Physiology Commons^™

Patterns And Potential Mechanisms Of Phenotypic Changes In Urban Small Mammals, Leslie Lopez

Master's Theses

Urbanization is an example of human induced rapid environmental change that can have wide-reaching ecological effects, including habitat destruction, fragmentation, and alteration of local climates. Effects of urbanization have been shown to impact wildlife, as disturbances resulting from urbanization can create novel environments and selective pressures that could lead to changes in morphology, physiology, or both. Small mammals such as rodents are an ecologically important set of wildlife species because they are a key prey item for several predators, hold strong influence over plants as a primary consumer, and some species carry and transmit major human and animal diseases. Previous …

Evaluating A Current Athlete Assessment Program, David Fish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the effectiveness of a questionnaire designed to assess coaches’ perceptions of an athlete monitoring program. There are four reasons for this examination of perceptions: 1) it may serve as a check for understanding of how the coach takes in the information presented to them, 2) identify any gaps in the knowledge of the coach which the sport scientist may help to fill, 3) can serve to open a dialog with the coach for ways in which the information may be better tailored to help them improve their decision-making, and 4) the …

The Role Of B Cell Activation State And Sex In Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Mediated Induction Of Chemokine Receptor 9 And Alpha4beta7 Expression In Vitro, Logan Bauerle

Master's Theses

Defense of mucosal tissues from microbial infection and allergy is reliant on continual production of antibodies. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is known to regulate B cell development and is associated with suppression of systemic humoral immunity. Recent attention has been paid to the role of the AhR in altering expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). B cells express CAMs and chemokine receptors to migrate around the body for localized secretion of antibodies. AhR agonists promote B cell migration to the small intestine through upregulation of chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9) and integrin α₄β₇. Both the AhR …

The Complexity Of Female Treefrog Mate Choice: Choosiness And Preferences Are Independent Behaviors And Each Are Prone To Separate Sources Of Variation, Olivia S. Feagles

Theses and Dissertations

Mate choice is an important cause of natural and sexual selection, driving the evolution of ornaments and promoting diversification and speciation. Mate choice decisions arise from the interaction of several components, and knowledge of whether they interact, and how, is crucial for understanding their contributions to selection. There are multiple components of mate choice theoretically proposed, and here I focus specifically on preference functions (attractiveness ranking of prospective mates) and/or choosiness (willingness to invest effort in obtaining the preferred mate). Objective 1 (addressed in Chapter I) of this dissertation focuses specifically on the relationship between preferences and choosiness, testing the …

Photobiomodulation Of Bovine Oocytes During Maturation Increases Atp Content And Enhances Subsequent Embryonic Development, Kendall Richey

All Theses

Bovine in-vitro production(IVP) of embryos is a growing field for producing offspring with desirable genetics in the cattle industries. While IVP is effective, oocyte cytoplasmic maturation is compromised, and bovine oocytes matured in-vitro have reduced metabolic activity than those matured in-vivo. Mitochondria are the central unit of oocyte metabolism, producing ATP through OXPHOS. Photobiomodulation is a light treatment reported to improve metabolic activity. In five experiments, we measured the effects of photobiomodulation treatment with red LED at 16-(L-16) and 20 h(L-20) of bovine oocyte in-vitro maturation on subsequent embryonic development, mitochondrial activity and nuclear progression. Bovine COCs were aspirated …

Investigating The Modulation Of Metastasis By Dax-1 In Adrenal Carcinoma Cells, Aarya Mishra

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The nuclear hormone receptor (NHR), DAX-1 (dosage-sensitive sex reversal, adrenal hypoplasia critical region, on chromosome X, gene 1), is important in adrenal and gonadal development as well as steroidogenesis. It is encoded by the NR0B1 gene and functions mainly as a transcriptional repressor. Classified as an orphan receptor within the NHR superfamily, DAX-1 has been shown to inhibit other NHRs including estrogen receptor, androgen receptor and steroidogenic factor 1. DAX-1 is found to be underexpressed in breast and prostate cancers and, specifically in prostate cancer, is believed to be a transcriptional repressor of genes that are involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition …

Asymmetries In Ncaa Division I Tennis Players Compared To An Athletic Control Group, Elizabeth Cafferty

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Limb asymmetries are an expected adaptation to years of training for athletes participating in dominant-sided sports. Previous research on this topic lacks an athletic control group. PURPOSE: To determine the magnitude of upper limb asymmetries in dominant-sided athletes (tennis players) compared to nondominant-sided athletes (cross-country runners). METHODS: Male and female NCAA Division I athletes (10 tennis, 11 cross-country) participated. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), and lean mass (LM) of the whole body, upper extremities, and forearms. Circumference measurements were taken at mid-biceps and the widest part of the forearms. …

