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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Tracing Ancient Healing Practices Through The Hibiscus, Lyn Tackett Aug 2017

Tracing Ancient Healing Practices Through The Hibiscus, Lyn Tackett

McNair Scholars Program Summer Research Symposium

Abstract: By studying traditional healing practices, we can provide new information that may help solve archaeological mysteries as well as offer new perspectives to modern medicine. For example, Hibiscus tea has long been in use throughout Africa and Asia, yet little research has been done into the origins of this medicine and whether early cultures traded that information. Trichomes and plant morphology of three species of Hibiscus native to Africa, China and India ( Hibiscus sabdariffa, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, and Hibiscus syriacus) were studied using microscopy. The results were compared to known medicinal claims and ancient documents including trade maps and …


Antiproliferative Effects Of Hibernating American Bullfrog (Rana Catesbeiana) Blood Plasma On Thp-1 Cells, Sean Robbins Apr 2017

Antiproliferative Effects Of Hibernating American Bullfrog (Rana Catesbeiana) Blood Plasma On Thp-1 Cells, Sean Robbins

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Hibernation is an incredible adaptation that allows an organism to go dormant during the winter, when food is scarce. Much is unknown physiologically about hibernation, and most current research comes from mammalian models. During hibernation, the cells of mammals are impeded from going through mitosis. 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) and woodchucks (Marmota monax) have a protein, alpha-2-macroglobulin, in their blood plasma, which has significant antiproliferative effects on spleen cells. The goal of my study was to determine if an exothermic organism, the American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), also actively suppresses mitosis while hibernating and if so, determine if it is …


Assessing Productivity In Prairie Biomass Feedstocks With Different Levels Of Diversity, Alyssa Williams, Mark E. Sherrard Mar 2017

Assessing Productivity In Prairie Biomass Feedstocks With Different Levels Of Diversity, Alyssa Williams, Mark E. Sherrard

Research in the Capitol

High-diversity mixtures of tallgrass prairie vegetation provide many ecosystem services and could be effective biomass feedstocks for marginal farmland in Iowa. In this study, we measured productivity in four prairie biomass feedstocks with different diversity: 1, 5, 16, and 32 species. Each feedstock was replicated four times on three soil types (48 research plots, 0.33 – 0.56 ha each). For the past seven years, we have monitored productivity in these feedstocks by harvesting tissue from randomly selected quadrats. In addition to continuing the productivity survey, we examined the efficacy of remote sensing (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI) imaging for …