Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1968, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2024, Biology

CHAPTER 1: Nutrient excretion by fish supports a variable but significant proportion of lake primary productivity over 15 years. This chapter analyzes the long-term importance of excretion from gizzard shad for primary production in a midwestern reservoir using a supply:demand (S:D) approach and considers environmental and population variables that best predict the S:D ratio. Gizzard shad excretion supported a variable proportion of phytoplankton phosphorus demand, and it supported more demand during the summer than spring. Stream discharge, temperature, and gizzard shad population biomass best predicted S:D during the spring, while the biomass of the young-of-year best predicted S:D in the summer. CHAPTER 2: Combined influence of parasites and temperature on nutrient excretion rates and body stoichiometry of a freshwater fish. The rates of excretion from fish and the ratios of the nutrients excreted are expected to change as aquatic ecosystems warm. An experiment examined the excretion rates from bluegill under three climate scenarios and a range of natural parasite intensity. Carbon and phosphorus excretion increased with temperature but declined with parasite load, and the C and N concentrations in fish bodies declined with parasite load. CHAPTER 3: Ontogenetic changes in the gut microbiomes of Gizzard Shad and Bluegill and their relationship to nutrient excretion. The microbial communities within the guts of animals contribute to their health, but little is known about how these communities change with development and contribute to ecosystem processes. We conducted an exploratory study to learn about the gut microbiome of larval, young-of-year, and adult gizzard shad and bluegill as well as the relationship between microbiomes and excretion. We found that the two fish species had similar microbial communities as larvae, but the communities were different in the adults. The guts of adult gizzard shad contained taxa that are believed to fix nitrogen as well as s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Vanni (Advisor); Melany Fisk (Committee Member); Matthew Saxton (Committee Member); Roxane Maranger (Committee Member); Christopher Myers (Committee Member); María González (Committee Member) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Biology; Environmental Science; Limnology; Science Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Cancers and leishmaniasis are distinct diseases, but the effects of each on people and communities are similarly devastating. Cancers cause over 10 million deaths worldwide each year, and are so widespread that nearly every person has lost a loved one to them, myself included. Leishmaniasis primarily affects tropical countries and in many places where access to medical care is limited, and the visceral form of the disease requires medical treatment to increase chances of survival above 5%. Both cancers and visceral leishmaniasis are diseases that the human immune system alone often cannot overcome, so the continued research into treatments is crucial to develop new and better tools to fight against these diseases. This dissertation details drug discovery efforts for two different projects, one against each disease; chapter 1 introduces readers to each disease state, chapter 2 describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of anticancer compounds, and chapter 3 describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of antileishmanial compounds. Following the serendipitous discovery of an antileukemia hit compound with an arylimidamide-azole scaffold, a series of analogs was synthesized to evaluate modifications to the scaffold. A robust structure-activity relationship (SAR) was developed through the synthesis of these compounds, and analysis of this relationship pointed to specific chemical modifications to the scaffold which improved their anticancer potency. Combining these favorable modifications led to compounds with >4-fold improved potency compared to the parent compound. Among the most potent compounds in this iv series was 2.9k, which displayed an IC50 value of 100 nM against the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line OCI-AML3. Promising compounds in this series were then further evaluated for broad anticancer activity, pharmacokinetic properties, and mechanism of action as described in chapter 2. The antileishmanial compounds described in this dissertation (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karl Werbovetz (Advisor); Xiaolin Cheng (Committee Member); James Fuchs (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Pharmaceuticals; Pharmacology; Pharmacy Sciences

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1966, Biological Sciences

Committee: Karl M. Schurr (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1963, Biological Sciences

Committee: Eugene Dickerman (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1954, Biological Sciences

Committee: Frank C. Meserve (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1951, Biological Sciences

Committee: E. E. Dickerman (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1952, Biological Sciences

Committee: Frank G. Meserve (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1950, Biological Sciences

Committee: E. E. Dickerman (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1950, Biological Sciences

Committee: E. E. Dickerman (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1954, Biological Sciences

Committee: Frank C. Meserve (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1952, Biological Sciences

Committee: Frank G. Meserve (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Biological Sciences

