Digital Commons Network^™

Biology Internship In Austria, Maria Gabriela Herrera, Valentina Ramirez

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

The summer biology internship in Austria is an excellent opportunity for students who desire to pursue the field of medicine. As part of the program, students will be assigned to the organ transplant team where they will have the opportunity to not only observe such surgeries, but also actually participate and assist during the procedure. Other possible specialties during this program include plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and urology depending on availability. The selected students will travel to Graz, Austria and meet with the organ transplant team and learn how to prepare for and assist in surgery. The …

The Scripps Research Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Ezana Assefa

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

This program is a 10-week internship designed for undergraduates interested in the scientific field to engage in current research. Students have the option of requesting to work under three mentors, one of which they will be paired. Students will work in the lab with the principal investigator and other members of the lab. Along with working in the lab, students in the program will also attend bi-weekly talks/lectures from researchers, grad students, and professionals at TSRI as well as participating in two presentations and a final poster or oral presentation.

Spatial Population Models With Fitness Based Dispersal, Chris Cosner

Mathematics Colloquium Series

Traditional continuous time models in spatial ecology typically describe movement in terms of linear diffusion and advection, which combine with nonlinear population dynamics to produce semi-linear parabolic equations and systems. In environments that are favorable everywhere in the sense that the local population growth rate is always positive, organisms can use linear advection and diffusion to achieve an optimal spatial distribution. (Here optimal means evolutionarily stable.) In regions where there are environmental “sinks” where the local growth rate is negative, it does not seem possible to achieve an optimal distribution via linear dispersal. It is possible for organisms using advection …

The Current Volume 27 : Issue 9, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Abundance And Diversity Of Deep-Sea Crustaceans Of Bear Seamount, New England Seamount Chain, Valerie Renee Miranda

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Bear Seamount (39° 55’ N; 67° 30’ W) is the westernmost peak of extinct undersea volcanoes in the New England Seamount Chain (Moore et al., 2003). It is located on the continental slope off Georges Bank, and is governed by unique environmental factors and currents that may be unlike those of the other seamounts (Moore et al., 2003). Previous cruises to this seamount have been successful in capturing abundant fishes, cephalopods and invertebrates (Moore et al., 2003; Moore et al., 2004; Moore et al., 2008), but only the distribution patterns of the fishes and cephalopods have been examined, leaving a …

The Current Volume 27 : Issue 8, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Carnivore, Omnivore, And Herbivore Mammalian Genomes With A New Leopard Assembly, Soonok Kim, Yun Sung Cho, Hak Min Kim, Oksung Chung, Hyunho Kim, Sungwoong Jho, Hong Seomun, Jeongho Kim, Woo Young Bang, Changmu Kim, Junghwa An, Chang Hwan Bae, Youngjune Bhak, Sungwon Jeon, Hyejun Yoon, Yumi Kim, Je Hoon Jun, Hye Jin Lee, Suan Cho, Olga Uphyrkina, Aleksey Kostyria, John Goodrich, Dale Miquelle, Melody Roelke, John Lewis, Andrey Yurchenko, Anton Bankevich, Juok Cho, Semin Lee

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: There are three main dietary groups in mammals: carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores. Currently, there is limited comparative genomics insight into the evolution of dietary specializations in mammals. Due to recent advances in sequencing technologies, we were able to perform in-depth whole genome analyses of representatives of these three dietary groups. Results: We investigated the evolution of carnivory by comparing 18 representative genomes from across Mammalia with carnivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous dietary specializations, focusing on Felidae (domestic cat, tiger, lion, cheetah, and leopard), Hominidae, and Bovidae genomes. We generated a new high-quality leopard genome assembly, as well as two wild …

Glycoside Hydrolases Family 20 (Gh20) Represent Putative Virulence Factors That Are Shared By Animal Pathogenic Oomycetes, But Are Absent In Phytopathogens, Isabel Olivera, Katrina Fins, Sara Rodriguez, Sumayyah K. Abiff, Jaime Tartar, Aurelien Tartar

Biology Faculty Articles

Background

Although interest in animal pathogenic oomycetes is increasing, the molecular basis mediating oomycete-animal relationships remains virtually unknown. Crinkler (CRN) genes, which have been traditionally associated with the cytotoxic activity displayed by plant pathogenic oomycetes, were recently detected in transcriptome sequences from the entomopathogenic oomycete Lagenidium giganteum, suggesting that these genes may represent virulence factors conserved in both animal and plant pathogenic oomycetes. In order to further characterize the L. giganteum pathogenome, an on-going genomic survey was mined to reveal novel putative virulence factors, including canonical oomycete effectors Crinkler 13 (CRN13) orthologs. These novel sequences provided a basis to …

