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Biology

Open Access Theses

Theses/Dissertations

2014

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Developing A Practical Wireless Monitoring Solution For A Size-Constrained, Low-Power, Biomechanical, Sports Telemetry System, Jeffery Ray King Oct 2014

Developing A Practical Wireless Monitoring Solution For A Size-Constrained, Low-Power, Biomechanical, Sports Telemetry System, Jeffery Ray King

Open Access Theses

As sport-related concussions become more prevalent, the ability to quickly and reliably assess brain injury risk is increasingly essential. Commercially-available systems exist with the goal of assessing the risk of traumatic brain injury in athletes in real-time. These systems utilize a pre-determined acceleration threshold, discarding all captured information below this arbitrary threshold. The use of an event-based model to assess the risk of traumatic brain injury has been shown to be inadequate. Therefore, these systems falsely promote "accurate" real-time communication of risk. Research conducted by the Purdue Neurotrauma Group (PNG) seeks to advance the field by developing a biomechanical sports …


Management Of Root Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne Incognita ) In Indiana Soybeans, David Edgardo Perla Martinez Jul 2014

Management Of Root Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne Incognita ) In Indiana Soybeans, David Edgardo Perla Martinez

Open Access Theses

The aim of this project was to evaluate different strategies for management of Root Knot Nematode (RKN) on soybean and tomato in Indiana. Seed treatments were evaluated under field and greenhouse conditions, but no effect on RKN populations was observed. Soybean lines evaluated for resistance to RKN under greenhouse conditions showed that six lines may be resistant to RKN. Four different commercial mustard cover crops were evaluated for their bio-fumigant impact on RKN populations in the production of tomato. Euruca sativa, Cv. Nemat was a poor host of RKN. A positive impact on the vigor of the tomato plants followed …


The Effects Of Radar On Avian Behavior: Implications For Wildlife Management At Airports, Eleanor R. Sheridan Jul 2014

The Effects Of Radar On Avian Behavior: Implications For Wildlife Management At Airports, Eleanor R. Sheridan

Open Access Theses

Airports are areas with a high availability of resources for wildlife to forage, breed, and roost. Airports also have different types of radars to assist with air traffic control as well as tracking of wildlife that could become a risk for aircraft. The effect of radar electromagnetic radiation on wildlife behavior is not well understood. The goal of this study was to determine if bird behavior is affected by radar in two contexts: static radar (e.g., surveillance radar) and approaching radar (e.g., aircraft weather radar). We used brown-headed cowbirds as a model species. In the static radar context, we performed …


Abcb11 Functions With B1 And B19 To Regulate Rootward Auxin Transport, Jesica Elyse Reemmer Jul 2014

Abcb11 Functions With B1 And B19 To Regulate Rootward Auxin Transport, Jesica Elyse Reemmer

Open Access Theses

Auxin transport is essential for the architecture and development of erect plants. In a network of transporters directing auxin flows, ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters are a ubiquitous family of proteins that actively transport important substrates, including auxins, across the plasma membrane. ABCB1 and ABCB19 have been shown to account for the majority of rootward auxin transport, but residual fluxes to the root tip in Arabidopsis b1b19 double mutants implies the involvement of at least one additional auxin transporter in this process. Of specific interest, the severe dwarfism seen in abcb1abcb19 is strikingly reminiscent of that seen in mutants defective in …


Refining Phylogenetic Hypotheses Using Chloroplast Genomics And Incomplete Data Sets In Lasthenia (Madieae, Asteraceae), Joseph Frederic Walker Jul 2014

Refining Phylogenetic Hypotheses Using Chloroplast Genomics And Incomplete Data Sets In Lasthenia (Madieae, Asteraceae), Joseph Frederic Walker

Open Access Theses

The genus Lasthenia (Madieae, Asteraceae), consists of predominantly annual plant species that are largely endemic to the California Floristic Province of western North America and occupy a large range of habitat types. With high levels of morphological and ecological diversity, Lasthenia is a robust tool, capable of providing a natural non-model organism for answering a diverse array of ecological and evolutionary questions. Future studies would benefit greatly from a strong phylogenetic hypothesis and more molecular resources, such as the whole plastome sequence for a representative species in the genus. Over a decade ago there was a study that laid a …


