Life Sciences Commons^™

Urea Concentration And Hsp70 Expression In The Kidney Of Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrels During Diuresis And Antidiuresis, Ryan M. O'Gara

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

During bouts of torpor hibernating animals have greatly reduced metabolic rates leading to profound decreases in body temperature and blood pressure. As a result of these conditions, kidney filtration and the ability to concentrate urine cease. Once a week, however, hibernators rewarm to euthermic body temperatures and regain kidney function. This is associated with rapid changes in extracellular osmotic gradients within the kidney, a remarkable feat but one that is potentially damaging to kidney cells. While hibernators deal with this stress by up-regulating expression of heat shock proteins (HSP’s) and protective organic osmolytes, little research has been done to see …

Use Of Decongestants May Disrupt Cell Signaling Pathways That Control Tbx Gene Expression, Leading To Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Melissa L. Quintanilla, Eric D. Boysen, Amy R. Knutson, Kyle J. Pundsack, Benjamin T. (Ben) Kor

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) collectively refers to a range of congenital heart defects, all involving some degree of left ventricular hypoplasia, or underdevelopment of the left ventricle. Additionally, HLHS often involves coarctation of the aorta, and can also include hypoplasia of the ascending aorta, as well as mitral and/or aortic valve stenosis or atresia. HLHS is extremely rare, as it has been reported to occur in only 1 in 5000 live births each year. The cause of HLHS is currently unknown, however much research is being done to discover how and why these defects occur.

HLHS is known to …

Optogenetic Manipulation Of Drosophila Larval Motor Circuits, Nicholas M. Devetter

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

In order to identify specific interneuron populations involved in muscle contraction in Drosophila larva through ontogenetic manipulation of motor neural circuits, I used GAL4-UAS system to generate larvae with channelrhodopsin2 embedded in cell membranes of interneuron populations of interest. I collected extracellular recordings of muscles during contraction in the dissected Drosophila larva. ChR2-stimulated action potentials lead to depolarizing potentials and contraction in muscle cells if the interneuron population of interest is important for Drosophila crawling neural circuits. I compared recordings from negative control, positive control, and experimental populations to identify which interneuron populations are sufficient to generate muscle excitation. These …

Compensatory Review Addressing Acute Ischemic Strokes And Bell's Palsy, Patrick R. Godfrey

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

In this study, I review the clinical diagnostic procedure for facial weakness; evaluate the physiological perspective of acute ischemic strokes and Bell's palsy; and assess possible consequences of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) treatment, and the ramification tPA has on Bell's palsy.

Investigation Of The Effects Of Water Stress On Vigna Radiata And Brassica Rapus, Haley Chatelaine, Mariah Valiant

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Water is crucial to photosynthesis because it provides electrons for the light-dependent reactions. Additionally, plants decrease transpiration rate during drought in an effort to minimize water loss, resulting in changes in CO₂ uptake and photosynthetic rate (Vico, 2008; Özenc, 2008; Galmés et al., 2007). Water use efficiency (WUE), the ability of a plant to maintain photosynthesis despite water loss, is an essential component of determining plant performance in drought conditions. Previous studies have shown an association between water stress and increased WUE (Zhang et al., 2010). Therefore, we hypothesize that the photosynthetic rates in both the Vigna radiata (mung …

Analysis Of Sediment Reveals An Ecological "Regime Change" In Lake Hilary, Toni R. Gohman, Emily K. Kiolbasa

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Lake sediments contain excellent records of both fossils and component minerals that can be used to reconstruct regional ecological history. To complement ongoing studies of Lake Hilary’s pollen and macrofossils, we constructed a high-resolution record of the organic matter, carbonate, and non-carbonate mineral fractions of the lake’s sediment. The organic fraction is a proxy for the biological productivity of the pelagic, littoral, and shoreline of the lake. Non-carbonate minerals can evince erosion and subsequent aerial or fluvial deposition. Carbonate deposition can be related to lake productivity and chemical weathering in the surrounding watershed. We sought to compare our sediment record …

Preliminary Research On The Effects Of Freezing On Sugar Concentrations Of Artificial Sap, Elise V. Reid, Katee A. Meckeler

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Native Americans were one of the first people to harvest maple sap to make maple syrup or sugar. Three historically referenced methods that they used to accomplish this was by freezing, stone boiling, and direct fire (Holman Egan, 1985). Native Americans would make an incision in the bark of a maple tree and then collect the sap in a birch container; the sap would then be boiled by either of the first two methods or frozen. When frozen, the ice that formed on top of the sap would be thrown out and the concentrated sap would be collected for boiling …

Galápagos Sea Lion Behavior Differences In Relation To Human Exposure, Connor M. Piechota, Kevin R. Watson, Ryan J. Fuxa

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Our study examined the behavioral differences of the Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) in relation to human presence. Our main goal was to determine whether sea lions would be more aggressive as a result of high frequencies of human exposure. We hypothesized that sea lions would behave differently in relation to varying rates of human exposure and we predicted that there would be more aggressive and interactive behaviors on beaches with higher frequencies of human exposure (as the humans may disturb the normal behavioral patterns of the sea lions). Data was collected daily at low tide in two-hour …

Hlhs Is Caused By The Up Regulation Of Hif1Α Due To Hypoxia Caused By A Polymorphism In Enos, Tyler J. Bruinsma, Kevin T. Curwick, Leah Ellman, Jared M. Grootwassink, Thomas M. O'Toole

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a rare congenital heart defect occurring in fewer than 0.5% of live births in the United States (Fruitman, 2000). It is characterized by a critically underdeveloped left ventricle with accompanying imperfections including septal defects, under-sized aorta, and underdeveloped bicuspid and aortic semilunar valves (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2012; CDC, 2013). HLHS is detectable on ultrasound at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy allowing for early diagnosis and potential treatment in utero. While a protocol involving three surgeries exists to treat the condition, there is no cure for HLHS. Even with treatment, many …

An Analysis Of Bacterial Contamination Of Chicken Eggs And Antimicrobial Resistance, Holly Spitzer

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Chicken eggs are a major component of American diets, with an average yearly consumption of approximately 250 eggs per person (according to estimates made by the American Humane Society). While highly nutritious, eggs are also one of the leading causes of food poisoning and food borne illness in the United States. Eggs may become contaminated by a number of different types of bacteria during production, including Salmonella, a group of bacteria that, according to the CDC, causes more than 1.2 million cases of food borne illness in the United States every year. In an effort to decrease the frequency …

The Induced Heart Rate Response To Fish Kairomones In Daphnia Pulex, Michael J. Culshaw-Maurer

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Daphnia pulex have been shown to respond to kairomones emitted by predatory Chaoborus and planktivorous fish, though these two groups of predators differ significantly in their predation styles. The effects of predation vary across Daphnia size range, and heart rate response to Chaoborus kairomones has been shown to vary across size. I found that heart rate of individuals in the small size class in a clonal population of Daphnia pulex respond more strongly to bluegill (Lepomismacrochirus) kairomones than heart rate of medium or large size classes. The two largest classes showed no difference in heart rate between …

Comparison Of Bacterial Flora In Fish Mucus And Lake Water, Robert W. Thomas

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Although commonly known for their ability to cause deadly infectious diseases, there are populations of bacteria (identified as normal flora) that symbiotically live on and amongst larger host organisms and positively impact survival of the host. In previous research, culturing methods suggest that freshwater fish (i.e. bluegill and northern pike) maintain a normal flora population and that this flora aids in protection and the health of the fish. Our study used Ion torrent PGM sequencing to identify a larger, more complete population of normal flora in 2 different lake samples from three different species of fish. Identifying and comparing the …