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Sheepshead (Archosargus Probatocephalus) Neurocranium, Andrew J. Hartmann, Steven Peterson, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)

The Impact Of Planting Season And Crop Residue On Germination, Reproductive Success, And Mass Of Native Forbs, Michaela Vonlintel

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The lack of biodiversity in prairie restorations compared to native prairies is alarming, and restoring this diversity has been a key focus of research and restoration projects for years. This study aims to assess two variables: planting season and plant residue, for achieving success in forb establishment. This research was conducted in a greenhouse using mesocosms that were seeded in spring, summer, and fall with nine forb species. Half of each seasonal treatment received ground cover, while the other half did not. Two hypotheses were formed. The first was that the fall planting will be the most successful seasonal treatment …

Optimization Of Electrically Driven Fluid Flow Through Tissue Hydrogels, Joseph C. Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of Genomic Resources In Vitis Riparia For Discoveries On Pre- And Post-Transcriptional Molecular Regulators Of Early Induction Into Endodormancy, Michael Robben

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grapevine is one of the most important fruit crops in the world, responsible for billions in global sales annually. The largest threat to grapevine and other crop production is global climate change resulting human activities. This brings unpredictable and drastic changes in ambient air temperatures to many climates in which grapes are grown. Lower temperatures and inclement weather are already responsible for millions in lost revenue due to tissue damage of established plants. Thus, protecting grapevine crops from weather-related damage is the biggest concern to growers aside from pathogen- and diseaserelated crop damage. The primary mechanism for winter survival in …

Exploring Bioprocessing Technologies For Diverse Industrial Application Of Canola, Ahmad Fawzi N Alhomodi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globally, canola is the second largest oilseed crop after soybean, which is processed for the commercial production of high value oil. The industrial processing steps for canola oil extraction include preprocessing (cleaning, pressing, flaking, and cooking), mechanical pressing, and/or organic solvents. This process results in large quantities of protein-rich (~ 40% dry basis) meal as a co-product. The meal is used partially in animal diet (<30% inclusion) due to high levels of antinutritional factors (ANFs) such as high fibers, phytic acid, and glucosinolates, and low metabolizable energy. Thus, this research was designed to examine various bioprocessing technologies (i.e., traditional sprouting, solid state fermentation, submerged state fermentation, co-culture fermentation, mild pretreatments, and their combinations) for possible advancement in canola use. Canola seed sprouting for 6-day period led to an increase in protein content and a reduction in ANFs and oil content of sprouts compared to ungerminated seed. Subsequent submerged state fermentation of 6- day old sprouts using three different strains (Aureobasidium pullulans, Trichoderma reesei and Neurospora crassa) further increased protein content and lowered ANFs. Solid-state fermentation of 144 h old sprouts using A. pullulans, N. crassa and T. reesei enhanced the protein content and reduced ANFs of sprouts. Sprouting canola seed for three days helped in hull removal, leading to high protein meal accompanied by low fiber and phytic acid level. Three-day seed sprouting had no effect on oil yield, but free fatty acid content was higher compared to seed oil. Co-culture fermentation of HECM under solid state process showed maximum reduction in fiber content with co-culture of A. pullulans and N. crassa while a combination of A. pullulans and T. reesei promoted the highest GLS and phytic acid reductions compared to other combinations, which indicated the advantage of coculture inoculation over monoculture in terms of ANFs reduction. Mild pretreatment of HECM using deionized water resulted in washed HECM (WHECM) with lower soluble sugars and GLS compared to untreated HECM, whereas protein and amino acid were concentrated due to the removal of soluble components. WHECM compared to HECM showed higher protein digestibility when fed to rainbow trout. Subsequent mono- and coculture fermentation of HECM and WHECM under submerged process resulted in higher protein and amino acid content and lower ANFs levels compared to uninoculated controls. The results of cellulase, endoglucanase and β-glucosidase activity indicated the crucial role of used substrates, fungi, fermentation modes (solid state/submerged stated) and inoculation methods (mono-/co-culture) on enzyme activities.

