Life Sciences Commons^™

Burnout And Overtraining In Division 1 Female Soccer Athletes, Catharine Forst

Longwood Senior Theses

Burnout, a commonly studied phenomenon in college athletics, has been a major concern college athletes while overtraining, also a frequent concern in athletics, lacks specific research and connection to burnout. The purpose of this study was to see if overtraining or burnout occurred in D1 female soccer players and the possible factors/trends that might contribute. A self-report survey was completed weekly by the 34 D1 female soccer players, which assessed sleep quality (SPQI), quality of life (QOL), academic load, soccer evaluation (ABQ), and mood states (POMS). Bi-weekly heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed for 3 minutes at rest, and a …

The Application Of Single-Cell Rna-Sequencing Data Analysis To Assess Changes In Gene Expression, Mark Vincent Gatan, Hazel Jane Cadiz

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Human diseases can be analyzed by studying the dysregulation of gene expression. This can be applied to: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), age-related changes in immune cells and neurons, and COVID-19. We sought to develop an scRNA-seq bioinformatics pipeline that would support future studies on gene expression in AD.

Effects Of Time-Restricted Exercise On Hypertrophy, Aerobic Adaptations, And Body Weight In Mice, Greco Neblina, Elias M. Malek, Michael B. Dial, Austin Cooper

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Sleep and circadian rhythms are shown to impact cellular and whole-body metabolism and exercise capacity. Mice experience adaptations (e.g., hypertrophy, increased time to exhaustion) as a result of voluntary aerobic exercise. Adaptations to aerobic exercise are influenced by the time of day at which exercise is performed due to alterations in transcriptional and translational processes that affect mitochondrial abundance. It is critical to examine the gross effects of exercise timing on metabolic adaptations and other adaptations to aerobic exercise. This knowledge can help athletes and coaches organize time-optimized training schedules and help clinicians improve patient outcomes through time-of-day related adaptations …

Pfas: A Threat To Public Health And Safety, Ibrahim Qazi, Adriana Carrillo, Alexa Guloy [email protected], Emily Moon, Rayan Muneer, Hien Tran, Raiden Wadsworth

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Nonstick pots and pans, takeout containers, waterproof clothes: these are items that people use in their daily lives. A common denominator in all of these items lies PFAS, or Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances. Our exposure to these chemicals has proven to be toxic and carcinogenic to human health. Despite the evidence of their harmful effects, many companies still continue to incorporate these forever chemicals into their products, thus prolonging their exposure to humans.

The Relationship Between School Refusal Behavior And Executive Functions, Christina Saliba, Shreyas Bhat, Karina R. Carrillo-Juárez [email protected], Randolph Dupont

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

School refusal is a pressing issue that impacts children throughout the United States. School Refusal behaviors can be attributed to four distinct reasons: avoiding school because it induces negative emotions (ANA), avoiding social or evaluative situations (ESE), seeking attention from others (AGB), and pursuing rewards outside of the school environment (PTR) (Kearney, 2002). Executive functions are mechanisms that monitor and regulate cognitive processes and tasks. These include problem-solving, working memory, attention, and inhibition. Executive functions can be linked with various aspects of school achievement and cognitive development in children and adolescents (Sosic-Vasic, 2017). Previous research has shown that kindergarteners who …

Potential Use Of The Gel Extract Of Butterfly Pea Flower As Topical Therapy To Prevent Photodamage By Downregulating Tnf-Α And Caspase-3 Expression Levels In Uvb-Exposed Rats, Elvana Cahyani, Agung Putra, Prasetyowati Subchan

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: Prolonged exposure to UVB radiation causes DNA damage in skin cells by raising the levels of reactive oxygen species, resulting in the production of inflammatory factors and skin issues. Plant extracts are frequently used to counteract photodamage due to their antioxidant properties. One example is the floral extract of the butterfly pea plant, which contains flavonoid antioxidants. However, the effect of the extract on inflammatory factors is unknown. This study investigated how tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and caspase-3 expression changed when a butterfly pea flower extract gel was applied topically to UVB-exposed animals.

