Life Sciences Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Aedes Albopictus Prevalence Across Arkansas, Alyssa N. Jones, Eric C. Lovely, Douglas G. Barron

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Aedes albopictus is a well-known vector species of mosquito that is responsible for the transmission of many arboviruses such as Zika, chikungunya, and dengue. The objective of this study was to quantify spatial and temporal variation of Ae. albopictus prevalence in Arkansas. We used egg abundance as a proxy for mosquito prevalence. Across 2 years, we worked with the Arkansas Department of Health to collect mosquito eggs using oviposition traps. Eggs were desiccated, counted, and later rehydrated in rearing chambers and raised through adulthood for species determination (>99% Ae. albopictus). We determined mean egg abundance by month, year, …

Failure Of Passive Transfer In Neonatal Calves In Dairy Farms In Ankara Region, Erdal Kara, Ebubeki̇r Ceylan

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

This study, as a model for the farms in Turkey implementing professional herd management protocols, was conducted to examine a variety of factors in relation to the prevalence of failure of passive transfer (FPT) and the passive transfer (PT) in dairy farms in Ankara. A total of 400 calves and 363 cows from 9 different farms practicing professional herd management systems and employ full-time veterinarians were included in the study. Following the birth of the calf, colostrum was taken from cows, blood samples were taken from calves at 24-48 h of age and analysed for IgG using ELISA. FPT was …

Disease Prevalence And The Population Genetic Structure Of Crassostrea Virginica Along The Georgia Coast, Sarah Batchelor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is an ecologically important species that plays a role in protecting shorelines, water filtration, and providing habitat and food for various fish species. Perkinsus marinus and Haplosporidium nesloni are two pathogens currently affecting oyster populations. These pathogens have both been documented as causes of mass mortality events along the East coast. They greatly diminish the health of oysters, resulting in the degradation of oyster tissue, reduction in growth and reproductive ability, and may cause death. In this study, wild oysters were collected from eleven locations along the Georgia coast to investigate the presence, intensity, …

Primer Registro Del Pequeño Escarabajo De La Colmena Aethina Tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) En Colmenas De Abejas Africanizadas En Guatemala, José Francisco García Ochaeta

Insecta Mundi

Se registra por primera vez la presencia del pequeño escarabajo de la colmena (PEC), Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), en colmenas de abejas africanizadas en el departamento de Petén, Guatemala, alimentándose de miel y polen. Se presenta información básica sobre la especie, su distribución conocida actual e ilustraciones para ayudar en su identificación.

The presence of the small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is recorded for the first time in Africanized beehives from Petén department, Guatemala, feeding on honey and pollen. Basic information about the species, including its currently known distribution, and illustrations, are presented to aid …

Tunel Apoptotic Cell Detection In Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (Sctld): Evaluation Of Potential And Improvements, E. Murphy Mcdonald

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a highly lethal coral disease that has caused a dramatic loss of coral tissue along the Florida Reef Tract and throughout the Wider Caribbean. This study seeks to understand whether programmed cell death (apoptosis) is involved in the pathology of the highly virulent SCTLD tissue loss lesion. Tissues from diseased colonies of Pseudodiploria strigosa collected in 2018 and 2020 were stained using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase (TdT) mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay to visualize areas of programmed cell death. The archived tissue samples collected in 2018 exhibited a significantly higher degree of …

Analysis Of Seasonal Changes In Thermal Stress Resilience And Innate Immunity In The Temperate Coral, Astrangia Poculata, From Future Climate Impacts, Tyler Eugene Harman

Masters Theses

Over the years, global warming has had a devastating effect on coral reef ecosystems. Anthropogenic influences have caused significant increases in greenhouse gases, with a subsequent increase in solar radiation held within Earth’s atmosphere leading to increasing global temperatures. The increasing temperatures from concurrent increases in greenhouse gases impact fragile marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, which require particular environmental parameters such as temperature in order to survive and maintain a diverse ecosystem in which many marine species rely on. These increases in temperature exacerbate phenomena such as bleaching events and coral disease, drastically impacting coral on a global scale …

