Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Integrating The Field Of Prebiotic Chemistry Into A Christian Worldview, Matthew B. Anderson

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis will provide an overarching examination into the scientific field of prebiotic chemistry, the purported chemistry of the formation of life on earth. Prebiotic chemistry is a critical area of science particularly for Christian scientists to study since it is used by many evolutionists as evidence for the evolution of life, rather than the formation by an intelligent designer. Extensive literature-based research from previously published articles will be conducted on the formation of biologically necessary molecules, including amino acids. Primary focus will be placed on the formation of amino acids in a primordial earth environment, first demonstrated by the …

Terrestrial Vertebrate Families On Noah's Ark, Seth J. Beech

Senior Honors Theses

One of the central challenges faced by young-Earth creation researchers who believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God is defending the Biblical claim that two of every kind of nephesh animal was saved from the great flood on Noah’s ark. Recently, Answers in Genesis became involved in the design and construction of a full-sized, authentic replica of Noah’s ark. They have endeavored to be as accurate as possible in presenting the number of kinds that would have needed to be on the ark in order to have the diversity in species that we observe today. In order …

Effective Numbers Of Electrons As A Criterion Of Carbon Suitability As A Hemosorbent, Mogely Khubutiya, Boris Grafov, Mikhail M. Goldin, Alexei Davydov, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Mark Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The number of medical applications of electrochemistry has grown in recent years due to the increased applications of electrochemical concepts to various systems of the organism. This includes electrochemically controlled hemosorption detoxification, where the removal of toxicants is controlled by changing the potential of the hemosorbent. It is important to avoid Faradaic processes in the course of hemosorption, which can lead to the addition of electrochemically modified toxicants to blood. The probability of their occurrence should depend on the open-circuit potential of the activated carbon. In order to elucidate the identification of Faradaic reactions, a model system was investigated. The …

Mechanisms Of Adsorption Of Copper And Silver Ions On Carbon Materials In An Open Circuit, Mikhail M. Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Ohio Conservation Plan: Plains Gartersnake, Thamnophis Radix, Norman Reichenbach, M. Barrie, K. Becka, G. Burghardt, S. Butterworth, C. Caldwell, F. Dierkes, P. Johantgen, K. Stanford, D. Wynn

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This plan outlines strategies and methods used in an ongoing study initiated in 1999 to restore a selfsustaining population of the Plains gartersnake (Thamnophis radix) in Ohio. Restoring a self-sustaining population would require increases in the current population to where the ratios of T. radix to T. sirtalis are approximately 1:1 in multiple locations in Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area (KPWA). This ratio would be similar to what was seen earlier by Reichenbach and Dalrymple (1986) at one site in KPWA.

The plan was developed by a team of enthusiastic conservationists representing, the Division of Wildlife (ODW), the Columbus and Cleveland …

Measurements Of Platinum Electrode Potential In Blood And Blood Plasma And Serum, Mogely Khubutiya, Anatoly K. Evseev, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Mikhail M. Goldin, Alexei Davydov, Alexander Volkov, Andrey Stepanov

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The method of electrochemical pretreatment of platinum electrode with the goal of standardizing the initial state of electrode surface and its open-circuit potential (OCP) in the blood and other biological media is proposed. The platinum electrode potential is measured in 0.14 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution, in the blood and blood plasma and serum. By the examples of OCP measured in the blood serum of patients with acute poisoning, acute cerebral pathology and patients treated by the method of hyperbaric oxygenation, it was found that the values of blood serum OCP were different for studied pathological states and healthy people.

Garden Of The Gods At Colorado Springs: Paleozoic And Mesozoic Sedimentation And Tectonics, Marcus R. Ross, William A. Hoesch, Steven A. Austin, John H. Whitmore, Timothy L. Clarey

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Exposed along the southeast fl ank of the Colorado Front Range are rocks that beautifully illustrate the interplay of sedimentation and tectonics. Two major rangebounding faults, the Ute Pass fault and the Rampart Range fault, converge on the Garden of the Gods region west of Colorado Springs. Cambrian through Cretaceous strata upturned by these faults reveal in their grain compositions, textures, and bedforms radically different styles of sedimentation. The Cambrian/Ordovician marine transgressive deposits appear to have come to rest on a passive and tectonically inactive craton. In contrast, coarse-grained Pennsylvanian/Permian marine deposits of the Fountain Formation and Lyons Sandstone reveal …

The Ecology Of The Peaks Of Otter Salamander (Plethodon Hubrichti) In Sympatry With The Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus), Norman Reichenbach, Andrew Kniowski

