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Effects Of Vdac 1 And 2 N-Terminal Peptides On Bax Conformation Assessed By Blue Native Gel Electrophoresis, Allison G. Dupree May 2024

Effects Of Vdac 1 And 2 N-Terminal Peptides On Bax Conformation Assessed By Blue Native Gel Electrophoresis, Allison G. Dupree

Honors Theses

Members of the Bcl-2 family are responsible for regulating the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis through Bcl-2 homology 3 (BH3) domain interactions of pro- and anti-apoptotic members. Apoptosis occurs when BH3-only pro-death members overwhelm the pro-survival ones, leading to oligomerization of the multi-BH domain pro-death protein Bax to signal death by releasing cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytoplasm. This process is essential for proper embryonic tissue development as well as maintenance of mature tissues. While BH3-only proteins such as Bim and Bid bind to and activate Bax through their BH3 domains, other regulators of this mitochondrial permeabilizer may exist. Two …


From Cells To Clinics- The Role Of College Biology Education In Shaping Future Physician Assistants, Monica Manley May 2024

From Cells To Clinics- The Role Of College Biology Education In Shaping Future Physician Assistants, Monica Manley

Honors Theses

This thesis provides a personal reflection on translating concepts and techniques learned in multiple biology courses (i.e. microbiology, neuroscience, comparative physiology, and genetics) in to clinical practice as an intern in the emergency room of a hospital. Each selected concept contains a description followed by an example of how this knowledge relates to a specified duty of a physician assistant with in an emergency medical setting.


Investigating Large Repeats In The Arabidopsis Thaliana Mitochondrial Genome Using Mitotalens, Megan Gusso May 2024

Investigating Large Repeats In The Arabidopsis Thaliana Mitochondrial Genome Using Mitotalens, Megan Gusso

Honors Theses

This lab project explores the complexity of the mitochondrial genome by investigating large genomic repeats and their effect on flowering plants’ reproduction and viability. Mitochondria are the site of cellular respiration to create energy and contain their own DNA. This is counterintuitive because the byproducts of cellular respiration impose a threat of mutation for the stored DNA. The mitochondrial genome differs in size between animals and plants. Plant mitochondrial DNA is larger due to the presence of large, noncoding repeated sequences, and a large amount of DNA of unknown function. These sequences undergo high levels of recombination and rearrangement. The …


Survey Of The Bolctes From Fish River Nature Preserve, Noah T. Nelson May 2024

Survey Of The Bolctes From Fish River Nature Preserve, Noah T. Nelson

Honors Theses

Boletes are a special kind of mushroom inside of the Kingdom Fungi that are distinguished from other mushrooms by their uniquely pored hymenium, as opposed to gills. Many boletes are ectomycorrhizal, meaning they are mutualists with vascular plants, and thus beneficial to the overall health of the terrestrial ecosystem. Some are well-known for their edibility and are of economic importance. In the United States 59 genus-level clades comprising 290 operational taxonomic units have been reported. The southeastern US and Gulf Coast regions however are less researched and recorded for their mushroom ecology. In Alabama, only 56 bolete species have been …


Genetic Analysis Of Global Sawfish Populations, Kylie Faulkner May 2024

Genetic Analysis Of Global Sawfish Populations, Kylie Faulkner

Honors Theses

Family Pristidae contains five of the most critically endangered elasmobranch species: Anoxypristis cuspidata, Pristis pristis, Pristis pectinata, Pristis zijsron, and Pristis clavata. The species of this family have suffered drastic population declines and range reductions due to historic patterns of overexploitation, accidental entanglement, and habitat disruption. The conservation of this taxa has been historically complicated by taxonomic uncertainty, as similar morphologies across species make them exceedingly difficult to identify. A morphological and genetic comparison of sawfish specimens collected globally was conducted in 2013, which supported a reduction in the number of described species from seven to …


Game Night! Assessment Of Playability And Learning Effectiveness Of Active Learning Games In Human Anatomy And Physiology Students, Hannah Brady Apr 2024

Game Night! Assessment Of Playability And Learning Effectiveness Of Active Learning Games In Human Anatomy And Physiology Students, Hannah Brady

Honors Theses

Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) courses are a requirement for many students pursuing an education in healthcare. Students tend to dread these courses for their abundance of information in such a short amount of time. These courses tend to have a low success rate because students are not adequately prepared for this upper-level class that requires intense dedication and studying. This problem for students is extreme as these courses are required for most pre-health undergraduate students, and these courses may predict their success in their future education. HAP professors are constantly trying to figure out better ways to get students …


