Life Sciences Commons^™

The Integration Of African Americans In The Civilian Conservation Corps In Massachusetts, Caitlin E. Pinkham

Graduate Masters Theses

The Civilian Conservation Corps employed young white and black men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. In 1935 Robert Fechner, the Director of the Civilian Conservation Corps, ordered the segregation of Corps camps across the country. Massachusetts’ camps remained integrated due in large part to low funding and a small African American population. The experiences of Massachusetts’ African American population present a new general narrative of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Federal government imposed a three percent African American quota, ensuring that African Americans participated in Massachusetts as the Civilian Conservation Corps expanded. This quota represents a Federal acknowledgement …

Living With Coyotes, Owen H. Agnew

Capstones

Coyotes have been slowly moving into New York State from Canada since the 1930s. They reached Westchester County and the Bronx decades ago, and their numbers have been slowly rising. Sighting in Manhattan reached an all-time high last spring, and pet attacks in Westchester County have increased slightly in the last several years. But the slight increase in sightings and pet attacks in recent years has been amplified on social media in towns like Chappaqua, New York, where anxiety and fear about coyotes has pitted neighbors against neighbors.

Main character Frank Vincenti is a Long Island barber and a self-proclaimed …

The Sixty-Six Percent, Natalie Abruzzo

Capstones

The Sixty-Six Percent represent the percentage of women in the U.S. who are overweight. They are regarded as full-figured or “plus” size in the world of women’s apparel. Even though more than half of American women wear a “plus” size - size 14 and up - designs for these women account for a fraction of women’s apparel - Only 37% of women's wear is plus-size.

The Sixty-Six Percent is coming at an important time in a broader conversation about de-stigmatizing what it means to be a plus-size woman in America. Fat shaming has become taboo and mainstream media as well …

Special Muscles, Annamaria C. Scaccia

Capstones

Special Muscles is a documentary that explores living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal degenerative disease that weakens the muscles at an aggressive rate. The film will give an uncensored look at how one family copes with inevitability of the disease and their journey chasing a promising experimental cure.

Special Muscles follows 7-year-old Pietro Scarso and his family as they face the challenges, complications and promise of treating Pietro’s progressive muscle disorder. The film travels from New York to Los Angeles to Philadelphia to document the Scarso family’s race against time as Pietro undergoes a 96-week clinical trial for Eteplirsen, …

Examining Sociological Differences And The Influence Of Prey Distribution And Environmental Variability In The Distribution Of A Top Marine Predator, The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus), Stefanie K. Gazda

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the influence of environmental variability on the distribution of prey, and the influence of prey spatial structure and habitat variability may have on the distributions of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Additionally I examined how sociological differences (behavior type and the changes in a foraging behavior specific to Cedar Key Florida) influences the relative roles of bottlenose dolphins within the population.

The Gowans et al. scheme assumes that small groups form small communities and that foraging groups are small and rare as there are few foraging benefits to promote grouping. Using network analysis, …

Critical Forces That Structure Subtidal Ecological Communities In The Gulf Of Maine, And The Integration Of Invasive Species Into These Communities, Martine C. Wagstaff

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Shallow subtidal epibenthic communities worldwide are under threat from exploitation, pollution, eutrophication, acidification, climate change, and invasive species, with implications for ecosystem diversity, productivity, function, and services. Subtidal ecosystems in the Gulf of Maine are particularly impacted, making it crucial to understand these habitats so that our impacts can be predicted and mitigated. I investigated the basic ecological forces that structure shallow subtidal epibenthic communities in this region, and how invasive species integrate themselves into these communities. I used community phylogenetic and functional trait analyses to investigate if invertebrate communities in the rocky subtidal are assembled via deterministic or random …

Effects Of Melatonin On Heartbeat And Possible Identification Of A Melatonin Receptor In Drosophila Melanogaster, Tricia L. Vankirk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1 of this manuscript is a literature review that serves as an introduction to the entire dissertation. Chapter 2 examines the effects of the melatonin injection on heart rate and rhythmicity in Drosophila melanogaster Canton-S (wild-type) pupae and pupae bearing a variety of heart mutations. Chapter 3 investigates further the possible mechanisms of melatonin’s ability to increase heart rhythmicity without significantly affecting heart rate. A melatonin antagonist, luzindole; a high-affinity melatonin agonist, 2-iodomelatonin and RNAi techniques are used to identify a possible melatonin receptor in Drosophila melanogaster.

