Digital Commons Network^™

Antimelanoma Activities Of Fused Thiazole Derivatives, Sanjay Adhikary

Student Theses and Dissertations

Melanoma, a fatal type of skin cancer, is still incurable. To develop a possible cure, we synthesized fused thiazole derivatives, and found them to be potent anti-melanoma agents both in vitro and in vivo. Thiazolo ethisterone derivatives were remarkably cytotoxic to melanoma cell lines and inhibited colonization of oncogenic cells. Compounds, in vitro, inhibited three key mechanisms of metastasis; cell migration, adhesion, and invasiveness. The compounds caused mild G2/M phase mitotic cell cycle arrest and induced moderate apoptosis. 3, 4-Dihydroxy substituted thiazolo ethisterone (ET32) upregulated beta-Parvin (PARVB) expression (both mRNA and protein expressions) with a log2 fold change value around …

Seasonal Top-Down Effects Of Fish On Benthic Macroinvertebrates And Periphyton In A Coldwater Michigan Stream, Travis John Ellens

Masters Theses

Fish can have strong top-down effects on their prey through both direct predation and non-consumptive effects in streams. We conducted manipulative field experiments to test the strength of fish predation on benthic macroinvertebrates at the patch scale in Stegman Creek. Stegman Creek is a small (0.39 m³/s at baseflow), groundwater-fed stream in western Michigan with abundant mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdii) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) acting as benthic predators. We hypothesized that fish predation decreases macroinvertebrate density, thereby increasing periphyton biomass through a reduction in density of grazing macroinvertebrates. We placed paired predator-exclusion cages …

Effect Of Age At Injury On Neuroinflammatory Response, Microstructural Outcomes, And Function Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Sydney J. Oswalt Reitz

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health concern. Elderly individuals are more likely to be hospitalized and die from a TBI than younger victims, and experience worse outcomes along a series of clinical and functional endpoints. Studies exploring the mechanisms responsible for these outcome disparities are limited. As aging has been demonstrated to enhance baseline neuroinflammatory profile and is associated with synaptopathic neurodegenerative conditions linked to TBI, this thesis study sought to better characterize the relationship between aging-related neuroinflammation, microstructural—including synaptic—endpoints, and functional outcome following TBI. To this end, mice were subjected to diffuse and focal experimental brain …

Inter-Areal Communication In Posterior Parietal Cortex Supporting Eye-Hand And Bimanual Coordination, Jung Uk Kang

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Understanding inter-areal communication is crucial for systems neuroscience. Much of the processing in the brain involves communication between different areas. Sensory areas must send information to motor areas, and motor areas must communicate with each other if different body parts are to be coordinated. For example, coordinating movements of the two arms likely requires interactions between motor areas in the two hemispheres. We therefore hypothesize that bimanual and eye-hand coordination relies on interhemispheric communication, and the most direct path for information exchange between the two hemispheres is through the corpus callosum. By reversibly blocking the callosal pathways connecting the left …

Morphometric Analysis And Biochemical Estimation Of Wild Shrimps (Family: Penaeidae) Found In Coastal Waters Of Pakistan, Noor Us Saher, Syeda Hadiqa Noor

Journal of Bioresource Management

The world recognition of Seafood nutritional value for human consumption remain consistent throughout the time. Different informations and aspects have been studied and considered and generated various data sets but limited informations found about the biochemical concentration of various fishery species caught in the Pakistan. Therefore, the recent study design to evaluate the proximate levels of components in the edible component (flesh) of commercial shrimp species were studied. Four shrimp species; Fenneropenaeus indicus, Metapenaeopsis stridulans, Metapenaeus stebbingi, and Parapenaeopsis stylifera were selected for the assessment of proximate composition. The selected shrimp species were collected from the fishery catch of Korangi …

Dna Barcoding Of Springsnails (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda) Endemic To The Trans-Pecos Region Of Texas (Usa), Kathryn E. Perez, Vanessa Saenz, Natalia Salazar-Lozano, Benjamin F. Schwartz, Benjamin T. Hutchins

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

In desert environments, unique communities depend on groundwater from springs, including a diverse radiation of small (<5 >mm) snails found in the desert across the southwestern United States. Nearly all springsnail species are considered critically imperiled with their existence depending on maintenance of spring-flows in regions of declining water availability. Extant, endemic springsnails in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas include one species of Pseudotryonia Hershler, 2001, five nominal Tryonia W. Stimpson, 1865 (Cochliopidae) and seven Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 (Hydrobiidae). Four of these are classified as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Surveys for springsnails were conducted at …

