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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Xylose-Fermenting Yeast Species Found In The Wood Of Southeast Louisiana, Claire Reuter
Xylose-Fermenting Yeast Species Found In The Wood Of Southeast Louisiana, Claire Reuter
Honors Theses
No abstract provided.
Responses Of The Sea Catfish, Ariopsis Felis, To Chemical Defenses From The Sea Hare, Aplysia Californica, Sheybani Arman
Responses Of The Sea Catfish, Ariopsis Felis, To Chemical Defenses From The Sea Hare, Aplysia Californica, Sheybani Arman
Honors Theses
No abstract provided.
Polyphasic Taxonomy Of A Group Of Globally Dispersed, Desiccation-Resistant Strains Of The Microvirga/Balneimonas Cluster, Bradley Tolar
Polyphasic Taxonomy Of A Group Of Globally Dispersed, Desiccation-Resistant Strains Of The Microvirga/Balneimonas Cluster, Bradley Tolar
Honors Theses
No abstract provided.
The Effects Of Epidermal Growth Factor And Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor On Cryopreserved Human Adipose Derived Stem Cells In Culture: Proliferation, Adipogenesis, And Osteogenesis, Teddi Leigh Hebert
Honors Theses
No abstract provided.
Exploring The Role Of Iscsua And Suf Operon In Shigella Flexneri Invasion And Resistance To Oxidative Stress, Benjamin R. Lloyd
Exploring The Role Of Iscsua And Suf Operon In Shigella Flexneri Invasion And Resistance To Oxidative Stress, Benjamin R. Lloyd
Honors Theses
Shigella flexneri is a facultative intracellular pathogen capable of causing dysentery, a condition that afflicts many around the world, especially in developing countries. There are several aspects of Shigella pathogenesis that are not well understood, including a number of genetic and cellular changes that allow Shigella to adapt to stresses encountered while invading and replicating within the eukaryotic cytosol. It was the goal of this research to examine the roles of iscSUA and suf, gene systems predicted to encode for iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis proteins, in Shigella surviving exposure to oxidative stress agents and during Shigella invasion and plaque formation …
Use Of Phylogenetic Stains To Determine The Feeding Preferences Of Microbivorous Soil Nematodes, E. Harlan Michelle
Use Of Phylogenetic Stains To Determine The Feeding Preferences Of Microbivorous Soil Nematodes, E. Harlan Michelle
Honors Theses
Due to their numerous and diverse roles in soil ecological processes – most notably decomposition and nutrient mineralization – nematodes have long been recognized as important biotic indicators of soil health (Ekschmitt et al., 2001; Ritz and Trudgill, 1999). The predominate means of assessing the information that these organisms might contain has been through nematode community analyses, a methodology that seeks to convert the vast amount of data regarding features such as diversity, maturity and richness into a series of indices which can be used to evaluate soil health and make comparisons across samples. Performance of these analyses typically involves …
Characterization Of Sox Family Members In Sponge Stem Cells And During Development, Karen E. Leeds
Characterization Of Sox Family Members In Sponge Stem Cells And During Development, Karen E. Leeds
Honors Theses
Sponges are considered the oldest and most basal part of the metazoan lineage and therefore possess a unique set of gene families that are highly conserved among all animals. One of these gene families is known as Sox transcription factors. Sox genes are known to play important roles in complex animals such as the specification of the primary layers of the body, determination of sex, and most recently induction of induced pluirpotent stem cells (iPS cells) from both human and mouse fibroblasts with the help of three other transcription factors. We have found that two different demosponge species Halichondria bowerbanki …
Movement Patterns And Feeding Behavior Of The Limpet Tectura Testudinalis (Müller) Along The Mid-Maine Coast, Joshua Lord
Movement Patterns And Feeding Behavior Of The Limpet Tectura Testudinalis (Müller) Along The Mid-Maine Coast, Joshua Lord
Honors Theses
