Life Sciences Commons^™

Validation Of A New Rapid Hybridization Buffer For Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization With A Review On The Kinetics Of Dna Hybridization, Christine O'Connor

Honors Scholar Theses

Abbott Molecular recently developed the rapid Vysis IntelliFISH Hybridization Buffer for use in fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays. The hybridization step in a standard FISH assay requires an overnight incubation, thus the turnaround time for a patient result is at least 24 hours. The IntelliFISH buffer was designed to reduce hybridization time of probes to target DNA to about two hours, allowing the entire assay to be performed in a single day. A review of methodologies and commercial products has highlighted the importance of hybridization kinetics to a successful FISH assay. The purpose of the research was to investigate …

Developing An Environmentally And Economically Sustainable Sugar Kelp Aquaculture Industry In Southern New England: From Seed To Market, Charles Yarish, Jang K. Kim, Scott Lindell, Hauke Kits-Powell

Department of Marine Sciences

The long-term goal of this proposed project was to promote development of a sustainable sugar kelp industry that can help revitalize working waterfronts, and increase employment and economic opportunities for seafood production, processing, and distribution services in Southern New England and New York. To achieve this goal, we have transfer cultivation techniques of Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp) from academic laboratories to commercially viable farms, introduce processing techniques, and provide templates for business plans. An additional benefit of this study are the ecosystem services afforded by sugar kelp farming. Kelp aquaculture will remove carbon and nitrogen (as well as phosphorus) from …

Developing An Environmentally And Economically Sustainable Sugar Kelp Aquaculture Industry In Southern New England: From Seed To Market, Charles Yarish, Jang Kyun Kim, Scott Lindell, Hauke Kite-Powell

EEB Articles

The long-term goal of this proposed project was to promote development of a sustainable sugar kelp industry that can help revitalize working waterfronts, and increase employment and economic opportunities for seafood production, processing, and distribution services in Southern New England and New York. To achieve this goal, we have transfer cultivation techniques of Saccharina latissima (sugar kelp) from academic laboratories to commercially viable farms, introduce processing techniques, and provide templates for business plans. An additional benefit of this study are the ecosystem services afforded by sugar kelp farming. Kelp aquaculture will remove carbon and nitrogen (as well as phosphorus) from …

Pertinacity Volume 3 Issue 1, Yuri Hosokawa

Pertinacity

No abstract provided.

Pertinacity Volume 3 Issue 2, Yuri Hosokawa

Pertinacity

No abstract provided.

Anatomical And Behavioral Investigation Of C1ql3 In The Mouse Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, David C. Martinelli

UCHC Articles - Research

Many biochemical, physiological, and behavioral processes such as glucose metabolism, body temperature, and sleep-wake cycles show regular daily rhythms. These circadian rhythms are adjusted to the environmental light-dark cycle by a central pacemaker located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in order for the processes to occur at appropriate times of day. Here, we investigated the expression and function of a synaptic organizing protein, C1QL3, in the SCN. We found that C1ql3 is robustly expressed in the SCN. C1ql3 knockout mice have a reduced density of excitatory synapses in the SCN. In addition, these mice exhibited less consolidated activity to the …

Neuroscience Underlying Temporal Cue Discrimination In The Auditory Cortex, Samantha D. Rosicke

Honors Scholar Theses

Animals, including rats and humans, use the auditory cortex to discriminate auditory cues for communication and survival. It has been shown that individual neurons in the A1, ventral auditory field (VAF), and suprarhinal auditory field (SRAF) of the rat auditory cortex respond to different noise burst lengths to help the rat comprehend an auditory stimulus. In this experiment, we demonstrate the behavioral ability of male Long Evans rats to discriminate between noise bursts of different temporal lengths: 12 ms and 66 ms, in a Two-Alternative Forced Choice task. The study of temporal cue discrimination in the auditory cortex can be …

The Role Of Sr-B1 In Lipid Metabolism And Inflammation In 3t3-L1 Adipocytes, Christina Jiang