The Development Of A New Water-Soluble Zinc Porphyrin, Zntpp--5ap, For Photodynamic Therapy, Kaylee Johnson Apr 2024

The Development Of A New Water-Soluble Zinc Porphyrin, Zntpp--5ap, For Photodynamic Therapy, Kaylee Johnson

Honors Theses

This research focuses on synthesizing a new water-soluble porphyrin with a zinc core that can be used as a photosensitizing agent in photodynamic therapy. Photodynamic therapy is a process in which light is used to activate a photosensitizer to cause cell death. For this study, the porphyrin was synthesized by adding 5-amino-1-pentanol to the ZnTPPC. Once the porphyrin was synthesized it was purified using column chromatography through Sephadex LH-20 and G-50. The structure of the purified ZnTPP-5AP was then analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis). Purity of the ZnTPP-5AP was tested using …


Migratory And Non-Migratory Yellow Perch Differ In Locomotor Traits, Wade Poling Apr 2024

Migratory And Non-Migratory Yellow Perch Differ In Locomotor Traits, Wade Poling

Honors Theses

Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) are widely distributed throughout the Midwest and are popular game fish and table fare. Seasonally, some eastern Lake Michigan Yellow Perch migrate into drowned river mouth lakes. Drowned river mouths are highly productive environments that also hold non-migratory resident Yellow Perch. Migration requires substantial energy expenditure; therefore, we expected migratory Yellow Perch to evolve locomotory traits that optimize energy efficiency for swimming long distances. We expected drowned river mouth lake resident Yellow Perch to evolve locomotory traits that enhance maneuverability, which are beneficial in avoiding predators, capturing prey, and moving through the structurally complex littoral …


Veterinarian Perception Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Mortality Of Pets, Jason Bainbridge Apr 2024

Veterinarian Perception Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Mortality Of Pets, Jason Bainbridge

Honors Theses

The pandemic led to many changes in society, changes that may have affected pets either directly or indirectly from the new way people had to live life. The primary variable of investigation is if the changes were significant enough to affect pets enough to see a trend in mortality. This thesis used a survey, sent out to veterinarians for their perspective, to see the effects the pandemic had on the mortality of pets, as well as any secondary variables. This survey had 38 responses, with 34 being eligible to complete the survey. The survey did not obtain the information of …


Evaluation Of Seizure Recognition And First Aid Training Course And Improving Self-Efficacy Related To Medical Emergencies In Mississippi, Anna Katherine Herrington, Collin Earl Wayne Crawson, Daniel Robert Zuckerman Apr 2024

Evaluation Of Seizure Recognition And First Aid Training Course And Improving Self-Efficacy Related To Medical Emergencies In Mississippi, Anna Katherine Herrington, Collin Earl Wayne Crawson, Daniel Robert Zuckerman

Honors Theses

Within recent years, there has been increased attention to the growing physician shortage across the United States. This shortage has placed substantial strain upon regions of lower healthcare access, particularly those of rural regions such as much of the state of Mississippi. As rural healthcare providers are placed under more strenuous conditions, they encounter issues of increased patient volume, lack of a trauma team, or adequate transportation to higher-level care facilities. These issues may exacerbate the present inequities in cost of living, access to adequate healthcare, and the distress caused by these concerns. Individuals with epilepsy are one cohort with …


Exploration Of Cytotoxicity Of _Rabidosa Rabida_ Venom On Invertebrate And Vertebrate Cell Cultures, Martina Gooden Apr 2024

Exploration Of Cytotoxicity Of _Rabidosa Rabida_ Venom On Invertebrate And Vertebrate Cell Cultures, Martina Gooden

Honors Theses

Venom has been observed in thousands of species across different taxa. It can be adapted for different purposes, including prey capture or predator defense. Venom is found almost universally in spiders, but there has been little exploration of spiders that are not medically significant. Rabidosa rabida, the rabid wolf spider, is a common species whose venom has not been adequately investigated. Previous studies indicate that they do not require venom to apprehend easy prey in a laboratory setting, raising a question as to what their venom is adapted to do. To evaluate its effect on mammalian cells, L929 murine fibroblasts …


A Dietary Variety: Analyzing The Impacts Of Diverse Vs Worm-Exclusive Diets On The Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii), Caitlin F. Copenhaver Mar 2024