Evolutionary Conservation Of The Dream Subcomplex Muvb, Spencer Snider

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As the publications of annotated genomes from species representing most domains of life continue to grow exponentially, we are gaining more insight into how proteins, cellular pathways, and protein complexes evolved. We are interested in understanding how each protein in the 8-subunit transcriptional repressor complex called DREAM interacts with each other. DREAM is comprised of 3 main components: an E2F-DP transcription factor heterodimer, a pocket protein, and the highly conserved 5-subunit subcomplex called MuvB. We hypothesize that the mechanism of DREAM’s formation on chromatin dictates how DREAM functions to turn off target gene expression. Unfortunately, many interaction surfaces remain unknown, …

Display Site Selection By Male Ruffed Grouse In The Upper Great Lakes Region, Seth Finkel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is widely known for its characteristic territorial drumming display. In this study, I used ruffed grouse drumming survey data from Minnesota and Michigan, in a series of mixed logistic models, to identify drivers of drumming log selection by reproductive male ruffed grouse. I collected drumming stage data utilizing a paired-random sampling structure. I used information theoretic model selection to examine three sets of a priori mixed logistic models: one for the entirety of my Minnesota dataset, one consisting of stages identified in aspen stands in Minnesota, and one for my Michigan dataset. In …

Soil Organic Carbon Accumulation In Restored Native Prairies Over Time, Samrin Shahnaz

Honors Program Theses

With the recent focus on the causes and effects of climate change, the relationship between agriculture and climate change has become an important concern. Conventional farming maximizes crop production at the expense of ecosystem services like soil carbon storage. As the human population grows, it is vital to develop practices that balance crop production and ecosystem services.

We investigated organic carbon accumulation in restored prairie soil over the course of a decade. Our goal was to determine how organic carbon levels and soil bulk density changed over time, and how that change was influenced by species diversity and soil depth. …

Identification Of The Role Of Swra In Copper Induced Poly-Gamma-Glutamic Acid Production In Bacillus Subtilis, Maya Addison

Scripps Senior Theses

Each year over 2.8 million Americans are infected by an antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria with over 35, 000 dying as a result (CDC). The lack of development of new antibiotics has renewed interest in the antimicrobial properties of copper. Gram positive bacterium such as Bacillus subtilis produce poly-gamma-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) to sequester excess copper ions. swrA has shown to be essential for proper activation of the pgs operon by phosphorylated DegU via an unknown mechanism. This study seeks to determine the role of swrA in copper induced gamma-PGA production and if swrA and ppsB are involved in copper resistance. …

Changes In The Zooplankton Community In Barren River Lake (South Central Ky) Between 2008 And 2020, Laurel Philpott

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Zooplankton are small aquatic animals that serve an important role in transferring energy from phytoplankton to higher trophic levels. The zooplankton community composition in Barren River Lake from 2008 and 2020 was compared. A field study was conducted to not only describe the seasonal population dynamics of zooplankton in Barren River Lake, but also to determine if an invasive zooplankton, Daphnia lumholtzi, was present. While D. lumholtzi was found throughout Barren River Lake in 2008, it was absent from both resampled sites in 2019 and 2020. This, along with erratic patterns of emergence in several other zooplankton species, indicates …

Effects Of Melatonin Implantation On The Activity Levels Of Captive Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax Nivalis), Zoë Ward

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In vertebrates, melatonin regulates many components of the circadian rhythm; depending on the organism’s location and time of year, the pineal gland will produce melatonin accordingly, controlling the sleep-wake cycle and breeding physiologies. However, locations at the poles in which the sun is above the horizon for multiple days at a time pose unique challenges for the organisms living there. The goal of this study was to examine how the implantation of melatonin in an arctic-breeding songbird affects its activity levels and circadian rhythm. The subject of this study, the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), is a small songbird …

Biology News 2022, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Biology.

