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Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium Promotes Apoptosis In Activated Neutrophils, Christopher C. Wrocklage

Master's Theses and Capstones

Apoptosis is an extremely important and highly regulated function in neutrophils. As the most abundant, but shortest-lived white blood cells, they must initiate this process in the absence of pathogens and selectively release their potent cytotoxic components when pathogens are present. Many pathogens are able to modulate this process in neutrophils, either for the host's benefit or for their own. Previous work has shown that transmigration across a T84 intestinal epithelial crypt cell monolayer increases the ability of neutrophils to bind and kill Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium).

The goal of this work was to see how S. Typhimurium …

Behavioral Genetics And Crime, In Context, Owen D. Jones

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article provides an introduction to some of the key issues at the intersection of behavioral genetics and crime.

It provides, among other things, an overview of the emerging points of consensus, scientifically, on what behavioral genetics can and cannot tell us about criminal behavior. It also discusses a variety of important implications (as well as complexities) of attempting to use insights of behavioral genetics in legal contexts.

Characteristics And Dynamics Of A Moose Population In Northern New Hampshire, Anthony Richard Musante

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abundance indices suggest that the moose (Alces alces) population in northern New Hampshire has stabilized despite favorable habitat and conservative harvest. Natural mortality of unknown cause is presumed a primary reason although little is known about moose reproduction and survival in New Hampshire. This study (2002-2005) was designed to investigate the dynamics that impact this population.

Analysis of harvest reproductive data (1988-2004) indicated that average field-dressed weight of adult cows increased although corpora lutea count declined from ∼1.4- 1.2/cow in the study area and statewide. Yearling ovulation rate (∼42%) and average weight (<211 kg) declined about 25% and 4%, respectively. Parturition of radio-marked cows ranged from 8 May-13 July (median=19 May) with 78% of births from 13-27 May. Calving rate of yearlings and adults (>2 yr) averaged 30 and 85%, respectively, …

Proceedings: Abstracts Of Papers, 83rd Annual Meeting Of The Virginia Academy Of Science

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the papers presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 17-20, 2005, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The Effects Of Local Grassland Habitat And Surrounding Landscape Composition On The Predators Of Grassland Bird Nests., Page Klug

Student Work

In agroecosystems birds use fragmented grasslands which are saturated by numerous nest predators. Multiple predator threats should increase nest predation, but predator interactions complicate relationships. I studied nest predators of Dickcissels (Spiza americana), a bird of conservation concern. I asked: (1) Does predator community explain predators documented on video? (2) What predator community best explains nesting success? (3) How does the predator community respond to habitat at multiple levels?

Biological Sciences Learning Center First Annual Haunted Halloween Trail, Biological Sciences Learning Center

Teacher Resource Documents

No abstract provided.

The Taxonomic And Systematic Relationships Of Several Salt Marsh Fucus Taxa (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae) Within The Gulf Of Maine And Ireland Examined Using Microsatellite Markers, Aaron L. Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations

The present thesis utilizes microsatellite markers to examine genetic affinities between several salt marsh Fucus ecads in order to ascertain their relationships with attached parental species. Chapter I provides an introduction to the genus Fucus and discusses morphological plasticity, systematic difficulties, and studies of hybridization between different Fucus species.

Chapter II describes my development of microsatellite markers for Fucus. Four polymorphic microsatellite loci were used to determine the origin of a dwarf muscoides-like Fucus from the Brave Boat Harbor (ME) salt marsh. Similar forms were originally described in Europe, and appear to be derived from F. vesiculosus L. However, my …

The Ecological Christ: Discerning An Ecological Consciousness In The Sermon On The Mount, Nancy J. Miaoulis

Doctoral Dissertations

Ecology is the science that studies the function of communities of life within ecosystems. These systems are bound by an affirmation of relationship. Such relationships are very complex and every part of them is dependent on every other part if they are to maintain the integrity of nature that allows us all to survive.

The adoption of the four principles of ecology: everything is connected to everything else; everything has to go somewhere; nature knows best; and there is no such thing as a free lunch---have been suggested to ensure the survival of all species. However, knowledge of scientific findings …

Function, Expression And Evolution Of The *Src Family Kinases In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Chery Angel Whipple

Doctoral Dissertations

The vertebrate proto-oncogene, Src, is the prototype of a family of membrane-associated protein tyrosine kinases involved in cell signaling pathways that control cell growth, development, and differentiation. Activation of Src by mutation or overexpression has been implicated in a range of cancers, particularly breast and colon cancer. Inappropriate activation of Src has pronounced oncogenic effects on cell morphology, adhesion, and motility. Despite its implications in cancer, the normal biological role of Src is not well understood.