An appendix contains a previously published manuscript detailing experiments performed at the …

Testing The Efficacy Of Lsn2463359, A Metabotropic Glutamate 5 Receptor Positive Allosteric Modulator, In Animal Models Of Schizophrenia, Dierdre M. Freamon

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

For many years the dominant theory surrounding the cause of schizophrenia was focused on elevated dopamine levels found in critical areas of the brain. Recently a new theory has emerged pointing to elevated glutamate levels resulting from hypofunction of NMDA receptors and hypoactivity of GABAergic neurons which normally inhibit glutamatergic cells in a tonic manner. Therefore, while traditional antipsychotics directly block dopamine receptors, some of the newly generated compounds are designed to modulate glutamate to normal levels.

I propose testing the efficacy of the metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor modulator LSN2463359, previously shown to act as an indirect agonist of the …

A Genetic And Biochemical Analysis Of Sulfolobus Spindle-Shaped Virus 1, Eric Alexander Iverson

Dissertations and Theses

Viruses infecting the Archaea exhibit a tremendous amount of morphological and genetic diversity. This is especially true for crenarchaeal viruses from the family Fuselloviridae, which possess spindle-shaped capsids and genomes that harbor a great number of uncharacterized genes. The functions of these unidentified gene products are of interest as they have the potential to provide valuable insights into the fusellovirus infection cycle and archaeal viruses in general. In an effort to better characterize the genetic requirements of the Fuselloviridae, we have performed genetic and biochemical experiments using the best studied fusellovirus, Sulfolobus spindle-shaped virus 1 (SSV1).

A comprehensive …

Mechanisms Of Adaptation In The Newly Invasive Species Brachypodium Sylvaticum (Hudson) Beauv., Gina Lola Marchini

Dissertations and Theses

It is common knowledge that invasive species cause worldwide ecological and economic damage, and are nearly impossible to eradicate. However, upon introduction to a novel environment, alien species should be the underdogs: They are present in small numbers, possess low genetic diversity, and have not adapted to the climate and competitors present in the new habitat. So, how are alien species able to invade an environment occupied by native species that have already adapted to the local environment? To discover some answers to this apparent paradox I conducted four ecological genetic studies that utilized the invasive species Brachypodium sylvaticum (Hudson) …

Divergent Responses Of Cryptic Invasive Watermilfoil To Treatment With Auxinic Herbicides In A Large Michigan Lake, Syndell R. Parks

Masters Theses

Invasive plants are a major concern for environmental managers. Cryptic invasive taxa present additional challenges because of their potential to respond differently to management efforts. Invasive Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and hybrid watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum x Myriophyllum sibiricum) cannot be reliably distinguished based on morphological characters and are therefore cryptic taxa. Laboratory studies show that on average, hybrid watermilfoil grows faster, branches more, and is less responsive to standard control measures developed for Eurasian watermilfoil. These laboratory results predict less effective control of hybrid watermilfoil in mixed populations treated uniformly with one of these control measures. However, to date there …

Characterization Of Cytidylyltransferase Enzyme Activity Through High Performance Liquid Chromatography, James Brault

Theses and Dissertations

The cytidylyltransferases are a family of enzymes that utilize cytidine 5â?? triphosphate (CTP) to synthesize molecules that are precursors to membrane phospholipids. There are four well known enzymes: CTP: phosphoethanolamine cytidylyltransferase (ECT), CTP: glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase (GCT), 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate cytidylyltransferase synthetase (CMS), and CTP: phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (CCT). Previously, a radioisotope tagging method was employed to study cytidylyltransferase catalysis. Using CCT as a model, a method utilizing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed to replace the radioisotope scintillation technique. The development of this new HPLC method is cheaper, more efficient, and more accurate than the previously established method.

