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Articles 1 - 30 of 123
Full-Text Articles in Microbiology
From The Headlines: A Textual Analysis Of Social Polarization And Discord In Times Of Pandemic Across A Century In The United States, Alexa Demarco
From The Headlines: A Textual Analysis Of Social Polarization And Discord In Times Of Pandemic Across A Century In The United States, Alexa Demarco
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Within the past century, three major pandemics have affected the United States – the Spanish Flu, AIDS, and COVID-19. Each of these pandemics has tested the capabilities of the public health sector and the social resilience of the population. Scientists have studied the viruses and implemented public health measures to limit viral transmission, but the social responses to these preventative measures proved to be difficult to predict and control. The dissonance and polarization between the public health initiatives and the response of the general public in the most recent pandemic was apparent. Was this a pattern in other pandemics? Was …
Qualitative Proteomic And Genomic Analysis Of Klebsiella Pneumoniae Bacteriophage Kaomega, Emilee Carr
Qualitative Proteomic And Genomic Analysis Of Klebsiella Pneumoniae Bacteriophage Kaomega, Emilee Carr
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae that is a common nosocomial pathogen causing pneumonia, infections in the bloodstream, wound infections, and meningitis. It has developed natural resistance to multiple antibiotics, most notably carbapenems which are often seen as the last line of defense against multi-drug resistant pathogens. Bacteriophages are being investigated as a promising alternative treatment to antibiotics in fighting these resistant pathogens. KaOmega, a Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteriophage, was isolated, sequenced, and annotated to characterize and understand its potential for use in a phage therapy. Characterization included Phyre2 analysis to predict putative protein functions based on structural homology, burst size …
Exploring Melatonin As A Treatment For Oral Ulcers, William H. Sutherland
Exploring Melatonin As A Treatment For Oral Ulcers, William H. Sutherland
Undergraduate Honors Theses
The hormone melatonin is best known for its role in the sleep-wake cycle, but its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects have significant implications that have not been fully explored in oral health. Some studies use melatonin to treat gastrointestinal ulcers, including duodenal ulcers and oral mucositis, but we found no study reporting its effects on more common oral ulcers, like aphthous stomatitis. We hypothesize that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant characteristics of melatonin could effectively prevent and heal oral ulcers. In this paper, we review the literature on melatonin to propose its use as a treatment for oral ulcers. We also include …
On The Relationship Of Diabetes And Sleep Apnea: Evolution And Epigenetics, Nancy Wilson
On The Relationship Of Diabetes And Sleep Apnea: Evolution And Epigenetics, Nancy Wilson
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis gives an overview of the relationship between diabetes, sleep apnea, obesity, and heart disease. It then addresses evidence that the traditional understanding of this relationship is incomplete or misleading. In the process, there is a brief discussion of the evolutionary rationale for the development and retention of sleep apnea in light of blood sugar dysregulation, as an adaptive mechanism in response to environmental stressors, followed by a brief overview of the general concepts of epigenetics. Finally, this paper presents the results of a literature search on the epigenetic marks and changes in gene expression found in sleep apnea …
Sunflower Seedlings Fail To Remove Uranium Pollution In The Navajo Nation: Participatory Science As A Path To Build Community And Address Environmental Injustice, Zak R. Webber
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Mid-20th century mining on Naabeehó Bináhásdzo (Navajo Nation) polluted groundwater with high concentrations of uranium and arsenic. The Navajo Nation and other rural residents of this region use groundwater for drinking, livestock, and irrigation. However, many individuals and communities must purchase and transport treated water from locations that are often hours away. Sunflowers have been shown to preferentially take up heavy metals, including uranium and arsenic, potentially representing a tool to improve water quality through on-site, low-cost phytoremediation. We carried out a collaborative research project with a high school class on the Navajo Nation in 2018 and 2019. The students …