A Dietary Variety: Analyzing The Impacts Of Diverse Vs Worm-Exclusive Diets On The Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii), Caitlin F. Copenhaver

Honors Theses

The endangered Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) is a species with a generally diverse diet in their freshwater wetland habitats; they consume prey such as crayfish and snails. In captivity, these options often become more limited due to logistical reasons. As ex situ conservation efforts such as captive rearing and head-starting are becoming more popular for this species, it will be important to gain more insight on how these more limited diets might affect these turtles. This study describes a comparison between diets in six captive Blanding’s turtles from September to November of 2023, with three turtles receiving only …


Cd46 Interaction With Adenovirus Type 64, A Causative Agent For Viral Pink Eye, Hanglin (Henry) Zhu Jan 2024

Cd46 Interaction With Adenovirus Type 64, A Causative Agent For Viral Pink Eye, Hanglin (Henry) Zhu

Honors Theses

Human adenovirus type 64 (Ad64) is a causative agent of contagious viral pink eye. We do not understand why Ad64 causes eye infections. One likely reason is the presence of a receptor molecule on the exposed surface of eye cells, but not other cells. Ad64 binds to a protein called CD46 on the cell surface. We aim to visualize how CD46 binds to the surface of Ad64. I mixed the extracellular portion of CD46 with purified Ad64 virus, then visualized it using negative stain transmission electron microscopy. In order to gain insight into how the virus binds CD46, we used …


Acid Attack: How Escherichia Coli Strains Resist Acid Stress, Lindsey Miller Dec 2023

Acid Attack: How Escherichia Coli Strains Resist Acid Stress, Lindsey Miller

Honors Theses

The systems used by Escherichia coli to combat heightened levels of acidity within their environment are varied and complex. Four distinct systems used by E. coli to resist acid-induced stress were identified in 2004 by Foster (1), though six now are known today. These systems include the glucose-repressed, glutamate-dependent, arginine-dependent, lysine-dependent, ornithine-dependent, and serine-dependent acid resistance systems. Each system is also known by its corresponding abbreviation, AR1-AR6. What is known about each system varies due to identification date, complexity of the pathway, and amount of research completed. Within this paper, each system will be identified and the pathway defined, combining …


Hazards And Perceptions Of Cigarette And E-Cigarette Waste, Jossalyn Rogalski Dec 2023

Hazards And Perceptions Of Cigarette And E-Cigarette Waste, Jossalyn Rogalski

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


Violence Against Healthcare Workers, Nichole Osgood Dec 2023

Violence Against Healthcare Workers, Nichole Osgood

Honors Theses

Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at work (US Department of Labor, 2023). There are a handful of different types of workplace violence that include but are not limited to physical violence, verbal abuse and threats, sexual harassment, and psychological trauma (US Department of Labor, 2023). Workplace violence, a multifaceted phenomenon, is not a new concern, but its pervasiveness and intensity in healthcare settings have reached alarming proportions in recent years. In a meta-analysis, it was noted that workplace violence against healthcare workers of any kind was …


We Are The Reason We Stand Still In The Face Of Climate Change., Sydney Hemp Dec 2023

We Are The Reason We Stand Still In The Face Of Climate Change., Sydney Hemp

Honors Theses

Many different factors can impact the way any information is received but it is especially important to see how scientific information is received because it is often backed up by a great deal of evidence, especially in the case of global climate change. Many of these factors have nothing to do with science and everything to do with social influences, political parties, and other demographic measures. Discussion of these relationships is important when discussing communication in a broad sense, but it can be even more important when bringing up things like global climate change, which has become a political topic …


The Unexpected Significance Of Myosin A In Organization Of M-Line Protein Unc-89/Obscurin Within Striated Muscle Cells Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Kar Men Lee Dec 2023

The Unexpected Significance Of Myosin A In Organization Of M-Line Protein Unc-89/Obscurin Within Striated Muscle Cells Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Kar Men Lee

Honors Theses

This research investigates the unexpected significance of Myosin A in the organization of M-line protein UNC-89/obscurin within striated muscle cells of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The study employs immunofluorescence techniques to examine the spatial and temporal dynamics of UNC-89/obscurin and Myosin A during embryonic development. The sarcomere, a fundamental unit in muscle cells, is governed by the 'sliding filament model,' where the M-line serves as a crucial anchor for Myosin A. This research seeks to understand the relationship between muscle function in humans and C. elegans, utilizing the latter's simple anatomy and genetic tractability. The …


