Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Length, Weight, Age, And Gender On Mercury Concentrations In Burbot In North-Central Minnesota Lakes, Liam Hanley

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Burbot Lota lota in north-central Minnesota lakes have the potential to reach large sizes and consume large volumes of prey. This caveat may make burbot susceptible to higher rates of biocontamination, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. The objective of this study was to determine how changes in age, length, gender, weight, and lake affect total mercury concentrations in burbot. In this experiment 28 burbot were angled from three lakes: Cass (n = 17), Winnibigoshish (n = 4), and Bad Medicine (n = 7). Then tissue samples were taken from each fish and were lyophilized and homogenized. Homogenized tissue samples were analyzed by …

Relationship Between Fishing Hours And Number Of Fish Harvested From Upper Red Lake, Dylan Ohlenkamp

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Total hours fishermen spend fishing and total amount of fish harvested per year are some of the most important pieces of knowledge gained from creel surveys. They provide crucial information that assesses fisheries mortality and pressure. MN DNR uses their results from creel surveys to improve or impose regulations, and to maintain healthy fisheries. Based on results from similar studies, there is expected to be a positive relationship between hours fished and fish harvested. To determine the relationship between these two variables on Upper Red Lake, data from two years were selected when the variables were at their highest and …

A Guide To Otoliths Of Minnesota Fishes, Baylor J. Short

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Investigations into the diet patterns of piscivores can provide crucial information on predator-prey relationships, population dynamics, and responses to changing ecosystems. However, digestive processes often remove or alter physical characteristics that are traditionally used to identify consumed fish. This problem has been addressed to some degree with advances in molecular technologies, although these methods can be costly and require specific training and equipment to do so. In contrast, bony structures such as otoliths, vertebrae, cleithra, and others frequently have morphologies that are unique among families, genera, and species. Because these structures are resistant to digestion, they can be used to …

The Effect Of Triaenophorus Crassus On The Condition Of Coregonus Artedi, Alexander Surma

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Cisco Coregonus artedi is, historically, the largest commercial fishery in the Great Lakes. The species is also important to commercial and recreational fisheries in inland lakes. Tapeworm Triaenophorus crassus larvae embed themselves into the flesh of Ciscoes, rendering the fish unmarketable to humans. Triaenophorus crassus is common in inland waters such as Leech Lake and Cass Lake, MN. One Canadian researcher has suggested that the parasite negatively affects the growth and weight of Ciscoes. Poor condition can reduce fecundity, leading to lower recruitment rates. This would mean a detrimental impact on not only individual fish, but the health of …

Improving The Diet Quality Of Wic-Participating Women Using Digital Food Environments, Yarisbel Melo Herrera

Open Access Dissertations

Maternal diet plays a critical role during the perinatal period, impacting both short- and long-term health outcomes in women and their children. Lower-income individuals are at higher risk of having a low diet quality. Therefore, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) aims to reduce the negative impacts of low socioeconomic status on the diet of its participants (low-income pregnant and postpartum women and children up to age 5) to promote optimal short- and long-term health outcomes. Numerous studies show that WIC improves children’s diet quality, but associations in women have been insufficiently evaluated. While there …

Tbp1: An Essential Regulator Of Transcription In Toxoplasma Gondii, Robert Kelly

Master's Theses and Capstones

Transcription is well-conserved across eukaryotes, lending itself to countless studies in model organisms. Still, some early-diverging eukaryotes, such as Apicomplexans, continue to deviate from canonical gene expression. One such Apicomplexan is the single-celled parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma maintains many elements of conventional eukaryotic transcription but demonstrates a relatively short 8-hour replication time. This suggests that transcription is tightly regulated in these parasites, consistent with their ability to differentiate between life stages per the demand of the host environment. Transcription initiation has, however, remained elusive in Toxoplasma. The formation of a preinitiation complex (PIC) has not been characterized as the parasites …

Innovative Or Invalid: Amgen, Inc. V. Sanofi, Special Masters, & The Seventh Amendment Right To A Trial By Jury In Civil Proceedings, Nivory Gordon Iii

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

None

Ai, The New Frontier: An Analysis On Trademark Litigation Strategies In The Face Of Generative Artificial Intelligence, Melissa Biesmann

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

No abstract provided.

