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Landscape Scale: Inter- And Intraspecific Variation In Plant Interactions Along A Stress Gradient In The Sheep Range Of Nevada, Jordan Dowell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Impending threats to shrubland ecosystems, posed by climate change, necessitate niche modeling efforts to project vegetation range shifts. However, efforts often remain unguided by individual-scale interspecific plant interactions. The stress gradient hypothesis posits that facilitation should increase in areas of high abiotic stress, only if the individuals are able to ameliorate the surrounding area via functional traits. The Sheep Range of Nevada was used to assess the role of functional traits as predictors of plant association. Larrea tridentata, Coleogyne ramosissima, and Artemisia nova were selected as shrubs with variable life history strategies and ranges in order to identify general patterns …

Assessing Minimal-Input Restoration Strategies For Desert Soil And Vegetation Restoration, Audrey Jean Rader

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Mojave and Sonoran Deserts have been negatively impacted by anthropogenic disturbances. Considering that these ecosystems may recover on millennial timescales, research has shown that restoration techniques can be fairly successful in initiating long-term recovery processes in these sensitive environments. However, uncertainty remains as to which techniques are effective in different circumstances, such as in different climates or across different soil properties, and which techniques may best avoid unintended consequences, such as facilitating non-native plants. To reduce fugitive dust as a human health hazard, increase soil stability, and enhance wildlife habitat, further work is necessary to develop restoration techniques for …

Correlation Between Pluripotent Stem Cell Markers And Microrna Expression In Dental Pulp Stem Cells, Mark Whiting

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In human development there are many factors that cause our cells to form certain organs and systems with specific functions. These cells original start as stem cells before biological processes take over and cause differentiation into different cell lines. Since these undifferentiated stem cells have been discovered, many studies have been done to try and find the exact mechanism that causes a cell to change into another specific cell. Due to the multiple sources that stem cells can be harvest from the human body, this knowledge of how differentiation works could lead to breakthroughs in regenerative medicine.

Traditional biomarkers have …