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Articles 1 - 11 of 11
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Natal Dispersal And New Group Formation In Capybaras (Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris) In A Seasonally Flooded Savanna Of Venezuela, Elizabeth Rae Congdon
Natal Dispersal And New Group Formation In Capybaras (Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris) In A Seasonally Flooded Savanna Of Venezuela, Elizabeth Rae Congdon
Dissertations
This study examines natal dispersal and new group formation in capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a seasonally flooded savanna in Venezuela. The first section describes a novel approach to the study of dispersal that could be applied to many taxa. Dispersal is considered in three stages (emigration, transience, and immigration) and its proximate and ultimate mechanisms are clearly differentiated. The second chapter describes dispersal behavior in capybaras, including which individuals disperse, when, and to where. In the third chapter, I evaluate dispersal in capybaras with respect to social subordination and social cohesion hypotheses. In this population, some support was …
Mapk Survival Signaling In Melanoma, Matthew W. Vanbrocklin
Mapk Survival Signaling In Melanoma, Matthew W. Vanbrocklin
Dissertations
Extracellular signals activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades potentiating biological activities such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. Constitutive activation of MAPK signaling pathways is implicated in the development and progression of many human cancers, including melanoma. Mutually exclusive activating mutations in NRAS or BRAF are found in ∼85% of all melanomas resulting in constitutive activation of the MAPK pathway (RAS-BRAF-MEK-ERK-RSK). We have previously demonstrated that inhibition of this pathway with small molecule MEK inhibitors selectively induces apoptosis in human melanoma cells both in vitro and in vivo, but not in normal melanocytes. These results support the notion that the …
Phylogeny And Trichome Evolution In The Plant Family Brassicaceae, Mark Alan Beilstein
Phylogeny And Trichome Evolution In The Plant Family Brassicaceae, Mark Alan Beilstein
Dissertations
The plant family Brassicaceae is economically important and contains the model genetic system Arabidopsis thaliana. Previous phylogenetic studies indicated that the historic classification system of the family was highly artificial, with several tribes likely to be para- or polyphyletic. However, these studies sampled fewer than 30 of the 338 genera of the family. We expanded the sampling of genera by four-fold and inferred phylogeny from both the chloroplast gene ndhF and the nuclear gene phytochrome A (PHYA) to determine which of the previously delimited 19 tribes of the family were monophyletic. Results from both ndhF and PHYA …
The Effects Of Aging And Activity On Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression In Skeletal Muscle, Nathan Peplinski
The Effects Of Aging And Activity On Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression In Skeletal Muscle, Nathan Peplinski
Dissertations
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is an extracellular signaling protein that is produced by skeletal muscle and is important for the motor neurons that control muscle movement. GDNF has been shown to keep neurons alive under conditions that they would otherwise not persist. In skeletal muscle, GDNF has been shown to be one of the most potent neurotrophic factors that influence motor neuron survival. While the role of GDNF has been well studied during early development, not much is known about what happens to GDNF expression in the adult and with advanced aging. Previous results from our lab have …
Genetic And Demographic Consequences Of Human-Driven Landscape Changes On Bird Populations: The Case Of Aphrastura Spinicauda (Furnariidae) In The Temperate Rainforest Of South America, Cintia Cornelius
Dissertations
Human activities, such as agriculture and forest exploitation, have modified landscapes worldwide. Despite a large accumulation of empirical and theoretical knowledge on habitat loss and fragmentation, some aspects remain poorly understood, especially those related to interactions between different forms of habitat degradation. The overall goal of this research was to study the effects of forest fragmentation and changes in forest structure on bird populations in a human-modified landscape in the temperate rainforest of South America using Aphrastura spinicauda (Furnariidae) as a model species. I evaluated i) if replacement of forest by open habitat leads to reduced dispersal influencing the genetic …
Pagamea Aubl. (Rubiaceae), From Species To Processes, Building The Bridge, Alberto Vicentini
Pagamea Aubl. (Rubiaceae), From Species To Processes, Building The Bridge, Alberto Vicentini
Dissertations
Species delimitation have a great impact in scientific, environmental and other human activities, and is fundamental for understanding evolution. Plant species are usually delimited based on morphology and rarely species concepts are stated and analysis of variation made explicit. Botanists do see species as ?segments of evolutionary lineages?, but reproductive isolation is rarely addressed. Yet, reproductive isolation is necessary for understanding species, because speciation is the process of acquiring reproductive barriers. Almost any lineage will have species at different stages of isolation, and a single type of data will be insufficient for species delimitation. In plants, other biological processes such …
