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Oncolytic Tanapoxvirus Variants Expressing Mil-2 And Mccl-2 Regress Human Pancreatic Cancer Xenografts In Immunocompromised And Immunocompetent Cann.Cg-Foxn1Nu/Crl Nude Mice, Scott David Haller

Dissertations

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in Western countries. The incidence of PDAC has increased over the last 40 years and is projected to be the second leading cause of cancer death by 2030. Despite aggressive treatment regimens, prognosis for patients diagnosed with PDAC is very poor; PDAC has the lowest 5-year survival rate for any form of cancer in the United States (US). PDAC cases are rarely detected in early stage when surgical resection can be performed and few, approximately 20%, are suitable for surgical resection which remains the only curative treatment when …

From Young To Old: The Effects Of Sedentary-Aging And Exercise Interventions On Structural Plasticity Of Lumbar Motor Neurons, Nmj, And Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Expression, Alberto Felipe Cintron-Colon

Dissertations

Neuromuscular weakness has been associated with age progression. A possible reason is a disconnection between muscle and neuron, causing components from both the central and peripheral nervous systems to deteriorate. Exercise, however, has beneficial effects for both muscle and nervous tissue, inducing neuroprotection. Neurotrophic factors are powerful regulators of neuronal maintenance and synaptic strength. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a neurotrophic factor that has been shown to be a potent survival factor for somatic motor neurons that innervate skeletal muscle.

This study aims to evaluate changes in structural plasticity of motor neurons in the lumbar spinal cord and …

Biological Factors Affecting Dna Shedding Propensity, Ines G. Cedillo-Cruz

Student Theses

Recovery of trace DNA is important in forensic casework because it is the main type of biological evidence found in both violent and non-violent crimes. Researchers have been trying to determine if there are individual differences in shedding propensity, or how much DNA an individual leaves behind. A model for determining this would benefit evidence interpretation if passive transfer scenarios are being considered, as it can affect the probative value of DNA evidence. This study compared the amount of DNA collected with adhesive D-Squame tape disks from the fingers of individual’s washed non-dominant and dominant hands after 30 minutes of …

Evaluation Of Postmortem Protein Expression In Determining Cause Of Death, Zoe Robinson

University Honors Theses

Cause of death differentiation during a medicolegal autopsy can be complicated by several factors, including sample conditions which can create uncertainty. Postmortem protein analysis has potential to be used as an additional evidentiary tool in determining cause of death. Proteomic biomarkers offer a method to directly measure physiological conditions at time of death that are stable in a postmortem state. Specific protein expression levels have been studied for their postmortem application in significantly differentiating many different causes of death. Work done in regard to asphyxial, toxicological, and traumatic deaths will be specifically discussed here. Proteins will be reviewed for potential …

Immunosuppression Broadens Evolutionary Pathways To Treatment Failure During Acinetobacter Baumannii Pneumonia, Wenwen Huo, Lindsay M. Busch, Juan Hernandez-Bird, Efrat Hamami, Christopher Marshall, Edward Geisinger, Vaughn S. Cooper, Tim Van Opijnen, Jason W. Rosch, Ralph R. Isberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Acinetobacter baumannii is increasingly refractory to antibiotic treatment in healthcare settings. As is true of most human pathogens, the genetic path to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the role that the immune system plays in modulating AMR during disease are poorly understood. Here we reproduced several routes to fluoroquinolone resistance, performing evolution experiments using sequential lung infections in mice that are replete or depleted of neutrophils, providing two key insights into the evolution of drug resistance. First, neutropenic hosts acted as reservoirs for the accumulation of drug resistance during drug treatment. Selection for variants with altered drug sensitivity profiles arose readily …

Assessing Black Rat Population Abundance And Persistence At The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, Mars Lu, Julia Kristina Perez

Biological Sciences

The black rat, Rattus rattus, is considered one of the most destructive and widespread invasive species around the world, with the ability to damage crops, kill native species, and spread disease. The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) is home to numerous at-risk species such as the Western Snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) and California Least Tern (Sternula antillarum browni). Black rats have been detected at the ODSVRA in studies conducted in 2015 and 2018, and may be a potential threat to nesting seabirds like the plover and the tern. In addition, they may …

