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Proteomic Analysis Of The Crustacean Molting Gland (Y-Organ) Over The Course Of The Molt Cycle, Talia B. Head

Master's Theses

Molting in crustaceans is a highly complex physiological process involving negative regulation by two paired endocrine glands, the X-organ/sinus gland complex (XO/SG) and the Y-organ (YO). The XO/SG complex is responsible for making molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) which negatively regulates synthesis of the molting hormones, ecdysteroids, by the YO. Analysis of gene expression in the XOs and YOs has led to the development of a proposed molecular signaling pathway which regulates ecdysteroidogenesis and subsequent molting in crustaceans. In this study, changes in protein abundance in the YO were characterized over the course of a molt cycle (intermolt, early premolt, mid premolt, …

Understanding And Optimizing Growth And Development Of California Yellowtail (Seriola Dorsalis) In Aquaculture Using Physiological Tools, Laura Schwebel

Theses

Physical fitness metrics were used to assess the health and development of California Yellowtail, Seriola dorsalis, in an aquaculture environment during two grow-out experiments. The first experiment sought to evaluate the effects of a common aquaculture deformity (an improperly inflated swim bladder) that has been hypothesized to impact energy allocation, growth, and development. Metrics including metabolic rate, critical swimming speed, feed conversion ratio, and growth rate, were monitored over a 32-week period in three groups of California Yellowtail: wild-caught (“wild”), healthy hatchery-reared (“inflated”), and hatchery-reared with uninflated swim bladders (“uninflated”). At the start of the grow-out period, wild fish …

Translational Fidelity, Mistranslation, And The Cellular Responses To Stress, Kyle Mohler, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Faithful translation of mRNA into the corresponding polypeptide is a complex multistep process, requiring accurate amino acid selection, transfer RNA (tRNA) charging and mRNA decoding on the ribosome. Key players in this process are aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs), which not only catalyse the attachment of cognate amino acids to their respective tRNAs, but also selectively hydrolyse incorrectly activated non-cognate amino acids and/or misaminoacylated tRNAs. This aaRS proofreading provides quality control checkpoints that exclude non-cognate amino acids during translation, and in so doing helps to prevent the formation of an aberrant proteome. However, despite the intrinsic need for high accuracy during translation, …

Understanding Why Undergraduate Students Declare And Continue To Study An Exercise Science-Related Major, Matthew Vaartstra, Vanessa Kercher, Amanda Start, Amber Brown, Mark Peterson, Ryan Mcgrath

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 807-817, 2017. Understanding factors that contribute to a student’s selection of an exercise science-related major is important to student success, higher education and industry. This study sought to 1) better understand why undergraduate students study an exercise science-related major, 2) determine whether positive influences to study an exercise science-related major differ by academic classification, and 3) identify what student’s aspirations are after graduation. Department administrators from four-year colleges and universities offering an exercise science-related major in the Northwest Region of the United States (i.e., Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) were contacted. Cooperating department administrators …

Blood Pressure And Cardiovascular Health Has Relationship With Age In Adults During Adulthood, Allyson K. Getty, Jessica M. Lenzo, Tia R. Wisdo, Joyann E. Oakman, Christina M. Cromwell, Jessica A. Hill, Lauren N. Chavis, Deborah L. Feairheller, Phd

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 798-806, 2017. Efforts to combat cardiovascular disease (CVD) have proven effective, especially in the population aged 55-74 years. However, less research has been conducted in younger populations to determine at what age CVD risk develops. The purpose of this study is to compare cardiovascular health markers in adults, specifically CVD risk between younger adults aged 18-22 and a slightly older group of adults in middle adulthood aged 23-54. Cardiovascular health measures were collected from a group of adults; 13 younger adults (20.2±0.9 yrs) and 10 adults in middle adulthood (42.9±10.1 yrs). All participants were …

Inhibition Of Post-Transcriptional Steps In Ribosome Biogenesis Confers Cytoprotection Against Chemotherapeutic Agents In A P53-Dependent Manner, Russell T Sapio, Anastasiya N Nezdyur, Matthew Krevetski, Leonid Anikin, Vincent J Manna, Natalie Minkovsky, Dimitri G Pestov

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

The p53-mediated nucleolar stress response associated with inhibition of ribosomal RNA transcription was previously shown to potentiate killing of tumor cells. Here, we asked whether targeting of ribosome biogenesis can be used as the basis for selective p53-dependent cytoprotection of nonmalignant cells. Temporary functional inactivation of the 60S ribosome assembly factor Bop1 in a 3T3 cell model markedly increased cell recovery after exposure to camptothecin or methotrexate. This was due, at least in part, to reversible pausing of the cell cycle preventing S phase associated DNA damage. Similar cytoprotective effects were observed after transient shRNA-mediated silencing of Rps19, but not …