Effects Of Infection Of The Protist Parasite, Dermomycoides Sp., In Dusky Gopher Frog Tadpoles, Jaime Smith

Master's Theses

Infections of the protist parasite, Dermomycoides sp. are thought to have caused several years of low recruitment in the dusky gopher frog (Rana sevosa) populations. I evaluated the effects of density of the infective zoospores, host developmental stage, and tadpoles' ability to acquire resistance to Dermomycoides sp. on dusky gopher frog tadpoles. Tadpoles were exposed to zoospore densities of 0, 250, 500, and 750 zoospores/µL at Gosner stage 25, and we found no significant differences among treatments in tadpole mortality. In evaluating susceptibility by development stage, I exposed R. sevosa to 50 zoospores/µL as eggs, embryos, hatchlings, and …

Epidemiology And Pathophysiology Of Common Skin Diseases In West Africa: An Immunodermatological Framework, Osazomon Imarenezor

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This capstone reviews the common skin diseases on a global scale. With these dermatoses being further funneled into Africa and then magnified into common West African dermatoses, the meta-analyses of literature available paints a clear picture of the epidemiological & pathological factors and their contribution to the skin disease. Each article analysed in this analysis was taken from a 20-year span of January 2000 to December 2019. The selection of articles was fine-tuned by identifying the distribution of skin disease, revealing the populations affected (age, gender, ethnicity, etc), the main causes, country of origin, the prognosis of disease, and the …

Back From The Brink?: Rebounding And Remnant Amphibian Populations In A Pathogen Enzootic Environment, Alexander D. Shepack

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Anthropocene epoch has been marred by a global biodiversity crisis and the advent of Earth’s sixth mass extinction. Amphibians, the most threatened vertebrate taxa, have become the poster children for this sixth mass extinction. The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been blamed for many of declines and extinctions seen in amphibians. The now panglobal Bd causes the disease chytridiomycosis in a large number of amphibian species and has been linked to population crashes in Central and South America, Australia, Europe, and the United States. Now enzootic around the world, amphibian populations continue to confront Bd in a long-term battle …

Syndrome Of Death Of Marandugrass In The Western Brazilian Amazon, Judson F. Valentim, Carlos M. S. De Andrade, Eufran Ferreira Do Amaral

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Induced Plant Succession As A Strategy To Reclaim Degraded Pastures In The Brazilian Amazon, Carlos M. S. De Andrade, Judson F. Valentim

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Health And Disease Markers Correlate With Gut Microbiome Composition Across Thousands Of People., Ohad Manor, Chengzhen L Dai, Sergey A Kornilov, Brett Smith, Nathan D Price, Jennifer C Lovejoy, Sean M Gibbons, Andrew T Magis

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Variation in the human gut microbiome can reflect host lifestyle and behaviors and influence disease biomarker levels in the blood. Understanding the relationships between gut microbes and host phenotypes are critical for understanding wellness and disease. Here, we examine associations between the gut microbiota and ~150 host phenotypic features across ~3,400 individuals. We identify major axes of taxonomic variance in the gut and a putative diversity maximum along the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes axis. Our analyses reveal both known and unknown associations between microbiome composition and host clinical markers and lifestyle factors, including host-microbe associations that are composition-specific. These results suggest potential opportunities …

Feral Swine, Michael P. Glow, Nathan P. Snow, Kurt C. Vercauteren

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Feral swine (Sus scrofa; Figure 1), also known as feral hogs, feral pigs, wild pigs, wild boar, or other similar derivations, are a non-native species considered to be one of the most destructive invasive terrestrial vertebrates in North America. While feral swine populations remained relatively small and confined in the continental United States following initial introductions by European explorers during the 15th century, substantial range expansion has occurred across every geographical region of the United States (Figure 2). This expansion has primarily been attributed to human-mediated movements, predominately for the purpose of establishing populations for recreational hunting, and facilitated by …