The Current Volume 27 : Issue 7, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Interviews On Heterosexual Students' Expressions Of Cultural Competency, Carol Isaac, Linda Behar-Horenstein

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the effects of a cultural competency intervention on dental pre-doctoral students’ attitudes toward individuals of a different sexual orientation. 22 heterosexual students interviewed gay or lesbian individuals and wrote reflective text. Results illustrated that participants found that their interviewees had “surprisingly similar” beliefs and values – especially in the areas of religion and family. Because of their “similar values,” these students expressed respect toward their interviewees who were “so different” than themselves. This conclusion of “sameness” forced them to see homosexuals as people, rather than a stigmatized invisible outgroup, mitigating sexual …

Lasting Impressions, Fall 2016, College Of Dental Medicine

Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Improving The Spatial Allocation Of Functional Group Biomasses In Spatially-Explicit Ecosystem Models: Insights From Three Gulf Of Mexico Models, Arnaud Gruss, Elizabeth A. Babcock, Skyler Sagarese, Michael Drexler, David D. Chagaris, Cameron H. Ainsworth, Brad Penta, Sergio Derada, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Spatially-explicit ecosystem models, such as Ecospace, Atlantis, and OSMOSE, are key tools for achieving ecosystem-based fisheries management in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In spatially-explicit ecosystem models, trophic interactions strongly depend on the way functional group biomasses are allocated spatially, which conditions patterns of spatial overlap between predators, prey, and competitors. Here, we review realized and ongoing improvements in the spatial allocation of functional group biomasses in Ecospace and OSMOSE models of the West Florida Shelf ("WFS Reef fish Ecospace" and "OSMOSE-WFS") and in the Atlantis model of the GOM ("Atlantis-GOM"). A habitat capacity model, which defines the spatial distribution …

Pangolin Genomes And The Evolution Of Mammalian Scales And Immunity, Siew Who Choo, Mike Rayko, Tze King Tan, Ranjeev Hari, Aleksey Komissarov, Wei Yee Wee, Andrey A. Yurchenko, Sergey Kliver, Gaik Tamazian, Agostinho Antunes, Richard K. Wilson, Wesley C. Warren, Klaus Peter Koepfli, Patrick Minx, Ksenia Krasheninnikova, Antoinette Kotze, Desire L. Dalton, Elaine Vermaak, Ian C. Paterson, Pavel Dobrynin, Frankie Thomas Sitam, Jeffrine J. Rovie-Ryan, Warren E. Johnson, Aini Mohamed Yusoff, Shu Jin Luo, Kayal Vizi Karuppannan, Gang Fang, Deyou Zheng, Mark B. Gerstein

Biology Faculty Articles

Pangolins, unique mammals with scales over most of their body, no teeth, poor vision, and an acute olfactory system, comprise the only placental order (Pholidota) without a whole-genome map. To investigate pangolin biology and evolution, we developed genome assemblies of the Malayan (Manis javanica) and Chinese (M. pentadactyla) pangolins. Strikingly, we found that interferon epsilon (IFNE), exclusively expressed in epithelial cells and important in skin and mucosal immunity, is pseudogenized in all African and Asian pangolin species that we examined, perhaps impacting resistance to infection. We propose that scale development was an innovation that provided protection against injuries or stress …

Examining Peacebuilding Through A Trauma Lens: Practitioner Reflections On Programs For Youth Exposed To Traumatic Stressors In Intergroup Conflict, Liza Hester

Peace and Conflict Studies

The international community recognizes that young people are increasingly vulnerable to psychosocial trauma within in intergroup conflict. Exposure to traumatic stressors within these conflicts poses unique risks not only to the neurological and social development of youth, but also to their capacities to fully engage in peacebuilding interventions. With a growing focus on youth programming in peacebuilding strategies, there is greater imperative to explore the intersections of trauma and peacebuilding, which are naturally linked in their focus on intra- and inter-personal transformation. This intersection has largely been overlooked in the literature, though it deserves far greater attention based on the …

Gendering Human Rights: Threat And Gender Perceptions As Predictors Of Attitudes Towards Violating Human Rights In Asymmetric Conflict, Yossi David, Nimrod Rosler, Donald Ellis, Ifat Maoz

Peace and Conflict Studies

We introduce, in this study, a gendering human rights model in which perceiving outgroups as having stereotypical feminine traits predicts decreased support for violating their human rights through the mediation of threat perception. This model is tested in the context of the asymmetrical protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict using Jewish-Israeli public opinion polling data (N=517). In line with our expectations, the findings indicate that Jewish-Israeli perceptions of Palestinians as having stereotypical feminine traits predict lower levels of threat perception from Palestinians and consequently less support for violating their human rights. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding factors that attenuate …

