Life Sciences Commons^™

The Relationship Between Insect Visitors And Chemical Fragrance Composition Of Cypripedium Parviflorum Var. Pubescens In Central Virginia., Ruth Elkins

Student Scholar Showcase

Due to its rarity, little is known regarding which insects pollinate Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens, large yellow lady slipper orchids, and why they do so when offered no reward. Insect identification and fragrance composition data have been collected from two populations of large yellow lady slippers in Central Virginia for more than a decade. This research analyzed data in order to determine potential relationships between visiting insects and fragrance compositions of the orchid. The results of this research can be used to establish and protect populations of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens.

Abiotic Stress And Anthocyanins Biosynthesis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Carolanne Bekus

Student Scholar Showcase

Crops and farmers today are facing unprecedented challenges due to the changing environment. The plants of the future need to be hardy to survive harsh environmental conditions such as increased temperature, and prolonged droughts. It is imperative to understand the mechanisms plants employ to protect themselves under these types of stresses. Anthocyanins are pigments of the flavonoid subclass produced by plants. They impart red to purple color to flowers, fruits, and seeds. They also have antioxidant properties and they contribute to stress tolerance in plants. They are understood to be produced under abiotic stresses in order to protect the plant. …

Comparative Methodology For Analyzing Nitric Oxide Production In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages In Response To Lipopolysaccharide Treatment, Cassandra Robertson

Student Scholar Showcase

The purpose of this experiment is to develop comparative methodology for analyzing RAW 264.7 murine macrophage responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These results will yield two endpoints relative to nitric oxide production: nitrites in solution from the Greiss assay, and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The RAW 264.7 cell line is a standard culture model of macrophage activity and stimulation with LPS induces inflammatory reactions. This process has evolved to kill ingested pathogens and activate local immune responses, including the production of nitric oxide, synthesized by iNOS. RAW 264.7 cells are stimulated with LPS doses from 1 …

Functional Movement Patterns And Perceived Mobility In Collegiate Lacrosse Athletes, Christopher J. Rosenborough

Student Scholar Showcase

Context: The stress on the body from sport participation may play a role in an athlete’s ability to function throughout a season. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of a non-traditional lacrosse fall season on functional movement patterns for both males and females. Our second objective was to observe how collegiate lacrosse athletes perceived mobility.

Methods: Fifty males (age=19.38+1.24 years, height=182.63+6.16 cm, mass=82.37+8.46 kg) and 22 females (age=19.68+1.17 years, height=165.10+6.88 cm, mass=64.09+8.72 kg) who participated on National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III lacrosse teams volunteered to participate. Independent variable was time (pre, post). …

Age Status Effects On Female Silk Production And Male Courtship Response In Dolomedes Scriptus, Joseph Osborne

Student Scholar Showcase

Female Dolomedes scriptus, the striped fishing spider, serve as model organisms exhibiting pheromone production as a means of chemical signaling. Previous work has shown that male fishing spiders are responsive to female silk, and preferentially court in the presence of silk from mature virgins. In our research, we hypothesized that mature females produced larger quantities of silk than penultimate females in an attempt to elicit greater male mating response. Female spiders of both age statuses were kept for two days in a gridded tank. Sub-sampling of silk lines that crossed a random portion of the grid produced results signifying …

The Perception Of Head Impacts Sustained By Collegiate Baseball Catchers: A Pilot Study, Caleb Johnston

Student Scholar Showcase

Repetitive subconcussive head impacts have been studied in a variety of contact sports and have been found to impair performance in football, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse athletes. To our knowledge no one has investigated the frequency of head impacts in the sport of collegiate baseball. To date, athlete perceived number of head impacts and actual head impacts recorded during participation have not been compared. A sample of 3 baseball catchers from one National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III baseball team were studied.Our results indicated perceived game impacts did not differ from actual game impacts (t₂=1.76, P=.23; …

A Chemical In Filter Paper Interferes With Trail Following Behavior In The Termite Reticulitermes Hesperus (Banks), Kathryn Vest

Student Scholar Showcase

Termites follow chemical trails. In previous experiments we dissolved and diluted chemicals in acetone to test if they elicited trail following. Each trail was a straight line across the arena drawn with 10 µl using a glass capillary (Microcaps). We noticed a minor but stable response to trails laid with pure acetone. The response could be caused by contaminated acetone or by a chemical in the filter paper (Watman #5) that lined our arena (petri dish, 10cm diameter). We could confirm that the termites respond to acetone alone. Soxkhlet extraction for 8 hours removed the signal from the filter paper. …

Lipoarabinomannan From Mycobacterium Smegmatis Stimulates An Inflammatory Response In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages, Aysha Zaman

Student Scholar Showcase

Macrophages are a key leukocyte in defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The precise mechanism by which M. tuberculosis evades host macrophage defenses remains unknown, so understanding how macrophages interact with cell wall components of mycobacteria is critical. Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is a glycolipid Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) ligand found on the cell wall of mycobacteria, and is thought to contribute to the cell wall structural integrity. When LAM binds to TLR on host leukocytes, this activates cellular responses and phagocytosis by host macrophages. Nitric oxide production can be used as a measure of inflammatory response and can be evaluated via nitrite response …

Co-Occurrence Of Manganese Oxidase Genes Indicates Lateral Transfer Between Classes Of Proteobacteria, Jacob Olichney

Student Scholar Showcase

Pseudomonas putida GB-1 is a model organism for the study of manganese oxidation in bacteria, however, the frequency of co-localization of multiple known and suspected manganese oxidizing proteins, as well as their occurrence between species, is unknown. Eight different genes isolated from known manganese oxidizing bacteria (MnxG, MopA, McoA, PputGB1_2552, PputGB1_2553, MoxA, MofA, and Bacillus MnxG) were tested individually using BioPython and BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) on multiple genomic databases. BLAST searches had an expect value cutoff of 1e-50, limiting gene homologs to those with high sequence similarity. The abundance of homologous genes across classes of proteobacteria point …

Effect Of Environmental Conditions On Biomass Of Symplocarpus Foetidus, Christy Lemay

Student Scholar Showcase

Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage) is an obligate wetland plant that occurs sporadically in wetlands throughout Virginia. Its life cycle is well studied with flowers budding in late January to early February through a process known as thermogenesis that heats the soil surrounding the plant. Pollination of fruits by flies and distribution of fruits/seeds through wildlife. Leaves appear in March with full growth above ground by early May. The leaves die back by July. Reproduction and distribution is sensitive to disturbance and environmental factors such as soil moisture, hydrology, and seed distribution. We collected environmental data in eight designated wetland plots …