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Full-Text Articles in Physiology

The Effect Of Freeze-Thaw Events On Dna Integrity In The Gray Treefrog (Hyla Versicolor), Georgia Ficarra Jul 2021

The Effect Of Freeze-Thaw Events On Dna Integrity In The Gray Treefrog (Hyla Versicolor), Georgia Ficarra

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Freeze-tolerant gray treefrogs survive winter by producing natural cryoprotectants and accommodating ice formation within extracellular spaces. While frozen, gray treefrogs endure hyperglycemia, dehydration, and anoxia due to the halt of all bodily functions. Upon thawing, the frogs’ anoxic cells receive a rapid influx of oxygen, which can cause oxidative damage to vital macromolecules including DNA. Previous studies have suggested freeze-tolerant frogs avoid oxidative damage after freeze-thaw events by elevating antioxidant activity, but recent work has shown upregulated DNA repair encoding genes in post-freeze frogs. The objective of this thesis is to assess the cellular costs of freezing by measuring oxidative …


Maternal Sleep Loss During Fetal Development Alters Offspring Endocrine Responses To Stress Throughout Life, Audrey Brown Aug 2016

Maternal Sleep Loss During Fetal Development Alters Offspring Endocrine Responses To Stress Throughout Life, Audrey Brown

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis releases glucocorticoids, including corticosterone (CORT), in response to stress. CORT then negatively feeds back to inhibit its own production by binding to glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The HPA axis is subject to “programming” by abnormal stimuli during early development, which may permanently alter how the HPA axis responds to stress. These altered responses have been linked to an increased risk for human psychiatric and metabolic disorders in later life, but the mechanism by which this happens is not fully understood. This study tests the hypothesis that changes to GR expression patterns …


The Time-Course Of The Effects Of Growth Hormone During Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Auditory Hair Cell Regeneration, Yajie Wang May 2012

The Time-Course Of The Effects Of Growth Hormone During Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Auditory Hair Cell Regeneration, Yajie Wang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Growth hormone (GH) was upregulated in the zebrafish inner ear following sound exposure in a previous study. To identify the specific role of GH in hair cell regeneration and the possible cellular mechanisms of this regeneration, groups of zebrafish were divided into baseline (no sound exposure, no injection), buffer-injected and GH-injected groups. Buffer- and GH-injected fish were exposed to a 150 Hz tone at a source level of 179 dB re 1 μPa root mean squared (RMS) for 36 h. Phalloidin-staining was used to assess the effects of GH on hair cell bundle density; BrdU-labeling was used to assess the …


Regulation Of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase In Pulmonary Myofibroblasts, Jonathan David Faughn Aug 2011

Regulation Of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase In Pulmonary Myofibroblasts, Jonathan David Faughn

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an interstitial lung disease leading to decreased lung volume and eventual respiratory failure. At present, the median post-diagnosis lifespan is between three and six years. Myofibroblasts are collagen-secreting cells essential for wound healing, but also implicated in the fibroproliferation and extra cellular matrix deposition commonly seen in IPF. The nitric oxide (NO) signaling pathway is implicated in protomyofibroblast to myofibroblast transition and regulation. Previous work has shown that in pulmonary myofibroblasts, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is the primary NOS isoform expressed. The current study used cultured rat pulmonary myofibroblasts between passages two and five …


Computational Prediction Of The Agregated Structure Of Denatured Lysozyme, Pongsathorn Chotikasemsri Dec 2009

Computational Prediction Of The Agregated Structure Of Denatured Lysozyme, Pongsathorn Chotikasemsri

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Mis-folded proteins and their associated aggregates are a contributing factor in some human diseases. In this study we used the protein lysozyme as a model to define aggregation structures under denaturing conditions. Sasahara et al. (2007), Frare et al. (2009, 2006), and Rubin et al. (2008) observed conditions where heat denatured lysozyme formed fibril structures that were observed to be 8-17 nanometers in diameter under the electron microscope. Even though the crystal structure of lysozyme is known, the denatured form of this protein is still unknown. Therefore, we used Rosetta++ protein folding and blind docking software to create in silico …