A Prospective Study Comparing Distance-Based Vs. Time-Based Exercise Prescriptions Of Walking And Running In Previously Sedentary Overweight Adults, Cody E. Morris, John C. Garner Iii, Scott G. Owens, Melinda W. Valliant, Hunter Debusk, Mark Loftin

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 782-798, 2017. Prior work has reported that the declines observed in body mass index (BMI) and circumference measurements in their cross-sectional data were twice as large when calculated from distance energy expenditure estimations compared to energy expenditure estimations based on time and intensity. The primary purpose of this study was to compare walking/running for distance to walking/running for time as part of an exercise intervention. This study followed a between-subjects, repeated measures design. Fifteen overweight, but otherwise healthy participants completed the study. The time-based group walked/ran for self-reported time while the distance-based group walked/ran …

Run Economy On A Normal And Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill, Corey Temple, Erik Lind, Deborah Van Langen, Larissa True, Saige Hupman, James F. Hokanson

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 774-781, 2017. Lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill running is used more frequently in clinical and athletic settings. Accurate caloric expenditure is required for proper exercise prescription, especially for obese patients performing LBPP exercise. It is unclear if running on LBPP changes running economy (RE) in proportion to the changes in body weight. The purpose of the study was to measure the oxygen consumption (VO₂) and running economy (RE) of treadmill running at normal body weight and on LBPP. Twenty-three active, non-obese participants (25.8±7.2 years; BMI = 25.52±3.29 kg∙m^-2) completed …

Wrist-Worn Physical Activity Trackers Tend To Underestimate Steps During Walking, Tiffany Sears, Elmer Alvalos, Samantha Lawson, Ian Mcalister, L. Chris Eschbach, Jennifer Bunn

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 764-773, 2017. The purpose of this study was to determine step-count accuracy of pedometers at different walking speeds. Ten recreationally active participants walked at five treadmill speeds (0.89, 1.11, 1.34, 1.56, and 1.79 m/s) for five minutes while wearing four wrist-worn activity trackers (Fitbit Charge HR®, Garmin Vivosmart HR®, Apple iWatch®, Jawbone UP3®) and the hip-worn Digi-Walker®. Each step was manually counted by a research technician (benchmark). Total step count at each speed was obtained for each device and compared to the benchmark using one-way MANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. For all five speeds, …

Examining The Impact Of A University-Driven Exercise Programming Event On End-Of-Semester Stress In Students, Tessa L. Koschel, John C. Young, James W. Navalta

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 754-763, 2017. Stress levels in university students peak during the final exam period. An inverse association exists between Physical Activity (PA) and poor mental health. UNLV has created Fitness4Finals (F4F), an event novel in its approach to academic stress reduction by incorporating both physical activity and mental relaxation. To our knowledge, a university-driven programming event aimed at reducing physiological and psychological stress among students approaching final exams had never been studied. Therefore, the aims of this research were to 1) examine the influence of F4F on physiological stress and perceived psychological stress (PPS) and …

Changes In Gait And Texting Ability During Progressively Difficult Gait Tasks, Andrew J. Strubhar, Brody Rapp, Dillon Thomas

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 743-753, 2017. To investigate the effects of a cell phone texting task on an individual’s ability to perform three ambulation-based tasks, each with different and progressively more difficult demands. 36 participants (24 male/12 female, average age 23.4) performed: a Timed Up & Go (TUG), stair ambulation (STAIR), and tandem gait (TAN). Participants completed each gait-based task under four conditions: as a practice, while holding their cellular device (baseline), while texting a message, and while reading a message. Statistically significant differences were found within the following variables: 1) mean time to complete a gait task …

Recovery In Level 7-10 Usa Artistic Gymnastics, Stephen Buckner, Nicholas T. Bacon, Phillip Bishop

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 734-742, 2017. This study assessed physical performance in women’s artistic gymnastics following three variable recovery periods. Participants included fifteen female gymnasts (mean age = 13.5 ± 1.1) who had competed at USA Gymnastics (USAG) levels 7 – 10 within at least one year prior to the study. Each testing session consisted of a warm-up followed by four muscular endurance tests and one explosive maximal test. Assessments included pull-ups, leg lifts, handstand push-ups, vertical jump, and push-ups. After the performance assessments, the participants completed a typical practice session. The performance measures were reassessed at the …

