Digital Commons Network^™

Big Data Analysis Bio 439/539, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Stem Course Design In Higher Education Bes 501, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Studying The Effects Of Serpentine Soil On Adapted And Non-Adapted Species Using Arduino Technology, Kiana Saniee, Edward Himelblau, Brian Paavo

STAR Program Research Presentations

Abstract: Serpentine soils are formed from ultramafic rocks and are represent an extreme environment for plants. Serpentine soils are unique in that they carry high concentrations of heavy metals, are nutrient deficient, particularly in calcium, and have poor water retention capabilities. Although these soils constitute harsh conditions for plant growth, there are a number of species that are adapted and even endemic to serpentine soil. Water retention by commercial potting mix was compared with serpentine soil. Also, serpentine adapted and non-adapted species were grown in both soil treatments and physiological data were collected. We used the Arduino electronic platform to …

Lifelines Fall 2016, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Fall 2016 issue of Lifelines features a discussion on online science classes, undergraduate research in human anatomy and physiology, student missions in Thailand, and an alumni spotlight.

1. Types Of Alignment: Presentations & Demos Assignment, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll

Sequence Alignments

Pairwise Alignment: DNA

Pairwise Alignment: Protein

Multiple Sequence Alignment: DNA

Multiple Sequence Alignment: Protein

The Cosm Newsletter

COSM Newsletter

• Eagles in Training for STEM Careers
• The Department of Biology Welcomes New Faculty
• Biology Alumni Move Onward and Upward
• Georgia Southern's Elite 8 for REU-2016
• Geologists Investigate Salt Water Intrusion on a Georgia Barrier Island
• The Georgia Southern Sea Turtle Program at St. Catherines Island: The 2016 Sea Turtle Nesting Season
• Hatchlings
• The Department of Mathematical Sciences Welcomes New Faculty
• Eagles Win Third MacArthur Award
• Faculty member awarded new Patent on “Engineered lumenized vascular networks and support matrix”
• The Photonic Nanotechnology Computational Group
• Edwards participates in NSF "Ideas Lab" to Measure "Big G"
• Faculty Member Participates in Scholarly Activities
• Professors …

The Cosm Newsletter, Georgia Southern University

College of Science & Mathematics: News & Publications (2012-2022)

• Eagles in Training for STEM Careers
• The Department of Biology Welcomes New Faculty
• Biology Alumni Move Onward and Upward
• Georgia Southern's Elite 8 for REU-2016
• Geologists Investigate Salt Water Intrusion on a Georgia Barrier Island
• The Georgia Southern Sea Turtle Program at St. Catherines Island: The 2016 Sea Turtle Nesting Season
• Hatchlings
• The Department of Mathematical Sciences Welcomes New Faculty
• Eagles Win Third MacArthur Award
• Faculty member awarded new Patent on “Engineered lumenized vascular networks and support matrix”
• The Photonic Nanotechnology Computational Group
• Edwards participates in NSF "Ideas Lab" to Measure "Big G"
• Faculty Member Participates in Scholarly Activities
• Professors …

Principles Of Biology Ii (Valdosta State University), Joshua Reece, Gretchen Bielmyer, John Elder, Theresa Grove

Biological Sciences Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Principles of Biology II was created under a Round Four ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of Chlorella Vulgaris And Dairy Whey For Enhanced Methane Production, Paula Drouin Ms

All Student Scholarship

The anaerobic digestion process is an additional step that can be implemented at wastewater treatment facilities for the production of biogas (i.e. methane) that can be used to generate energy and significantly reduce the facility's energy cost. An emerging area of interest with anaerobic digestion is the inclusion of high-strength degradable organic waste (in addition to wastewater solids) that can lead to increased methane production by methanogens. Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris), a species of green microalgae, is ubiquitous green alga often present at water-water treatment plants. I investigated its usefulness in an existing wastewater treatment process. Two investigations …

Sweating The Small Stuff: Linking Plankton To Climate Change, Brian Kim '18 Makes Conncetions, Stephen Collins

Colby Magazine

It takes an expansive mind to connect microscopic marine copepods (certain crustacean plankton) unwittingly chomping on floating microplastics with a bigger picture: the planet’s carbon pump and global climate change. But that’s what Brian Kim ’18 decided to investigate during Jan Plan, working with Bigelow Lab Senior Research Scientist David Fields.

