Life Sciences Commons^™

Using The Real Food Calculator To Assess The University Of Maine's Dining Purchases Within A Food System Context, Ashely Thibeault

Honors College

This study investigated the University of Maine’s food purchasing using the Real Food Calculator to determine the Real Food percentage. Real Food is defined by the Real Food Challenge as local, humane, fair, and ecologically sound. The Real Food Challenge is an organization that seeks to create systemic food system change through student efforts on college campuses by shifting food purchasing to 20% Real Food by 2020. The University of Maine had 5% Real Food in the 2012-2013 academic year. While there are limitations to Real Food and the Real Food Calculator, it may produce a change in the food …

Effects Of Environmentally Relevant Transplacental Arsenic Exposure On Mouse (Mus Musculus) Hepatic Protein Expression, Jay Knowlton

Honors College

Inorganic arsenic is a well-known toxic element found around the world, but the molecular mechanisms involved in arsenic toxicity are currently poorly understood. Arsenic has been linked to several types of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic diseases. This project explores the toxic effects of arsenic using mouse (Mus musculus) as a mammalian model organism. Preliminary data from the Van Beneden lab has shown that mice respond to low-dose, transplacental arsenic exposure in a dose-, sex-, and generation-dependent manner. The current study addresses a potential mechanism of toxicity by determining relative expression levels of pAKT/AKT1, a serine/threonine kinase that …

Allelic Variants Of Oprm1, Comt And Abcb1 On Pre-Withdrawal Sleep-Wake Regulation In The Opioid Exposed Neonate, Zakiah-Lee Meeks

Honors College

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a neonatal medical condition of prenatal opioid withdrawal, secondary to prenatal exposure. NAS increases mortality and morbidity through seizure risk, and excessive sympathetic autonomic tone; which affects respiration and dysregulates sleep and feeding. Our laboratory has recruited more than 200 pregnant women who are in treatment for opiate dependence with methadone maintenance treatments. We have found that NAS severity is modulated by the presence of allelic variants of OPRM1 118A>G (μ-opiate receptor) and COMT 158 A>G (catechol-o-methyl transferase) genes, revealing a positive correlation between minor alleles of these two genes and severity reflected …

Depth Preferences Of Sturgeon In Critical Habitat, Elizabeth A. Dunbar

Honors College

The depth and vertical movements of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) and shortnose sturgeon (Acispenser brevirostrum) at Bucks Ledge (river kilometer 21) in the Penobscot River were examined to investigate sturgeon depth preferences and jumping habits. The purpose of this project was to expand knowledge on the endangered and threatened sturgeon populations in Maine waters. Behavior of 20 individual sturgeon (6 Atlantic sturgeon and 14 shortnose sturgeon) was used to characterize fish depth as it varied with water depth, e.g., in relation to tidal periodicity or not (random). The study used depth data collected using acoustic telemetry between 2007 and …

A Multi-Institution Investigation Of Educational Practices And Strategies In Stem Courses, Scott James Merrill

Honors College

This study examines the teaching practices of faculty participating in the Automated Analysis of Constructed Response (AACR) project. The AACR project focuses on using short-answer assessment questions to elicit the mixed models students have about key concepts in STEM courses. The 19 faculty from six different institutions who participated in this project are all teaching biology courses, asking biology AACR questions, and participating in Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs). FLCs are a method of faculty professional development in which groups of faculty regularly meet to discuss issues of teaching and learning. Here I use a combination of classroom observation data and …

Towards A New Measure For Human Visual Acuity, Andrew B. Wilson

Honors College

This prospective study investigates whether a newly modified software program can effectively substitute for clinical measures of visual acuity like the standard Landolt C, ETDRS (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study) and Snellen charts. One goal of this study is to compare these different charts to the computerized experiment that we have created. Important differences between recognition versus resolution based visual acuity charts are discussed in light of these studies. The “open door” computerized acuity program displayed a black box on a white background (XoW) or a white box on a black background (WoX) that had an opening on one of …