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Peaks of Otter Salamander, Plethodon hubrichti, is found along a 19 km length of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, USA, often in sympatry with the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, P. cinereus. In a sympatric area of Bedford County, Virginia, we conducted a mark-recapture study on a 10 × 10 m site. Surface densities of salamanders increased as the number of days without precipitation prior to a collection event increased. This suggests vertical movements in response to surface moisture. When salamanders returned to the surface after rain, individuals appeared to “shuffle” between rocks and likely, leaf litter. That is, we were …

Methods For The Isolation Of Sensory And Primary Cilia—An Overview, Kimberly A. P. Mitchell, Gabor Szabo, Angela De S. Otero

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Detailed proteomic analyses of mammalian olfactory and rod photoreceptor sensory cilia are now available, providing an inventory of resident ciliary proteins and laying the foundation for future studies of developmental and spatio-temporal changes in the composition of sensory cilia. Cilia purification methods that were elaborated and perfected over several decades were essential for these advances. In contrast, the proteome of primary cilia is yet to be established, because purification procedures for this organelle have been developed only recently. In this chapter we review current techniques for the purification of olfactory and photoreceptor cilia, and evaluate methods designed for the selective …

Direct Binding Of Cytosolic Ndp Kinases To Membrane Lipids Is Regulated By Nucleotides, Kimberly A. P. Mitchell, Gabor Szabo, Angela De S . Otero

Faculty Publications and Presentations

In spite of their complete lack of any structural features that characterize membrane proteins, cytosolic nucleoside-diphosphate kinases (NDPKs) have been found repeatedly to associate with membranes. In some instances the recruitment of cytosolic NDPKs to membranes was attributed to interactions with peripheral or integral membrane proteins, but in many cases the mechanism underlying the association of NDPKs with membranes remained unknown. We show here that cytosolic NDPKs bind directly to membrane lipids in a dynamic process that is controlled by its substrates, nucleoside tri- and diphosphates, and can be fully reconstituted with chemically defined, protein-free phospholipids and recombinant NDPK, or …

Charting The Late Cretaceous Seas: Mosasaur Richness And Morphological Diversification, Marcus R. Ross

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Abundant, readily identifiable, and biostratigraphically resolved specimens make mosasaurs ideal candidates to test fluxes in generic richness and morphological trends among marine vertebrates during the late Cretaceous. More than 1800 globally distributed mosasaur specimens are allocated to fifteen substage-level stratigraphically correlated assemblages. These data are quantitatively analyzed to illuminate trends within the group. Following their first appearance in the Cenomanian, mosasaurs experienced a significant radiation in the Coniacian and Santonian. Richness levels continued increasing into the Maastrichtian while mosasaurs incrementally exploited new predatory niches recognized via accumulation of novel dental morphologies. Their extinction at the end of the Cretaceous occurred …

Open Circuit Potential Shifts Of Activated Carbon In Aqueous Solutions During Chemical And Adsorption Interactions, Mikhail M. Goldin, Vladimir A. Kolesnikov, Mogely Sh. Khubutiya, Alexander G. Volkov, Gary J. Blanchard, Anatoly K. Evseev, Mark M. Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Interaction of certain inorganic and organic compounds with activated carbon and the effect of such interaction on open circuit potential of activated carbon were studied. Open circuit potential shifts were observed for an overwhelming majority of the substances and brands of activated carbons investigated. Both negative and positive potential shifts were observed. It was shown that open circuit potential shifts for organic substances depend on degree of coverage of the activated carbon surface. Whereas adsorption of investigated organic compound on activated carbon led to positive potential shifts, desorption of adsorbates from the activated carbon surface led to potential shifts in …

Review: A Creationist Review And Preliminary Analysis Of The History, Geology, Climate, And Biology Of The Galápagos Islands, Timothy R. Brophy

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Activated Carbon Open Circuit Potential Shifts In Aqueous Solutions, Mikhail M. Goldin, Gary Blanchard, Alexander Volkov, Mogely Khubutiya, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Anatoly Evseev, Mark Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Interaction of certain organic compounds with activated carbon and its effect on the carbon open circuit potentials were studied. It was shown that shifts in open circuit potentials depended on the filling of the activated carbon surface. Whereas adsorption of the investigated compounds on the carbon led to positive potential shifts, their elimination (desorption) from carbon surface led to shifts in the opposite direction. It was also observed that the time dependence of potential shifts is similar for different carbon brands. The magnitude of shifts depended on adsorption activity and porometric characteristics of the carbon adsorbent, as well as the …

Redox Potential Measurement In Aqueous Solutions And Biological Media, Mark M. Goldin, G. J. Blanchard, A. K. Evseev, V. A. Kolesnikov, Yu S. Goldfarb, A. G. Volkov, Mikhail M. Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Trans-Atlantic Correlation Of Upper Cretaceous Marine Sediments, Marcus R. Ross, David E. Fastovsky

