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Investigating the Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern Activation Effects on Human Peripheral Blood Progenitor and Monocytes in Aging
(2026-07) Lowe, Sara
Aging has become increasingly prevalent worldwide as the population of individuals aged 60 years and older surpasses that of individuals 18 years of age and younger, a trend that is projected to continue in the coming decades. Aging has not been characterized as a disease due to being a natural process of life. Yet, aging has been recognized to be a significant biological risk factor for diseases. Aging is influenced by intrinsic factors, which refer to internal changes at the cellular and organ levels, and extrinsic factors, which include external influences such as environmental pollutants, ultraviolet radiation, infectious agents, dietary habits, and physical activity. Altogether, aging alters the immune system composition and functionality of the cells which makes these individuals more susceptible to primary and secondary infections. The research questions addressed in this dissertation required the use of primary human immune cells because important differences exist between murine and human toll-like receptor (TLR) biology and antiviral signaling pathways. Variations in receptor expression, cellular distribution, ligand responsiveness, and downstream type I interferon signaling have been reported across species, making murine models insufficient for fully characterizing the mechanisms of innate immune sensing examined in this study. Therefore, there is a critical need to conduct human studies to directly characterize age-associated changes in the immune system. Such studies are essential for identifying clinically relevant therapeutic targets to improve immune function in aged individuals. Those targets will likely also be important for improving general immunity of all people during novel infectious events. To identify potential therapeutic targets, it is first necessary to characterize how pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) signaling pathways are altered during immune cell activation in different immune cell populations from young and aged donors. Our laboratory aims to investigate how pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) influence progenitor developmental decisions down the myeloid pathway and how those mature innate immune cell respond to PAMPs by comparing cell expansion, apoptosis, cell cycle progression, cytokine production, and other functional responses between healthy young and aged donors. To uncover age-associated differences, we utilized two types of immune cells in young and aged individuals. The first perspective focused on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Although these cells are not the primary mediators of pathogen clearance through cytokine production, they replenish the immune cell compartment and can be influenced by exposure to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).Therefore, uncovering some deficient developmental pathways to specific PAMPs can lead to understanding the immune system from progenitor to mature cells. Subsets of HSPCs were evaluated for toll-like receptors (TLRs) protein expression associated with the type 1 interferon (1-IFN) production by flow cytometry, which shows no differences between young and old individuals from our cohort. This does not address the functionality of the TLRs though in our cohort of relatively healthy volunteers, rather than the more frail of the aged human population. Therefore, we stimulated enriched HSPCs from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with PAMPs associated with the 1-IFN production. We evaluated the expansion of stimulated HSPCs through viability cell counts and placed the stimulated HSPCs into a culture medium to evaluate their differentiation capacity into different myeloid cells. Interestingly, the only PAMP that reduced HSPC expansion in aged donors compared to young donors in our group was poly I:C. Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) is a synthetic double-stranded RNA analog that mimics viral double-stranded RNA produced during the replication of many RNA viruses, including reoviruses, flaviviruses, picornaviruses, and coronaviruses. It activates antiviral innate immune responses primarily through endosomal TLR3 and cytosolic RIG-I and MDA5 signaling pathways. These viruses are known to have increased susceptibility in aged individuals. Further, our results suggest that HSPCs from aged individuals in our cohort have defective monocyte associated colony development upon poly I:C stimulation. This led us to investigate PAMP activation, specifically poly I:C, from pan monocytes as the second perspective of the immune cells. We isolated pan monocytes from PBMCs with a bead-based enrichment kit and stimulated pan monocytes with poly I:C. We evaluated expansion, inflammatory and interferon cytokine production, and cellular processes such as apoptosis and cycling with stimulated monocytes comparing young and aged donors. Our data suggests an altered interferon response that is less robust than 1-IFNs responses in aged monocytes compared to young upon poly I:C stimulation. In combination with the altered interferon responses to poly I:C, the increased production of specific inflammatory cytokines reveals links to respiratory infections. Therefore, these findings warrant future tissue-specific investigations focused on the links between altered interferon and increased inflammatory cytokine responses and alveolar macrophages in aged individuals. Altogether, this study advances our understanding of how aging alters poly(I:C)-mediated responses in hematopoietic progenitor and myeloid cell populations. These findings provide a foundation for future studies aimed at identifying therapeutic targets to enhance immune responses to respiratory viral infections in older adults.
