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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Warm Land Surface Temperatures And Eastern Asian Homo, Robert Patalano, Hong Yang Jan 2023

Warm Land Surface Temperatures And Eastern Asian Homo, Robert Patalano, Hong Yang

Biological and Biomedical Sciences Department Faculty Journal Articles

Climate change and hominin evolution are inextricably linked. Pleistocene climate variability, for example, is thought to have had major influences on hominin morphology, brain size, and diversity. However, clear cause-and-effect relationships between specific climatic events and major evolutionary occurrences are difficult to establish due to temporal and spatial gaps in paleoclimatic, paleoenvironmental, and archaeological records. A new branched GDGT paleotemperature record from the Lantian Basin of Central China (Lu et al., 2022), a location known for the earliest hominin presence in East Asia, illustrates warm land surface temperatures over a two-million-year period between 2.6 and 0.6 Ma, a critical time …


Tissue Decay Tested In Modern Metasequoia Leaves: Implications For Early Diagenesis Of Leaves In Fossil Lagerstätten, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Qin Leng, Christopher W. Reid, Liang Feng, Hong Yang Jul 2022

Tissue Decay Tested In Modern Metasequoia Leaves: Implications For Early Diagenesis Of Leaves In Fossil Lagerstätten, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Qin Leng, Christopher W. Reid, Liang Feng, Hong Yang

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Sedimentary deposits yielding extraordinarily-preserved fossils (known as Lagerstätten) may provide significant insights into the physiology and environments of ancient plants, particularly when the fossils represent their original characteristics with limited diagenetic modifications. To better understand molecular, isotopic, and morphological changes during the early stages of diagenesis, degradation experiments were conducted in two time series: 1) a laboratory decay series using fungi on leaves over the course of a month and 2) a natural decay series with leaves collected from different stages of leaf senescence and early diagenesis. Both experiments used modern leaves of the dawn redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides …


Chromatin Architecture: Mechanisms Of Gene Regulation, Logan O'Donnell Apr 2022

Chromatin Architecture: Mechanisms Of Gene Regulation, Logan O'Donnell

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The rapid growth and division of cells as they proliferate and penetrate to surrounding tissues defines the collection of disease states known as cancer. Abnormal gene expression drives this uncontrollable replication of cells. In recent studies, aberrant HOX gene expression has been noted in a multitude of cancer types such as myeloid leukemia, prostate cancer, and breast cancer [1]. Within cancerous cells with aberrant HOX expression, late expressing HOX genes are suppressed while early expressing HOX genes are reactivated. HOX genes are significant in controlling early phases of organismal development such as cell cycle, cell movement, and gene expression. Likewise, …


Food For Thought: The Relationship Between Nutrition And Academic Performance, Sarah Freeman Apr 2022

Food For Thought: The Relationship Between Nutrition And Academic Performance, Sarah Freeman

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

Nutrition has been shown to impact the level of cognitive function in individuals. Through the analysis of nutritional diets, this new research will aim to uncover the impact that diet has on cognitive function of Bryant University students by analyzing their ability to perform on a variety of cognitive assessments. This study will provide recommendations to students at Bryant University on what they should eat so they can perform their best academically. This research will also investigate whether Bryant University is offering the best food for students to eat setting them up for success.


Infectious Diseases In A Warming World: Using A Modified Sir Model To Investigate The Incidence Rates Of Lyme Disease In The New England Area, Carly Sullivan Apr 2021

Infectious Diseases In A Warming World: Using A Modified Sir Model To Investigate The Incidence Rates Of Lyme Disease In The New England Area, Carly Sullivan

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The effects of climate change are global and unprecedented in scale. Public health is likely to suffer as a result of the warming climate, and one particular risk is the increase in the occurrence of vector-borne diseases (VBDs) in different regions across the world. The purpose of this project is to investigate the impact of rising temperatures on the incidence rates of Lyme disease in the New England area. Following a review of the existing literature relating to the impact of climate factors on VBDs, an SIR model modified for temperature conditions will be utilized to produce several simulated scenarios. …