I used the nematode C. elegans to investigate the expression, function, and evolution of two src genes (src-1 and src-2) utilizing a combination of …

A Remarkable Radiation Of Hydrobiids In The Caves And Streams At Precipitous Bluff, South West Tasmania (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae), Stefan Eberhard, S. A. Clark, W. F. Ponder

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Conservation Of Subterranean Biodiversity In Western Australia: Using Molecular Genetics To Define Spatial And Temporal Relationships, Mark Adams, Stefan Eberhard, Remko Leys

KIP Abstracts

The Jewel Cave karst system in southwestern Australia contains a community of aquatic invertebrates that is listed as critically endangered owing to lowering water levels in cave lakes. A key question for conservation of biodiversity patterns was to determine the most appropriate spatial scale; viz. lake microscale, cave mesoscale, catchment macroscale, or regional megascale). A second key question was to understand the historical relationship between the community and cave water levels, necessary to evaluate the risk of extinction related to predictions of drying climate in southwestern Australia. This study used molecular genetic techniques (allozyme electrophoresis and mitochondrial DNA sequencing) to …

Art And Embodiment: Biological And Phenomenological Contributions To Understanding Beauty And The Aesthetic, Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Increasing awareness of the crucial and complex role of the body in making and experiencing art has led to a diverse range of biological and phenomenological philosophies of art. The shared emphasis on the role of the body re-connects these contemporary theories of art to aesthetics' pre-Kantian origin as a science of sense-perception (aesthesis) and feeling. Tracing some of the current positions in such diverse thinkers as Dissanayake, Langer, and Merleau-Ponty, this paper will examine their shared interest in art as a pre-reflective, non-discursive mode of knowing, symbolizing, and being-in-the-world. This paper argues that while some biologically based theories have …

A Patch Hath Smaller Patches: Delineating Ecological Neighborhoods For Parasites, Derek Zelmer, John R. Seed

Faculty Publications

Use of the host individual as a boundary for parasite populations and communities provides an unambiguous spatial unit that is useful for pattern description, but this framework precludes consideration of the host landscape and within-host population dynamics. Recognizing host individuals as spatially and temporally complex landscapes requires modified concepts of parasite populations and communities. An outline of the currently accepted hierarchies of parasite populations and communities is provided on the basis of ecological neighborhoods that are delineated by discrete habitat patches or functional dynamics (or both), as opposed to host individuals. This parasite-based framework accommodates consideration of both within- and …

Tuba, A Novel Protein Containing Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs And Dbl Homology Domains, Links Dynamin To Regulation Of The Actin Cytoskeleton, Marco Antonio Del Valle Salazar

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

Tuba is a novel scaffold protein that functions to bring together dynamin with components of the actin cytoskeleton. It is concentrated at synapses in brain and binds dynamin selectively through four N-terminal Src homology-3 (SH3) domains. Tuba binds a variety of actin regulatory proteins, including N-WASP, CR16, WAVE1, WIRE, PIR121, NAP1, and Ena/VASP proteins, via a C-terminal SH3 domain. Direct binding partners include N-WASP and Ena/VASP proteins. Forced targeting of the C-terminal SH3 domain to the mitochondrial surface can promote accumulation of F-actin around mitochondria. A Dbl homology domain present in the middle of Tuba upstream of a Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) …

Particle Removal Rates By The Mud Shrimp Upogebia Pugettensis, Its Burrow, And A Commensal Clam: Effects On Estuarine Phytoplankton Abundance, Blaine D. Griffen, Theodore H. Dewitt, Chris Langdon

Faculty Publications

The burrowing shrimp Upogebia pugettensis is an abundant intertidal invertebrate of Pacific Northwest, USA bays and estuaries where it lives commensally with the bivalve Cryptomya californica. Suspension-feeding activities by the shrimp and by its commensal clam, as well as particle settlement within the burrow, represent 3 different components that could remove phytoplankton from water drawn into shrimp burrows. These 3 components together comprise what we call the ‘U. pugettensis shrimp-burrow complex’. In laboratory experiments, we measured particle removal by each of these components. Our results indicated that U. pugettensis itself is responsible for filtering the majority of phytoplankton removed …

Students’ Assessment Of Biology Education At Marshall University, Chris A. Barker

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this thesis research was to evaluate the quality of scientific education offered in the College of Science’s Department of Biology at Marshall University. The objectives of this study were to emphasize the important aspects of higher education assessment, point out that a scientifically literate citizenry is imperative for society to function effectively, and to determine what factors contribute to differences among students with regard to their perception of the quality of scientific education they are receiving at Marshall. A survey questionnaire was administered to students in eleven biological science courses during the Fall semester of 2003 and …