Magic School Bus Presents: The Human Body, Liz Kazandzhy

Children's Book and Media Review

Jump on the Magic School Bus and come explore the human body! Ms. Frizzle is ready to take you on a ride starting in the inside of a cell and ending with an overview of what makes a body run and how to take care of it. You’ll ride right on through all the vital body parts (skin, hair, nails, bones, muscles), senses (touch, eye, ear, mouth, nose), organs (brain, heart, lungs), and systems (nervous, digestive, circulatory), making for a truly exciting journey.

Cosm News, Georgia Southern University

College of Science & Mathematics: News & Publications (2012-2022)

• Biology Professor Receives Grant

"Cells In Motion" The Focus Of This Month's Cafe Scientifique, University Relations

Campus News Archive

The next Café Scientifique will take place on Tuesday, September 27, at 6 p.m. at the Common Cup Coffeehouse (501 Atlantic Avenue, Morris, MN 56267). Associate Professor of Biology PZ Myers and Katrine Sjovold ’18, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will lead the discussion: “Cells in Motion: How Cells Move to Build Embryos, Create Patterns, and Cause Cancer.”

Gardner-Webb Alum Prepared For Medical School And Ministry, Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Caitlin Silver Porter (’14) majored in biology at Gardner-Webb University as a stepping stone to medical school. She minored in mission studies, because of her heart for ministry. A course that explored issues in science and religion helped to connect her two interests.

Rapid Museum, Gary Barwin

The Goose

Poetry by Gary Barwin

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Biology, Fall 2016, Patti Mccall

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Integrating Food Science Lessons In High School Biology Curriculum In Comparison To High School Chemistry Curriculum, Lauren Elizabeth Ivey

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, high school chemistry has been the predominate venue for introducing food science curriculum to students. The purpose of this research was to determine if high school students in a biology class without a chemistry background could comprehend eight basic food science principles equally as well as students in a chemistry class that were taught the same principles. This study assessed baseline knowledge of high school students, determined the effect of food science-based lessons on baseline knowledge and level of understanding, and determined the effect of food science-based lessons on students’ awareness of and interest in food science. Baseline knowledge …

Optimization Of A Genomic Editing System Using Crispr/Cas9-Induced Site-Specific Gene Integration, Jillian L. Mccool Ms., Nick Hum, Gabriela G. Loots

STAR Program Research Presentations

The CRISPR-Cas system is an adaptive immune system found in bacteria which helps protect against the invasion of other microorganisms. This system induces double stranded breaks at precise genomic loci (1) in which repairs are initiated and insertions of a target are completed in the process. This mechanism can be used in eukaryotic cells in combination with sgRNAs (1) as a tool for genome editing. By using this CRISPR-Cas system, in addition to the “safe harbor locus,” ROSAβ26, the incorporation of a target gene into a site that is not susceptible to gene silencing effects can be achieved through few …

Effects Of Soil Erosion Barriers On Percent Cover And Sediment Size, Michael Perez

STAR Program Research Presentations

Ranching began on Santa Rosa Island in the 1840’s, introducing nonnative megafauna that put selective grazing pressures on endemic species. Dense groves of island oak (Q. tomentella) are aid in sediment deposition and retention. A current restoration effort, involved installing soil erosion barriers, known as wattles, to prevent sediment from being lost upslope and recruit plant growth whose root systems could further stabilize the slope. This experiment was designed to compare percent cover of vegetation growth in areas with and without soil erosion barriers. This was done using the line intercept method (n=42) on three meter transects, measuring …

The Influence Of Peer-Led Team Learning On Underrepresented Minority Student Achievement In Introductory Biology And Recruitment And Retention In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Majors, Jeremy David Sloane

Dissertations - ALL

Increasing underrepresented minority (URM) participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is of increasing national importance as the United States continues to fall behind other nations in global economic competitiveness. These students constitute a large pool of potential STEM majors at the college level, but they have been recruited to and retained in STEM programs at significantly lower rates than students from other populations. As such, President Barack Obama’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has called on undergraduate science instructors to diversify their teaching methods and employ active learning strategies to improve students’ success in …

Individual Movement Rates Are Sufficient To Determine And Maintain Dynamic Spatial Positioning Within Uca Pugilator Herds, Eilea R. Knotts