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Upper Cretaceous marine deposits from the Mid-Atlantic region of North America (Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey) and the Maastricht area (southern Netherlands, and nearby Belgium and Gennany) are correlated across the Atlantic using a variety of macro invertebrates, nannofossils, and sequence stratigraphy. Four late Cretaceous Mid-Atlantic sequences, the Marshalltown, Englishtown, Merchantville, and Navesink, span the upper Santonian to lowennost Danian, and have direct correlatives in the Maastricht area. Correlations between the Mid-Atlantic and the Maastricht regions (respectively) are as follows: the upper Santonian to lower Campanian Merchantville and Matawan formations with the Achen and lower Vaals fonnations; the middle Campanian …

Mechanism Of Shifts Of Potentials Of Hemosorbents Based On Activated Carbons Caused By Adsorption Of Organic Toxicants, Mark Goldin, Yury Goldfarb, Mikhail M. Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Mechanism Of Potential Shifts Of Activated Carbon Due To Adsorption Of Organic Compounds, Mikhail M. Goldin, Vladimir Avramenko, Alexander G. Volkov, Mark Goldin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

A Taxonomy Of Teleology: Phillip Johnson, The Intelligent Design Community, And Young-Earth Creationism, Marcus R. Ross, P. A. Nelson

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Protection Against Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis Is Mediated By Interleukin-10-Producing T Cells That Are Controlled By Dendritic Cells, Ya Li, Janet S. Heuser, Stanley D. Kosanke, Mark E. Hemric, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) can be induced in the Lewis rat by cardiac myosin or its cryptic S2-16 peptide epitope (amino acids1052 to 1076). To investigate cellular mechanisms and the role of antigen-presenting cells in regulation of myocarditis, we induced protection against EAM in Lewis rats by administration of S2-16 peptide in incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA). Protection to EAM was associated with activation of S2-16-reactive splenocytes secreting high levels of interleukin (IL)-10 and reduced levels of interferon- and IL-2. Adoptive transfer of S2-16:IFA-induced splenocytes producing IL-10 suppressed myocarditis induction in syngeneic recipients, suggesting their regulatory cell nature. However, exposure of …

Ndp Kinase Moves Into Developing Primary Cilia, Kimberly A. P. Mitchell, Betty C. Gallagher, Gabor Szabo, Angela De S. Otero

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inmunofluorescence staining of murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts grown at high density shows that conventional nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases A and B localize to a sensory organelle, the primary cilium. Similar results are obtained with Xenopus A6 kidney epithelial cells, suggesting that NDP kinases are a universal component of the primary cilium. The translocation of NDP kinase into primary cilia depends on size, taking place only when cilia reach a critical length of 5-6 μm. In mature cilia, NDP kinases are distributed along the ciliary shaft in a punctate pattern that is distinct from the continuous staining observed with acetylated α-tubulin, a …

Receptor Activation Regulates Cortical, But Not Vesicular Localization Of Ndp Kinase, Betty C. Gallagher, Kimberly A.P. Mitchell, Gabor Szabo, Angela De S. Otero

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We used immunofluorescence techniques to determine the localization of nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. We found that cytoplasmic NDP kinase can be separated into two populations according to subcellular localization and response to extracellular stimuli. Specifically, within minutes of stimulation of resting fibroblasts with serum, growth factors or bombesin, a portion of NDP kinase becomes associated with membrane ruffles and lamellipodia. Another pool of NDP kinase accumulates independently of stimulation around intracellular vesicles. Transfection of cells with activated Rac mimics, whereas expression of dominant negative Rac inhibits, the effects of extracellular stimulation on the translocation of NDP kinase …

Effects Of A Yec Apologetics Class On Student Worldview, David A. Dewitt, Steve Deckard, Sharon E. Cargo

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Creationism is a significant component of an overall Christian worldview. A Creation Worldview Test (CWT) was administered to students both before and after completion of a required Apologetics course dealing with the creation/evolution controversy. Pre-test analysis revealed that incoming students tend to have a creationist worldview, however their CWT scores reflected a degree of uncertainty or neutrality on scientific creation and the age of the earth. Post-test analysis showed a significant shift toward a young earth creationist (YEC) view. Implications for teaching apologetics and development of a Creationist worldview based on a Six-day Young Earth perspective were explored and identified.