Assessment And Conservation Of Aquatic Life In The Subsurface Of The Pilbara Region, Western Australia, Harley J. Barron, James Cocking, Stefan Eberhard

KIP Talks and Conferences

To provide a framework for assessment of mine development projects in the Pilbara, as well to plan conservation of groundwater biodiversity, the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) is undertaking a five-year survey (2002 to 2007) of Pilbara stygofauna. The project aims to map regional patterns in subterranean biodiversity by sampling the range of groundwater environments that can be accessed via bores, wells, caves, springs, spring-brooks and hyporheic habitats. The first year of sampling has revealed many new stygal species, and indicate that stygofauna is abundant and widely distributed across the region, and occurs in several different aquifer types. …

Factors Restricting Recruitment Of Ascophyllum Nodosum L (Le Jolis), Paula K B Philbrick

Doctoral Dissertations

Ascophyllum nodosum dominates a wide zone on the shore. Juveniles occur high in the zone where canopy is continuous and grazing animals few. Settlement could account for the restricted range if it were enhanced under canopy or on the upper shore. Settlement was monitored under canopy and in the open at four shore levels during spring 1983. Propagules settled everywhere. Settlement does not restrict plant establishment. Germlings caged and not caged were placed under canopy and in the open through the zone to evaluate the effects of animals and the physical environment (shore level x frond cover) on survival and …

Fire Dynamics In Amazonia, Manoel Cardoso

Doctoral Dissertations

Fires are major disturbances for ecosystems in Amazonia. Because of their short time scale and strong links to biogeochemical cycles, fires significantly affect fluxes and stocks of carbon and nutrients, change air composition, and modify ecosystems structure and functioning. Fires are strongly related to land-use, land-cover and climate conditions. Because the increasing development of the region, these factors have been changing and leading to different patterns of fire activity. Thus it is very important to understand the dynamics of fires in the region and to develop models that can project their potential changes. To contribute in all these subjects, we …

A Study Of Basidiomycetes Isolated From Coarse Woody Debris And Contiguous Soil Horizons In A Mixed Deciduous-Conifer Forest In New Hampshire, United States Of America, Therese Ann Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations

The wood decay fungus Hypholoma sublateritium (Fr.) Quel., links the mineral (BC & E) and organic (Oe) soil layers to decomposing coarse woody debris (CWD) in a northern hardwood forest. This link supports the possibility that energy stored in woody debris can facilitate the vertical transfer of elements and compounds within the soil profile. This potential transfer implies new pathways for biogeochemical cycling within forests. H. sublateritium was isolated from basidiocarp fruiting bodies (October 1997 & 1998), Acer rubrum L. bole wood (June 1999), and three soil horizons (October 1999 and October 2000) from one of six research sites in …

Analysis Of Signal Output By The Ethylene Receptor Etr1 From Arabidopsis, Xiang Qu

Doctoral Dissertations

Ethylene is one of the most important plant hormones and regulates many processes during plant growth and development. In Arabidopsis, the ethylene receptor family consists of five members: ETR1 and ERS1 have a functional histidine kinase domain and form subfamily 1; members of subfamily 2, including ETR2, ERS2, and EIN4, possess a highly diverged histidine kinase domain predicted not to be functional. To analyze signal output by the ethylene receptor ETR1 from Arabidopsis, mutant-based approaches were taken. Initially, the role of the proposed signal output region of ETR1 in ethylene signaling was examined. For this purpose, the ability of mutant …

Impact Of Macular Pigment Optical Density On Photophobia Threshold, Adam James Wenzel

Doctoral Dissertations

Two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, accumulate in the central retina where they are collectively referred to as macular pigment (MP). By absorbing short-wavelength light, MP may attenuate photophobia (PP)---visual discomfort induced by normal light exposure---for targets composed of short-wavelength light. The aim of this study was twofold: first, to investigate a possible relationship between integrated macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and PP thresholds for short-wavelength targets relative to mid- to long-wavelength targets; and second, to measure changes in PP thresholds after increasing MP with lutein supplements.

MPOD was measured psychophysically at 20', 30', 60' and 120' eccentricity with a Macular …

Approach To The Identification Of Sex-Determining Genes In The Tilapia Genome By Genetic Mapping And Comparative Positional Cloning, Bo-Young Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

Tilapia (Oreochromis species) are one of the most dominant species in the aquaculture market. Genomic approaches may contribute to tilapia culture in the near future by identifying genes controlling traits valuable at the market. One of the most important traits for farming of tilapia is sex because monosex culture shows the best efficiency of culture. In tilapia, however, the mechanisms of sex-determination have been poorly understood because of the variation in the genetic basis of sex-determination and the lack of morphological differences between sex chromosomes.

