Physiology Commons^™

Abiotic Factors Contributing To The Survival Of Three Tick Species In Southeastern Virginia, Amblyomma Americanum (Lone Star Tick), Dermacentor Variabilis (American Dog Tick), And Amblyomma Maculatum (Gulf Coast Tick), Lindsey A. Bidder

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Amblyomma americanum, Amblyomma maculatum, and Dermacentor variabilis are hard-bodied ticks in the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia. This study consisted of two field projects focused on these tick species. To estimate the off-host survival of local tick species, a capture-mark-recapture (CMR) study was performed. An environmental survival study was performed to quantify the ability of these three tick species to survive in situ. Four field sites were used in the Hampton Roads region covering a variety of habitat types and vegetation; specifically two drier, upland field sites and two flood-prone sites. CMR was conducted from May through …

Hypocretin/Orexin Peptides Alter Spike Encoding By Serotonergic Dorsal Raphe Neurons Through Two Distinct Mechanisms That Increase The Late Afterhyperpolarization, Masaru Ishibashi, Iryna Gumenchuk, Kenichi Miyazaki, Takafumi Inoue, William N. Ross, Christopher S. Leonard

NYMC Faculty Publications

Orexins (hypocretins) are neuropeptides that regulate multiple homeostatic processes, including reward and arousal, in part by exciting serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons, the major source of forebrain serotonin. Here, using mouse brain slices, we found that, instead of simply depolarizing these neurons, orexin-A altered the spike encoding process by increasing the postspike afterhyperpolarization (AHP) via two distinct mechanisms. This orexin-enhanced AHP (oeAHP) was mediated by both OX1 and OX2 receptors, required Ca(2+) influx, reversed near EK, and decayed with two components, the faster of which resulted from enhanced SK channel activation, whereas the slower component decayed like a slow AHP (sAHP), …

Structural Dichotomy Of The Mind; The Role Of Sexual Neuromodulators, Ion G. Motofei, David L. Rowland

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The mind (mental function) and sexuality represent two distinct environmental functions, but which are supported within the brain by a common (somatic-autonomic) neurobiological substrate. As a consequence, mental function takes on autonomic characteristics from the sexual-autonomic system (like autonomy, duality), while sexual function takes on features from mental functioning (such as lateralization). In this paper we discuss the lateralized action of two classes of sexual neuromodulators: hormones and pheromones. This process of lateralization is assimilated with the structural dichotomy of the mind.

A relatively similar process but related to informational dichotomy of the mind will be presented in a forthcoming …

Sperm Morphometrics, Spermatogenesis, And Testicular Cycle Of The Rough Greensnake (Opheodrys Aestivus), John Douglas Konvalina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Spermatogenesis in ophidians is understudied, with little information on the rough greensnake, Opheodrys aestivus available. A cell wheel showing the chronological development of germ cell stages for this species was constructed. Sperm morphometrics were completed and compared with those of Nerodia rhombifer, the diamondback watersnake. Both species had similar sperm head length, while Opheodrys aestivus had significantly longer total sperm length. Total sperm length was positively correlated (r = 0.997, p < 0.001) with sperm tail length. Seminiferous tubule diameter and seminiferous tubule epithelial height were measured from Arkansas (AR) specimens and compared with those of Alabama (AL) specimens and AR measurements were found to be significantly greater in length. Future studies of O. aestivus need to investigate the testicular cycle in other parts of its geographic distribution to see if the monthly pattern is consistent and sperm morphometrics should be examined for other species within the family Colubridae.

Cycle Training Modulates Satellite Cell And Transcriptional Responses To A Bout Of Resistance Exercise, Kevin A. Murach, R. Grace Walton, Christopher S. Fry, Sami L. Michaelis, Jason S. Groshong, Brian S. Finlin, Philip A. Kern, Charlotte A. Peterson

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

This investigation evaluated whether moderate‐intensity cycle ergometer training affects satellite cell and molecular responses to acute maximal concentric/eccentric resistance exercise in middle‐aged women. Baseline and 72 h postresistance exercise vastus lateralis biopsies were obtained from seven healthy middle‐aged women (56 ± 5 years, BMI 26 ± 1, VO_2max 27 ± 4) before and after 12 weeks of cycle training. Myosin heavy chain (MyHC) I‐ and II‐associated satellite cell density and cross‐sectional area was determined via immunohistochemistry. Expression of 93 genes representative of the muscle‐remodeling environment was also measured via NanoString. Overall fiber size increased ~20% with cycle training ( …

Isoacceptor Specific Characterization Of Trna Aminoacylation And Misacylation In Vivo, Kyle Mohler, Rebecca Mann, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Amino acid misincorporation during protein synthesis occurs due to misacylation of tRNAs or defects in decoding at the ribosome. While misincorporation of amino acids has been observed in a variety of contexts, less work has been done to directly assess the extent to which specific tRNAs are misacylated in vivo, and the identity of the misacylated amino acid moiety. Here we describe tRNA isoacceptor specific aminoacylation profiling (ISAP), a method to identify and quantify the amino acids attached to a tRNA species in vivo. ISAP allows compilation of aminoacylation profiles for specific isoacceptors tRNAs. To demonstrate the efficacy and …