Precision Is Necessary In Patents, Twinkle Dutta

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

No abstract provided.

Therapeutic Intervention Of Neuroinflammation In Alzheimer Disease By Inhibition Of Classical Complement Pathway Using Anti-C1r Loaded Exosomes, Terjahna Richards

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with memory decline and cognitive impairment. It is a growing global health and socioeconomic concern, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Current therapeutics focus solely on symptomatic management instead of preventative or curative strategies. This is mainly a result of the complexity of the pathophysiological mechanism and the poor understanding of the disease progression. Recently, studies have focused on bridging knowledge gaps giving rise to substantial evidence on the vital role of neuroinflammation in the progression of AD. Neuroinflammation has been shown to be a precursor to apparent amyloid plaque accumulation …

Hjp 272, An Endothelin Receptor Antagonist, And Its Role In Cancer Cell Migration And Invasion, Nabeela Fatima Baig

Theses and Dissertations

Endothelins are a family of versatile peptides composed of 21 amino acids with three isoforms: ET-1, ET-2, and ET-3. As the most abundant of the three isoforms, ET-1 is involved in various biological processes, such as regulation of vascular tone, humoral homeostasis, and neural crest development. However, focus is now being directed towards investigating the functions of the Endothelin axis in the progression of different tumor types including ovarian, prostate, breast, lungs etc. HJP 272 is a novel ETAR antagonist and while our group has previously researched its effects on lung inflammation and preterm birth, this study marks the first …

Characterizing The Role Of Epigenetic Regulator Menin In Pediatric Neuroblastoma Growth Using Pre-Clinical Models, Rameswari Chilamakuri

Theses and Dissertations

Epigenetic regulators such as Menin and MLL1 drive cancer progression, metastasis, and relapse. MLL1 forms a COMPASS complex with its binding partners, including Menin, to function as an epigenetic enzyme H3K4 methyltransferase. H3K4 methyltransferases are known to promote cancer stem cells' (CSCs) self-renewal capacity and metastasis. CSCs are one of the major causes of tumor relapse and metastasis conditions, ultimately leading to poor overall patient survival. Neuroblastoma (NB) is an extracranial solid tumor that accounts for 8-10% of all pediatric cancers, and approximately 50% of patients display metastasis at the time of diagnosis. In this study, we hypothesized and used …

Population Characteristics Of The Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) In Rhode Island Coastal Waters, Katherine E. Rodrigue

Open Access Master's Theses

The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is an emblematic species for much of the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coasts, supporting vital fisheries in these areas. Evidence has shown that many species, including blue crabs, are undergoing northward shifting distributions. This has resulted in speculation about an increasing blue crab population and its capability to support a viable fishery in Rhode Island (USA) coastal waters. Currently, the blue crab is an unassessed species in Rhode Island, and few studies have focused on their population dynamics in the northeast region.

In the first manuscript of this thesis, a Bayesian hierarchical modeling method …

A Spatiotemporal Analysis Of Ocean Acidification In The Pacific-Arctic Region, Thomas V. Caero

Open Access Master's Theses

The Pacific-Arctic Region (PAR) is highly vulnerable to ocean acidification (OA) due to its low buffer capacity, carbonate concentration, and the regionally-amplified effects of climate change. Although it experiences the highest rates of OA globally, the existing literature lacks observation-based surface decadal OA rates for the PAR, primarily due to large data gaps. To address these limitations, we aggregated open-source carbonate datasets and established spatially-dependent relationships to predict surface total alkalinity (TA) using salinity and temperature (R²=0.93, MAE = 23 μmol kg^-1). We then applied these relationships to gridded sea surface salinity and temperature products …

Gateway To The Mind: Using Eye Tracking To Explore The Broader Autism Phenotype, Joseph Molski

Open Access Master's Theses

The Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) is a term used to describe Autism-like symptoms in individuals not diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as the genetic transmission of these symptoms. Within this field of study, first-degree relatives, siblings, and parents are most often studied due to the direct path of genetic transmission. Within this group, there are several measurable characteristics used to explore the BAP. Of relevance to this study are neuropsychological characteristics, specifically potential atypicality while gazing at speaking human faces. While some studies have conducted analyses with this neuropsychological characteristic with siblings, there has yet to be …

