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The Role Of System Xc- In Cognition: The Importance Of Neuron-Astrocyte Signaling, Evan Michael Hess

Dissertations (1934 -)

The biological basis of human intelligence is largely a mystery, but likely required evolutionary adaptations to achieve the information processing capacity needed to expand the complexity of cognition among species. The link between evolutionary expansion of signaling complexity in the brain and cognition has largely focused on neuronal mechanisms, in part because information processing has historically been attributed to these cells. However, astrocytes are emerging as a second type of brain cell that is capable of processing information due to their capacity to release glutamate and, thereby, regulate neural circuits. Hence, a modern question is whether astrocytes contributed to the …

Impacts Of Tourism On The Ecophysiology Of The Endangered Northern Bahamian Rock Iguana (Cyclura Cychlura), Alison C. Webb

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increased interest in ecotourism over recent years has led to more direct human-animal interactions and a striking concomitant increase in the provisioning of non-natural food, that may have unintended consequences for the wildlife involved. The critically endangered Northern Bahamian Rock Iguana provides a valuable model to address the potential impact of food provisioning on health as there are populations that represent a graded variation in human presence, with sites experiencing high, low, or no tourism. To assess the potential impacts of tourism on iguana physiology I first reviewed the relevant literature on iguana physiology and then performed three investigations focusing …

Mutations Within And Between Early Cell Division Proteins And Their Effects On Division Regulation In Escherichia Coli, Kara Schoenemann

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Cell division is a highly regulated process that must coordinate multiple implicit activities in different locations in the cell simultaneously. E. coli utilizes a macromolecular machine known as the divisome to accomplish cytokinesis. Assembly of the divisome begins with the assembly of a simpler structure known as the proto-ring. The proto-ring consists mainly of three essential proteins: FtsZ and its membrane tethers FtsA and ZipA. In this work, I aimed to understand the early regulation of division in E. coli by investigating the structure/function relationships of the proto-ring proteins, as well as their interactions with one another and how these …

Investigating Nest Box Utilization By Bumble Bees And Reproductive Development Of Male Bumble Bees, James Daniel Herndon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bumble bees (Bombus Latrielle) are a wide-spread group of pollinating insects that are important species to conserve across many environments to ensure both ecological and economic resiliency because they pollinate important agricultural, horticultural, and wild flora. Surprisingly, fundamental questions still remain about this important charismatic group of pollinators. The investigations in this thesis are but two of many topics that require further research. The topics investigated are understanding bumble bee nest site preferences and reproductive development of both sexes of bumble bees. The first experiment (Chapter 2) investigates whether nest boxes elevated off of the ground and attached to …

Short- And Long-Term Impacts Of A Deliberative Pedagogy In Introductory Biology And Chemistry Courses, Liz Rain-Griffith

Dissertations and Theses

There have been multiple national calls for curricular reform in college-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including a need to instill democratic skills in students. Democratic skill building can be embedded in STEM classrooms through intentional "deliberative pedagogies" which include skills in: communication, collaboration, and application. We developed and implemented a deliberative pedagogy, Deliberative Democracy (DD), across introductory majors and non-majors biology courses and a majors chemistry course. In two separate studies, I took a longitudinal, qualitative research approach to understand introductory biology and chemistry students' experiences and perceptions of DD. For the first study, I tracked a cohort …

From Aristotle To Wunderkammer: The Development Of Entomology And Insect Collections, Erica Fischer

Honors Projects

This project aimed to analyze the development of insect classification and the shift from the realm of the amateur naturalist to professional science. It looked to address questions regarding entomology as a developing science and how effectively it reflects larger changes in the field of biology and the development of natural history collections. This work was for a synthesis of time periods from the beginnings of classification in the ancient world through the 20th century, a more general timeline than is typically approached. The research needed for the completion of this paper was based on secondary source research in the …

Resources For Teaching And Assessing The Vision And Change Biology Core Concepts, Janet L. Branchaw, Pamela A. Pape-Lindstrom, Kimberly D. Tanner, Sarah A. Bissonnette, Tawnya L. Cary, Brian A. Couch, Alison J. Crowe, Jenny K. Knight, Katharine Semsar, Julia I. Smith, Michelle K. Smith, Mindi M. Summers, Caroline J. Wienhold, Christian D. Wright, Sara E. Brownell

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The Vision and Change report called for the biology community to mobilize around teaching the core concepts of biology. This essay describes a collection of resources developed by several different groups that can be used to respond to the report’s call to transform undergraduate education at both the individual course and departmental levels. First, we present two frameworks that help articulate the Vision and Change core concepts, the BioCore Guide and the Conceptual Elements (CE) Framework, which can be used in mapping the core concepts onto existing curricula and designing new curricula that teach the biology core concepts. Second, we …

Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference: A Meeting Report, Erin L. Dolan, Michelle Borrero, Kristine Callis-Duehl, Miranda M. Chen Musgrove, Joelyn De Lima, Isi Ero-Tolliver, Laci M. Gerhart, Emma Goodwin, Lindsey R. Hamilton, Meredith A. Henry, Jose Herrera, Bethany Huot, Stacey Kiser, Melissa E. Ko, Marcy E. Kravec, Mark Lee, Lisa B. Limeri, Melanie E. Peffer, Debra Pires, Juan S. Ramirez Lugo, Starlette M. Sharp, Nicole A. Suarez

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 2019 Undergraduate Biology Education Research Gordon Research Conference (UBER GRC), titled “Achieving Widespread Improvement in Undergraduate Education,” brought together a diverse group of researchers and practitioners working to identify, promote, and understand widespread adoption of evidence-based teaching, learning, and success strategies in undergraduate biology. Graduate students and postdocs had the additional opportunity to present and discuss research during a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that preceded the GRC. This report provides a broad overview of the UBER GRC and GRS and highlights major themes that cut across invited talks, poster presentations, and informal discussions. Such themes include the importance of …

Synthesis, Characterisation And Biological Evaluation Of Tyramine Derived Schiff Base Ligand And Its Transition Metal(Ii) Complexes, Abdul Khader Jailani, N.S.K. Gowthaman, Mookkandi Palsamy Kesavan

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

In this study, a new tyramine derived Schiff base ligand (L) (L=1,3-phenylene-bis-4-aminoantipyrinyl-4-aminoethylphenol) and its derived transition metal(II) complexes [Cu(L)Cl₂](1), [Ni(L)Cl₂](2), [Co(L)Cl₂] (3) and [Zn(L)Cl₂] (4) have been synthesized and well characterized by the way of different spectroscopic and analytical techniques. Analytical and spectroscopic studies result suggests that metal(II) complexes more probably have octahedral geometry. DNA binding tendency of L and metal(II) complexes 1-4 have been assessed by probing their ability to bind with Calf Thymus DNA (CT-DNA) via electronic absorption and cyclic voltammetry titration methods. The results clearly reveal that the metal(II) …

Glare Reduction By Dark Facial Markings And Bills In Birds, Clara Lebow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Avian facial plumage, bill coloration, and feather microstructure may serve one or more adaptive functions. Several researchers have proposed that dark eyestripes, bills, and facial masks aid in reducing glare, however, there have been relatively few tests of this hypothesis. Dark facial markings have been shown to have an adaptive glare-reduction function in recent field studies of a few species, but this hypothesis has never been tested in a broad multispecies analysis. It is likely that feather microstructure influences feather brightness and has an effect on the efficacy of glare reduction properties of feathers. I examined the link between dark …

Tropical Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) Act As Ecological Filters By Altering Properties Of Their Fluid Microenvironments, Kadeem J. Gilbert, Leonora S. Bittleston, Wenfei Tong, Naomi E. Pierce

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Characteristics of host species can alter how other, interacting species assemble into communities by acting as ecological filters. Pitchers of tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes) host diverse communities of aquatic arthropods and microbes in nature. This plant genus exhibits considerable interspecific diversity in morphology and physiology; for example, different species can actively control the pH of their pitcher fluids and some species produce viscoelastic fluids. Our study investigated the extent to which Nepenthes species differentially regulate pitcher fluid traits under common garden conditions, and the effects that these trait differences had on their associated communities. Sixteen species of Nepenthes …

The Bioethical Significance Of “The Origin Of Man’S Ethical Behavior” (October 1941, Unpublished) By Ernest Everett Just And Hedwig Anna Schnetzler Just, Theodore Walker Jr.

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Abstract –

E. E. Just (1883-1941) is an acknowledged “pioneer” in cell biology, and he is perhaps the pioneer in study of egg cell fertilization. Here we discover that Just also made pioneering contributions to general biology and evolutionary bioethics.