Methods: Experimental and control …

The Intersection Of Herbicide Policy, Exposure, And Health At The University Of Connecticut, Katherine Hayward

Honors Scholar Theses

Pesticides play an extremely complicated role in our everyday lives. From the water you use to make your coffee, to the breastmilk your neighbor provides for their child, to the lake your dog swims in, chemical pesticides or their byproducts have been found in nearly every corner of our lives. The chemicals used in synthetic herbicides, a subcategory of pesticides, have far reaching negative impacts on human health, biodiversity, and water quality. Despite there being numerous published studies on the relationships between pesticide exposures and health, there is still ongoing discord and controversy surrounding their role in our lives. After …

Understanding The Expression And Role Of Pros-1 In The Male Gonad Of C. Elegans, Jack Bozik

Undergraduate Theses

The gene pros-1 is a transcription factor that is highly expressed within neuronal sheath cells, glial cells, and excretory canal cells. pros-1 plays a role in cell determination of those cell types in the nematode C. elegans, which promotes organismal development. But the degree to which pros-1 presence is important is still not fully understood, because there are many genes involved in development that when mutated or damaged can result in unexpected phenotypes or even total loss of function to a certain developmental mechanism. What makes pros-1 valuable to research is that it is a functional homologue to a …

Using Crispr To Genetically Engineer Two Genes Involved In Gonadogenesis In The Model Organism C. Elegans, Peyton Young

Undergraduate Theses

C. elegans is a nematode model organism commonly used in research because of its small size and similarity to humans. Of the known protein sequences of C. elegans, 40%-80% have human homologous genes, making C. elegans an ideal organism for study of human proteins (Lai et al. 2000). Additionally, there are two sexes of C. elegans, male and hermaphrodite. Of the two sexes, this research focuses on the males, especially the development of the gonad and the genes involved in this process. Two genes were chosen for study, C10E2.6 and pig-1, based on essentiality and mRNA expression …

The Color Of Sound: An Insight On Chromesthesia, Lupe Rodriguez

Honors Capstones

Many people can see with their eyes, but there are some people who can see through sound. Chromesthesia is when sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color through shapes and movement. The goal of this project is to show what this experience is like and give people an opportunity to experience it in a way themselves.

The Color of Sound Website Prototype

The Genomic Landscape Of Familial Glioma, Dong-Joo Choi, Georgina Armstrong, Brittney Lozzi, Prashanth Vijayaraghavan, Sharon E Plon, Terence C Wong, Eric Boerwinkle, Donna M Muzny, Hsiao-Chi Chen, Richard A Gibbs, Quinn T Ostrom, Beatrice Melin, Benjamin Deneen, Melissa L Bondy, Gliogene Consortium, Genomics England Research Consortium, Matthew N Bainbridge, Christopher I Amos, Jill S Barnholtz-Sloan, Jonine L Bernstein, Elizabeth B Claus, Richard S Houlston, Dora Il'yasova, Robert B Jenkins, Christoffer Johansen, Daniel Lachance, Rose Lai, Beatrice S Melin, Ryan T Merrell, Sara H Olson, Siegal Sadetzki, Joellen Schildkraut, Sanjay Shete, J C Ambrose, P Arumugam, R Bevers, M Bleda, F Boardman-Pretty, C R Boustred, H Brittain, M A Brown, M J Caulfield, G C Chan, A Giess, J N Griffin, A Hamblin, S Henderson, T J P Hubbard, R Jackson, L J Jones, D Kasperaviciute, M Kayikci, A Kousathanas, L Lahnstein, A Lakey, S E A Leigh, I U S Leong, F J Lopez, F Maleady-Crowe, M Mcentagart, F Minneci, J Mitchell, L Moutsianas, M Mueller, N Murugaesu, A C Need, P O'Donovan, C A Odhams, C Patch, D Perez-Gil, M B Pereira, J Pullinger, T Rahim, A Rendon, T Rogers, K Savage, K Sawant, R H Scott, A Siddiq, A Sieghart, S C Smith, A Sosinsky, A Stuckey, M Tanguy, A L Taylor Tavares, E R A Thomas, S R Thompson, A Tucci, M J Welland, E Williams, K Witkowska, S M Wood, M Zarowiecki

