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The Cerebral Cortex As An Effect Site For Anesthetic Induced Unconsciousness, Ryan Martin, David Busath

Journal of Undergraduate Research

General anesthetics are widely used today in medicine. Their molecular mechanisms however, still remain a mystery. For centuries, general anesthetics were thought to be “drugs without receptors” because of the lack of knowledge about their mechanism of action (Hemmings, et al., 2005). While some advances have been made by Neuroscientists and Biologists there is still a lot that is not known about general anesthetics. The exact location of general anesthetic action is thought to be complex, but two particular locations have been suggested—the cerebral cortex and the midbrain. Detailed understanding of where general anesthetics act is important because it would …

The Role Of Htra1, Ddr2, And Mmp-13 Proteins In The Mechanistic Pathway Leading To Osteoarthritis In Sedc Mice, David Holt, Robert Seegmiller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the present study, we report OA in a mouse model that, like the human families presented by Kannu et al., bears a heterozygous mutation in the Col2a1 gene but has a phenotypically normal skeleton.1 The mouse mutation was named sedc by Donahue et al. because when homozygous, it produces feature that resemble the most common clinical phenotypes of SED congenita in humans, including abnormal epiphyses, flattened vertebral bodies, and problems with the eyes and ears.2 The mutation consists of a single base pair substitution in exon 48 of the Col2a1 gene, which changes an arginine to a cysteine in …

Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3Β Inhibition As A Therapeutic Approach In The Treatment Of Endometrial Cancer, Yan Yin, Nora T. Kizer, Premal H. Thaker, Katherine B. Chiappinelli, Kathryn M. Trinkaus, Paul J. Goodfellow, Liang Ma

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Population Genetics And Phylogenetic Context Of Weed Evolution In The Genus Amaranthus: Amaranthaceae), Katherine Waselkov

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Agricultural weeds have evolved to compete aggressively with domesticated plants in agricultural environments. Although the evolution of invasiveness has been studied extensively in natural ecosystems, few comparable studies have been conducted using agricultural weeds. In this dissertation, I used the genus Amaranthus to examine agricultural weed evolution over different evolutionary time scales, ranging from fitness measurements within a single species to a genus-wide, macroevolutionary analysis.

To explore the recent evolution of agricultural invasiveness, I studied a native Midwestern species, A. tuberculatus: waterhemp), which has become an aggressive agricultural weed only within the last several decades. I used microsatellite markers to …

The Role Of Pain-Related Catastrophizing In Outcomes And Recovery From Minimally Invasive And Surgical Procedures For Treating Temporomandibular Disorders, Aaron Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the ability of pain-related catastrophizing to predict outcomes following non-surgical and surgical intervention for temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). The interpersonal context of pain-related catastrophizing, referred to as the communal coping model, was also examined to determine if patient perceptions of punishing and solicitous responses from significant others would moderate or mediate relations between pain catastrophizing and outcomes. The role of pain duration as a moderator of the relation between pain-related catastrophizing and perceived significant other responding was also examined. A total of 94 patients were identified for which 65 had follow-up outcomes that could be examined. Patient …

Transcriptome Deep-Sequencing And Clustering Of Expressed Isoforms From Favia Corals, Shaadi F. Pooyaei Mehr, Rob Desalle, Hung-Teh Kao, Apurva Narechania, Zhou Han, Dan Tchernov, Vincent A. Pieribone, David F. Gruber

Publications and Research

Background: Genomic and transcriptomic sequence data are essential tools for tackling ecological problems. Using an approach that combines next-generation sequencing, de novo transcriptome assembly, gene annotation and synthetic gene construction, we identify and cluster the protein families from Favia corals from the northern Red Sea.

Results: We obtained 80 million 75 bp paired-end cDNA reads from two Favia adult samples collected at 65 m (Fav1, Fav2) on the Illumina GA platform, and generated two de novo assemblies using ABySS and CAP3. After removing redundancy and filtering out low quality reads, our transcriptome datasets contained 58,268 (Fav1) and 62,469 (Fav2) contigs …

Ecomorphology And Mating Behavior Of Two Species Of Night-Stalking Tiger Beetles, Omus Audouini And O. Dejeanii, Robert Kent Richardson

Dissertations and Theses

Night-stalking tiger beetles (Cicindelinae: Omus) are among the least studied members of the highly diverse Carabid sub-family Cicindelinae, the tiger beetles. Despite populations of Omus being common in the forest floor habitats of the west coast of North America and their conspicuous predatory role within terrestrial arthropod communities, little is known about the biology and ecology of Omus.

