Biology Commons^™

Mitochondria Imaging And Targeted Cancer Treatment, Tinghan Zhao

Dissertations

Mitochondria are essential organelles as the site of respiration in eukaryotic cells and are involved in many crucial functions in cell life. Dysfunction of mitochondrial metabolism and irregular morphology have been frequently found in human cancers. The capability of imaging mitochondria as well as regulating their microenvironment is important both scientifically and clinically. Mitochondria penetrating peptides (MPPs), certain peptides that are composed of cationic and hydrophobic amino acids, are good candidates for mitochondria targeting. Herein, a novel MPP, D-argine-phenylalanine-D-argine-phenylalanine-D-argine-phenylalanine-NH₂ (rFrFrF), is conjugated with a rhodamine-based fluorescent chromophore (TAMRA). The TAMRA-rFrFrF probe exhibits advantageous properties for long-term mitochondria tracking of …

The Potential For Dickeya Dianthicola To Be Vectored By Two Common Insect Pests Of Potatoes, Jonas K. Insinga

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dickeya dianthicola (Samson) causing blackleg and soft rot was first detected in potatoes grown in Maine in 2014. Previous work has suggested that insects, particularly aphids, may be able to vector bacteria in this genus between plants, but no conclusive work has been done to confirm this theory. In order to determine whether insect-mediated transmission is likely to occur in potato fields, two model potato pests common in Maine were used: the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decimlineata Say) and the green peach aphids (Myzus persicae Sulzer). Olfactometry and recruitment experiments evaluated if either insect discriminates between infected and …

Assessing The Blood Meal Hosts Of Culex Quinquefasciatus And Aedes Taeniorhynchus In Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Samoa Asigau, Sawsan Salah, Patricia Parker

Biology Department Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Early Child Development Amid The Pandemic, Zain Saeed Siddiqui

MSJ Capstone Projects

I would like to bring to notice the importance of early child development because the early years are crucial for the development especially the skills that are going to help children succeed in life. Basically, I would like to focus on the natural development of the human being from birth to maturity, enabling children to become the transforming elements of society, leading to a harmonious and peaceful world.

Emotional well-being and social competence provide a strong foundation for emerging cognitive abilities, and together they are the bricks and mortar that comprise the foundation of human development.

Generally, development happens in …

Restructuring Of The Axon Initial Segment In Mouse Models Of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Rachel Ali Rodriguez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) affect more than 36% of children in countries with low- and middle- incomes (Boivin, 2015; McCoy, 2016). Interestingly, these heterogeneous disorders share a high incidence of epileptic seizures, suggesting a shared pathology. Seizures result when neuronal firing activity becomes disturbed and neurons fire excessively or in unregulated patterns. A key site in the control of neuronal firing patterns is the axon initial segment (AIS), where the local density of proteins and the morphology of the AIS in part determine the firing of neurons. We hypothesized that a disruption in the morphology and/or composition of the AIS can …

Trade-Offs Between Survival And Reproduction In Starvation-Selected Drosophila Melanogaster, Tammara Beeghly

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Evolutionary outcomes are demonstrated by traits that affect an organism’s schedule of reproduction and survival. These life history traits are reflected in an organism’s physiology, development and behavior. Environmental changes, such as availability of nutritional resources, can profoundly affect evolutionary outcomes of individuals and populations. When shortages arise, there will be trade-offs in the allocation of resources, where one trait prevails at the expense of another.

In the laboratory, we can mimic conditions in nature and study the specific effects of the conditions that we re-create. In our case, over 100 generations of Drosophila melanogaster have been selected for starvation …

Biological And Psychological Implications Of Mindfulness Meditation For College Students, Kelsey Madison Dietrich

Honors Projects

The purpose of this capstone project was threefold: investigate the psychological implications of mindfulness meditation for college students enrolled in a semester-long course introducing these practices, investigate the biological implications of mindfulness meditation for these students, and create the Peer Education “Mindfulness” presentation for the Wellness Connection to introduce mindfulness meditation methods to a greater quantity of college students. The following paper describes the two components of this capstone project that examine the implications of mindfulness meditation opportunities available for college students specifically at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

The Biosorption Of Lead From Aqueous Solutions By A Wood-Immobilized Fungal Biosorbent, Zomesh A N Maini, Niña Therese B. Flores, Enrico P. Muñoz