Evaluation And Improvement Of A Novel Method For Rapid Promoter Characterization In A Zebrafish Model, Hunter Giles
Evaluation And Improvement Of A Novel Method For Rapid Promoter Characterization In A Zebrafish Model, Hunter Giles
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis examines a novel technique for characterizing promoters using a zebrafish model. The proximal upstream cis-regulatory elements, also known as promoters or promoter regions, are essential for the precise regulation and timing of gene expression. Often the characterization of these regions relies on imprecise methods involving large deletions or bioinformatic predictions rather than experimental data. However, high-throughput sequencing technology could potentially allow large libraries containing hundreds of thousands of variants of a single promoter to be simultaneously analyzed. We have been working to develop a novel method for promoter characterization that takes advantage of this technology. We tested this …
Functional Implications Of Nlrp1 Variants For Autoimmune Disease, Laura J. Westhoff
Functional Implications Of Nlrp1 Variants For Autoimmune Disease, Laura J. Westhoff
Undergraduate Honors Theses
NLRP1 is a protein-coding human gene that plays a crucial role in the NLRP1 inflammasome. Variants to the NLRP1 gene have been associated with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. We examined the effects of polymorphisms at two SNPs on cytokine levels and NLRP1 gene expression in 50 human volunteers without diagnosed autoimmune disease. NLRP1 was genotyped at SNPs rs2670660 and rs12150220 and individuals who were homozygous at one or more SNP were selected for further analysis. Serum IL-18 and IL-1β levels were quantified using ELISA. NLRP1 gene expression was measured using real-time PCR. A strong linkage was found between genotypes of …
Improving And Modeling Bacteria Recovery In Hollow Disk System, Clifton Anderson
Improving And Modeling Bacteria Recovery In Hollow Disk System, Clifton Anderson
Theses and Dissertations
Identifying antibiotic resistance in blood infections requires separating bacteria from whole blood. A hollow spinning disk rapidly removes suspended red blood cells by leveraging hydrodynamic differences between bacteria and whole blood components in a centrifugal field. Once the red cells are removed, the supernatant plasma which contains bacteria is collected for downstream antibiotic testing. This work improves upon previous work by modifying the disk design to maximize fractional plasma recovery and minimize fractional red cell recovery. V-shaped channels induce plasma flow and increase fractional plasma recovery. Additionally, diluting a blood sample spiked with bacteria prior to spinning it increased the …
Heterotrophic Protists As Useful Models For Studying Microbial Food Webs In A Model Soil Ecosystem And The Universality Of Complex Unicellular Life, Andrew Robert Thompson
Heterotrophic Protists As Useful Models For Studying Microbial Food Webs In A Model Soil Ecosystem And The Universality Of Complex Unicellular Life, Andrew Robert Thompson
Theses and Dissertations
Heterotrophic protists, consisting largely of the Cercozoa, Amoebozoa, Ciliophora, Discoba and some Stramenopiles, are a poorly characterized component of life on Earth. They play an important ecological role in soil communities and provide key insights into the nature of one of life’s most enigmatic evolutionary transitions: the development of the complex unicell. Soil ecosystems are crucial to the functioning of global biogeochemical cycles (e.g. carbon and nitrogen) but are at risk of drastic change from anthropogenic climate change. Heterotrophic protists are the primary regulators of bacterial diversity in soils and as such play integral roles in biogeochemical cycling, nutrient mobilization, …
Bottom-Up Controls (Micronutrients And N And P Species) Better Predict Cyanobacterial Abundances In Harmful Algal Blooms Than Top-Down Controls (Grazers), Scott Andrew Collins
Bottom-Up Controls (Micronutrients And N And P Species) Better Predict Cyanobacterial Abundances In Harmful Algal Blooms Than Top-Down Controls (Grazers), Scott Andrew Collins
Theses and Dissertations
The initiation, bloom, and bust of harmful Cyanobacteria and algae blooms (HAB) in lakes are controlled by top-down and bottom-up ecological controls. Excess phosphorous and nitrogen inputs from anthropogenic sources are primary to blame, but eukaryotic grazers may also promote or curb Cyanobacteria dominance. We tracked shifts in bacterial composition, lake chemistry, and eukaryotic grazing community weekly or bi-weekly through spring and summer and modeled the causes of specific Cyanobacterial species blooms and busts across three lakes in Utah, USA, with differing lake trophic states. Regardless of trophic status, all three lakes experienced blooms of varying composition and duration. Aphanizomenon …