Habitat Effects On Chick-A-Dee Call Complexity, Jacqueline Renee Lynch Jul 2014

Habitat Effects On Chick-A-Dee Call Complexity, Jacqueline Renee Lynch

Open Access Theses

Past studies on the communication systems of species in urban environments (such as Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos Brehm), brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater), Southern brown tree frogs (Litoria ewingii )) have shown multiple ways that species change vocal signaling behavior to adjust to urban habitats (e.g. alarm calls and singing). This study further investigates the changes in signaling in relation to the chick-a-dee call of the Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis). A secondary goal of this study was to compare both the amount of information and rate of calling across …


Key Residues Of Human Cytoplasmic Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-A And -B For Substrate Binding And Specificity, Byunghyun Park Jul 2014

Key Residues Of Human Cytoplasmic Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-A And -B For Substrate Binding And Specificity, Byunghyun Park

Open Access Theses

Reversible tyrosine phosphorylation plays an important role in signaling pathways that are essential for regulating cellular growth, differentiation and metabolism. Moreover, several human diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cancers are associated with the deregulation of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). Several studies provide evidence that PTPs not only contribute to cellular differentiation, but over-expression of these molecules also leads to transformation of non-transfomed cells as well. Based on these results, designing specific PTP inhibitors may ultimately function as potential therapeutic agents to treat various diseases including cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. EphA2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase which is hypo-phosphorylated …


Clinical Investigation Of Plethysmographic Variability Index: A Derivative Index Of Pulse Oximetry In Anesthetized Dogs, Vaidehi V. Paranjape Jul 2014

Clinical Investigation Of Plethysmographic Variability Index: A Derivative Index Of Pulse Oximetry In Anesthetized Dogs, Vaidehi V. Paranjape

Open Access Theses

Plethysmographic Variability Index (PVI) is a derivative index of pulse oximetry that allows evaluating an individual's intravascular volume status. Perfusion Index (PI) represents the strength of pulse signal at the anatomic site of measurement from which PVI is calculated using changes in PI over respiratory cycles. Plethysmographic Variability Index has been used to detect hypovolemia and predict fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated human patients however, fewer studies are available in spontaneously breathing patients. The use of PVI has not been explored extensively in dogs so far. The goals of this study were to establish a common range for PVI and …


Fact Or Fiction: Random Mating In Field Populations Of Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte) Emerging On Bt And Refuge Corn Plants, Steven Joel Smith Jul 2014

Fact Or Fiction: Random Mating In Field Populations Of Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte) Emerging On Bt And Refuge Corn Plants, Steven Joel Smith

Open Access Theses

The western corn rootworm, or WCR, (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) is the most significant pest of field corn (Zea mays) in the United States, and has recently expanded its range into Europe. Since 2004, hybrid corn containing Bt toxins targeting the corn rootworm complex have been heavily adopted and are now the primary control measure for this pest in North American corn production. ^ The evolution of resistance is an ongoing concern, and to ensure Bt products will retain their usefulness, insect resistance management (IRM) tactics using various refuge structures have been adopted. One of the key …


Lipidomic Analysis Of Glioblastoma Multiforme, Soo Jung Ha Apr 2014

Lipidomic Analysis Of Glioblastoma Multiforme, Soo Jung Ha

Open Access Theses

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant form of the primary brain tumor. Due to its highly invasive nature, current treatment options have not been able to improve the survival rate in past 20 years. In order to discover GBM therapeutic targets, omics technologies have been widely used to identify potential biomarkers. ^ This research study focused on investigating lipid biomarkers of human GBM orthotopic mouse models employing mass spectrometry. Human tumor cell lines GBM10 and GBM43 were injected in the right cerebral hemisphere and flank sites in NOD/SCID mice (n = 10 mice per group). Left cerebral …