Life Sciences Commons^™

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Bio Buzz Newsletter, Issue 16, December 2018, Department Of Biology

Biology Buzz Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Inulin And Galactooligosaccharides On The Production Of Reuterin By Lactobacillus Reuteri, Micah Dwight Forshee

ELAIA

The microbiome is a dynamic community that can positively and negatively influence host health. Lactobacillus reuteri is a probiotic that has received much attention for its ability to inhibit pathogens such as Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium difficile. It does so by its unique ability to metabolize glycerol into the antimicrobial compound 3-HPA, which is commonly referred to as reuterin. The ability to secrete reuterin is dependent not only on glycerol availability but also the concentration of glucose. In fact, there appears to be a “goldilocks” ratio between glucose and glycerol as either too much or too little …

Checklist Of Zooplanktons In Different Rivers Of Bajwat Area, Zahid Bhatti, Muhammad Asif Gondal, Asad Ghufran, Andleeb Batool

Journal of Bioresource Management

Zooplanktons are important fish and waterfowl food. Limnological studies of Marala Wetlands, a complex created by three rivers, i.e., Jammu Tawi, Chenab and Manawar Tawi, entering Bajwat area located 25 km from North of Sialkot city from state of Jammu and Kashmir, were carried out between October, 2000 to September 2001. This survey was carried out to create a checklist of zooplanktons existing in the study site which would help in future studies relating to aquatic biodiversity and ecological studies of wetlands. A minimum of 25 species of zooplanktons were present in the wetland area, which can be included into …

Census Study Of Ducks, Swans And Geese From High-Altitude Wetlands Of Pakistan, Fakhra Nazir, Inayatullah Malik, Safdar Ali Shah

Journal of Bioresource Management

The family Anatidae consists of aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and swans of varied sizes that belong to the order Anseriformes (Carboneras, 1992). The Anatidae comprise of approximately 148 species (Johnsgard, 2010). This family is commonly found across the globe except for in Antarctica. Data on ecology and population of these water birds was taken from protected areas of Pir Lasura National Park (June-July 2009), Banjosa Game Reserve (May-June 2009), Dhirkot National Park (February 2008), Pir Chanasi National park (April-May 2010) and Tolipir National Park (April-May 2008). Only four species from the family Anatidae were found in the study …

Parameter Estimation And Optimal Control Of The Dynamics Of Transmission Of Tuberculosis With Application To Cameroon, A. Temgoua, Y. Malong, J. Mbang, S. Bowong

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper deals with the problem of parameter estimation and optimal control of a tuberculosis (TB) model with seasonal fluctuations. We first present a uncontrolled TB model with seasonal fluctuations. We present the theoretical analysis of the uncontrolled TB model without seasonal fluctuations. After, we propose a numerical study to estimate the unknown parameters of the TB model with seasonal fluctuations according to demographic and epidemiological data from Cameroon. Simulation results are in good accordance with the seasonal variation of the new active reported cases of TB in Cameroon. Using this TB model with seasonality, the tuberculosis control is formulated …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna J. Giberson, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

Crabwalkers and sand minnows: Searching for psammophilic mayflies in the central and western states (& provinces)¹

Greg Courtney Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

Motivated by a number of collaborative photography projects with Steve Marshall (e.g., Courtney & Marshall, 2019), I have devoted a bit of time recently to searching for non-dipteran aquatic insects. Among the ongoing projects is a book on which I am not only lead author but in charge of several chapters focused on taxa outside my usual bailiwick (e.g., Ephemeroptera!). Thankfully, Steve has already established an excellent template for such a book …

Stability Of Delayed Virus Infection Model With A General Incidence Rate And Adaptive Immune Response, Zhimin Chen, Xiuxiang Liu, Zhongzhong Xie

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

We present the dynamical behaviors of a virus infection model with general infection rate, immune responses and two intracellular delays which describe the interactions of the HIV virus, target cells, CTL cells and antibodies within host. Three factors are incorporated in this model: (1) the intrinsic growth rate of uninfected cells, (2) a nonlinear incidence rate function considering both virus-tocell infection and cell-to-cell transmission, and (3) a nonlinear productivity and removal function. By the method of Lyapunov functionals and LaSalle’s invariance principle, we show that the global dynamics of the model is determined by the reproductive numbers for viral infection …

Aspects Of The Reproductive Biology And Growth Of The Mississippi Silvery Minnow, Hybognathus Nuchalis (Agassiz, 1855) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) From The Pearl River, Louisiana., Arely Ramírez-García, Kyle R. Piller