Maintenance Of Transcription-Translation Coupling By Elongation Factor P, Sara Elgamal, Irina Artsimovitch, Michael Ibba

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Under conditions of tight coupling between translation and transcription, the ribosome enables synthesis of full-length mRNAs by preventing both formation of intrinsic terminator hairpins and loading of the transcription termination factor Rho. While previous studies have focused on transcription factors, we investigated the role of Escherichia coli elongation factor P (EF-P), an elongation factor required for efficient translation of mRNAs containing consecutive proline codons, in maintaining coupled translation and transcription. In the absence of EF-P, the presence of Rho utilization (rut) sites led to an ~30-fold decrease in translation of polyproline-encoding mRNAs. Coexpression of the Rho inhibitor Psu …

Relationship Between Bone-Specific Physical Activity Scores And Measures For Body Composition And Bone Mineral Density In Healthy Young College Women., Sojung Kim, Wi-Young So, Jooyoung Kim, Dong Jun Sung

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between bone-specific physical activity (BPAQ) scores, body composition, and bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy young college women.

METHODS: Seventy-three college women (21.7 ± 1.8 years; 162.1 ± 4.6 cm; 53.9 ± 5.8 kg) between the ages of 19 and 26 years were recruited from the universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi province, South Korea. We used dual energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure the lumbar spine (L2-L4) and proximal femur BMD (left side; total hip, femoral neck). The BPAQ scores (past, pBPAQ; current, cBPAQ; total, tBPAQ) were used to …

Neural Representation Of Vocalizations In Noise In The Primary Auditory Cortex Of Marmoset Monkeys, Ruiye Ni

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Robust auditory perception plays a pivotal function in processing behaviorally relevant sounds, particularly when there are auditory distractions from the environment. The neuronal coding enabling this ability, however, is still not well understood. In this study we recorded single-unit activity from the primary auditory cortex of alert common marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus) while delivering conspecific vocalizations degraded by two different background noises: broadband white noise (WGN) and vocalization babble (Babble).

Noise effects on single-unit neural representation of target vocalizations were quantified by measuring the response similarity elicited by natural vocalizations as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Four consistent response …

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 …

Effects Of Echinostoma Trivolvis Metacercariae Infection During Development And Metamorphosis Of The Wood Frog (Lithobates Sylvaticus), Sarah A. Orlofske, Lisa K. Belden, William A. Hopkins

Biology Faculty Publications

Many organisms face energetic trade-offs between defense against parasites and other host processes that may determine overall consequences of infection. These trade-offs may be particularly evident during unfavorable environmental conditions or energetically demanding life history stages. Amphibian metamorphosis, an ecologically important developmental period, is associated with drastic morphological and physiological changes and substantial energetic costs. Effects of the trematode parasite Echinostoma trivolvis have been documented during early amphibian development, but effects during later development and metamorphosis are largely unknown. Using a laboratory experiment, we examined the energetic costs of late development and metamorphosis coupled with E. trivolvis infection in wood …

Predominant Expression Of Alzheimer’S Disease-Associated Bin1 In Mature Oligodendrocytes And Localization To White Matter Tracts, Pierre De Rossi, Virginie Buggia-Prévot, Benjamin L. L. Clayton, Jared B. Vasquez, Carson Van Sanford, Robert J. Andrew, Ruben Lesnick, Alexandra Botté, Carole Deyts, Someya Salem, Eshaan Rao, Richard C. Rice, Angèle Parent, Satyabrata Kar, Brian Popko, Peter Pytel, Steven Estus, Gopal Thinakaran

Physiology Faculty Publications

Background: Genome-wide association studies have identified BIN1 within the second most significant susceptibility locus in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). BIN1 undergoes complex alternative splicing to generate multiple isoforms with diverse functions in multiple cellular processes including endocytosis and membrane remodeling. An increase in BIN1 expression in AD and an interaction between BIN1 and Tau have been reported. However, disparate descriptions of BIN1 expression and localization in the brain previously reported in the literature and the lack of clarity on brain BIN1 isoforms present formidable challenges to our understanding of how genetic variants in BIN1 increase the risk for AD.