Chemical Investigation Of Membrane Vesicles Isolated From Pseudoalteromonas Rubra, Margaret Hill

Open Access Master's Theses

The microbial communities of crustose coralline algae (CCA), a known substrate for coral recruitment, produce bioactive compounds that aid in the physiological processes of larval settlement and metamorphosis. One example is the proposed larval morphogen cycloprodigiosin which is produced by CCA-associated Pseudoalteromonas rubra strains. However, the lipophilicity of this compound limits its water solubility and raises questions regarding its delivery in the marine environment. In this study, we hypothesized that hydrophobic chemical signals are packaged within bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs). A combined genomic and metabolomic approach was used to investigate specialized metabolites produced by CCA-associated P. rubra strains KB1 and …

Peak Detection In Intracranial Pressure Signal Waveforms: A Comparative Study, Miaomiao Wei, Solventa Krakauskaite, Sreya Subramanian, Fabien Scalzo

All Faculty Open Access Publications

Background: The monitoring and analysis of quasi-periodic biological signals such as electrocardiography (ECG), intracranial pressure (ICP), and cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) waveforms plays an important role in the early detection of adverse patient events and contributes to improved care management in the intensive care unit (ICU). This work quantitatively evaluates existing computational frameworks for automatically extracting peaks within ICP waveforms. Methods: Peak detection techniques based on state-of-the-art machine learning models were evaluated in terms of robustness to varying noise levels. The evaluation was performed on a dataset of ICP signals assembled from 700 h of monitoring from 64 neurosurgical …

Theoretical And Experimental Constraints For The Equation Of State Of Dense And Hot Matter, Rajesh Kumar, Veronica Dexheimer, Johannes Jahan, Jorge Noronha, Jacquelyn Noronha-Hostler, Claudia Ratti, Nico Yunes, Angel Rodrigo Nava Acuna, Mark Alford, Mahmudul Hasan Anik, Debarati Chatterjee, Katerina Chatziioannou, Hsin Yu Chen, Alexander Clevinger, Carlos Conde, Nikolas Cruz-Camacho, Travis Dore, Christian Drischler, Hannah Elfner, Reed Essick

All Faculty Open Access Publications

This review aims at providing an extensive discussion of modern constraints relevant for dense and hot strongly interacting matter. It includes theoretical first-principle results from lattice and perturbative QCD, as well as chiral effective field theory results. From the experimental side, it includes heavy-ion collision and low-energy nuclear physics results, as well as observations from neutron stars and their mergers. The validity of different constraints, concerning specific conditions and ranges of applicability, is also provided.

Hack24f: Alzcare Ai Assist: Empowering Alzheimer's Care, Yao Zhang, Chengjie Zheng, Oliver Francois, Lingling Zhang

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

AlzCare AI Assist is a groundbreaking solution that leverages the power of artificial intelligence to revolutionize Alzheimer's care. By delivering personalized assessments, psychological support, and caregiver assistance, we aim to transform the lives of those affected by this debilitating condition.

Social Acceptance, Well-Being, And The Desire To Start A Family Of Lgbtq+ People In Thailand, Wirunphat Manitsorasak

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Despite Thailand’s image as a “living paradise” for LGBTQ+ individuals, empirical research on social acceptance and family formation remains limited. Public discourse has questioned whether the growing visibility of LGBTQ+ populations may contribute to the national fertility decline. Given this context, this study focuses on LGBTQ+ individuals and explores three dimensions: (1) societal tolerance toward LGBTIQAN+ individuals and sexual diversity, (2) public attitudes toward LGBTIQAN+ parenting, and (3) the well-being and family formation intentions of LGBTQ+ individuals. Employing a quantitative approach, the study draws on two data sources: (1) secondary data from three waves of the World Values Survey (2007, …

Intentional Parenthood, Contingent Fetal Personhood, And The Right To Reproductive Self-Determination, Laura Hermer

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article argues that intent should govern legal parenthood, regardless of the method of conception, the person’s biological or genetic relationship to the resulting embryo/fetus, or the person’s gender. This proposition is not new. This Article adds to scholarly discourse by extending the concept: Intent should not just determine parenthood, but also fetal rights. When a pregnant person establishes their procreational intent (or lack thereof) prior to birth, then both the existence (or lack thereof) of legal protections for the embryo/fetus and the gestator’s rights and duties (or lack thereof) should flow from this intent. Non-gestating gamete contributors would do …

