation for cannabidiol (CBD) treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy, such as Dravet Syndrome (DS) which is diagnosed in children as young as two months. While CBD has shown anecdotal and recently clinical trial efficacy in reducing seizure frequency in DS patients, little is known about the potential adverse side-effects on child physiology, brain development, adult disease, or subsequent generations. Moreover, CBD is rarely administered without including low concentrations of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The goal of this project is to characterize the relative morphological, behavioral, reproductive, …
Examination Of Electroglottography (Egg) And Surface Electromyography (Semg) As Techniques To Assess Oral Motor Activity During Consumption Of Four Forms Of Chocolate, Taylor Patterson
Honors Theses
The study assessed individual oral motor activity while eating different types of chocolates through the use of electroglottography (EGG) and surface electromyography (sEMG). I hypothesized that chocolate samples with higher milk solids and cocoa composition would be preferred by subjects as assessed by subject evaluation of textural attributes for the four chocolate samples. I predicted that preference will be significantly and positively correlated with oral motor events [e.g. sEMG activity of master and suprahyoid muscles, total number of chewing actions, and time to last swallow (EGG)]. The experiment used a subject group of 40 students enrolled at the University of …
Autoregulation Of The Glial Gene Reversed Polarity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Chase Suiter
Autoregulation Of The Glial Gene Reversed Polarity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Chase Suiter
Honors Theses
Autoregulation is the process where an encoded protein is able to bind to and positively or negatively regulate its own expression. Autoregulatory loops are crucial for sustained gene expression, and such loops have been demonstrated to be important for development in organisms ranging from Danio rerio to Arabidopsis thaliana and Drosophila melanogaster. The cells of the nervous system arise from progenitor cells that eventually adopt one of two fates: neuronal or glial. This decision is controlled by glial cells missing; however glial cells missing is expressed briefly at the beginning development. The glial gene repo is a gene that is …
Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of A Southern Magnolia Tree, Emily Q. Nguyen
Spatial Variation Of Bacterial Communities On The Leaves Of A Southern Magnolia Tree, Emily Q. Nguyen
Honors Theses
The leaf surface, or phylloplane, is a dynamic environment for its microbial inhabitants, which can be subjected to many environmental factors. Existing phylloplane studies have focused on differences in bacterial community structure between trees of the same species, in different geographical locations, or between trees of different species. Few studies have examined the spatial distribution of bacterial communities on the leaves of a single tree. In this study, leaf samples from different areas of the canopy were obtained from a single Magnolia grandiflora tree. Samples were taken from the high (3.5-4.0 m above the ground), middle (1.5 m), inner middle …
Population Genetics Of The Giant Red Centipede Along The Appalachian Mountains, Kayla Elayne Ladner
Population Genetics Of The Giant Red Centipede Along The Appalachian Mountains, Kayla Elayne Ladner
Honors Theses
This study focused on population genetics of the giant red centipede, Scolopocryptops sexpinousus, in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Two genetic markers were used—the mitochondrial COI gene, and the nuclear RNA Polymerase II gene. The goal of this study was to determine how many genetically distinct populations of this invertebrate species exist within the study area, and to understand the spatial distribution of genetic diversity within and among populations. I hypothesized several genetically distinct populations of S. sexpinosus would be detected because the complex topographic characteristics and historical climate cycles of the region are thought to limit movement of many forest …
Investigating Veterinary Management Choices For Canine Heartworm Disease (Dirofilaria Immitis) In Northern Mississippi, Tobi Ku
Honors Theses
Canine heartworm disease affects nearly 45% of dogs in endemic regions of the United States (Atkins, 2005). There are concerns that the chronic use of macrocyclic lactone (ML) preventives to kill adult heartworms (soft- or slow-kill) may have contributed to the development of ML resistance. My study of this problem had three objectives: (a) to determine the frequency of slow-kill treatment in heartworm-positive patients and compare them to practitioner estimates; (b) to survey practitioner opinions on the factors influencing heartworm disease management; and (c) to analyze the heartworm prevention history of heartworm-positive patients in order to understand the causes of …
The Effects Of Microstegium Vimineum On The Soil Microbial Community, Holly Kate Raymond
The Effects Of Microstegium Vimineum On The Soil Microbial Community, Holly Kate Raymond
Honors Theses
Invasive species can spread into native ecosystems and become dominant species. The spread of invasive species is one of the largest threats to biodiversity. Microstegium vimineum is an annual C4 grass that is native to various parts of Asia. M. vimineum was introduced to the United States in the early twentieth century and has rapidly spread due to its high seed production. This study examined the effects of M. vimineum invasion on the composition of the soil bacterial community. Soil samples were collected from two woodland sites in northern Mississippi in November 2014 and 2015. The presence of M. vimineum …
Egg Laying Bird With Male Plumage Demonstrates The Puzzling Nature Of Sexual Differentiation And Selective Mate Preferences In Zebra Finches, John Aaron Howell
Egg Laying Bird With Male Plumage Demonstrates The Puzzling Nature Of Sexual Differentiation And Selective Mate Preferences In Zebra Finches, John Aaron Howell
Honors Theses
Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are oscine Passerine songbirds that are native to Australia. Zebra finches have sexually dimorphic plumage, song nuclei, and behavior. The role of chromosomes, hormones, and genes on sexual differentiation are not completely understood. A gynandromorph in our aviary had male plumage, a male partner, and produced viable offspring. Mate preference tests revealed lower preference for the gynandromorph and its progeny than controls, suggesting that they had some traits that made them unattractive to other birds. Gynandromorph lineage males had greater same-sex preferences than control males. Chromosomes in birds are different than those in humans. Males are …