Though parasites are a ubiquitous in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the important role parasites play in community ecology is often overlooked. Thus, the goal of my dissertation was to determine how parasites impact ecological communities by altering the personality, foraging behavior, and community interactions of a host. Crayfish Faxonius rustucis are the second intermediate host of the digenetic trematode Microphallus spp. Microphallid load impacted crayfish personality along a bold shy spectrum, causing crayfish to become bolder in the presence of a threatening odor and less exploratory in novel environments, whether or not a food source was present. Additionally, crayfish infected with Microphallus spp. consumed significantly less macrophyte tissue that as parasite load increase. This decrease in consumption was species-specific, with parasite load causing the sharpest decrease in the consumption of Chara sp., followed by Elodea canadensis, Ceratophyllum demersum, and Potamotgeton richardsonii. Additionally, females were more effected by parasite load than males, resulting in a sharper decrease in foraging for the female crayfish. Crayfish were placed in larger community mesocosms with both macrophytes (Chara sp., Myriophallum exalbescens, C. demersum, and P. richardsonii) and animal prey (Campeloma decisum, Dreissena polymorpha, and Dicosmoecus sp.) to determine how microphallid load affected consumption of both plant and animal prey as well as community interactions between the competing animal prey. Macrophyte consumption significantly decreased with increasing parasite load, but the number of animal prey consumed was not affected by parasite load. However, animal weight change was slightly impacted by parasite load, such that D. polymorpha weight remained constant, Dicosmoecus sp. gained about 5% of their body weight, and C. decisum lost approximately 5% of their body weight, which could indicate shifts in the competition between these species. Ov (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Paul Moore Ph.D. (Advisor); Steven Cady Ph.D. (Other); Curtis Blankespoor Ph.D. (Committee Member); Robert Huber Ph.D. (Committee Member); Daniel Pavuk Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Parasitology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2022, Translational Biomedical Sciences

Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It affects 7 to 8 million people worldwide and leads to approximately 50,000 deaths per year. In vitro and in vivo studies had demonstrated that T. cruzi infection causes an imbalance in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that is accompanied by a progressive decrease in growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) production. Inactivating mutations in the GH receptor gene cause Laron Syndrome (LS) in humans. The main characteristics of LS subjects are increased serum GH levels and decreased insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I); they are highly resistant to diabetes and cancer. Remarkably, CD incidence in these individuals is diminished despite living in highly endemic areas. No study to date has examined the effect of GH/IGF-I axis imbalance during T. cruzi infection, neither has anyone exclusively examined the absence of T. cruzi infection in LS subjects, presenting with high GH and low IGF-I serum levels. The long-term goal of this dissertation was to understand the association of clinically diminished T. cruzi infection in LS subjects. The studies presented in this dissertation aimed to investigate the effect of GH on T. cruzi infection. We first analyzed previous experimental data on T. cruzi infection that shows an HPA axis imbalance with increasing glucocorticoids (GC) and decreasing GH and PRL secretion from the pituitary. Moreover, decreased GH levels in vitro and in vivo conditions are often associated with increased susceptibility to T. cruzi infection, in contrast, treatment with GH grants protection in the host. Next, we characterized the effect of elevated GH levels on T. cruzi infection in vitro. We treated T. cruzi with different hormones including GH, IGF-I, PRL, and EGF. Results showed that in vitro GH treatment significantly reduces T. cruzi infection. Importantly, the combination of high GH and low IGF-I, as seen in LS individuals, decreased T. cruzi infection. This stud (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mario J. Grijalva PhD (Advisor); John J. Kopchick PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Biology; Endocrinology; Molecular Biology; Parasitology

MFA, Kent State University, 2021, College of the Arts / School of Art

This thesis entitled Parasites Predators and Symbionts, presents a series of four large scale wearable jewelry pieces. The complexities of interpersonal relationships between organisms in an environment are endlessly varied. This body of work explores these relationships as metaphors for the cyclical nature of human conflict.

Committee: Kuebeck Andrew (Advisor) Subjects: Fine Arts

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Comparative and Veterinary Medicine