The targets of separation …

Adult Rainbow Trout Habitat Selection In The Henry’S Fork Of The Snake River, Idaho, Zachary Kuzniar

Masters Theses

Determining habitat selection for an organism across a geographic distribution is a primary challenge in modern behavioral ecology. Quantifying habitat use becomes increasingly difficult for species that exhibit complex life histories and complementary habitat requirements. Rainbow trout are an archetypal example due to their tendency to form local populations across a diversity of environments. The Henry’s Fork of the Snake River provides an opportunity to utilize microhabitat selection models to quantify stream features that may drive adult rainbow trout behavior at the local scale. In particular, within an 8.5 km, low gradient, groundwater-dominated reach that exhibits a general lack of …

The Evolutionary Selective Pressures Exerted On A3 Actinobacteriophages, Cheyenne Weeks-Galindo

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This study identified evolutionary selective pressures within subcluster A3 actinobacteriophages. These phages are able to infect the clinically important genus Mycobacterium. Understanding the selective pressures on genes in these phage genomes is a step toward understanding the adaptations that result from short-term and long-term associations of phages and bacteria that have been co-evolving for perhaps billions of years. In this study 149 phamilies (phage protein families) of homologous gene sequences were analyzed using Datamonkey. Complete data were obtained for 57 phamilies. Of these, eleven phamilies were affected by recombination, three showed evidence of predominantly diversifying selection, and twenty-four have …

Rat Hind Limb Nociceptive Withdrawal Response Depends On Initial Paw Position But Not Stimulus Location, Kimberly Seamon

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

There have been numerous studies in non-human animals on the effect of stimulus location on the NWR and at least a few studies that address the role of initial posture. However, all of these studies were conducted in anesthetized, decerebrated, or spinalized mammals. Since descending modulation and long loop reflexes may influence the NWR, the anesthetized spinalized/decerebrated animal may not be an adequate model of normal animals. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to determine the effect of the stimulus location and initial paw position on the direction and magnitude of the nociceptive withdrawal response to heat stimulus …

Structural Comparison Of Tonb-Dependent Receptors In Bradyrhizobium Japonicum, Allie R. Casto

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Soybean is one of the leading crops grown in the United States. Nitrogen fertilizers are widely used in soybean production to increase crop yields. An alternative to nitrogen fertilizers is the symbiotic relationship between soybean and a species of nitrogen-fixing Gram-negative soil bacteria, Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The bacterium infects the roots of the soybean, forming nodules that perform nitrogen fixation. This study involves analysis of TonB-dependent receptors, intermembrane proteins responsible for iron uptake and, in some cases, symbiosis in B. japonicum. A comparison of sequence alignments and 3D structure predictions was used to identify potential symbiosis-specific structural domains within …

Ability Of Skin Bacteria On The Panamanian Frog Species, Craugastor Fitzingeri, To Inhibit The Fungal Pathogen Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis, Tiffany N. Bridges

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

An emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is leading to global amphibian declines and is threatening the biodiversity of amphibians. Bd susceptibility varies among individuals, species, and populations perhaps due to defensive mechanisms such as symbiotic skin microbes. Some species of amphibians such as Craugastor fitzingeri, a terrestrial frog native to Central America, continue to persist in Bd-positive environments in Panama. My study focused on identifying antifungal bacterial isolates and determining the culturability of the bacterial community on 15 individuals of C. fitzingeri. Morphologically distinct isolates were challenged against Bd in …

