We present an interesting case of a patient with a previously known diaphragmatic hernia in which the colon became incarcerated, ischemic and finally perforated. She had no prior history of abdominal pain or vomiting, yet she present with cardiovascular collapse. To our knowledge, this is the only case report of a tension pneumothorax associated with perforated bowel that was not in the setting of trauma or colonoscopy. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(2):142-144.]

After correcting for their light-curve shape and color, Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are precise cosmological distance indicators. However, there remains a non-zero intrinsic scatter in the differences between measured distance and distances inferred from a cosmological model (i.e., Hubble residuals). We have found that Hubble residuals are correlated with different properties of SN Ia host galaxies (e.g., mass, star-formation rate, and metallicity). Cosmological analyses attempt to correct for these effects empirically without any physical knowledge of the progenitor system, potentially introducing a bias. In this thesis, I detail several projects aimed at uncovering the dominant physical sources of intrinsic scatter.

First, I will present Kaepora, a relational database for SN Ia observations containing 4975 public spectra of 777 SNe Ia. We have significantly improved this data set by inspecting these spectra for quality, removing galactic emission lines and cosmic rays, generating variance spectra, and correcting for the reddening caused by both MW and host-galaxy dust. Using this large homogenized sample, we produce composite spectra that have been precisely controlled for phase and light-curve shape. These composite spectra reproduce known trends with other optical properties of SNe Ia, and by controlling for these effects, they can be used to investigate a wide parameter space. Critically, with these methods I will show that SN Ia distances can potentially be improved with the knowledge of their ejecta velocities.

I will then describe late time observations of the UV-flashing high-velocity SN Ia 2019yvq. We identify strong Calcium emission in the nebular spectrum of this SN and argue that this indicates SN 2019yvq was likely the result of a sub-Chandrasekhar mass double-detonation explosion. It is possible that 2019yvq-like SNe contribute to our cosmological samples, and the presence of multiple progenitor channels could be a source of Hubble residual intrinsic scatter. A better understanding of SN Ia progenitor environments (which may correlate with progenitor channel) could help us discern the relative contributions of multiple progenitor channels in cosmological samples.

Finally, I will present preliminary results from the Foundation/Swope host galaxy survey (a project which has spanned my entire graduate career). We have obtained optical spectroscopy for 372 out of 517 total SN host galaxies in the Foundation and Swope combined cosmological SN sample (the largest low-z sample). The mass-metallicity relationship of our preliminary sample is consistent with similar samples and contains some of the lowest mass galaxies studied in a cosmological sample. Our sample also shows evidence for a "metallicity-step" using measurements from both the galaxy nucleus and the supernova location. With the full sample, we hope to constrain the functional form of this relationship and better understand the underlying physical cause of the empirical host-galaxy correction.

The following dissertation discusses the assessment of the physiochemicalproperties associated with charge transfer and self-assembling systems. Initially, a series of studies (chapter 1-2) focus on understanding the physical effects of bis(imino)pyridines on charge transfer both independently and when chelated to nanoparticles through use of cyclic voltammetry and photo lumisicent spectroscopy. Following the assessment of the charge transfer properties of the bis(imino)pyridines, their application in mesoscale assemblies (chapter 3) is explored using a series of DLS/microscopy/and enthalpic measurements. Chapter 4 is an assessment of a novel plasmonicaly enhanced photocatalyst for a redox based water purification process. Plasmonic enhancement is confirmed through kinetic assessment of rates of decomposition of an environmental pollutant using UV-Vis spectroscopy. Chapter 5 depicts the development of a novel synthetic method leading to a highly modular material that has applications in both energy storage light emitting technology.

The field of ecology seeks to understand and predict the patterns and processes shaping the distribution and abundance of populations, the structure and organization of communities, and the dynamics and energetics of ecosystems structure. Parasitism is understudied as an interaction driving these patterns and processes in spite of research demonstrating that parasitism is the most common type of consumer interaction and numerous case studies clearly documenting that parasitism impacts populations, communities, and has a role in ecosystem energetics.

Ecologists have used the rocky intertidal zone as a model for understanding basic ecological processes and theories; thus, elucidating the role of infectious processes in this system will provide researchers with novel insights that may translate into broad structuring principles in the field. However, there is very little research on infectious processes in the rocky intertidal zone. Thus, in spite of decades of ecological research in this system, parasitic interactions remain unexplored and research may yet reveal a strong structuring role of infections in this system.

Barnacles are infected by a protandrous, semelparous, castrator that affects only female function; this parasite is largely unexplored but potentially strongly impacts barnacle ecology. In this thesis, I addressed basic questions concerning the ecology of this host-parasite system.

First, I explored behavioral defenses of the barnacle host, Chthamalus fissus, versus its isopod parasite, Hemioniscus balani. I found when infectious stages were present, barnacles decreased filtration rate by ~ 50% when they were at high risk of infection. Barnacles not at risk did not respond to the presence of an infectious stage. The difference in response based on barnacle condition implies a high cost of reduced feeding as a parasite avoidance behavior.

Second, I explored how barnacle sex allocation varied with size, and how this differential allocation affected patterns of parasitism. The barnacle host is hermaphroditic, where gender is not fixed and individuals allocate variable energy to male or female functions. Since the parasite requires ovarian fluid, only barnacles with female reproductive function should be appropriate hosts. We documented a unimodal relationship between barnacle size and female reproductive function. This female function-size relationship was mirrored by patterns of parasitism. Further, we found within the subset of suitable hosts, parasitism increased with size.

Third, I explored spatial patterns of parasitism in the field as mediated by parasite predators. I investigated whether a sea anemone, protects an associated barnacles from parasitism. Barnacles associated with anemones had reduced parasitism and higher reproductive productivity than did barnacles remote from sea anemones. In the laboratory, anemones readily consumed the transmission stage cryptoniscus larvae of the parasite. Hence, anemone consumption of parasite transmission stages may provide a mechanism by which community context regulates, and in this case reduces, parasitism at a local scale.