Physiology Commons^™

I Just Don't Want To Hear It: A Look Into The Relationship Between The Dark Triad And Negative Criticism, Carson Montgomery Hewitt

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Three dark personality traits have been identified and grouped together to form what is known as the Dark Triad of personality. Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy are all connected by a lack of emotional empathy, and the presence of interpersonal hostility. When presented with negative stimuli, it is far from surprising to see an adverse reaction appear in participants scoring high in these traits. Little research has been conducted regarding the relationship between physiological response and dark triad personality traits. Even fewer so in the case of responses to criticism. This study aimed to examine the relationship between these dark personality …

Exploring The Role Of Nonmuscle Myosin Ii In Renal Thick Ascending Limb Epithelial Cell Protein Trafficking And Organelle Architecture, Brook Busselman

Dissertations and Theses

The traditional functional roles of the actin associated motor protein nonmuscle myosin II (NM2) have been thoroughly studied. However, the nontraditional roles for NM2 in the context of membrane remodeling and protein trafficking events in cells have just recently been unraveled. Our work has found that genetic inactivation of NM2 protein isoforms MYH9 and MYH10 in the renal epithelium of adult mice leads to progressive kidney disease. Aberrant protein transport and localization in cells of the thick ascending limb (TAL) of the kidney nephron is accompanied by upregulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. …

Understanding Cellular Dynamics: Investigating A Yeast-Two Hybrid Protein-Protein Interaction, Riok3:Cse1l; Also By Investigating Trogocytosis Of Cd4+ T Cells From Rhog-/- Mice, Brittnee N. Crane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a negative-sense virus that was first described in 1930 when it was isolated from sheep during an outbreak. In the last 25 years there has been a spread in the geographical range into the Middle East. The most susceptible animals are cattle, goats, sheep, and camels. The most overt symptom of livestock infection is that infected pregnant animals experience spontaneous abortion. Humans are susceptible as well and symptoms range from mild febrile illness to liver necrosis, blindness, hemorrhagic fever, and death. An important player in the cellular innate response to RVFV infections is the …

The Energetics Of Seasonality In Wild Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus Diadema): A Technical And Biological Validation Of Fecal Triiodothyronine Radioimmunassay, Casey Farmer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The energetic state of an animal has vital consequences for its fitness, but it can be difficult to detect through behavioral observations. The development of techniques to determine an animals’ energetic state non-invasively would allow conservation planners to rapidly assess the energy balance and conservation potential of individuals, groups, and populations. Thyroid hormones like triiodothyronine (T3) regulate and reflect metabolic state in mammals. T3 is a non-invasive biomarker that can be detected in feces and could potentially be used for this purpose. I perform the first validation of a commercially available T3 radioimmunoassay designed for humans on a wild strepsirrhine …

Estradiol’S Role In Timely Puberty Onset In The Ewe, Eliana Gerardine Aerts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In female sheep, the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from the hypothalamus triggers luteinizing hormone (LH) to be released from the pituitary. Luteinizing hormone, in turn, acts on the ovaries to elicit estradiol (E₂) release. E₂ acts in a negative feedback manner to control the amount of LH released. The increase in LH release that drives puberty onset results from a decrease in sensitivity to E₂ as the animal ages. However, the neural mechanisms mediating this change in sensitivity are not known, as is where in the hypothalamus E₂-negative feedback occurs. In the arcuate …

Structural And Functional Consequences Of Pde6 Prenylation In Rod And Cone Photoreceptors, Faezeh Moakedi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Phosphodiesterase-6 (PDE6) serves as a pivotal component in the phototransduction pathways of both cone and rod photoreceptors. In cones, PDE6 consists of tetrameric subunits: inhibitory (γ') and catalytic (α'). The catalytic subunit, PDE6α', contains a C-terminal prenylation motif. Deletion of this motif is associated with achromatopsia (ACHM), a form of color blindness. The mechanisms underlying the disease and the roles of PDE6 lipidation in vision remain elusive. Meanwhile, rod PDE6 is composed of α and β catalytic subunits and γ inhibitory subunits, with alterations in the C-terminal "prenylation motif" of PDE6β linked to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) pathology. In this comprehensive …

Understanding Sport Coaches’ Responses To Injury, Ashanti Robinson

Honors College Theses

Injury is an inevitable part of any sport an athlete decides to take part in. Many things go along with injury, but one of the biggest factors is the one directly responsible for the success of the athlete: the coach. The purpose of this study was, based on a systematic review of the literature, to better understand what part coaches play in the fear of athletic injuries including their responses and the rationale for those responses. The study was conducted by cross-referencing multiple articles across different databases and systematically examining the different studies to further understand the fear of injury …