Development Of Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Memri) Methods To Study Pathophysiology Underlying Neurodegenerative Diseases In Murine Models, Aditya N. Bade

Theses & Dissertations

Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) opens the great opportunity to study complex paradigms of central nervous system (CNS) in freely behaving animals and reveals new pathophysiological information that might be otherwise difficult to gain. Due to advantageous chemical and biological properties of manganese (Mn²⁺), MEMRI has been successfully applied in the studies of several neurological diseases using translational animal models to assess comprehensive information about neuronal activity, morphology, neuronal tracts, and rate of axonal transport. Although previous studies highlight the potential of MEMRI for brain imaging, the limitations concerning the use of Mn²⁺ in living animals and …

Thinking Beyond The Fried Egg Model: How Accurately Do Students Perceive Cells In A Living Context?, Milissa Knox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study investigated three aspects of introductory undergraduate biology students’ understanding about cells. The study, which took place at the University of Maine with voluntary students in Basic Biology (“BIO100”) in the summer and fall of 2009, examined (1) students’ pre-course perceptions of cells as they exist in a living context and (2) gains in students’ perception and knowledge about cells after completing the one-semester course (BIO100). Results are based on lecture exam scores, pre-post surveys developed as a part of this thesis, and interviews with two groups of biology students. A total of 498 students participated in the …

Response Of Fishes To Restoration Projects In Bayou St. John Located Within The City Of New Orleans, Louisiana, Including Hydrological Characterization And Hydrodynamic Modelling, Patrick W. Smith

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying the impacts of restoration on coastal waterways is crucial to understanding their effectiveness. Here, I look at the impacts of multiple restoration projects on urban waterways within the city limits of New Orleans, LA, with an emphasis on the response of fishes. First I report the effects of two projects designed to improve exchange down estuary on the hydrologic characteristics of Bayou St. John (BSJ). Within BSJ, flow is dominated by subtidal wind driven processes. Removal of an outdated flood control structure did not appear to alter exchange in BSJ, but removal combined with sector gate openings did. I …

A Novel Transcription Factor In Arabidopsis Thaliana Abiotic Stress Response, Achira S. Weerathunga Arachchilage

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Plants respond to environmental stress by altering their gene expression. Under stress conditions some genes are activated and some genes are repressed. Even though a lot of work has been done to understand mechanisms of gene activation under abiotic stress very little information is available on how stress responsive genes are kept repressed under normal growth conditions. Recent work has revealed that plants use transcriptional repression as common mechanism of gene repression. Transcriptional repression is achieved by recruitment co-repressor complexes to the target genes. Recent studies have revealed that the co-repressor LUH complexes with SLK1 and SLK2 to silence Arabidopsis …

Restoration Of A Wet Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) Savanna In Southeast Louisiana: Burning Toward Reference Conditions, Alex K. Entrup

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study quantifies the changes in vegetation composition and structure of a fire-excluded Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) wetland savanna restoration site in southeastern in comparison to a proximate contemporary reference site. The restoration site was invaded by hardwood species and off-site pines, and never underwent extensive soil disturbance. The restoration treatments involved logging across portions of the site and the reintroduction of fire across the entire site. All species present in 10m² quadrats were recorded prior to treatment and throughout the 17 year study at reference and treatment sites. The community composition of both logged and unlogged sites converged …

The Smell Of Hopelessness, Juline Cariba Rachel Party

Capstones

Rafts of sargassum seaweed kilometers wide have been invading the Caribbean for more than five years, but 2015 was the worst. Tons of seaweed stretch from Texas south to Trinidad and Tobago, with the Lesser Antilles suffering the most damage. Residents near beaches are exposed to an insidious and pernicious danger, scientists say, from fumes that smell like rotten eggs, emitted by the decaying algae. The odor also drives tourists away from beaches and restaurants, and the tourism economy is collapsing.Amid the algae crisis, an elderly woman, Virginie Mark, is trying to survive. She struggles with her health, finances and …

Process Mining Of Medication Revisions In Electronic Health Records, Deevakar Rogith

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Objective: The objective of this work is to develop process mining techniques for analysing Electronic Health Record (EHR) events in order to uncover factors contributing to the event, and understanding deviations in the process. We have outlined a method for combining data mining with expert review to model the EHR process and develop automated algorithms that can be used to detect potential deviations for a defined process.

