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Investigating The Roles Of The P63 Isoforms In The Microrna Biogenesis Pathway, Deepavali Chakravarti

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

MicroRNAs play roles in various biological processes like development, tumorigenesis, metastasis and pluripotency. My thesis work has demonstrated roles for p63, a p53 family member, in the upstream regulation of microRNA biogenesis. The p63 gene has a complex gene structure and has multiple isoforms. The TAp63 isoforms contain an acidic transcription activation domain. The ΔNp63 isoforms, lack the TA domain, but have a proline rich region critical for gene transactivation. To understand the functions of these isoforms, the Flores lab generated TAp63 and ΔNp63 conditional knock out mice. Using these mice and tissues and cells from these mice we have …

The Role Of Type I Insulin-Like Growth Factor Receptor Signaling In Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis, Sandra M. Saldana

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Brain metastasis is a common cause of mortality in cancer patients. Approximately 20-30% of breast cancer patients acquire brain metastasis, yet potential therapeutic targets remain largely unknown. The type I insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF- IR) is known to play a role in the progression of breast cancer and is currently being investigated in the clinical setting for various types of cancer. The present study demonstrates that the IGF-IR signaling axis is constitutively active in brain-seeking sublines of breast cancer cells, driving an increase in in vitro metastatic properties. We demonstrate that IGF-IR signaling is activated in an autocrine manner …

The Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus Fumigatus Regulates Growth, Metabolism, And Stress Resistance In Response To Light, Kevin K. Fuller, Carol S. Ringelberg, Jennifer J. Loros, Jay C. Dunlap

Dartmouth Scholarship

Light is a pervasive environmental factor that regulates development, stress resistance, and even virulence in numerous fungal species. Though much research has focused on signaling pathways in Aspergillus fumigatus, an understanding of how this pathogen responds to light is lacking. In this report, we demonstrate that the fungus does indeed respond to both blue and red portions of the visible spectrum. Included in the A. fumigatus light response is a reduction in conidial germination rates, increased hyphal pigmentation, enhanced resistance to acute ultraviolet and oxidative stresses, and an increased susceptibility to cell wall perturbation. By performing gene deletion analyses, we …

Preservation Effects On Common Macroinvertebrates Of The Intermountain West, Megan Paxton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Dry mass/wet mass ratios are essential for estimating energy flow through ecosystems, determining energy budgets, and studying energy allocation in organisms. Preserving specimens by freezing or storing them in ethanol has known effects on the wet mass measurements. These storage methods are used regardless of their effects - altering the wet mass and thereby changing the mass ratio for the organism. We evaluated the effects of ethanol storage and freezing on six different taxa from the Interrnountain West: Hesperoperla, lsoperla, Rhithrogena, Drunella, Arctopsyche, and Rhyacophila. All the taxa studied except Hesperoperla and Rhyacophila showed a significant loss in …

Systematic Comparison Of Two Habitat Connectivity Modeling Approaches: Least Cost Path And Circuit Theory, Adam Rose

All Theses

Intensifying human development requires landscape-level planning to restore connectivity to fragmented and ecologically isolated habitats. The rapidly growing field of conservation planning has produced a variety of approaches to modeling habitat connectivity. The objective of this research is to inform the choice and use of appropriate software packages for connectivity conservation planning. I focused on comparing two prevalent approacheds, 1) least cost path, patch-patch modeling using CorridorDesigner software and 2) electrical circuit-theory based approaches for patch-patch and 'all points' connectivity using Circuitscape software. Additionally, I compared two dominant connectivity modeling approaches: 1) the focal species approach and 2) a generalized …

Analysis Of Water Footprint Of A Photobioreactor Microalgae Biofuel 1 Production System From Blue, Green And Lifecycle Perspectives, Jason C. Quinn

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Microalgae are currently being investigated as a feedstock for the commercial production of transportation fuels, due to their potential scalability and sustainability advantages over conventional feedstocks. The water consumption of microalgae has been postulated to be a resource barrier for large-scale production. This study presents an assessment of the water footprint (WF) of a closed photobioreactor-based biofuel production system, where microalgae cultivation is simulated with geographical and temporal resolution. The assessment focuses on the WF as modeled for four different fuel conversion pathways, and in 10 continental US locations corresponding to high productivity yields. The WF is comprehensively assessed using …

The Application Of Embodied Conversational Agents For Mentoring African American Stem Doctoral Students, Kinnis Gosha

