Life Sciences Commons^™

Protein Kinase M Zeta-Mediated Ltp Maintenance In The Non-Human Primate Hippocampus: A Role For Stress And Serotonergic Signaling In Affective Processing, Sasha L. Fulton

Theses and Dissertations

Early-Life Stress (ELS) is associated with vulnerability to mood disorder, but it’s not well understood how ELS contributes to deficits in cognitive function. Atypical PKMzeta is critical for LTP maintenance and memory. The current study aims to characterize the ELS phenotype with respect to this key marker of hippocampal LTP.

American Milk: The Raw Deal, Dan Heching

Capstones

This report takes a look at the difficulty in procuring raw milk, an increasingly desired alternative to processed dairy, in New York City. It also tells the story of one woman's journey to tasting raw milk for the first time, despite reservations.

link: https://social.shorthand.com/MoodyHeching/uyYgLmuoNp6/american-milk-the-raw-deal

Riding The Mind Lightning, William A. Fortuna

Capstones

Neuromodulation is the practice of applying external stimulation, either electric or magnetic, to the human in order to affect positive change. TDCS or transcranial direct current stimulation is a neuromodulatory technique using a 9-volt battery. Because of the simplicity of the device, and it's relatively low potential for harm, the technique is popular with both researchers and at-home enthusiasts. To find out whether this technique works the way some people say it does, I built my own.

Flight Of The Freshwater Fish, Michael H. Wilson

Capstones

Michael H. Wilson

Capstone Abstract

December 27, 2016

Flight of the Freshwater Fish

The Hudson River provides for millions of people as a path for commercial and private transportation, a source of food and energy, and perhaps most importantly for many living in the tri-state area as a destination for recreation and relaxation. The most overlooked feature of the river is how the wildlife shows clear signs of a changing climate and rapid environmental response to the impacts of global warming on the river.

Entire populations of fish species in the lower Hudson have been forced to leave the river …

Why We Still Need To Worry About Bees, Meaghan Lee Callaghan

Capstones

American honey bees, and other native bee species, are still in decline, though the specter of colony collapse disorder may be fading behind us. Colony decline, the loss of bees overwinter experienced across the country at a quarter to third lost per hive (sometimes more), is now expected. Losses can include those from colony collapse disorder. The author discusses the different causes for colony decline and speaks to bee health scientists and local beekeepers. Read more at: http://www.meaghanleecallaghan.com/capstone/index.html

Exploration Of Dna Transfer In The Nyc Subway, Sannia K. Tauqeer

Student Theses

The ability to detect “touch” DNA has complicated the interpretation of DNA profiles in the field of forensics because it leads to the introduction of the concept of DNA transfer, persistence and background into casework. This project is geared towards understanding DNA transfer in the NYC subways and has relevance in groping and attempted sexual assault cases, where garments are submitted as evidence. The study involved 10 volunteers who were asked to wear a clean jacket during their trips on the subway for one week and the DNA from these jackets was collected, extracted, quantified, amplified and typed. The results …

Analysis Of Synthetic Cannabinoids And Drugs Of Abuse Amongst Hiv-Infected Individuals, Jillian M. Wetzel

Student Theses

Synthetic cannabinoids are man-made mind-alternating chemicals. Law enforcement and legislation have attempted to classify many of these synthetic cannabinoids as schedule I controlled substances, however, they are continuously being modified by dealers at the retail end of the distribution chain. Addiction and moderate use of illicit drugs have been identified as major reasons for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV patients. However, there is no data regarding the impact of synthetic cannabinoid exposure in this population and how this affects their compliancy with taking antiretroviral therapy. A total of 72 authentic urine specimens were collected weekly from 13 individuals with …

The Effect Of Protein Import On Membrane Potential, Ruth Hartke

Student Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondria are essential organelles often referred to as the “power plants” of eukaryotic cells. Energy conversion in mitochondria relies on oxidation of metabolite intermediates by protein components of the electron transport chain and establishment of an electrochemical gradient across the inner membrane. Some of the proteins involved are encoded by mitochondrial DNA, but the vast majority, over 98%, has to be imported from the cytosol. Protein import complexes form pores in the outer and inner membranes to mediate the process. However, opening of these pores would in theory jeopardize formation of the electrochemical gradient. In this study we examined this …

Examining Relationships Between Basic Emotion Perception And Musical Training In The Prosodic, Facial, And Lexical Channels Of Communication And In Music, Jamie Twaite

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has suggested that intensive musical training may result in transfer effects from musical to non-musical domains. There is considerable research on perceptual and cognitive transfer effects associated with music, but, comparatively, fewer studies examined relationships between musical training and emotion processing. Preliminary findings, though equivocal, suggested that musical training is associated with enhanced perception of emotional prosody, consistent with a growing body of research demonstrating relationships between music and speech. In addition, few studies directly examined the relationship between musical training and the perception of emotions expressed in music, and no studies directly evaluated this relationship in the facial …