Isolation, Characterization, And Genomic Comparison Of Bacteriophages Of Enterobacteriales Order, Ruchira Sharma
Isolation, Characterization, And Genomic Comparison Of Bacteriophages Of Enterobacteriales Order, Ruchira Sharma
Theses and Dissertations
According to CDC, every year at least 2 million people are affected and 23,000 dies as a result of antibiotic resistance in U.S. It is considered one of the biggest threats to global health. More and more bacterial infections are becoming harder to treat. One such infection is fire blight, one of the most destructive disease of apple and pear trees. It is caused by bacteria Erwinia amylovora and its outbreaks have been known to destroy entire orchards in a single season. The conventional method of treatments includes use of antibiotics like streptomycin and oxytetracycline but the incidences like presence …
Bioaerosols Associated With Evaporative Cooler Use In Low-Income Homes In Semi-Arid Climates, Ashlin Elaine Cowger
Bioaerosols Associated With Evaporative Cooler Use In Low-Income Homes In Semi-Arid Climates, Ashlin Elaine Cowger
Theses and Dissertations
Asthma is the leading chronic illness in children in the United States. Since children in the U.S. spend a majority of their time indoors there is an increased need to understand key sources of daily asthma triggers in the home. Bacterial endotoxin, dust mite allergens and β-D-glucan have been shown to be potent inducers of asthma attacks, and high levels of these allergens in homes can trigger attacks in those with asthma. We aim to better understand the risks to those with asthma that might be associated with evaporative cooler (EC) use in low-income homes. ECs are often promoted because …
Isolation, Genetic Characterization And Clinical Application Of Bacteriophages Of Pathogenic Bacterial Species, Trever Leon Thurgood
Isolation, Genetic Characterization And Clinical Application Of Bacteriophages Of Pathogenic Bacterial Species, Trever Leon Thurgood
Theses and Dissertations
Bacteriophages (phages) are the smallest biological entity on the planet. They provide vast amounts of valuable knowledge to biologists. Phage genomes are relatively simple compared to the organisms they infect (prokaryotes) and yet continually point to the complexity surrounding molecular- and microbiological mechanisms of life. By studying phages we can learn of the systems of gene expression, protein interaction and DNA organization. Phages are useful not only from an academic perspective, but may also have useful clinical applications. In the face of the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial “super pathogens”, scientists and researchers turn to phages as alternative treatments to these …
Geological And Geochemical Controls On Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterium Transmission: Examples From Hawaii, Schuyler Thomas Robinson
Geological And Geochemical Controls On Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterium Transmission: Examples From Hawaii, Schuyler Thomas Robinson
Theses and Dissertations
The opportunistic environmental microbes, non-tuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM), pose an increasing risk of disease and death in both immunodeficient and immunocompetent individuals in the USA and across the world. NTM lung disease is particularly prevalent in Hawaii, although the modes of NTM acquisition and transport in Hawaii are not fully understood. This study evaluated 149 soil and 50 water samples across the Hawaiian Islands to determine geochemical factors controlling NTM. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and principal component analyses (PCA) of modern soils show variables such as Total Organic Carbon (TOC), pH, P, mafic silicate minerals, and Pb seem to control NTM …
Evaluating Fungal Pathogen Inoculum Loads In Field Seed Banks, Taryn Lori Williamson
Evaluating Fungal Pathogen Inoculum Loads In Field Seed Banks, Taryn Lori Williamson
Theses and Dissertations
Quantification of soilborne pathogen inoculum loads is important in both agricultural and wildland settings. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) methods using SYBR Green chemistry have been shown to be useful for quantifying fungal inoculum loads in environmental samples. The purpose of this study was to develop a method to quantify fungal pathogen inoculum loads in soil seed banks using a qPCR method with SYBR Green chemistry. The invasive annual grass Bromus tectorum was chosen for this seed bank study. There were three objectives: 1) to design target-specific primers for three fungal pathogens known to be important in Bromus tectorum seed …
