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Evaluation Of Pro-Inflammatory Biomarkers As Potential Early Indicators Of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (Ards), Makda Solomon Gebre

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Infections with the 2009 pandemic influenza A(HlNl) virus often leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in high-risk patients. In these patients, ARDS has a mortality rate of 40-50 % [1]. Patients may die before any intervention is possible since there are few if any early biomarkers that are indicative of ARDS and can be used for diagnosis. In a search for biomarkers that signal early disease progression in mice, multiple acute phase proteins involved with inflammatory responses to infectious stimuli were proposed. Three biomarkers were evaluated for this project. These included C-reactive protein (CRP), Serum Amyloid A (SAA) and …

Implications Of Climate Change On The Distribution Of The Tick Vector Ixodes Scapularis And Risk For Lyme Disease In The Texas-Mexico Transboundary Region, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Ivan Castro-Arellano, Guadalupe Gordillo Pérez, Ana L. Cavazos, Margarita Vargas-Sandoval, Abha Grover, Javier Torres, Raul F. Medina, Adalberto A. Pérez De León, Maria Dolores Esteve-Gassent

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

Background: Disease risk maps are important tools that help ascertain the likelihood of exposure to specific infectious agents. Understanding how climate change may affect the suitability of habitats for ticks will improve the accuracy of risk maps of tick-borne pathogen transmission in humans and domestic animal populations. Lyme disease (LD) is the most prevalent arthropod borne disease in the US and Europe. The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi causes LD and it is transmitted to humans and other mammalian hosts through the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. LD risk maps in the transboundary region between the U.S. and Mexico are lacking. Moreover, …

Host-Parasite Interactions In An Invasive Songbird, Courtney A.C. Coon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Introduced species are the greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. Understanding the processes that permit organisms to become successful invaders may provide opportunities to prevent or limit their dispersal and establishment and thereby alleviate some of their harmful effects. The goal of my dissertation research has been to investigate whether invasive species have distinctive interactions with parasites, and some of the mechanisms that may underlie that variation. I used one of the world's most successful vertebrate invaders as a case study: the house sparrow (Passer domesticus; Introduction).

Previous research in the house sparrow suggested that loss of …

Inactivation Of Genes For Antigenic Variation In The Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia Hermsii Reduces Infectivity In Mice And Transmission By Ticks, Sandra J. Raffel, James M. Battisti, Robert J. Fischer, Tom G. Schwan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Borrelia hermsii, a causative agent of relapsing fever of humans in western North America, is maintained in enzootic cycles that include small mammals and the tick vector Ornithodoros hermsi. In mammals, the spirochetes repeatedly evade the host’s acquired immune response by undergoing antigenic variation of the variable major proteins (Vmps) produced on their outer surface. This mechanism prolongs spirochete circulation in blood, which increases the potential for acquisition by fast-feeding ticks and therefore perpetuation of the spirochete in nature. Antigenic variation also underlies the relapsing disease observed when humans are infected. However, most spirochetes switch off the bloodstream …

Analysis Of The Population Structure Of Anaplasma Phagocytophilum Using Multilocus Sequence Typing, Christian Huhn, Christina Winter, Timo Wolfsperger, Nicole Wüppenhorst, Katja Strašek Smrdel, Jasmin Skuballa, Miriam Pfäffle, Trevor Petney, Cornelia Silaghi, Viktor Dyachenko, Nikola Pantchev, Reinhard K. Straubinger, Daniel Schaarschmidt-Kiener, Martin Ganter, Matthew Aardema, Friederike D. Von Loewenich

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in neutrophils. It is transmitted via tick-bite and causes febrile disease in humans and animals. Human granulocytic anaplasmosis is regarded as an emerging infectious disease in North America, Europe and Asia. However, although increasingly detected, it is still rare in Europe. Clinically apparent A. phagocytophilum infections in animals are mainly found in horses, dogs, cats, sheep and cattle. Evidence from cross-infection experiments that A. phagocytophilum isolates of distinct host origin are not uniformly infectious for heterologous hosts has led to several approaches of molecular strain characterization. Unfortunately, the results of …