Fluid Intake And Sweat Rate During Hot Yoga Participation, Stephanie Campbell, Robert C. Pritchett, Katie Cederburg, Tim Burnham, Kelly C. Pritchett

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 721-733, 2017. Hot yoga participants are at risk for dehydration due to the nature of the environment they exercise in. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-exercise hydration status, fluid balance, perception of sweat loss, and sweat sodium loss in 21 male and female hot yoga participants (mean age ± SD, 33.0 ± 10.5 yr; mass, 70.7 ± 11.0 kg). Data was recorded pre and post a one- hour hot yoga class (38.7 ± 2.6 °C, 36 ± 13% relative humidity). Pre-exercise urine specific gravity (USG), hydration status, body mass …

In-Season High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Conditioning In High School Soccer Players, Neal Howard, Stasinos Stavrianeas

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 713-720, 2017. Soccer is characterized by high aerobic demands interspersed with frequent bursts of anaerobic activity. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is considered a viable alternative to traditional endurance conditioning and offers the additional time-saving benefits of anaerobic training. We hypothesized that HIIT will compare favorably to traditional (aerobic-based) soccer conditioning over the course of a high school soccer season. Junior varsity soccer players were split into control (CON, n=16) and experimental (HIIT, n=16) groups for the 10-week study. The HIIT group performed 4-6 “all-out” sprints lasting 30s each, with 4.5 minute recovery, 3 times …

Effect Of Sedentary And Physical Activities On Children’S Food Choice, Allison M. Barry, Jesse L. Rhoades, John S. Fitzgerald, Dennis J. Caine, Dalonda L. Dalin, Tanis J. Walch

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 702-712, 2017. Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern. Research has shown sedentary behavior (SB) increases children’s unhealthy food consumption, while physical activity (PA) decreases caloric intake and increases energy expenditure. The purpose of this study was to examine child snack choice following a bout of active, SB, and a mix of SB and active (SB-A). Participants included a volunteer sample of children (n=24) ranging from 9-13 years of age. A within-subjects simple experimental design was used, and children participated in three conditions: active, SB, and SB-A. After each condition, the children were …

Pilot Study Of Endurance Runners And Brain Responses Associated With Delay Discounting, Laura E. Martin, Jason-Flor V. Sisante, David R. Wilson, Angela A. Moody, Cary R. Savage, Sandra A. Billinger

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 690-701, 2017. High levels of endurance training have been associated with potentially negative health outcomes and addictive-like symptoms such as exercise in the presence of injury and higher levels of impulsivity. This pilot study examined the relationships among self-report measures of addictive symptoms related to exercise and behavioral and neural measures of impulsivity in endurance runners. We hypothesized endurance runners would have increased preference for immediate rewards and greater activation of cognitive control regions when making decisions involving delayed rewards. Twenty endurance runners (at least 20 miles/week) were recruited to undergo measures of self-report …

Clinical Outcomes Of Different Tempos Of Music During Exercise In Cardiac Rehabilitation Patients, Jarad S. Miller, Donna J. Terbizan

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 681-689, 2017. This study examined the effects of stimulating and sedative music on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and feeling status during exercise in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients. Twenty-two male and female older adults age 64 ± 8.0 y currently enrolled in phase III CR completed the study. Repeated measures crossover designs guided data collection. The manipulated independent variable was music condition (sedative, stimulating, and non-music control). The dependent variables were RPE, BP, HR, and feeling status with each represented by four repeated measures ANOVAs over time via …

Irisin And Fibronectin Type Iii Domain-Containing 5 Responses To Exercise In Different Environmental Conditions, Matthew Bubak, Matthew W.S. Heesch, Robert J. Shute, Nicholas E. Dinan, Terence L. Laursen, D. Taylor La Salle, Dustin R. Slivka

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 666-680, 2017. Fibronectin type III domain-containing 5 (FNDC5) is a skeletal muscle membrane-bound precursor to the myokine irisin. Irisin is involved in stimulating adipose tissue to become more metabolically active in order to produce heat. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exercise in a hot (33 °C), cold (7 °C), and room temperature (RT, 20 °C) environment on the skeletal muscle gene expression of FNDC5 and the plasma concentrations of irisin. Twelve recreationally trained males completed three separate, 1 h cycling bouts at 60% of W_max in a …

The Effect Of Psychomotor Performance, Cerebral And Arterial Blood Saturation Between African-American And Caucasian Males Before, During And After Normobaric Hypoxic Exercise, Matthew R. Feeback, Yongsuk Seo, Matthew Dancy, Ellen L. Glickman

