Life Sciences Commons^™

Developmental Cis-Regulatory Analysis Of The Cyclin D Gene In The Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus, Christopher Michael Mccarty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper execution of animal development requires that it be integrated with cell division. In part, this is made possible due to cell cycle regulatory genes becoming dependent upon developmental signaling pathways that regulate their transcription. Cyclin D genes are important bridges linking the regulation of the cell cycle to development because these genes regulate the cell cycle, growth and differentiation in response to intercellular signaling. In this dissertation, a cis-regulatory analysis of a cyclin D gene, Sp-CycD, in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is presented. While the promoters of vertebrate cyclin D genes have been analyzed, the cis-regulatory sequences across …

Amphibians In Complex Landscapes: Quantifying Habitat Connectivity For Juvenile Movements And Dispersal, Brittany Blue Cline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining amphibian populations in fragmented landscapes depends on preserving functional connectivity for animals that need to transit multiple vegetation types to satisfy habitat requirements. For many pool-breeding amphibians, successful dispersal is essential for gene flow; thus, quantifying the ability of juveniles to locate and reach suitable habitat in the terrestrial matrix is necessary to predict the consequences of landscape configuration for populations. I evaluated if different open-canopy vegetation types alter the behavior of juvenile wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). First, I quantified the relative permeability of different open-vegetation types by experimentally releasing frogs in 35 x 3 m enclosures extending from …

An Agent-Based Model Of Ant Colony Energy And Population Dynamics: Effects Of Temperature And Food Fluctuation, Guo Xiaohui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ant colony, known as a self-organized system, can adapt to the environment by a series of negative and positive feedbacks. There is still a lack of mechanistic understanding of how the factors, such as temperature and food, coordinate the labor of ants. According to the Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE), the metabolic rate could control ecological process at all levels. To analyze self-organized process of ant colony, we constructed an agent-based model to simulate the energy and population dynamics of ant colony. After parameterizing the model, we ran 20 parallel simulations for each experiment and parameter sweeps to find …

Probiotic Potential Of Bacterial Isolates From ‘Amabere Amaruranu’ Cultured Milk, Blaise B. Boyiri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Probiotics are viable nonpathogenic microbes that positively affect host health. Probiotics inhibit infection, activate immunity, and promote mucosal-barrier development. Many microbes have probiotic activity. Nonetheless, the selection of stable strains and their specific mechanism(s) of action are not fully elucidated. Bacteria from ‘Amabere amaruranu’ cultured milk from Kenya were isolated and identified by PCR sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. Isolates were examined for stability to acid and bile, antimicrobial activity, mucin production, and degradation and sensitivity to antibiotics, hence their potential for probiotics. Lactobacillus isolates were acid unstable, bile-stable, nonmucinolytic, and presented antibacterial activity. L. rhamnosus cell fractions …

Characterization Of A Putative Sir2 Like Deacetylase And Its Role In Sabp2 Dependent Salicylic Acid Mediated Pathways In Plant, Md I. Haq

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salicylic Acid Binding Protein2 (SABP2) is an enzyme known to play important role in SA mediated pathway. SBIP-428 (SABP2 Interacting Protein-428), a SIR2 like deacetylase, has been found to interact with SABP2. We demonstrate that SBIP-428 functions as a Sirtuin deacetylase. We show that SBIP-428 itself is lysine acetylated. Interactions of a SBIP-428 with SABP2 also raised the possibility of SABP2 itself being lysine acetylated. The recombinant purified SABP2 or native partially purified SABP2 displayed no acetylation. In response to TMV infection, the expression of SBIP-428 was down regulated at 48 hpi. In addition, SBIP-428 was up regulated in plant …

Northern Saw-Whet Owl (Aegolius Acadicus) Abundance And Distribution In The Southern Appalachian Mountains Of Northeast Tennessee, John P. Mccormick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the distribution, abundance, or life histories of the Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Northeast Tennessee. This study relied upon the Pennsylvania Protocol of audio playback of a Northern Saw-whet Owl call to monitor for owl presence at various areas above 3,500 feet in elevation. Owls were found at multiple areas in Northeast Tennessee, including Roan Mountain, Unaka Mountain, Rocky Fork, and the Pond Mountain Area. Statistical analysis revealed that these owls were not limited by habitat, showing equal presence in Hardwood habitats along with Spruce and/or Fir habitats. …

