Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Meloidogyne Incognita On Jaz1, Jaz12, And Jaz13 Gene Expression In Arabidopsis, Emily Green

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Meloidogyne incognita, a root-knot nematode (RKN), poses a threat to the well-being of the global agricultural industry. These endoparasites rely on plant roots and drain nutrients from crops intended for human or livestock consumption. Root knot nematodes cost the agricultural industry billions of dollars in lost crops each year and threaten efforts to meet the growing demand for food. Though plants are susceptible to dangers, such as these parasites, many have evolved defense and/or repair mechanisms to compensate for this vulnerability. The goal of this research is to study one gene family involved in such defenses. Specifically, I studied the …

A Review Of The Global Commercial Cephalopod Fishery, With A Focus On Apparent Expansion, Changing Environments, And Management, Corey Clark

HCNSO Student Capstones

Cephalopods are both important predators and prey in many marine environments and important fishery resources in many countries. The global fishery has expanded almost continuously from landings of 580,000 metric tonnes in 1950 to over 4 m.t. in 2007. Cephalopods are ecological opportunists with highly plastic biological characteristics and varied population dynamics. Nearly all commercially harvested species are short-lived and can reproduce quickly, enabling them to evolve more rapidly under high selection pressure relative to many fish competitors and predators. As a result, they may have the biological means to be successful under conditions of long-term global climate change. This …

Bringing Science To Life In The Fifth-Grade Classroom Through Hands-On Learning, Kelly Gately

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Science helps provide insight into the unknown and provides an outlet for exploration of living things. Children are innately curious about how thing work, and they are eager to ask questions. Science is the perfect outlook for students to fully engage in their inquisitiveness, but yet, many classrooms are skipping over science lessons or choosing to heavily focus on other subjects, such as reading and writing. Science is often taught as an elective, integrated with other subjects or it is only focused on for a short period of time. Unfortunately, when this subject does receive attention, lessons are heavily text-book …

The Role Of Oxytocin On Social Behavior Associated With The Formation Of A Social Pair-Bond In The Socially Monogamous Convict Cichlid (Amatitlania Nigrofasciata), Christopher Garcia

Graduate Theses

The mechanisms for monogamy have evolved several times throughout history across various taxa in accordance with selective pressures. In vertebrates, monogamy is facilitated by the formation and the maintenance of social pair-bonds between mates. Social pair-bonds are a form of selective attachment that require complex neurobiological pathways in order to develop and continue. These neurobiological pathways are often regulated by neuroendocrine mechanisms, such as the release of the two neuroendocrine nonapeptides, oxytocin and arginine vasopressin, in specific parts of the brain or body. These neuroendocrine peptides play a big role in social and sexual behaviors. In prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) …

Bioinformatics Ii, Bio 3352, Course Outline, Eugenia G. Giannopoulou

Open Educational Resources

This course is a continuation of Bioinformatics I. Topics include gene expression, microarrays, next- generation sequencing methods, RNA-seq, large genomic projects, protein structure and stability, protein folding, and computational structure prediction of proteins; proteomics; and protein-nucleic acid interactions. The lab component includes R-based statistical data analysis on large datasets, introduction to big data analysis tools, protein visualization software, internet-based tools and high-level programming languages.

Study Of Alpha Mangostin As A Chemoprotective Agent For Breast Cancer Via Activation Of The P53 Pathway, Vanessa Van Oost

Honors Program Projects

Breast carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women and causes over 400,000 deaths each year worldwide. Current treatments such as chemotherapy are not selective for cancerous tissues but are destructive to normal tissues as well. This causes a range of side effects including pain, nausea, hair loss, weakness, and more. Inactivation of p53 is a very common mutation within human cancer cells. The ability to activate the p53 pathway which protects cells from tumor formation is lost in 50% of cancers. Due to the prevalence of this mutation, p53 is a uniquely valuable target for applied research. Alpha …

Advancing Natural History Research Using The Collections Of The Owu Brant Museum Of Zoology, Josh Pletcher, Kyle Davis

Student Symposium

Natural history collections are important repositories of biological and geological material. Biological collections provide raw data to interpret the ecology, anatomy, and evolution of living and fossil organisms. OWU’s zoological collections play an important role in undergraduate research and educating future preparators. Two projects are currently in progress: Kyle Davis’ work on size variation in house sparrows and Josh Pletcher’s work digitizing OWU’s collection of Ward’s fossil casts. We travelled to museums in New York and Connecticut to further pursue our research. Kyle Davis’ research focuses on Bergmann’s Rule, which states that as temperature decreases, body size increases, decreasing surface …

Pyy3-36 Efficacy Is Independent Of Photoperiod But Dependent On Time Of Day, Marissa Maroni