Vision Problems In Ecuador: Developing A Clinical Trial To Test Visual Acuity In Rural Populations, Ty B. Bolte

Honors College

In many developing countries, access to medical care and screenings are difficult, and this is especially true for countries with large rural populations, such as Ecuador. There are many groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that contribute time and money to educational systems and other basic infrastructure, but not necessarily medical screenings. In the case of eyesight, without proper screening an individual may fall behind academically or even withdraw from education simply because they cannot see. The simple addition of corrective lenses could be the difference between a life of poverty, and a life of wellbeing for many of these individuals. …

Is The Ubiquitous Antibacterial Agent Triclosan An Uncoupler Of Mammalian Mitochondria, Hina Hashmi

Honors College

Triclosan (TCS), an antibacterial agent widely found in household and clinical products, is readily absorbed into human skin, but TCS effects on mammalian cells are largely unknown. TCS has been found to alleviate symptoms of human eczema, via an unknown mechanism. Mast cells are ubiquitous, key players in allergy, infectious disease, carcinogenesis, autism, and many other diseases and physiological functions. One important function of mast cells is release of pro-inflammatory mediators from intracellular granules (degranulation) upon challenge with antigen. Non-cytotoxic doses of TCS inhibit several functions of both human (HMC-1.2) and rat (RBL-2H3) mast cells, including degranulation. Previous work in …

The University Of Maine Food And Fitness Environment: Is It Health Promoting?, Carolyn Anne Stocker

Honors College

Obesity impacts one in six young adults, ages 20-29, and is a major risk factor for chronic disease. An environmental audit of the University of Maine campus was conducted to identify supports for healthful lifestyles by assessing the vending, dining, and recreation environments. Instruments developed by a multistate research team were used to determine scores and percentages for the audit. Ten buildings were assessed in the vending assessment. The mean healthful snack percentage was 17% and the mean healthful beverage percentage was 18% of total items. Two on-campus and seven off- campus dining establishments were assessed. The on-campus dining establishments …

Developing And Testing A New Technique For Assessing Human Color Acuities, Jordan D. Servetas

Honors College

This study is a continuation of the “open door” technique of color acuity determination. The open door experiment is a computer based program that tests the subject’s ability to discern a continuity break in the outline of a box. When presented with the image of a box on an LED screen, the subject is asked to indicate the location of the open door within three seconds. The addition of a joystick provides subjects with four selection options- top, bottom, left, right- for the location of the open door, as well as a fifth option if they did not believe the …

Effects Of Buckthorn (Rhamnus Cathartica And Rhamnus Frangula) On Native Flora Functional Traits, Alexandra Perry

Honors College

Invasive plant species are currently a threat to native species and communities,

and two major challenges facing scientists today are trying to figure out how to deal with the invasive plants and trying to pinpoint their effects on the native communities. While some methods of removal have been effective, it is still unclear how the invasive plants affect the natives. Two species of the shrub buckthorn are invasive in the United States and both are causing problems in the state of Maine. I studied the native plants in areas with and without buckthorn to determine the effects of buckthorn on …

The Effect Of Temperature On Paralytic Shellfish Toxin Uptake By Blue Mussels (Mytilus Edulis) And Sea Scallops (Placopecten Magellanicus), Mackenzie Mazur

Honors College

Increasing amounts of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) threaten human health, the economy, and marine ecosystems because of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Therefore, studies about shellfish toxicity can have significant public health and social impact. In this study, the effect of water temperature on PST uptake in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) and sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) was tested. Mytilus edulis and P. magellanicus were acclimated to either 10°C or 15°C for two weeks before being fed with the toxic alga, Alexandrium fundyense, at a concentration of 100 cells/mL and a non-toxic algae source (Shellfish Diet) at a concentration of 2.4 X …

The Role Of Macrophages In Resistance To Caseous Lymphadenitis, Amy Fish

Honors College

Caseous lymphadenitis (CL) is a chronic disease that affects sheep and goats worldwide. CL causes a large economic loss to producers via milk and fiber losses, carcass condemnation, and chronic wasting of animals. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (C. psTB) causes CL, and infected animals produce abscesses, typically in lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and mammary tissues. Ruptured abscesses release C. psTB, and can contaminate the environment. The bacteria are extremely hardy and can survive in the external environment for over a year, infecting other animals through open wounds.