Therapeutic Targets For Alzheimer's Disease: Insights From In Vitro And In Vivo Models Of Inflammation, Magdalena J. Kiprowska

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive neuronal loss that over the years spreads from the hippocampus to the neural cortex and impairs memory and cognitive functions. At the cellular level AD is linked to the presence of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles but despite decades of research little is known about their contribution to neurodegeneration and whether they are a cause or rather a result of the disease. It is well established that proteasome activity is impaired in AD brains and some studies suggest that this could be one of the initial factors leading to development …

Role Of Hnrnp A1 In The Regulation Of Hdm2 Gene Expression, Heriberto Moran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

hnRNP A1 is one of the most abundant and ubiquitously expressed member of hnRNPs (Heterogenous Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins) family of proteins that play multiple roles in gene expression by participating in major steps in the processing of nascent RNA transcripts 1. It is involved in mRNA biogenesis mechanisms such as the transcription, splicing, stability, export and translation of cellular and viral transcripts. The functions of hnRNP A1 extend to the processing of microRNAs, telomere maintenance and DNA repair 1. Our previous studies have shown that hnRNPA1 had reduced protein level and increased cytoplasmic accumulation in senescent human diploid fibroblasts 2,10. Our …

Metabolic Profiling Of Genetically Modified Potato Periderm Tissues, Liqing Jin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Potato tubers are protected from dehydration and pathogens by a covering peel (periderm) impregnated with suberin, a complex cross-linked biopolymer that contains both polyaliphatic and lignin-like aromatic domains. Current models describing the macromolecular structure of suberin assume that ferulic acid cross-links both domains as it may form carboxyl ester bonds with aliphatic monomers and non-ester radical-coupled bonds with phenolics. Ferulic acid also links by ester bonds to glycans and acts in cross-linking polysaccharides and lignin. Fatty alcohol/ω-hydroxyacid hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (FHT) is a BADH acyltransferase responsible for the synthesis of akyl-ferulates that is necessary for suberin biosynthesis. Periderm from FHT-RNAi …

Models And Methods In Cultural And Social Evolution, Elliot G. Aguilar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Chapter 1 The mathematical study of genealogies has yielded important insights in population biology, such as the ability to estimate the time to the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of a sample of genetic sequences or of a group of individuals. Here we introduce a model of cultural genealogies that is a step toward answering similar questions for cultural traits. In our model individuals can inherit from a variable, potentially large number of ancestors, rather than from a fixed, small number of ancestors (one or two) as is typical of genetic evolution. We first show that, given a sample of …

The Role Of Individual Cognitive And Behavioral Ontogeny In Organization And Evolution Of Social Systems, Andrew G. Fulmer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Exploration and explanation of the relationship between individual variation in behavior and the composition and adaptive success of social groups or populations are crucial problems in the fields of behavioral ecology, ethology, and comparative psychology. These questions have been the subject of a longstanding discussion at both the proximate and ultimate levels of inquiry. Adaptive mechanisms explaining social decision making, both in terms of affiliative and competitive partner choices, are at the center of such discussions. Inclusive fitness, kin-selection, handicap or prestige, risk seeking and risk avoiding strategies, pay-to-stay/reward principles, as well as other theories have been proposed and supported …

Metabolic Profiling And Polymer Formation Of Gene Silenced Potato Periderms, Qing Cai

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Suberin is a biopolyester constituent of specialized plant periderm tissues formed within the phellem cell walls. Suberin and waxes of the periderm layer act to prevent water diffusion, mechanical breakdown and pathogenic invasion in plants. Ferulic esters, ω-hydroxyacids and α,ω-fatty diacids are considered to be the most important linkage between aliphatic and aromatic suberin domains and also linked with cell-wall polysaccharides. The potato gene FHT (fatty ω- hydroxyacid/fatty alcohol hydroxycinnamoyl transferase) esterifies ferulic acid to suberin. Diminished levels of feruloyl transferase activity have been associated with lowered amounts of feruloyl esters of fatty acids in both suberin-associated waxes and suberin …

Computerized Classification Of Surface Spikes In Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopic Reconstructions Of Viruses, Younes Benkarroum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to develop computer techniques for improved three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of viruses from electron microscopic images of them and for the subsequent improved classification of the surface spikes in the resulting reconstruction. The broader impact of such work is the following.