Exploring The Efficacy Of Interpersonal Psychotherapy Via Telehealth, Damon Tichenor Jr

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic caused abrupt changes for healthcare providers across the globe. As a result of social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders, it was necessary that providers adapted their services to continue to reach their clients/patients. Specifically for the field of mental health, practitioners quickly and extensively adapted from a face-to-face format to providing their services using various forms of technology, otherwise known as telepsychology. Although telepsychology was established prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid adjustment forced practitioners to adapt their interventions to formats in ways that had not been proven to be effective. The purpose of the current …

Canine-Assisted Cognitive Processing Therapy: Promoting Healing For Veterans Diagnosed With Ptsd Through Canine "Battle Buddies", Shelby L. Meadows

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Trauma related symptoms and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have long been recognized for their connection to military and veteran populations and has become a significant barrier to the provision of mental healthcare. This original contribution to practice explores the significance of Canine Assisted Therapy as a novel approach to treating trauma in veteran and military populations. An extensive literature review examines the current research and discussion on trauma-informed care. It begins with a discussion on evidence-based practices for the treatment of PTSD, including Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This is followed by a comprehensive …

A Domain-Agnostic Neurosymbolic Approach For Big Social Data Analysis: Evaluating Mental Health Sentiment On Social Media During Covid-19, Vedant Khandelwal, Manas Gaur, Ugur Kursuncu, Valerie L. Shalin, Amit P. Sheth

Psychology Faculty Publications

Monitoring public sentiment via social media is potentially helpful during health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, traditional frequency-based, data-driven neural network-based approaches can miss newly relevant content due to the evolving nature of language in a dynamically evolving environment. Human-curated symbolic knowledge sources, such as lexicons for standard language and slang terms, can potentially elevate social media signals in evolving language. We introduce a neurosymbolic method that integrates neural networks with symbolic knowledge sources, enhancing the detection and interpretation of mental health-related tweets relevant to COVID-19. Our method was evaluated using a corpus of large datasets (approximately 12 …

Developing A Novel Gold Nanoparticle-Based Colorimetric Assay For The Detection Of Cytomegalovirus (Cmv) In Pediatric-Derived Urine Specimens, Sonam Gupta

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a member of the Herpesviridae family and is known to infect people of all ages. In most cases, CMV infection is asymptomatic, and the virus is cleared from the host without showing any significant symptoms. However, 1 out of 200 babies are born with congenital CMV infection, which affects multiple organs, including the brain, liver, spleen, lung, and inner ear. One long-term health problem in 1 out 5 babies born with congenital CMV infection is hearing loss. The progression of CMV-associated hearing loss in the first two years of life may lead to developmental delays in language, …

Issue 39

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Biological Puppets: The Neuroscience Of Free Will And Determinism, Kate Martin

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Black And Blue All Over: Whose Lives Matter?, Bella Purvis

Honors Theses

This study investigated the influence of beliefs about race on support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Blue Lives Matter (BluLM) movements, mediated by attitudes towards police and beliefs about white privilege. Utilizing a sample of undergraduate university students, data were obtained through a survey measuring beliefs in the biological and social constructs of race, support for police, belief in white privilege, and attitudes toward BLM and BluLM. Results indicated that individuals who perceive race as a biological construct are less likely to support BLM and more likely to support BluLM, while beliefs in white privilege and attitudes towards …

The Effects Of Parasitoid Wasps On The Intra- And Interspecific Competition Of Zaprionus Indianus, Camille R. Walsh-Antzak

Honors Theses

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the success of biological invasions is essential to employ effective prediction and management strategies. The release of natural enemies in invaded regions (enemy release hypothesis) and increased competitive ability are major hallmarks of invasive species, however, these two processes are rarely studied within the same context. Here, we examined the role of ERH in influencing the competitive outcomes of an invasive insect pest, the African fig fly (Zaprionus indianus). In Virginia orchards, Z. indianus repeatedly outcompetes co-occurring drosophilid species. However, the mechanisms underlying the success of Z. indianus are poorly understood. Parasitoid wasps specializing in Camill …