Further Understanding Of Bacteriophages That Infect The Bacterial Family Enterobacteriaceae, Paul Flake
Further Understanding Of Bacteriophages That Infect The Bacterial Family Enterobacteriaceae, Paul Flake
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Despite the eclectic nature of bacteriophage genomes, nucleotide comparison is an effective method for grouping phages into cluster and subcluster classifications. This process is facilitated by making preliminary cluster assignations based on the identity of the major capsid protein. As more phages continue to be sequenced and integrated into cluster/subcluster groupings, adjustments may need to be made to the genomic similarity percentages that have previously defined cluster/subcluster classifications. Implementing proteomic comparison in addition to nucleotide homology may provide added clarity to this process. Protein conservation and diversity among lytic phages that infect the bacterial family Enterobacteriaceae is discussed and the …
Pas Kinase And Tor, Controllers Of Cell Growth And Proliferation, Brooke Jasmyn Cozzens
Pas Kinase And Tor, Controllers Of Cell Growth And Proliferation, Brooke Jasmyn Cozzens
Theses and Dissertations
Nutrient sensing kinases lie at the heart of cellular health and homeostasis, allowing cells to quickly adapt to changing environments. Target of Rapamycin (TOR) and PAS kinase (PASK, or PASKIN) are two such nutrient kinases, conserved from yeast to man. In yeast, these kinases each have paralogs. The two TOR paralogs in yeast mimic the mammalian TORC1 and TORC2 complexes, except both Tor1 and Tor2 may contribute to TORC1 or TORC2 function. The two PAS kinase paralogs are paired with the TOR paralogs, meaning that both Psk1 and Psk2 regulate TORC1, while Psk2 suppresses a temperature-sensitive allele of Tor2. Herein …
Galleria Mellonella As An Alternate Infection Model For Burkholderia Species And A Comparison Of Suspension And Surface Test Methods For Evaluating Sporicidal Efficacy, Joseph D. Thiriot
Galleria Mellonella As An Alternate Infection Model For Burkholderia Species And A Comparison Of Suspension And Surface Test Methods For Evaluating Sporicidal Efficacy, Joseph D. Thiriot
Theses and Dissertations
Melioidosis is a neglected tropical disease that continues unabated in many countries, particularly in Southeast Asia. There is no vaccine and antimicrobial treatment is expensive and complicated. Virulence models are important tools used to investigate genes involved in pathogenesis. Galleria mellonella is the larvae of the wax worm moth that has been used to model various infections. Based on previous studies, we attempted to establish an infection model using Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia thailandensis, a related species which is avirulent in humans. Injections of various forms of these species (fresh and frozen) were used to develop Kaplan-Meier plots. We …
The Antimicrobial Properties Of Honey And Their Effect On Pathogenic Bacteria, Shreena Himanshu Mody
The Antimicrobial Properties Of Honey And Their Effect On Pathogenic Bacteria, Shreena Himanshu Mody
Theses and Dissertations
Honey has been used to heal wounds since ancient times. There are many references in ancient literature that cite honey for its medicinal uses. It is used as an alternative agent to cure infections of wounds, burns, ulcers etc. Researchers have shown some of the antimicrobial properties of honey when used as an ointment. When applied to an affected area, it helps to promote the growth of healthy tissue. One of the factors on which the quality of the honey depends, is its geographical origin. Based on the location, honey types can vary as much as 100-fold from each other …
Bacteriophages For Treating American Foulbrood And The Neutralization Of Paenibacillus Larvae Spores, Thomas Scott Brady
Bacteriophages For Treating American Foulbrood And The Neutralization Of Paenibacillus Larvae Spores, Thomas Scott Brady
Theses and Dissertations
The causative agent of the most devastating honeybee disease, American foulbrood (AFB), is the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. To prevent AFB outbreaks beekeepers prophylactically treat their hives with antibiotics even though it decreases the overall health of uninfected hives. A new treatment for AFB is needed due to recent legislation against using antibiotics, antibiotic resistance developing in P. larvae, and the resilience of P. larvae spores. Bacteriophages, or phages, are an attractive alternative to traditional antibiotics because of their specificity and ability to evolve alongside their target bacterium. In this study, two phage cocktails were developed for the …
The Diversity Found Among Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria, Galen Edward Card