Associations Among Beef Cattle Genotypes, Neospora Caninum Infection, And Reproductive Performance, Ryan James Page

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reproductive performance is crucial for sustained financial success in the beef cattle industry. This dissertation includes a population study that quantified the incidence of Neospora caninum infections in the central region of the United States and tested its relationship with reproductive performance in beef cattle. Trial one of that study concluded that 6.9% of open, replacement heifers (n = 1306) tested seropositive. The second trial in that project found that 9.6% of the breeding age females (n = 500) tested were seropositive for Neospora caninum; and that state in which the cattle lived and age impacted (P < 0.05) infection rate. Breed composition, number of farm dogs on the ranch, and use of total mixed rations were not associated (P > 0.1) with seropositive …

Probing The Function Of Perilipin 5b, Rebekah Dalton

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Many modern health issues arise from aberrant lipid metabolism, among these are type II diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. One commonality these diseases share is neutral lipid metabolism and storage. Regulation of neutral lipid metabolism is of vital importance in the body, and among the proteins responsible for such regulation are the perilipins. Perilipins are a family of five conserved proteins that are found on the surface of lipid storage droplets and play a central role in the regulation of cellular neutral lipid metabolism. Perilipin 5 specifically, is expressed in tissues with a high capacity for fatty acid oxidation …

Elephants And Pandemics, Adrian Treves

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler’s critique of Asian elephant tourism and conservation in Thailand has convinced me that this was “an industry with too many victims.” Yet I fear that B&W’s proposed remedy of returning to past elephant husbandry by Karen hill-peoples has little likelihood of improving the lives of the elephants for long. Who can predict whether the Karen will live up to this hope? B&W advocate for the Karen, but not for “an abolitionist stance on elephant-human relationships.” In my view, whether we discuss elephants or the wild mammals that carry SARS-CoV-2, abolition of many human uses of animals is …

Humans, Wildlife, And Our Environment: One Health Is The Common Link, Terry A. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

One Health has become more important in recent years because interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment have dramatically changed. This Back Page article discusses One Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biosecurity Levels Of Livestock Enterprises In Turkey And Factors Affecting These Levels, Mehmet Feri̇t Can, Nuri̇ Altuğ, Ferhan Kaygisiz

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Biosecurity (BS) is a multidimensional preventive medicine approach that has health, technical, and financial aspects. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences of the BS scores belonging to the livestock enterprises depending on the geographical region and breeding types and to predict the socioeconomic factors having an impact over the BS level. The study was conducted with 517 breeders who live in 7 different regions of Turkey. The results have revealed that the enterprises performing "beef cattle fattening and dairy cattle breeding together" have higher BS scores than the enterprises in the other breeding category (P < 0.01). The differences between the technical and financial scores according to geographical regions were statistically significant (P < 0.01). The regions categorized as "wes" have the highest score and "south" have the lowest score. It was determined that as the "educational level of the breeder" and "enterprise scale" increased, the BS score significantly went up. The regression model was found significant as a whole (P < 0.01) and the independent variables explained the variation in the technical and financial BS scores to be 14.6% and 12.7%, respectively. Dissemination of education/training practices and increasing enterprise scales will positively affect the level of BS in the sector.

