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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Filtering Efficiency And Feeding Mechanisms Of Daphnia Pulex On Microcystis Aeruginosa And Nannochloropsis, Elizabeth Orlowicz Dec 2012

Filtering Efficiency And Feeding Mechanisms Of Daphnia Pulex On Microcystis Aeruginosa And Nannochloropsis, Elizabeth Orlowicz

Honors Theses and Capstones

The filtering and feeding rate of Daphnia pulex from the Old Durham Reservoir, Durham, NH, were measured to determine the feeding efficiency on different concentrations of non-toxic Nannochloropsis (Class Eustigmatophyceae) and toxigenic cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Direct observations of thoracic appendage beats and post-abdominal rejections were also measured at 5*105 and 106 cells mL-1 concentrations of Nannochloropsis and M. aeruginosa to examine the feeding mechanisms of the D. pulex. In the presence of increasing Nannochloropsis concentrations, the filtering rates decreased and the feeding rates increased. When exposed to M. aeruginosa, both the filtering and feeding …


Effects Of Incremental Dietary Levels Of Ground Flaxseed On Milk Production, Ruminal Metabolism, And Enteric Methane Emissions In Organic Dairy Cows, Katie Velez Oct 2012

Effects Of Incremental Dietary Levels Of Ground Flaxseed On Milk Production, Ruminal Metabolism, And Enteric Methane Emissions In Organic Dairy Cows, Katie Velez

Honors Theses and Capstones

Ground Flaxseed (Linum uitatissimum) is a lipid supplement that is commonly fed to dairy cows. It is believed that supplemental lipid can change the Fatty Acid (FA) composition in the milk, and decrease methane production. Twenty lactating organic Jersey cows, housed at the UNH Organic Dairy Research Farm (ODRF), were randomly assigned to five replicated 4 × 4 Latin squares to investigate the effects of increasing dietary levels of ground flaxseed (0, 5, 10, or 15% of the diet dry matter) on animal fperformance (e.g., dry matter intake, milk production, milk composition), ruminal metabolism, and enteric methane emissions. Each …


Minireview: Protein Interactions, Jessica Child Oct 2012

Minireview: Protein Interactions, Jessica Child

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.


One Can’T Stand On Its Own: Are Non-Luminescence Traits Necessary For V. Fischeri Colonization Of E. Scolopes?, Feier Liu Oct 2012

One Can’T Stand On Its Own: Are Non-Luminescence Traits Necessary For V. Fischeri Colonization Of E. Scolopes?, Feier Liu

Honors Theses and Capstones

Vibrio fischeri and Euprymna scolopes squid establish mutualistic symbiosis and select for each other in the natural environment. V. fischeri provides bioluminescent camouflage for E. scolopes while E. scolopes provides nutrients for V. fischeri. The most intriguing aspect of this relationship is that E. scolopes is highly selective and only allows sustained colonization by luminous, but not dark V. fischeri. Luminescence is the key symbiosis trait; however, other bacterial factors may also allow squid recognition. We hypothesized that there are luminescence linked traits that contribute to colonization. V. fischeri with luminescence variation was isolated and tested for oxidative resistance, …


The Effects Of Cytokinin On The Transcriptional Regulation Of Pin Expression In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Elizabeth Burgess Jul 2012

The Effects Of Cytokinin On The Transcriptional Regulation Of Pin Expression In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Elizabeth Burgess

Honors Theses and Capstones

The processes of cell division and differentiation are critical to the development of any multicellular organism. During the formation of plant roots these processes take place at a region of the root tip called the meristem. Cytokinin and auxin are two plant growth hormones that influence this process. Although these two growth hormones are both necessary they also appear in many ways to have an antagonistic relationship. As meristematic root cells undergo differentiation they cease dividing. It has been proposed that the size of the root meristem and thus the overall rate of root growth are determined by the balance …


Genetic Engineering Of Dunaliella: Potential For Improved Biofuel Production, Alison Wirshing Apr 2012

Genetic Engineering Of Dunaliella: Potential For Improved Biofuel Production, Alison Wirshing

Honors Theses and Capstones

Biodiesel produced from algal lipids is a promising source of renewable energy. Reasons for using algae, as opposed to vascular plants, are numerous. Oleaginous algae do not require fertile land or fresh water to grow, and therefore do not compete with food crop resources. Algae have short generation times and higher growth rates than larger vascular plants allowing for synthesis and accumulation of large quantities of neutral lipids, about 20-50% of the dry cell weight, in a short period of time. The efficiency of biodiesel production from oleaginous algae could be improved by using transgenic (genetically engineered) algae. The goal …


The Effects Of Dependent Infants On The Social Behavior Of Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta Palliate), Keziah Katz Apr 2012

The Effects Of Dependent Infants On The Social Behavior Of Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta Palliate), Keziah Katz

Honors Theses and Capstones

Six weeks of observation on eight groups of wild mantled howler monkeys revealed that the presence of a dependent infant alters the frequency of social interactions between a female with an infant and other adult monkeys. Males preferred to spend time with females without infants but still spent more time with females with infants than with males. Females without infants spent significantly less time with females with infants than with males or other females without infants and females with infants decreased their frequency of social interaction overall without preference for males, females or other females with infants.