All Dissertations

This dissertation presents the design, development and short-term evaluation of an embodied conversational agent designed to mentor human users. An embodied conversational agent (ECA) was created and programmed to mentor African American computer science majors on their decision to pursue graduate study in computing. Before constructing the ECA, previous research in the fields of embodied conversational agents, relational agents, mentorship, telementorship and successful mentoring programs and practices for African American graduate students were reviewed. A survey used to find areas of interest of the sample population. Experts were then interviewed to collect information on those areas of interest and a …

Aqueous Suspensions Of Polymer Coated Magnetite Nanoparticles: Colloidal Stability, Specific Absorption Rate, And Transverse Relaxivity, Steven Saville

All Dissertations

The design, functionalization, characterization, and applications of magnetic nanoparticles have garnered significant interest over the past several decades. While this area has garnered increasing attention, several questions remain unanswered about the stability of these systems and it's influence on their biomedical applications. To help answer these questions about the stability of these, a novel tri(nitroDOPA) terminated polymer based ligand has been developed for the stabilization of magnetite nanoparticles. The synthesis involves a process in which ethylene oxide is polymerized using a trivinyl initiator, modified with carboxylic acid using a free radical addition of mercaptoundecanoic acid, and then functionalized with nitroDOPA …

The Production And Characterization Of A Multi-Functional Fiber-Based Composite For Use In Protective Clothing, Jessica Green

All Dissertations

A fiber-based composite comprised of two functional components which work concurrently to adsorb toxic organic compounds was developed and characterized for use in chemical threat protective clothing. The first functional component, the sorptive layer, consists of a carded nonwoven loaded with adsorptive particles. In this layer, Capillary-Channeled PolymerTM (C-CPTM) fibers were used instead of traditional round fibers since the grooved nature of the C-CPTM fibers enables increased adsorptive particle loading. The species of adsorptive particles investigated, zeolite and modified PS, are considered as a replacement for more commonly used activated carbon spheres. The second functional component, the flow restrictive layer, …

In Silico Modeling The Effect Of Single Point Mutations And Rescuing The Effect By Small Molecules Binding, Zhe Zhang

All Dissertations

Single-point mutation in genome, for example, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) or rare genetic mutation, is the change of a single nucleotide for another in the genome sequence. Some of them will result in an amino acid substitution in the corresponding protein sequence (missense mutations); others will not. This investigation focuses on genetic mutations resulting in a change in the amino acid sequence of the corresponding protein. This choice is motivated by the fact that missense mutations are frequently found to affect the native function of proteins by altering their structure, interaction and other properties and cause diseases. A particular disease is …

Functional Dissection And Module Swapping Of Fungal Cyclooligomer Depsipeptide Synthetases, Dayu Yu, Fuchao Xu, David Gage, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

BbBSLS and BbBEAS were dissected and reconstituted in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The intermodular linker is essential for the reconstitution of the separate modules. Module 1 can be swapped between BbBEAS and BbBSLS, while modules 2 and 3 control the product profiles. BbBSLS is a flexible enzyme that also synthesizes beauvericins.

Evolution Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Clade C Envelope V1–V5 Region During Disease Progression In Non-Human Primate Model, For Yue Tso

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

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) clade C strain is the fastest spreading HIV-1 strain globally, especially in Africa. It has been decades since the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic first started. However, an effective anti-HIV-1 vaccine is not yet available, which is partly due to the highly variable nature of HIV-1 envelope gene and the absence of a suitable animal model. Strengthening of the understanding of envelope evolution during disease progression will contribute significantly towards future anti-HIV-1 treatment and preventions.

Non-human primates have been an essential animal model for many biomedical research areas. Using simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) …

Small Interfering Rna-Mediated Translation Repression Alters Ribosome Sensitivity To Inhibition By Cycloheximide In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Xinrong Ma

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

RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionarily conserved gene silencing mechanism in eukaryotes, with regulatory roles in a variety of biological processes, including cell cycle, cell differentiation, physiological and metabolic pathways, and stress responses. RNAi can function by transcriptional silencing, mRNA target cleavage, translation repression and/or DNA elimination. In this study, we used the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model system to study RNAi-mediated translation repression. We demonstrated that small RNAs (sRNAs) generated from exogenously introduced inverted repeat transgenes, with perfect complementarity to the 3’UTR of a target transcript, can inhibit protein synthesis, without or with only minimal mRNA …

Predation And Behavioral Plasticity In Green Swordtails: Mate Choice In Females And Exploratory Behavior In Males, Andrew J. Melie