Field studies showed that two species of Omus existed in the forested areas of Powell Butte Nature Park, Portland, Oregon, USA: Omus audouiniand O. dejeanii. The co-occurrence of sympatric, and likely syntopic, species allowed for a comparative approach in examining and analyzing …

An Autoethnographic Journey Of Intercountry Adoption, Prema Malhotra

The Qualitative Report

In this autoethnographic essay, the author explores her struggles and desires to learn about her life prior to adoption. She portrays her journey to search for her beginning pieces of her adoption narrative by an assessment of “narrative inheritance” (Goodall, 2006), attempts to reframe her adoption narrative, and reflects on how her adoption narrative changed over a period of time. The author highlights major events of her search and provides meaning and understanding to her experience. The author concludes by providing her reflections of her search and attempts to redefine her adoption journey and what it means to be an …

The Genus Odontophrynus (Anura: Odontophrynidae): A Larval Perspective, Filipe Augusto C. Do Nascimento, Tamí Mott, José A. Langone, Christine A. Davis, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The genus Odontophrynus consists of 11 species of medium-sized frogs distributed across south and east South America. This study examines and describes the chondrocrania and oral cavities of 0. americanus, 0. maisuma, 0. carvalhoi, and 0. cu/tripes, and reviews current knowledge about the larval external morphology of the genus. Twenty-one tadpoles were cleared and double-stained for chondrocranium description and five tadpoles were dissected for analysis in a scanning electron microscope. The presence of a tectum parientale may be considered here as a putative synapomorphy of the genus. The 0. americanus and 0. cu/tripes species groups were partially differentiated by the …

Isolating Mononucleosome Core Dnas To Be Used In The Encode Project, Elliot Winters, Dr. Steven M. Johnson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this project has its roots in the nationwide mission named “ENCODE” for the “ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements” the purpose of which is to map the functional elements of the human genome. The human genome was successfully sequenced in 2001, (Consortium T.I.H.G.S., 2001) but the functional units acting on the DNA are largely unknown in biomedical research. For example: the DNA contained in almost every cell of the human body is identical, encoding the same genes in each cell.

Lifetime Dietary Exposure To Soy Isoflavones Is Beneficial To Prostate And Testicular Health In 100-Day Old Male Long-Evans Rats, Benjamin Hogan, Dr. Edwin Lephart

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived compounds that are structurally and functionally similar to estradiol. Isoflavones are a major type of phytoestrogen that can be found in foods such as soy beans, tofu, and soy milk. They have become popular due to the health benefits they effect by binding to estrogen receptors throughout the body. However, while their action is similar to that of estradiol, they are non-steroidal and therefore less potent.

A Multiplex Real-Time Pcr Assay For Rapid Detection And Differentiation Of Burkholderia Mallei, B. Pseudomallei, And B. Thailandensis, Chinn-Woan Shih, Richard Robison

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As stated in the proposal, my focus has been with three bacterial species of Burkholderia: mallei, pseudomallei, and thailandensis. Burkholderia mallei is the causative agent of glanders, an abscess-forming infection that is predominantly found in the equine population and is capable of being transmitted to humans from infected animals. There is documentation that B. mallei was used as a biowarfare agent in World War I (Gee et al., 2003).

Exploring Phylogenetic Relationships, Origins Of Claws, And Loss Of Functional Eyes In Decapod Lobsters (Infraorder Astacidea, Achelata, Glypheidea, Polychelida), Dohyup Kim, Dr. Keith Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The order Decapoda represents a species-rich and economically important group of crustaceans. Among decapods, lobsters play a huge role of monetary significance, bringing in billions of dollars each year to world fisheries.

Resolving Genetic Relationships Within Shrimp-Like Decapods And Tracing The Phylogenetic Significance Of Morphological Traits Within Caridea (Crustacea: Decapoda), Jennifer Rasmussen, Dr. Keith Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Shrimp-like decapods–including sergestoids, penaeoids, carideans, procaridids, and stenopodideans–are a species-rich and morphologically diverse group of crustaceans. Some taxa, such as the penaeoids and carideans, are economically important, bringing in billions of dollars each year to world fisheries. The economic importance of this group, together with their distinctive morphology and ecological diversity, makes shrimp-like decapods popular research subjects in all fields of biology.

