Life Sciences Commons^™

Does Type Of Stimulus Influence Task-Irrelevant Evaluative Categorization Processes?, Guadalupe Corral

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The effect of stimulus type on task-irrelevant evaluative categorization was examined in two separate studies by using the P3 component from event-related brain potentials. The first study presented idiosyncratic stimuli consisting of individuals that were rated by participants as either positive or negative within sequences of pictorial and verbal stimuli. The second study presented sequences of novel and familiar stimuli consisting of previously normed unattractive and neutral individuals. It was hypothesized that pictures would elicit task-irrelevant evaluative categorization processes and so would novel stimuli (relative to words and familiar stimuli, respectively). Task-irrelevance was examined by assessing P3 peak amplitude to …

Evaluation Of Selected Physical Activities On Maintenance Of Target Heart Rate In Hispanic Middle School Students, Christopher Ray Estrada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of The Behavioral And Neurochemical Effects Of Nicotine Withdrawal In Adolescent And Adult Rats., Luis Alberto Natividad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies have demonstrated that the behavioral effects of nicotine withdrawal are lower in adolescent versus adult rats. However, the neurochemical mechanisms that mediate these developmental differences are presently unclear. Much work has shown that nicotine reward is mediated via enhanced dopamine neurotransmission in the mesolimbic pathway which originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and terminates in several forebrain structures including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). More recently, studies have shown that nicotine withdrawal produces a decrease in NAcc dopamine transmission, an effect that is believed to serve as a neurochemical marker of withdrawal in adult rodents. The goal of …

Revision Of The Ant Genus Procryptocerus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Cephalotini), Francisco Serna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ants of the genus Procryptocerus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are characterized by the protrusion of the clypeus forming a broad nasus and antennal scrobes over the eyes. The toruli are located directly posterior to the flanks of the nasus opposite to each other. The vertex is deflexed in most species. I present an in-group comparison of the external morphology focusing on the workers. I also present a general morphology for gynes and males. I analize previously mentioned characters as well as new ones, and clarify their character states in different species. For the metasoma I propose a new system of ant metasomal …

Revision Of The Ant Genus Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In North America, Cynthia Ellen Morgan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The natural history of thirty-eight species of the genus Crematogaster in North America has been discussed and distribution of specimens mapped. A dichotomous key to the workers of these species has been developed. I hypothesized that the species richness is not as great as previously thought in North America. A taxonomic review of these species has been made with the following changes:

Crematogaster cerasi Fitch 1855 senior synonym of C. browni Buren1968.

C. coarctata Mayr 1870 senior synonym of C. californica Emery 1895, C. mormonum

Emery 1895 and C. colei Buren1968.

C. depilis Wheeler 1919 senior synonym of C. larreae …

Nutrient Dynamics In A Created Desert Wetland: Implications For The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, Ruth Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Rio Bosque Wetland Park is an arid wetland currently under restoration, which primarily receives water inputs from the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) during the non-irrigation season. Understanding the ability of a desert wetland to remove nutrients from the water column through uptake by primary producers or sediment transformations is key to justifying the protection and creation of other similar wetland sites. Nitrate concentrations tended to be reduced, relative to the inflow, near the outflow of the wetland.To further understand these trends, sediment nutrient release experiments and algal nutrient limitation experiments were completed. Sediment phosphorus release experiments indicated that …

Cis-Acting Signals For Replication Of Nodamura Virus Rna1, John Joseph Rosskopf

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The family Nodaviridae is comprised of two genera: the alphanodaviruses that infect insects and the betanodaviruses, which have been isolated only from fish. Nodamura virus (NoV), the type species of the alphanodavirus genus, can lethally infect both insects (mosquitoes, honey bees, and wax moth larvae) and mammals (suckling mice and suckling hamsters). In addition, nodavirus RNAs can replicate in a wide variety of host cells, including those of mammalian, insect, plant, and yeast origin, when introduced by transfection. The nodavirus positive strand RNA genome is naturally segregated into two segments. RNA1 encodes the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) that replicates …

The Association Of Human Leukocyte Antigen(Hla) Alleles And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2dm) Among Mexican Americans (Ma), Kantibhai Motiram Patel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is ranked as a major public health priority across the United States and especially in the El Paso, Texas region. The risk for the development of T2DM is greater in minority groups, particularly among Mexican Americans (MA) who comprise approximately 78% of El Paso's population. The growing incidence of T2DM in this group is typically attributed to increase in weight (obesity). The incidence of diabetes may also be influenced by genetic factors that are unique to this group. Several earlier studies have identified genetic markers for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). These …

Project L.E.A.N.: An After-School Health And Exercise Project For Elementary School Children In El Paso, Texas, Hendrik De Heer