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Glioma is a rare brain tumor with a poor prognosis. Familial glioma is a subset of glioma with a strong genetic predisposition that accounts for approximately 5% of glioma cases. We performed whole-genome sequencing on an exploratory cohort of 203 individuals from 189 families with a history of familial glioma and an additional validation cohort of 122 individuals from 115 families. We found significant enrichment of rare deleterious variants of seven genes in both cohorts, and the most significantly enriched gene was HERC2 (P = 0.0006). Furthermore, we identified rare noncoding variants in both cohorts that were predicted to …

Municipal Waste In Southern Nevada: Understanding The Obsession With Garbage, Zachary Billot

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Southern Nevada’s reliance on inexpensive disposal of waste results in lack of support for sustainable investment in waste diversion programs. Clark County lags significantly behind the US in terms of its municipal waste diversion due to problems related to the collection of materials and incentive for collection, limited institutionalized food waste collection programs, monopolization of waste management, as well as substantial rates of contamination of recyclable materials compared nationally. This proposal recommends a multifactor approach.

Can Reconsolidation Account For The Misinformation Effect?, Olesya T. Frolova, Gabriel E. Hull

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

A successful replication of Rindal & Zaragoza (2016) would indicate that reconsolidation cannot account for the misinformation effect. Current preliminary data supports the results found by the original study, suggesting that an alternative theory must be explored to explain the misinformation effect. For example, it is possible that the original memory is not altered by the misinformation but competes with the original memory leading to temporary inaccessibility at test. Results from this study could influence law enforcement interview techniques to avoid false testimonies. One limitation of the study is that performance on the test was potentially too good; this will …

Global-To-Local-To-Global Interactions And Climate Change, Uris Baldos, Maksym Chepeliev, Brian Cultice, Matthew Huber, Sisi Meng, Alex C. Ruane, Shellye Suttles, Dominique Van Der Mensbrugghe

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Climate change by its very nature epitomizes the necessity and usefulness of the global-to-local-to-global (GLG) paradigm. It is a global problem with the potential to affect local communities and ecosystems. Accumulation of local impacts and responses to climate change feeds back to regional and global systems creating feedback loops. Understanding these complex impacts and interactions is key to developing more resilient adaptation measures and designing more efficient mitigation policies. To this date, however, GLG interactions have not yet been an integrative part of the decision-support toolkit. The typical approach either traces the impacts of global action on the local level …

Electrochemical Reduction Of Carbon Dioxide Using Ruthenium And Amines, Sydney Moise

Honors Theses

With an increased concern for climate change in the recent years, a significant area of research has been devoted to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) resides in the atmosphere between 300 – 1000 years, making the reduction of the molecule a substantial field of study.1 Amines have been used as CO2 scrubbing agents in literature historically, due to their ability to form bonds to carbon.2 Although studies involving metal catalysts and amines have been reported numerous times, research involving chemical reduction of CO2 using purely amines is scarce. In this paper, amines, in addition to hydride donors …

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), …

Role Of Cdx4 And Sp5l In Zebrafish Development, Wesley Tsai

Honors Theses

The Caudal Type Homeobox transcription factors cdx are a family of genes found in vertebrates that regulates body regionalization and anterior-posterior patterning. They are also responsible for regulating axial elongation, but the mechanisms behind this behavior are not known. Previous studies in mouse embryonic stem cells have shown that the cdx genes are necessary for upregulating the gene sp5 which may be linked to axial elongation. Sp5 is a zinc-finger transcription factor belonging to the specificity protein (sp) family. Our group has used in-situ hybridization experiments on zebrafish embryos to show that sp5-like (sp5l) is transcribed within tailbud tissues that …

Bryophytes Of Goochland County, Virginia, Mikayla Quinn

Honors Theses

Bryophytes are non-vascular land plants that include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Although easier to overlook because of their smaller size, bryophytes are a fundamental part of the ecosystem. As such, maintaining record of their biodiversity is important. Yet, records of bryophyte species in Goochland County, VA were low compared to more thoroughly documented counties such as Prince Edward County. This study expands the documentation of bryophyte flora and presents a checklist of bryophyte species found Virginia’s Goochland County from 2020-2023. Fieldwork conducted at public and privately-owned properties throughout the county between January 2020 and March 2023 yielded 702 specimens that …