Feralisation Targets Different Genomic Loci To Domestication In The Chicken, M. Johnsson, Eben Gering, P. Willis, S. Lopez, L. Van Dorp, G. Hellenthal, R. Henriksen, U. Friberg, D. Wright

Biology Faculty Articles

Feralisation occurs when a domestic population recolonizes the wild, escaping its previous restricted environment, and has been considered as the reverse of domestication. We have previously shown that Kauai Island's feral chickens are a highly variable and admixed population. Here we map selective sweeps in feral Kauai chickens using whole-genome sequencing. The detected sweeps were mostly unique to feralisation and distinct to those selected for during domestication. To ascribe potential phenotypic functions to these genes we utilize a laboratory-controlled equivalent to the Kauai population—an advanced intercross between Red Junglefowl and domestic layer birds that has been used previously for both …

Modeling And Methods Of Signal Separations With Applications In Spectroscopic Sensing, Yuanchang Sun

Mathematics Colloquium Series

Spectroscopic sensing is a powerful and a widely used family of techniques for detecting and identifying chemical and biological substances. For example, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relies on the magnetic properties of the atomistic nucleus to determine the molecular structures. Raman spectroscopy (RS) uses laser light scattering and the resulting energy shift of photons to sense the vibrational modes of a sample. In remote sensing, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) makes use of hundreds of contiguous spectral bands to identify nearly invisible objects at subpixel level. Differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) is based on the light absorption property of matter to identify …

Investigating The Spatial Distribution And Effects Of Nearshore Topography On Acropora Cervicornis Abundance In Southeast Florida, Nicole D'Antonio, David S. Gilliam, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Dense Acropora cervicornis aggregations, or patches, have been documented within nearshore habitats in Southeast Florida (SE FL) despite close proximity to numerous anthropogenic stressors and subjection to frequent natural disturbance events. Limited information has been published concerning the distribution and abundance of A. cervicornis outside of these known dense patches. The first goal of this study was to conduct a spatially extensive and inclusive survey (9.78 km²) to determine whether A. cervicornis distribution in the nearshore habitat of SE FL was spatially uniform or clustered. The second goal was to investigate potential relationships between broad-scale seafloor topography and …

Increasing Shipping Traffic Through The Bering Strait: Challenges Of International Policy In A Rapidly Changing Climate And Managing Impacts To Regional Cetacean Populations, Laura Morse

HCNSO Student Capstones

The Arctic region is experiencing growth in marine traffic as seasonal ice conditions shift to longer periods of open water and vessel improvements that have allowed for transit in heavier ice conditions. Regionally, Russia is improving existing transportation infrastructure to support increased traffic along the Northern Sea Route. As a result of these and other factors, shipping traffic is increasing through the Bering Strait and Bering Sea. Regulating traffic in these areas is more complex than most other areas in US waters given the presence of an international strait subject to international regulation through the International Maritime Organization. The US …

A Descriptive Content Analysis Of The Extent Of Bloom’S Taxonomy In The Reading Comprehension Questions Of The Course Book Q: Skills For Success 4 Reading And Writing, Ömer Gökhan Ulum

The Qualitative Report

Bloom’s taxonomy is probably the most commonly used one among the cognitive process models. It is a classification system that emphasizes the procedures starting from remembering the knowledge to more complex cognitive levels like evaluating the knowledge. Firstly, the aim of this study has been to find out to what extent Bloom’s taxonomy is referred in reading comprehension questions of an English as a Foreign Language course book. With this in mind, the research question To what extent do the reading sections of the EFL course book Q: Skills for Success 4 Reading and Writing cover the lower and higher …

The Current Volume 27 : Issue 4, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

De Novo Sequencing, Assembly And Analysis Of Eight Different Transcriptomes From The Malayan Pangolin, Aini Mohamed Yusoff, Tze King Tan, Ranjeev Hari, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Wei Yee Wee, Agostinho Antunes, Frankie Thomas Sitam, Jeffrine Japning Rovie-Ryan, Kayal Vizi Karuppannan, Guat Jah Wong, Leonard Lipovich, Wesley C. Warren, Stephen J. O'Brien, Siew Woh Choo

Biology Faculty Articles

Pangolins are scale-covered mammals, containing eight endangered species. Maintaining pangolins in captivity is a significant challenge, in part because little is known about their genetics. Here we provide the first large-scale sequencing of the critically endangered Manis javanica transcriptomes from eight different organs using Illumina HiSeq technology, yielding ~75 Giga bases and 89,754 unigenes. We found some unigenes involved in the insect hormone biosynthesis pathway and also 747 lipids metabolism-related unigenes that may be insightful to understand the lipid metabolism system in pangolins. Comparative analysis between M. javanica and other mammals revealed many pangolin-specific genes significantly over-represented in stress-related processes, …