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The reproductive biology and growth of the Mississippi Silvery Minnow, Hybognathus nuchalis, is described from multiple sites in the Pearl River, Louisiana. Individuals were collected from August 2011 to August 2012. Ovarian weights, expressed as a percentage of body weights, peaked in December. Size structure ranged from 29.0 to 60.0 mm SL for females and 25.0 to 56.0 mm SL for males. Mature ova were found from November to January. Females reached first maturity (L50) at 37.0 mm SL and L50 for males is at 41.0 mm SL. Sex ratio (females:males) is biased towards females (X²= 18.57 p …

Targeted Insertion Of The Mping Transposable Element, Ashley E. Strother, Stephanie S. Diaz, Mary E. Baker, C. Nathan Hancock

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Class II DNA Transposable Elements (TEs) are moved from one location to another in the genome by the action of transposase proteins that bind to repeat sequences at the ends of the elements. Although the location TE insertion is mostly random, the addition of DNA binding domains to the transposase proteins has allowed for targeted insertion of some elements. In this study, the Gal4 binding domain was added to the transposase proteins, ORF1 and TPase, which mobilize the mPing element from rice. The Gal4:TPase construct was capable of increasing the number of mPing insertions into the Gal2 and Gal4 promoter …

Evolution Of The Photopigments In The Largest And Most Complex Terrestrial Animal Eyes, Seth M. Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met The proposal had three main aims: 1). Produce a phylogenetic estimate of aeshnid dragonfly evolution from transcriptomes. 2). Use the phylogeny from Aim I and the photopigments isolated from the transcriptome data to examine the evolution of aeshnid color visual systems and 3) Using independent and complimentary methods (in situ hybridization, qPCR and transcriptome data) to examine both the distribution and level of expression for each photopigment for one focal species (Anax junius). Goals one and two were both successful, however goal three became bogged down and only …

Sequencing Complete Genome Of Cutthroat Trout Subspecies For Purposes Of Improving Classification Of Cutthroat Trout Species, Emily Brown, Dr. Dennis Shiozawa

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since the 1800s, biologists have studied cutthroat trout native to Western North America. Their early work and classification were based on the standards of the day: meristics, the observation and counting of physical features, and morphology. Further improvements came through later studies that added geographic distribution to their phylogenetic classification. Without the foresight of DNA genotyping methods, “traditional taxonomic assessments often failed to accurately capture phylogenetic diversity.” Many discrepancies have since arisen as genetic methods shed new light on cutthroat trout subspecies phylogenies. Current mtDNA work has identified errors in historical classifications of several of these subspecies in the Colorado, …

Lctsr: The New Path To Academic Success, Faith Hathenbruck, Dr. Jamie Jensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Lawson’s Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning¹(LCTSR) is a content-independent measure of scientific reasoning abilities including conservation, proportional reasoning, identifying and controlling variables, probabilistic reasoning, correlational reasoning, and hypothetico-deductive reasoning. A relationship has been seen between scores on this test and a student’s decision to major in a STEM degree² as well as with their performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM, courses³. Thus, the LCTSR can be a clever tool in predicting a student’s performance and persistence in STEM degrees. This test, however, has more potential than just predicting STEM …

Updated Distributional Records Of Selected Kentucky Fishes, David J. Eisenhour, Matthew R. Thomas, J. Jacob Culp, Michael C. Compton, Stephanie L. Brandt, Rodney Pierce

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Distribution records for 15 fish species of conservation interest are included for Kentucky. Notropis dorsalis, previously undocumented in Kentucky, is reported for the first time (Mayfield Creek drainage). Also reported are state rediscoveries of three species thought to be extirpated from Kentucky: Ichthyomyzon gagei (Tennessee River drainage), Hemitremia flammea (Lower Cumberland and Green river drainages), and Hybopsis amnis (upper Cumberland River drainage). Unreported drainage records comprise nine species: Ichthyomyzon castaneus (Salt River drainage and Upper Green River drainage); Ichthyomyzon unicuspis (Salt River drainage and upper Big Sandy River drainage); Campostoma pullum (Tennessee River drainage); Umbra limi (Obion Creek drainage); …

Determining The First Intermediate Host To Parasites Glossocercus Caribaensis And Cyclustera Ibisae That Are Found In Fundulus Heteroclitus In The North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Emiley Masloski, Marlee B. Marsh