Assessment Of In Vivo Muscle Force In The R6/2 Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease Using Newly Designed Force Rig, Steven Russell Alan Burke

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we develop a system to study in vivo muscle function in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease that allows for the recording of muscle force by stimulating the motor nerves or the muscles directly after a nerve block. This allows us to distinguish between defects in the nerve, such as problems with vesicle release, and primary muscle defects, such as altered intracellular calcium homeostasis. We hypothesize that there are primary defects in R6/2 skeletal muscle that are separate from neurodegeneration or defects in the CNS. In this case, we should see defects in muscle force generation during …

Causes And Mechanisms Of Crohn’S Disease, Chana Weis

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two most prevalent inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) in Jewish and Caucasian populations, affecting as many as one in 250 individuals. Nevertheless, the underlying causes of both disorders are not yet fully understood and remain unknown. However, current evidence suggests that the exaggerated inflammatory response, more commonly referred to as IBD, is believed to arise from dysregulation of the gastrointestinal (GI) immune system in genetically predisposed individuals who are exposed to environmental triggers. Recent advances have identified multiple IBD susceptibility genes; however, only a few environmental determinants of IBD have been consistently identified. The …

Investigating The Morphology Of Iprgcs In Control Vs. Glaucomatous Retinas, Samantha Cook

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Glaucoma is a build-up of pressure in the eye that leads to the gradual loss of sight. The intention of this study was to investigate how glaucoma affects intrinsically photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells (ipRGCs). These cells contain melanopsin, a photopigment, that enables the cells to react to light. Four-month-old control and five-month-old glaucoma mice retinas were dissected, stained using primary and secondary antibodies, then traced using ImageJ’s Simple Neurite Tracer. There were no significant differences in soma size, total dendritic length, dendritic field size, and dendritic field diameter between control and glaucoma ipRGCs. However, further research is needed to provide …

Treating Anemia Of Chronic Disease, Sarit Fischer

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Anemia of chronic disease (ACD) is the result of altered iron metabolism, blunted erythropoiesis, and shortened red blood cell survival caused by inflammatory cytokines. Hepcidin plays a key role in anemia of chronic disease by inducing endocytosis of the iron exporter ferroportin. Iron is trapped in enterocytes, hepatocytes, and macrophages, and is unavailable for hemoglobin synthesis. When treating the underlying disease is not an option, or anemia is severe, ACD should be treated. While oral iron supplementation is not suitable for ACD, intravenous iron may be effective. Erythropoiesis stimulating agents are a common approach to treating ACD, but a large …

From Field To Film: Mosquito Surveillance And Survey Of Us Adults' Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Arthropod-Borne Disease Vectors, Justine Laviolette

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mosquito-borne disease is a public health challenge that warrants an active surveillance program for the identification of mosquito populations and the education of the public for prevention and protection against disease-transmitting arthropods. The communication of science to the public is necessary to prevent disease, change behavior, and promote a dialog between scientists and the public.

People are accustomed to high quality entertainment, which begs the question, “If we made science more entertaining, would the public be more interested?”

To address these issues, the objectives of this study are: 1) identify mosquito species and abundance at the US Meat Animal Research …

Vitamin D Deficiency And Supplementation In Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease, Angela Morton

All Student-Created Educational Resources

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health concern with rising prevalence. Vitamin D deficiency (/mL) and insufficiency (20–29 ng/mL) are common among patients with CKD undergoing dialysis. The objective was to review current research on vitamin D supplementation for dialysis patients and the effect on their serum vitamin D levels.

Serological Survey And Pathogen Exposure Of Adult Female White-Tailed Deer In The Western Dakotas, Katherine L. Moratz, Bailey S. Gullikson, Eric S. Michel, Daniel M. Grove, Jonathan A. Jenks, William Jensen

The Prairie Naturalist

Establishing baseline values for pathogen exposure and nutritional indices is necessary to monitor population health. However, little is known about white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) pathogen exposure and nutritional condition in the Northern Great Plains. Our objective was to assess pathogen exposure and establish nutritional indices for female white-tailed deer in Dunn and Grant counties, North Dakota and Perkins County, South Dakota. During 2014, we collected blood serum from 150 adult female white-tailed deer. Pathogens with the highest antibody prevalence included West Nile Virus (WNV; 85%), epizootic hemorrhagic disease (48%), and malignant catarrhal fever (32%). Serum values for creatine …