Investigating The Salinity Tolerance Of The Swordtail (Xiphophorus Hellerii), Alexandra Megan Krak

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii, is a freshwater fish species native to Mexico and Central America and is commonly used in the tropical aquarium trade. Swordtails have been shown to have limited survival in 6 ‰ salinity (Nanda et al., 2016), suggesting they may have a greater salinity tolerance than previously expected. Using a gradual acclimation method, we examined the salinity tolerance and swim performance of this species. Freshwater-reared female swordtails were housed in 29-gallon aquaria. A control group was held in freshwater throughout the experiment. For the experimental group, the salinity was increased by 2 ‰ every week until 30 …

Impact Of Retinoic Acid Receptor Alpha Conditional Knockout On Ovarian Follicle Development In The Mouse, Zlata Bogin

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

When there is abnormal endocrine signaling in the follicles, infertility, and ovarian diseases such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian failure (POF), and different types of ovarian cancers may occur. Retinoic acid (RA), a biologically active derivative of vitamin A, is a critical signaling molecule that plays a vital role in various physiological processes, including embryonic development, tissue differentiation, and reproductive function. RA has been observed to influence granulosa cell proliferation through a cell signaling cascade involving Retinoic Acid Receptors (RARs), which have three isoforms alpha, beta, and gamma. We characterized a new retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) conditional …

Characterization Of The Immune Deficiency Pathway During Female Meiosis In Drosophila Melanogaster, Sarah Mashburn

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Organisms can defend against pathogens by significantly increasing the diversity of their progeny, so that some progeny are more likely to survive infection. This led to the prediction that infection should cause an increase in recombination rates which was seen in a previous study. However, the mechanism that regulates recombination rates in response to infection is not understood and in that study they did not provide a mechanism for how that can occur. In an RNAi screen, our lab found the gene mustard (mtd) is required for normal recombination rates. This gene was previously shown to be part of the …

Targeting S. Maltophilia Biofilms With Phage Bfi2, Lydia Walther

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a multidrug resistant bacterium which can cause severe infections of the respiratory tract, soft tissue, and bloodstream, and its ability to form biofilms on medical implants and devices contributes to its role as a hospital-acquired pathogen (Brooke, 2021; Flores-Treviño et al., 2019). The rise of antibiotic resistance has prompted the search for new treatments against bacteria. Bacteriophages, or phages, are a promising alternative to antibiotics because they infect and kill bacteria (Ling et al., 2022). Phage therapy has gained recent attention as a life-saving treatment for antibiotic resistant infections (Racenis et al., 2023; Schooley et al., 2017). …

Ultrasound Assisted Comparative Study Of Fucolam And So-Dium Alginate And Impact On Their Physiochemical Proper-Ties Using Box-Behnken Design, Uday Bagale, Ammar Kadi, Artem Malinin, Varisha Anjum, Irina Potoroko

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The article discusses about the possibility of comparing the impact of ultrasonic treatment on fucolam and sodium algi-nate. The purpose was to study the effect of micronization on the sulfated heteropolysaccharide fucolam, analyzing its dispersed state and accessibility by reducing its molecular weight and increasing antioxidant activity. The optimization of the micronization process was carried out using the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) method, with a sonication time ranging from 15 to 45 min, power ranging from 50 to 100 W/cm2, and temperature between 30 °C and 40 °C. The fixed lower fucolam concentration was 0.1%. The results illustrated that sonochemical treatment …

Illegal Shooting Is Now A Leading Cause Of Death Of Birds Along Power Lines In The Western Usa, Eve C. Thomason, Natalie J. S. Turley, James R. Belthoff, Tara J. Conkling, Todd E. Katzner

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human actions, both legal and illegal, affect wildlife in many ways. Inaccurate diagnosis of cause of death undermines law enforcement, management, threat assessment, and mitigation. We found 410 dead birds collected along 196 km of power lines in four western USA states during 2019–2022. We necropsied these carcasses to test conventional wisdom suggesting that electrocution is the leading cause of death of birds at electrical infrastructure. Of 175 birds with a known cause of death, 66% died from gunshot. Both raptors and corvids were more likely to die from gunshot than from other causes, along both transmission and distribution lines. …

A Thesis On The Human Genetic Basis Of Severe Pneumococcal Infection In Papua New Guinea, Emma Catherine Walker

