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Why the Long Jaw?: Molecular Mechanisms of Mandibular Elongation in Zebrafish
Get PDFFish mandible length is central to determining trophic niche through its impact on feeding mechanics. Thyroid hormone (TH) plays an important role in mandible elongation as fish skulls undergo extensive changes during metamorphosis. To investigate how altered TH signaling can affect fish mandible development, I used bulk RNA-seq techniques to study developing zebrafish with different TH levels across three developmental stages: 21, 36, and 65 days post-fertilization (dpf). I measured and then excised fish mandibles and examined expression in these tissues across 18 weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) determined modules, and the hub genes associated with them. Mandibles in specimens with both high and low TH levels are significantly longer than those in fish with normal TH at 36 and 65 dpf, but not at 21 dpf. The high and low TH specimens also had differences in modular gene expression in which high TH was most associated with immune system functions related to major histocompatibility complex and antigens, while low TH was associated with diverse functions relevant to development, cell transport, cell signaling, metabolism of amino acids, and homeostasis. Hub genes for high TH fish were not well defined but focused on the nucleotide-binding (NACHT), leucine-rich repeats (LRR) and pyrin (PYD) domain proteins. Hub genes for low TH fish include, but are not limited to: frem1a, evx1, smad6a, bmp6, slc9a5, msx1a, otx2b, scn8aa, mmp24, calb2b genes. Changes in the expression of genes important to immune system function were associated with both altered thyroid hormone levels and elongated mandibles, suggesting a potential novel mechanism for shifts in feeding mechanics. These findings are highly relevant to the diversification of fish feeding mechanics, as evolutionary changes in mandible elongation frequently accompany shifts in bite force, bite speed, the location at which fishes feed in the water column, and prey preference
Voice of the Dead
No full textVoice of the Dead: A Novel About Aztecs, Magic, and Humor A novel that sits at a word count of around 50,000, however this piece will only include the first two chapters. The project received $750 from the Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities Grant (RSP Grant) from Western Washington University. The novel draws on a mix of genres including fantasy, coming-of-age, and industrialism. The work touches significantly on themes of grief and the cultural erasure, that comes from colonialism.
Book Synopsis:
A young noble, Liam, wakes one day to discover that he shares his body with an old dead warrior from a bygone era, Carmelo, as the two set out to try and navigate the cut throat world of nobles. Set in an industrial revolution fantasy world where magic has been determined down to a science
Dacite origins during a compositional shift in eruptive products at Middle Sister volcano, Oregon Cascades
Get PDFThe Three Sisters Volcanic Complex (TSVC) in the Oregon Cascades provides a unique framework for investigating trans-crustal magmatic systems and intermediate magma petrogenesis at arc systems, due to its compositional variability (erupting the full suite of lavas, from basalt to rhyolite). Middle Sister, one of the central stratovolcanoes within the TSVC, is particularly noteworthy due to its extensive production of intermediate magmas, specifically andesites and dacites. This study focuses on two dacitic lava flows from Middle Sister, the dacite of Sister Spring (dss) and the dacite of Lane Plateau (dlp), which erupted following a 10,000-year eruptive lull at the volcano ca. 22-14 ka and mark the onset of a bimodal basaltic andesite-dacite eruption sequence. Through detailed petrologic and geochemical analyses, this study examines the petrogenesis of dss and dlp to determine (1) the occurrence of magma mixing, recharge, or fractional crystallization within these dacites, (2) the compositional similarity of post-lull dacites at Middle Sister, and (3) the petrogenetic implications for the post-lull dacites Middle Sister. Textural observations and detailed mineral-focused geochemical analyses of mineral phases reveal that both dacites are sourced from single-component magmatic reservoirs that underwent at least two episodes of magma recharge from a compositionally related, more primitive magma prior to eruption. Comparison with other post-lull dacites from Middle Sister, including the dacite north of Separation Creek (dsn) and the dacite of Irving Glacier (dig), demonstrates compositional homogeneity among these units, reinforcing a shared petrogenetic pathway. Calculated formational parameters such as oxygen fugacity and temperature estimates indicate similar pre-eruptive conditions across all four dacites. Findings of this study enhance our understanding of the processes governing intermediate magma formation (dacites) at Middle Sister and provide valuable insights into the magmatic plumbing system beneath the TSVC, contributing to both hazard assessment and petrogenesis models in the region
Diet Preferences of Fish in the Olympic Peninsula
Get PDFThis study examines the relationship between fish species and consumed invertebrates in streams of the Olympic Peninsula. Fish (coho salmon, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and sculpin) were sampled in streams of the Olympic Experimental Forest Site (OEFS) in the summer of 2023 and preserved for later study. Preserved specimens were dissected, and gut contents were identified to the smallest practical taxon and measured. Larger trout were found to consume significantly larger prey than smaller trout. Differences across fish species of percent proportion of invertebrate orders consumed were analyzed. The largest contributor to gut content in each species was Diptera in coho (57.5% by count), nematodes in cutthroat (20.9%), Diptera in age 0 trout (39.2%), and nematodes in sculpin (38.3%)
July Meditations
No full textIn the aftermath of an unfortunate early summer, July Meditations is all at once a story about grief, a dismantling of narrative function and a working study in genre’s relation to form. Characterized by disjointed, self-correcting and unreliable narration, malleable character description and in/external dialogue, the only voice left to trust as you wind through the prose becomes the writer themself. The story of a story being written. Effortlessly relayed attempts to tell, search for, and understand, the story. A compilation of successful failures, shorthanded attempts at excavation that leave both the reader and writer in a place of wanting. The thesis in the convex mirror: a narrator, smaller than they appear, shrinking in stature. What can the writer survive of their old selves? Where is the pulsating heart of a thesis? How is it that we arrive at art from grief? Where do you escape when your currency has no value? Where did the little boy go? What happens next? These are the July Meditations
Imagining an Alternative View: An Exploration of Visual Imagery Perspectives, Perspective Switching, and Preference on Volleyball Serving Performance