Within Just’s published contributions to observational cell biology, there are substantial fragments of his theory of ethical behavior, a theory with roots in cell biology. In addition to such previously available fragments, Just’s fully developed theory is now available. This recently discovered unpublished book-length manuscript argues for the biological origins of ethical behavior (evolving from cells to humans, within a …

Sars-Cov-2 Isolation And Propagation From Turkish Covid-19 Patients, Ci̇han Taştan, Bulut Yurtsever, Gözde Karakuş, Derya Di̇lek Kançaği, Sevda Demi̇r, Selen Abanuz, Utku Seyi̇s, Mülazi̇m Yildirim, Recai̇ Kuzay, Ömer Eli̇bol, Serap Arbak, Merve Açikel Elmas, Selçuk Bi̇rdoğan, Osman Uğur Sezerman, Ayşe Sesi̇n Kocagöz

Turkish Journal of Biology

The novel coronavirus pneumonia, which was named later as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, namely SARS-CoV-2. It is a positive-strand RNA virus that is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans. The COVID-19 outbreak presents enormous challenges for global health behind the pandemic outbreak. The first diagnosed patient in Turkey has been reported by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health on March 11, 2020. In May, over 150,000 cases in Turkey, and 5.5 million cases around the world have been declared. Due to the urgent need for a vaccine and …

Ecological Features Of Cyanobacteria And Algae Communities Of The Littoral Of The Meromictic Lake Shira (Khakassia Republic, Russia), Lira Gaysina, A I. Fazlutdinova, O N. Mukhina, L F. Akhmadeyeva, D Yu Rogozin, A O. Bul’Khin, N V. Sukhanova, Jeffrey R. Johansen

2020 Faculty Bibliography

During the study of cyanobacteria and algae from littoral of the meromictic Lake Shira (Republic of Khakas- sia, Russia) forty-eight taxa were identified: Cyanobacteria – 7, Chlorophyta – 5, and Bacillariophyta – 36 species. Cyanobacteria were represented by cosmopolitan taxa Leptolyngbya voronichiniana, cf. Trichocoleus hospitus and widely distributed in the freshwater ecosystems species Phormidium cf. paulsenianum, Pseudophormidium cf. golenkinianum, P. pauciramosum, Leptolyngbya perforans, and L. subtilissima. Among green algae typical freshwater taxa Chloroidium saccharophilum, Desmodesmus abundans, Oocystis lacustris, Chlorella sp., Stigeoclonium sp. were detected. Among Bacillariophyta the most frequent species were Amphora ovalis, Cymbella affinis, Encyonema silesiacum, Eunotia fallax, Gomphonella …

What's In My Histological Dyes Anyway?, Ashley Post

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

There are many different dyes that are used for biological research, but not much is commonly known about the origins of the dyes or how they are synthesized. Our dyes of interest were Coomassie Blue G and Rhodamine B. Coomassie Blue G is a blue colored dye used mainly for SDS-PAGE (gel electrophoresis) in biological research. Rhodamine B is used for its ability to fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Both of these dyes have been used for research purposes for many years despite researchers who use the dyes not having little background knowledge regarding the purity of the manufactured dyes. We …

Biological And Computational Studies Of The Structure And Function Of Pul103, A Human Cytomegalovirus Tegument Protein, Ashley N. Anderson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an enveloped, single segment, double-stranded DNA virus. HCMV infection causes disease in immunocompromised (HIV patients, transplant recipients) and immunodeficient (fetuses, neonates) populations. Current treatments are effective but are either limited in use or can lead to organ damage and/or antiviral resistance, and no vaccines are available. Additional antiviral targets are needed. HCMV pUL103 is a potential antiviral target. pUL103 is a conserved herpesvirus protein present in the tegument, layer of proteins and RNA between the envelope and capsid of HCMV virions. pUL103 helps reorganize cellular secretory machinery (Golgi, endosomes) to form the cytoplasmic virion assembly compartment …

An Investigation Of The Potentials Of 2-[(2-Hydroxyphenyl) Methylidene] Hydrazine-1-Carbothioamide And Its Mn(Ii) And Zn(Ii) Complexes As Antimicrobial Agents, Umar Sani, Musbahu Yahaya, Dailami S. Adam

Tanzania Journal of Science

Antibiotic resistance as a result of misuse, overuse or abuse of drugs is an issue of serious concern world over. The quest for more active and robust antimicrobial agents remains a scientific challenge and requires multimillion-dollar investment in the area of drug design and development. Here in, we report the synthesis and characterisation of a tridentate thiosemicarbazone (2-[(2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]hydrazine-1-carbothioamide) (HL) from salicylaldehyde and thiosemicarbazide. Its complexes with Mn(II) and Zn(II) were prepared following similar technique and characterised by melting point, FT-IR, UV –visible spectrophotometry, and elemental analysis. The Mn(II) complex showed paramagnetism with a magnetic moment value of 5.80 BM while …