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 655-665, 2017. To further elucidate physiological and cognitive performance differences between African-American (AA) and Caucasian individuals (CAU) before, during or after hypoxic and normoxic exercise. Twelve college aged (18-25) apparently healthy African-American (six volunteers) and Caucasian (six subjects) males took part in two trials consisting of normobaric normoxia and normobaric hypoxia (12% oxygen). Each subject cycled at 50% of their altitude adjusted VO_2max (-26% of normoxia VO_2max) for one hour after a two-hour baseline. Subjects were monitored for cerebral and arterial O₂ saturation, as well as the Trail Making Test …

Blood Flow Restriction Training: Implementation Into Clinical Practice, William R. Vanwye, Alyssa Weatherholt, Alan E. Mikesky

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 10(5): 649-654, 2017. To improve muscular strength and hypertrophy the American College of Sports Medicine recommends moderate to high load resistance training. However, use of moderate to high loads are often not feasible in clinical populations. Therefore, the emergence of low load (LL) blood flow restriction (BFR) training as a rehabilitation tool for clinical populations is becoming popular. Although the majority of research on LL-BFR training has examined healthy populations, clinical applications are emerging. Overall, it appears BFR training is a safe and effective tool for rehabilitation. However, additional research is needed prior to widespread …

Overexpressed Somatic Alleles Are Enriched In Functional Elements In Breast Cancer., Paula Restrepo, Mercedeh Movassagh, Nawaf Alomran, Christian Miller, Muzi Li, Chris Trenkov, Yulian Manchev, Sonali Bahl, Stephanie Warnken, Liam Spurr, Tatiyana Apanasovich, Keith Crandall, Nathan Edwards, Anelia Horvath

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Asymmetric allele content in the transcriptome can be indicative of functional and selective features of the underlying genetic variants. Yet, imbalanced alleles, especially from diploid genome regions, are poorly explored in cancer. Here we systematically quantify and integrate the variant allele fraction from corresponding RNA and DNA sequence data from patients with breast cancer acquired through The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We test for correlation between allele prevalence and functionality in known cancer-implicated genes from the Cancer Gene Census (CGC). We document significant allele-preferential expression of functional variants in CGC genes and across the entire dataset. Notably, we find frequent …

Carotid Body-Mediated Chemoreflex Drive In The Setting Of Low And High Output Heart Failure., Rodrigo Del Rio, David C. Andrade, Camilo Toledo, Hugo S. Diaz, Claudia Lucero, Alexis Arce-Alvarez, Noah J. Marcus, Harold D. Schultz

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

Enhanced carotid body (CB) chemoreflex function is strongly related to cardiorespiratory disorders and disease progression in heart failure (HF). The mechanisms underlying CB sensitization during HF are not fully understood, however previous work indicates blood flow per se can affect CB function. Then, we hypothesized that the CB-mediated chemoreflex drive will be enhanced only in low output HF but not in high output HF. Myocardial infarcted rats and aorto-caval fistulated rats were used as a low output HF model (MI-CHF) and as a high output HF model (AV-CHF), respectively. Blood flow supply to the CB region was decreased only in …

Stress Increases Peripheral Axon Growth And Regeneration Through Glucocorticoid Receptor-Dependent Transcriptional Programs, Jessica K. Lerch, Jessica K. Alexander, Kathryn M. Madalena, Dario Motti, Tam Quach, Akhil Dhamija, Alicia Zha, John C. Gensel, Jeanette Webster Marketon, Vance P. Lemmon, John L. Bixby, Phillip G. Popovich

Physiology Faculty Publications

Stress and glucocorticoid (GC) release are common behavioral and hormonal responses to injury or disease. In the brain, stress/GCs can alter neuron structure and function leading to cognitive impairment. Stress and GCs also exacerbate pain, but whether a corresponding change occurs in structural plasticity of sensory neurons is unknown. Here, we show that in female mice (Mus musculus) basal GC receptor (Nr3c1, also known as GR) expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons is 15-fold higher than in neurons in canonical stress-responsive brain regions (M. musculus). In response to stress or GCs, adult …

Induced Aberrant Organisms With Novel Ability To Protect Intestinal Integrity From Inflammation In An Animal Model, Helieh S. Oz

Physiology Faculty Publications

Abstract: Robust and balanced gut microbiota are required to support health and growth. Overgrowth of gut microbial or pathogens can change ecosystem balance, and compromise gut integrity to initiate gastrointestinal (GI) complications. There is no safe and effective modality against coccidiosis. Antibiotic additives routinely fed to food animals to protect against infection, are entered into the food chain, contaminate food products and pass to the consumers. Hypothesis: induced aberrant organisms possess distinct ultrastructure and are tolerated by immunodeficient-animals yet are non-pathogenic, but immunogenic in various strains of chicks to act as a preventive (vaccine) and eliminating the needs for antibiotic …