University Scholar Projects

Obesity is associated with a number of complications that may increase the risk for chronic disease, including inflammation and dysfunctional high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles. Scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SR-B1) is an HDL receptor found in the cell plasma membrane involved in cholesterol exchange and the initiation of intracellular signaling cascades. During the process of adipocyte (fat cell) formation (adipogenesis), there is a delicate balance of transcriptional programs that affect cholesterol transport and facilitate lipid accumulation. Mice fed a high fat diet have increased SR-B1 mRNA expression in adipose tissue depots. Furthermore, SR-B1 mRNA expression was significantly increased in …

Beyond Capture: Development And Validation Of A Method To Assess Body Condition In Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) Using Camera Traps, Rachel A. Smiley 6820420

University Scholar Projects

Advances in technology and availability associated with camera traps have resulted in a rapid rise in their use to monitor wildlife distribution, abundance, and behavior. We focus on assessing body condition, a new application of camera traps. Body condition indices must relate to the percent body fat if they are to be useful. To acquire measurements of body fat, most body condition indices require capture or mortality of animals to estimate, which has limitations when applied to free-ranging animals. We developed a non-invasive, visual body condition index (VBCI) to assess body condition of mule deer that can be applied …

Lymphoid Hematopoiesis And The Role Of B-Cells In Transgenic Mouse Model Of Sickle Cell Disease, Christina Cotte

University Scholar Projects

Sickle cell disease (SCD) has been shown to be associated with decreased baseline immunity and thus increased susceptibility to infection. I sought to discern possible causes of this by looking into the correlations between SCD and hematopoiesis, the immune system and the neuroendocrine system, and ultimately by conducting experiments surrounding the impaired immune system of SCD. These experiments focused on the potential causes and effects of the diminution of B-1a cells in the SCD spleen. Adoptive transfers, infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and histologic imaging were conducted to establish if the diminution of the B-1a cells in the SCD spleen …

Characterization Of Myod And Myf5 Double-Knockout Muscle Stem Cells During Muscle Development, Andreea Dinicu

University Scholar Projects

MyoD and Myf5 are transcription factors that regulate myogenesis by promoting satellite cell transcription. The two genes are known to display functional redundancy. Both genes are considered myogenic determination genes and are expressed in satellite cells. The fate of myogenic precursors in the absence of both MyoD and Myf5 remains largely unknown. We aimed to begin attaining this knowledge as part of this project. We utilized a CreLoxP system to control the expression of MyoD in mice lacking Myf5. MyoD was knocked out at embryonic day (E) 11.5 during myogenesis. Limbs were collected from experimental mice following tamoxifen injection. …

Comparison Of Feather Pigments In Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius Phoenicus) Between Historical And Modern Samples, Genevieve Nuttall

University Scholar Projects

Coloration is vital to birds; it is involved in mating, territorial display, communication, camouflage, and predation. Birds rely on their environment for the raw materials necessary to make most colors present in their feathers. As a result, habitat quality can have lifetime fitness consequences through the color pathway. Widescale habitat change has affected the quality of habitats accessible to birds worldwide. Consequently, the availability of pigment-containing resources within many altered habitats has shifted, leading to modification in the coloration of some birds’ feathers. I hypothesized that the red pigmentation in the feather shoulders, or epaulets, of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius …

Targeted Germ Cell Knockdown Of Xlr3 In Mus Musculus, Caity Miller

Honors Scholar Theses

The X chromosome is rather distinct from autosomes due to the unique regulatory and functional characteristics it exhibits. Xlr3 is just one gene in a superfamily of highly related, and homologous genes found on the X chromosome in mice. Xlr3 is part of a complex, imprinted locus, of which the function is not well understood, although its protein product can be found in testis and oocyte. However, it is theorized that the region may be implicated in the progression of meiosis, due to localization of XLR3. This study sought to characterize the function of Xlr3 through the use of a …

Growth And Poverty Traps: Examples From Literature, Danielle Chaloux

Honors Scholar Theses

The writings of Charles Dickens, Emile Zola, Knut Hamsun, and Laura Ingalls Wilder capture humanity on the page. The characters in the works of these authors are confronted by realistic or autobiographical situations and make choices based on history, personal preferences, societal pressures, and economic constraints, just as real-life individuals do. They can thus serve as data for illustrating the implications of economic models, specifically poverty traps. To do so, I will draw from Great Expectations (1861) by Charles Dickens, The Fat and the Thin (1873) by Emile Zola, Hunger (1890) by Knut Hamsun, and The First Four Years (1971) …

