Digital Commons Network^™

Seasonal Variation In Corticosterone Receptor Binding In Brain, Hippocampus, And Gonads In House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus), Christine R. Lattin, L. Michael Romero

Faculty Publications

Abstract.-Both baseline and stress-induced concentrations of corticosterone (CORT) vary seasonally in a predictable fashion in many wild birds. Hypotheses about why these patterns exist include the "behavior hypothesis," which predicts that animals will down-regulate stress-induced CORT when CORT-induced behaviors are too likely to cause reproductive failure; and the "preparative hypothesis," which posits that baseline and stress-induced CORT will both be high at times of year with a higher incidence of predictable stressors. We tested predictions made by the behavior and predictive hypotheses about the CORT sensitivity of tissues involved in breeding: whole brain, hippocampus, and gonads. We used radioligand binding …

Physiological Effects Of Tourism And Associated Food Provisioning In An Endangered Iguana, Charles R. Knapp, Kirsten N. Hines, Trevor T. Zachariah, Caro Perez-Heydrich, John B. Iverson, Sandra D. Buckner, Shelley C. Halach, Christine R. Lattin, L. Michael Romero

Faculty Publications

© The Author 2013. Deliberately feeding wildlife is an increasingly popular tourism-related activity despite a limited understanding of long-term impacts on the species being fed. As a result, tourist behaviours that may have adverse impacts on imperiled species have often been encouraged without the necessary evaluation or oversight. Here, we report the responses of Northern Bahamian Rock Iguanas (Cyclura cychlura) to human-visitation pressure and associated food provisioning. We compared a variety of blood chemistry parameters of iguanas subjected to supplemental feeding at popular tourist destinations with iguanas occurring on islands where supplemental feeding does not take place. We demonstrate that …

Intracellular Glucocorticoid Receptors Inspleen, But Not Skin, Vary Seasonally Inwild House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus), Christine R. Lattin, K. Waldron-Francis, L. Michael Romero

Faculty Publications

Over the short-term and at physiological doses, acute increases in corticosterone (CORT) titres can enhance immune function. There are predictable seasonal patterns in both circulating CORT and immune function across many animal species, but whether CORT receptor density in immune tissues varies seasonally is currently unknown. Using radioligand binding assays, we examined changes in concentrations of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) in spleen and skin in wild-caught house sparrows in Massachusetts during six different life-history stages: moult, early winter, late winter, pre-egg-laying, breeding and late breeding. Splenic GR and MR binding were highest during the pre-laying period. This …

Particulate Matter Containing Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals And Adverse Infant Respiratory Health Effects: A Review, Jordy Saravia, Greg I. Lee, Slawo Lomnicki, Barry Dellinger, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

The health impacts of airborne particulate matter (PM) are of global concern, and the direct implications to the development/exacerbation of lung disease are immediately obvious. Most studies to date have sought to understand mechanisms associated with PM exposure in adults/adult animal models; however, infants are also at significant risk for exposure. Infants are affected differently than adults due to drastic immaturities, both physiologically and immunologically, and it is becoming apparent that they represent a critically understudied population. Highlighting our work funded by the ONES award, in this review we argue the understated importance of utilizing infant models to truly understand …

Temperature And Co2 Additively Regulate Physiology, Morphology And Genomic Responses Of Larval Sea Urchins, Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus, Jacqueline L. Padilla-Gamiño, Morgan W. Kelly, Tyler G. Evans, Gretchen E. Hofmann

Faculty Publications

Ocean warming and ocean acidification, both consequences of anthropogenic production of CO2, will combine to influence the physiological performance of many species in the marine environment. In this study, we used an integrative approach to forecast the impact of future ocean conditions on larval purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) from the northeast Pacific Ocean.In laboratory experiments that simulated ocean warming and ocean acidification, we examined larval development, skeletal growth, metabolism and patterns of gene expression using an orthogonal comparison of two temperature (138C and 188C) and pCO2 (400 and 1100 matm) conditions. Simultaneous exposure to increased temperature and pCO2 significantly …

An Analysis Of Thaumarchaeota Populations From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Bradley B. Tolar, Gary M. King, James T. Hollibaugh

Faculty Publications

We sampled Thaumarchaeota populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico, including shelf waters under the Mississippi River outflow plume that are subject to recurrent hypoxia. Data from this study allowed us to: (1) test the hypothesis that Thaumarchaeota would be abundant in this region; (2) assess phylogenetic composition of these populations for comparison with other regions; (3) compare the efficacy of quantitative PCR (qPCR) based on primers for 16S rRNA genes (rrs) with primers for genes in the ammonia oxidation (amoA) and carbon fixation (accA, hcd) pathways; (4) compare distributions obtained by qPCR with the relative abundance of Thaumarchaeota rrs …