Geographic Variation In Alkaloid-Based Microbial Defenses Of The Strawberry Poison Frog, Oophaga Pumilio, Annemarie Mina

Senior Honors Projects

Frogs of the family Dendrobatidae use alkaloids as a chemical defense against predators. Alkaloids are not manufactured by frogs, but instead sequestered from a diet of arthropods. Alkaloid defenses in dendrobatids differ with geographic location, mainly because arthropod availability varies with location. It has been postulated that alkaloids also function as a defense against microbes and different frog alkaloids might be more/less effective against microbes. We assessed this hypothesis by testing the effectiveness of alkaloids in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from five geographic locations in Costa Rica and Panama against different microbes. Alkaloids were tested against the bacteria Escherichia …

Histopathologic Aspects In Plagioscion Squamosissimus (Heckel, 1940) Induced By Neoechinorhynchus Veropesoi, Metacestodes And Anisakidae Juveniles = Aspectos Histopatólogicos Em Plagioscion Squamosissimus Induzidos Por Neoechinorhynchus Veropesoi, Metacestódeos E Juvenis Da Família Anisakidae, Francisco Tiago De Vasconcelos Melo, Rogério Antonio Ribeiro Rodrigues, Elane Guerreiro Giese, Scott Lyell Gardner, Jeannie Nascimento Dos Santos

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Abstract

Plagioscion squamosissimus (Heckel 1840), a fish endemic to the Amazon Basin and commonly known as the “silver croaker,” plays an important role in the ecology and economy of Pará State, Brazil. Knowledge of host-parasite relationships is important to understanding the role of parasites in the control of natural host populations. This work describes histopathological aspects caused by several common intestinal parasites found during a helminthological survey of fish in northern Brazil. We observed a high prevalence of helminth infection, especially by J₃ nematode juveniles of the family Anisakidae and metacestodes of the family Protocephalidae (both with 100% prevalence). …

A Genetic Basis For Differential Survival Of Escherichia Coli In The Environment, Chelsea Kliebert

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Vibrio Cholerae Type Vi Secretion System Employs Diverse Effector Modules For Intraspecific Competition, Daniel Unterweger, Sarah T. Miyata, Verena Bachmann, Teresa M. Brooks, Travis Mullins, Benjamin Kostiuk, Daniele Provenzano, Stefan U. Pukatzki

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

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen that consists of over 200 serogroups with differing pathogenic potential. Only strains that express the virulence factors cholera toxin (CT) and toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP) are capable of pandemic spread of cholera diarrhoea. Regardless, all V. cholerae strains sequenced to date harbour genes for the type VI secretion system (T6SS) that translocates effectors into neighbouring eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Here we report that the effectors encoded within these conserved gene clusters differ widely among V. cholerae strains, and that immunity proteins encoded immediately downstream from the effector genes protect their host from neighbouring bacteria …

School Of Biological Sciences News, 2014, School Of Biological Sciences

School of Biological Sciences News

Alumni newsletter of Illinois State University's School of Biological Sciences.

Programmed Allee Effect In Bacteria Causes A Tradeoff Between Population Spread And Survival, Robert P. Smith, Cheemang Tan, Jaydeep K. Srimani, Anand Pai, Katherine A. Riccione, Hao Song, Lingchong You

Biology Faculty Articles

Dispersal is necessary for spread into new habitats, but it has also been shown to inhibit spread. Theoretical studies have suggested that the presence of a strong Allee effect may account for these counterintuitive observations. Experimental demonstration of this notion is lacking due to the difficulty in quantitative analysis of such phenomena in a natural setting. We engineered Escherichia coli to exhibit a strong Allee effect and examined how the Allee effect would affect the spread of the engineered bacteria. We showed that the Allee effect led to a biphasic dependence of bacterial spread on the dispersal rate: spread is …