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Coastal Watershed Climate Adaptation: Increasing Coastal Watershed Resilience to Storm-Induced Soil Salinization Using a Novel Concept for Capillary Valves
(2026-07) Pezeshki, Elnaz
Coastal farms are increasingly affected by soil salinization. Saline water can enter these farms through surface flooding, drainage ditches, and shallow groundwater. Once below the ground, salt may remain in groundwater and later move upward into the root zone. This dissertation examines how salt enters coastal agricultural fields, how it moves through soil and groundwater, and how its effects may be reduced. Field surveys were conducted on a coastal farm in Hyde County, North Carolina. Electromagnetic induction mapping showed patchy areas of high electrical conductivity across the field, which were often associated with drainage ditches. Electrical resistivity tomography identified transient conductive zones below a drainage ditch, even though no salt damage was visible at the surface. Hydrologic and geophysical modeling showed that saline ditch water could produce a similar subsurface response. These results support the interpretation that drainage ditches may contribute to hidden salt accumulation below coastal farmland. MODFLOW 6 simulations showed that saline water can move from a losing ditch into the shallow subsurface and leave salt behind after the water level falls. HYDRUS-1D simulations showed that evapotranspiration can then move water and salt upward from shallow groundwater. This process was strongest when groundwater was close to the surface and varied with soil texture. Together, these results explain why soil salinity can develop in patches. A possible treatment, called a capillary valve, was tested using laboratory soil columns and HYDRUS-1D. The valve consisted of a thin, coarser sediment layer placed within a finer sediment profile. It reduced upward water and salt movement and lowered salt accumulation above the layer during drying. It also allowed downward drainage under wet conditions. However, soil above the valve dried faster, and some salt remained stored near the layer. An economic analysis evaluated the impact of soil salinization on revenues for crops common to North Carolina, including corn, soybeans, and cotton. Corn had the greatest potential revenue loss, given that it is the crop most sensitivity to salt, followed by soybeans and cotton. For a representative 10 ha farm, implementing a capillary valve as a remediation strategy to reduce soil salinity from 8.00 to 3.57 dS/m was estimated to avoid about $10,915 per year in corn revenue loss. Reducing salinity to 1.50 dS/m increased this amount to about $16,225 per year. These estimates translate into a break-even cost for the installation of a capillary valve of between $420/acre - $8186/acre, depending on the crop value. Initial estimates of the material costs to construct a capillary valve were on the order of $13,170/acre, indicating that it may not be an economically viable option unless higher value crops are considered.. Overall, this dissertation shows that coastal soil salinization can result from both lateral salt movement from drainage ditches and upward salt movement from shallow groundwater. It also shows that capillary valves may reduce this risk, although their water-management and economic tradeoffs require further study.
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i AI Integration in LEED-Focused Construction Management Education: Curriculum Analysis, Technology Evaluation, and Stakeholder Perspectives
(2026-05) Ghorbani, Shahrooz
ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the integration of artificial intelligence technologies into Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-focused construction management education at East Carolina University. Through a three-part investigation encompassing curriculum analysis, systematic literature review, and stakeholder survey research, the study examines current LEED education practices, evaluates AI application opportunities, and assesses faculty and student perspectives on technology-enhanced sustainable building education. The curriculum analysis revealed critical gaps in post-occupancy evaluation methods, real-time performance data integration, and human-centered design instruction within the existing residential sustainability course. A systematic review of approximately 50 peer-reviewed publications identified four primary AI application categories with demonstrated educational effectiveness: energy performance optimization tools, AI-enhanced Building Information Modeling, indoor environmental quality monitoring systems, and predictive analytics for building performance assessment, with documented learning outcome improvements of 25–45%. Survey results from seven faculty and 48 student respondents revealed strong faculty support for AI integration (86%) alongside significant student uncertainty (39% neutral), with both groups identifying infrastructure, professional development, and structured support as critical implementation requirements. Findings indicate that phased integration approaches aligned with stakeholder readiness, combined with robust support infrastructure, offer the most promising pathway for enhancing LEED education through AI technologies while maintaining educational integrity and preparing graduates for evolving industry demands.
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Design and Evaluation of Antibiofilm Dental Adhesives Incorporating Marine Alkaloid-Inspired Compounds
(2026-07) Carter, Lauren Lane
Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that can adhere to a variety of surfaces via a self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix. The oral cavity provides many examples of the destructive potential of biofilms, which lead to primary and secondary caries. Current methacrylate-based dental biomaterials remain defenseless against biofilm formation, an important and still unmet need in the field. This project aims to synthesize and test anti-biofilm small molecules derived from marine alkaloids for use in dental biomaterials by covalently conjugating a bioactive heterocyclic headgroup to hydroxyethyl methacrylate HEMA, affording H10/HEMA. This compound was tested as an additive to a dental methacrylate resin blend at concentrations of 0, 4, 8, and 12 wt%. Mechanical integrity and biological performance were evaluated for the different experimental groups using degree of conversion, flexure strength, and crystal violet assay. Increasing the concentration of H10/HEMA showed a promising inhibition capacity against Streptococcus Mutans biofilm formation, but it seems to negatively impact the structure of the polymer network. Preliminary calorimetry studies suggest that incorporating H10/HEMA yields a more amorphous network, potentially due to the presence of rigid, bulky functional groups. Future studies should confirm biofilm-inhibitory capacity, further evaluate the effect of H10/HEMA on dental polymer networks, and assess the mechanical and biological performance of H10/HEMA at lower concentrations. Furthermore, designing and evaluating a more flexible, mobile monomer with the bioactive warhead could be a promising direction for the project.
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An Investigation into the Impact of Affiliative and Aggressive Leader Humor Perceptions on Counterproductive and Citizenship Work Behaviors: Moderated by Power Distance Orientation
(2026-05) Rosenthal, Ben Aaron
Leader humor is an increasingly studied construct in organizational research, yet its behavioral consequences remain underexplored. Drawing on relational leadership theory and leader-member exchange (LMX), this study examined the effects of affiliative and aggressive humor on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), with power distance orientation (PDO) as a moderator and LMX and agreeableness as covariates. Data were collected from employed adults via an online sample (N = 307). Results indicated that aggressive humor was positively related to CWB, whereas affiliative humor did not demonstrate consistent main effects. The hypothesized moderating effects of PDO were not supported. Exploratory analyses revealed that affiliative humor interacted with LMX and agreeableness in predicting OCBO, such that its effects became more positive at higher levels of relational quality and agreeableness. Findings suggest that affiliative humor may function as a relational amplifier, while aggressive humor represents a more consistently detrimental leadership behavior.