Mitochondrial Involvement In Neuronal Cell Death, Josie J. Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neuronal cell death via apoptosis or necrosis underlies several devastating neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging. Mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from oxidative or nitrosative stress often acts as an initiating stimulus for intrinsic apoptosis or necrosis. These events frequently occur in conjunction with imbalances in the mitochondrial fission and fusion equilibrium, although the cause and effect relationships remain elusive. In this thesis, I demonstrate in primary rat cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) that oxidative or nitrosative stress induces an N-terminal cleavage of optic atrophy-1 (OPA1), a dynamin-like GTPase that regulates mitochondrial fusion and maintenance of cristae architecture. This cleavage event is indistinguishable from …

Il-12 Induced Modulation Of Tumor Derived Myeloid Cell Inflammatory Responsiveness., Courtney Jetun Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tumor infiltrating and tumor associated myeloid cells (TIMs and TAMs) elaborate an array of factors that promote tumor growth and metastasis. IL-12, a potent inflammatory cytokine has been shown to induce regression of many cancers. We hypothesize that IL-12 augments the ability of TIMs and TAMs to respond to inflammatory stimuli providing a window in which these stimuli are more likely to promote tumor destruction. Related to this hypothesis, we asked two questions: (1) Does IL-12 directly change signaling events associated with inflammatory signal transduction? (2) Is IFN? required for the entirety of IL-12 induced enhancement of the response of …

Mirna-21 Has Anti-Inflammatory Effects In The Macrophage Response To Peritonitis., Rebecca Elise Barnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project investigated the role of miRNA-21 in the macrophage response to peritonitis; with the goal of understanding whether the associated mechanism has potential benefits in the clinical treatment of peritonitis. A novel therapeutic intervention in the treatment of peritonitis could modulate the host immune response to decrease an exaggerated pro-inflammatory innate response and then prevent or ameliorate the development of sepsis and organ failure. We found the following: 1. MiRNA-21 expression increases in peritoneal macrophages after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. 2. Over expression of miRNA-21 decreases TNF-a secretion from macrophages after LPS stimulation. Suppression of miRNA-21 expression results in increased …

Biophysical And Computational Investigations Into G-Quadruplex Structural Polymorphism And Interaction With Small Molecules., Huy Tuan Le

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the cell, guanine-rich nucleic acids can self-assemble into unique four stranded tertiary structures known as G-quadruplexes. G-quadruplex formation in the telomere leads inhibits telomerase, an enzyme activated in cancer cells to maintain the telomere and allowing for cancer cells to achieve immortality. G-quadruplex formation in the promoters and 5’-untranslated regions regulates the expression of many oncogenes. Furthermore, G-quadruplex formation during cellular replication promotes genomic instability, a characteristic which enables tumor development. Because of their implication in cancer, G-quadruplex structures have emerged as attractive drug targets for anti-tumor therapeutics. In the current dissertation work, we present three experimental approaches to …

Genetic And Mechanistic Analysis Of Rat Mammary Cancer Susceptibility., Jennifer Sanders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is a complex disease, which is influenced by genetic, epigenetic and environmental components. Genetic susceptibility to breast cancer is made up of high, moderate and low penetrance alleles. High and moderate penetrance alleles are rare and constitute only a small percentage of the genetic susceptibility. Most variation in genetic susceptibility is controlled by low- penetrance, common polymorphisms. Comparative genetics uses model organisms to study human disease. Rat strains exhibit different susceptibility phenotypes to chemical induced carcinogenesis. The Wistar-Furth (WF) rat strain is susceptible to chemically induced mammary carcinogenesis, while the Wistar-Kyoto (WKy) and Copenhagen (COP) rat strains are …

Comparison Of Static And Countermovement Jump Variables In Relation To Estimated Training Load And Subjective Measures Of Fatigue, Matthew L. Sams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare changes in static and countermovement jump variables across a competitive season of collegiate soccer to estimated training load and subjective measures of fatigue. Monitoring data from 21 male collegiate soccer players were retrospectively examined. Nine vertical jump sessions occurred across the season in addition to daily training load assessment and daily mood-state assessment. Group average changes from the first testing session were calculated and compared to the group average training load for the 7 days preceding each vertical jump testing session for static and countermovement jump height and allometrically scaled peak power. …

