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Impact of Temperature and Microbial Infection on the Honey Bee Hemocytes
No full textIntroduction
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) rely on hemocytes for immunity, wound healing, and hemolymph homeostasis. While 32°C reflects optimal hive conditions, suboptimal temperatures (22°C) and stressors like pathogens (Varroa destructor, bacteria) or pesticides impair hemocyte function. Using clodronate liposomes (CLD) to deplete hemocytes, we assessed how immune suppression interacts with these stressors.
Methods
Newly emerged (5-day-old) and older (15-day-old) bees were assigned to: CLD, control liposomes (LP), PBS, injection wound, or no treatment. Cohorts were exposed to 32°C (optimal) or 22°C (stressful for non-immunosuppressed bees). Fifteen-day-old bees were challenged with Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. Survival, hemolymph volume, and hemocyte counts (total/differential) were tracked for 7 days.
Results
CLD-treated bees showed reduced survival and hemocyte counts, with declines exacerbated at 22°C (non-optimal) and after E. coli challenge. A critical threshold of ~220,000 hemocytes/mL was identified; below this, survival dropped sharply, particularly in CLD/LP groups. Granulocytes (phagocytosis) and plasmatocytes (encapsulation) were most affected. Notably, 22°C alone stressed healthy bees but was catastrophic for CLD-treated individuals.
Discussion
Hemocytes are essential for stress resilience. While 32°C supports immune function, 22°C suboptimal for healthy bees severely compromises immunosuppressed individuals. Bacterial challenges (especially E. coli) further deplete key hemocytes, revealing synergistic effects of environmental and pathogenic stressors. Beekeeping practices must prioritize hive temperature stability to mitigate immune risks. synergistic effects of environmental and pathogenic stressors. Beekeeping practices must prioritize hive temperature stability to mitigate immune risks
Evaluating Coordination and Variability Within Collegiate Basketball Players Using Vector Coding
Get PDFThe countermovement jump (CMJ) is a popular tool used to assess neuromuscular capabilities and production of power. The literature has also shown the CMJ to assess differences in strategic approaches, and it is common to see the variables countermovement depth, impulse, and ground-reaction force (GRF) curve shapes being used to describe differences in strategy. However, these variables are not descriptive enough to evaluate how individuals are moving at a segmental level. Vector coding, a qualitative analysis of coordination, may be the better answer for assessing differences in strategy from a coordination point of view. Thus, the purpose of this project was to observe coordination patterns and variability of those patterns in collegiate basketball players during a jumping task. 17 collegiate basketball players completed five CMJ trials, and segmental rotations were recorded for the pelvis, thigh and shank. Participants were split into two groups based on their standing height. The thigh-shank couple revealed very similar coordination patterns, regardless of the group, but the pelvis-thigh couple had a much greater amount of variability, which could suggest that strategy differences are evoked from the hip joint, rather than the knee joint. When looking at the variability between trials, the thigh-shank couple and pelvis-thigh revealed low variability, other than switching between the braking and propulsive jump phase. Vector coding is a useful visual tool to assess coordination patterns beyond numerical data usually reported, as it provides an in-depth description of the differences in strategies despite similar outcomes and supports the need for individualized training
A Herpetofaunal Inventory Study of two National Wildlife Refuges in the Mississippi Delta and Associated Evaluation of Trapping Efficacy
Get PDFThe objectives of this project were to record the diversity and distribution of amphibian and reptile species present at Panther Swamp and Hillside National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) and to quantify trapping efficacy as a result of various methodologies under different habitat variables. The primary methods employed were two varieties of drift fence trap arrays consisting of 100-foot sections of silt fencing with buried 2.5-gallon buckets as pitfall traps and box traps placed at the end of each fence to capture larger organisms. When conditions permitted, aquatic trapping was also employed across the Refuges. A total of 55 species were documented, yielding a total of 27 county records for the three counties making up the two Refuges, as well as 16 records for Panther Swamp and 17 records for Hillside NWRs. Four response variables (Total Captures, Species Richness, Family Richness, and CPUE) were used to evaluate the two predictor variables, Fence Shape and Trap Type. At an array level, the doubled number of traps and silt fencing used in X-shaped fences appears to lead to an increase in all four response variables, and, while bucket traps had a higher number of captures, box traps captured a greater variety of species. Using statistical modeling to compare individual traps, a marginally significant increase in captures was seen in traps on X-shaped fences. Determining effective strategies for conducting inventory projects on reptile and amphibian species is critical to properly sample the target species, efficiently utilize time and material resources, and inform habitat management actions
Transformation and Restoration: Boyhood Masculinity in Michael Ende\u27s The Neverending Story
No full textMichael Ende’s 1979 novel, The Neverending Story (Die unendliche Geschichte in its original German), follows Bastian Balthazar Bux, a young boy plagued by bullies, as he steals a book called The Neverending Story and runs away from home to read it. As Bastian reads, however, the book references himself—and he is eventually sucked into the land of Fantastica that he has been reading about. Throughout his time in Fantastica, Bastian’s ability to make endless wishes leads him to change everything about himself, from his physical appearance to his mental attributes. In doing so, Bastian tries to make himself into the most traditionally masculine version of himself possible; however, he becomes a worse person because of these transformations and a shell of his former self. The novel’s stance on masculinity is not entirely negative, however, as shown by its portrayal of Atreyu, a character whom Bastian reads about and who later becomes his best friend. Though the novel has generated international scholarship, critical literature available in English does not address the ways in which Bastian and Atreyu embody and are affected by standards of masculinity, despite the centrality of Bastian’s insecurities to the novel. I argue that The Neverending Story rejects both toxic masculinity and the traditional transformation plot by returning Bastian to his true self at the end and vilifying his transformation in the first place. Instead, Bastian’s creativity, a non-gendered trait that he has possessed all along, becomes the source of his confidence by the novel’s end
Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1036/thumbnail.jp
Breaking the Social Media Prism
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1038/thumbnail.jp
The Epistemology of Fake News
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1044/thumbnail.jp
Plots Against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantacy After Socialism
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1046/thumbnail.jp
Fake News in America: Contested Meanings in the Post-Truth Era
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1051/thumbnail.jp
Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on The Internet
No full texthttps://aquila.usm.edu/katrinagulfcoast_photos/1059/thumbnail.jp