Methods: …

Intestinal Cytoplasmic Lipid Droplets, Associated Proteins, And The Regulation Of Dietary Fat Absorption, Theresa M. D'Aquila

Open Access Dissertations

Dietary fat provides essential nutrients, contributes to energy balance, and regulates blood lipid concentrations. These functions are important to health, but can also become dysregulated and contribute to diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The small intestine absorbs dietary fat through an efficient multi step process of digestion, uptake, metabolism, and secretion or storage. When dietary fat is taken up by the absorptive cells of the small intestine, enterocytes, it can be secreted into circulation where it contributes to blood lipid levels or temporarily stored in cytoplasmic lipid droplets (CLDs). The objective of this dissertation is to investigate …

Effect Of Taste Stimuli On Swallowing Function In Persons With Traumatic Injuries, Megan Asselin, Angela M. Dietsch

UCARE: Research Products

Background

Swallowing disorders are prevalent and costly. As of now, there are limited therapeutic options available to treat them. Extant research in limited populations has suggested that swallowing mechanics can be improved by extremely sour liquids, but this has not been tested in traumatically injured populations. However, sour tastants are unpleasant, and more palatable taste mixtures have not been tested.

Methods

The quantitative data were extracted from an existing pool of de-identified video fluoroscopic swallowing studies (moving radiographs) obtained from traumatically injured young adults under another research protocol. Each participant completed swallows of custom-mixed plain, sour, and sweet-sour boluses. Positions …

Effects Of Acute Exercise On Postprandial Lipemia And Postprandial Glycemia, Stephen Decker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise has been shown to attenuate the rise in triglycerides in during the postprandial period, however the effects of acute bouts of high-intensity exercise on postprandial lipemia and glycemia have not been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute high-intensity interval training on postprandial lipemia and postprandial glycemia.

Methods: Ten healthy males participated in a randomized crossover design consisting of one high-intensity exercise session and one sedentary control session, followed by consumption of a mixed meal. Blood triglyceride and glucose concentrations were monitored following the consumption of the meal.

Results: High-intensity …

Cellular And Subcellular Oxidative Stress Parameters Following Severe Spinal Cord Injury, Nishant P. Visavadiya, Samir P. Patel, Jenna L. Vanrooyen, Patrick G. Sullivan, Alexander G. Rabchevsky

Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications

The present study undertook a comprehensive assessment of the acute biochemical oxidative stress parameters in both cellular and, notably, mitochondrial isolates following severe upper lumbar contusion spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult female Sprague Dawley rats. At 24 h post-injury, spinal cord tissue homogenate and mitochondrial fractions were isolated concurrently and assessed for glutathione (GSH) content and production of nitric oxide (NO^•), in addition to the presence of oxidative stress markers 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), protein carbonyl (PC), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) and lipid peroxidation (LPO). Moreover, we assessed production of superoxide (O₂^•-) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O …

The Effect Of Auditory Stimulation On Sleep Disruption In West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris), Natalija Lace

Dissertations

Florida manatees inhabit waterways where motorized boats are common. Although manatee mortalities resulting from boat strikes are well documented, the effect of boat noise on some manatee behaviors, including rest, has not been investigated. This study focuses on rest behavior and used a playback experiment with four manatees at the Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. We tested their responses to playback stimuli of either boat noise, silence, or manatee calls. A playback trial was initiated when the focal animal showed behavioral characteristics of rest.

Results showed that rest was interrupted in response to the playback of boat noise for each …

The Relationship Between Strength, Power, And Sprint Acceleration In Division I Men’S Soccer Players, Christopher Bellon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this dissertation were three-fold. The first was to identify the approximate distances characterizing early-, mid-, and late-acceleration in a population of Division I men’s collegiate soccer players. The secondary purpose was to investigate the relationships between various strength-power variables and key sprint characteristics during early-, mid-, and late-acceleration in a population of Division I men’s soccer players. The final purpose of this dissertation was to compare the spatiotemporal characteristics of “strong” versus “weak” and “more powerful” versus “less powerful” Division I men’s soccer players during early-, mid-, and late- acceleration. The following are the major findings of …

The Role Of O-Glcnacase During Heart Failure., Sujith Dassanayaka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global augmentation of protein O-GlcNAcylation occurs in response to a myriad of stressors and confers a survival advantage at the cellular level. This protective phenomenon has been demonstrated to mediate cardioprotection through various in vitro and in vivo studies during ischemia-reperfusion, myocardial infarction, and oxidative stress; however, relatively little is known of the regulation of protein O-GlcNAcylation. Protein O-GlcNAcylation is regulated by two antagonistic enzymes, namely, O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). Ablation of cardiomyocyte OGT, the enzyme that catalyzes the addition of O-GlcNAc to proteins, exacerbates cardiac dysfunction during infarct-induced heart failure (HF). However, little is known of the …

Cardiovascular And Hematopoietic Responses To Volatile Benzene Exposure., Wesley Tyler Abplanalp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid and recent increase in the global epidemic of diabetes and cardiovascular disease suggests a strong component of the environment is contributing. Benzene is a ubiquitous volatile pollutant generated by cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, wildfires and industrial activities. Consequently, it is found in almost all urban and rural air samples. Benzene is known to cause hematotoxicity and its metabolism generates oxidative stress. Although, benzene has been studied for many years, few investigations have probed what influence benzene exposure may have on other physiological processes. Here we hypothesize that benzene metabolism by hepatic-CYP450 2E1 generates oxidative stress and inflammation, which …