Effects Of Blood Flow Restriction During Acute Multi-Joint Eccentric Exercise On Muscle Recovery, Cody Fisher

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise has become an increasingly common modality due to evidence that it may yield positive muscle-related effects from low-intensity exercise. However, eccentric-only exercise in a multi-joint format has not yet been investigated in regard to the BFR influence on muscle recovery characteristics. The purpose of this study was to assess muscle recovery responses via isometric peak force (PF), soreness (i.e., VAS, PPT, PPD), and functional power (i.e., SLHD) following a 5-minute low-load multi-joint eccentric exercise bout with or without blood flow restriction. Thirty participants were randomly assigned into either an eccentric-only (CON) or an eccentric BFR …

Bridging Biological Systems With Social Behavior, Conservation, Decision Making, And Well-Being Through Hybrid Mathematical Modeling, Maggie Renee Sullens

Doctoral Dissertations

Mathematical modeling can achieve otherwise inaccessible insights into bio-logical questions. We use ODE (ordinary differential equations) and Game Theory models to demonstrate the breadth and power of these models by studying three very different biological questions, involving socio-behavioral and socio-economic systems, conservation biology, policy and decision making, and organismal homeostasis.

We adapt techniques from Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) epidemiological models to examine the mental well-being of a community facing the collapse of the industry on which it’s economically dependent. We consider the case study of a fishing community facing the extinction of its primary harvest species. Using an ODE framework with a …

Cultivating Excellence: A Literature Review On Harnessing The Power Of The Gut Microbiome For Athletic Performance, Maya Katharine Dean

Honors Projects

The interplay between our gut microbiome and health is immense. This literature review analyzes the current research assessing the interplay between gut microbiome and athletic performance. Knowing how to improve gut microbial diversity via nutrition and supplementation can take athletic performance to the next level; namely improvements in immune, mental, and physical health.

Dissecting The Tissue-Specific Contributions To Seizures, Cardiorespiratory Dysfunction, And Sudden Death In The Kv1.1 Mouse Model Of Epilepsy Using Conditional Knockout Approaches, Kelsey Paulhus

Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), the primary cause of mortality in epilepsy, remains poorly understood. Studies suggest seizures may trigger dangerous signals affecting the heart and lungs leading to collapse and death. The Kv1.1 deficiency mouse model mirrors clinical SUDEP cases, showing spontaneous seizures, cardiorespiratory issues, and premature death. However, this model lacks regional specificity in Kv1.1 deletion, hindering insights into SUDEP’s mechanisms and anatomical substrates.

This dissertation employs three distinct conditional knockout (cKO) techniques to investigate the individual roles for the forebrain, brainstem, and heart in SUDEP related phenotypes. The findings reveal that the forebrain alone can trigger …

Effects Of Balance Training On Spinal Reflexive Excitability Modulation, Corticospinal Excitability, And Balance Performance In Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability, Sunghoon Chung

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is a neurophysiologic deficit resulting in diverse sensorimotor impairments. Following acute ankle sprains, pain, mechanical instability, and joint deafferentation reduce sensory input to the central nervous system (CNS). In response, the CNS sends altered motor signals to lower extremity muscles. These CNS changes contribute to various neuromuscular impairments in CAI patients, the most common of which is reduced balance performance. Specifically, CAI patients struggle to modulate spinal reflex excitability of the soleus muscle when progressing from simpler to more complex balance tasks. This overreliance on spinal reflexes results in inconsistent activation of the ankle stabilizing muscle. …

Associations Between Early Childhood Sleep, Memory Function, And Brain Development Across The Nap Transition, Sanna Lokhandwala

Doctoral Dissertations

Preschool-age children often distribute their sleep across a midday nap and overnight sleep. Skipping the nap is suggested to increase the duration and depth of deep sleep (i.e., slow wave activity; SWA). Moreover, missing the midday nap has been shown to impair learning processes. This may be because children’s brains at this point in development are immature, necessitating the intervening nap period to strengthen memories before they are forgotten. Nonetheless, at some point during the preschool years, many children begin transitioning naturally out of napping. It is unclear whether the memory benefits of overnight SWA after a skipped nap depend …