Biology Faculty Publications

Lead [Pb(II)] biosorption capacities of immobilized Talaromyces macrosporus on Moringa oleifera L. wood were compared against pure fungal and pure M. oleifera biomass. A Pb(II) contact test of 1000 ug/mL show similar Pb(II) removal of non-immobilized fungal biomass (F) and powdered wood colonized with fungi (WP+F), with WP+F producing more biomass. Powdered sorbents had higher Pb(II) uptake compared to whole sorbents analyzed through ICP-AES, possibly due to increased surface area for Pb(II) binding. FTIR analysis of the F, WP, and WP+F identified hydroxyl, amino, carbonyl, and sulfhydryl functional groups which constitute probable Pb(II)-affinitive binding sites. The biosorbents tested in a …

Assessment Of Cytotoxic Activity Of Five Common Philippine Medicinal Plants Using Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay, Lloyd O. Balinado, Merab A. Chan

Biology Faculty Publications

A wide variety of plants in the Philippines are used to address several medical ailments; however, many of which have not yet undergone thorough pharmacological studies. The problem on the possible side effects caused by these medicinal preparations has, therefore, increased the interest in validating their safety for human use. The present study was conducted to determine the cytotoxicity of five common local medicinal plants. Annona muricata L., Cymbopogon citratus DC., Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff, Jatropha curcas L., and Piper betle L. were selected and subjected to crude aqueous leaf extraction. Extracts were then investigated for cytotoxicity potential using brine …

Bone Mineral Density Of The Common Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops Truncatus: A Proposed Model For Monitoring Osteological And Ecosystem Health, James Wright Burrus Powell

Dissertations and Theses

Bone mineral density (BMD) in the pectoral flipper of the common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, was examined to address the need to define a comprehensive target site for clinical osteodensitometric assessment and to establish ranges of observed bone density values for this species. Radii were analyzed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), the accepted standard in human medical studies. Multiple loci within the radius were identified and assessed for their correlation to BMD of the entire bone. Radii BMD were also examined for differences based on sex, age, total body length, handedness, geographical affinity, and nutritional status at time …

Inhibition Of Serine, Glycine, One-Carbon Metabolism Reduces Proinflammatory Response, Ashlynn Mccall

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

Acute lung injury affects around 200,000 critically ill patients annually, with a mortality rate near 33%. With a lack of targeted therapies, it is vital to discover and understand the fundamental cellular processes that drive macrophage inflammation. In the field of macrophage immunometabolism, it is accepted that macrophages upregulating glycolysis indicates a role in proinflammatory processes, however, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the intermediate pathways in glycolysis. This study examined the effects of serine, glycine, one-carbon metabolism inhibition on LPS-induced inflammation in bone marrow-derived macrophages. We show that the enzymatic expression of PHGDH and PSATl is unaffected when …

Toward Understanding The Mechanism Of Protein Targeting In The Chloroplast Signal Recognition Particle Pathway, Mercede Furr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein targeting is a vital cellular function. The signal recognition particle (SRP) pathway is a universally conserved targeting system present in the cytosol and used to co-translationally target many proteins to the inner membrane of prokaryotes and the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotes. The chloroplast has a homologous SRP system which post-translationally targets light harvesting chlorophyll binding proteins (LHCPs) to the thylakoid membrane for integration. The chloroplast SRP (cpSRP) is a heterodimer with a 54 kDa subunit equivalent to SRP54 in the canonical pathway. In addition, cpSRP contains a novel 43 kDa subunit which is a unique and irreplaceable component. cpSRP43 …

Uncovering The Zeb1 Interactome To Identify Novel Regulators Of Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Roxsan Manshouri

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, due in part to the robust affinity of lung cancer cells to metastasize. Understanding the processes that contribute to metastasis provides promise for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Epithelial-tomesenchymal transition (EMT) is a proposed model for the initiation of metastasis. During EMT cell adhesion and polarity is reduced, allowing epithelial cancer cells to dissociate from the primary tumor and invade distant organs. The transcription factor zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) has been reported to uniquely correlate with NSCLC disease progression and to …

The Role Of Membrane Domains In Protein And Lipid Sorting During Endocytic Traffic, Blanca B. Diaz-Rohrer

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The lipid and protein composition of the plasma membrane (PM) must be tightly controlled to maintain cellular functionality, despite constant, rapid endocytosis. Because de novo synthesis of proteins and lipids is energetically costly, the cell depends on active recycling to return endocytosed membrane components back to the PM. For most proteins, the mechanisms and pathways of their PM retention remain unknown. The work presented here shows that association with ordered membrane microdomains is fully sufficient for PM recycling and that abrogation of raft partitioning leads to their degradation in lysosomes. These findings support a model wherein ordered membrane domains mediate …

Characterization Of Plasmids Harbored By Vibrio Cholerae Isolates Endemic To The Rio Grande Delta, Viviana Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