Influenza is an infectious disease caused by rapidly-changing viruses that appear seasonally in the human population. New strains of influenza viruses appear every year, with the potential to cause a serious global pandemic. Two kinds of spikes – hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) – decorate the surface of the virus particles and these proteins …

Tuning Into Toxins And Channels: The Characterizations Of Tv1 And A Human Cardiac Sodium Channel Voltage-Sensor Domain, Mohammed H. Bhuiyan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In nature, peptide toxins are an abundant resource, produced both by marine and terrestrial organisms. A major target of these peptide toxins is the group of the highly important voltage-gated ion channels. Due to their high specificity and affinity, peptide toxins have been used for over a decade in discovery and characterization of voltage-gated ion channels. Although peptide toxins have been extensively characterized structurally, the structural characterization of eukaryotic voltage-gated sodium channels has seen much less progress, due to their large size and high hydrophobicity. Voltage-gated sodium channels play crucial roles in many physiological processes, and when these processes are …

The Regulation Of The Phosphatidate Phosphatase Gene Pah1 And Its Regulatory Role On Cell Homeostasis, Goldie Libby Sherr

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, PAH1, encodes a phosphatidate (PA) phosphatase that plays a fundamental role in lipid metabolism. PA phosphatases are key enzymes that catalyze the PA dephosphorylation reaction to form diacylglycerides, the first step in the synthesis of triacylglycerols. Pah1p, one of the main PA phosphatases in yeast, has not only emerged as a key player in lipid biosynthetic pathways, but also acts as an important regulator of nuclear membrane biogenesis, the transcriptional regulation of many inositol-sensitive upstream activating sequence (UAS_INO)containing genes needed for phospholipid synthesis, vacuole homeostasis, and lipid droplet formation. Due to its …

Autophagy And Lipid Homeostasis In C. Elegans, Melissa J. Silvestrini

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The worldwide prevalence of obesity, particularly in developed nations, has become an epidemic in recent decades and the trend is continuing to rise. Moreover, the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is rising at an alarming rate. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of metabolic disorders including heart disease, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Therefore it is no surprise that lipid-related metabolic disorders have become a significant burden to our healthcare system. In recent years, the conserved cellular recycling process of autophagy has been linked to several lipid-related metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance, …

Adult Neurogenesis In Avian Auditory Cortex, Caudomedial Nidopallium (Ncm): Lateralization And Effects Of Statins, Shuk C. Tsoi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the first part of this paper, we investigated the basic relationship between learning, memory and adult neurogenesis using zebra finches. We found that in the auditory cortex, the left hemisphere had more new neurons than the right hemisphere. This lateralization was correlated with song learning and memory. In the second part, we used juvenile zebra finches as a model organism to study the effects of Lipitor on learning, memory and neurogenesis. We found that Lipitor impaired song learning and memory storage. Lipitor treatments also changed the morphology of new neurons and size of old neurons, suggesting statins may affect …

Phylogeny, Systematics And Biogeography Of Short-Tailed Opossums (Didelphidae: Monodelphis), Silvia E. Pavan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Short-tailed opossums (genus Monodelphis) comprise the most species-rich genus of New World marsupials, with 25 currently recognized species. Monodelphis comprise small, terrestrial species collectively widespread in South America, which makes the group potentially informative about biogeographic processes that have shaped the continental fauna. The genus exhibits striking variation in several phenotypic characters, notably pelage coloration, behavior, and reproductive strategies. This diversity is unique among Neotropical marsupials, and makes the group particularly interesting to investigate the evolution and the adaptive significance of phenotypic trait variation. Despite this potential, missing knowledge on phylogeny and basic taxonomy precludes broader studies on evolution …

Specific Binding Affinity Of The Non-Catalytic Domain Of Eukaryotic Like Type Ib Topoisomerase Of Vaccinia Virus, Benjamin R. Reed

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Topoisomerases are ubiquitous proteins that alter supercoiling in double stranded DNA (dsDNA) during transcription and replication and. vaccinia and the closely related poxvirus variola virus, at 314 amino acids in length, encode the smallest of the type I topoisomerases(TopIB). TopIB is a two domain protein that recognizes the sequence 5’-T/CCCTT, cleaves at the 3’-end and relaxes supercoiling through rotation. The C-terminal domain (CTD) alone contains the catalytic activity and specificity. Deletion of the N-terminal domain results in a greatly reduced rate of relaxation and rapid dissociation. Biochemical data suggests that the N-terminal domain (NTD) is important for pre-cleavage binding and …

Molecular Analysis Of Ftsz-Ring Assembly In E. Coli Cytokinesis, Kuo-Hsiang Huang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

An essential first step in bacterial division is the assembly of a cytokinetic ring (Z-ring) formed by the tubulin-like FtsZ at midcell. The highly conserved core domain of FtsZ has been reported to mediate assembly of FtsZ polymers in vivo and in vitro. Species-specific differences in the FtsZ C-terminal domain such as the FtsZ CTV region and interactions with several modulatory proteins such as ZapC and ZapD, restricted to certain bacterial classes, also serve as key determinants of FtsZ protofilament bundling. Here, we characterize (i) the roles of the FtsZ CTV region in mediating both longitudinal and lateral interactions …

