Using two independent samples of Army soldiers-in-training, this study explores the measurement of resilience in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience among Servicemembers (Army STARRS) New Soldier Study Component (NSS). Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify a three-factor structure of resilience within the Army STARRS. Confirmatory factor analysis was then used to confirm the three-factor structure, and then internal reliability was assessed. Determination of how resilience can be measured within the Army STARRS NSS will aid scholars who wish to examine resilience among Army soldiers-in-training.

Methodology: The Behavioral and Environmental Safety Program (B.E. Safe) for Early Childhood Professionals is being developed in response to Federal Safety regulations for childcare procedures and addresses social and emotional safety concerns. The curriculum includes Family Life Education content areas focusing on diversity, inclusion, social and emotional health, bullying prevention, supporting children with special needs, building relationships with parents, and understanding children’s behavior. Discussion of existing research: Research states that high quality childcare and education benefits all children (DHSS, 2015). Best practices indicate that Early Childhood Professionals need high quality training to be equipped to understand child development, strategies for working with families, and having the resources for supports when including children with disabilities in early childcare programs (DHSS, 2015). Not only should Early Childhood Professionals be equipped with the tools and resources to understand children’s behavior, educators need to demonstrate competency in state regulations, environmental safety for children, and playground safety (Sheridan, Edwards, Marvin & Knoche, 2009). B.E. Safe allows Early Childhood Professionals to engage in a research-based training that will help to ensure safety within their center. Connection to Theory: Behavior theories of child development incorporate environmental influences on behavior (Shute & Slee, 2015). A child’s early learning environment and the adults influence of children affects emotional, social, and physical development. B.E. Safe relates to Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (1978) suggesting that children learn actively through hands on experiences. The Sociocultural Theory suggest that parents, caregivers, and a child’s environment from a young age is largely responsible for higher order functions (Shute & Slee, 2015). Proficiency in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) will allow participants to grasp how traumatic events can affect a child’s developmental process. Educating early childcare professionals on ACEs will allow for adults to be aware of what to look for, and how to keep children protected from adverse experiences (Sacks, Murphey & Moore, 2014). How will the study add to knowledge/innovative practice? Family Scientists will gain knowledge on best practices for providing Family Life Education to Early Childhood Professionals. Specifically, participants will gain knowledge on promoting inclusion, understanding behavior issues, developmental delays, and how to keep children safe from potential environmental hazards.

Women who spend more time on social media platforms have a greater chance of developing symptoms of depression (Burnborg & Burdzovic, 2019). When women are using social media, they spend the majority of their time looking at the lives and social accomplishments of other users. This comparison may cause them to experience hopelessness, anxiety, and depression (Litchtfuss, 2019). Women are the most likely to experience symptoms of depression (Harvard Health, 2011). With the increased popularity of social media, depression is becoming a growing problem. Published research shows a relationship between social media and depression (Burnborg & Burdzovic, 2019). It would be beneficial to examine college-aged females specifically at Mississippi State University, a gap in previous research. This research will look at Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Tik Tok, Pinterest, and YouTube to evaluate which social media platforms are used the most in individuals who are ranked on a depression scale created by Kroenke (Kroenke, 2001). This research is important because depression is becoming a growing problem among college-aged women and social media is prevalent in most lives.

Investigations of human biology and disease have been hindered by the use of animal models. The information obtained from such studies often results in clinically irrelevant results and drug trial failures. Additionally, several governing bodies have been formulating legislation to move away from animal models and toward more ethical and efficient testing platforms for drug discovery and cosmetic research. As an answer to these issues, "body-on-a-chip" systems have been a rapidly developing field which easily recapitulates in vivo functionality, providing a more relevant, repeatable, and ethical testing platform to better predict biology. These systems can be used as human-based testing platforms to evaluate human physiology, disease progression, and drug responsiveness for specific cell types and multi-organ systems. Diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have significant research challenges, specifically with translating research findings into treatment plans. The complexity of the neuromuscular reflex arc, the biological system affected by these diseases, is difficult to study with traditional molecular techniques, namely because the many components of this disease system interact with each other using complex pathways. This work pushes the existing platform to a more complete human model of neuromuscular disease with the incorporation of gamma motoneurons, development of the first human induced pluripotent cell (iPSC) derived intrafusal fibers, and proposals to incorporate nociceptive neurons all on a functionally interrogative platform. The incorporation of these components will allow for a more complete, clinically relevant model to study neuromuscular disorders and for preclinical dug discovery.