Biology News

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Cpf1-Based Crispr Genome Editing In The Cyanobacterium N. Punctiforme, Soohan Woo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

CRISPR systems have been growing in their utility and their application throughout the biological field as researchers continue to grow in their understanding of the relatively novel genome editing technology. However, despite the potential of CRISPR as a genome editing tool, the complexity of applying this technology to a specific organism calls for custom modifications to the system to improve its success rate. In this project, a CRISPR-Cpf1 system that can be effectively employed in the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme was designed, with a focus on the hormogonium development of this species. Multiple plasmids containing the CRISPR system and targeting different …

Land-Use And Ant Biodiversity In California’S Central Valley, Laura L. Navarro

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The growing human population results in growing demand for land allocated to urban development and agricultural production (Godfray et al. 2010; Tilman et al. 2011; McDonnell and Hahs 2013; Alexander et al. 2015; Erlwein and Pauleit 2021). Changes to land allocation associated with agricultural and urban development will increasingly alter terrestrial ecosystems impacting biodiversity (Ricketts et al. 2001; McDonald et al. 2008). Ants are an ideal organism for monitoring changes in biodiversity related to land-use change due to their ubiquitous nature, high diversity, and their role as bioindicators. The goal of this study was to assess the diversity of the …

A Study Of Dental Pathology In River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) In Arkansas, C. Renn Tumlison, Jimmie Harper, Karson Grant

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

River otters (Lontra canadensis) consume a variety of foods, including mussels, fishes, and crayfishes. These foods have hard body parts that cause wear of the teeth as the predator ages and incurs more damaging feeding experiences. This can lead to exposure of the pulp cavity and possible abscess and resorption of bone around the alveolus. Further, strong bites against harder parts of prey sometimes results in mechanical breakage, which can lead to pulpitis and severe pathology leading to tooth loss. We investigated the frequency of different forms of dental issues in a sample of 178 skulls of river …

Activity Patterns Of The Del Norte Salamander (Plethodon Elongatus): Monitoring Plethodontid Behavior Using Pit Tag Surveys, Sabrina Horrack

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Semi-fossorial plethodontid salamanders exhibit behavioral plasticity to avoid desiccation, retreating underground to shelter from adverse conditions such as low precipitation and high temperatures. In this study, I used passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag surveys to monitor this behavior in the Del Norte salamander (Plethodon elongatus), a small plethodontid native to northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Within its range, a climatic gradient exists in which coastal areas experience milder temperatures and high precipitation, while inland areas tend to have colder winters, hotter summers, and lower precipitation. By monitoring the activity patterns of this species in inland and coastal areas, …

Evaluating Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy) Catch-And-Release Mortality At Elevated Summer Water Temperature, Ian Taylor Booth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Angling for Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) has become widespread and increasingly popular throughout the fish’s range. Current management strategies for Muskellunge include high minimum harvest lengths (>1016mm), closed seasons, and catch-and-release regulations. Due to these strategies and angler sentiments, up to 97% of Muskellunge caught today are released by anglers assuming they will live and be caught again in the future. Previous research on catchand-release mortality in Muskellunge has suggested relatively low mortality rates (0%-5%). However, these studies were all conducted within the fish’s thermal optimum and generally at water temperatures25°C during the summer months, representing a need to evaluate …

Frayed Connections: How Long-Term Nitrogen Additions Disrupt Plant-Soil Interactions And The Carbon Cycle Of A Temperate Forest, Brooke A. Eastman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Forests are expected to mitigate some of the negative effects of climate change by sequestering anthropogenic carbon (C) from the atmosphere, but the degree to which they drawn down C will depend on the availability of key nutrients, such as nitrogen (N). There is a fair amount of uncertainty in the future of the forest C sink, mostly owing to the fate of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil heterotrophic respiration to future conditions. In N limited systems, plants allocate a significant amount of their photosynthate belowground for the acquisition of nutrients, but under conditions of chronic N deposition, plants …

Getting To The Root Cause: The Genetic Underpinnings Of Root System Architecture And Rhizodeposition In Sorghum, Farren Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Plants are some of the most diverse organisms on earth, consisting of more than 350,000 different species. To understand the underlying processes that contributed to plant diversification, it is fundamental to identify the genetic and genomic components that facilitated various adaptations over evolutionary history. Most studies to date have focused on the underlying controls of above-ground traits such as grain and vegetation; however, little is known about the “hidden half” of plants. Root systems comprise half of the total plant structure and provide vital functions such as anchorage, resource acquisition, and storage of energy reserves. The execution of these key …