Metabolic Preconditioning Of Mammalian Cells: Mimetic Agents For Hypoxia Lack Fidelity In Promoting Phosphorylation Of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase, Apurva Borcar, Michael A. Menze, Mehmet Toner, Steven C. Hand

Faculty Publications

Induction of HIF-1α by oxygen limitation promotes increased phosphorylation and catalytic depression of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and an enhanced glycolytic poise in cells. Cobalt chloride and desferrioxamine are widely used as mimics for hypoxia because they increase the levels of HIF-1α. We evaluated the ability of these agents to elicit selected physiological responses to hypoxia as a means to metabolically precondition mammalian cells, but without the detrimental effects of hypoxia. We show that, while CoCl2 does increase HIF-1α in a dose-dependent manner, it unexpectedly and strikingly decreases PDH phosphorylation at E1α sites 1, 2, and 3 (Ser293, Ser 300, …

Soil Resources And Topography Shape Local Tree Community Structure In Tropical Forests, Claire A. Baldeck, Kyle E. Harms, Joseph B. Yavitt, Robert John, Benjamin L. Turner, Renato Valencia, Hugo Navarrete, Stuart J. Davies, George B. Chuyong, David Kenfack, Duncan W. Thomas, Sumedha Madawala, Nimal Gunatilleke, Savitri Gunatilleke, Sarayudh Bunyavejchewin, Somboon Kiratiprayoon, Adzmi Yaacob, Mohd N. Nur Supardi, James W. Dalling

Faculty Publications

Both habitat filtering and dispersal limitation influence the compositional structure of forest communities, but previous studies examining the relative contributions of these processes with variation partitioning have primarily used topography to represent the influence of the environment. Here, we bring together data on both topography and soil resource variation within eight large (24-50 ha) tropical forest plots, and use variation partitioning to decompose community compositional variation into fractions explained by spatial, soil resource and topographic variables. Both soil resources and topography account for significant and approximately equal variation in tree community composition (9-34% and 5-29%, respectively), and all environmental variables …

Biotechnology For Mechanisms That Counteract Salt Stress In Extremophile Species: A Genome-Based View, Ray A. Bressan, Hyeong Cheol Park, Francesco Orsini, Dong Ha Oh, Maheshi Dassanayake, Gunsu Inan, Dae Jin Yun, Hans J. Bohnert, Albino Maggio

Faculty Publications

Molecular genetics has confirmed older research and generated new insights into the ways how plants deal with adverse conditions. This body of research is now being used to interpret stress behavior of plants in new ways, and to add results from most recent genomics-based studies. The new knowledge now includes genome sequences of species that show extreme abiotic stress tolerances, which enables new strategies for applications through either molecular breeding or transgenic engineering. We will highlight some physiological features of the extremophile lifestyle, outline emerging features about halophytism based on genomics, and discuss conclusions about underlying mechanisms. © 2012 Korean …

Copper Β-Trinitrocorrolates, Manuela Stefanelli, Sara Nardis, Frank R. Fronczek, Kevin M. Smith, Roberto Paolesse

Faculty Publications

The β-nitration reaction carried out on the corrole macrocycle has been shown to be extremely regioselective, although the reduced symmetry of the macrocycle could potentially lead to a huge number of possible regioisomers. We recently reported that the careful use of AgNO2/NaNO2 as a nitrating system enabled the achievement in good yields of mono- and dinitro-derivatives on both corrole free base and its copper complex, proving to be an efficient and cost-effective method. In this work, we present a detailed study of the scope of this method using TtBuCorrH3 as a model corrole. A further increase of the oxidant pushes …

A New Foundation For The Propensity Interpretation Of Fitness, Charles H. Pence, Grant Ramsey

Faculty Publications

The propensity interpretation of fitness (PIF) is commonly taken to be subject to a set of simple counterexamples. We argue that three of the most important of these are not counterexamples to the PIF itself, but only to the traditional mathematical model of this propensity: fitness as expected number of offspring. They fail to demonstrate that a new mathematical model of the PIF could not succeed where this older model fails. We then propose a new formalization of the PIF that avoids these (and other) counterexamples. By producing a counterexample-free model of the PIF, we call into question one of …

Anything Under The Sun Made By Humans: Patent Law Doctrines As Endogenous Institutions For Commercializing Innovation, James E. Daily, F. Scott Kieff

Emory Law Journal

This Essay outlines a comparative institutional analysis among various doctrines in patent law to show how they can have different impacts on the way inventions are commercialized. It builds on a prior body of work about the positive role that property rights in patents can play in commercializing innovation to show how recent shifts in approaches to the particular legal doctrine known as patentable subject matter can be expected to have different effects on the commercialization of inventions than prior approaches. It concludes that, to the extent society wants to increase the overall rate of invention commercialization and increase overall …

A Path To Success? A Review Of Evolution, Development, And The Predictable Genome By David L. Stern, Hope Hollocher, Charles H. Pence, Grant Ramsey, Michelle M. Wirth

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sex, Sickness, And Slavery: Illness In The Antebellum South, Marie Jenkins Schwartz

Civil War Book Review

Exploring Antebellum Medicine

Sex, Sickness, and Slavery is more about physicians than patients. It is an intellectual history of how doctors thought about illness, race, and gender. Doctors in the era were struggling to identify themselves as men of science, modernity, and stand....