An Experimental Investigation Into The Mechanisms Of Bacterial Evolution, Zhenmao Wan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis studies the two fundamental mechanisms of bacterial evolution — horizontal gene transfer and spontaneous mutation, in the bacterium Escherichia coli through novel experimental assays and mathematical simulations. First, I will develop a growth assay utilizing the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to provide real-time enumeration of genetic marker abundance within bacterial populations. Second, I will focus on horizontal gene transfer in E. coli occurring through a process called conjugation. By fitting the qPCR data to a resource limited, logistic growth model, I will obtain estimated values of several key parameters governing the dynamics of DNA transfer through conjugation …

Our Impressive Immune System: More Than A Defense, Alan L. Gillen, Jason Conrad

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Most likely the immune system was put into place in the original human body design. We know from Exodus 20:11 and other verses that God completed His work of creation in six days. Therefore, the human body and its functional parts, including the components of the immune system, must have been part of the original creation. God said that all He had made was very good (Genesis 1:31). Since there were no pathogens (germs), parasites, or diseases prior the Edenic Fall and subsequent Curse, the immune system may have functioned differently in that world unmarred by sin and death.

The …

Targeted Cytotoxic Therapy Kills Persisting Hiv Infected Cells During Art, Paul W. Denton, Julie M. Long, Stephen W. Wietgrefe, Craig Sykes, Rae Ann Spagnuolo, Olivia D. Snyder, Katherine Perkey, Nancie M. Archin, Shailesh K. Choudhary, Kuo Yang, Michael G. Hudgens, Ira Pastan, Ashley T. Haase, Angela D. Kashuba, Edward A. Berger, David M. Margolis, J. Victor Garcia

Biology Faculty Publications

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce HIV levels in plasma to undetectable levels, but rather little is known about the effects of ART outside of the peripheral blood regarding persistent virus production in tissue reservoirs. Understanding the dynamics of ART-induced reductions in viral RNA (vRNA) levels throughout the body is important for the development of strategies to eradicate infectious HIV from patients. Essential to a successful eradication therapy is a component capable of killing persisting HIV infected cells during ART. Therefore, we determined the in vivo efficacy of a targeted cytotoxic therapy to kill infected cells that persist despite long-term ART. …

N-Substituted 5-Amino-6-Methylpyrazine-2,3-Dicarbonitriles: Microwave-Assisted Synthesis And Biological Properties, Aidan Coffey, Jiahui Guo, Et. Al.

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

In this work a series of 15 N-benzylamine substituted 5-amino-6-methyl-pyrazine-2,3-dicarbonitriles was prepared by the aminodehalogenation reactions using microwave assisted synthesis with experimentally set and proven conditions. This approach for the aminodehalogenation reaction was chosen due to its higher yields and shorter reaction times. The products of this reaction were characterized by IR, NMR and other analytical data. The compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial, antifungal and herbicidal activity. Compounds 3 (R = 3,4-Cl), 9 (R = 2-Cl) and 11 (R = 4-CF3) showed good antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC = 6.25 µg/mL). It was found that the lipophilicity is …

Transplantation Of Autologous Adipose Stem Cells Lacks Therapeutic Efficacy In The Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Model, Xiujuan Zhang, Annie C. Bowles, Julie A. Semon, Brittni A. Scruggs, Shijia Zhang, Amy L. Strong, Jeffrey M. Gimble, Bruce A. Bunnell

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multiple sclerosis (MS), characterized by chronic inflammation, demyelination, and axonal damage, is a complicated neurological disease of the human central nervous system. Recent interest in adipose stromal/stem cell (ASCs) for the treatment of CNS diseases has promoted further investigation in order to identify the most suitable ASCs. To investigate whether MS affects the biologic properties of ASCs and whether autologous ASCs from MS-affected sources could serve as an effective source for stem cell therapy, cells were isolated from subcutaneous inguinal fat pads of mice with established experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS. ASCs from EAE mice and …

Airborne Staphylococcus Aureus In The Biology Labs At Southern Adventist University, Harrison Filler

Capstone Research Projects

Staphylococcus aureus has been of growing interest to the scientific community in recent years. It is not only easily transferred from one person to another, but its rapidly evolving antibiotic resistance has made it increasingly difficult to treat. Once thought to be a hospital-acquired disease, S. aureus is now often found in the community. Studies indicate that people and clothing can act as carriers of S. aureus not only directly, but through airborne particles. For these reasons a research experiment was designed to determine the prevalence of S. aureus in the microbiology lab and anatomy and physiology lab at Southern …

