Geophysical and Geospatial Monitoring of Coastal Wetland Dynamics in Texas Gulf Coast: Implications for Coastal Hazard Mitigation

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Joshua Benford Geological Sciences
Advisor(s): Esayas Gebremichael Geological Sciences

Coastal wetlands are critical ecosystems located at the dynamic interface between terrestrial and marine environments, shaped by the intricate interactions among sediment transport and deposition processes, geomorphology, hydrodynamics, and biogeochemical processes. They offer essential services, acting as a primary defense against storm surge flooding and reducing cyclone wind wave energy. However, the sustainability of coastal freshwater wetlands is increasingly threatened by natural and anthropogenic stressors, including sea level rise and land subsidence. The latter process alters coastal morphology and, in combination with saltwater intrusion, which is primarily driven by unsustainable groundwater pumping rates, contributes to the salinization of the soil, leading to a severe decline in freshwater wetlands' spatial extent and significantly reducing the ecosystem services they provide. Wetlands are particularly important in areas such as the Texas Gulf Coast, including regions extending from the Galveston to Beaumont County coasts, where there is a recurrence of cyclone events causing severe devastation, sprawling urbanization extending toward the coasts, and extreme use of groundwater resources to meet the demands of the growing population. This study utilizes an approach that incorporates remote sensing datasets and analysis techniques, including deep learning methods facilitated by GeoAI, and field-based geophysical methods to explore the following key objectives: (1) quantify spatial and temporal changes in coastal wetland extent and type from 2000 to 2024 in response to major stressors; (2) investigate the hydrogeological conditions of the critical zone in areas experiencing declining freshwater wetland coverage, assessing the impacts of environmental stressors on the wetland critical zone using key indicators such as subsurface erosion and other morphological indicators (3) evaluate how shifts in wetland dynamics influence their ability to mitigate cyclone-related hazards and examine corresponding spatiotemporal variations in methane emissions.

Health Insurance, Social Determinants, and Health Outcomes: An Interdisciplinary Analysis Using Real-World Data

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Adrian Cisneros Interdisciplinary
Advisor(s): Keith Whitworth Interdisciplinary

Acute Effect of a Proprietary Blend Containing L-Arginine and Antioxidants on GLP-1 Release

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Katie Harnen Nutritional Sciences
Advisor(s): Elisa Marroquin Nutritional Sciences Elisa Marroquin Nutritional Sciences Ryan Porter Interdisciplinary

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a key gut hormone regulating glucose homeostasis and satiety. This triple-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled randomized study investigated the effect of an L-Arginine-based supplement on active GLP-1 secretion, appetite, and food intake.

Methods: Sixteen participants (N=16) completed three conditions: a placebo and two doses of the supplement (Low-Dose, 5g; High-Dose, 10g). Supplements were consumed at time 0, and an ad libitum meal was consumed at 60 minutes. Serum samples were collected at eight time points over 120 minutes to assess circulating active GLP-1 levels.

Results: Supplementation with L-Arginine significantly augmented circulating GLP-1 levels compared to the control condition. Both doses triggered an immediate, transient rise in GLP-1, followed by a robust and significantly enhanced post-meal response relative to placebo. Analysis of the Area Under the Curve (AUC) confirmed this finding: total GLP-1 exposure was 607% greater in the High-Dose group (~ 340n pg/ml/min, p < 0.0001) and 544% greater in the Low-Dose group (~130 pg/ml/min, p = 0.0076) compared to placebo (~ 50 pg/ml/min). No significant differences in GLP-1 concentrations were observed between the two supplement doses. Secondary analyses found no differences in subsequent food intake or subjective hunger ratings between conditions, a result likely limited by the study’s power for these secondary variables (eta ~ 0.023).

Conclusions: L-Arginine is a potent secretagogue for GLP-1. These findings demonstrate that supplementation significantly increases the body's overall exposure to this crucial gut hormone, suggesting a potential role for L-Arginine in supporting metabolic health.