Integrative Annotation Of Variants From 1092 Humans: Application To Cancer Genomics, E. Khurana, Y. Fu, V. Colonna, X. J. Mu, H. M. Kang, T. Lappalainen, A. Sboner, L. Lochovsky, J. Chen, A. Harmanci, J. Das, A. Abyzov, S. Balasubramanian, K. Beal, D. Chakravarty, D. Challis, Y. Chen, D. Clarke, L. Clarke, F. Cunningham, U. S. Evani, P. Flicek, R. Fragoza, E. Garrison, R. Gibbs, Z. H. Gümüş, J. Herrero, N. Kitabayashi, Y. Kong, K. Lage, V. Liluashvili, S. M. Lipkin, D. G. Macarthur, G. Marth

Faculty Publications

Interpreting variants, especially noncoding ones, in the increasing number of personal genomes is challenging. We used patterns of polymorphisms in functionally annotated regions in 1092 humans to identify deleterious variants; then we experimentally validated candidates. We analyzed both coding and noncoding regions, with the former corroborating the latter. We found regions particularly sensitive to mutations ("ultrasensitive") and variants that are disruptive because of mechanistic effects on transcription-factor binding (that is, " motif-breakers"). We also found variants in regions with higher network centrality tend to be deleterious. Insertions and deletions followed a similar pattern to single-nucleotide variants, with some notable exceptions …

Design Strategy For The Optimization Of The Impeller In An Axial Ventricle Assist Device, Jonathan Peyton

Theses

The objectives of this study were to create and implement a design strategy to improve the impeller design of the Left Ventricle Assist Device (LVAD) here at RIT. CFD software paired with parametric design optimization has proved as a useful tool set to improve VAD performance in a timely and cost effective manner. A design search of one design variable was conducted to test the implementation of the design strategy. Performance of a LVAD is split between three individual parameters: 1) Pressure generation, 2) Rate of Hemolysis, and 3) Risk of Thrombosis. CFD simulations provided the data necessary to assess …

Investigating The Effects Of Bag3 Knockdown On The Cytotoxicity Of The Anticancer Drug Laromustine, Kayla Gross

Honors Theses

Laromustine is a sulfonylhydrazine anticancer prodrug whose cytotoxicity results from the formation of interstrand cross-links caused by the synergistic action of co- generated 2-chloroethylating and carbamoylating species. The cytotoxic activities of Laromustine involve the induction of apoptosis. Described herein is an investigation into this drug’s effects on apoptotic gene expression in HL-60 cells using qRT-PCR. Significant changes in the expression levels of 13 genes were observed, most dramatically in the upregulation of the bcl2-associated athanogene 3 (BAG3) gene. Given the pro-survival role of BAG3 in the cell, this investigation sought to decrease BAG3 mRNA levels in HL-60 cells using transient …

Metallic Mineral Mining In Maine, Kaitlyn Bernard

Honors Theses

In 2012 the Maine State Legislature passed a bill directing the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to rewrite the regulations governing metallic mineral mining in Maine. The bill was introduced after pressure from Maine’s largest private land owner and timber company, J.D. Irving, Limited. The company has a lucrative mineral deposit on one of their landholdings in northern Maine and is interested in pursuing a mining development project. The bill aimed to streamline the regulatory framework around mining operations and make the permitting process more conducive to mineral development throughout the state. The 2012 Maine Metallic Mineral Mining Act …

Investigating The Interaction Of Zinc-Finger Peptides And Nicked Dna Using Phage Display, Rachel Maria Guerra

Honors Theses

Recognition of structural features of DNA such as gaps, nicks and abasic sites is critical for many DNA-binding proteins, such as those involved in DNA damage repair. This study explores a novel strategy to model these protein-DNA interactions using phage display. Phage display has been commonly used to identity zinc fingers that bind to DNA sequences, but selection of peptides that binding to specific DNA structures has not been reported in the literature. A phage library of 109 variants was created based on one of three zinc finger domains of the DNA repair protein poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase I. The library, …