Biomass Estimation Of Marine Biofilms On Plastic Surfaces, Kian Banihashemi, Fernando Javier Gil

Biological Sciences

Plastics have become a major source of marine pollution, which threatens food safety and quality, human health, and marine ecosystems. Due to the drastic negative effects of plastics in a marine environment, alternative biodegradable plastics are being generated that are more eco-friendly and have less environmental impact. Though some of these plastics are known to biodegrade, the process of degradation for bioplastics has not been heavily studied in a marine environment. This pilot project sought to both quantify the process of biodegradation and compare across different methods for effectiveness of biomass estimation, which serves as an indicator of biodegradation. Plastics …

The Use Of Actinobacteria To Improve The Efficacy Of Phytoremediation Of Heavy Metal-Polluted Soils In The United Arab Emirates, Fatima Abdulmoneim Hussain

Theses

In an effort to gain the advantages provided by actinobacterial enzyme (1- aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) (ACC) deaminase (ACCD) in the phytoremediation of heavy metals from the environment, the ability of native actinobacteria with ACC deaminase activity to promote the growth of Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon L.) in soils contaminated with nickel nitrate was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. This enzyme hydrolyzes (ACC), the immediate biosynthetic precursors of the hormone ethylene (ET) in plant tissues to ammonia and α keto-butyrate. The main objectives of this study were: (1) Isolating beneficial native heavy metal-tolerant actinobacteria from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) contaminated soil capable …

Terrestrial Movements, Activity Patterns And Habitat Use By Kinosternon Scorpioides (Testudines: Kinosternidae) In Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica, Jose M. Mora, Franklin E. Castaneda

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Scorpion Mud turtle, Kinosternon scorpioides, is a widely distributed, semiaquatic species known to engage in regular terrestrial movement and terrestrial estivation. We studied terrestrial behavior in this species in Palo Verde National Park, northwestern Costa Rica. We determined terrestrial activity patterns by searching for active individuals during transects along 3.4 km of trails. We determined the distance that turtles traveled between the wetlands and estivation sites by fitting 10 terrestrially active individuals with a thread-bobbin tracking device attached to the rear of the carapace. We identified sex and marked and measured every turtle found active. We accumulated 92 observations …

Ours Lived Lived: Faculty Responses To Stem Students' Lived Experiences, Stan Nguyen

University Honors Theses

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields have historically had low undergraduate retention rates. To aid in counteracting this, classroom exercises, or 'belonging interventions' can play a vital role in keeping new STEM students motivated through the "cultural shock" period of the college transition. However, much is still unknown about STEM instructors' perceptions on belonging interventions in STEM classrooms. Would understanding students' lives and experiences in the past and present help them make better informed decisions in their teaching practices?

To answer this question, we drew upon results from a belonging intervention conducted by the Biology Education Research (BER) group …

The Effect Of Media And Filtration In Inducing The Oxidative Stress Response In Escherichia Coli, Suzanne Hollingsworth

University Honors Theses

Escherichia coli grown in complex medium (LB), but not defined medium (DGC), arrest DNA replication when collected on membrane filters and resuspended in fresh media. The arrest is similar to that observed when cells are challenged with hydrogen peroxide. Yet, the reason behind this arrest is unknown.

I hypothesized that the arrest in replication in complex medium after filtering might be due to oxidative shock, and therefore cells grown in complex medium and filtered should induce an oxidative stress response similar to cells treated with hydrogen peroxide. Utilizing the indicator dye H₂DCFDA, which fluoresces in response to reactive …

Lianas Decelerate Tropical Forest Thinning During Succession, Jose A. Medina-Vega, Geertje M. F. Van Der Heijden, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The well-established pattern of forest thinning during succession predicts an increase in mean tree biomass with decreasing tree density. The forest thinning pattern is commonly assumed to be driven solely by tree-tree competition. The presence of non-tree competitors could alter thinning trajectories, thus altering the rate of forest succession and carbon uptake. We used a large-scale liana removal experiment over 7 years in a 60- to 70-year-old Panamanian forest to test the hypothesis that lianas reduce the rate of forest thinning during succession. We found that lianas slowed forest thinning by reducing tree growth, not by altering tree recruitment or …