Cancer And The Immune System: A Study Of Cytokine Communication With Macrophages, Charles Daniel Knechtel, Dr. Kim O'Neill

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Macrophages are a part of the early immune system that interacts with abnormal and foreign cells in your body. They are a non-specific defense system that engulfs foreign cells or stimulates other immune system cells to respond. We know they can play a role in fighting cancer, or promoting it, but we don’t fully understand how. According to Frontiers in Bioscience May 2008, “At late stages tumor-associated macrophages are known to produce molecules directly promoting tumor growth, invasion and metastasis….however, if properly activated, macrophages may control initial tumor development”(Nardin, A., Astado, J. 2008). Cytokines are small signaling molecules that play …

Ror2/Wnt5a Mediated Directional Limb Outgrowth, Aaron Smith, Dr. Jeff Barrow

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is a small strip of epithelial tissue that is found at the distal tip of the embryonic vertebrate limb and runs from anterior to posterior. It is known that the AER is necessary to maintain the life of mesenchymal cells (interior non-surface cells) of the limb and is also necessary to maintain other important signaling centers in the limb (citations). The AER is also believed to be responsible for patterning the limb along the proximal to distal axis. However, it is unknown what precise role the AER plays in this and researchers have been attempting …

Amantadine Blockage Of The Influenza A M2 Proton Transporter, Jared Kelson, David Busath

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The reproduction of influenza A is very closely regulated by the pH levels maintained both in the cytoplasm and in various organelles of a host cell. To accommodate this, the virus provides genetic coding to assemble an M2 transporter which regulates the flow of protons across the different membranes. Until recently, influenza A was treated with a drug known commonly as amantadine (1-aminoadamantane), which blocked M2 proton transport. Unfortunately, by the year 2005, 91% of known influenza A strains had mutated to the extent that amantadine was no longer an effective reagent (High, 2006 p. 44). The 2009 epidemic of …

Genetic Investigation Of The Pathology Of Ustilago Bullata, Erin Ladle, Dr. Jeff Maughan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bromus tectorum L., commonly known as cheatgrass, is an invasive annual grass species that dominates millions of hectares of land in the Great Basin area, in the western United States.1 The widespread invasion of cheatgrass has increased fire incidence in some areas of the Great Basin from every 30-100 years to every 5 years. Moreover, once cheatgrass becomes the dominant vegetative species, it monopolizes resources, significantly contributing to the endangerment of many native plant species.

Engineering Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Nanogel Coatings: Developments In Achieving Ultralow Protein Adsorption And Applications As Substrates For Stem Cell Culture, Casey Douglas Donahoe

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The biocompatibility of biomaterials is primarily dictated by the interactions that occur at the material's interface with its biological environment. Proteins irreversibly adsorb to these interfaces within seconds to minutes of exposure, altering their structural conformation, inducing cell adhesion, and activating various cellular responses. To this end, surface modification strategies have been designed in attempts to develop "stealth" biomaterials or even biomaterials that modulate this response by inducing specific biological reactions. We sought to advance the design of biomaterial surfaces by quantitatively studying protein adsorption to ultralow protein adsorbing surfaces formed from poly(ethylene glycol) nanogel coatings of variable structural and …

Towards Three-Dimensional Underwater Mapping Without Odometry, Alistair Dobke, Joshua Vasquez, Lauren Lieu, Ben Chasnov, Christopher Clark, Ian Dunn, Zoë J. Wood, Timothy Gambin

Computer Science and Software Engineering

This paper presents a method for the creation of three-dimensional maps of underwater cisterns and wells using a submersible robot equipped with two scanning sonars and a compass. Previous work in this area utilized a particle filter to perform offline simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in two dimensions using a single sonar [11]. This work utilizes scan matching and incorporates an additional sonar that scans in a perpendicular plane. Given a set of overlapping horizontal and vertical sonar scans, an algorithm was implemented to map underwater chambers by matching sets of scans using a weighted iterative closest point (ICP) method. …

Digital Gardens With Real Toads In Them: The Place Of Heritage Media In A Digital Art And Design Education, Iain Macdonald

Learn X Design Conference Series

At a time when digital media is regarded as orthodoxy in education, in advanced global economies there is a pressing argument to review the lessons of the past and reflect on whether they are still applicable. This paper will enquire into today’s issues with digital practices in art and design education using relevant, historical examples from the main changes in approach of the last century. It will also explain how the changes of approach to art and design education has affected the choice of materials, the stress on different skills and the values of different creative arts within the subject. …

Summer Commencement Program, August 10, 2013, Coastal Carolina University

Commencement Programs

Program of Commencement Exercises at Coastal Carolina University.