Mechanism Of Splicing Regulation By The Meiosis Enhancer Factor Mer1p In Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Javier Armisen Garrido
Mechanism Of Splicing Regulation By The Meiosis Enhancer Factor Mer1p In Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Javier Armisen Garrido
Dissertations
In eukaryotes, genes are presented in a series of coding and non-coding DNA regions (exons/introns) that are transcribed into a premature RNA (pre-mRNA). Introns can be removed from the mature premRNA, before its translation into proteins, in a process called splicing. The splicing reaction occurs in two highly regulated transesterification reactions inside of the cell nucleus, and it is catalyzed by the Spliceosome, involving the binding and release of five small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles (snRNPs). While some introns are constitutively spliced, others can be alternatively spliced, giving different exon combinations and therefore different proteins, increasing the protein diversity of the …
Seed Dispersal Limitation In A Neotropical Nutmeg, Virola Flexuosa (Myristicaceae): An Ecological And Genetic Approach, Kimberly Mae Holbrook
Seed Dispersal Limitation In A Neotropical Nutmeg, Virola Flexuosa (Myristicaceae): An Ecological And Genetic Approach, Kimberly Mae Holbrook
Dissertations
Seed dispersal contributes significantly to tropical forest maintenance, influencing processes, such as metapopulation dynamics and population persistence. Although several hypotheses have been debated regarding the contribution of seed dispersal to tropical forest diversity, recent work suggests that dispersal limitation is a major component in determining plant population patterns. This dissertation research broadly addresses hypotheses that seed dispersal behaviour of frugivores influences dispersal limitation of a Neotropical tree, Virola flexuosa (Myristicaceae). To test these hypotheses, I studied how different frugivores influenced seed dispersal of V. flexuosa at two sites in Amazonia Ecuador. General research objectives were to estimate fruit removal by …
Structure-Function Studies Of Self- Assembling Flagellin Proteins Fromsalmonella Typhimurium And Aquifex Pyrophilus, Venkata Raghu Ram Malapaka
Structure-Function Studies Of Self- Assembling Flagellin Proteins Fromsalmonella Typhimurium And Aquifex Pyrophilus, Venkata Raghu Ram Malapaka
Dissertations
The eubacterial flagellum is a complex structure with an elongated extracellular filament that is primarily composed of a single protein termed flagellin. The highly conserved N-and C- termini of flagellin are important in its export and assembly, whereas the middle "hypervariable" region is highly variable in size across different species and is largely dispensable. InSalmonella typhimurium phase 1 flagellin (FliC), this hypervariable region encodes two solvent-exposed D2 and D3 domains. The functional role of this knob-like structural feature in motility remains unclear. The structural and physiological role of the hypervariable region in flagellar assembly, stability and cellular motility was investigated. …
Comparative Immune Function In Wild Birds, Kevin David Matson
Comparative Immune Function In Wild Birds, Kevin David Matson
Dissertations
Over the last several decades, interest in quantifying immune function in comparative studies of wild animals has grown appreciably. Now, the field of ecological immunology is undergoing a transition, and ¿second generation¿ studies are being designed and carried out. With a greater appreciation of the complexity of immune systems, these second generation studies are commonly distinguished from their antecedents by making comparisons using multiple assays and including multiple species. I worked to advance this transition by developing novel approaches to comparative immunology, exploring the interrelationships among indices of immune function, and applying multiple indices to a question of comparative avian …
The Role Of Local And Regional Factors In The Foraging Ecology Of Birds Associated With Polylepis Woodlands, Grace Patricia Servat-Valenzuela
The Role Of Local And Regional Factors In The Foraging Ecology Of Birds Associated With Polylepis Woodlands, Grace Patricia Servat-Valenzuela
Dissertations
Understanding the extent to which patterns of functional structure are repeated in space and the scale at which different factors (local and regional) operate to explain community patterns are of important in community ecology. I studied the extent of spatial variation in foraging ecology of birds in the Polylepis community, a vegetation system of the Andes, in regard to variation in local (vegetation structure, floristic composition, food resources) and regional factors (biogeography). Specifically, I studied foraging ecology of nine insectivorous bird species (and the assemblage they conform) across twelve disjunct woodlands embedded in three biogeographic regions of the Peruvian Andes. …