Body Size Predicts Cardiac And Vascular Resistance Effects On Men's And Women's Blood Pressure, Joyce M. Evans, Siqi Wang, Christopher Greb, Vladimir Kostas, Charles F. Knapp, Qingguang Zhang, Eric S. Roemmele, Michael B. Stenger, David C. Randall

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Key Points Summary

• We report how blood pressure, cardiac output and vascular resistance are related to height, weight, body surface area (BSA), and body mass index (BMI) in healthy young adults at supine rest and standing.
• Much inter-subject variability in young adult's blood pressure, currently attributed to health status, may actually result from inter-individual body size differences.
• Each cardiovascular variable is linearly related to height, weight and/or BSA (more than to BMI).
• When supine, cardiac output is positively related, while vascular resistance is negatively related, to body size. Upon standing, the change in vascular resistance is positively related to size. …

Carbonyl Reduction By Ymfi Completes The Modification Of Ef-P In Bacillus Subtilis To Prevent Accumulation Of An Inhibitory Modification State, Katherine R. Hummels, Anne Witzky, Andrei Rajkovic, Rodney Tollerson Ii, Lisa A. Jones, Michael Ibba, Daniel B. Kearns

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Translation elongation factor P (EF‐P) in Bacillus subtilis is required for a form of surface migration called swarming motility. Furthermore, B. subtilis EF‐P is post‐translationally modified with a 5‐aminopentanol group but the pathway necessary for the synthesis and ligation of the modification is unknown. Here we determine that the protein YmfI catalyzes the reduction of EF‐P‐5 aminopentanone to EF‐P‐5 aminopentanol. In the absence of YmfI, accumulation of 5‐aminopentanonated EF‐P is inhibitory to swarming motility. Suppressor mutations that enhanced swarming in the absence of YmfI were found at two positions on EF‐P, including one that changed the conserved modification site (Lys …

The Interommatidial Bristle Variability Of Diptera, Kimberly Palmer

Honors College Theses

Insects of the order Diptera are a popular biological model for understanding morphological trait evolution. One area of particular interest is the development of the compound eyes. While the development of ommatidia and photoreceptors has been thoroughly studied in this case, little attention has been paid to the interommatidial bristles (IOBs) present on the eyes of some dipteran families. A preliminary survey suggested that these bristles exhibit high variability among IOB families on multiple taxonomic levels and are not uniformly present or absent in any suborder of the Diptera. To confirm this observation, I conducted a literature search to …

Co-Modulation Masking Release Begins In The Auditory Periphery, Kareem R. Hussein, Agudemu Borjigan, Mark Sayles

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding speech in noisy environments can be difficult, especially for people with hearing loss. The background noise can cover up the sounds of interest. Normally, the auditory system works to alleviate this problem by tagging and then cancelling the noise. Our experiments are aimed at understanding the mechanism of this noise cancellation process. We hypothesize that non-linear signal processing in the mammalian cochlea (the most peripheral part of the auditory system) is the basis of noise cancellation. To test this hypothesis, we measured the responses of auditory-nerve fibers (ANFs) to sounds embedded in background noise with different statistical properties. ANFs …

Designing An Authentic Behavioral Research Experience In The Classroom Using Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta Splendens, Gianne Souza, Ronald M. Coleman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Recently there have been major shifts in biology education towards emphasizing the teaching of the scientific process to more closely reflect actual scientific practices. Authentic research experiences require the development of many higher order cognitive skills. Creating an authentic research experience that appropriately scaffolds the development of these complex skills while engaging individual student motivation remains challenging in classroom settings. Some common challenges include limited time available for working with large numbers of students, cramped working areas, and limited funding and materials resources. Using the Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta splendens, we have created an economically viable authentic animal behavioral …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Dna Replication Initiation In Hpvs With Genetic Variations Leading To Cellular Carcinogenesis, Gulden Yilmaz

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Human papillomaviruses are a vast family of double-stranded DNA viruses containing non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic types, whose crucial differences remain unknown, except for the difference in the frequency of DNA replication. The human papillomavirus (HPV) E2 protein regulates the initiation of viral DNA replication and transcription. Its recognition and binding to four 12 bp palindromic sequences in the viral origin is essential for its function. Little is known about the DNA binding mechanism of the E2 protein found in HPV types that have low risk for oncogenicity (low-risk) as well as the roles of various elements of the individual binding sites. …