Mycophagous Beetle Females Do Not Behave Competitively During Intrasexual Interactions In Presence Of A Fungal Resource, L. D. Mitchem, Vincent A. Formica, R. Debray, Dana E. Homer , '21, E. D. Brodie Iii

Biology Faculty Works

Intrasexual interactions can determine which individuals within a population have access to limited resources. Despite their potential importance on fitness generally and mating success especially, female–female interactions are not often measured in the same species where male–male interactions are well-defined. In this study, we characterized female–female interactions in Bolitotherus cornutus, a mycophagous beetle species native to Northeastern North America. We used dyadic, behavioral assays to determine whether females perform directly aggressive or indirectly exclusionary competitive behaviors. Polypore shelf fungus, an important food and egg-laying resource for B. cornutus females, is patchily distributed and of variable quality, so we tested …

A Tale Of Two Genomes: The Complex Interplay Between The Mitochondrial And The Nuclear Genomes, Abhilesh S. Dhawanjewar

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mitochondria, the product of an ancient endosymbiotic event are pivotal to eukaryotic cells by synthesizing the majority of the cell’s ATP output. However, modern- day mitochondria are completely dependent on more than one thousand nuclear-encoded products for their function and the maintenance of their genomes. The fundamentally different ways in which the mitochondrial (mtDNA) and the nuclear (nucDNA) genomes are replicated and inherited lead to captivating coevolutionary dynamics between them. The aims of this dissertation are to investigate the coevolutionary dynamics between the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes at three distinct biological scales. At the organismal level, we use a Drosophila …

Seed Longevity And Climatic Tolerance Of San Joaquin Wooly-Threads (Monolopia Congdonii; Asteraceae) An Endangered Plant From The San Joaquin Desert, California, Paul Excoffier

Master's Theses

San Joaquin wooly-threads (Monolopia congdonii; Asteraceae) is a federally-listed, endangered annual plant species from the desert areas of the San Joaquin Valley. Its limited range puts it at risk of extinction if the climate changes in such a way as to hinder its growth and reproduction. The primary aims of the study were to 1) determine how long-lived the seeds of the M. congdonii are, a key determinant of survival of desert annual plant populations through long droughts and 2) determine how severely hotter, drier conditions impact the ability of emerged plants to grow and reproduce. Secondarily, I …

Understanding Rare Species In California: An Assessment Of Camatta Canyon Amole (Hooveria Purpurea Var. Reducta) And A Meta-Analysis Of California Rare Plants In Literature, Kieran N. Althaus

Master's Theses

California is currently in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. There are approximately 5,000 native species of plants in California, a quarter of which are considered rare. Determining threats to these rare plants is often times difficult. Despite California's botanical resources, we still know very little about much of California’s rare plants. San Luis Obispo County is home to 2,000 of California’s native plant taxa, one- third of which are rare or endemic to the county. These species are of great local and environmental concern.

In Chapter 1, we attempted to assess the impact of non native species on a …

The Life Cycle Of Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells And Dormancy In Cancer: Opportunities For Novel Therapeutic Interventions, Jinsong Liu, Na Niu, Xiaoran Li, Xudong Zhang, Anil K Sood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recent data suggest that most genotoxic agents in cancer therapy can lead to shock of genome and increase in cell size, which leads whole genome duplication or multiplication, formation of polyploid giant cancer cells, activation of an early embryonic program, and dedifferentiation of somatic cells. This process is achieved via the giant cell life cycle, a recently proposed mechanism for malignant transformation of somatic cells. Increase in both cell size and ploidy allows cells to completely or partially restructures the genome and develop into a blastocyst-like structure, similar to that observed in blastomere-stage embryogenesis. Although blastocyst-like structures with reprogrammed genome …

Rhizosphere-Competent Actinobacterial Isolates With Acc Deaminase Activity Alleviate Salt Stress In Tomato Plants In The Uae, Alaa Ahmed Abbas Elbadawi

Biology Theses

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most popular vegetables in the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Salinity is a global menace to plant growth and development, causing significant economic losses to tomato and other crop plants. It is well-known that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase (ACCD) can increase plant tolerance to environmental stresses. This can be attributed to the increased activity of the enzyme ACCD, which breaks down ACC [the immediate precursor of ethylene (ET)] to ammonia and α-ketobutyrate, to lower the overproduction of ET levels in planta and to reduce the damages caused …

