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The Biology, Ecology, And Management Of The Migratory Grasshopper, Melanoplus Sanguinipes (Fab.), Dewey W. Murray

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Grasshoppers have caused significant damage to crops of farmers and rangeland forage of ranchers throughout history. Populations of grasshoppers can build and explode with exponential growth under the right climatic factors and habitat. Melanoplus sanguinipes is the most economic species of grasshopper in the United States. The migratory flight capabilities are very similar to true locusts. This species has been known to travel distances of over 500 miles. Millions of dollars in damage occurs to crops and rangeland annually in the United States due to this species and other economic grasshopper species. The life history of this species and timing …

Insect Pest Introduction Into Florida: Surveillance And Detection Efforts By Government Agencies, Gangadai Azore

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Today, Florida’s most important crops such as corn, peppers, and snow beans owe their existence to constant vigilance by the Florida Department of Agriculture (FDACS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Customs & Border Protection Agricultural Specialists (CBP); all three agencies work together to keep many dangerous pests out of the state. Diligent inspectors working alongside the Customs officers, meet all arriving vessels that arrive by land, sea, or air. The officers inspect cargo and passengers’ baggage, the holds of vessels, cabins, crew’s quarters, and storerooms of vessels themselves to keep out potential insects hitch-hiking on commodities or on …

Investigation Into The Sex Pheromone Of The Adult Female Odd Beetle, Thylodrias Contractus Motschulsky, 1839, Patrick J. Kelley

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Insects of many species depend on the chemical cues in sex pheromones to identify potential reproductive partners. Previous studies have shown that odd beetle, Thylodrias contractus utilize sex pheromones at the onset of reproductive physiology that leads to mating behavior. This is a study to make strides to identify the sex pheromone(s) for the odd beetle, T. contractus. In this study, efforts to isolate the sex pheromone of this pest insect began with observations of the mating behavior of this insect. This was followed by dissections of adult virgin females in an attempt to reveal which parts of the anatomy …

Professor Studies Invasive Species In Africa, Nicole Nelson

The Scope

James Vonesh, an associate professor of biology at VCU, recently returned from South Africa, where he focused on an invasive species of frog. His research question: Why do certain species flourish in a new environment while others do not?

Songbird’S Winter Grounds Face Environmental Threats, Kirby Farineau

The Scope

VCU graduate biology student Jessica Reese has documented the environmental threats facing the prothonotary warbler. Development has depleted the mangrove forests of Panama and Colombia where these gray and yellow songbirds spend the winter months.

Active Stiffening Of F-Actin Network Dominated By Structural Transition Of Actin Filaments Into Bundles, Shengmao Lin, Xinwei Han, Gary C.P. Tsui, David Hui, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Molecular motor regulated active contractile force is key for cells sensing and responding to their mechanical environment, which leads to characteristic structures and functions of cells. The F-actin network demonstrates a two-order of magnitude increase in its modulus due to contractility; however, the mechanism for this active stiffening remains unclear. Two widely acknowledged hypotheses are that active stiffening of F-actin network is caused by (1) the nonlinear force-extension behavior of cross-linkers, and (2) the loading mode being switched from bending to stretching dominated regime. Direct evidence supporting either theory is lacking. Here we examined these hypotheses and showed that a …

Integration Of Flow Studies For Robust Selection Of Mechanoresponsive Genes, Nataly Maimari, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Alessandra Russo, Krysia Broda, Rob Krams

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Blood flow is an essential contributor to plaque growth, composition and initiation. It is sensed by endothelial cells, which react to blood flow by expressing >1000 genes. The sheer number of genes implies that one needs genomic techniques to unravel their response in disease. Individual genomic studies have been performed but lack sufficient power to identify subtle changes in gene expression. In this study, we investigated whether a systematic meta-analysis of available microarray studies can improve their consistency.

We identified 17 studies using microarrays, of which 6 were performed in vivo and 11 in vitro. The in vivo studies were …

The Promise Of The Rule Of (Environmental) Law: A Reply To Pardy's Unbearable Licence, Jocelyn Stacey Assistant Professor

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This short reply clarifies and defends the argument presented in "The Environmental Emergency and the Legality of Discretion in Environmental Law." It responds to the arguments that were made, and that could have been made, in Pardy's critique "An Unbearable Licence".

Bah Humbug: Unexpected Christmas Cards And The Reciprocity Norm, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

The reciprocity norm refers to the expectation that people will help those who helped them. A well-known study revealed that the norm is strong with Christmas cards, with 20% of people reciprocating a Christmas card received from a stranger. I attempted to conceptually replicate and extend this effect. In Study 1, 755 participants received a Christmas card supposedly from a more- versus less-similar stranger. The reciprocation rate was unexpectedly low (2%), which did not allow for a test of a similarity effect. Two potential reasons for this low rate were examined in Study 2 in which 494 participants reported their …

Part 4: The Rise Of Single-Earner Households In Virginia: Why It Matters, Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Almost one-third of all households in Hampton Roads are “nonfamily,” in the sense that they are not headed by two married individuals. More than 40 percent of all births now occur out of wedlock and the number of older single people has skyrocketed. Both public and private programs and policies have not kept pace with these developments and are in need of revision.