Production Of An Antibiotic-Like Activity By Streptomyces Sp. Couk1 Under Different Growth Conditions, Olaitan G. Akintunde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Streptomyces are known to produce a large variety of antibiotics and other bioactive compounds with remarkable industrial importance. Streptomyces sp. COUK1 was found as a contaminant on a plate in which Rhodococcus erythropolis was used as a test strain in a disk diffusion assay and produced a zone of inhibition against the cultured R. erythropolis. The identity of the contaminant was confirmed as Streptomyces through 16S rRNA sequencing. This Streptomyces produces a strong inhibitory compound in different growth media. A culture extract from inorganic salts starch agar was found to be very active; producing a large zone of inhibition …

An Investigation Of The Sled Push Exercise: Quantification Of Work, Kinematics, And Related Physical Characteristics, James Hoffmann Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to describe the basic characteristics of performing resisted sprint training using a push sled for the enhancement of sport performance. Specifically, this dissertation served to: 1.) quantify the frictional forces involved between a push sled and an AstroTurf® surface at 6 loads, 2.) derive an estimation of mechanical work performed during sled push training, 3.) outline the velocity characteristics of 3 sled pushing loads scaled to the athletes body mass for comparison against their sprinting ability and 4.) determine the interrelations of fitness characteristics to the ability to sprint under heavy resistance.

The following …

Biophysical Characterization Of The Votu Proteases From The Cchf And Dugbe Nairoviruses, Glenn C. Capodagli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My research focuses on understanding the substrate specificity of the viral homolog of the ovarian tumor domain protease superfamily (vOTU) from nairoviruses, and the structural reasons for their specificities. The vOTU from the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) has been implicated in the down-regulation of the innate immune response through its ability to cleave post-translational modifications via Ubiquitin (Ub) as well as the Ub-like interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15). vOTU homologs have been found in numerous viruses across several families. Moreover, the effects of these viruses range in severity from mild flu-like symptoms to mortality depending on the species of the …

Dissolved Nutrient Ratios And Concentrations Affect Fungal Reproduction And Community Structure Associated With Submerged Leaf Litter And Wood, Jennifer Fitzgerald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Litter-associated fungi are important intermediaries in carbon and energy flow in streams. They can obtain nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from both the substrate and the water column. I tested the effects of dissolved nutrients (dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) 40-975 µg/L, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) 2-135 µg/L, N:P ratios 2:1, 16:1, 128:1) on fungi associated with leaf litter (maple and rhododendron) and wood in streamside channels at Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research site, North Carolina. This study addressed two main questions: (1) will fungal reproduction (sporulation rate of aquatic hyphomycetes) peak at a dissolved N:P ratio similar to nutrient stoichiometry …

Diel Patterns Of Foraging Aggression And Antipredator Behavior In The Trashline Orb-Weaving Spider, Cyclosa Turbinata, James C. Watts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have rigorously assessed the adaptive value of diel rhythms in animals. We laid the groundwork for assessing the adaptive rhythm hypothesis by assaying diel rhythms of foraging and antipredator behavior in the orb-weaving spider Cyclosa turbinata. When confronted with a predator stimulus in experimental arenas, C. turbinata exhibited thanatosis behavior more frequently and for longer durations during the day. However, assays of antipredator response within webs revealed more complex diel patterns of avoidance behaviors and no pattern of avoidance behavior duration. Assays of prey capture behavior found that the likelihood of exhibiting prey capture behavior varied significantly …

Vitamin D Status Of College Students: Implications For Health Leaders, Eileen M. Cress

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vitamin D deficiency is considered to be a pandemic with implications for compromised bone health and other chronic diseases. Few studies have examined vitamin D status in college-aged individuals where prevention of future health consequences is still possible. Serum vitamin D 25(OH)D status and vitamin D intake were examined in 98 college students ages 18-29 years during winter. BMI was classified as < 25and 25 or greater. Race was categorized as Caucasian or other. Overall, 69.5% had suboptimal serum vitamin D levels, <30ng/mL. Only 8 students (8.2%) met the EAR (400 IU) per day for vitamin D intake. t tests were used to determine if there were significant differences in serum vitamin D level and dietary intake based on gender, race and BMI. Significant differences were found in serum vitamin D level when compared by gender and race. Females tended to have a higher serum vitamin D level than males. Those representing minorities had lower serum vitamin D levels than Caucasians; One hundred percent of the minority students had suboptimal serum vitamin D levels. Based on these findings, dietitians should increase efforts to target college-aged individuals in educational programming related to factors affecting vitamin D synthesis, vitamin D intake, and health consequences of suboptimal vitamin D status, particularly in winter. Consideration should be given to vitamin D fortification of foods that meet the preferences of today’s consumer.