Alternative Splicing Of Gsdmb Modulates Killer Lymphocyte-Triggered Pyroptosis, Qing Kong, Shiyu Xia, Xingxin Pan, Kaixiong Ye, Zhouyihan Li, Haoyan Li, Xiaoqiang Tang, Nidhi Sahni, S Stephen Yi, Xing Liu, Hao Wu, Michael B Elowitz, Judy Lieberman, Zhibin Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Granzyme A from killer lymphocytes cleaves gasdermin B (GSDMB) and triggers pyroptosis in targeted human tumor cells, eliciting antitumor immunity. However, GSDMB has a controversial role in pyroptosis and has been linked to both anti- and protumor functions. Here, we found that GSDMB splicing variants are functionally distinct. Cleaved N-terminal (NT) fragments of GSDMB isoforms 3 and 4 caused pyroptosis, but isoforms 1, 2, and 5 did not. The nonfunctional isoforms have a deleted or modified exon 6 and therefore lack a stable belt motif. The belt likely contributes to the insertion of oligomeric GSDMB-NTs into the membrane. Consistently, noncytotoxic …

A Preliminary Report On Non-Insect Arthropods (Arachnida, Diplopoda) At Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, G. B. Edwards, Karen Relish

Insecta Mundi

Use of a combination of a novel pitfall trap setup and Lindgren funnel traps at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park resulted in the collection of few specimens due to a higher than normal ground water level. Despite this, some unusual specimens of Arachnida and Diplopoda were found, including the second known record of Mysmena incredula Gertsch and Davis, 1936 (Araneae: Mysmenidae) in Florida.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (FSPSP) is an 80,000+ acre preserve approximately 20 miles long by 5 miles wide in Collier County, Florida, receiving on average about 60 inches (1524 mm) of rain per year during May …

Plant Sentience: The Burden Of Proof, Jon Mallatt, David G. Robinson, Michael R. Blatt, Andreas Draguhn, Lincoln Taiz

Animal Sentience

Segundo-Ortin & Calvo’s (2023) target article takes a less speculative and more evidence-based approach to plant sentience than did previous works promoting that idea. However, it retains many of the idea’s longstanding difficulties such as starting from a false dichotomy (plants must be either hardwired or sentient), not accepting the full burden of proof for an extraordinary claim, confusingly redefining accepted cognitive terms, implying cell consciousness, not adopting the most parsimonious explanations for plant behaviors, and downplaying all the counterevidence. We advise rectifying these problems before plant sentience can become a full-fledged scientific domain.

Enhancing Cancer Diagnosis With Real-Time Feedback: Tumor Metabolism Through Hyperpolarized 1-13c Pyruvate Mrsi, Gaurav Sharma, José S Enriquez, Ryan Armijo, Muxin Wang, Pratip Bhattacharya, Shivanand Pudakalakatti

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This review article discusses the potential of hyperpolarized (HP) 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) as a noninvasive technique for identifying altered metabolism in various cancer types. Hyperpolarization significantly improves the signal-to-noise ratio for the identification of 13C-labeled metabolites, enabling dynamic and real-time imaging of the conversion of [1-13C] pyruvate to [1-13C] lactate and/or [1-13C] alanine. The technique has shown promise in identifying upregulated glycolysis in most cancers, as compared to normal cells, and detecting successful treatment responses at an earlier stage than multiparametric MRI in breast and prostate cancer patients. The review provides a concise overview of the applications …

Predictors Of Tropical Cyclone-Induced Urban Tree Failure: An International Scoping Review, Allyson B. Salisbury, Andrew K. Koeser, Michael G. Andreu, Yujuan Chen, Zachary Freeman, Jason W. Miesbauer, Adriana Herrera-Montes, Chai-Shian Kua, Ryo Higashiguchi Nukina, Cara A. Rockwell, Shozo Shibata, Hunter Thorn, Benyao Wang, Richard J. Hauer

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Background: Trees are critical components of rural and urban ecosystems throughout the world. While they have adapted to the historic conditions of their native environments, climate change, urbanization, and human-assisted range expansion may test the storm resiliency of many tree species.