Macrophages engulf C. psTB when it enters the body, and carry it …

Forward Not Back: Young People's Search For Community And Farming In Maine, Danielle Walczak

Honors College

In Maine there is a growing body of statistics pointing to the growth of agriculture in the state. Yet with one of the oldest populations in the country, Maine is always asking: how do we bring young people to the state? Farming may be a start. The number of farmers age 34 and under increased 40 percent between 2007 and 2012. Maine is bucking the trend. While most of the country’s farms are decreasing in number and getting bigger in size, Maine farms are increasing in number while staying small. Behind each of these statistics there is a person, a …

Complete Annotations Of The Cluster E Mycobacteriophage Ukulele Genome And Characterization Of Cluster E Lysogeny Regulation, Gwendolyn M. Beacham

Honors College

Mycobacteriophages (phages) are diverse and abundant viruses that infect species of the genus Mycobacterium. Mycobacteriophages are categorized into clusters based primarily on nucleotide similarity (18). Some clusters are well-characterized, while others, such as Cluster E, are poorly characterized (20). There are 54 members of Cluster E (39) including the phage Ukulele that was isolated at the University of Maine in 2011. This thesis is aimed towards characterizing Cluster E phages using Ukulele as a model. Cluster E phages have long tails of approximately 300 nm and they produce slightly turbid plaques on a lawn of Mycobacterium smegmatis. Putative …

Relationships Of A Northern Maine Population Of Amelanchier (Rosaceae), Matthew R. Sheltra

Honors College

Amelanchier is a genus of plants that produces seeds both sexually and by apomixis (asexual seed production). Asexuality is the dominant mode of reproduction in tetraploids (which contain four sets of chromosomes) and has created uncertainty about species delimitation in this genus. A tetraploid population of Amelanchier at a site called Pudding Rock on the Aroostook River in northern Maine has long been hypothesized to belong to Amelanchier gaspensis, a member of the Amelanchier sanguinea species complex. Using structural features (morphology), knowledge of the number of sets of chromosomes (ploidy level), and DNA sequence data, I tested this hypothesis. …

Worksite Wellness For Umaine Dining Employees: Healthful Eating For The Holidays, Marissa E. Rublee

Honors College

The objective of this study was to identify change in knowledge and intent to

change behavior among University of Maine dining services employees (n=5 females) attending a three-session nutrition education program. The study was a one-group design with a pre- post- assessment. Participants were recruited through flyers distributed at their worksite. The intervention consisted of three one-hour nutrition education sessions implemented outside work hours one day per week over three weeks. Sessions were designed to address healthful holiday cooking and eating, with a focus on 100% whole grains. At pre-assessment, based on a five-point scale from 1= “not likely at …

The Influence Of Sediment Characteristics On The Burrowing Behavior Of Juvenile Razor Clams, Ensis Directus, Robert Joseph Hallinan

Honors College

Ensis directus, or the Atlantic razor clam, is an infaunal bivalve species whose geographic range extends along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Canada to South Carolina. In this study, I examined the burrowing behavior of large juvenile razor clams (shell length: 60-78 mm) in two sediment types: fine mud sediment and coarse sand sediment. I categorized the burrowing behavior into four independent phases: recovery, exploration, initiation, and tunneling and recorded the proportion and time of completion of each stage of burrowing. With each clam having been exposed to both sediment types, more razor clams burrowed in the fine …