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Fundulus heteroclitus serves as a host to many parasites, providing a model system to investigate questions regarding evolution and ecology of host-parasite interactions in natural populations. Previous research from the North Inlet Estuary at Belle W. Baruch shows that F. heteroclitus serve as second intermediate hosts to cestodes, Glossocercus caribaensis and Cyclustera ibisae. Finding larval parasites in the first intermediate host will complete gaps in the knowledge about these parasites’ life cycles. In the experiment, 27 fish were collected from the North Inlet Estuary and were dissected and examined for parasites around the gastrointestinal tract. Parasites collected were sent …

Yardwork: A Biography Of An Urban Place By Daniel Coleman, Vivian M. Hansen

The Goose

Review of Daniel Coleman's Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place.

A User Friendly Tool To Allow Easy Access To Big Biological Data, Pj Tatlow, Stephen Piccolo

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the course of the past year I have been able to put a lot of work into creating a tool for scientists, those with computational background and without, that provides a simple web interface for downloading data from large, publically available datasets. It allows users to select a dataset that we have pre-processed, enter filters based on the samples they want to research, and download only that portion of the data. This will save researchers a lot of time, as well as reduce their reliance on bioinformaticians.

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna J. Giberson, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Trefoil Factor 1 (Tff1) Expression In E3 And Ewd8 Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Jazmyn Mosqueda-Banuelos, Nicholas A. Pullen

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The ability to identify and treat cancer early can drastically improve patient survival outcomes. While much effort is placed on anti-cancer therapeutics, a developing area of interest is the identification of cancer biomarkers for the early detection of different types of cancer. Trefoil factors (TFFs) are a family of proteins whose known functions suggest that they may be major contributors to cancer; however, these proteins are understudied in a disease state like cancer. In this work, we identify expression of TFF1 among varying cancer types. We then investigate the correlation between varying levels of TFF1 expression and the aggressiveness of …

Combinatorial Genomic Data Refute The Human Chromosome 2 Evolutionary Fusion And Build A Model Of Functional Design For Interstitial Telomeric Repeats, Jeffrey P. Tomkins

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

Evolutionists allege that human chromosome 2 is the product of an ancient fusion event in an ancient hominid ancestor descended from apes. However, both the alleged site of fusion and the so-called cryptic centromere of human chromosome 2 are situated inside active genes negating the idea of fusion. Not only are the alleged genomic fossils of fusion representative of functional intragenic sequence, but they are also both highly degenerate versions of their supposed evolutionary beginnings, suggesting something other than an evolutionary origin. Given that these data strongly refute an evolutionary fusion scenario, it behooves creationists to propose an alternative model …

The Crs Ekinds Research Initiative: Where We Have Been And Where We Are Headed From Here, Jean K. Lightner, Kevin Anderson

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The eKINDS research initiative began in 2016 in an effort to accelerate research on numerous outstanding questions related the diversification and speciation of plants and animals. The research encompasses three broad topics: a) identification of created kinds, b) identification of mechanisms that drive diversification and speciation within created kinds, and c) detailed analysis of individual created kinds in an attempt to propose a robust natural history that delineates key events as organisms reproduced and filled the earth following the time of the Flood.

As part of the eKINDS project, a new statistical tool is being developed to take advantage of …

Continuous Environmental Tracking: An Engineering Framework To Understand Adaptation And Diversification, Randy J. Guliuzza, Phil Gaskill

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

We offer a new framework for understanding biological adaptability based on interpreting the findings of 342 journal articles and 67 online reports related to adaptation, bioengineering, and design in view of the assumption that biological functions are most accurately explained by engineering principles. We hypothesize that organisms actively and continuously track environmental variables and respond by self-adjusting to changing environments—utilizing the engineering principles constraining how human-designed objects self-adjust to changes—which results in adaptation. We termed this hypothesis Continuous Environmental Tracking (CET). CET is an engineering-based, organism-focused characterization of adaptation. CET expects to find that organisms adapt via systems with elements …

The Extraordinary Design Of The Bombardier Beetle: A Classic Example Of Biomimetics, Andy C. Mcintosh, Joseph Lawrence

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The innocuous looking bombardier beetle is one of the most remarkable creatures in the insect world. This tiny insect (1-1.5 cms long) is able to fight off any spider, frog, ant or bird that comes too close, by blasting the attacker with a powerful jet of hot, toxic fluid. Furthermore, the beetle can aim its weapon in any direction (even over its head) with pinpoint accuracy, and can reach distances of up to 20 cm with its spray. The bombardier beetle is rare in Europe but common in Africa, Asia and the warmer parts of the Americas, and in order …

