C1q TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) is effective at preventing high-fat diet-induced fatty liver; Recent studies have shown that overexpression of C1q TNF-related protein-3 (CTRP3) in mice fed a high alcohol diet can protect the animal from developing fatty liver disease, and therefore may be a possible treatment for alcoholic fatty liver disease (ALD). However, the possible effects of overexpression of CTRP3 on other tissue has not been widely investigated. If overexpression of CTRP3 proves to be harmful to other tissues, its use as a treatment for ALD would come into question. This study utilized kidney tissue from mice that were fed a high fat diet for 13-14 weeks. The feeding started when the mice were 7 weeks old and continued for 9 weeks. The mice were divided into 4 categories: wild-type/low fat diet, wild-type/high fat diet, transgenic/low fat diet, and transgenic/high fat diet. The kidneys were harvested and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and subsequently paraffin embedded. Sections were cut at 4µ and stained using three different staining techniques: standard H&E, Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS), and Masson’s Trichrome Staining. These three methods were utilized to better visualize possible effects on the tissue, i.e. changes in connective tissue deposition or basement membrane thicknesses, etc. Light microscopic examination of the tissues to date has revealed abnormalities in some of the kidney tubules in the transgenic high fat diet group. These same abnormalities have not been observed in the other treatment groups. This study is still in its early stages and much more in-depth investigation is needed to determine which of the tubules of the nephron are affected, and what this effect is. If this study confirms that overexpression of CTRP3 coupled with a high fat diet is harmful to kidney tissues, the use of CTRP3 in the treatment of ALD would require careful monitoring of the patient’s diet.

Introduction: Short- and long-term health outcomes of children stem from their first 1000 days of development (3 months prior to conception to 2 years postpartum). Research shows a correlation between poor maternal nutrition and adverse birth outcomes. Various factors such as human breast milk (HBM), gut microbiome (GM), and body mass index (BMI) correlate with nutrition. The purpose of this study was to determine if maternal factors such as BMI impact preterm infant microbiome and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles. Methods: Sample Collection: In order to understand the effect of maternal health factors on neonatal GM, deidentified stool samples were collected from the NICU at the MUSC and were utilized for GM and SCFA analysis at ETSU. Microbiome Analysis: GM analysis was performed on stool samples using the Qiagen QIAmp PowerFecal Pro DNA Kit. DNA was sequenced using Amplicon sequence of the 16s rRNA region with a modified Klindworth et al method. GM was analyzed using CLC Genomics Workbench v. 23 where Alpha diversity indexes were calculated with the Abundance Analysis tool and the Beta diversity (inter-sample diversity) was calculated using the weighted Unifrac metric. Short Chain Fatty Acid Analysis: The stool samples were subjected to SCFA extraction and analysis via a modified Schwiertz et al. method. Results: Significance was observed between the groups in microbiome for; C-section (yes, no), gestation (<28, 28-32, 33-36 weeks), week of sample collection (1, 2, 3, 4, >4 weeks), and maternal BMI + antibiotics (no antibiotics + normal, overweight, or obese BMI and antibiotics + normal, overweight, or obese BMI). Significance was detected between the groups in fecal fermentation for; recreational drug use (use, no use), preeclampsia (preeclamptic, not), sepsis evaluation (yes, no), week of sample collection (1, 2, 3, 4, >4 weeks), and Fenton measurements for birth length, birth weight, and occipital frontal circumference (small, average, large for gestational age). Conclusions: These results provide valuable insights into the various maternal and neonatal factors on the GM and SCFA profiles of preterm infants, which can have implications for their overall health and development. It is possible for future adverse health outcomes of premature neonates to be attenuated through HBM ingested and GM.