This presentation will present primary data collection techniques using archival data to identify participants and how to leverage existing datasets to conduct secondary data analyses. It can often be difficult for new professionals and students to access data or may be unaware of the pros and cons of using either research technique. Data from three different studies will be presented including Long Term Care in Arkansas, Co-Parenting Across Households, and Identifying At-Risk Early Career Servicemembers. Results discussed will provide detailed comparisons of collected samples to target populations. The presentation will aim to assist students and new professionals in better understanding data driven research and provide tools for future use of both secondary and primary data.

The reversible oxidation of cysteine by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is both a mechanism for cellular protein signaling as well as a cause of cellular injury and death through the generation of oxidative stress. The study of cysteine oxidation is complicated by the methodology currently available to isolate and enrich oxidized-cysteine containing proteins. We sought to simplify this process by reducing the time needed to process samples and reducing sample loss and contamination risk. We accomplished this by eliminating precipitation steps needed for the protocol by (a) introducing an in-solution NEM-quenching step prior to reduction and (b) replacing soluble dithiothreitol reductant with a series of newly-developed high-capacity polyacrylamide-based solid-phase reductants that could be easily separated from the lysate through centrifugation. These modifications, collectively called resin-assisted reduction and capture (RARC), reduced the time needed to perform the RAC method from 2-3 days to 4-5 hours, while the overall quality and quantity of previously-oxidized cysteines captured was increased. In order to demonstrate the RARC method’s utility in studying complex cellular oxidants, the optimized methodology was used to study cysteine oxidation caused by the redox-active metals arsenic, cadmium, and chromium. As(III), Cr(VI), and Cd(II) were all found to increase cysteine oxidation significantly, with As(III) and Cd(II) inducing more oxidation than Cr(VI) following a 24-hour exposure to cytotoxic concentrations. Label-free proteomic analysis and western blotting of RARC-isolated oxidized proteins found a high degree of commonality between the proteins oxidized by these metals, with cytoskeletal, translational, stress response, and metabolic proteins all being oxidized. Several previously-unreported redox-active cysteines were also identified. These results indicate that cysteine oxidation by As(III), Cr(VI), and Cd(II) may play a significant role in these metals’ cytotoxicity and demonstrates the utility of the RARC method as a strategy for studying reversible cysteine oxidation by oxidants in oxidative signaling and disease. The RARC method is a simplification and improvement upon the current state of the art which decreases the barrier of entry to studying cysteine oxidation, allowing more researchers to study this modification. We predict that the RARC methodology will be critical in expanding our understanding of reactive cysteines in cellular function and disease.

Cancer cells are most clearly characterized by their abnormal and uncontrolled cell growth. One of the most notable theories that explains the vast proliferative capacity of tumorigenic cells is the Warburg effect, a significant shift in metabolism wherein cancer cells preferentially fuel cell division using aerobic glycolysis instead of aerobic respiration. This upregulation of glycolytic fermentation in aerobic environments is highly unusual - glycolysis is typically utilized in anaerobic conditions, but nonetheless dominates cancer metabolic activity in spite of the presence of oxygen. Since the discovery the Warburg effect in the 1920s, researchers have struggled to identify whether aerobic glycolysis is a cause or consequence of carcinogenesis. Interestingly, a new theory recently emerged that challenges this widely-accepted metabolic paradigm for cancer. Known as the reverse Warburg effect, this new mechanism shows that in carcinomas such as breast cancer, the Warburg effect occurs not in cancer cells, but rather in tumor-adjacent stromal fibroblasts. These cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in the greater tumor microenvironment produce lactate - a high-energy metabolite formed as a byproduct of aerobic glycolysis - to fuel aerobic respiration and rapid tumorigenesis in neighboring cancer cells. This emerging theory emphasizes the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment in determining whether cancer cells undergo aerobic glycolysis or aerobic respiration. Central to this lactate-linked metabolic intersection are two critical enzymes that regulate a cell's metabolic commitment - lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc). In order to clarify the mechanisms through which CAFs induce tumorigenesis in breast cancer, we plan to carry out two specific aims: (1) evaluate the enzymatic activity of LDH and PDHc, and (2) compare LDH and PDHc enzyme content. Using co-culture techniques to study the breast cancer tumor microenvironment in vitro, we will compare the enzymatic activity and enzyme content of both MCF7 breast cancer cells and CAFs to identify whether the reverse Warburg effect occurs due to post-translational enzyme activation or increased enzyme synthesis.

