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Research Methods in Life Sciences Commons™

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University of Mississippi

Theses/Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Research Methods in Life Sciences

Evaluating The Impact Of Temperature And Artificial Light At Night On The Growth, Swimming Performance, And Corticosterone Levels Of Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates Sphenocephalus) Tadpoles, Skylar Alexander May 2023

Evaluating The Impact Of Temperature And Artificial Light At Night On The Growth, Swimming Performance, And Corticosterone Levels Of Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates Sphenocephalus) Tadpoles, Skylar Alexander

Honors Theses

Anthropogenic activities caused by urbanization have considerably altered our world’s ecosystems which has led to a global amphibian population decline. Encroaching and unyielding urbanization by humans has contributed to a rise in artificial light at night due to light pollution as well as increased temperature due to climate change. Both rising temperatures and artificial light at night (ALAN) have been shown to individually have negative effects on amphibian physiology such as increased stress and decreased behavior. However, due to the drastic nature of human imposition, amphibians typically encounter these anthropogenic stressors in combination. Therefore, it is important to understand how …

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Developing A Novel Place Preference Assay To Compare Drosophila Species Over Time, Martha M. Brinson May 2022

Developing A Novel Place Preference Assay To Compare Drosophila Species Over Time, Martha M. Brinson

Honors Theses

Across phylogeny, integration of external factors, memory, and internal states of the organism dictate organismal behavior and mechanisms. The underlying genetic components can affect these behaviors such as in genomic changes arising from speciation. In this thesis, a new place preference assay was evaluated in the analysis and investigation of two species of Drosophila flies (D. melanogaster and D. simulans) to measure similarities and differences and their attraction to two different food substrates. Sleep and circadian measurements were also recorded during experimentation. The Drosophila Activity Monitor 5M (DAM5M) System and Sleep Circadian Analysis MATLAB Program (SCAMP) analysis were …

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Characterizing The Roles Of Cannabinoid Receptor 1 & 2 In Zebrafish Behavior, Metabolism, And Seizure-Induced Activity, Kayci Kimmons May 2022

Characterizing The Roles Of Cannabinoid Receptor 1 & 2 In Zebrafish Behavior, Metabolism, And Seizure-Induced Activity, Kayci Kimmons

Honors Theses

Epileptic disorders like Dravet Syndrome require novel studies to determine the most ideal treatment. New research linking the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to epileptic disorders is arising, but there is still much to be discovered about the function and regulatory impact of the endocannabinoid system and its receptors in epilepsies like Dravet. In this study, knockout models of larval and adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used to investigate the roles of cannabinoid receptors 1 & 2 in behavior, brain mitochondrial metabolism, and seizure-induced activity following exposure to THC and CBD. Larval zebrafish which lacked cannabinoid receptor 1 exhibited increased …

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Responses To Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Exposures In Two Wild-Type Zebrafish Strains, Connor Necaise May 2021

Responses To Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Exposures In Two Wild-Type Zebrafish Strains, Connor Necaise

Honors Theses

Atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure poses great health risks across the globe, causing both acute and chronic illnesses in humans. Therefore, a more complete understanding of the mechanisms in which PM2.5 induces these adverse health effects is urgently needed. Oxidative stress due to PAHs and other common components of PM2.5 is a proposed mechanism for its adverse health effects. However, little is known about the actual mechanisms of PM2.5 damage in humans. This study aimed to distinguish behavioral differences in two lines of zebrafish (AB & 5D) as a result of developmental exposure to …

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The Relationship Between Glucocorticoids And The Humoral Immune Response To Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Challenges In Eastern Bluebirds, Joshua Smith May 2020

The Relationship Between Glucocorticoids And The Humoral Immune Response To Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Challenges In Eastern Bluebirds, Joshua Smith

Honors Theses

Numerous studies have examined relationships between adrenal glucocorticoids and the immune system’s ability to fight disease. The relationship can vary, with glucocorticoids having either stimulatory or inhibitory effects. The pathogenic bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) elicits an adaptive immune response in birds, in which B cells produce MG-specific antibodies to fight the infection and prevent reoccurrence. Previous research found that Eastern Bluebirds that produce the most antibodies in response to MG infection also have the highest glucocorticoid levels. This finding led to the current study investigating whether corticosterone, the primary glucocorticoid in birds, stimulates production of antibodies in response to immune …

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Impacts Of Embryonic Exposure To Cannabidiol Or ∆9-Tetrahydrocannabinol On Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Frailty In F0 And F1 Generations, Anika Faruque May 2020

Impacts Of Embryonic Exposure To Cannabidiol Or ∆9-Tetrahydrocannabinol On Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Frailty In F0 And F1 Generations, Anika Faruque

Honors Theses

Exposure to cannabinoids during critical development periods has increased with epileptic children being commonly prescribed CBD for seizures and pregnant women taking it recreationally. Many studies have been done on the possible benefits and drawbacks of cannabinoid exposure on the human brain, but not much is known about how it can affect the developing brain long-term. To see the potential adverse effects of cannabinoid exposure during critical stages of development and discover potential developmental origins of disease in consuming cannabinoids during embryogenesis, zebrafish embryos (6-96 hours post fertilization) were exposed to varying concentrations of CBD (0.02, 0.1, 0.5 µM), THC …

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