<p>Abstract</p><p> </p><p>The objective of our study was to get knowledge about how teachers think when they make purchases to preschool. Do they consider making environmentally conscious purchases? Do they work actively to transfer environmental consciousness to the children?</p><p>We chose to interview nine preschool teachers and one cook in two different local municipalities. Our investigation showed that there was a very low engagement in these issues. The teachers said that they were very strictly bound to already existing public contracts and did not see any possibilities to influence the preschools consumption.</p><p>The teachers hade no idea that not only their work could result in environmental savings in the school, but also result in attitudes changes among the children, their parents and, in the long term, society in general. The teachers wished they had a concrete environmental mission and they did what they could with the available resources.</p><p>With our essay we aim to show teachers in the primary school that their choices are important and that it is possible to influence, even on a small scale.</p>

<p>Mitt syfte med detta arbete var att ta reda på vad barn har för uppfattning om människokroppen när de är fyra och sex år gamla. Sex barn har blivit intervjuade genom kvalitativa intervjuer. Barnens uppfattning om kroppen är olika beroende på deras ålder. Sexåringen har större kunskap om kroppen än vad fyra åringar har. Barnens spontana uppfattning om vad som finns i vår kropp var att vi har; hjärta, hjärna, blod, hjärnceller, muskler och skelett.</p> / <p>The aim of this research was to investigate the concepts among five and six year old children regarding the human body. Six children were interviewed by means of qualitative interviews. The children's concept regarding the human body differed depending on their age. The six year old children knew more about the body than the four year old children. Spontaneously the children knew we had heart, brain, blood, brain cells, muscles and skeleton</p>

Abstract   The objective of our study was to get knowledge about how teachers think when they make purchases to preschool. Do they consider making environmentally conscious purchases? Do they work actively to transfer environmental consciousness to the children? We chose to interview nine preschool teachers and one cook in two different local municipalities. Our investigation showed that there was a very low engagement in these issues. The teachers said that they were very strictly bound to already existing public contracts and did not see any possibilities to influence the preschools consumption. The teachers hade no idea that not only their work could result in environmental savings in the school, but also result in attitudes changes among the children, their parents and, in the long term, society in general. The teachers wished they had a concrete environmental mission and they did what they could with the available resources. With our essay we aim to show teachers in the primary school that their choices are important and that it is possible to influence, even on a small scale.

Mitt syfte med detta arbete var att ta reda på vad barn har för uppfattning om människokroppen när de är fyra och sex år gamla. Sex barn har blivit intervjuade genom kvalitativa intervjuer. Barnens uppfattning om kroppen är olika beroende på deras ålder. Sexåringen har större kunskap om kroppen än vad fyra åringar har. Barnens spontana uppfattning om vad som finns i vår kropp var att vi har; hjärta, hjärna, blod, hjärnceller, muskler och skelett. / The aim of this research was to investigate the concepts among five and six year old children regarding the human body. Six children were interviewed by means of qualitative interviews. The children's concept regarding the human body differed depending on their age. The six year old children knew more about the body than the four year old children. Spontaneously the children knew we had heart, brain, blood, brain cells, muscles and skeleton

<p>Forest biotechnology is a fast emerging field of research. The application of biotechnological tools will enhance the quality of the forest products. The resultant value added and environmentally sustainable products are an absolute necessity in the future. The study of wood biosynthesis and degradation will result in enormous knowledge resources, which can be used for exploiting wood properties. This thesis addresses questions representing both wood degradation and biosynthesis.</p><p>The wood degrading fungus <i>Phanerochaete chrysosporium</i> is expression profiled with the microarray technology. The objective is to understand the expression pattern of the extracellular carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) secreted by the organism. The data obtained increases our understanding of gene expression upon growth on cellulose.</p><p>Wood biosynthesis is studied with the model wood forming tree species, <i>Populus</i>. The plentiful data resources from the expression profiling during wood formation in Populus are used as the platform of this work. One of the wood specific genes, <i>PttMAP20</i>, previously with an unknown function is studied in this thesis. The immunolocalisation of PttMAP20 with specific antibodies is demonstrated. The putative microtubule-targeting domain of the protein is demonstrated microscopically and by using a biochemical binding assay. </p>