Comparative Population Genomics And Speciation Of Snakes Across The North American Deserts, Edward A. Myers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Understanding the process of speciation is of central interest to evolutionary biologists. Speciation can be studied using a phylogeographic approach, by identifying regions that promote lineage divergence, addressing whether speciation has occurred with gene flow, and when extended to multiple taxa, addressing if the same patterns of speciation are shared across codistributed groups with different ecologies. Here I examine the comparative phylogeographic histories and population genomics of thirteen snake taxa that are widely distributed and co-occur across the arid southwest of North America. I first quantify the degree to which these species groups have a shared history of population divergence …

Synthetic And Biological Exploration Of (+)-Boldine - Identification Of Potential Cns Receptor Ligands, Sujay Joseph

Theses and Dissertations

(+)-Boldine, an aporphine alkaloid, is reported to be biologically active at various Central Nervous System(CNS) receptors. However, only a few Structure Activity Relationship(SAR) studies have been conducted using boldine’s aporphine scaffold. A library of novel analogs was synthesized from boldine to understand the effect of bisbenzylation at C2 and C9 positions on the affinity and selectivity at the serotonin receptors.

Interaction Of Spliceosomal U2 Snrnp Protein P14 With Its Branch Site Rna Target, William Perea Vargas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Newly transcribed precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) molecules contain coding sequences (exons) interspersed with non-coding intervening sequences (introns). These introns must be removed in order to generate a continuous coding sequence prior to translation of the message into protein. The mechanism through which these introns are removed is known as pre-mRNA splicing, a two-step reaction catalyzed be a large macromolecular machine, the spliceosome, located in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. The spliceosome is a protein-directed ribozyme composed of small nuclear RNAs (snRNA) and hundreds of proteins that assemble in a very dynamic process. One of these snRNAs, the U2 snRNA, is …

Circular Oligodeoxynucleotides (Coligos) As Chemically Synthesized, Promoter-Independent Small Rna Expression Vectors, Lodoe Lama

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Small RNAs (sRNA) such as microRNA (miRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), and other types of RNA have been found to play many important biological roles in regulation of different cellular process leading to their possible use as therapeutics. However, one of the biggest hurdles in exploiting these sRNAs in therapeutics has been the difficulty in delivering them safely and stably into human tissues. Many delivery approaches have been undertaken to deliver these sRNA, albeit with many shortcomings in terms of cost, stability, and side effects, necessitating the need for alternative approaches. We are exploring an entirely different approach for conveying …

Mechanisms Of Immune Activation And Suppression By Parasitic Wasps Of Drosophila, Johnny R. Ramroop

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Drosophila melanogaster has served as an excellent model organism to study the molecular processes of innate immunity. Flies essentially lack adaptive immunity and the innate immune system is often divided into the humoral and cellular responses (Lemaitre and Hoffmann 2007). The humoral arm involves the production of antimicrobial peptides, secreted from the fat body, to combat bacterial and fungal infections. The cellular response involves the production of hemocytes (blood cells: crystal cells, plasmatocytes, and lamellocytes) in the larval lymph gland, in the sessile pools, and in circulation (Gold and Bruckner 2014). Microbial pathogens are phagocytosed by plasmatocytes whereas larger parasites …

Reliability Of Clinical Evaluators Of Spasticity In Patients With Stroke, Tiffany Alvino, Shiney David, Chelsea Gendvil

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Spasticity is characterized by hyperexcitable stretch reflexes with amplitude increases in response to velocity dependent passive movement and resistance. Spasticity is the result of abnormal function of segmental and suprasegmental neuronal circuits. The objective of this study was to determine any positive correlation between three clinical evaluators of spasticity (i.e., the pendulum test, the patellar tendon tap test (PTT), and the Modified Ashworth scale) in their reliability to assess spasticity in people post-stroke. It was hypothesized that the use of force movement sensors along with surface electromyography increases the reliability of the standardized clinical tests. The results show that all …

On The Screen, In The Mind: An Erp Investigation Into The Interaction Between Visuo-Spatial Information And Spatial Language During On-Line Processing, Emily Zane

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project used Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to explore neurophysiological brain responses to prepositional phrases involving concrete and abstract reference nouns (e.g., "plate" and "moment", respectively) after the presentation of objects with varying spatial features. Prepositional phrases were headed by in or on and were either matching (e.g., "in the plate/moment") or mismatching (e.g., "on the plate/moment"). Conjunction phrase matches and fillers were also presented. Before half of the concrete-phrase items, a photographic depiction of the reference noun was presented. In these photographs, objects were displayed in a way that was either more appropriate for in or for on. Similarly, before …