A Novel Crosstalk Between Autophagosomes And Phagosomes That Facilitates The Clearance Of Apoptotic Cells, Zheng Zhou, Omar Peña-Ramos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

During an animal's life, many cells undergo apoptosis, a form of genetically programmed cell death. These cells are swiftly engulfed by other cells through phagocytosis and subsequently degraded inside phagosomes. Phagocytosis and macroautophagy/autophagy are two different cellular events: whereas phagocytosis is a cell-eat-cell event, autophagy, or "self-eating", occurs within one cell, resulting in the enveloping of protein aggregates or damaged organelles within double-membrane autophagosomes. Despite this critical difference, these two events share common features: (1) both are means of safe garbage disposal; (2) both phagosomes and autophagosomes fuse to lysosomes, which drive the degradation of their contents; and (3) both …

Syphilis In The Esophagus, Ronan Allencherril, Paul Nicholls, Shilpa Jain, Robert Sealock, Priti Dangayach

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

This report documents a unique case of syphilis with esophageal involvement. Such a presentation is exceedingly rare in the modern era, particularly among patients without human immunodeficiency virus. Most instances were documented in the 1900s and earlier. Our patient presented with months of odynophagia and recurrent oral lesions. He was found to have a sizeable esophageal ulcer on endoscopy, with biopsy confirming the diagnosis of syphilis. His symptoms quickly resolved with intramuscular penicillin. This case highlights the importance of keeping a broad differential for odynophagia and suspicious lesions, cutaneous or mucosal.

Distribution Modelling Of Socotra Cormorant Using Maxent, Areej Mustafa Jaradat

Theses

This thesis is concerned with species distribution modeling of the Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis), a regionally endemic seabird to the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. Socotra Cormorants are important for the marine ecosystem as they apply top-down control and maintain the balance between trophic levels. They also contribute to the cycling of nutrients significantly. The bird is categorized as vulnerable by the IUCN. Large portions of their suitable habitat are disturbed or degraded due to oil exploration and coastal development. The seabird is poorly studied in every ecological aspect. The main objective of …

Optimization Of Palmitic Acid Production In Chloroidium Sp. Utex 3007 As A Sustainable Source Of Palm Oil Alternative, Amnah Salem Alzahmi

Theses

The increase in palm oil consumption and production has resulted in removing up to 90% of trees in some tropical forests. The green microalgae Chloroidium sp. UTEX 3007 can be an alternative sustainable source of palm oil due to its high palmitic acid content. The objective of this study was to generate a mutant Chloroidium population that is capable of producing and accumulating elevated levels of palmitic acid and to characterize the obtained populations’ lipid contents. The palmitic acid production optimization in Chloroidium sp. UTEX 3007 was conducted via a workflow of ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis and sorting of high-lipid producing …

Repeated Low-Level Blast Induces Chronic Neuroinflammation And Neurobehavioral Changes In Rat Models, Arun Reddy Ravula

Dissertations

Blast-induced neurotrauma (bTBI) is a signature medical concern for military personnel when they are exposed to explosions in active combat zones. However, soldiers as well as law enforcement personnel are also repeatedly exposed to low-level blasts during training sessions with heavy weaponries as part of combat readiness. Service personnel who sustain brain injuries from repeated low-level blasts (rLLBs) do not display overt pathological symptoms immediately but rather develop cognitive impairments, attention deficits, anxiety, and sleep disturbances over time. An improved rat model of rLLB was developed in this thesis by applying controlled low-level blast pressures (10 psi) repeated five times …

Bodipy-Based Light-Responsive Materials, Zhaoxiong Wan

Dissertations

The energy required for life on our planet is provided by light. In science, light is an important and powerful tool for measuring and modifying substances. For example, under the effect of illumination, light-responsive materials can change their physical and chemical properties. Photochemistry is a branch of research to study the effects of light irradiation on chemical structures and reactions. Some photochemical changes could lead to chemical bond dissociation (such as in photosynthesis) and structure isomerization (such as in the retina). Photochemistry has a strong relationship with human lives and it is essential in many ways. Among photophysics, fluorescence emission …

The Effects Of Aging On Wound Healing And Limb Regeneration In The Axolotl, Hande Sahin