Gaze Transition Entropy As A Measure Of Attention Allocation In A Dynamic Workspace Involving Automation, Zixin Cui, Tetsuya Sato, Austin Jackson, Sampath Jayarathna, Makoto Itoh, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

Real-world work environments require operators to perform multiple tasks with continual support from an automated system. Eye movement is often used as a surrogate measure of operator attention, yet conventional summary measures such as percent dwell time do not capture dynamic transitions of attention in complex visual workspace. This study analyzed eye movement data collected in a controlled a MATB-II task environment using gaze transition entropy analysis. In the study, human subjects performed a compensatory tracking task, a system monitoring task, and a communication task concurrently. The results indicate that both gaze transition entropy and stationary gaze entropy, measures of …

Addressing Empty Space Myopia To Enable Deep Space Travel With Extended Reality Auditory Biofeedback, Ethan Waisberg, Joshua Ong, Nasif Zaman, Phani Paladugu, Sharif Amit Kamran, Bruce Markovitz, Andrew G. Lee, Alireza Tavakkoli

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Empty space myopia is a phenomenon that has been observed in pilots when flying in the open sky. Previous research has been conducted to develop training biofeedback devices to help pilot visual accommodation in empty skies. During future long-duration spaceflight, astronauts may also experience empty space myopia due to prolonged periods of time in vast space. Extended reality is a relatively novel technology that has emerged as a powerful tool for tracking ocular movements. Extended reality with auditory feedback may serve as a low-cost, easily applicable method to improve ciliary muscle control and vision during long-duration spaceflight to combat empty …

Novel Regulators Of Small G Proteins In The Pancreatic Beta Cell, Noah Gleason

Wayne State University Dissertations

Regulation of small GTPases within the pancreatic beta cell is a highly complex and coordinated sequence of protein interactions and post translational modifications. Various families participate in the physiological secretion of insulin in roles ranging from cytoskeletal reorganization to secretory vesicle priming and docking. However the regulatory partners of GTPase function, while studied broadly, lack vital information relating to smgGDS, a protein chaperone of small GTPases to and from the prenylation machinery, and RhoGDI function. Herein these studies are aimed to further our understanding of GTPase regulation and alterations that occur during metabolic stress (glucotoxicity) and related beta cell dysfunction.Data …

Novel Methods For Assessing Pulmonary And Cardio-Vascular Limitations To Aerobic Performance In Older And Younger Populations, Toni Haddad

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Around the world, life expectancy is increasing, the ageing population is growing, and maintaining quality of life at an older age currently represents a major global challenge. While ‘successful ageing’ relies on a variety of factors, aerobic performance and exercise capacity are key determinants and attenuating their decline is of the utmost importance. The decrease in maximal oxygen consumption is often considered as a major determinant explaining the age[1]related decline in aerobic performance. Yet, multiple physiological systems are impaired with ageing and their contribution to aerobic limitation in older individuals is unclear. Understanding how the limitations to aerobic performance may …

Comparing Ionoregulation And Modes Of Nitrogen Excretion Across The Life Cycle Of Parasitic And Non-Parasitic Lamprey Species, Shannon Davidson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Ionoregulation and nitrogenous waste (N-waste) metabolism in fishes has been extensively documented in teleosts and elasmobranchs, but less so in lampreys (Petromizontiformes). All lamprey species undergo metamorphosis which drastically changes their physiology and modes of feeding. However, differences in ionoregulatory mechanisms due to anadromous versus non anadromous life history strategies emerge following metamorphosis in different lamprey species. Furthermore, some species, such as anadromous juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), are parasitic and migrate to seawater (SW) to ingest blood protein from host fishes, while juveniles of freshwater (FW), non-parasitic species, such as the American brook lamprey …

Chromatin Regulation By Swi/Snf Remodelers In Somatic Stem Cell Maintenance And Transformation, Luke Thomas Deary

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Cell identity is defined by the epigenome, whereby chromatin regulators work in concert to promote gene expression programs that serve a cell’s specialized purpose. Mutations in chromatin regulators are amongst the most frequent drivers of human disease, underscoring the importance of understanding their activities in maintaining cell identity and tissue function. In particular, mutations in subunits of the evolutionarily conserved SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes drive diseases across human tissues in both development and adult tissue maintenance5. Three major SWI/SNF complexes exist: BAF, PBAF, and GBAF, which differ in their composition and genomic targeting but share an ATP-dependent catalytic activity to …

Modulation Of Persistent Inward Currents With Changes In Posture And Cutaneous Sensory Input, Ryan William Weller