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Pneumonia remains a major cause of childhood mortality, especially in under-resourced communities. The profound morbidity of pediatric pneumonia in Papua New Guinea (PNG) compels innovative approaches to ameliorate disease. While the high incidence of pneumonia has been ascribed to environmental factors, we here identify a heritable allele increasing risk of severe pneumonia. In a pilot study, whole exome sequencing reveals a single nucleotide variant (SNV) in coenzyme Q6 (COQ6), a mitochondrial enzyme essential for ubiquinone biosynthesis. Significant association of SNV homozygosity with pneumonia replicates in an independently recruited cohort (p=0.036). Mice homozygous for the murine variant exhibit increased mortality after …

Investigating The Effects Of Opioid Exposure And Withdrawal On Endogenous Opioid Peptide Systems, Neuroimmune Interactions, And Striatal Neuron Activity, Marwa Mikati

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Endogenous opioid peptides and their receptors perform critical roles in reward, aversion, and drug exposure processes. Both the peptides and the receptors perform distinct roles in modulating behavior depending on the brain region and stimulus in question. It has long been a challenge to study opioid peptides specifically because they are structurally similar to each other and occur at very low concentrations. Therefore, understanding their roles in stress, drug exposure, and drug withdrawal has presented difficulty for researchers over the years. To address this difficulty, I helped develop a method for the detection of enkephalins, a class of opioid peptides, …

Using Mesocosms To Model Optimal Levels Of Body Size Variation In Larval Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum), Ian Kratzer

Online Theses and Dissertations

Body size is a critical aspect of an organism’s biological identity mediated by various biotic and abiotic factors. Body size historically been approached through “single optima” approaches, but body size variation modifies both inter- and intraspecific interactions and impacts competition-driven fitness outcomes within populations. Understanding optimal levels of body size variation will help illuminate how variation influences competitive outcomes and reproductive fitness. Populations may be structured through resource partitioning or competitive hierarchies, yet these structures predict contradictory size variation optima. This study sought to determine optimal levels of intraspecific body size variation in populations of larval salamanders to evaluate these …

How Plants Cope With Stress, Nabila Riaz

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Iron (Fe) is one of the essential micronutrients required by both plants and animals. In humans, Fe deficiency causes anemia, the most prevalent nutritional disorder in the world today. Most people rely on plant-based foods as their major Fe source, but plants are a poor source of dietary Fe.

Fe deficiency has many adverse effects on photosynthesis, which is not surprising given that 95% of foliar Fe is found in chloroplast. The Gueirnot lab had previously showed that the bHLH transcription factors ILR3 and PYE are required for photoprotection during Fe deficiency by preventing ROS damage to photosystem II (PSII). …

Spatial Organization Of The Mouse Retina At Single Cell Resolution By Merfish, Jongsu Choi, Jin Li, Salma Ferdous, Qingnan Liang, Jeffrey R Moffitt, Rui Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The visual signal processing in the retina requires the precise organization of diverse neuronal types working in concert. While single-cell omics studies have identified more than 120 different neuronal subtypes in the mouse retina, little is known about their spatial organization. Here, we generated the single-cell spatial atlas of the mouse retina using multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH). We profiled over 390,000 cells and identified all major cell types and nearly all subtypes through the integration with reference single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Our spatial atlas allowed simultaneous examination of nearly all cell subtypes in the retina, revealing …

Oleoylethanolamide Facilitates Pparα And Tfeb Signaling And Attenuates Aβ Pathology In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Michele M Comerota, Manasee Gedam, Wen Xiong, Feng Jin, Lisheng Deng, Meng C Wang, Jin Wang, Hui Zheng

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Age is the strongest risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Besides the pathological hallmarks of β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, emerging evidence demonstrates a critical role of microglia and neuroinflammation in AD pathogenesis. Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is an endogenous lipid amide that has been shown to promote lifespan and healthspan in C. elegans through regulation of lysosome-to-nucleus signaling and cellular metabolism. The goal of our study was to determine the role of OEA in the mediation of microglial activity and AD pathology using its stable analog, KDS-5104.