Longitudinal Patterns Of Microplastic Abundance And Potential For Food Web Uptake In The Yakima River, Janell Shah

All Master's Theses

Microplastic (MP) pollutes environments worldwide, but the ecological consequences remain largely unknown. While MP research has historically focused on marine environments, recent work has increasingly investigated rivers as transporters of MP from terrestrial sources to the ocean. Some studies have documented instances of MP consumption in a river food web, but few have investigated multiple consumers at different points along a river continuum. This study enumerated the MP abundance in the water column, biofilm, and four macroinvertebrate families from different functional feeding groups across nine sites spanning 344 kilometers from the headwaters to the mouth of the Yakima River in …

Mthfr C677t Mutation Affects Adipogenic Differentiation Abilities Of Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Rengi̇m Vural, Di̇cle Çeli̇k, Ersi̇n Berkay Peker, Eki̇n Köni̇, Ayşe Aydanur Kulaç, Zeynep Tokcaer Keski̇n

Turkish Journal of Biology

The effects of 5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism on human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) viability, morphology, physiology and differentiation capacity were investigated in this study. For this purpose, primary hBM-MSCs with wild type (WT, C/C), heterozygote (HTZ, C/T) and homozygote (HMZ, T/T) for the MTHFR gene were obtained with ethical committee permission and donor informed. Mutations were detected using RFLP and Sanger sequencing methods from genomic DNA isolated from cells, colonization properties were investigated by CFU-F test and proliferative differences were investigated by MTT test. Adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation were induced to study changes in their differentiation …

Comparison Of The Different Isoforms Of Vitamin E Against Amyloid Beta-Induced Neurodegeneration, Alp Yi̇ği̇t Özdemi̇r, Esi̇n Çeti̇n, Mehmet Ali̇ Onur

Turkish Journal of Biology

Neurodegeneration is the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons. Amyloid beta oligomers and aggregates have been linked to neurodegeneration. While previous studies have suggested that dietary α-tocopherol intake can prevent amyloid beta aggregation and protect the brain against neurotoxicity, other research, however, indicated that tocotrienol forms might be used as an alternate agent against this kind of degeneration. In the presented research, we compared the in vitro protective effects of α-tocopherol and α-tocotrienol. In this context, we formed an in vitro neurodegeneration model with primary isolated neurons and measured α-tocopherol's and α-tocotrienol's protective effects. As a result, α-tocopherol …

The Investigation Of Diverse Physiological And Therapeutic Impact Of Cellular-Based Products Derived From Human Cumulus Cells, Derya Burukçu, Sema Yilmaz, Oya Alagöz, Cumhur Kaan Yaltirik, Neci̇p Erkut Attar, Fi̇kretti̇n Şahi̇n, Esra Aydemi̇r Çoban

Turkish Journal of Biology

Particular somatic cells, namely cumulus cells (CCs) that support the oocyte maturation, fertility, and viability by providing the nutrients and energy to the oocyte envelop the mammalian oocyte. In this study, discarded human cumulus tissues were used to reveal the value of hyaluronic acid-rich CCs on several cellular events, including differentiation. Conditioned media, recovered from the primary culture of CCs, were introduced to the human nucleus pulposus cells (hNPCs) which were functionally distorted because of the loss of chondrogenecity. Enlightening the impact of cumulus conditioned media (CCM) on wound healing and angiogenesis was also investigated. In line with these goals, …

Impacts Of Covid-19 On Global Healthcare Management And Research, Stephanie Autore, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected most nations at all levels of functioning, individual to governmental. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate the effects the virus has had on one of the most important socioeconomic global sectors, healthcare. This literature review explores key, recent research and management strategies that have been undertaken in healthcare systems around the world in order to make meaningful attempts at identifying the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease, and combating the spread of this deadly virus. Healthcare facilities have implemented a variety of changes, all geared towards reducing non-emergency patient visits …