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Approximately 70% of Americans are overweight or obese and studies have shown that poverty-dense American counties are the most prone to obesity (Levine, 2011). Along with diet, the endogenous circadian rhythms have been found to be an important piece of human metabolic health. Circadian disruption in humans, such as jet-lag and shift work, have been linked to metabolic problems such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome. Since circadian disruption affects many demographics including shift workers and routine business travelers it is imperative to understand the biological mechanism behind the relationship between circadian disruption and weight gain. One potential …

Advanced Cell And Molecular Biology I Cmb 501, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Advanced Cell & Molecular Biology Ii Cmb 502, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Law And Biology: Toward An Integrated Model Of Human Behavior, Owen D. Jones

Owen Jones

As first year law students unhappily discover, the meaning of "law" is frustratingly protean, shifting by usage and user. Depending on whom you ask, law is a system of rules, a body of precedents, a legislative enactment, a collection of norms, a process by which social goals are pursued, or some dynamic mixture of these. Law's principal purpose is to define and protect individual rights, to ensure public order, to resolve disputes, to redistribute wealth, to dispense justice, to prevent or compensate for injury, to optimize economic efficiency, or perhaps to do something else. And yet one thing is irreducibly …

Laboratory Rotations In Cell And Molecular Biology, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

On The Nature Of Norms: Biology, Morality, And The Disruption Of Order, Owen D. Jones

Owen Jones

This essay discusses the legal implications of bio-behavioral underpinnings to norms, morality, and economic order. It first discusses the recent book "The Great Disruption: Human Nature and the Reconstitution of Social Order," in which Francis Fukuyama explores the importance of evolved human nature to the reconstruction of social order and a thriving economy. It then addresses the extent to which we can usefully view law-relevant norms as products of evolutionary - as well as economic - processes.

Law And Behavioral Biology, Owen D. Jones, Timothy H. Goldsmith

Owen Jones

Society uses law to encourage people to behave differently than they would behave in the absence of law. This fundamental purpose makes law highly dependent on sound understandings of the multiple causes of human behavior. The better those understandings, the better law can achieve social goals with legal tools. In this Article, Professors Jones and Goldsmith argue that many long held understandings about where behavior comes from are rapidly obsolescing as a consequence of developments in the various fields constituting behavioral biology. By helping to refine law's understandings of behavior's causes, they argue, behavioral biology can help to improve law's …

Investigating The Effects Of Cancer Mutations On The Activity Of P300, Meghan Hall

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Investigating the effects of cancer mutations on the activity of p300

The Use Hela Derived Telomerase On Nk Cells In The Treatment Of Ovarian Cancer, Juwairyah Gunter

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

A research proposal for a novel immunotherapy for treating ovarian cancer.

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Env 3009/4900 (Conservation Biology And Sustainable Development), Stephen Gosnell

Open Educational Resources

Conservation biology is an interdisciplinary topic that explores how we can protect and maintain natural areas. Due to the resources we take and impacts we have on natural environments, this field is directly related to restoration ecology (restoring natural areas) and sustainable development/natural resource management. We will explore the basis for these related fields from an ecological, social, legal, and cultural perspective, as all conservation and management projects take place in the larger human landscape. We will consider how we measure biodiversity, why it matters, why is it is threatened, and how we can manage (protect, restore, maintain, use) it …

An Evaluation Of Elemental Composition Of Soils Associated With Ground Nesting Ants In The Family Formicidae In Somerset County, Maine, Haley H. Depner

All Student Scholarship

Ants are keystone organisms and engineers in many ecosystems, playing an important role in nutrient cycling and rearrangement of organic and inorganic materials through foraging, waste management and, in subterranean species, nest construction and maintenance. In this study, I conducted elemental analysis of soils for calcium, copper, iron, potassium, manganese and zinc in and around the colonies of subterranean nesting ants. The two-step analysis used in this study utilizes the efficiency of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometry to look for overall trends in elemental composition followed by Flame Atomic Absorbance (AA) to achieve higher resolution of select elements of interest as …

Ability Of Flavonoids To Mimic The Estrogen Receptor To Drive Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cell Differentiation, Megan Bland, Cecilie Elliott, Kathryn Kosiorek

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

Flavonoids are natural compounds found in dietary elements such as soy, grains, and vegetables that have the potential to bind to the estrogen receptor. Activation of the estrogen receptor drives myeloid derived suppressor cell (MDSC) accumulation, cells that increase during cancer, inflammation, and infection. In this study, we are investigating specific flavonoids, such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), kaempferol, naringenin, daidzein, and genistein, for their ability to mimic estrogen. After examination, we expect that MDSC differentiation will decrease upon treatment of the chosen flavonoids, leading to reduced carcinogenic effects.