2016 Nsu Fact Book, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Fact Book

This 24th edition of the Nova Southeastern University Fact Book reflects an expanding body of data and information that provides perspective on the university’s character, growth, and accomplishments.

The 2016 Fact Book includes narrative, numeric, and graphic representation of the university, including history, characteristics, and development of the institution. Data are presented in both tabular and graphic formats to provide pertinent detail, and general trends are highlighted.

Defensible Space And Mitigating Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus Ponderosae Hopkins) Damage, Natalie L. Greynolds

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) are an endemic insect of western North American forests. The beetle’s range extends north to British Columbia in western Canada, south along the western United States and into northern Mexico. It has moved east into the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Live specimens of lodgepole (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), ponderosa (Pinus ponderosae), and white bark (Pinus albicaulis) Pines are preferred hosts. Climate conditions such as drought create outbreak conditions that last for only a few growing seasons or several years if these drought conditions continue. Mountain pine …

Dialogic Learning And Self-Explanation In Classrooms Implementing Worked Example Instruction With Interactive Whiteboard Technology, Ellen C. Bloomfield

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between classroom discourse and interactive pedagogies when using the interactive whiteboard (IWB) for worked example instruction. Using an embedded single case study design (Yin, 2003), the researcher examined the effect of interactive pedagogies and the differences in whole class dialogue and student self-explanation about the worked example. The sources of data included two classroom observations of teacher directed instruction and one classroom observation of student directed instruction. Each worked example presentation used a different level of interactive pedagogy as defined by Glover, et al., 2006. These included the supported didactic, …

Nitrogenase Femoco Investigated By Spatially Resolved Anomalous Dispersion Refinement, Thomas Spatzal, Julia Schlesier, Eva-Maria Burger, Daniel Sippel, Limei Zhang, Susana L.A. Andrade, Douglas C. Rees, Oliver Einsle

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The [Mo:7Fe:9S:C] iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco) of nitrogenase is the largest known metal cluster and catalyses the 6-electron reduction of dinitrogen to ammonium in biological nitrogen fixation. Only recently its atomic structure was clarified, while its reactivity and electronic structure remain under debate. Here we show that for its resting S 1⁄4 3/2 state the common iron oxidation state assignments must be reconsidered. By a spatially resolved refinement of the anomalous scattering contributions of the 7 Fe atoms of FeMoco, we conclude that three irons (Fe1/3/7) are more reduced than the other four (Fe2/4/5/6). Our data are in agreement with the …

Novel Role Of Cd47 In Obesity-Associated Metabolic Dysfunctions, Heather L. Norman-Burgdolf

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Obesity and its associated comorbidities are of global concern. These complications are largely driven by perturbations in energy homeostasis, inflammation, and oxidative stress within metabolic tissues. Although these underlying pathways have been established, molecular mechanisms augmenting metabolic dysfunction have not been fully defined. CD47, a ubiquitously expressed cell membrane receptor, has been previously implicated in the development of inflammation and oxidative stress in a number of disease conditions. Previous work from our lab and others has confirmed that the most potent ligand of CD47, TSP1, plays a critical role in facilitating inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in diet-induced obesity. Whether these …

Simple Landscape Irrigation Demand Estimation: Slide Rules, Roger Kjelgren

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Irrigated urban landscapes must increasingly maintain economic and ecosystem value with less water in response to drought amplified and shifted by climate change. Efficient landscape water management requires estimating water amount demanded by plants that can be replaced by irrigation to meet minimum performance expectations. The extant approach to estimating landscape water demand is conceptually muddled and often regionally inappropriate. Simplified Landscape Irrigation Demand Estimation (SLIDE) Rules distills scientifically credible assumptions about urban landscape biological and physical complexity into guidelines for estimating water demand that are conceptually accessible and operationally useful. SLIDE Rules are: 1) oasis urban reference evapotranspiration (ETo) …

“You’Re Insecure, Don’T Know What For”: The Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms, Social Anxiety Symptoms, And Satisfaction In Close Relationships, Laura Arbetman

Theses & ETDs

This study explores the relationship between depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and satisfaction in both friendships and romantic relationships. Participants were 165 adults who identified themselves as being in romantic relationships. Each participant completed a survey examining romantic relationship satisfaction (both own and perceived), friendship satisfaction (both own and perceived), depressive symptoms, and social anxiety symptoms. There was a small negative correlation between participants’ own relationship satisfaction and level of depressive symptoms. There was a small negative correlation between participants’ perception of their partners’ satisfaction and depressive symptoms. A third small negative correlation was found between participants’ perception of their …