Bartonella Prevalence In Fleas Isolated From Populations Of Uinta Ground Squirrels In Logan Canyon Utah, Raddison Veater, Lise M. Aubry, Susannah S. French, Laine Anderson, Scott A. Bernhardt

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Cmvil-10 Stimulates The Invasive Potential Of Mda-Mb-231 Breast Cancer Cells, Cendy Valle Oseguera, Juliet Spencer

Biology Faculty Publications

Cancer is the result of unregulated cell growth that leads to tumor formation, and in many cases, metastases. Although there are several risk factors associated with cancer, one area that remains poorly understood is the impact of infectious disease. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a member of the herpesvirus family that is highly prevalent in the population. HCMV usually causes clinical disease only in immune compromised individuals, but recent evidence suggests that HCMV may be strongly associated with some forms of cancer, particularly glioblastoma and breast cancer. We investigated the possibility that cmvIL-10, a viral cytokine with homology to human IL-10 …

The Use Of Surveillance And Preventative Measures For Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections In Surgical Patients, Kevin T . Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman, Said Abusalem

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) found that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with up to 375,000 infections and 23,000 deaths in the United States. It is a major cause of surgical site infections, with a higher mortality and longer duration of care than Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. A multifactorial bundled approach is needed to control this epidemic, with single interventions unlikely to have a significant impact on attenuating MRSA infection rates.
Active surveillance has been studied in a wide range of surgical patients, including surgical intensive care and non-intensive care units; cardiac, vascular, orthopedic, obstetric, head and …

Cloning, Expression, Sequence Analysis And Homology Modeling Of The Prolyl Endoprotease From Eurygaster Integriceps Puton, Ravi Chandra Yandamuri, Ranjeeta Gautam, Charles Darkoh, Vanitha Dareddy, Mustapha El-Bouhssini, Beatrice A. Clack

Faculty Publications

Eurygaster integriceps Puton, commonly known as sunn pest, is a major pest of wheat in Northern Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. This insect injects a prolyl endoprotease into the wheat, destroying the gluten. The purpose of this study was to clone the full length cDNA of the sunn pest prolyl endoprotease (spPEP) for expression in E. coli and to compare the amino acid sequence of the enzyme to other known PEPs in both phylogeny and potential tertiary structure. Sequence analysis shows that the 5ꞌ UTR contains several putative transcription factor binding sites for transcription factors known to be …

Preventing Parasites: Developing A Deworming Protocol And Screening Animals At The Willow Park Zoo, Sydney Greenfield

Biology Posters

The primary object of this project was to research AZA and American Association of Zoo Veterinarian guidelines, write up a deworming protocol and schedule for the zoo, and finally begin screening collection animals.

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Time To Competitive Exclusion, Andrew M. Kramer, John M. Drake

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

A predictive theory of population extinction for natural populations requires integrating the effects of stochasticity with the interactions engaged in with populations of other species. The theory of competitive exclusion predicts that inferior competitors for a limiting resource will be driven to extinction, but the effects of resource competition on time to extinction have not been examined. We studied a stochastic version of Tilman's resource competition model to examine two species competition-driven extinction. Simulations showed that competitive imbalance, population size and demographic rates of the “inferior” competitor were the most important determinants of mean extinction time, while factors including resource …

Molecular Identification Of A Fungal Pathogen Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis And Its Impact On Amphibians In Urban Landscaping Districts Of New Jersey, Tin-Chun Chu, Meiyin Wu, Lauren Pohren, Bobak Haghjoo, Christina Soman, Lee H. Lee

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In urban landscape, amphibians face many challenges in order to sustain their populations, such as road mortality and infection of pathogenic Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Bd infection has been reported to cause significant mortality; however, its current distribution in the state of New Jersey remains unknown. In spring, amphibians emerge from their wintering group and migrate to nearby breeding ponds or vernal pools. Their migration pathway is often intercepted by the dense network of human transportation which leads to extirpation. This study aims to investigate potential mortality caused by human transportation and the infected rate of Bd fungus on the amphibian …