Characterization of an interferon-producing oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Ayo Agboola Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Hana Dobrovolny Physics & Astronomy

Enhancing Graphene Quantum Dot Fluorescence with Surfactant-Stabilized Dispersion

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Judah Crawford Physics & Astronomy Mason McClure Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Anton Naumov Physics & Astronomy

Graphene quantum dots GQDs possess broad potential in bioimaging and optoelectronics due to their unique optical properties, tunable structure, aqueous solubility, and minimal in vivo and in vitro toxicity. However, despite their solubility, GQD fluorescence may be quenched through interactions with water molecules and aggregation via non radiative decay pathways that reduce emission efficiency. Inspired by the ability of surfactants to prevent quenching interactions for single walled carbon nanotubes, we investigate their utility in preserving GQD fluorescence. Five structurally distinct surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate SDBS, sodium deoxycholate SDC, sodium cholate SC, and Pluronic F127, are tested across a range of concentrations for preserving fluorescence of top down and bottom up synthesized GQDs to determine optimal conditions. This work reveals that surfactant structure and concentration can non-linearly affect GQD emission in the visible and near-infrared, with SC and SDC providing maximum concentration dependent fluorescence increase. Zeta potential and dynamic light scattering measurements are conducted for each surfactant and GQD system to quantify interfacial charge, colloidal stability, and aggregate size distributions. The present study provides mechanistic understanding of how surfactants influence GQD photophysics, offering strategies to optimize GQD based probes for biomedical imaging and photonic applications establishing a structure-to-function framework that links solution phase organization to fluorescence emission.

The Impact of Interferon on the Antiviral Effects of Defective Interfering Particles

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Lucianne Gonzalez Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Hana Dobrovonly Physics & Astronomy

A mathematical model of influenza viral entry

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Ayur Madupur Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Hana Dobrovonly Physics & Astronomy

Influenza virus causes periodic pandemics and thousands of deaths annually, but many of the details of the viral replication cycle are still poorly understood. This study develops a mathematical model of the dynamic transitions of a virus from the extracellular space through the initial intracellular replication processes. These stages include: binding, endocytosis, HA Acidification, Fusion, and Uncoating. Experimental data from the viral entry phases were fit to a system of differential equations, which represent the biological processes. The model parameters were estimated using optimization techniques that minimize the sum of squared residuals, thereby aligning model predictions with observations. An identifiability analysis was performed to see which parameters can be estimated with the given model and available data. We find that the model fits the experimental data well with identifiable parameters, allowing us to characterize the different stages of viral entry. The model can be used to compare different viral strains or treatment options, in addition to helping explain the kinetics of viral entry.

Vaccine optimization using a simplified epidemiological model

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Anvitha Pasam Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Hana Dobrovonly Physics & Astronomy

Protein Binding on Functionalized Charged Graphene Quantum Dots

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Himish Paul Physics & Astronomy Ugur Topkiran Physics & Astronomy Diya Vashani Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Anton Naumov Physics & Astronomy

The effect of cell-to-cell transmission on viral coinfections

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Sanjith Singaravelan Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Hana Dobrovonly Physics & Astronomy

Precursor-Dependent Optical and Structural Properties of Eleven NIR-Emissive Graphene Quantum Dots for Bioimaging Applications

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Diya Vashani Physics & Astronomy Himish Paul Physics & Astronomy Ugur Topkiran Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Anton Naumov Physics & Astronomy

Characterization of oncolytic adenovirus ICVB-1042

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Lakshitha Vengadeswaran Physics & Astronomy
Advisor(s): Hana Dobrovolny Physics & Astronomy

Oncolytic adenoviruses are promising cancer therapies because they can selectively infect and destroy tumor cells, however their replication in cancer cells is sometimes limited leading to incomplete tumor suppression. Recently, researchers have started to modify viruses to enhance their replication in cancer cells. In this study, we use a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to model tumor growth and compare viral treatment dynamics of a modified oncolytic adenovirus ICVB-1042 and a wild-type adenovirus type 5 (Wt Ad5). The model was fit to experimental allowing us to estimate important model parameters for both viruses: infection rate, infected cell death rate, rate of cell protection by the immune response, rate of cell resistance loss, viral production rate, and viral clearance rate. We found differences in the viral production rates and the clearance rates between the two viruses, providing insight into how genetic modifications have altered viral dynamics. These findings highlight how viral properties determine the effectiveness of oncolytic virus therapy.

The Impact of Helicopter Parenting and Emerging Adults' Perceptions of Parental Conflict on their Romantic Relationships: The Mediating Role of Adult Attachment

Type: Graduate
Author(s): Whitney Sullivan Psychology Ava Burton Psychology Jasmine Durrant Psychology
Advisor(s): Naomi Ekas Psychology

• The Link Between Natural Mentoring and Resiliency in the Face of Adverse Experiences and Insecure Attachment

Type: Undergraduate
Author(s): Jessie Swartz Psychology Lillyan Shelley Psychology
Advisor(s): Danica Knight Psychology