Odorant Binding Causes Cytoskeletal Rearrangement, Leading To Detectable Changes In Endothelial And Epithelial Barrier Function And Micromotion, Annabella Nilon Dec 2023

Odorant Binding Causes Cytoskeletal Rearrangement, Leading To Detectable Changes In Endothelial And Epithelial Barrier Function And Micromotion, Annabella Nilon

Honors Theses

Non-olfactory cells have excellent biosensor potential because they express functional olfactory receptors (ORs) and are non-neuronal cells that are easy to culture. ORs are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), and there is a well-established link between different classes of G-proteins and cytoskeletal structure changes affecting cellular morphology that has been unexplored for odorant sensing. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine if odorant binding in non-olfactory cells causes cytoskeletal changes that will lead to cell changes detectable by electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS). To this end, we used the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which express OR10J5, and the …


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 …


Sleep Duration Is Associated With Caudate Volume And Executive Function, Nicole Jones May 2023

Sleep Duration Is Associated With Caudate Volume And Executive Function, Nicole Jones

Honors Theses

The ineligible role of the caudate nucleus in sleep has been implicated throughout multiple scientific studies. Previous literature has shown that greater caudate volume is associated with longer habitual sleep duration in older adults- ranging from 55 years of age and up. However, the association between sleep duration and caudate volume remains unknown in the younger population. In this study, we examined the caudate volume in youth to older adults (10 to 85 years old) with a greater sample size (N=464) to increase statistical power. The volumetric size of the caudate nucleus showed significantly positive association with habitual sleep duration, …


Does Vdac2 Have A Bh3 Domain?, Lillian Ferkany May 2023

Does Vdac2 Have A Bh3 Domain?, Lillian Ferkany

Honors Theses

Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) by Bax oligomerization triggers apoptosis. BCl-2 family proteins, classified as BH3 only proteins, pro-survival proteins, or pro-apoptotic proteins, control apoptosis partly through their agonist or antagonistic effects on Bax, which are mediated by their conserved BH3 domains. All BH3 domains form an alpha helix containing 5-7 conserved hydrophobic residues, designated H0-H5, and one conserved aspartic acid that drive interaction with Bax and other ‘multi-domain’ BCl-2 members. BH3 agonists induce Bax oligomerization, while BH3 antagonists sequester Bax to prevent MOMP. We discovered that voltage dependent anion channels (VDACs) in the MOM contain a putative BH3-like domain …


Is Vdac1 A Novel Bcl2 Family Member That Binds Bax?, Claire Pearson May 2023

Is Vdac1 A Novel Bcl2 Family Member That Binds Bax?, Claire Pearson

Honors Theses

Apoptosis is a type of regulated cell death important for normal embryonic development and maintenance of adult tissues by removing excess or dysfunctional cells to ensure proper functioning of organs. The Bcl-2 family of proteins determines whether apoptosis remains suppressed or becomes activated through the balance of interactions among pro-survival and pro-death members. A defining feature of the Bcl-2 family is a BH3 domain that drives interactions between the family members. Isoform 1 of the voltage dependent anion channel (VDAC1) has an important role in metabolism, but was recently found to have high homology with known BH3 domains. This study …


Are Rising Seas Pushing Ghost Crabs Out Of Their Comfort Zone?, Finn Gillette May 2023

Are Rising Seas Pushing Ghost Crabs Out Of Their Comfort Zone?, Finn Gillette

Honors Theses

Ghost crabs (Ocypode quadrata) can be found on sandy beaches bordering the western Atlantic Ocean. These semiterrestrial crustaceans are often found between the swash zone and the dunes on beaches. Dunes are critical refuges for ghost crabs during storms and extreme tide events. This makes them a useful indicator species for monitoring the effects of global warming-induced sea level rise on beach biota, as their distribution patterns among beach zones may correlate with shifts found in other species. Beach surveys conducted from 2015 onward assessed the population density of ghost crabs on beaches of Horry and Georgetown counties …


Investigation Of The Vira Linker Domain To Characterize Its Phenol Interactions, Jessica Garofalo May 2023

Investigation Of The Vira Linker Domain To Characterize Its Phenol Interactions, Jessica Garofalo