METHODS: We used primary microglial cultures and genetic and …

Using Μct Scans To Create 3d Skull Puzzles As Open-Access Pedagogical Tools For Anatomy And Comparative Osteology Classes., Alexis Slack

Honors Thesis

As access to affordable 3D printing technologies increases, the use of Computed Tomography (CT) technologies is well positioned to contribute to the advancement of pedagogical experiences through the creation of physical models for teaching. Such complementary efforts may enhance broader impacts by simultaneously boosting the education system with a unique hands-on experience for students and providing an alternative to expensive osteological and other artificial models. Two 3D printed skull puzzles were created to aid in teaching human and vertebrate anatomy, and comparative osteology courses. After segmenting all the bones from each respective skull, the individual skeletal elements were 3D printed, …

Mass Spectrometry-Based Discovery Of Tumor Antigens For Cancer Immunotherapy, Wei Meng

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The immune system plays an essential role in cancer evolution and cancer treatment. One of the major mechanisms of immune-mediated tumor rejection is the recognition of tumor antigens by T cells. Upon recognition of tumor antigens, naïve T cells become activated and subsequently infiltrate inside the tumor. Since the early discovery of tumor-specific T cells, many efforts have elucidated the molecular nature of their cognate antigens. It is now established that MHC-I and MHC-II restricted peptides are critical to generate CD8+ and CD4+ antigen-specific T cells that can recognize tumor-derived antigens. Two main categories of these antigens are those originating …

Exploiting Vulnerabilities In The Ras-Rac Signaling Pathway For The Selective Targeting Of Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Neha Chaudhary

Theses & Dissertations

Deregulation of the KRas (Kirsten rat sarcoma virus) GTPase is one of the early hallmarks of Pancreatic Cancer (PC). The most common genetic alteration found in PC are mutations in the KRas protein that block its ability to hydrolyze GTP to GDP and resulting in higher levels of GTP-bound KRas, its active form. Pancreatic tumors driven by oncogenic mutants of KRas tend to be addicted to the oncogene, to the extent that its repression leads to the induction of cell death. This addiction to the KRAS oncogene makes the KRas protein an ideal target for cancer therapy. However, the globular …

Hedgehog Signaling As An Underlying Mechanism For Midline Modification During Asexual Reproduction In Convolutriloba Longifissura Acoels, James M. Sikes Ph.D., Jaclyn Cherry

Master's Theses

The mechanisms that control midline specification and modification during post-embryonic development are some of the least understood in developmental biology.  Because acoel flatworms have varied modes of asexual reproduction which can involve the dramatic modification of their orthogonal axes and midline, we have chosen the acoel species Convolutriloba longifissura as a model to study the mechanisms behind midline modification.  C. longifissura asexually reproduces through a double fission process where novel midlines arise within laterally located tissues while the adult midline is destroyed prior to an initial transverse fission event, which is then followed by a second longitudinal fission.  Previous work …

A Review With Updated Perspectives On In Vitro And In Vivo Wound Healing Models, Murni Nazira Sarian, Nabilah Zulkefli, Shazeli Zain, Sandra Maniam, Sharida Fakurazi

Turkish Journal of Biology

A skin wound or perforation triggers a series of homeostatic reactions to safeguard internal organs from invasion by pathogens or other substances that could damage body tissues. An injury may occasionally heal quickly, leading to the closure of the skin's structure. Healing from chronic wounds takes a long time. Although many treatment options are available to manage wound healing, an unmet therapy need remains because of the complexity of the processes and the other factors involved. It is crucial to conduct consistent research on novel therapeutic approaches to find an effective healing agent. Therefore, this work aims to cover various …

Antioxidant Potential Of Nanomaterials, David Gonzalez Flores, Javier Espino, Jose A. Pariente

Turkish Journal of Biology

Background/aim: The novel field of nanomaterials allows infinite possibilities in order to create antioxidant therapies. The present review is aimed to describe the state of art concerning on nanomaterials and their effects on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. A wide range of nanoparticles has been designed for this purpose, and each one possesses some particular characteristics which allow these significant antioxidant results. Several in vivo and in vitro works state the ability of these nanoparticles to mimic the redox systems of the cells, and thus, the potential role of nanoparticles as antioxidant treatment for several diseases. Materials and methods: This …

Antileukemic Potential Of Nile Blue-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy On Hl60 Human Myeloid Leukemia Cells, Serçi̇n Özlem Çalişkan, Aynur Karadağ, Bariş Uzunok, Numan Taşpinar, Berna Akin, Meti̇n Çalişkan, Rahşan Ilikçi Sağkan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Background/aim: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has received great attention over the past decade in the treatment of diseases such as leukemia which is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow cells that causes a significant number of deaths worldwide. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of Nile blue-mediated PDT (NB-mediated PDT) on HL60 cells. Materials and methods: The effect of NB-mediated PDT on cell proliferation was evaluated with cell volume analysis using flow cytometry at 24 h. Cell apoptosis, ROS production, mitochondrial membrane potential, and cell cycle analysis were evaluated using annexin V-FITC, H2 DCFDA, JC-1, …