Reproduction In West Virginia Populations Of The Southern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea Cirrigera), Timothy R. Brophy, Thomas K. Pauley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We describe reproduction in West Virginia populations of the southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) and provide insights into the behavioral ecology of this wide-ranging urodele. The first signs of reproduction are evident well before the arrival of Spring. Sexually mature adults inhabit the cold, rocky streams of southwestern West Virginia in early February. Females arc known by the presence of large oocytes visible through the body wall and males by their extremely swollen heads. Breeding occurs in the stream during late March and is marked by the presence of gravid females with sperm caps in their posterior cloacae. Eggs are …

Induction Of Myocarditis And Valvuluitis In Lewis Rats By Different Epitopes Of Cardiac Myosin And Its Implications In Rheumatic Carditis, Jeffrey E. Galvin, Mark E. Hemric, Stanley D. Konsanke, Stephen M. Factor, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Immune responses against cardiac myosin and group A streptococcal M protein have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease. Although cardiac myosin is known to produce myocarditis in susceptible animals, it has never been investigated for its role in production of valvular heart disease, the most serious sequelae of group A streptococcal infection in acute rheumatic fever. In our study, cardiac myosin induced valvulitis in the Lewis rat, and epitopes responsible for production of valvulitis were located in the rod region. Human and rat cardiac myosins induced severe myocarditis in the Lewis rats as expected. A purified S2 …

Theories Of The Origin And Early Evolution Of Life, David A. Dewitt

Faculty Publications and Presentations

After the theory of spontaneous generation was discredited, only religious explanations were offered to explain the origin of life. Alexander Oparin (1894-1980), an atheist, suggested that natural chemical reactions produced biological molecules that came together to form the first living thing. Later, Stanley Miller tested this hypothesis and produced chemical "building blocks" but not life itself. In spite of much progress, there is still no clear consensus on how life originated on Earth. Some scientists are even looking to outer space for the origin of life.

Cytotoxic Mab From Rheumatic Carditis Recognizes Heart Valves And Laminin, Jeffrey E. Galvin, Mark E. Hemric, Kent Ward, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Anti-streptococcal antibodies cross-reactive with N-acetyl-bD-glucosamine (GlcNAc) and myosin are present in the sera of patients with rheumatic fever (RF). However, their role in tissue injury is not clear. In this study, we show that anti-GlcNAc/anti-myosin mAb 3.B6 from a rheumatic carditis patient was cytotoxic for human endothelial cell lines and reacted with human valvular endothelium and underlying basement membrane. Reactivity of mAb 3.B6 with the valve was inhibited by human cardiac myosin > laminin > GlcNAc. The mAb 3.B6 epitopes were localized in fragments of human cardiac myosin, including heavy meromyosin (HMM), the S1 subfragment, and two light meromyosin (LMM) peptides containing …

Reproduction And Health Of A Beaver (Castor Canadensis) Population In Prince William County, Virginia, Timothy R. Brophy, Carl H. Ernst

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reproduction and health were studied in a beaver (Castor canadensis) population from Prince William County, Virginia during 1998. Copulating beavers were observed in Quantico Creek at Prince William Forest Park on 22 January. Seven females from Quantico Marine Base were trapped between January and May, sacrificed, and dissected. Those reproductively active weighed over 39 pounds (17.7 kg) and were trapped before 1 March. Mean litter size based on counts of corpora lutea was 4.80 young (3-7); however, litter size based on the number of embryos present was only 2.75 (1-3), comparable to most others reported in the literature. Five of …

Immunological Relationship Between The Class I Epitope Of Streptococcal M Protein And Myosin, Anthony Quinn, Kent Ward, Vincent A. Fischetti, Mark E. Hemric, Medeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The class I epitope of streptococcal M protein is an epidemiological marker for acute rheumatic fever (ARF)-associated serotypes of group A streptococci and is recognized by anti-M protein monoclonal antibody (MAb) 10B6. Using MAb 10B6, we determined the relationship between the class I epitope of M protein and the a-helical coiled-coil protein myosin. MAb 10B6 reacted by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting with human cardiac myosin and rabbit skeletal myosin and its heavy meromyosin (HMM) subfragment. Overlapping synthetic peptides of M5 protein were used to identify the region of M5 protein recognized by MAb 10B6. Two C repeat peptides …

Mile-A-Minute Weed, (Polygonum Perfoliatum L.), An Invasive Vine In Natural And Disturbed Sites, J. Douglas Oliver

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Polygonum perfoliatum L. (Polygonaceae) or mile-a-minute weed, from eastern Asia, has been spreading through wild and disturbed areas of the mid-Atlantic United States. It has a wide ecological amplitude and is found on stream banks, moist thickets, roadsides, nurseries, wood-piles, clearings, and ditches. Polygonum perfoliatum presents serious problems for reforestation because it thrives where forests are clear-cut. A southward direction of spread indicates that the species will probably proliferate in at least some southern states. Mechanical control is not likely to be completely effective because seeds are often left behind. No appropriate biocontrols are known. The plant poses a threat …