Non-Anguimorph Lizards Of The Late Oligocene And Early Miocene Of Florida And Implications For The Reorganization Of The North American Herpetofauna, Kevin Chovanec

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paleokarst deposits from the Oligo-Miocene of northern Florida preserve undescribed herpetofaunal remains that fill important temporal and geographic gaps in our understanding of Cenozoic lizard evolution. Here I describe and discuss the non-anguimorph lizard diversity of the Brooksville 2 (Ar2) and Miller (He1) local faunas to test for patterns of regional and latitudinal provincialism in the contemporary North American record. Collectively, the sites are significant for documenting 1) extralimital occurrences of the tropical clades Anolis and Corytophaninae, 2) a substantial temporal range extension of the modern southeastern endemic Rhineuridae, 3) the earliest record of eublepharid gekkotans from North America, and …

The Effectiveness Of The Implementation Of The Kids Eat Right Rd Parent Empowerment Program At Johnson City Head Start Centers, Emily M. Stern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obesity among children is a public health concern. Preschool-­‐aged children, especially those from low-­‐income families, are no exception to the obesity epidemic. During the RD Parent Empowerment Program, parents of Head Start children in Johnson City, TN completed a structured education program over the course of 4 workshops related to healthy habits of families. The goal was to empower parents to shop smart, cook healthy, and eat right. The Family Nutrition and Physical Activity (FNPA) screening tool was used as an assessment tool to evaluate behavior change over the course of the program. Improvement in overall FNPA score was …

Neogene Climate Change In Eastern North America: A Quantitative Reconstruction, Kyrie A. Baumgartner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though much is known of the global paleoclimate during the Neogene, little is understood about eastern North America at that time. During the Neogene the global paleoclimate was transitioning from the warm temperatures and higher levels of precipitation of the Paleogene to the cooler temperatures and lower levels of precipitation during the Pleistocene. Eleven fossil sites from Neogene eastern North America were analyzed using the Coexistence Approach: Pollack Farm, Brandon Lignite, Legler Lignite, Alum Bluff, Bryn Mawr, Big Creek on Sicily Island, Brandywine, Gray Fossil Site, Citronelle, Peace Creek, and Ohoopee River Dune Field. Analyses showed a general trend that …

Inter-And Intra-Population Variability Across The Transcriptome Of Lake Baikal’S Endemic Copepod With Ramifications For Adapting To Climate Change, Larry L. Bowman Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The future of Lake Baikal’s biodiversity is uncertain in response to climate change. Unlike its diverse benthos, Lake Baikal’s zooplankton is species poor, with up to 96% of its biomass being composed of a single Calanoid copepod species, Epischura baikalensis. This study characterizes the genetic differentiation and differential gene expression of E. baikalensis. Using partial-transcriptome sequences obtained by 454 Rosche and Illumina sequencing technologies, the genetic differentiation at inferred single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites and differential gene expression in populations sampled from various parts of the lake were analyzed. The functional genomics of genes showed significant differential …

Characterization Of Tonb In Rhizobium Leguminosarum Atcc 14479, Brian D. Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rhizobium leguminosarum is a gram-negative soil bacterium that requires iron for survival. However, iron becomes insoluble in the presence of oxygen at physiological pH. In response, Rhizobia species have used siderophore mediated iron transport systems to meet their iron requirements. R. leguminosarum ATCC 14479 produces the trihydroxymate siderophore vicibactin and we hypothesize that the import of the ferric iron-vicibactin complex is energized by the TonB-ExbB-ExbD system. Here, we have identified a putative tonB gene. A tonB mutant was created and compared with wild type in its ability to transport ⁵⁵Fe-vicibactin. Also, the putative TonB of R. leguminosarum ATCC …