Trophic Upgrading And Mobilization Of Wax Esters In Microzooplankton, Keyana Roohani, Brad A. Haubrich, Kai-Lou Yue, Nigel D'Souza, Amanda Mantalbano, Tatiana Rynearson, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Christopher Reid Aug 2019

Trophic Upgrading And Mobilization Of Wax Esters In Microzooplankton, Keyana Roohani, Brad A. Haubrich, Kai-Lou Yue, Nigel D'Souza, Amanda Mantalbano, Tatiana Rynearson, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Christopher Reid

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Heterotrophic protists play pivotal roles in aquatic ecosystems by transferring matter and energy, including lipids, from primary producers to higher trophic predators. Using Oxyrrhis marina as a model organism, changes to the non-saponifiable protist lipids were investigated under satiation and starvation conditions. During active feeding on the alga Cryptomonas sp., the O. marina hexane soluble non-saponifiable fraction lipid profile reflected its food source with the observed presence of long chain mono-unsaturated fatty alcohols up to C25:1. Evidence of trophic upgrading in O. marina was observed with long chain mono-unsaturated fatty alcohol accumulation of up to C35:1. To the best of …


Molecular Fossils From Phytoplankton Reveal Secular Pco2 Trend Over The Phanerozoic, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Johan W. H. Weijers, Brian S. Blais, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté Nov 2018

Molecular Fossils From Phytoplankton Reveal Secular Pco2 Trend Over The Phanerozoic, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Johan W. H. Weijers, Brian S. Blais, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Past changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (PCO2) have had a major impact on earth system dynamics; yet, reconstructing secular trends of past PCO2 remains a prevalent challenge in paleoclimate studies. The current long-term PCO2reconstructions rely largely on the compilation of many different proxies, often with discrepancies among proxies, particularly for periods older than 100 million years (Ma). Here, we reconstructed Phanerozoic PCO2 from a single proxy: the stable carbon isotopic fractionation associated with photosynthesis (Ɛp) that increases as PCO2 increases. This concept has been widely applied to alkenones, but here, we …


Microbial Communities Of The Providence River, Jacqueline Kratch Apr 2015

Microbial Communities Of The Providence River, Jacqueline Kratch

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The Providence River has been industrialized for over one-hundred years. Industries such as oil storage and metal recycling facilities have left high levels of pollutant metals, including lead (Pb), in the soil and water. The elevated Pb concentrations in these environments influence the selection of Pb resistance mechanisms in the bacterial community1. One mechanism of heavy metal resistance is the Pb efflux pump, consisting of proteins in the cell membrane that aid in the transport of Pb out of the cell2. In this study we investigated the co-occurrence of Pb efflux pumps and antibiotic efflux pumps in bacteria from Pb …


Cloning And Characterization Of The Cell Wall Acting Enzyme Cd1034 From The Pathogen Clostridium Difficile, Zachary Suter Apr 2012

Cloning And Characterization Of The Cell Wall Acting Enzyme Cd1034 From The Pathogen Clostridium Difficile, Zachary Suter

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The manifestation of multidrug resistance in bacteria over the past several decades has resulted in one of the foremost challenges in the management of infectious diseases. The question arises, “How do we address this growing problem?” One solution to stem the growing rise in antimicrobial resistance is to investigate new targets, while another approach is to re-examine classical antibacterial targets with a fresh perspective. The aim of this paper is to begin the process of antibacterial development for the pathogen Clostridium difficile by characterizing the cell wall acting glucosaminidase CD1034. It is inunderstanding how CD1034 functions biochemically that it can …


Effects Of Mold Exposure On Immune Cells, Katrin Gorham Apr 2010

Effects Of Mold Exposure On Immune Cells, Katrin Gorham

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

The relationship between exposure to mold spores and human disease is only beginning to be understood. While evidence exists of strong correlations between moldy environments and allergic and infectious diseases, the relationship between exposure to specific species and human immune responses to them is not fully understood. This paper seeks to clarify this relationship by analyzing the effects of exposing murine immune cells to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by different mold species. Mold species studied include Stachybotrys alternans; tests performed include cell viability studies and immunoassays. Results have implications for further research and treatment of mold-related diseases.