Neurostructural Organization And Neocortical Projecting Neuron Distribution In A Mouse Model Of Timothy Syndrome-Mediated Autism Spectrum Disorder, Aiden L. Ford

Honors Scholar Theses

Aims: This study investigates the nuanced effect of the CACNA1C mutation on neurocognition and neurodevelopment via an extended study of the Timothy Syndrome (TS) mediated Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) mouse model – TS2-neo. It includes: (1) an expanded assessment of the TS2-neo behavioral phenotype, and (2) a comprehensive histological analysis of cortical structural and laminar features.

Methods: 24 age-matched male mice – 12 TS2-neo (B6.Cg-Cacna1c^tm2Itl, knock-in G406R mutation), 12 WT (C57BL/6J) – were tested on paradigms examining motor, socio-communicative and cognitive abilities. Neural tissue was processed for either volumetric analysis through Nissl stain (8 TS2-neo, 8 WT) or …

Comparison Of Feather Pigments In Red-Winged Blackbirds (Agelaius Phoenicus) Between Historical And Modern Samples, Genevieve Nuttall

Honors Scholar Theses

Coloration is vital to birds; it is involved in mating, territorial display, communication, camouflage, and predation. Birds rely on their environment for the raw materials necessary to make most colors present in their feathers. As a result, habitat quality can have lifetime fitness consequences through the color pathway. Widescale habitat change has affected the quality of habitats accessible to birds worldwide. Consequently, the availability of pigment-containing resources within many altered habitats has shifted, leading to modification in the coloration of some birds’ feathers. I hypothesized that the red pigmentation in the feather shoulders, or epaulets, of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius …

Beyond Capture: Development And Validation Of A Method To Assess Body Condition In Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) Using Camera Traps, Rachel A. Smiley 6820420

Honors Scholar Theses

Advances in technology and availability associated with camera traps have resulted in a rapid rise in their use to monitor wildlife distribution, abundance, and behavior. We focus on assessing body condition, a new application of camera traps. Body condition indices must relate to the percent body fat if they are to be useful. To acquire measurements of body fat, most body condition indices require capture or mortality of animals to estimate, which has limitations when applied to free-ranging animals. We developed a non-invasive, visual body condition index (VBCI) to assess body condition of mule deer that can be applied …

Psma Redirects Cell Survival Signaling From The Mapk To The Pi3k-Akt Pathways To Promote The Progression Of Prostate Cancer, Leslie Ann Caromile, Kristina Dortche, M. Mamunur Rahman, Christina L. Grant, Christopher Stoddard, Linda H. Shapiro

UCHC Articles - Research

Increased abundance of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) on prostate epithelium is a hallmark of advanced metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) and correlates negatively with prognosis. However, direct evidence that PSMA functionally contributes to PCa progression remains elusive. We generated mice bearing PSMA-positive or PSMA-negative PCa by crossing PSMA-deficient mice with transgenic PCa (TRAMP) models, enabling direct assessment of PCa incidence and progression in the presence or absence of PSMA. Compared with PSMA-positive tumors, PSMA-negative tumors were smaller, lower-grade, and more apoptotic with fewer blood vessels, consistent with the recognized proangiogenic function of PSMA. Relative to PSMA-positive tumors, tumors lacking PSMA …

Engineering A Fluorescent Protease Sensor For In Vivo Protein Detection, Thomas C. Kinard

Honors Scholar Theses

This report details the results of an ongoing project to engineer a mutant form of Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) variant mCherry that acts as a real-time in vivo protease sensor. The sought-after mutant only becomes fluorescent when exposed to Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) Protease, this system’s model protease. This will be accomplished via the insertion of the TEV Protease Recognition Site (TEV-PRS) in such a position that, before cleavage, will prevent the protein from folding to fluorescent conformation, but upon cleavage, will allow for fluorescent conformation to occur. The cylindrical structure of the protein, composed of beta-pleated sheets, contains “loops” …