A Multivariate Ecological Approach To Delineate Unionid Freshwater Mussel Species, Ava M. Laszlo

Biology Theses

Freshwater mussels represent one of the most imperiled faunal groups on the planet and are critical to freshwater ecosystems. If mussel species are not carefully defined, our conservation plans may miss differences in the habitat needs of different species and the conservation strategies may not be as successful. Because ecological niche models can be used to provide evidence to support similar or dissimilar ecological niches and habitat requirements, I used modelling to forecast suitable habitat for Fusconaia askewi and F. lananensis, two purported threatened Texas species. The modeling results indicated that these species are not ecologically different. Based upon …

Implementing And Evaluating A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (Cure) At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Michele I. Shuster Phd, Jennifer Curtiss, Timothy F. Wright, Camilla Champion, Maryam Sharifi, Judith Bosland

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

We are examining the impact of a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) at a land-grant, Hispanic-serving institution in the southwestern United States. Students in our CURE completed one or two extended research projects over a single semester. Our CURE enrolled a high proportion of underrepresented minority students (70.3%), including 60.2% Hispanic students. One year after CURE completion, 31.5% of CURE students had graduated with a STEM degree, and 54.3% were enrolled in a STEM major. Pre- and postcourse surveys of indicators of persistence including scientific self-efficacy, scientific identity, valuing scientific community objectives, and intention to persist showed positive shifts. Impacts …

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis And Structure Prediction Of Novel Newt Proteins, Abijeet Singh Mehta, Agustin Luz-Madrigal, Jian-Liang Li, Panagiotis A. Tsonis, Amit Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

Notophthalmus viridescens (Red-spotted Newt) possess amazing capabilities to regenerate their organs and other tissues. Previously, using a de novo assembly of the newt transcriptome combined with proteomic validation, our group identified a novel family of five protein members expressed in adult tissues during regeneration in Notophthalmus viridescens. The presence of a putative signal peptide suggests that all these proteins are secretory in nature. Here we employed iterative threading assembly refinement (I-TASSER) server to generate three-dimensional structure of these novel Newt proteins and predicted their function. Our data suggests that these proteins could act as ion transporters, and be involved …

Integrated Pest Management In The Academic Small Greenhouse Setting: A Case Study Using Solanum Spp. (Solanaceae)., Daniel S. Hayes, Ingrid E. Jordon-Thaden, Jason T. Cantley, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Premise

Botanical faculty and staff at academic institutions are often tasked with establishing and/or caring for plant collections held in small greenhouse facilities. Once plants are in place, an especially acute challenge is managing plant pest/pathogen populations. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are an excellent option, but few examples exist in the literature of successful programs that have been developed in academic small greenhouse settings.

Methods and Results

Over several years, we developed an IPM program for two small research greenhouses on the campus of a primarily undergraduate institution where hundreds of plants have been grown for studies in the …

The Transcriptome Of The Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo Calyptratus): A Resource For Studying The Evolution And Development Of Vertebrates, Brendan John Pinto, Daren C. Card, Todd A. Castoe, Raul E. Diaz Jr., Stuart V. Nielsen, Paul A. Trainor, Tony Gamble

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) is an emerging model system for studying functional morphology and evolutionary developmental biology (evo‐devo). Chameleons possess body plans that are highly adapted to an arboreal life style, featuring laterally compressed bodies, split hands/ft for grasping, a projectile tongue, turreted independently moving eyes, and a prehensile tail. Despite being one of the most phenotypically divergent clades of tetrapods, genomic resources for chameleons are severely lacking.

Methods

To address this lack of resources, we used RNAseq to generate 288 million raw Illumina sequence reads from four adult tissues (male and female eyes and gonads) …

Does Thermotolerance In Daphnia Depend On The Mitochondrial Function?, Rajib Hasan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Thermotolerance limit in aquatic organism is set by the ability to sustain aerobic scope to sudden temperature shifts. This study tested the genetic and plastic differences in thermotolerance of Daphnia that can be explained by the differences in the ability to retain mitochondrial integrity at high temperatures. Five genotypes with different biogeographic origins were acclimated to 18^ᵒC and 25^ᵒC. We developed a rhodamine 123 in-vivo assay to measure mitochondrial membrane potential and observed higher fluorescent in heat damaged tissues as the disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential. Significant effects on temperature tolerance were observed with CCCP …