Cholera is a diarrheal disease responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality globally. Epidemics along the Rio Grande Delta were reported during the 1850s, and the etiological agent Vibrio cholerae, remains endemic, thus presenting a unique opportunity for a study of historical and biological relevance. V. cholerae strains were isolated from two locations: the Rio Grande River under a bridge linking Brownsville to Matamoros (site 21) and where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico (site 42). Two strains from site 21, and one from site 42 were selected to isolate, subclone, sequence, assemble and annotate extra-chromosomal elements. Results …

The Opioid Crisis Examined, Anatolly Zekhtser

BIO4960: Practicum in Biology I

The Opioid Crisis is a national crisis affecting public, social, and economic healthcare. Nearly 50,000 deaths were caused by opioid overdoses in 2017. Current treatments of opioid addictions include the use of methadone and buprenorphine. These medications have been known to reduce opioid dependency, lower tolerances, increase the opioid overdose threshold, and lower overdose mortality. An analysis was conducted on prominent research studies investigating the effectiveness, safety, side effects, and influence of Methadone and Buprenorphine. The meta-analysis confirmed that both drugs are effective opioid agonists that contribute to decreased opioid dependence and increased opioid abstinence. Due to a series of …

The Missing Metric: An Evaluation Of Fungal Importance In Wetland Assessments, Megan A. Rúa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

To preserve wetland ecosystem function, federal and state agencies have developed assessment procedures to better manage remaining wetland areas. Currently, wetland assessments do not consider microorganisms when determining wetland quality. This is notable, because fungi are often the primary decomposers of organic material and thus important players in nutrient cycling. The objective of this study is to quantify how wetland quality, as measured using the Ohio Rapid Assessment Method (ORAM), relates to fungal community composition. We sampled soils from six depressional emergent marshes in Ohio belonging to each of the three ORAM quality categories, assessed soil physicochemical properties, and recovered …

Understanding The Influence Of The Cancer Microenvironment On Metabolism And Metastasis, Shonagh Russell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease. Not only is there considerable variability between different cancer types, but there is enormous variability between and within patients who have the same type of cancer. Within tumors, there are multiple cell types, including cancer cells, stromal cells, and immune cells. The tumor microenvironment often induces the healthy cells to become pro-tumorigenic. Cell metabolism is exquisitely sensitive to changes in the tumor microenvironment and can be measured to infer the aggressiveness of cancer and predict response to therapy. In this dissertation, we aim to understand how the microenvironment, specifically low pH, affects the …

Clear Vision Optometry Clinic Internship, Howard Ho

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Biology Practicum Course, Jose Garcia

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Love & Angels Care Internship, Kristin Addison

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Summer Intern Program, Nicolas Vitari

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Clear Vision Optometry Clinic Internship, Taylor Veneza

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Md Anderson University Outreach Summer Program, Melanie Fraidenburg

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Medical University Of Graz, Austria Internship, Vanessa Cruise

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

University Of Miami Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Surf), Elizabeth Feldman

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Atlantis Fellowship - Spain / Italy Summer Internship, Cassidy Campanella

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

No abstract provided.

Antibiotics Overuse And Bacterial Resistance, Mir Saleem, Brett Deters, Adam De La Bastide, Martha Korzen

Biology Faculty Articles

Antibiotic usage has become very widespread, as they are used to treat so many infectious diseases today. Antimicrobial agents exert their actions via different mechanisms including blockage of cell wall synthesis, interference of protein and/or nucleic acid synthesis, interruption of cell membrane structure, and inhibition of a metabolic pathway. The treatment of bacterial infections with antimicrobial agents has become more difficult due to the capability of bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics. Erroneous diagnosing, misconceptions, and improper physician-patient dynamics have led to overuse of antibiotics and the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. Bacterial colonies have been shown to confer advantageous genetic …

Equine Hoof Stratum Internum K14+Cd105+ Progenitor Cells: Culture, Characterization, And Model Of Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition, Qingqiu Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For the potential benefit of progenitor cells to be realized in cell-based clinical therapies, it is vital to investigate the mechanism between progenitor cells and abnormal tissue formation. Laminitis is a fatal condition that is often presented by equine hoof inflammation and hoof tissue disarrangement. The persistence of abnormal tissue formation after the resolution of equine laminitis suggests there is progenitor cell compromise. So far, there is limited information about equine hoof progenitor cells and the effects of inflammation on hoof progenitor cells. To pursue a better understanding of both hoof progenitor cell and hoof growth as well as find …

Oscillation In Mathematical Epidemiology, Meredith Greer

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.