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

Two studies were carried out with green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, to investigate the effect of predation on swordtail behavior, and to determine how behavioral plasticity operates in both a mate choice and an anti-predator context. Male green swordtails vary in colorful conspicuous traits, e.g. the colorful dorsal fin and sword. Female swordtails have a preexisting bias for males with a sword, and prefer long-sworded males to short-sworded males, but this preference is plastic. The first study examined predator-related plasticity in the behavior of males differing in size. Smaller males showed greater behavioral plasticity; they were more active in the …

Nebraska Chapter Gamma Sigma Delta Newsletter Issue #46 Spring 2013

Gamma Sigma Delta, Nebraska Chapter: Newsletters

• President's message
• Upcoming events
• Welcome new members
• Gamma Sigma Delta award recipients: Elizabeth Birnstihl, Galen Erickson, Madhavan Soundararajan, Jennifer Rees, Rachel Coburn, Josiah Dallmann, Aruna Gangaplara
• In memoriam: Oliver Davies Grace, C. Dean Yonts
• Committees 2013
• Outstanding graduate student award fund
• Renewal of membership dues for 2013

3d Object Tracking And Motion Profiling, Corey A. Spitzer

Student Work

In order to advance the field of computer vision in the direction of “strong AI”, it’s necessary to address the subproblems of creating a system that can “see” in a way comparable to a human or animal. Due to very recent advances in depth-sensing imaging technology, it is now possible to generate accurate and detailed depth maps that can be used for image segmentation, mapping, and other higher-level processing functions needed for these subproblems. Using this technology, I describe a method for identifying a moving object in video and segmenting the image of the object based on its motion. This …

Using Student-Produced Time-Lapse Plant Movies To Communicate Concepts In Plant Biology, Marcia Harrison-Pitaniello Phd

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Why do students think plants are “boring”? One factor may be that they do not see plant movement in real (i.e., their) time. This attitude may negatively impact their understanding of plant biology. Time-lapse movies of plants allow students to see the sophistication of movements involved in both organ development and orientation.

The objective of this project was to develop simple methods to capture image sequences for lab analysis and for converting to movies. The technology for making time-lapse movies is now easily attainable and fairly inexpensive, allowing its use for skill levels from grade school through college undergraduates. In …

May 2013 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Public Health Aspects Of The Daugherty Water For Food Institute Strategic Plan, Eleanor G. Rogan, Bruce Grogan, Terry Huang, Alan Kolok, Risto Rautiainen, Oscar Araz, Christopher Fisher, Andrew Jameton, Ashish Joshi, Sharon Meaker-Medcalf, Jim P. Stimpson, Melissa Tibbits

Reports: College of Public Health

The University of Nebraska College of Public Health is committed to contributing to the research, service and education programs of the Daugherty Water for Food Institute. The College can offer a wide variety of expertise that can contribute to programs related to water, food and health. This document has been written to highlight the areas in which College faculty have particular interests, knowledge and experience to contribute.

Investigation Of A Lagrangian-Point Propellant Depot Rendezvous Approach For An Interplanetary Mission To Mars, Joshua W. Ehrlich

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the feasibility of a refueling station for a beyond Earth orbit (BEO) mission. The propellant depot is located at the L₂ -Lagrangian point within the Earth-Moon system. This investigation determines if a refueling mission will reduce propulsive energy requirements necessary for Earth departure of a BEO-vehicle to achieve an interplanetary transfer to Mars. Furthermore, this research presents a trade study which identifies approximate total requirements for a direct and rendezvous mission to Mars as well as the necessary fuel masses to complete each approach. This analysis provides conclusive information in determining the benefits in utilizing a …

Progeny Release Of Species B Human Adenoviruses Is Not Mediated By Early Region 3 Proteins 20.1k, 20.5k, And 10.9k, James Andrew Dowling

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

The early region 3 (E3) of the human adenovirus (HAdV) genome encodes proteins that regulate the host immune response to viral infection. The E3 region also exhibits the highest level of genetic diversity among the genomes of the six (A-F) species of HAdV. This diversity in genetic content is found primarily between the highly conserved E3-gp19K and RIDα open reading frames (ORFs). It has been previously shown that HAdV-C encodes the adenovirus death protein (ADP) in this location. ADP is an 11.6kDa, transmembrane protein that localizes to the nuclear membrane, and facilitates the efficient release of progeny virions. HAdV-B1 encodes …