Introduction: To analyse EHR events meaningfully, process mining can be applied to distil structured process description from a set of real executions. Process mining can be applied for 1) Discovery, 2) Conformance, and …

Prioritizing The Management Of Arundo Donax: Recommendations For Removal And Revegetation In California Riparian Habitats, Matthew S. Waterworth

Master's Projects and Capstones

The highly invasive grass species, giant reed (Arundo donax), has been a major contributor to riparian habitat degradation in California for over 50 years. Several modes of vegetative reproduction have allowed this alien species to take advantage of fluvial processes and rapidly spread within California watersheds. A. donax dramatically alters hydrologic regimes, displaces native vegetation, and removes food and habitat for native wildlife. It is widely accepted that removal of this invasive on a watershed scale is critical to restore natural riparian processes and facilitate the reestablishment of native flora and fauna. The following study analyzed the efficacy of …

Interaction Between Angiotensin Ii And Bdnf In Modulating Sympathetic Nerve Activity, Bryan K. Becker

Theses & Dissertations

Over activation of the sympathetic nervous system is prevalent in many forms of cardiovascular disease such as chronic heart failure (CHF) and hypertension. Although increased neuronal renin-angiotensin system activity in presympathetic neurons has been well implicated in mediating this sympatho-excitation, many of the neuronal effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) signaling remain poorly understood. One particular mechanism of Ang II-mediated increases in presympathetic neuronal activity is through reductions in voltage-gated K⁺ currents. Another pathway that has profound effects on neuronal K⁺ currents and that has been previously implicated in Ang II-signaling is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) activity through …

Explaining Migratory Behaviors Using Optimal Migration Theory, Jennifer D. Mccabe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bird migration is the regular seasonal movements between breeding and nonbreeding grounds. In general, birds that breed in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate northward in the spring to take advantage of increasing insect populations and lower predation pressures and fly south when food availability and weather conditions decline. Embarking on a journey that can stretch a thousand miles round trip is a dangerous and arduous undertaking. While en route migrants must stop and feed to replenish their depleted energy reserves, often in unfamiliar locations with unknown predation pressures. They also must react to weather conditions during flight and while …

The Temporal Nature Of The Acute Stress Response And Its Impact On Explicit Learning, Steven B. Hutchinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Acute stress is commonly experienced by many throughout their lives. Given the demanding lifestyle of many career paths, it's important to gauge the influence of these stressors upon cognitive performance. The present dissertation focus' upon explicit learning in attempts to explore one avenue of the stress-cognition relationship. The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was used as a lab stressor for Experiments 1 and 2, in which participants are asked to give a speech and complete a difficult math task in front of 2 evaluators trained to monitor non-verbal behavior. Experiment 1 investigates the dynamic stress response during the minutes following …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

Amyloid Proteins Structure, Dynamics, Interactions And Early Stages Of Self-Assembly, Yuliang Zhang

Theses & Dissertations

The self-assembly and aggregation of amyloid protein are associated with several neurodegenerative diseases. The evidence indicates that the oligomeric intermediates, formed prior to the final fibrillary product, are the primary culprits of neurotoxicity. Although tremendous efforts have been dedicated for the characterization of structures, dynamics and toxic-related hallmarks of the oligomers, to date, yet the mechanism of such assembly from disordered monomers and their structure remain elusive.

In this dissertation, I focused on understanding the dimerization process of amyloid proteins and peptides of different sizes and I combined experimental studies with high-power computer simulations. The AFM force spectroscopy experiments showed …