The salamander diversity in the southern Appalachian Mountains is now being threatened, with lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) likely the most vulnerable. Multiple environmental factors threaten Plethodontids, and environmental changes uniquely affect each species within this family. Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding about the current status of salamanders in Greene County, TN that severely limits conservation efforts for lungless salamanders. This study examined local salamander populations’ current distributions and connected salamander abundance and species richness with a subset of environmental factors to determine what areas represent suitable habitat for different Plethodontids. This information was used to develop species distribution models, which were used to identify potential areas of salamander habitat to focus management and conservation efforts. Area constrained surveys were completed at 42 transects within four main areas using a robust, random sampling design. Abiotic and biotic data, along with salamander identification, were documented at each site. Four additional variables were acquired by geographic information system (GIS 10.6). Salamanders were present at 69% of the transects. Our results indicate that salamanders tend to be located at higher elevations, in ravines, and in thicker canopy cover areas. This work will be useful in long-term monitoring and future research as salamander population, habitat, and environmental changes continue to be monitored.

<p>Tolerance to herbivory is the ability of plants to maintain fitness in spite of damage. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the genetic variation and expression of tolerance within species, determine whether and in what conditions tolerance has negative side-effects, and how tolerance is affected by different ecological factors. Tolerance is investigated with special focus on the effects of different damage types, competitive regimes, history of herbivory, and polyploidization in plants. Studies are conducted as a literature review and three experiments on two cruciferous species Raphanus raphanistrum and Cardamine pratensis.</p><p>In the tolerance experiments, plants are subjected to artificial damage solely, or in a combination with natural damage. A literature review was conducted in order to investigate the effects of damage method. We found that traits related to tolerance, such as growth and fitness were not as sensitive in regard to damage method as measures of induced chemical traits, or measures of secondary herbivory.</p><p>Genetic variation of tolerance was demonstrated within populations of R. raphanistrum and between subspecies of C. pratensis. In R. raphanistrum, traits involved in floral display and male fitness were positively associated with plant tolerance to herbivore damage. A potential cost of tolerance was demonstrated as a negative correlation between levels of tolerance in high and low competitive regimes. I found no evidence of other proposed costs of tolerance in terms of highly tolerant plants suffering of reduced fitness in the absence of herbivores or trade-offs in terms of a negative association between tolerance to apical and leaf damage, or between tolerance and competitive ability. In C. pratensis, higher ploidy level in plants involved higher levels of tolerance measured as clonal reproduction. Furthermore, populations exposed to higher levels of herbivory had better tolerance than populations exposed to lower levels of herbivory. In this thesis, I demonstrate evidence of different components for the evolution of tolerance in plants: genotypic variation, selective factors in terms of costs and ploidization, and selective agents in terms of changing environment or herbivore pressure.</p>

<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The extinction risk of threatened species has traditionally been assessed by the use of tools of Population Viability Analysis (PVA). Species interactions, however, have seldom been accounted for in PVA:s. The omission of species interactions in risk assessments may further lead to serious mistakes when setting target sizes of populations. Even a slight abundance decrease of a target species may result in changes of the community structure; in the worst case leading to a highly impoverished community. Of critical importance to conservation is therefore the question of how many individuals of a certain population that is needed in order to avoid this kind of consequences. In the current study, a stochastic multispecies model is used to estimate minimum ecological viable populations (MEVP); earlier defined as “the minimum size of a population that can survive before itself or some other species in the community becomes extinct”. The MEVP:s are compared to population sizes given by a single species model where interactions with other species are treated as a constant source incorporated in the species specific growth rate. MEVP:s are found to be larger than the population sizes given by the single species model. The results are trophic level dependent and multispecies approaches are suggested to be of major importance when setting target levels for species at the basal level. Species at higher trophic levels, however, are altogether more prone to extinction than species at the basal level, irrespective of food web size and food web complexity.</p><p> </p>