To facilitate QTL analysis of these traits, a genetic linkage map was constructed from hybrids …

Development Of Muscle Structure And Function In Loliginid Squids, Gabriela Maria Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations

Squid embryos are able to contract their mantle early during the embryonic period.

This dissertation examines the onset of contractile capabilities and subsequent maturation of the main locornotor structures in embryos of two species of loligind squids with a focus on the mantle musculature. The functional implications of the differentiation and organization of the musculature is investigated.

The results of these series of studies indicate that the development and emergence of functional competence of the mantle musculature in loliginid squids is a dynamic process. Differentiation and organization of the musculature of the main locomotor structures does not occur simultaneously and …

The Effects Of Temperature On The Physiology And Locomotory Behavior Of The American Lobster, Homarus Americanus, Suzanne M. Cooke

Doctoral Dissertations

Temperature has a pervasive influence on the physiology and behavior of all lobsters, and especially those found in habitats where temperature fluctuates the most. One population of lobsters undergoes a seasonal migration in the Great Bay estuary system in NH, entering the estuary in late spring and returning to the coast in the late summer and fall. This migration may be triggered by physiological or behavioral responses to seasonal temperature shifts.

The first set of experiments examined the effect of temperature on heart rate in order to further understand the influence of temperature on lobster metabolism. Heart rate was measured …

Response Tier Development Document Barton Springs Salamander Catastrophic Spill Plan, Martha Turner, Lisa O'Donnell

KIP Data Sets and Technical Reports

The Barton Springs Salamander Catastrophic Spill Plan describes when and how endangered salamanders would be protected or rescued should a catastrophic spill occur in the Barton Spring watershed. The best response to any particular spill depends on a variety of factors, thus an effective spill response plan requires a method to determine thresholds that will elicit each tier of salamander rescue efforts. This plan focuses primarily on developing response tiers for gasoline, since it is considered to be the most common problematic spilled material with high toxicity and the potential for very large spills., The method developed for gasoline is …

The Cortical Microtubule Array: From Dynamics To Organization, Ram Dixit, Richard Cyr

Biology Faculty Research

Cortical microtubules (CMTs) are essential for normal plant morphogenesis because they affect the axes of cell elongation and predict the placement of cell division planes. The function of the CMTs is intimately linked to their organizational state, which is subject to spatial and temporal modifications by developmental and environmental cues. CMT assembly dynamics govern when, where, and how microtubules appear in a cell's cortex, and the regulation of these properties affects their organization. However, the principles that link microtubule assembly dynamics to cortical array organization and reconfiguration are not well understood. This essay focuses on recent advances in the understanding …

Scale Model Of A Soil Aggregate And Associated Organisms: A Teaching Tool For Soil Ecology, Mary Anne Bruns, Loren B. Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Soil is a complex habitat for diverse biota. A significant challenge in teaching soil ecology is our inability to observe organisms as they live and interact in the soil. The objective of this article is to describe an interactive class project to help students visualize the sizes of different groups of soil organisms and to relate these to soil structural components. This project was carried out by students in an upper-level undergraduate soil ecology class. It involved the design and construction of a 4000× scale model of a soil aggregate and its associated organisms. The body of the model was …

From Biology To Consciousness To Morality, Ursula Goodenough, Terrence W. Deacon

Biology Faculty Research

Social animals are provisioned with prosocial orientations that operate to transcend self-interest. Morality, as used here, describes human versions of such orientations. We explore the evolutionary antecedents of morality in the context of emergentism, giving considerable attention to the biological traits that undergird awareness and our emergent human forms of mind. We suggest that our moral frames of mind emerge from our primate prosocial capacities, transfigured and valenced by our symbolic languages, cultures, and religions.

Portions of this article were given by Deacon in a paper at the forty-ninth annual conference of IRAS, “Is Nature Enough? The Thirst for …

Woody Plant Communities Of The Iowa Loess Hills: Expansion From 1855 To 2000, Extant Composition, And Ecological Succession., Melanie I. Trecek-King

Student Work

The Loess Hills of western Iowa are a unique geologic landform historically covered by scattered bur oaks in a matrix of mixed-grass prairie. Since European settlement, however, woody plant encroachment has altered the ecosystem and presently endangers the last substantial prairies remnants in Iowa. Aerial photographs from 2000 and General Land Office field survey notes from the 1850s documented an increase in woody Plant cover from 7% in 1855 to 25% in 2000 for three centuries in the Loess Hills region of western Iowa. Woody Plant species composition along a lowland-ridge-top coenocline on both north and south aspects in centrally …