Prenatal Choline Supplementation And Mk-801 Toxicity: Protecting Memory And Preventing Neurodegeneration, Chelsea Nickerson

Honors Theses

Choline is essential to the development and function of the central nervous system. Supplemental choline is neuroprotective against a variety of insults, including neurotoxins like dizocilpine (MK-801). MK-801 is an NMDA receptor antagonist that is frequently used in rodent models of psychological disorders. At low doses, it causes cognitive impairments, and at higher doses it induces motor deficits, anhedonia, and neuronal degeneration. The primary goals of the present study were to investigate whether prenatal choline supplementation protects against the cognitive impairments, motor deficits, and neuropathologies that are precipitated by MK-801 administration in adulthood. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were fed …

Investigating The Role Of Epibiotic Bacteria In Defense Against Chytridiomycosis In The Green Frog, Lithobates Clamitans, Sarah Nalven

Honors Theses

Amphibian populations have been declining for several decades, in part due to the emerging fungal skin disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Chytridiomycosis has caused extinctions and extirpations in many parts of the world, but its influence varies across species, populations, and individuals. The Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), which inhabits the eastern half of the United States, seems capable of sustaining Bd infections without experiencing die-offs. It is possible that the Green Frog's epibiotic bacteria are contributing to its defense against Bd as the epibiotic bacteria of several amphibian species are known to play …

Scripture And Fiction: An Aesthetic Approach To The Little Pilgrim, Brian Russo

Honors Theses

The Little Pilgrim is written by Korean author Ko Un and was translated into English by Brother Anthony of Taizé. This text, a fictional rendering of the Gandavyuha Sutra, is an instant classic of contemporary Buddhist literature. The Gandavyuha Sutra comprises one-third of the fifteen hundred page Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) Sutra. The Avatamsaka has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience and is popular with all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, The Pure Land and Zen. The Avatamsaka Sutra is the longest sutra of the Buddhist canon and one of the oldest, dating …

Relationship Of Cross-Linking Potential To Mechanism Of Cell Death, Adam N. Spierer

Honors Theses

Mechlorethamine (HN2), a nitrogen derivative of mustard gas, was the first synthetic anti-tumor chemotherapeutic because it forms covalent cross-links between strands of duplex DNA. HN2 represents a class of bifunctional alkylating agents that are both chemotherapeutic and carcinogenic: diepoxybutane (DEB), the active form of the pro-drug treosulfan, and epichlorohydrin (ECH), a structural hybrid of HN2 and DEB, also form covalent cross-links between DNA. While HN2 and DEB are clinically used as anti-tumor chemotherapeutics, ECH is a structural hybrid of these two compounds not used in a clinical setting. Accordingly, we aimed to understand the relationship between the cross-linking potential of …

We Came! We Stripped! We Conquered! The Sextremist Feminists Of Femen In Ukrainian Historical Context And Contemporary Controversy, Jayeon Kim

Honors Theses

In 2008, Anna Hutsol, an economist by training, founded feminist organization FEMEN (Megginson 2011). Comprised mostly of university-educated women, FEMEN has received international media coverage, encountered controversy, and received death threats for their topless protests. For their activism, French magazine Madame Figaro ranked one of the founding members Inna Schevchenko on the 13^th position in their list of Women of the Year (Madame Figaro 2012). They have delivered lectures on their movement at international forums and universities. FEMEN now has chapters in Brazil, Tunisia, France and Germany. FEMEN activists attribute their visibility to “sextremism,” their tactic of using the …

Finite To Fail, Infinite To Venture: Interactivism And Relational Ethics, Rachel A. Rosenbaum

Honors Theses

This project tells the story of a group of anonymous activists at Colby College that I call 'The EDFC.' To tell the story of The EDFC I build a theory of activism that I call 'Interactivism as Anarchism' that reveals how certain structures and processes affect activism. My goals are to highlight the subjectivity of the members of the group, the creation of the collective, and the process of our activism in ways that reveal the broader implications that this group has on: 1) what makes activism effective, 2) what inhibits and incites activism at Colby, and 3) what does …

A Mother Yesterday, But Not Today: Deficiencies Of The Uniform Parentage Act For Non-Biological Parents In Same-Sex Relationships, Jennifer Sroka

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Utpa Undergraduate Catalog 2013-2015, University Of Texas Pan American

UTPA Archives - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Utb/Tsc Legacy Degree Programs And Courses 2013 – 2014, University Of Texas At Brownsville, Texas Southmost College

UTB/TSC Archives - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Utb/Tsc Undergraduate Catalog 2013-2014, University Of Texas At Brownsville, Texas Southmost College

UTB/TSC Archives - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Los Arcos - Fall / Winter 2013, University Of Texas-Pan American

UTPA Archives - Los Arcos Magazine

No abstract provided.