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Spinal motor neuron (MN) persistent inward currents (PIC) increase and sustain the MN output. PIC is amplified by descending monoamines and reduced by afferent inhibition. There is strong coupling between plantar cutaneous sensory input and lower limb MNs. Given that monoaminergic drive is altered with postures and motor tasks, our purpose was to assess posture-dependent plantar cutaneous sensory modulation of tibialis anterior (TA) MNs. We hypothesize that: 1) a supine position will suppress PIC, 2) removing the load from the bottom of the heel will inflate PIC, and 3) cutaneous stimulation of the plantar aspect of the heel will reduce …

Turtlegrass (Thalassia Testudinum) Undergoes A Coordinated Hypersensitive Response When Challenged With Pathogenic Labyrinthula Sp., Ava Vasile Larson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Infection of the subtropical seagrass Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König by pathogenic Labyrinthula sp. was found to induce lesion progression, alterations to the host’s oxidative metabolism, and production of defense metabolites over the early stages of infection (monitored over a 72-hr time course). By 48-hrs post-infection, host oxygen consumption, internal reactive oxygen concentrations, and caspase-3 proteolytic activity reached their highest levels. The formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) were detected in T. testudinum lesions by use of redox-sensitive probes/substrates and fluorescent imaging. To our knowledge, this work represents the first time NO has been detected in …

Puberty-Associated Changes In Kiss1r, Mc3r, And Mc4r In The Ewe, Ashleigh Caitlyn Thomson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The neural mechanisms that control the onset of puberty are not completely understood. In livestock, the onset of puberty relies on an increase in gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin neurons (KNDy) and their receptors, Kiss1r, NK3R, and KOR, respectively, are important regulators of puberty. Previous data from our laboratory has shown that KNDy neurons may be responding to other inputs, including the melanocortin system, that will affect the timing of puberty. Given this, we examined kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r) mRNA expression in GnRH neurons as well as examining melanocortin 3 and 4 receptor …

Immune Outcomes Affected By Selection For Parasite Resistance In Katahdin Sheep, Kelsey Lynne Bentley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Our understanding of the complex connection between selection for parasite resistance and the overall health outcomes in livestock is unclear. This study investigates the impact of post-weaning fecal egg count (PFEC) estimated breeding values (EBV) on health outcomes and immune responses in Katahdin sheep. Selection for PFEC, favoring Low-PFEC lambs, not only affects survivability to weaning but also suggests broader implications for immunity beyond parasite resistance. The effect of PFEC EBV on antibody production in response to vaccination against Clostridium perfringens type C&D and tetanus toxoid (CD&T) revealed a stepwise decrease in immunoglobin (IgG) from Low-PFEC to High-PFEC groups upon …

Utilizing Ai Integrated Neuroimaging Technology To Expand Upon Machine Learning In Positron Emission Tomography Technology With The Aim Of Detecting Amyloid Beta Biomarkers Early In The Onset Of Alzheimer's., Ethan S. Terman

Undergraduate Research Posters

Early intervention in Alzheimer's is vital for treatment. The earlier a professional can detect symptoms and make a diagnosis the earlier a prognosis can be implemented. With the prevalence of data in our day-to-day world combined with Artificial intelligence (AI), utilizing both for machine learning can pave the way for more accurate and efficient detection of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. AI combined with Machine learning (ML) increases diagnostic efficiency and reduces human errors, making it a valuable resource for physicians and clinicians alike. With the increasing amount of data processing and image interpretation required, the ability to use AI …

Carry-Over Effects Of Climate On Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria Citrea) Feather Quality, Alyssa N. Spasic, Dan Albrecht-Mallinger, Lesley Bulluck

Undergraduate Research Posters

Avian species have inspired numerous studies on ornamentation, exploring its role in intra- and intersexual selection as a marker for individual quality. Male birds have been the focus of most of these studies while females, which can also display ornamentation, have been studied less. Coloration achieved through molt, particularly carotenoid-based pigments, requires energy derived from food resources. As climate affects insect abundance, there may be a link between climate conditions during molt and feather quality the following season. We assessed the relationship between temperature and precipitation during molt and female Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) breast and crown feather reflectance metrics …

Air-Jet Bioprinting Of Stem Cell-Encapsulated Alginate Micro-Droplets For Organoid Biomanufacturing, Mirabella B. Stump

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biomanufactured 3D-organoids show promise for modeling and treating various conditions, particularly insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type-1 diabetes). Pancreatic islet organoids serve as sustainable sources of insulin-producing β-cells, potentially restoring insulin regulation in patients and providing a long-term solution for diabetes. Hydrogel droplet printing is an emerging technique in regenerative medicine due to its advantageous tunability and biocompatibility; however, challenges of consistency, quality control, and scalability persist. To address these issues, we developed a novel air-jetting based droplet bioprinting system for the generation of monodispersed alginate micro-droplets. The objective of this project was to incorporate human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into …