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: After-school activities provide valuable opportunities for health promotion activities that do not interfere with the regular school day, especially in minority populations with higher rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The current study is an evaluation of an after-school health education and physical activity program conducted in nine elementary schools in 2008 in El Paso, Texas. METHODS: The intervention consisted of a 10-12 week (twice a week) after school program consisting of a pilot (with two experimental schools) and main intervention (six schools each including a control and experimental group). The main outcome variables were Body Mass Index, …

The Effect Of Exogenous Leptin On Murine Dendritic Cell Morphology And Function, Christine Delgado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Leptin is a pleiotropic hormone primarily secreted by white adipose tissue. Although originally found to regulate food intake and energy expenditure, it is now known to also significantly affect the immune system. In this study we assessed the effect of leptin on bone marrow derived dendritic cell (BM-DC) cytoskeletal structure and functionality. Our preliminary data demonstrates that the addition of physiological concentrations of exogenous leptin to BM-DC causes cytoskeletal rearrangement specifically that of actin as evidenced by increased number of llamelopodia/dendrites and increased staining for actin within the llamelopodia/dendrite region. This suggests that leptin is a necessary component of DC …

Pdi, Reactive Oxygen Species Stress And Polyphenolic Phytochemicals: Implications For Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rituraj Pal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

PDI, protein disulfide isomerase, is one of the most versatile proteins and highly expressed in mammalian cells because there is a vast number of proteins that must undergo processing before secretion to their final destinations. PDI has several functions: oxidation of nascent proteins and isomerization of existing disulfide bonds. It also possesses chaperone activity and participates in protein degradation. Because of its structure, PDI can exist in a reduced or oxidized form. In mammalian cells it is mostly reduced due to the high demand of disulfide bond shuffling of secreted proteins within the ER, PDI a, a', and b' posses …

The Role Of Rna Secondary Structure In Replication Of Nodamura Virus Rna2, John Howard Upton

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Our laboratory studies genome replication of positive-strand RNA viruses, using a reverse-genetic system in yeast cells. Nodamura virus (NoV) provides an excellent model system for the study of RNA replication due to its genetic simplicity, its robust yield of replication products, and its ability to replicate in a wide variety of host cells. NoV contains a bipartite positive strand RNA genome: RNA1 encodes the viral RNA replicase, while RNA2 encodes the capsid protein. The role of RNA secondary structure in the genome replication of other RNA viruses has been well established. For NoV, sequences at the 3' end of RNA2 …

Lipid Uptake And Metabolism In The Parasitic Protozoan Giardia Lamblia., Mayte Yichoy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Giardia lamblia is a protozoan parasite that causes various intestinal syndromes, and it is a common cause of water-borne illness worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. Giardia attaches to the mucosal epithelia of the duodenum below the bile duct, where it is exposed to bile salts and dietary lipids. G. lamblia is unable to synthesize lipids de novo and must therefore scavenge necessary lipids from its extracellular environment and remodel them as needed. However, the current lipidomic analysis (presented in this Dissertation) has revealed that while the Giardia lipidome is rich in phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), …

A Study Of Possible Pre-Cognitive Advantages Of Bilingualism, Marisela Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Past research has suggested that second language acquisition has a beneficial effect on the development of inhibitory control processes in children and adults. This has been referred to as the "bilingual advantage" and is most commonly quantified using the Simon task. Whether the bilingual advantage extends to precognitive mechanisms has not yet been examined. The goals of this study were to examine the bilingual advantage in university students; and to examine whether the bilingual advantage extends to the precognitive filtering mechanism of sensorimotor gating. It was predicted that, as compared to monolinguals, bilingual university students would have greater inhibitory control, …

Development And Validation Of A High Throughput, Elisa Morales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Not Required

Implication For The Role Of Leptin-Induced Signaling As A Negative Regulator Of Dendritic Cell Function, Oscar Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The incidence of obesity among the distinct world populations has become an ever growing concern. Central to the regulation of obesity is the adipocyte-derived hormone, and in more recent years cytokine, leptin. Leptin plays a central role in the maintenance of food consumption as well as the efficient use of peripheral energy stores. Leptin exerts its physiological role in energy homeostasis by regulating the expression of orexigenic peptides in the central nervous system. However, recent research has implicated leptin in other physiological roles including those of the immune system. As a pleiotropic cytokine, the absence of leptin has been shown …

Symbiotic Effects Of The Fungus Glomus Sp. On Chromium(Iii), Chromium(Vi), And Lead(Ii) Uptake By Mesquite (Prosopis Sp.): A Novel Method To Remediate Heavy Metals, Jack A. Arias

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The indiscriminate disposal of lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) containing wastes has resulted in a detrimental impact on environmental health. Lead and Cr are in the EPA priority list due to their degree of toxicity on humans, animals, plants, and other living organisms. The removal of toxic wastes involves technologies that are expensive, sometimes incomplete, and could represent health hazards. In addition, site restoration after contaminant removal encompasses time and technological resources. Phytoremediation, the use of plants alone or associated with microorganisms, represents a potentially cost-effective option in the long term management of contaminated sites. Various plants known as "hyperaccumulators" …