Characterization Of Microsporidian Ameson Herrnkindi Sp. Nov. Infecting Caribbean Spiny Lobsters Panulirus Argus, Hamish J. Small, Gd Stentiford, Dc Behringer, Ma Freeman, Nam Atherley, Kimberly S. Reece, Jeffrey D. Shields

VIMS Articles

The Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus supports a large and valuable fishery in the Caribbean Sea. In 2007-2008, a rare microsporidian parasite with spore characteristics typical of the Ameson genus was detected in 2 spiny lobsters from southeast Florida (FL). However, the parasite species was not confirmed by molecular analyses. To address this deficiency, reported here are structural and molecular data on single lobsters displaying comparable ‘cotton-like’ abdominal muscle containing ovoid microsporidian spores found at different locations in FL in 2014 and 2018 and in Saint Kitts and Nevis Islands in 2017. In the lobster from 2014, multiple life stages …

A Review Of Rat Lungworm Infection And Recent Data On Its Definitive Hosts In Hawaii, Chris Niebuhr, Susan I. Jarvi, Shane R. Siers

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) is a zoonotic nematode that causes rat lungworm disease (angiostrongyliasis), a potentially debilitating form of meningitis, in humans worldwide. The definitive hosts for rat lungworm are primarily members of the genus Rattus, with gastropods as intermediate hosts. This parasite has emerged as an important public health concern in the United States, especially in Hawaii, where the number of human cases has increased in the last decade. Here we discuss the current knowledge of the rat lungworm, including information on the life cycle and host species, as well as updates on known infection levels. Three species of …

Study Of The Inflammatory And Fibrotic Pathology In The Gut Following Microcystin Exposure Under Conditions Of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease., Sutapa Sarkar

Theses and Dissertations

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a global pandemic with increased risks of chronic inflammation in obese and elderly population. It has become a major public health concern due to the unavailability of proper therapeutic approaches. NAFLD is a condition of the liver involving wide spectrum of events including accumulation of fat in the liver and inflammation, which can progress to a fibrotic and cirrhotic phenotype, often termed as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In this backdrop, exposure to environmental toxins from harmful algal blooms could prove detrimental to the overweight, obese or elderly population. NAFLD not only affects the liver …

Conservation Risk Of Batrachochytrium Salamandrivorans To Endemic Lungless Salamanders, Edward Davis Carter, Debra L. Miller, Anna C. Peterson, William B. Sutton, Joseph Patrick W. Cusaac, Jennifer A. Spatz, Louise Rollins-Smith, Laura Reinert, Markese Bohanon, Lori A. Williams, Andrea Upchurch, Matthew J. Gray

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

The emerging fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), is a significant conservation threat to salamander biodiversity in Europe, although its potential to affect North American species is poorly understood. We tested the susceptibility of two genera (Eurycea and Pseudotriton) and three populations of lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae) to Bsal. All species became infected with Bsal and two (Pseudotriton ruber and Eurycea wilderae) developed chytridiomycosis. We also documented that susceptibility of E. wilderae differed among populations. Regardless of susceptibility, all species reduced feeding when exposed to Bsal at the highest zoospore dose, and P. ruber and one population of E. wilderae used cover …

A Characterization Of A Southeast Florida Stony Coral Assemblage After A Disease Event, Nicole K. Hayes

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral reefs have declined globally due to anthropogenic stressors increasing the frequency and severity of bleaching and disease events. In 2014, a stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) outbreak occurred off the coast of southeast Florida and subsequently spread throughout the region. Data collected by the Southeast Florida Reef Evaluation and Monitoring Project (SECREMP) were used to examine the regional impacts of the disease event on the Southeast Florida stony coral assemblage. A long-term annual monitoring project, SECREMP samples permanent sites along the Southeast Florida Reef Tract (SEFRT) from Miami-Dade County north to Martin County. Analysis of stony coral demographic …