Why Is Living Fast Dangerous? Disentangling The Roles Of Resistance And Tolerance Of Disease, James P. Cronin, Megan A. Rúa, Charles E. Mitchell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Primary axes of host developmental tempo (HDT; e.g., slow-quick return continuum) represent latent biological processes and are increasingly used to a priori identify hosts that contribute disproportionately more to pathogen transmission. The influence of HDT on host contributions to transmission depends on how HDT influences both resistance and tolerance of disease. Here, we use structural equation modeling to address known limitations of conventional measures of resistance and tolerance. We first provide a general resistance-tolerance metamodel from which system-specific models can be derived. We then develop a model specific to a group of vector-transmitted viruses that infect hundreds of grass species …

The Effect Of Fluvastatin On Mast Cell Function: Genotype Dependence, Elizabeth M. Kolawole

Theses and Dissertations

Fluvastatin, the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor known for its role in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular disease, has more recently been shown to play a role in the immune response. Given the critical role that mast cells play in allergy and inflammatory diseases such as asthma, which effects one third of America’s population, we assessed the effect of fluvastatin on mast cell and basophils function. We demonstrate that fluvastatin downregulated IgE-mediated cytokine production. Additionally, in vivo studies showed that fluvastatin suppressed IgE-mediated anaphylaxis. Interestingly, the effects of fluvastatin showed dependence on genetic background, as C57BL/6 mast cells were sensitive, while …

Behavioral Response Of N. Spring Peepers (Pseudacris Crucifer) To A Common Road De-Icer, Nacl, Kara Lindstrom

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Amphibians are highly susceptible to environmental degradation in the form of pollution and are therefore considered an indicator for pollutants. Amphibian populations have been on the decline in recent years and possible causes have been subject of much recent research. One possible contributor to the decline is the effect of the use of road de-icing salts on the availability of viable habitat choices. Road salt, primarily NaCl, is one of the leading contributors of chloride in aquatic environments in northern climates. Salt from road run-off has the ability to affect amphibians directly by causing a reduction in offspring fitness, resulting …

Photocatalytic Antimicrobial Effect Of Tio_2 Anatase Thin-Film-Coated Orthodontic Arch Wires On 3 Oral Pathogens, Fi̇gen Özyildiz, Ataç Uzel, Ayşe Serpi̇l Hazar, Mustafa Güden, Sultan Ölmez, Işil Aras, İsmai̇l Karaboz

Turkish Journal of Biology

The aim of this study was to introduce antimicrobial activity to stainless steel orthodontic arch wires by coating them with TiO_2 in anatase form. Stainless steel (0.016 × 0.022 inch), D-rect (0.016 × 0.022 inch), and multistranded hammered retainer wires (0.014 × 0.018 inch) were coated with TiO_2 anatase by the sol-gel dip coating method. The wires were assessed for their photocatalytic antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans, and Enterococcus faecalis. After illumination under UVA (315-400 nm) at 1.0 mW/cm^2 for 1 h, the reduction efficiencies of the anatase-coated arch wires were calculated by using colony-forming unit counts. All …

Development Of Durable Antimicrobial Surfaces Containing Silver- And Zinc-Ion-Exchanged Zeolites, Zeynep İyi̇gündoğdu, Selami̇ Demi̇rci̇, Nurcan Baç, Fi̇kretti̇n Şahi̇n

Turkish Journal of Biology

The present work involves development of stable antimicrobial materials containing silver- and zinc-ion-exchanged zeolites. Faujasite X and Linde type A zeolites were synthesized, and following ion exchange with Ag^+ and Zn^{++} ions they were found to exhibit antimicrobial effects against bacteria (E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and S. aureus), yeast (C. albicans and C. glabrata), and fungi (A. niger and P. expansum). Zeolites-X and -A containing silver and zinc ions were then mixed with various coating materials, including paints and polypropylene, to develop antimicrobial composites. The long-term antimicrobial characteristics of zeolite-containing composite materials were investigated by inoculating selected microorganisms onto the …