Changes In Flanker Task Performance Following High-Intensity Exercise In Endurance Athletes, Felix E. Cottet-Puinel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Executive function performance following acute aerobic exercise can be influenced by multiple variables. However, little is known about the lasting effects of these exercise-induced changes. This study aimed to determine the extent to which exercise intensity impacts executive function. 14 young endurance-trained adults (5 female, 9 male) performed an Eriksen flanker task before and immediately after running high-intensity until failure and isochronal moderate-intensity (~12 min). Pre- to post-exercise-induced changes in reaction time (ms), accuracy (%), and self-reported mental effort (1-9 rating) were analyzed by overall tasks and through tasks subsections. Results showed improvement in reaction time following high- and moderate-intensity …

Quantifying The Respiratory Plasticity Of Common Fishes Of The Indian River Lagoon, Logan Exton

Honors Theses

Increasing water temperatures resulting from global climate change introduce new energetic demands for marine organisms. Higher energy input will be required to cope with a subsequently higher metabolic rate, affecting all aspects of an individual’s life and therefore their survival. Because estuaries act as a link between rivers and oceans, they and their inhabitants are considered to be the most threatened by climate change. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how these organisms will respond to increased stressors due to climate change. Checkered pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus) are among the most common teleost fish in the Indian River Lagoon, …

Immune Outcomes Affected By Selection For Parasite Resistance In Katahdin Sheep, Kelsey Lynne Bentley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Our understanding of the complex connection between selection for parasite resistance and the overall health outcomes in livestock is unclear. This study investigates the impact of post-weaning fecal egg count (PFEC) estimated breeding values (EBV) on health outcomes and immune responses in Katahdin sheep. Selection for PFEC, favoring Low-PFEC lambs, not only affects survivability to weaning but also suggests broader implications for immunity beyond parasite resistance. The effect of PFEC EBV on antibody production in response to vaccination against Clostridium perfringens type C&D and tetanus toxoid (CD&T) revealed a stepwise decrease in immunoglobin (IgG) from Low-PFEC to High-PFEC groups upon …

Structural And Functional Consequences Of Pde6 Prenylation In Rod And Cone Photoreceptors, Faezeh Moakedi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Phosphodiesterase-6 (PDE6) serves as a pivotal component in the phototransduction pathways of both cone and rod photoreceptors. In cones, PDE6 consists of tetrameric subunits: inhibitory (γ') and catalytic (α'). The catalytic subunit, PDE6α', contains a C-terminal prenylation motif. Deletion of this motif is associated with achromatopsia (ACHM), a form of color blindness. The mechanisms underlying the disease and the roles of PDE6 lipidation in vision remain elusive. Meanwhile, rod PDE6 is composed of α and β catalytic subunits and γ inhibitory subunits, with alterations in the C-terminal "prenylation motif" of PDE6β linked to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) pathology. In this comprehensive …

Puberty-Associated Changes In Kiss1r, Mc3r, And Mc4r In The Ewe, Ashleigh Caitlyn Thomson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The neural mechanisms that control the onset of puberty are not completely understood. In livestock, the onset of puberty relies on an increase in gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin neurons (KNDy) and their receptors, Kiss1r, NK3R, and KOR, respectively, are important regulators of puberty. Previous data from our laboratory has shown that KNDy neurons may be responding to other inputs, including the melanocortin system, that will affect the timing of puberty. Given this, we examined kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r) mRNA expression in GnRH neurons as well as examining melanocortin 3 and 4 receptor …

Mitochondrial Adaptation In The Green Crab Hybrid Zone Of The Gulf Of Maine, Jared Lynch

Honors Projects

The mitochondrial genome has historically been relegated to a neutral genetic marker, but new evidence suggests mitochondrial DNA to be a target for adaptation to environmental stress. The invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) exemplifies this in the Gulf of Maine’s hybrid zone, where interbreeding populations exhibit thermal tolerances influenced by mitochondrial genotype. To better understand the mechanism behind this phenomenon, the effect of mitochondrial genotype on mitochondrial activity was tested by measuring mtDNA copy number (mtCN) and the activity of complex I, II, and IV of the electron transport system via high-resolution respirometry. Mitochondria isolated from frozen …

The Role Of Uchl1 In Skeletal Muscle Development And Regeneration, Ryan Antony

Dissertations and Theses

Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is a deubiquitinating enzyme that was originally discovered in neurons. UCHL1 is also expressed in skeletal muscle, but its functions remain to be fully understood. Myogenesis is a critical process involved in embryonic development, growth, and regeneration following injury. Skeletal muscle injury is prevalent in trauma and surgical procedures, and skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a common yet dangerous public health problem. Here we reported that UCHL1 negatively affects muscle growth during aging as well as the regeneration process following IR injury. First, we observed that UCHL1 knockdown in C2C12 myoblasts resulted in increased …