Tectura testudinalis is a limpet that lives in the mid-intertidal zone along the coast of Maine and grazes on a variety of encrusting algae. A previous study asserted that T. testudinalis preferred to feed and rest on the encrusting alga Clathromorphum circumscriptum and that this species of limpet displayed homing behavior. However, I show that T. testudinalis does not home or return to any specific substrate while resting. Conclusive evidence was found for nocturnal movement. I show that C. circumscriptum was the preferred food source for this limpet, closely followed by Hildenbrandia rubra, another encrusting alga. Field and lab experiments …
Microhabitat Selection By The Tortoiseshell Limpet, Tectura Testudinalis (Müller), In Tide Pools On The Mid-Maine Coast, Emily R. Lyczkowski
Microhabitat Selection By The Tortoiseshell Limpet, Tectura Testudinalis (Müller), In Tide Pools On The Mid-Maine Coast, Emily R. Lyczkowski
Honors Theses
Microhabitat selection of the limpet Tectura testudinalis, an important grazer along the rocky Maine coast is examined using both mensurative and manipulative experiments. T. testudinalis substrate selection is essential to its survival in the unpredictable and harsh regime of the intertidal zone. At three sites studied in the Gulf of Maine, T. testudinalis selectively inhabits tidal pools and vertically oriented substrates. Both of these microhabitats reduce the degree of environmental stress (desiccation, extreme temperature, and hypersaline conditions) and predation experienced by individuals. Differences among sites are common, indicating the importance of varying environmental factors in regulating and influencing habitat selection …
Cytotoxicity Of Diepoxybutane And Epichlorohydrin In Relation To Stages Of The Cell Cycle, Megan L. Watts
Cytotoxicity Of Diepoxybutane And Epichlorohydrin In Relation To Stages Of The Cell Cycle, Megan L. Watts
Honors Theses
Work conducted in the Millard Biochemistry Research Laboratory examines the dual nature of molecules as carcinogens and anti-tumor agents through the molecular mechanisms of duplex DNA damage by bifunctional alkylating agents. Diepoxybutane (DEB) and epichlorohydrin (ECH) are polar molecules that form covalent DNA interstrand lesions by cross-linking the N7 position of deoxyguanosine residues. A recent experiment indicated that ECH preferentially targets nuclear DNA over mitochondrial DNA, whereas DEB shows similar rates of lesion formation for both loci. It was concluded that preferential targeting of nuclear DNA results from relatively poor uptake of ECH across the mitochondrial membrane. The objective of …
The Exploration Of Novel Symbiotic Bacteria That May Have Influential Roles In Sponge Life History, Brittany E. West
The Exploration Of Novel Symbiotic Bacteria That May Have Influential Roles In Sponge Life History, Brittany E. West
Honors Theses
Sponges produce an impressive variety of secondary metabolites that perform a variety of ecological functions. Many marine sponges even harbor diverse carotenoid compounds, an unusual class of secondary metabolites that animals are incapable of producing. Furthermore, sponges serve as hosts to an astonishingly diverse microbial community that can occupy up to sixty percent of a sponge's biomass. Our research ultimately hopes to link microbial species to the production of secondary compounds, like carotenoids, and to assess the ecological role of such compounds and their effect on sponge life history strategy. This study describes the ecological distribution of two species of …
Modulation Of Fast-Inactivating Potassium Channels By Accessory Subunits And Fatty Acids : A Role For Calcium?, Michelle M. Drzewiecki
Modulation Of Fast-Inactivating Potassium Channels By Accessory Subunits And Fatty Acids : A Role For Calcium?, Michelle M. Drzewiecki
Honors Theses
Potassium channel interacting proteins (KChIPs) co-assemble with Kv4 a subunits to form native complexes that encode considerable components of neuronal somatodendritic A- type K+current (Is,J in neurons, and transient outward current (ho) in cardiac myocytes. The binding of KChIPs to the cytoplasmic N-termini of Kv4 a subunits enhances surface expression by facilitating intracellular trafficking, stimulates subunit assembly, and regulates the functional gating properties of Kv4 channels. KChIPs, like many other neuronal calcium sensor proteins, contain four EF-hand calcium binding sites; two of which (EF-3 and 4) have particularly high affinity for calcium. Because Ca2+ is an important signaling molecule for …