Tropic Transfer And Bioaccumulation Of Lead Along Soil-Plant-Aphid-Ladybird Food Chain, Mohod Irfan Naikoo, Mudasir Ifran Dar, Fareed Ahmad Khan, Fariha Raghib, N. Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Lead (Pb) contamination of agroecosystems is a serious issue as Pb is a persistent pollutant that is retained in soil for long, causing toxicities to organisms. This study examines biotransfer of Pb from soils treated with different concentrations of Pb through a broad bean (Vicia faba L.)–aphid (Aphis fabae Scop.)–ladybird (Coccinella transversalis Fabricius) food chain and its consequent inference for natural biological control, the ladybird. The soil was amended with Pb at the rates of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg kg⁻¹(w/w). The amount of Pb in plant, aphid and ladybird increased in a dose-dependent manner …

Play Behavior And The Development Of Boldness And Caution In Juvenile Belding’S Ground Squirrels (Urocitellus Beldingi), Madelene Shehan

Master's Theses

The ubiquity of play among juvenile mammals suggests it provides adaptive benefits, potentially through influences on the development of temperament in young animals. Juvenile Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) must balance competing demands for boldness and caution imposed by the fundamental trade-off between their short active season and their vulnerability to predation. In this study, I evaluated whether play helps to facilitate the development of an appropriate balance between boldness and caution in juvenile U. beldingi.I observed the play behavior of juvenile U. beldingiand conducted flight-initiation distance tests to measure boldness-caution at the beginning and toward …

The Evolutionary And Functional Roles Of Synonymous Codon Usage In Eukaryotes, Zhen Peng

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Most amino acids are encoded by multiple synonymous codons. Although alternative usage of synonymous codons does not affect the amino acid sequences of proteins, researchers have been reporting evidence for functional synonymous codon usage at the species- and gene-specific levels for over four decades. It has been shown that variations in synonymous codon usage can affect phenotypes through diverse mechanisms such as shaping translation efficiency and mRNA stability. On the other hand, the common view that cellular and organismal phenotypes are primarily determined by proteins whose functions are primarily determined by amino acid sequences, often drives the assumption that synonymous …

Med12 Mutations Promote Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Through Hyperactivated Gli3/Shh Signalling, Soundharrya Muthukumar

Theses & Dissertations

When cells of the prostate gland start growing uncontrollably, it results in cancer due to genetic aberrations. The development and progression of prostate cancer depend on androgenic stimulation. Although prostate cancer is temporarily treated by depriving a tumor of androgen, the patient relapses getting a castration-resistant form of the disease called castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). CRPC can specifically develop through crosstalk of androgen receptor signalling pathways. One such pathway that is of specific interest in this paper is the MED12 regulated SHH signalling pathway. The mediator is a signal processor that helps in the transduction of gene-specific transcription factors to …

A Gradient Of Pollination Specialization In Three Species Of Bolivian Centropogon, Laura Lagomarsino, Nathan Muchhala

Biology Department Faculty Works

PremiseClosely related plant species with overlapping ranges often experience competition for pollination services. Such competition can select for divergence in floral traits that attract pollinators or determine pollen placement. While most species in Centropogon(Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) have flowers that suggest adaptation to bat or hummingbird pollination, actual pollinators are rarely documented, and a few species have a mix of traits from both pollination syndromes. We studied the pollination biology of a “mixed‐syndrome” species and its co‐occurring congeners to examine the relationship between floral traits and visitation patterns for Centropogon.Methods Fieldwork at two sites in Bolivian cloud forests involved filming floral visitors, …

Saturated Hydrocarbon Analysis Of Liberty State Park Soils, Matthew Chi-Hymn Cheung

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Contaminated soils have been a concern in New Jersey since the Industrial Revolution (Gallagher, 2008). One site in particular has a variety of contaminants and is near the coast of Jersey City in Liberty State Park. Liberty State Park has been impacted by three significant changes. It was first a wetland in the 1600s, then became a New York dump site, and finally a railyard for the Central Railroad of New Jersey (Stanislaw, 2013). The whole land mass has mixed contaminants, including trace elements, heavy metals, organic wastes, and organic compounds. Currently, most of the state park has been dredged …

Taxonomy And The History Of Science: A Critical Analysis Of Four Historic Publications, Christopher M. Rogers

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

The history of taxonomy is not usually taught in modern biology classes, but it is necessary to understand the history of classification and science as a whole in order to better understand the processes of classification and thinking that are commonly taught at the college level. Through the exploration of the difficulties of publishing, Linnaeus' Species Plantarum, and three pre-Linnaean works from Pliny the Elder, Nehemiah Grew, and Rembert Dodoens, I have found that the history of the sciences has been largely distorted. The distortion appears to be of many factors, including the replacement of ideas, censorship from scholarly …