Objective: In this global multilingual scoping review, we investigate a range of intrinsic (i.e., tree characteristics) and external (i.e., environmental and management) factors which have been used to predict tree failure during tropical cyclones.

Design: We searched online databases and journals in English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish to find peer-reviewed papers and dissertations. We retained papers that …

Csb Student-Athlete Mental Health Promotion, Ally Frantzick

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

No abstract provided.

How Can Consuming A Plant-Based Diet Reduce The Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease In Postmenopausal Women?, Rebecca Stack

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Despite the fact that women suffer higher rates of cardiovascular events after menopause, there exists a significant underrepresentation of women—especially postmenopausal women—in cardiovascular clinical trials to date. Fortunately, current evidence reveals that cardiovascular events in the general population are largely preventable through modifiable lifestyle factors, with dietary intervention being one of the most important (Amiri et al., 2022). As the impact of whole-diet interventions on cardiovascular risk factors is further explored, it has been determined that a plant-based dietary pattern may favorably influence the prevention of cardiovascular events in postmenopausal women (Barańska et al., 2021). Evidence also reveals that certain …

Impact Of Drought And Fertilizer Use On The Photosynthesis Rate Of Cucumber And Sweet Corn Under Ambient And Elevated Atmospheric Co2 Conditions, Kate Fenske

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

No abstract provided.

Microplastics’ Effects On Painted Lady Butterfly Survivorship, Migratory Behavior, And Fecundity, Kaelin Ferland

Biology Student Scholarship

Kaelin Ferland ’23
Major: Environmental Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rachael Bonoan, Biology

Human activity is affecting our planet at a microscopic level. In 2021, scientists first discovered microplastics in honeybees. Subsequent research has found that honeybee gut bacteria concentrations decrease because of microplastic ingestion, decreasing honeybee survivorship. The same might be true for other insect pollinators including butterflies. When butterflies visit flowers to feed, they simultaneously collect pollen on their wings. Due to the similar particulate structure of pollen and microplastics, it’s possible that butterflies collect microplastics in addition to food. We used painted lady butterflies to investigate if microplastics …

The Predation Resistance Of Squashed E. Coli, Kathryn Mulvey, Caroline Zielinski

Biology Student Scholarship

Kathryn Mulvey ’23, Major: Biology

Caroline Zielinski ’23, Major: Biology

Faculty Mentor, Dr. Laura Williams, Biology

Predatory bacteria hunt and kill other bacteria, including pathogens that cause disease in humans, which makes them a promising alternative for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Currently, it is unknown whether and how pathogens evolve resistance to predation. To investigate this, we are studying interactions between E. coli, which is a model organism for pathogenic bacteria, and predatory Bdellovibrio. When we co-cultured E. coli with a particular strain of predatory Bdellovibrio, we observed the emergence of predation-resistant E. coli that had reduced susceptibility to killing …

See You Later Alligator: Forelimb And Wrist Of Alligators Walking The Treadmill, Erin Trammell, Inthavha Singharaj, Sasha Rudich

Biology Student Scholarship

Erin Trammell ’23, Major: Biology

Inthavha Singharaj ’23, Major: Biology

Sasha Rudich ’23, Major: Biology, Minors: Women and Gender Studies

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Daivd Baier, Biology

We used XROMM, which combines biplanar X-ray video and digital bone models, to measure how the alligator skeleton moves during high walks on a treadmill. The crocodilian high walk and wrist structure are unique compared to other reptiles who walk with a sprawled limb posture. Here, we describe how bones of the forearm, wrist, and hand coordinate during alligator strides. We find that elbow is more than just a simple hinge, the forearm bones …

The Evolution Of Pollution Resistance In The Atlantic Killifish, Matthew Rock

Biology Student Scholarship

Matthew Rock ’23
Major: Environmental Biology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Markert, Biology

We examined genetic variation in Atlantic Killifish populations to better understand their ability to persist in Superfund sites like New Bedford Harbor, which is polluted with a mix of organic toxicants and heavy metals. As predicted, loci associated with the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) Detoxification Pathway show large differences in allele frequencies between polluted and non-polluted sites.