Navigating Asynchronous Online Learning: The Impacts Of Active Learning And Assigned Group Work On Student Motivation, Belonging, And Inclusion, Shea Elisabeth Carr

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Motivation, belonging, and inclusion are all critical factors for student success but can be difficult to support in asynchronous online courses. Active learning and required group work have been shown to increase student motivation in in-person and synchronous online courses, but little is known about their impact in online asynchronous settings. This dissertation aimed to 1) evaluate the effect of active learning on student motivation in an online asynchronous setting and 2) evaluate the impact of assigned group work on student motivation and perceptions of belonging and inclusion within the context of an online, asynchronous physiology laboratory course. It was …

Factors That Influence Small Mammal Long Bone Morphology: An Analysis Of The Femora, Tibiae, And Humeri Of The Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus Carolinensis), Tyler Everette Blake

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The goal of this study is to examine the effect of urbanization and latitude on bone morphology, specifically limb length and bone density among gray squirrels endemic to the eastern United States. This study’s hypotheses are as follows: gray squirrels occupying lower latitudes will have larger body sizes and longer limbs relative to body size than those at higher latitudes following Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules. Further, squirrels in urban habitats will have greater bone density than those in rural habitats. Results show moderate correlation between body mass and respective proxies and latitude following Bergmann’s rule. Weak correlations were found between …

Physiological Responses Of The American Lobster Cardiovascular System To Neuropeptide Sgrnflrfamide (Sgrn), Andre Eden

Honors Projects

During every second of a human’s life, the cardiovascular system is modulated by factors both intrinsic and extrinsic to the physiology of the heart. We can uncover new insights regarding the nature of our system through investigations of similar systems in other model species. One example materializes itself in the form of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) whose single-chambered heart finds resemblance to the function and anatomy to that of humans. The lobster heart is powered by the cardiac ganglion (CG), a group of neurons that drive contractions of surrounding heart muscles, known as the myocardium. Both the …

Understanding Sport Coaches’ Responses To Injury, Ashanti Robinson

Honors College Theses

Injury is an inevitable part of any sport an athlete decides to take part in. Many things go along with injury, but one of the biggest factors is the one directly responsible for the success of the athlete: the coach. The purpose of this study was, based on a systematic review of the literature, to better understand what part coaches play in the fear of athletic injuries including their responses and the rationale for those responses. The study was conducted by cross-referencing multiple articles across different databases and systematically examining the different studies to further understand the fear of injury …

Estradiol’S Role In Timely Puberty Onset In The Ewe, Eliana Gerardine Aerts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In female sheep, the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus triggers luteinizing hormone (LH) to be released from the pituitary. Luteinizing hormone, in turn, acts on the ovaries to elicit estradiol (E₂) release. E₂ acts in a negative feedback manner to control the amount of LH released. The increase in LH release that drives puberty onset results from a decrease in sensitivity to E₂ as the animal ages. However, the neural mechanisms mediating this change in sensitivity are not known, as is where in the hypothalamus E₂-negative feedback occurs. In the arcuate …

Physically, Mentally, And Emotionally Drained, Kaitlin Medina

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Hormonal cycles play an essential role in the development and maturation of young boys and girls into men and women. As teenagers enter their late teens and early twenties, their hormonal cycles are primarily responsible for functions related to fertility and hormone production. During this period of time, these men and women are often in their collegiate years. Overall, the college experience is enjoyable for many students, but it can also be a very stressful time due to a difficult class load and the students’ need to balance their academic, social, and personal lives. Recent studies have analyzed the effects …

Comparing Ionoregulation And Modes Of Nitrogen Excretion Across The Life Cycle Of Parasitic And Non-Parasitic Lamprey Species, Shannon Davidson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Ionoregulation and nitrogenous waste (N-waste) metabolism in fishes has been extensively documented in teleosts and elasmobranchs, but less so in lampreys (Petromizontiformes). All lamprey species undergo metamorphosis which drastically changes their physiology and modes of feeding. However, differences in ionoregulatory mechanisms due to anadromous versus non anadromous life history strategies emerge following metamorphosis in different lamprey species. Furthermore, some species, such as anadromous juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), are parasitic and migrate to seawater (SW) to ingest blood protein from host fishes, while juveniles of freshwater (FW), non-parasitic species, such as the American brook lamprey …