Get PDFAthletes across a wide range of expertise have reported using a visual imagery perspective switching (VIPS) strategy during their mental rehearsal (e.g., Kaminskiy et al., 2017), yet there are no known experimental studies on sport performance that have determined how imagery with VIPS compares to an external visual imagery (EVI) or internal visual imagery (IVI) only perspective; additionally, it is unclear how perspective preference moderates the performance effects of visual imagery perspective manipulations. Thus, the primary aim of the present study was to explore the effects of polysensory IVI, EVI, and VIPS interventions on volleyball serve performance, with a secondary purpose to elucidate the interactive effects of perspective preference alignment and nonalignment on participants’ target accuracy. Fifty-one intermediate-level volleyball players (Mage = 21.35; SD = 3.68) engaged in a single session, 10-minute imagery practice and performed 10 volleyball serves toward target areas in a pre- and post-test experimental design that involved matched-group random assignment. The analyses revealed no interaction between imagery intervention groups and time on target accuracy nor service errors, though a medium effect size was found only for participants with moderate to high imagery ability. Additionally, a main effect of time, with a decrease in service errors from pre- to post-test was observed with a large effect size for both analyses. The results suggest that IVI, EVI, and VIPS brief interventions had a comparable effect on volleyball serve performance, regardless of athletes’ perspective preferences. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed
Social Support and Self-Efficacy for Those with Chronic Gastrointestinal Conditions
Get PDFThose with chronic gastrointestinal conditions tend to lack the social support they need to manage the complexities of their conditions. The current study sought to improve self-efficacy for those with chronic gastrointestinal conditions through a novel social support-based intervention. Participants had a professional diagnosis with at least one of the following six conditions: Crohn’s disease, fecal incontinence, functional dyspepsia, functional dysphagia, irritable bowel syndrome, and/or ulcerative colitis. Two hundred and sixty participants living in the United States were recruited online and completed a two-part intervention. Part one randomly assigned participants to watch one of four videos displaying different types of social support. In part two, participants completed an implementation intention exercise and created personalized plans to enact in future situations. Participants reported their pre- and post-intervention self-efficacy, perceived social support, and social support providers. A 2 (practical support: yes, no) X 2 (emotional support: yes, no) X 2 (time: pre-intervention, post-intervention) mixed analysis of variance revealed that participants’ self-efficacy increased after the intervention, but increases were not dependent on the social support type shown in the intervention. Perceived practical and perceived emotional social support did not moderate the relationship between social support type and post-intervention self-efficacy. Several potential explanations, limitations, and future directions are explored. This study uncovered valuable insights that can be used to build lasting treatment interventions for those with disorders of the gut-brain interaction and inflammatory bowel diseases
The Girl in the Mirror
No full textPresented here are the first two parts of seven of The Girl in the Mirror, a fictional story concerning a severely mentally ill and psychotic girl named Lupe, who relates the story in first person from a trapped mental space referred to as “The Dollhouse.” The story seeks to be an honest expression— emotionally rather than medically— of what it is like to have a severe mental illness. As such, the work features surrealist tendencies, non-chronological sequencing of events, and frank discussion of uncomfortable topics such as self-harm and sexual assault. In addition to mental illness, the story explores themes such as identity, religion, generational trauma, and suffering. Although classified as a horror story intended to evoke the grotesque, the story is written with attention and care to poetics so that the beautiful and repulsive may mingle together on the page and in the reader’s mind
Natural Variation in Transcript Properties Modulates mRNA and Protein Abundance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Get PDFNatural variation in gene expression drives trait differences in organisms, yet the genetic mechanisms underlying this variation remain poorly understood. Polymorphisms in transcript properties such as codon bias, mRNA folding strength, transcription elongation rate, and amino acid properties like charge and weight influence gene expression, with their effects potentially depending on their position within the transcript. Despite their potential role in shaping natural trait variation, systematic studies on how these transcript properties relate to gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are limited. Our study utilizes genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data for 22 S. cerevisiae isolates for 1,447 genes. For each gene, we calculated across-isolate changes for our transcript properties and assessed the impact on mRNA transcript abundance, protein abundance, and translational efficiency using linear mixed-effects models. We found that mRNA folding strength, codon bias, and amino acid (AA) weight had significant effects on all three levels of expression. Codon bias and AA weight have consistent effects across expression levels, however, mRNA folding strength negatively influences transcript abundance while positively influencing translational efficiency and protein abundance. Transcription elongation rate and AA charge have weaker effects and only associate with transcript abundance. Codon bias, AA charge, and AA weight showed synergistic effects with mRNA folding strength, particularly on translational efficiency. The impact of polymorphism location varied: codon bias acted mainly through domain-encoding and 3′ coding regions, while mRNA folding strength effects were concentrated around start/stop codons and within coding regions. Our results provide a comprehensive view of how transcript-level polymorphisms shape gene expression in yeast
Dream Sound
No full textThis thesis is formed by the first five chapters of an in-progress novel written by myself. The story is a fiction piece, operating within numerous genres from horror to historical fiction, to queer romance, and westerns. It was inspired by and can be seen as a direct response to the horror literature of the 1960s through the 1980s, an era of horror that is uniquely obsessed with isolation and community, which I have dubbed domestic horror. It attempts to emulate and improve upon the best aspects of the work of this era, while overcoming the flaws and prejudices that came with this period. Furthermore, it explores queer relationships and queer community, and how access to these communities is access to survival. Above all else, this story is a horror story