Quantifying The Toxicity Of 1-Methylnaphthalene To The Shallow-Water Coral, Porites Divaricata, For Use In The Target Lipid Model, Nicholas Turner

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The proximity of coral reefs to coastal urban areas and shipping lanes predisposes corals to petroleum pollution from multiple sources. Previous research has evaluated petroleum toxicity to coral using a variety of methodologies, including monitoring effects of acute and chronic spills, in situ exposures, and ex situ exposures with both adult and larval stage corals. Variability in toxicant, bioassay conditions, species and other methodological disparities among studies prevents comprehensive conclusions regarding the toxicity of hydrocarbons to corals. This research evaluated the 48-hour toxicity of 1-methylnaphthalene to Porites divaricata using a continuous-flow passive dosing system. The range-finding exposure evaluated the dosing …

How Did The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impact Deep-Sea Ecosystems?, Charles R. Fisher, Paul A. Montagna, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Approximately 90% of the volume of the Gulf of Mexico is contained in water deeper than 200 m, a region where the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout had more impact on ecosystems than any previous oil spill. The remoteness and relative inaccessibility of the deep sea makes documenting even acute impacts to the animals that live in this realm difficult. This article reviews Natural Resource Damage Assessment studies and follow-up work funded as part of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative that targeted deepwater pelagic and benthic fauna. Oil was incorporated into the pelagic food web, and a reduction in planktonic …

Positive Selection Linked With Generation Of Novel Mammalian Dentition Patterns, Joao P. Machado, Siby Philip, Emanuel Maldonado, Stephen J. O'Brien, Warren E. Johnson

Biology Faculty Articles

A diverse group of genes are involved in the tooth development of mammals. Several studies, focused mainly on mice and rats, have provided a detailed depiction of the processes coordinating tooth formation and shape. Here we surveyed 236 tooth-associated genes in 39 mammalian genomes and tested for signatures of selection to assess patterns of molecular adaptation in genes regulating mammalian dentition. Of the 236 genes, 31 (∼13.1%) showed strong signatures of positive selection that may be responsible for the phenotypic diversity observed in mammalian dentition. Mammalian-specific tooth-associated genes had accelerated mutation rates compared with older genes found across all vertebrates. …

The Genome-Wide Analysis Of Carcinoembryonic Antigen Signaling By Colorectal Cancer Cells Using Rna Sequencing, Olga Bajenova, Anna Gorbunova, Igor Evsyukov, Michael Rayko, Svetlana Gapon, Ekaterina Bozhokina, Alexander Shishkin, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA, CEACAM5, CD66) is a promoter of metastasis in epithelial cancers that is widely used as a prognostic clinical marker of metastasis. The aim of this study is to identify the network of genes that are associated with CEA-induced colorectal cancer liver metastasis. We compared the genome-wide transcriptomic profiles of CEA positive (MIP101 clone 8) and CEA negative (MIP 101) colorectal cancer cell lines with different metastatic potential in vivo. The CEA-producing cells displayed quantitative changes in the level of expression for 100 genes (over-expressed or down-regulated). They were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. The KEGG pathway analysis identified …

The Current Volume 27 : Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

The Current Volume 27 : Issue 2, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Chromosomer: A Reference-Based Genome Arrangement Tool For Producing Draft Chromosome Sequences, Gaik Tamazian, Pavel Dobrynin, Ksenia Krasheninnikova, Aleksey Komissarov, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Background: As the number of sequenced genomes rapidly increases, chromosome assembly is becoming an even more crucial step of any genome study. Since de novo chromosome assemblies are confounded by repeat-mediated artifacts, reference-assisted assemblies that use comparative inference have become widely used, prompting the development of several reference-assisted assembly programs for prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes.

Findings: We developed Chromosomer – a reference-based genome arrangement tool, which rapidly builds chromosomes from genome contigs or scaffolds using their alignments to a reference genome of a closely related species. Chromosomer does not require mate-pair libraries and it offers a number of auxiliary tools …

Good Vibrations: Charting The Dominant And Emergent Discursive Regimes Of Sex Toys, George Rossolatos

The Qualitative Report

Sex toys promote a new consumptive ethos whose significance may be adequately outlined by attending to the institutional implications of this product category’s consumption. By drawing on Foucault’s theory of sexuality and the technologies of the self that materialize with the aid of discursive formations about sexuality, as well as on relevant sociological and ethnographic insights, I undertake a qualitative content analysis on a corpus of 100 sex toys’ product reviews from popular magazines and web sites in order to identify how the discourse about sex toys is articulated in terms of three dominant categories of sexual scripts (Simon & …