Honors Theses

The soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes tumors in plants through interkingdom gene transfer. This transfer is initiated upon a wounding event that results in the release of plant signaling factors such as phenols and sugars that are recognized by protein machinery in the periplasm and inner membrane of A. tumefaciens. The histidine kinase protein VirA, in combination with the periplasmic protein ChvE, recognizes these signals and initiates induction of virulence genes via a signaling pathway, culminating with the insertion of tumor-inducing T-DNA into the wounded plant cells. While the interaction between the Periplasmic domain of VirA and sugar-bound ChvE …


Education, Beliefs, And Health Literacy Of Care Providers On Mouth Care Of Older Adults, Molly Lakin May 2023

Education, Beliefs, And Health Literacy Of Care Providers On Mouth Care Of Older Adults, Molly Lakin

Honors Theses

Oral health is important to one’s overall health and quality of life as it can lead to chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and neurodegenerative disorders (Haumschild et al. 2021). In long-term care facilities, it is important that dependent older adults are provided mouth care to maintain their oral health and decrease their chances of developing a chronic illness; however, there are barriers affecting the level, quality, and quantity of mouth care being provided in these facilities. A survey was developed to look at the education, beliefs, and health literacy of care providers on providing mouth care in hopes …


Extranodal Tumors And Chromosomal Abnormalities Associated With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In T(14;18)-Positive Patients, Alexis Finch May 2023

Extranodal Tumors And Chromosomal Abnormalities Associated With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In T(14;18)-Positive Patients, Alexis Finch

Honors Theses

Nebraska is mostly an agricultural state with a non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) incidence rate of 20.1 per 100,000 individuals, which is greater than the US incidence rate of 19 per 100,000 individuals. It is possible that the higher incidence rate in Nebraska is due to an increase in pesticide usage. Pesticide exposure is linked to t(14;18), a genetic translocation involving the BCL2 gene that regulates apoptosis. The dysregulation of apoptosis could contribute to the proliferation of NHL. This exploratory study utilized the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group, which consists of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, or some other neoplastic hematologic disorder …


Importance Of Pelvic Floor Education And Rehabilitation Techniques For Adolescents And Young Adults: A Review, Katherine Laura Schmidt May 2023

Importance Of Pelvic Floor Education And Rehabilitation Techniques For Adolescents And Young Adults: A Review, Katherine Laura Schmidt

Honors Theses

The pelvic floor is the collection of many muscles forming what is often called the pelvic girdle. Understanding the different muscles and their roles is an important part of pelvic floor education. Although both males and females have pelvic floors, there is a lack of knowledge of basic anatomy seen in adolescents and young adults. This review analyzes the importance of providing more education for students about the pelvic floor, gives examples of common pelvic disorders for young adults, and provides details on the physical therapy rehabilitation techniques offered today to treat these conditions.


Physiological, Temporal, And Environmental Determinants Of Forage Fish Caloric Content In The Gulf Of Mexico, Rebecca R. Walsh Apr 2023

Physiological, Temporal, And Environmental Determinants Of Forage Fish Caloric Content In The Gulf Of Mexico, Rebecca R. Walsh

Honors Theses

Within the Gulf of Mexico, forage fish species serve as an important link between lower trophic levels and higher trophic levels, supporting economically valuable predator fish, birds, and mammals. Despite the key ecological role of forage fish, fisheries management efforts are often directed elsewhere; as a result, input data for fisheries models is unavailable for many forage fish species. To fill this knowledge gap, we sought to produce species-specific caloric content values for four forage fish species in the Gulf of Mexico: Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), white trout (Cynoscion arenarius), bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), …


Analysis Of Wild Rodent Gut Microbiota As A Function Of Exposure To Ticks And Tick-Borne Pathogens, Joshua Pandian Apr 2023

Analysis Of Wild Rodent Gut Microbiota As A Function Of Exposure To Ticks And Tick-Borne Pathogens, Joshua Pandian

Honors Theses

Due to advances in high-throughput parallel sequencing, researchers have conducted novel studies exploring relationships between microbiome compositions and different aspects of organism health. Some of these studies have shown that the gut microbiome of rodent models has effects on organism health and behavior and that infection with pathogens and the composition of the skin microbiome are linked to changes in gut microbiome composition. While previous studies have shown how vector microbiota impact vector behavior and pathogen transmission, the effect vectors have on reservoir species microbiomes has been a less prominent focus. We were interested in the relationships between tick parasitism, …