The Diversity Found Among Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria, Galen Edward Card
Theses and Dissertations
This work will look at two factors that add to the diversity of carbapenem resistant bacteria. First, it focuses on the diversity of carbapenemase resistance plasmids. 446 plasmids were characterized by size, gene content and replicon groups. We identified that on average, over 30% of the encoded proteins on each plasmid have an unknown function. Plasmid sizes ranged from 1.6kb to 500kb, with an average of around 100kb and median of 80kb. Additionally, six replicon groups account for 80% of all the carbapenemase resistance plasmids. We also highlight the lack of data available for carbapenemase carrying plasmids from bacterial genera …
The Ability Of Novel Phage To Infect Virulent Bacillus Anthracis Isolates, Hyrum Smith Shumway
The Ability Of Novel Phage To Infect Virulent Bacillus Anthracis Isolates, Hyrum Smith Shumway
Theses and Dissertations
Bacillus anthracis is a soil dwelling microbe with pronounced pathogenic potential. Historically, anthrax has infected livestock and man. In the modern-age, anthrax is a bioterrorism concern with major incidents every decade. While the threat of large scale attacks is currently viewed as unlikely, the threat is consistent and constant. Current methods to defend against such an attack focus on antibiotics and containment of public panic. Antibiotic resistance, while not currently an issue for anthrax, could easily become so with genetically engineered weaponized strains created by rogue states or independent actors. This project evolved from collaborations between the Grose lab and …
Biomarker Analysis And Clinical Relevance Of Thymidine Kinase 1 In Solid And Hematological Malignancies, Evita Giraldez Weagel
Biomarker Analysis And Clinical Relevance Of Thymidine Kinase 1 In Solid And Hematological Malignancies, Evita Giraldez Weagel
Theses and Dissertations
Despite the global effort to discover and improve ways to detect, treat, and monitor cancer, it still remains the second leading cause of death in the United States and poses a major health and economic burden worldwide. While traditional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy have been successful and have decreased cancer mortality, cancer incidence in all sites continues to rise. Consequently, there is an immediate need to find new therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. In recent years, and with the continuing push towards personalized medicine, cancer biomarkers have become crucial to detect, treat, and monitor …
Hospital And Meat Associated Staphylococcus Aureus And Their Biofilm Characteristics, Trevor Michael Wienclaw
Hospital And Meat Associated Staphylococcus Aureus And Their Biofilm Characteristics, Trevor Michael Wienclaw
Theses and Dissertations
Biofilm phenotypes were studied in 32 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from store-bought meats and 22 from diseased patients in hospitals. Of the meat-associated strains, 21 were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 11 were methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). The hospital-associated strains included 15 MRSAs and 7 MSSAs. We studied the robustness and composition of the biofilms produced by these strains. We found that on average hospital-associated strains form more robust biofilms than meat associated strains. The model often used to describe S. aureus biofilm composition includes two biofilm types defined by the presence or absence of polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA), PIA-dependent …
Acetobacter Fabarum Genes Influencing Drosophila Melanogaster Phenotypes, Kylie Makay White
Acetobacter Fabarum Genes Influencing Drosophila Melanogaster Phenotypes, Kylie Makay White
Theses and Dissertations
Research in our lab has predicted hundreds of bacterial genes that influence nine different traits in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. As a practical alternative to creating site-directed mutants for each of the predicted genes, we created an arrayed transposon insertion library using a strain of Acetobacter fabarum DsW_054 isolated from fruit flies. Creation of the Acetobacter fabarum DsW_054 gene knock-out library was done through random transposon insertion, combinatorial mapping and Illumina sequencing. Successful mapping of transposon insertion was achieved for 6418 mutants with hits within 63% of annotated genes within Acetobacter fabarum DsW_054. Insertion sites were verified in …
Influence Of Epstein-Barr Virus On Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Development And The Role Of Depression On Disease Progression, Caleb Cornaby