Zebra Mussel Length-Weight Relationships Across Various Substrate Types In Lake Bemidji, Mitch Kehne

Journal of Earth and Life Science

As of November 2021, zebra mussels were confirmed in 270 Minnesotan lakes with another 232 lakes listed as infested due to their connection or proximity to where zebra mussels have been found. With lack of effective treatments to impede their spread, zebra mussels continue to colonize new areas causing ecological as well as economic harm. The goal of this study was to establish a length-weight relationship for the zebra mussel population in Lake Bemidji using shell length (SL) and wet weight (WW), as well as to assess substrate type and log transformed shell length as predictors of log transformed zebra …

Changes In The Minnesota Northern Pike Population Over The Past Thirty Years, Joey Severin

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Northern pike Esox lucius are one of the most popular game fish in Minnesota. Many anglers have noticed that northern pike seemed to decrease in size throughout much of this state. Catch per unit of effort (CPUE) drives average weight for northern pike; within lakes, as CPUE goes up average weight decreases. Decreases in size has led the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) to implement new regulations on northern pike. The MNDNR noticed that not all the state has this same problem with Northern Pike, and has broken down the state into three zones, with different protected slots and …

Purification And Activity Assay Optimization Of Bacterial Catalase From Psychrobacter Koprana, Sydney Willis

Honors Program Theses

To date, catalase protein from bacterial species is not the most widely used commercial catalase. Catalase, the enzyme that breaks down hydrogen peroxide in most living organisms, is an invaluable enzyme in the food, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries. In 2019, a novel species of a psychrotolerant bacterium was discovered in Cold Harbor, NY. This species, Psychrobacter koprana, exhibits highly active catalase. Preliminary data from activity assays demonstrates that P. koprana catalase has the same activity as commercially available catalase. After purification and activity assay optimization, the activity of this catalase has the potential to be more active than other easily …

The Regulation Of Stress Steroid Release In Freshwater Turtles, Yoke Tassent

Honors Program Theses

The goal of this study is to characterize the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis regulators of the stress response in a turtle species, the Red-Eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans and to determine if NPY acts as a secretagogue for adrenal steroids in reptilian species, as it does in mammals. Here, I caught turtles using baited hoop traps. Then, I used pharmacological injections of ACTH (intermediate in HPA axis), dexamethasone (DEX, a synthetic steroid that blocks ACTH release and induces HPA negative feedback), NPY (starvation hormone), and NPY receptor agonists. Each turtle received a single injection upon capture, and I recorded whether adrenal …

Evolutionary Morphogenesis Of Sexual Fruiting Bodies In Basidiomycota: Toward A New Evo-Devo Synthesis, Máté Virágh, Zsolt Merényi, Árpád Csernetics, Csenge Földi, Neha Sahu, Xiao Bin Liu, David S. Hibbett, László G. Nagy

Biology

SUMMARY The development of sexual fruiting bodies is one of the most complex morphogenetic processes in fungi. Mycologists have long been fascinated by the morphological and developmental diversity of fruiting bodies; however, evolutionary developmental biology of fungi still lags significantly behind that of animals or plants. Here, we summarize the current state of knowledge on fruiting bodies of mushroom-forming Basidiomycota, focusing on phylogenetic and developmental biology. Phylogenetic approaches have revealed a complex history of morphological transformations and convergence in fruiting body morphologies. Frequent transformations and convergence is characteristic of fruiting bodies in contrast to animals or plants, where main body …

Tooth Agenesis, Thomas Labarias

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

In this literature review, I will discuss tooth agenesis, which is a congenital absence of one tooth or more, and the terminology associated. I will then discuss and compare the studies regarding the etiology and the prevalences of tooth agenesis throughout the world population. The second half of the paper will cover tooth agenesis from a clinical standpoint. I will describe the capital different complications and phenotypes that tooth agenesis creates. In the last section, I will explain how tooth agenesis is medically treated, and the multidisciplinary management needed to improve the patient’s quality of life.