The goal of this project is to explore how 23 different bird species respond to 3 climatic attributes. These attributes are lower than average temperatures, wind speed and precipitation level. Information about the bird species and all of the data associated with them is provided by Project FeederWatch (PFW). This is a citizen based survey study that provides key information about bird species abundance through the use of backyard and community feeders. The study volunteers from across the United States and Canada monitor these bird feeders and note important information about the species such as the number of individuals seen. Other standard information is also included such as location data and date. An original data collection pipeline was developed for this study to append climate data from Weather Underground (WU) to the PFW bird feeder data. The final dataset helped to explore how exactly the birds are reacting to winter temperatures, wind speeds and rain levels. Our results indicate that birds species in general visit the bird feeders more often as temperatures dip below average. We found that the body mass of the bird plays no role in the number of visits. Birds don't seem to be significantly affected by precipitation or wind speed as our results indicate no relationship between these climatic factors and abundance at the feeders.

Gill nets and longlines were compared as shark nursery sampling methodologies in inshore waters of Georgia to (1) assess differences in gear selectivity, bias, and stress of capture and (2) determine potential relationships between habitat features and shark distribution and abundance. Gear selectivity varied between gears as a function of both species and life stage resulting in significantly different estimates of species and life stage compositions. Juvenile bonnetheads (Sphyrna tiburo) and young of the year blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) experienced significantly higher stress from gill net capture than longline. Major sources of bias are thought to result from dietary preferences and individual size. Juvenile sandbar shark (C. plumbeus) distribution revealed a potential preference for creeks rather than sounds, between 0.32-0.8km wide and 4.02-8.05km from the ocean. Adult Atlantic sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) appear to prefer larger, open sound waters closer to the ocean. A potential preference for locations in close proximity to jetties over those near oyster reefs was also observed for adult Atlantic sharpnose sharks, and while statistical significance was observed, a stronger pattern may exist, as sample sizes in this study were relatively small yet still able to detect a difference. Future investigations that quantify proportions of habitat availability and shark abundance in a given area may be more useful for identifying preferences for the structures observed in this study. This study also provides strong evidence of finetooth shark (C. isodon) primary and potentially secondary nursery habitat in areas that had not yet been documented. Findings from these investigations can be useful for managers seeking to maintain healthy coastal shark populations.

Specialization on insect and animal pollinators is thought to be the driving force for the evolution of floral traits. Specifically in the New World (NW), the oil-bee pollination syndrome has led to the convergence of floral characters in two distantly related families of core eudicots, Malpighiaceae and Krameriaceae. Both families display a flag-like structure that establishes a zygomorphic flower and floral oil rewards in epithelial elaiophores. These traits work concomitantly to attract and reward female oil-bees that help fertilize these flowers and in return receive oils. The underlying genetics of floral zygomorphy were studied in several clades of core eudicots, which implicated CYCLOIDEA2-(CYC2-)like genes of the TCP gene family to play a role in the establishment and maintenance of this trait. In Malpighiaceae, previous work demonstrated that two CYC2-like genes, CYC2A and CYC2B, are expressed during development correlated with establishing zygomorphy in flowers of NW Malpighiaceae. In this thesis work, I investigated the underlying developmental and genetic basis for the establishment of non-homologous and yet functionally similar traits in the oil-bee pollinated flowers of Malpighiaceae and Krameriaceae. In Chapter 1, I investigated the modification of a conserved CYC2 genetic program in the Old World (OW) acridocarpoids of Malpighiaceae following a major biogeographic disjunction. And in Chapter 2, I studied the floral ontogeny and genetic basis of floral zygomorphy development in Krameria lanceolata Torrey of Krameriaceae. This thesis work sheds light on the significance of the interdisciplinary study of floral symmetry evolution through comparative pollination ecology, development, and genetics.