High Expression Of Osm And Il-6 Are Associated With Decreased Breast Cancer Survival: Synergistic Induction Of Il-6 Secretion By Osm And Il-1Β, Ken Tawara, Hannah Scott, Jacqueline Emathinger, Cody Wolf, Dollie Lajoie, Danielle Hedeen, Laura Bond, Cheryl Jorcyk

Biomolecular Research Center Publications and Presentations

Chronic inflammation has been recognized as a risk factor for the development and maintenance of malignant disease. Cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), oncostatin M (OSM), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) promote the development of both acute and chronic inflammation while promoting in vitro metrics of breast cancer metastasis. However, anti-IL-6 and anti-IL-1β therapeutics have not yielded significant results against solid tumors in clinical trials. Here we show that these three cytokines are interrelated in expression. Using the Curtis TCGA™ dataset, we have determined that there is a correlation between expression levels of OSM, IL-6, and IL-1β and reduced breast cancer patient …

H/L Ratio As A Measurement Of Immune Function In Terrapene Ornata Species, Vesa Govori

Honors Theses

White blood cells are a key part of the immune system, and changes in white cell count can reveal the overall state of health and the immune systems functional ability of a species. White blood such as heterophils and lymphocytes are essential for being able to fight off infections. Analyzing different cell ratios has been commonly done before as a way to observe immune function in bird species as well as other species. Understanding that there are different functions between the different white blood cells provides an extra interesting perspective to what could be happening in the immune system function …

Using Motion-Activated Trail Cameras To Study Diet And Productivity Of Cliff-Nesting Golden Eagles, Jordan T. Harrison, Michael N. Kochert, Benjamin P. Pauli, Julie A. Heath

Raptor Research Center Publications and Presentations

Studies of cliff-nesting raptors can be challenging because direct observations of nest contents are difficult. Our goals were to develop a protocol for installing motion-activated trail cameras at Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) nests to record diet information and productivity, and to estimate prey detection probability using different diet study methods. In 2014 and 2015, we installed cameras at 12 Golden Eagle nests with 18–42-d-old nestlings. Following installation, we monitored adult behavior using direct observation and post-installation image review. At two nests, adult eagles did not return to nests or exhibited behaviors suggesting avoidance of the cameras, but returned …

Student Perceptions Of Reasons For Lecture And Active Learning, Calan Koch

Honors Theses

With perceived student resistance to active learning in the classroom, instructors are hesitant to implement such methods into their classroom structure despite how effective they may be. This research seeks to understand student perceptions related to the transition to higher prevalence of active learning techniques. We aimed to find answers to how students perceive the ideal classroom to be structured, what reasons they perceive for lecture and active learning components, and possible explanations to concerns of groupwork during class time. We analyzed 64 interviews with undergraduate biology students at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, developed coding rubrics from commonly found …

Investigating The Role Of Free Radicals In Huntington's Disease Using Drosophila Melanogaster, Jennifer Libov

Honors Theses

During normal cell metabolism, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced as a byproduct of oxidative phosphorylation. ROS are utilized in the cell as a signaling molecule and can be maintained at healthy levels by cellular antioxidants. However, when the cell experiences oxidative stress due to environmental or genetic conditions, levels of ROS can exceed healthy levels and inhibit necessary life functions by damaging biomolecules and cellular structures. This loss of function can lead to physiological decline and neurodegeneration, such as in diseases like Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and, potentially, Huntington’s disease. The following experiments use the model genetic organism …

Intertidal Ecology Bio 416, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Grant Report, Megan Bestwick

Post-Grant Reports

Mitochondria are essential organelles in most eukaryotic cells because of their role in metabolism and the production of ATP by the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway, as well as other key cellular processes. Metal cofactors, such as copper (Cu) and iron (Fe), are incorporated into OXPHOS protein complexes of yeast located within the inner membrane of the mitochondria. Misincorporation or modulation of these available metals in mitochondrial enzymes leads to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are reactive molecules containing oxygen such as peroxides, superoxide, and hydroxyl radicals. Yeast are a good model for studying aging and the effect …

Coral Reef Ecology Bio 465x, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

The Social Construction Of Life: Critical Thinking About Biology In Society, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

This book aims to expand the boundaries of the influences that readers consider when interpreting the practices and products of the life sciences ("biology") and their impact on society. The chapter topics include: Interpreting Ideas of Nature; The structure of origin stories; Multiple layers in influencing an audience: The case of Darwin's On the Origin of Species; Metaphors of coordination and development; What causes a disease?—the consequences of hereditarianism in the case of pellagra; How changeable are IQ test scores?; Social negotiations around genetic screening; Intersecting processes involving genes and environment.

Each chapter consists of 5 parts:

1. Introduce simple …

Life Line - February 2019, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

Curricular Changes, Dr. Young's Sabbatical, Coal, Gas & Oil - Geology trip to eastern Ohio, Rebekah Perry is engaging the community in natural history, Student Research, Fem in STEM, Zoo students on Belize Trip, Scientific Art

Histology For Cytotechnologists I, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.