Lipidomic Identification Of Therapeutic Targets In A Mouse Model Of Gulf War Illness, Austin Seroka

Theses & ETDs

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a debilitating condition affecting roughly 250,000 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War (GW). Patients with GWI experience cognitive decline, immune activation, physical discomfort and pain, along with limited mobility and decreased overall quality of life. Previous studies conducted at the Roskamp Institute and elsewhere have implicated mitochondrial dysfunction, altered lipid metabolism and peroxisomal dysfunction as the biological features of GWI most likely caused by exposure to cholinergic pesticides and nerve agents in the GW theater. This study aims to use innovative, mass spectrometry based-lipidomic analysis to identify the involvement of these factors in the pathology …

Reactive Oxygen Species Release And Gravitropism Correlate With Starch Content In Zea Mays L. Stem Pulvini, Shelby R. Hartwell

Theses & ETDs

Gravitropism is the response that allows plants to reorient themselves and for the stems to grow against the gravity vector. Grass stems, such as that of Zea mays L., are excellent models for studying gravitropism because the response to gravistimulation is isolated to pulvini (pulvinus sing.). The pulvinus is a disk of tissue apical to each node that is responsible for cell elongation and causes bending when the stem is displaced from the vertical position. The signaling pathway required for plant gravitropism is not yet fully understood. Previous work in our lab suggested a role for reactive oxygen species (ROS) …

Seeking Satisfaction: Young Women’S Attitudes Towards Short Term Relationships, Deanna Ferrier

Theses & ETDs

With the increased prevalence of “hookup” culture, research has focused on why young people choose to hook up (or engage in a short term sexual relationship) and the outcomes of those relationships. A “hookup” or a short term relationship is a relationship including sexual intimacy in which there is no expectation of further encounters and no love or commitment. Although past studies have found multiple variables that affect these decisions and outcomes, few have examined the effects of the interaction between the perceived attitudes of society towards short term relationships and the attitudes and behaviors of the individual. The current …

Computational Simulation And Perturbation Of The Hiv-1 Viral Capsid, Shana Bergman

Theses & ETDs

AIDS is an epidemic that relies on the high mutation rate of HIV-1. The most promising means of combating this virus is to prevent a poorly understood process known as uncoating, where the protective capsid shell dissociates to release the infectious material. To capitalize on this opportunity to prevent infection, this research approximates the capsid's potential using a coarse grained elastic network model and then systematically perturbs each residue in the capsomer, evaluating its effect on the global potential. A simulation of this complexity and magnitude has not been approached in this way, so it was significant to prove the …

Toward A Model Of Hemocyanin, David Lendermon

Theses & ETDs

Copper-dioxygen complexes are integral in many catalytic oxidation reactions and there is a diverse occurrence of copper proteins that function as highly efficient biooxidation catalysts. They have been studied in the respiratory protein hemocyanin for decades. Due to the bulk of this protein, model systems are necessary in gaining careful studies of its activity. This work aimed to develop new model systems for dicopper proteins like hemocyanin, tyrosinase, and catechol oxidase. By following the work of others, the ligands tris-(4(5)-imidazolyl)carbinol hydrochloric salt and tris-(4(5)-imidazolyl)methoxymethane hydrochloric salt•methanol were successfully synthesized, however the route to a new ligand has not yet presented …

Isolation And Analysis Of The C. Elegans Protein Vf13d12l.3, Conor Zhang

Theses & ETDs

VF13D12L.3 is a gene sequence in C. elegans, whose function is currently unknown. It is theorized to be a glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase due to the presence of domains similar to that of malate dehydrogenases as well as a glyoxysomal import sequence. Malate dehydrogenases play a key role in the metabolism of sugars. These enzymes catalyze the oxidation of malate to oxaloacetate. This oxidation occurs in a number of metabolic pathways, but here the investigation lies with the possible role of VF13D12L.3 in the glyoxylate cycle. The glyoxylate cycle is important in invertebrates for the metabolism of fatty acids for energy. …

A Game Of Paranoia: Applying Ludology To Mark Z. Danielewski’S House Of Leaves, James Turner Campbell

Theses & ETDs

Mark Z. Danielewski’s 2000 novel, House of Leaves , uses typological idiosyncrasies and a nonlinear narrative structure to elicit a specific effect from its readers. I use the Reader Response criticism of Georges Poulet, Wolfgang Iser, and Peter Brooks as well as Games Studies theory, interviews with the author, and responses to House of Leaves from online forums to interrogate the novel as both a readerly and writerly text. My argument is twofold. I argue that House of Leaves operates between Barthes’s dichotomy of a readerly and writerly text. I also argue that the novel encourages readers to simulate the …