Fishable Waters, Catherine A. O'Neill

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

August 2011 - August 2012 Case Law On American Indians, Thomas P. Schlosser

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Type-2 Cannabinoid Receptors In Calcification Of Atherosclerotic Lesions., Kaitlyn Hinshaw

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the buildup of cholesterol, fat and other debris within arterial walls. Atherosclerotic lesions undergo a calcification process with similarities to bone remodeling. In mice, the type-2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2) is known to regulate bone remodeling processes and has also been shown to alter atherosclerotic lesion characteristics. However, the role of CB2 in lesion calcification is still unclear. CB2 modulates bone remodeling by affecting differentiation of osteogenic precursor cells; thus we hypothesize that CB2 alters lesion calcification by altering osteoblastogenesis and osteoclastogenesis of precursor cells of vascular origin. To test this hypothesis, …

Spectrum, Volume 30, Issue 20, Sacred Heart University

Newspapers (Obelisk & Spectrum)

Highlights include: Sacred Heart Relays to Help Fight Cancer -- Mr. SHU participants ready to take the stage -- Seniors prepare for life post-graduation -- Students hit the gym to create the perfect summer bod -- Editorials -- National Volunteer Week -- Sacred Heart introduces new dance company

Protein Isolation Using Peptoid Based Affinity Chromatography, Megan Dunn

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Protein purification is essential for advancements in biotechnology. There are several different methods employed in purifying a particular protein from a complex sample such as a cell lysate. These methods take advantage of differences in the size, charge or binding affinity of the protein. One such method is affinity chromatography which utilizes the binding affinity of a protein toward a certain ligand to purify a protein. This is usually used as a final step to extract the desired protein after the mixture has undergone other purification steps to remove unwanted materials. The goal of this project was to develop a …

Novel Method For Sequential Batch Recovery Of Biomass From A Helical Photobioreactor, Matthew Hurst

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study developed and evaluated a novel method to recover the microalgae species Arthrospira platensis from a closed helical photo bioreactor system. A recovery apparatus was designed and shown to increase recovery by 40% via periodic online recovery runs during exponential growth phase of biomass. Considerations for the apparatus design included the low shear tolerance of the algae and the necessity for a closed system in order to monitor CO2 consumption. The recovery method draws on methods used for large scale recovery as reported in literature by Vonshak and Shimmatsu [1], [2]. This work seeks to improve reactor biomass yield …

Optimal Production Of Biobutanol Via Hydrogenation Of Butyric Acid, Sarad Panta

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Butanol is a primary alcohol most commonly used industrially as a solvent. It is largely produced petrochemically using fossil fuel feedstocks. The global butanol market has steadily increased in recent years and is projected to continue increasing at an annual rate of 3.2%. Additionally, the possibility of introducing butanol to the fuel market presents the opportunity to further grow the industry. Because of the increasing demand and its production from fossil fuels, there is a need to manufacture butanol more sustainably and efficiently to help the environment and improve the world economy. Currently, biobutanol is not produced commercially; however, its …

Functional Study Of Hemogen Knockout Mouse Model, Peng Gao

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Mouse Hemogen (Hemgn) is regarded as a homologue of human Erythroid Differentiation Associated Gene (EDAG). EDAG overexpression has been postulated for association with some leukemia cases. Meanwhile, Hemgn has been found to contribute to Hoxb4 mediated hematopoietic stem cell expansion. Based on these postulations and evidences, a Hemgn knockout mouse model has been generated to study its function in normal and stress hematopoiesis. I confirmed the Hemgn expression in hematopoietic organs including bone marrow and spleen, as well as round spematids in testis. Hemgn is expressed in mouse hematopoietic stem cells and erythroid progenitor cells. Moreover, Hemgn was also found …

In Vitro And In Vivo Characterization Of The Infection Efficiency Of A Modified Retrovirus Envelope Glycoprotein For Targeting Gene Transduction, Robin L. Krueger

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Attributes of both the viral glycoprotein and its cellular receptor play key roles in determining the outcome of infection. This body of work endeavors to illustrate how these two components influence the efficiency of virus infection in in vitro and in vivo systems with an emphasis on characterizing the transduction capacity of a novel entry-targeting glycoprotein. In previous work, the Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) envelope glycoprotein (Env) was modified to generate the Sst-RBS glycoprotein. This glycoprotein was created by replacing the wild type (WT) receptor binding site (RBS), located on the surface subunit (SU) of the Env, with the …