Influence Of Epstein-Barr Virus On Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Development And The Role Of Depression On Disease Progression, Caleb Cornaby
Theses and Dissertations
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease affecting 20 to 250 individuals per 100,000 worldwide. Symptomology includes dermatological manifestations such as discoid lesions, acute cutaneous rashes, and oral and nasal ulcers, along with musculoskeletal, pulmonary, and renal complications. Abnormal T and B lymphocyte function and apoptosis, immune complex clearance, complement function, and nucleosome processing are typical of disease pathophysiology. SLE is the result of both environmental and genetic factors, which together create the conditions leading to disease onset and progression. Of these environmental factors, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is known to cause the genesis of cross-reactive antibodies in SLE …
Phosphate Signaling Through Alternate Conformations Of The Pstscab Phosphate Transporter, Ramesh Krishna Vuppada
Phosphate Signaling Through Alternate Conformations Of The Pstscab Phosphate Transporter, Ramesh Krishna Vuppada
Theses and Dissertations
Phosphate is an essential compound for life. Escherichia coli employs a signal transduction pathway that controls the expression of genes that are required for the high-affinity acquisition of phosphate and the utilization of alternate sources of phosphorous. These genes are only expressed when environmental phosphate is limiting. The seven genes for this signaling pathway encode the two-component regulatory proteins PhoB and PhoR, as well as the high-affinity phosphate transporter PstSCAB and an auxiliary protein called PhoU. As the sensor kinase PhoR has no periplasmic sensory domain, the mechanism by which these cells sense environmental phosphate is not known. This paper …
The Effects Of Nucleosome Positioning And Chromatin Architecture On Transgene Expression, Colton E. Kempton
The Effects Of Nucleosome Positioning And Chromatin Architecture On Transgene Expression, Colton E. Kempton
Theses and Dissertations
Eukaryotes use proteins to carefully package and compact their genomes to fit into the nuclei of their individual cells. Nucleosomes are the primary level of compaction. Nucleosomes are formed when DNA wraps around an octamer of histone proteins and a nucleosome's position can limit access to genetic regulatory elements. Therefore, nucleosomes represent a basic level of gene regulation. DNA and its associated proteins, called chromatin, is usually classified as euchromatin or heterochromatin. Euchromatin is transcriptionally active with loosely packed nucleosomes while heterochromatin is condensed with tightly packed nucleosomes and is transcriptionally silent. In order to become active, heterochromatin must first …
Characterization Of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors And Their Positive Allosteric Modulators, Doris Clark Jackson
Characterization Of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors And Their Positive Allosteric Modulators, Doris Clark Jackson
Theses and Dissertations
Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that are necessary in memory and cognition. They are pentameric and consist of α and β subunits. They are most commonly heteromeric but, can sometimes be homomeric. nAChRs are activated by many ligands including nicotine (exogenous) and acetylcholine (endogenous).nAChRs are located on hippocampal interneurons. The interneurons, although sparse, control the synchronous firing of the pyramidal cells. However, the hippocampal interneuron structure and function is quite diverse and not fully characterized. Therefore, we sought to quantify nAChR subunit mRNA levels using real-time PCR of CA1 hippocampal interneurons.Surprisingly we found that the α3 …
Comparison Of Cytokine Expression And Bacterial Growth During Periparturient And Mid Lactation Mastitis In A Mouse Model, Rhonda Nicole Chronis
Comparison Of Cytokine Expression And Bacterial Growth During Periparturient And Mid Lactation Mastitis In A Mouse Model, Rhonda Nicole Chronis
Theses and Dissertations
Clinical cases of bovine mastitis are most severe in the early stages of lactation. The causes of this increased propensity for severe mastitis during early lactation, compared to mid and late lactation are unclear. In order to better understand the early lactation immune response to mastitis, a murine model of mastitis was employed. Intramammary inoculation of a mastitis causing Escherichia coli strain was performed in lactating mice at various stages of lactation to model the immune response seen in cows during lactation. In our experiments, mice in the early stages of lactation exhibited altered mRNA expression of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, …