Challenges To Bay Scallop Restoration In Sarasota Bay: From Biofouling To Red Tide, Isabella G. Soutullo

Theses & ETDs

Bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) are an ecologically, economically, and culturally valued species in Florida. Coastal human expansion and development have reduced water quality through nutrient runoff and substantially reduced seagrass coverage, the bay scallop’s primary habitat. These pressures, in combination with commercial and recreational overharvesting, have promoted a statewide decline in bay scallop populations. Their susceptibility to environmental changes and unique life-history characteristics fail to promote natural recovery, even when limitations to harvesting are enacted. Restoration efforts have become a prominent component in Florida bays where scallop abundance has been compromised. Bay scallop populations in Sarasota Bay are currently non-existent, …

Exploration Of Next Generation Metal Anticancer Agents: Synthesis, Characterization And Preliminary Biological Studies Of Htz[Rucl4tz2] And H[Rucl4pyz2], Mai Tanaka

Theses & ETDs

Some Keppler-type complexes, with a general formula trans-HL[RuCl4L2], have shown promising anticancer activities. Protonated-transtetrachlorbis( pyrazole)ruthenate(III), H[RuCl4pyz2], along with two other previously synthesized Keppler-type complexes: trans-indazolium tetrachlorobis(indazole)ruthenate(III), KP1019, and trans-thiazolium tetrachlorobis(thiazole)ruthenate(III), Htz[RuCl4tz2], were synthesized and characterized by means of FTIR, 1H-NMR and UV-vis spectrometry. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was conducted on H[RuCl4pyz2]. The result indicates peaks at 403.85, 243.77 and 208.81 g mol-1, which correspond to [RuCl4pyz2]", [RuCl4]" and [RuCl3]2- fragments, respectively. In addition, studies of the complexes were carried out to examine hydrolysis patterns, binding to serum proteins and interactions with plasmid DNA. The pseudo first-order rate constant of hydrolysis …

Optical Polarization From The Surface Plasmon Resonances Of A Single Gold Nanorod, Abigail Mcaloon

Theses & ETDs

The surface plasmon resonances of nanomaterials are dependent on the geometry of the particles, especially in single-particle studies [5, 17, 16, 22, 23, 32, 37]. The selective excitations of anisotropic nanomaterials lead to novel effects [40, 42, 44, 49, 50, 61, 62, 66, 71]. Using singlemolecule microscopy, gold nanorods (GNRs) embedded in a dielectric are imaged. The nanorods are observed with monochromatic excitation and white light excitation. Under polarization the nanorods show varying scattering spectra and light emission. From this it is shown that GNRs have orientation dependent scattering properties.

Molecular Signaling In Plant Immunity Through Promoter Expression Analysis And Quantitative Proteomics, Juan Manuel Gonzalez

Theses & ETDs

Studying the plant innate immune system is important to address hunger and malnutrition problems worldwide. Plants have two immune systems to defend themselves against pathogen attack. Initially, pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) is induced upon membrane receptor recognition of immunogenic ligands. Pathogenic bacteria deliver effector proteins into the plant cell that disturb this immune response to promote disease. Some plants express resistance proteins that detect the presence of specific effectors leading to effector-triggered immunity (ETI). Previous transcriptomic analysis monitored tomato gene expression changes in response to Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato infection to characterize differences between PTI and ETI. This study aimed to …

Flitting Fairy And Haughty Harpy: Costuming Ariel In William Shakespeare’S The Tempest, Erika Folk

Theses & ETDs

The first portion of this thesis is an exploration of magical coding, or the labeling of magical identity, through costume in the production history of the character Ariel from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Particular attention is given to the historical patterns of gendered casting which color the way Ariel’s magical identity has been expressed within the play, as well as the trends in portrayal of the relationship between Ariel and Prospero, the protagonist of the work. The second part of this thesis is a detailed costume design and construction project which establishes, through costume, a characterization of Ariel which has …

Purification And Initial Kinetic Characterization Of The C. Elegans Dauer Protein Sodh-1, Michael H. Davis

Theses & ETDs

The nematode C. elegans has the capability of entering an alternative developmental pathway in its life cycle known as the dauer larval stage. Entry into this developmental stage is complemented by a metabolic anaerobic shift. C. elegans are triggered to enter this metabolic state due to harsh environmental conditions that include high population density and low food supply. The dauer phase allows C. elegans to live significantly longer than worms following the mainstream developmental pathway (2-3 weeks as opposed to days,). Dauers are also able to enter the L4 stage once environmental stressors subside. Through the use of mass spectroscopy, …