Surveillance for wildlife diseases is critical to our understanding of the emergence, transmission, persistence and control of infectious diseases at the interface of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife populations. Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite capable of infecting a wide range of canid and ungulate species. The importance of the disease relates to economic losses, mainly derived from endemic or epidemic abortions in cattle. In the United States, coyotes and dogs are believed to be the main definitive hosts and white-tailed deer and cows are the main intermediate hosts. Our overall aim was to better understand the wildlife-livestock interface of N. caninum in natural settings. First, we estimated the true prevalence of N. caninum in three ruminant species by using Bayesian inference. We identified and discussed differences between apparent and true prevalence (TP). Differences in TP for some species suggest differences in the epidemiology of N. caninum for these co-located populations. Second, we evaluated the environmental phase of N. caninum shed in wild canid scats. Results suggested that the role of this environmental phase in the transmission to ruminants is likely minor. Finally, we evaluated the role of host species heterogeneity in the epidemiology of N. caninum circulating in a community. We identified differences in the patterns of immunity, age structure, and maternal and/or fetal antibody duration in three intermediate (ruminant) host species. Also, we estimated the species-specific contributions to the persistence of this pathogen in a community. This research was approached from the One Health perspective and provided a better understanding of N. caninum dynamics at the wildlife-livestock interface in an ecosystem.

Committee: Rebecca Garabed (Advisor); Mark Moritz (Committee Member); Barbara Wolfe (Committee Member); William Saville (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Diseases; Applied Mathematics; Biology; Biostatistics; Computer Science; Conservation; Cultural Anthropology; Ecology; Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Geographic Information Science; Health Sciences; Livestock; Parasitology; Veterinary Services; Wildlife Conservation; Zoology

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2014, Microbiology and Immunology

Animal shelter housing is highly stressful for a dog, compromising welfare and leading to undesirable behaviors and unknown health consequences. We documented the changes in circulating numbers of white blood cells, plasma cortisol, and fecal parasite shedding of dogs housed for 10 days at a county animal shelter. White blood cell changes were most prominent on Day 10 after arrival to the shelter. Changes included increased total leukocytes, mature neutrophils, and lymphocytes, with less consistent increases in monocytes and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (N:L). Fecal parasite shedding was elevated and not affected by day. Cortisol levels of shelter dogs declined over time, and when compared with dogs living in stable home environments were higher on all days measured (1, 3, and 10). Total leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, and N:L were also higher in shelter dogs than control dogs. Petting sessions of 30 minutes daily for 10 days reduced the cortisol of shelter dogs, but did not have an effect on white blood cells or parasite shedding. This study documents high rates of parasitic infection, large and increasing immunological responses, and plasma cortisol elevations of dogs in an animal shelter. Increasing opportunities for daily interaction with caregivers is likely to improve the welfare of shelter dogs, but additional research must be done to identify potential health benefits.

Committee: Michael Hennessy Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Nancy Bigley Ph.D. (Committee Member); Cheryl Conley Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Welfare

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, Animal Sciences

There is a critical need to identify natural anthelmintics for food animal production because of the increased resistance of intestinal parasites to commercial anthelmintics and the inability to use commercial anthelmintics for certified organic food production. Condensed tannins (CT) and flavonoids have been investigated and shown varied efficacy as natural anthelmintics. This research was done to investigate the effects of utilizing by-products of the juice and wine making industries, pomegranate husk (PH) and grape pomace (GP), which both contain these bioactive compounds of interest. An extraction was done on both by-products to determine the concentration of CT available. Pomegranate husk varieties of interest, Parifanka and Desertnyi, contained approximately 1.49 and 2.02% CT on a dry matter (DM) basis, respectively. Grape pomace varieties, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, contained 4.83 and 3.68% CT, respectively. In vitro batch culture was conducted in a slope ratio design to determine the effects of the by-products on dry matter degradation (DMD) when compared to and mixed with a control, alfalfa hay. Both varieties of GP had lower (P <0.05) DMD at 96 h with greater than 70% dry matter remaining (DMR), however both varieties of PH had similar digestibilities as alfalfa with approximately 40% DMR. There was an inverse response in DMD when GP was mixed with the ground alfalfa hay; as the proportion of GP to alfalfa increased, the DMD decreased (P < 0.05). Parifanka PH had a DMD similar to alfalfa and did not have a significant effect (P > 0.10) on DMD in mixed ratios. Desertnyi PH was observed to have slightly better digestibility than alfalfa, and the DMD decreased with increasing alfalfa. In vitro parasitology studies were done on stage three larvae of O. ostetagia using extracts of PH and GP. There were several varieties of PH available, so preliminary studies were done to determine two varieties showing highest efficacy on larvae to use in subsequent st (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Maurice Eastridge (Advisor); Steve Loerch (Committee Member); Normand St-Pierre (Committee Member); Jeffrey Firkins (Committee Member); Sandra Solaiman (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Diseases; Animal Sciences