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, August 10, 2013, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

King O'Neal Scholars - Kathryn Bishop, James Greer, Jr., Michael Thomas, and James Vogler; President's Global Leadership Award - Karen A. Holbrook; Outstanding Graduate - Falon Blessing

Characterization Of Herpes Simplex Clinical Isolate, Daniel Hammond, Dr. Brian Poole

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My project was focused on the identification and characterization of a clinical isolate of Herpes Simplex, the virus family responsible for cold sores and genital herpes. The virus was collected from a 48 year old female who was otherwise healthy. The patient had no previous history of genital herpes. The patient’s sexual partner was also HSV positive. The specimen was collected from a suspected infected genital tract and was submitted for analysis for Herpes simplex virus. Initial analysis using non-specific antibody tests verified that the virus was indeed a member of the herpes simplex family. Further analysis, shown in Figure …

Analyzing The Homing Of Iga Antibody Secreting Cells In The Gestational Murine Mammary Gland Via Chemokine Interaction, Taylor Gardner, Dr. Eric Wilson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My purpose was to understand more deeply the process of mucosal immunological response in mice. Specifically, I hoped to understand the role of chemokine interactions in the recruitment of Immunoglobin A (IgA) in mouse colostrum/milk and mammary gland tissue during the gestation period. I focused on the time period just prior to the point at which milk production (and thus relative IgA levels) is upregulated in preparation for feeding young.

Effect Of Muscle Stimulation On Gene Expression For Mitochondrial Proteins, Darren Goring, Dr. David Thomson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The original purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of muscle stimulation on gene expression for mitochondrial proteins in mLKB1-KO mice (mice in which the LKB1 gene has been knocked out of the muscles and heart). LKB1 is an important protein involved in the signaling of mitochondrial protein production. The original protocol was to run the mice on a treadmill fast enough and long enough to cause transcription of mitochondrial proteins. I hypothesized that the mLKB1-KO mice would still have some mitochondrial gene expression but to a lesser degree than the conditional mice.

Genotypic Analysis Of Bromus Tectorum Using Snps, Sudeep Ghimire, Dr. Craig Coleman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bromus tectorum, commonly called cheatgrass or downy brome is an exotic annual invasive weed which was introduced to the western United States over hundred years ago. B. tectorum has quickly expanded its range, displacing native flora and causing extensive loss of shrub and rangeland habitats along with supporting devastating wildfires, especially in the intermountain west region. Consequently, this invasive weed’s control is a growing concern. However, current control methods being used like control burning, herbicides, etc. are non-specific and mostly ineffective. Methods of biological control are currently under investigation, of which one of them is using the fungus, Pyrenophora semeniperda …

Hdl-C: Does It Matter? An Update On Novel Hdl-Directed Pharmaco-Therapeutic Strategies., Ramprasad Gadi, Aman Amanullah, Vincent M. Figueredo

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

It has long been recognized that elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CHD) and that pharmacologic therapy to decrease LDL-C significantly reduces cardiovascular events. Despite the effectiveness of statins for CHD risk reduction, even optimal LDL-lowering therapy alone fails to avert 60% to 70% of CHD cases. A low plasma concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is also associated with increased risk of CHD. However, the convincing epidemiologic data linking HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) to CHD risk in an inverse correlation has not yet translated into clinical trial evidence supporting linearity between HDL-C increases …

Autophagy Is Involved In Oligodendroglial Precursor-Mediated Clearance Of Amyloid Peptide, Wenxia Li, Yifen Tang, Zhiqin Fan, Ya Meng, Guang Yang, Jia Luo, Zun-Ji Ke

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Accumulation of β-amyloid peptides is an important hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tremendous efforts have been directed to elucidate the mechanisms of β-amyloid peptides degradation and develop strategies to remove β-amyloid accumulation. In this study, we demonstrated that a subpopulation of oligodendroglial precursor cells, also called NG2 cells, were a new cell type that can clear β-amyloid peptides in the AD transgene mice and in NG2 cell line.

RESULTS: NG2 cells were recruited and clustered around the amyloid plaque in the APPswe/PS1dE9 mice, which is Alzheimer's disease mouse model. In vitro, NG2 cell line and primary NG2 cells engulfed …

The Identification Of Pompe Disease Mutations In Archival Tissues And Development Of A Rapid Molecular-Based Test, Aliya Alansari, Samira Al-Rawahi, Taher Al-Nabhani, Mariam, Anand Date

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: Pompe disease (glycogen storage disease type II) is a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease that is caused by acid alpha-glucosidase deficiency. Early enzyme replacement therapy can benefit infants with the disease but the diagnosis is complicated by the rarity of the disease and the heterogeneity of the clinical manifestations. In this study, DNA extracted from archival postmortem formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues was used to identify Pompe disease mutations in Oman and develop a rapid molecular-based test. Methods: Intronic primers were designed to amplify short fragments (193–454 base pairs [bp]) from coding exons (2–20) and screen for mutations using direct …