Inflammation-Resolving Lipid Mediators Promote Revascularization To Enhance Wound Healing., Michael Jingyuan Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wound healing is a highly concerted cellular process that begins with inflammation and proceeds to resolution to revascularize the site of injury. Although inflammation is essential to revascularization during wound healing, it is now recognized that resolution is an active process that is equally important. Other investigations have implicated a beneficial effect of resolving inflammation and promoting resolution in the remission of inflammatory pathologies. Recently investigations have yielded a novel class of ?-3 fatty acid derived lipid mediators, biosynthesized by leukocytes, which are capable of resolving inflammation and promoting resolution. We therefore hypothesized that these leukocyte-derived pro-resolving lipid mediators can …

Sa-4-1bbl As A Platform To Develop Adjuvant Systems For Prophylactic And Therapeutic Vaccines., Gunes Dinc 1984-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vaccines against infectious diseases are one of the most critical accomplishments in modern medicine. Despite significant progress in vaccinology, there is still a dire need for developing vaccines against various acute and chronic infections and cancer. In general, vaccines are categorized as prophylactic, given to healthy individuals to prevent disease, and therapeutic, administered to people who already have disease. As such, the nature, quality, and quantity of immune responses required for the efficacy of these two types vaccines are different. Prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases primarily rely on the generation of neutralizing high titers of antibody for their efficacy. These …

Statistical Methods For Assessing Treatment Effects For Observational Studies., Kristopher C. Gardner 1984-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though randomized clinical (RCTs) trials are the gold standard for comparing treatments, they are often infeasible or exclude clinically important subjects, or generally represent an idealized medical setting rather than real practice. Observational data provide an opportunity to study practice-based evidence, but also present challenges for analysis. Traditional statistical methods which are suitable for RCTs may be inadequate for the observational studies. In this project, four of the most popular statistical methods for observational studies: ANCOVA, propensity score matching, regression with the propensity score as a covariate, and instrumental variables (IV) are investigated through application to MarketScan insurance claims data. …

The Anti-Obesogenic Effects Of Nitric Oxide., Brian Edward Sansbury 1985-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a strong risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and has quickly reached epidemic proportions with few tangible and safe treatment options. While it is generally accepted that the primary cause of obesity is energy imbalance, i.e., more calories are consumed than are utilized, understanding how caloric balance is regulated has proven a challenge. Molecular processes and pathways that directly regulate energy metabolism represent promising targets for therapy. In particular, nitric oxide (NO) is emerging as a central regulator of energy metabolism and body composition. NO bioavailability is decreased in animal models of obesity and …

Mechanisms Of Action And Co-Optive Evolution For Hypervariable Courtship Pheromones In Plethodontid Salamanders., Wilburn Beau Wilburn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pheromones are an important type of chemical cue used by most animals to convey information between individuals. For more than 100 million years, male plethodontid salamanders have utilized a system of non-volatile, proteinaceous pheromones to regulate female mating behavior and receptivity. One of these pheromone components, Plethodontid Modulating Factor (PMF), is a hypervariable protein related to the three-finger protein (TFP) superfamily. Previous studies revealed that PMF persists as a rapidly evolving multi-isoform mixture. However, many characteristics of PMF as a pheromone remained undetermined, including gene structure and transcriptional regulation, translational regulation, protein structure, evolutionary mechanisms, and the isoform effects on …

Functional Implications Of Demyelination And The Molecular Control Of Remyelination In The Adult Mouse., Nicholas John Kuypers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oligodendrocyte (OL) loss contributes to the functional deficits underlying diseases with a demyelinating component (Gajjar et al., 1997; Miller et al., 2002). Remyelination can restore these deficits (Duncan et al., 2009). Chapter 1 is an introduction to de- and re-myelination thus providing the necessary background information for consideration in subsequent chapters. Ethidium bromide (EB) has been extensively used in the rat and cat as a model of spinal cord demyelination. However, this lesion has not been addressed in the adult mouse. Therefore, Chapters 2 and 3 characterize a model of chronic EB-induced spinal cord demyelination in the mouse which can …

Epigenetic Modifications Associated With Aortic Remodeling In Hyperhomocysteinemia., Nithya Narayanan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is prevalent in hypertensive patients and is an independent risk factor for aortic pathologies. HHcy is known to cause an imbalance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) leading to accumulation of collagen in the aorta resulting in stiffness and development of hypertension. Although the exact mechanism of extracellular matrix remodeling (ECM) is unclear, emerging evidence implicates epigenetic regulation involving DNA methylation. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether inhibition of DNA methylation reduces high blood pressure by regulating aortic ECM remodeling in HHcy. Methods: In the first set of experiments, we …