The Dinosauria: Baraminological And Multivariate Patterns, Neal A. Doran, Matthew Mclain, Natalie Young, Adam Sanderson

Proceedings of the International Conference on Creationism

The Dinosauria pose both interesting and challenging questions for creationist systematists. One question is whether new dinosaur discoveries are closing morphospatial gaps between dinosaurian groups, revealing continuous morphological fossil series, such as between coelurosaurians and avialans. Questions such as these underscore the importance of systematics for resolving correct group memberships, including tools for visualizing morphospatial relationships. Baraminic distance correlation (BDC), three-dimensional multidimensional scaling (MDS), and a new method to baraminic studies – principal component analysis (PCA) – were applied to 18 character matrices from 2004. The data included saurischian and ornithischian dinosaur groups including (1) “basal” Saurischia, (2) Ceratosauria (including …

The Hero Organism And Heroism Science: A New Frontier Of Human Consciousness, Olivia Efthimiou

Heroism Science

In the context of a new science of heroism this article presents a brief history of the presence and study of heroism, and an outline of the key characteristics of the modern-day movement of heroism. The potentially wide-reaching impacts of the science of heroism are briefly discussed. The hypothesis of human beings as “hero organisms” is presented, before embarking on a discussion on what it means for each of us to be on our own hero’s journey.

The Search For A Hero Gene: Fact Or Fiction?, Olivia Efthimiou

Heroism Science

The radical entry of heroism research into scientific inquiry presents interesting challenges and possibilities for the study of heroism and the human condition more broadly. This ‘final frontier’ of the enduring phenomenon of heroism stands to offer remarkable, unprecedented, and controversial advances in our understanding of heroic and human behaviour. Is a genetic basis for heroism a real possibility? If so, what would its impacts be? Advances in genomics and increased interest in the fields of epigenetics and neuroplasticity might hold the key to its discovery. This article considers some of the leading emerging research in global health genomics and …

Identification Of Coliphages In The Aviary At Brookgreen Gardens And The Factors That Might Influence Coliphage Population Dynamics In This Cypress Swamp Environment, Olivia Shirley, Lisa Pieterse, Paul E. Richardson

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

It has been understood that the presence of coliphages (bacteriophages specific for E. coli) in water is an indirect measurement of fecal contamination. Bacteriophages have been suggested to hold an important role in regulating the bacterial population. This pilot study analyzes the relationship between the presence of coliphages in the water in the aviary at Brookgreen Gardens and how environmental factors such as temperature, pH, and turbidity affect the presence of these viruses over the time period of three months (June 2017 through August 2017). Coliphages found in volary water sources were speculated to be deposited directly by birds that …

An Investigation Of The Order Of Applying An Emollient With A Topical Steroid In The Treatment Of Atopic Dermatitis, Andrea Conner, Ashlee Tietje

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

In 2007, the prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis had increased two to three-fold within the last three decades and affected 15-20% of young children (Buys, 2007). Current treatment includes the use of both steroid and emollient creams. Current suggestions for the order of application are contradictory. This study aims to examine the role of the order of application of treatments for Atopic Dermatitis (AD). Hairless mice (SKH-1) were induced to a mild AD flare-up using 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) and treated with either 1% hydrocortisone (Maximum Strength Cortizone 10 cream) alone, 1% hydrocortisone followed by Cetaphil (emollient), or Cetaphil followed by 1% hydrocortisone. …

Investigating The Lytic Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteriophage Reservoir Amongst A South Carolina University Population: Discovery, Characterization, And Identification Of A Potential Bacteriophage Treatment For Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Lisa Pieterse, Amy Powers, Derek Pride, Lisha Van Onselen, Giovanna E. Leone, Paul E. Richardson

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Bacteriophages are viruses that only infect bacterial cells and can be used to treat antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. This study focused on the isolation and characterization of bacteriophages lytic to Staphylococcus aureus at Coastal Carolina University (CCU) in Conway, South Carolina, as a means to isolate bacteriophages that can potentially be used to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant S. aureus variant. From 2014 to 2018, collection of ear and nose samples from 225 randomly selected CCU volunteers was conducted. Filter sterilization, amplification, microbial tests, and PCR analyses were performed in order to identify and characterize bacteriophages. Coliphage populations …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.