Graduate Masters Theses

The Mexican axolotl is capable of regenerating various parts of its body and maintains this capacity throughout its entire life. Although this ability is sustained through adulthood, multiple regenerative processes appear to be negatively affected by aging. Here, we focus on evaluating the effect of aging on the rate of wound healing and limb regeneration. We have developed new in vivo, and ex vivo assays to characterize wound healing and identify differences between young and aged animals during this process. We have also characterized morphological features of mature skin from both groups of animals and although there are no obvious …

Integrating Deep Learning And Hydrodynamic Modeling To Improve The Great Lakes Forecast, Pengfei Xue, Aditya Wagh, Gangfeng Ma, Yilin Wang, Yongchao Yang, Tao Liu, Chenfu Huang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Laurentian Great Lakes, one of the world’s largest surface freshwater systems, pose a modeling challenge in seasonal forecast and climate projection. While physics-based hydrodynamic modeling is a fundamental approach, improving the forecast accuracy remains critical. In recent years, machine learning (ML) has quickly emerged in geoscience applications, but its application to the Great Lakes hydrodynamic prediction is still in its early stages. This work is the first one to explore a deep learning approach to predicting spatiotemporal distributions of the lake surface temperature (LST) in the Great Lakes. Our study shows that the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, …

Can Coastal Habitats Rise To The Challenge? Resilience Of Estuarine Habitats, Carbon Accumulation, And Economic Value To Sea-Level Rise In A Puget Sound Estuary, Monica M. Moritsch, Kristin B. Bryd, Melanie Davis, Anthony Good, Judith Z. Drexler, James T. Morris, Isa Wood, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Eric Grossman, Gynnis Nakai, Katrina L. Poppe, John M. Rybczyk

Faculty Publications

Sea-level rise (SLR) and obstructions to sediment delivery pose challenges to the persistence of estuarine habitats and the ecosystem services they provide. Restoration actions and sediment management strategies may help mitigate such challenges by encouraging the vertical accretion of sediment in and horizontal migration of tidal forests and marshes. We used a process-based soil accretion model (Coastal Wetland Equilibrium Model) combined with a habitat classifcation model (MOSAICS) to estimate the efects of SLR, suspended sediment, and inland habitat migration on estuarine habitats, soil carbon accumulation, and economic value of climate change mitigation of carbon accumulation (social cost of carbon dioxide) …

Adaptive Evolution Of Learning And Memory In A Model Lineage, William G. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Although reductionistic studies of mechanisms of learning in a broad range of model species have advanced our understanding of neural mechanisms, our integrated understanding of mechanisms, behavior, ecology, and evolution of learning remains patchy. A more wholistic research approach in a model lineage of species related to the sea hare, Aplysia californica, has revealed a complete loss of mechanisms of sensitization in one sea-hare genus, Dolabrifera, with concomitant changes in its behavior and ecology. A partial loss of sensitization via different mechanisms in a sister genus, Phyllaplysia, provides further information for our evolving understanding of the evolution of learning …

Blanding's Turtles From The Western Sandhills Of Nebraska, Ashley Forrester

Biology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

In all states and provinces in which they reside, Blanding’s Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are listed as a species of conservation concern. In other parts of their range, Blanding’s Turtle populations have experienced declines and are threatened by habitat fragmentation and degradation of wetlands. Nebraska is the only state that considers the species to be secure. The largest known population of Blanding’s Turtles was recorded in the Sandhills of Nebraska. The Sandhills represent both the largest sand dune complex in the northern hemisphere and the largest intact temperate grassland ecosystem remaining in the world. These features likely attribute to the success …

Modeling The Impact Of Climate Change On Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease In Semi-Arid South Texas, Md Rafiul Islam, Ummugul Bulut, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Michael G. Tyshenko, Tamer Oraby

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

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a spongiform encephalopathy disease caused by the transmission of infectious prion agents. CWD is a fatal disease that affects wild and farmed cervids in North America with few cases reported overseas. Social interaction of cervids, feeding practices by wildlife keepers and climate effects on the environmental carrying capacity all can affect CWD transmission in deer. Wildlife deer game hunting is economically important to the semi-arid South Texas region and is affected by climate change. In this paper, we model and investigate the effect of climate change on the spread of CWD using typical climate scenarios. …