Other Life Sciences Commons^™

Growth And Mobility Of Physella Acuta Under Individual And Combined Acetaminophen And Salinity Exposure, Rhea Wilder, Jason Doll, Daniel Elias

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Global climate change, driven by rapid population growth and anthropogenic activities, presents an urgent challenge to aquatic ecosystems. Salinity intrusion threatens water quality and availability for human and wildlife populations. At the same time, due to the demand for pharmaceuticals, these pollutants are increasingly detected in freshwater environments, with acetaminophen being one of the most prevalent. This research analyzed the individual and combined effects of salinity (2.5 g/L) and acetaminophen (488 μg/L) on Physella acuta. Overall, we observed reduced snail movement under elevated salinity and no effects on growth or movement with acetaminophen alone or in combination with salinity. …

Killing The Planet But Saving The People: How The American Healthcare Industry Impacts The Environment, Malorie Webb

Senior Theses

The American population is rapidly growing and aging. In order to accommodate such a large population and its associated challenges, the healthcare industry has had to continually expand and adapt. The United States healthcare industry is now one of the largest, most expensive components of the economy. As such, it produces vast amounts of waste. Healthcare waste can damage the environment and contribute to climate change, which in turn can contribute to worsening health outcomes in the population. This thesis aims to explore both the immediate and prolonged impacts of the American healthcare industry on the environment, as well as …

Osteon Mimetic Scaffolding, Janay Clytus

Senior Theses

The purpose of this research is to provide an alternative to naturally derived bone grafts. There is a gap in the supply of donors and the demand of bone tissue. Artificial scaffold creation can work as an implant and decrease the shortage of bone grafts and increase the range of injuries that can be repaired. Current research focuses on optimizing mechanical properties such as porosity, improving vascularization using cells, and generating osteoconductivity. For osteodifferentiation, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into mesodermal lineages such as chondrocytes, osteoblasts, adipocytes, and tenocytes by supplementing cultures with lineage-specific soluble factors (Marchetti). Co-culturing ECFCs …

On The Scattering Of Topographically Modified Semidiurnal Kelvin Waves Into Internal Waves, Tianyi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Semidiurnal tides propagate along continental shelves as a Kelvin wave mode. On wide continental shelves, the shelf topography modifies the Kelvin wave mode into a hybrid Kelvin-edge wave (HKEW), with features of a zero mode edge wave. Its free surface structure and alongshore energy flux concentrate on the shelf, and are sensitive to changes in the shelf width. When a propagating HKEW encounters an alongshore change of shelf width, the adjustment of wave structures results in the scattering of the incident wave into other wave modes, including barotropic and baroclinic Poincaré waves radiating offshore. These dynamics are studied using the …

An Investigation Of The Succination Of The Selenoproteins Thioredoxin Reductase And Glutathione Peroxidase, Scott Lanci

Theses and Dissertations

We have identified the irreversible protein modification S-(2-succino)cysteine, a product of the Kreb’s cycle intermediate fumarate reacting with the thiol group of cysteine (Cys) residues, also termed succination. Succination is increased in adipose tissue of diabetic mice in vivo and in adipocytes matured in high glucose medium (25 mM) in vitro. Selenocysteine (Sec) is a less common but highly conserved amino acid that has major functions in redox chemistry. Sec possesses a lower pKa (~5.4) and is much more reactive in comparison to Cys. This project aimed to determine if succination occurred on Sec residues in two selenoproteins that play …

Investigation Of Succinated Protein Turnover By Autophagy, Lydia Proctor

Theses and Dissertations

Background. Diabetes is a widespread public health concern that alters the metabolism of adipocytes through high glucose stress and hormonal dysregulation. Under diabetic conditions there are excess nutrients available and subsequently an accumulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates such as fumarate. Fumarate can irreversibly react with protein cysteine residues to form S-2-succinocysteine (2SC, protein succination). Succinated proteins can be turned over by autophagy, a mechanism of removing damaged proteins and organelles that have accumulated due to metabolic stress.

Purpose. The basal flux through autophagy in adipocytes matured in non-diabetic and diabetic conditions was examined to determine the turnover of succinated …

Tumor Suppressor P53 Response To Uv Light In Normal Human Keratinocyte Strains From Different Individuals, Fadi Farooq Abboodi

Theses and Dissertations

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a causative factor in variety of diseases ranging from simple pathologic conditions to malignant ones like cervical cancer in which HPV is the primary cause in more than 90% of cases. HPV is also associated with other tumors like head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the percentage of association varies according to the anatomical site, reaching its highest level (65%) in the oropharyngeal region. HPV proteins E6 and E7 are responsible for the transforming potential of the virus. The principal action of E6 is targeting the tumor suppressor protein p53 for degradation, while E7 …

Mislabeling Of Commercial Atlantic Cod (Gadus Morhua) Products In Spain, Joshua Helgoe

Theses and Dissertations

The mislabeling of commercial fish products is a pervasive, worldwide problem. Most consumers of seafood are unaware this issue directly affects them and can even have negative impacts on their health. Mislabeling occurs when a product’s label is inconsistent with its content. Although mislabeling can be unintentional, deliberate mislabeling is a more common trend to increase profits and/or bypass fishing regulations - a form of economic fraud. Unfortunately, oversight, enforcement, and research are vastly insufficient in relation to the global scale of the problem. In order to add to the small knowledge base on European mislabeling rates, determine if overfished …

The Effect Of 3d Collagen Scaffolds On Regulating Cellular Responses, Chad Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

Epithelial cells, as well as other differentiated cell types, remodel surrounding collagen in vitro, to self organize into 3D structures. When placed on-top or inside of a collagen hydrogel, cells organize into a toroid or spheroid form. It is not clearly understood how these cell types modulate surrounding collagen to form 3D shapes. The goal of this project was to determine if cell type, collagen type, or cell placement are factors that can alter how cells reorganize and remodel collagen hydrogels. We hypothesize that the positioning, cell type and the type of collagen they are in contact with affect the …

Differential Gene Expression Patterns In Hpv-Positive And Hpv-Negative Oropharyngeal Carcinomas, Swati Tomar

Theses and Dissertations

Head and neck (HN) cancer is the fifth most prevalent malignancy worldwide with 90% of them categorized as squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Carcinomas of the oropharynx, pharynx and the oral cavity, comprise a subset of HNSCC and are referred to as oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC). Up to 60% of OPSCC and 25% of HNSCC are positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV), primarily HPV16. HPV positive and HPV negative OPSCC’s are molecularly and biologically distinct with differences in risk factors, age of presentation and clinical behavior. The precise molecular signatures of each have been well studied with respect to gene …