Targeting Of Notch, Il-1, And Leptin Has Therapeutic Potential In Xenograft Colorectal Cancer, Rumeysa Özyurt, Ni̇lüfer Erkasap, Mete Özkurt, Serdar Mustafa Erkasap, Konstanti̇nos Di̇mas, Ayşe Çakir Gündoğdu, Engi̇n Ulukaya

Turkish Journal of Biology

Background/aim: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a fatal malignancy type and its occurence still needs to be explored mechanistically. Notch, IL-1, and leptin crosstalk is reported to play a role in the proliferation, migration, and expression of proangiogenic molecules. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of inhibition of Notch, IL-1, and leptin on CRC. Materials and methods: To generate colorectal cancer tumor xenografts, 1 × 107 cells from exponentially growing cultures of HCT15 cells were injected subcutaneously, at the axillary region of the left and right rear flanks of forty NOD.CB17-Prkdcscid/J (NOD/SCID) female mice. The mice were then …

Soloxolone Methyl Induces Apoptosis And Oxidative/Er Stress In Breast Cancer Cells And Target Cancer Stem Cell Population, Eli̇f Ertürk, Oğuzhan Akgün, Yaren Yildiz, Pinar Kalkan, Oksana V. Salomatina, Nariman F. Salakhutdinov, Engi̇n Ulukaya, Ferda Ari

Turkish Journal of Biology

One of the most prevalent malignancies in women and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death is breast cancer. There is a need for new treatment approaches and drugs for breast cancer. Many studies show the high potential of triterpene compounds and their semisynthetic derivatives as anticancer agents due to their ability to induce apoptosis and suppress tumorigenesis. The effects of soloxolone methyl (SM), a semisynthetic derivative of 18-H-glycyrrhetinic acid, on the cytotoxicity and apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line (T-47D) and cancer stem cell (CSCs) population (mammospheres; CD44+/CD24-antigen) derived from breast cancer cells, were examined in this …

Ten Tips Taylored For Successful Talks With Landowners In Ranching And Range Management Landscapes, Taylor J. Linder, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Christopher J. Felege

Biology Faculty Publications

Privately owned lands offer substantial land area that have the potential to contribute greatly to wildlife conservation. However, it is dubious for private landowners to engage in such programs that have not readily accepted their input. Given the future directions of wildlife conservation and needing to heavily integrate private lands into habitat objectives to meet wildlife population standards, it will be of growing importance to consider the needs and wants of private landowners to meet production goals and simultaneously wildlife habitat goals (and not the other way around). We recognize the important methodological research that has built foundations for current …

Examining The Restoration Potential Of Prescribed Fire And Tree Girdling Treatments On A Fire Dependent Ecosystem: Ecosystem Responses And Management Implications, Rebecca Daigle

Masters Theses

Oak savannas have greatly declined since the 1800s and management is needed to maintain these rare community types. A combination of prescribed burns and mechanical thinning are a common practice to increase forb abundance and biodiversity. This study examines the viability of another technique to thin the canopy called girdling, which was used in conjunction with low-intensity prescribed burns. Early summer prescribed burns were conducted in 2017, 2019, and 2021, while girdling treatments were implemented in 2017 and 2019. The study was conducted in Kent County, Michigan at two degraded former oak savanna communities. In 2022, we collected data to …

Cytokine Profiles In Peruvian Pinnipeds And Their Relationships With Environmental Stressors, Mykenzee L. Munaco

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Large colonies of two vulnerable, sympatric pinniped species, Peruvian fur seals (Arctocephalus australis Peruvian subpopulation; PFS) and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia; SASL), reside and reproduce in Punta San Juan, Peru (PSJ) where they are exposed to stressors such as environmental contaminants and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Cytokine concentrations can be indicative of an animal’s health and immune function by allowing for immunoresponse characterization as Th1 or Th2 dominant. Utilizing an archived pinniped plasma collection of samples from 2009-2019 (n=148), 13 cytokines were analyzed in PFS and SASL: GM-CSF, IFN-γ, KC-like, MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6, …