Transformation Of Tobacco With The Ba5 Cement Protein Gene From Balanus Amphitrite, Matt Marquis Apr 2012

Transformation Of Tobacco With The Ba5 Cement Protein Gene From Balanus Amphitrite, Matt Marquis

Honors Theses and Capstones

Expressing barnacle cement proteins genes such as the BA5 gene in plants may enable individual study and analysis. This technique is effective since barnacle cement is difficult to work with as a whole in the lab setting. The BA5 gene extracted from Balanus amphitrite is transferred to tobacco leaf tissue using Agrobacterium tumefaciens.


Defeating Cytoplasmic Sequestration Of P53 In Human Breast Cancer Cells; Is Mortalin Involved?, Sarah Yunes Apr 2012

Defeating Cytoplasmic Sequestration Of P53 In Human Breast Cancer Cells; Is Mortalin Involved?, Sarah Yunes

Honors Theses and Capstones

Cytoplasmic sequestration of p53, possibly caused by p53 interacting with mortalin, can prevent p53 from functioning in DNA repair and apoptosis, causing aberrant growth. This project treated SKBR3 breast cancer cells with MKT-077, a dye that is a competitive binder to mortalin to see if it would result in the release of p53 from the cytoplasm and restoration of p53 function. Treatment resulted in partial translocation of a protein suspected to be p53 to the nucleus and apoptosis initiated at the mitochondria.


Overexpression Of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase Induces Early Flowering In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Neal D. Teaster, Jantana Keereetaweep, Aruna Kilaru, Yuh-Shuh Wang, Yuhong Tang, Christopher N.-Q. Tran, Brian G. Ayre, Kent D. Chapman, Elison B. Blancaflor Feb 2012

Overexpression Of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase Induces Early Flowering In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Neal D. Teaster, Jantana Keereetaweep, Aruna Kilaru, Yuh-Shuh Wang, Yuhong Tang, Christopher N.-Q. Tran, Brian G. Ayre, Kent D. Chapman, Elison B. Blancaflor

ETSU Faculty Works

N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are bioactive lipids derived from the hydrolysis of the membrane phospholipid N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE). In animal systems this reaction is part of the “endocannabinoid” signaling pathway, which regulates a variety of physiological processes. The signaling function of NAE is terminated by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which hydrolyzes NAE to ethanolamine and free fatty acid. Our previous work in Arabidopsis thaliana showed that overexpression of AtFAAH (At5g64440) lowered endogenous levels of NAEs in seeds, consistent with its role in NAE signal termination. Reduced NAE levels were accompanied by an accelerated growth phenotype, increased sensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA), enhanced …


Detecting The Influence Of Initial Pioneers On Succession At Deep-Sea Vents, Lauren S. Mullineaux, Nadine Le Bris, Susan W. Mills, Pauline Henri, Skylar R. Bayer, Richard G. Secrist, Nam Siu Jan 2012

Detecting The Influence Of Initial Pioneers On Succession At Deep-Sea Vents, Lauren S. Mullineaux, Nadine Le Bris, Susan W. Mills, Pauline Henri, Skylar R. Bayer, Richard G. Secrist, Nam Siu

VIMS Articles

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are subject to major disturbances that alter the physical and chemical environment and eradicate the resident faunal communities. Vent fields are isolated by uninhabitable deep seafloor, so recolonization via dispersal of planktonic larvae is critical for persistence of populations. We monitored colonization near 9 degrees 50'N on the East Pacific Rise following a catastrophic eruption in order to address questions of the relative contributions of pioneer colonists and environmental change to variation in species composition, and the role of pioneers at the disturbed site in altering community structure elsewhere in the region. Pioneer colonists included two gastropod …


A Hydrodynamic Method For Measuring Aqueous Nanoparticle Surface Interactions, Kellen John Sorauf Jan 2012

A Hydrodynamic Method For Measuring Aqueous Nanoparticle Surface Interactions, Kellen John Sorauf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this research dissertation were to develop and present novel analytical methods for the quantification of surface binding interactions between aqueous nanoparticles and water-soluble organic solutes. Quantification of nanoparticle surface interactions are presented in this work as association constants where the solutes have interacted with the surface of the nanoparticles. By understanding these nanoparticle-solute interactions, in part through association constants, the scientific community will better understand how organic drugs and nanomaterials interact in the environment, as well as to understand their eventual environmental fate. The biological community, pharmaceutical, and consumer product industries also have vested interests in nanoparticle-drug …