Theses and Dissertations

Spatial location within aggregations (i.e. periphery, central) is of biological significance to gregarious animals. Because these positions are a potential consequence of consistent individual behavioral differences, or personality, a better understanding of potential mechanisms concerning personality is central to predicting an individuals’ location. To determine the effects of individual personality on the dynamic spatial positioning of Uca pugilator while herding, field data collection and agent-based modeling were employed. Individuals were assayed to establish their personalities and returned to the field for observation as a means of identifying location preference within selfish herds. There was a significant difference between the extreme …

Confirmation Of The Function Of Mrub1080 As Γ-Glutamyl Kinase (Prob) In Meiothermus Ruber, Cale J. Mccormick, Dr. Lori Scott

Celebration of Learning

This project is part of the Meiothermus ruber genome analysis project, which uses wet lab procedures and computational analysis to gather evidence of orthologous genes between Escherichia coli and Meiothermus ruber. In previous work, bioinformatics evidence supported the hypothesis that the gene Mrub1080 was an ortholog of E. coli proB. We investigated the biological function of Meiothermus ruber genes proB and proBA using the complementation assay. However, functional analysis proved inconclusive. For this particular research project, we confirmed that weakly complementing E. coli proB- null strains actually contained the desired M. ruber proB and proBA genes (inserted into a pKt1 …

Injury Severity Data For Front And Second Row Passengers In Frontal Crashes, Theresa Atkinson, Leszek Gawarecki, Massoud S. Tavakoli

Mathematics Publications

The data contained here were obtained from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration׳s National Automotive Sampling System – Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) for the years 2008–2014. This publically available data set monitors motor vehicle crashes in the United States, using a stratified random sample frame, resulting in information on approximately 5000 crashes each year that can be utilized to create national estimates for crashes. The NASS-CDS data sets document vehicle, crash, and occupant factors. These data can be utilized to examine public health, law enforcement, roadway planning, and vehicle design issues. The data provided in this brief are a subset …

Improved Student Learning Through A Faculty Learning Community: How Faculty Collaboration Transformed A Large-Enrollment Course From Lecture To Student Centered, Emily R. Elliott, Robert D. Reason, Clark R. Coffman, Eric J. Gangloff, Jeffrey R Raker, Jo Anne Powell-Coffman, Craig A. Ogilvie

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture setting. To support this change, we set up a faculty learning community (FLC) in which instructors develop new pedagogies, adapt active-learning strategies to large courses, discuss challenges and progress, critique and revise classroom interventions, and share materials. We present data on how the collaborative work of the FLC led to increased implementation of active-learning strategies and …

Prokaryotic And Eukaryotic Cells (6th Grade), Samantha Bos

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is meant to provide a concrete and hands-on approach to introducing cells and differences between prokaryotic cells (cells without a nucleus), and eukaryotic cells (cells with a nucleus). Certain organelles and their functions are introduced, although this is covered much more in depth in 7^th grade; the unit is based on the TEKS (Texas Standards).

The conclusion of the unit is a fun lab in which students practice using the scientific method as well microscopes to collect data. Students will be expected to apply their knowledge to identify the eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells provided on the slides. …

Cellular Metabolism: Ap Biology, Tiffany Montoya

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will engage in scientific questioning and extend their thinking beyond the scope of principles applied in AP Biology. Students will create a media outlet (magazine, newspaper, video blog) of their choice to communicate how athletes (or any other highly active individuals) use free energy and molecular building blocks to perform at high levels, while maintaining homeostasis.

There are various strategies for living organisms to use in order to capture, use and store free energy. Cellular respiration is one of the process that allow living organisms to harvest that free energy a drive the metabolic pathway. Students will identity the …

2016-01-A3dsrinp-Csc-Sta-Cmb-522-Bps-542, Raymond Pulver, Neal Buxton, Xiaodong Wang, John Lucci, Jean Yves Hervé, Lenore Martin

Bioinformatics Software Design Projects

Cholesterol is carried and transported through bloodstream by lipoproteins. There are two types of lipoproteins: low density lipoprotein, or LDL, and high density lipoprotein, or HDL. LDL cholesterol is considered “bad” cholesterol because it can form plaque and hard deposit leading to arteries clog and make them less flexible. Heart attack or stroke will happen if the hard deposit blocks a narrowed artery. HDL cholesterol helps to remove LDL from the artery back to the liver.

Traditionally, particle counts of LDL and HDL plays an important role to understanding and prediction of heart disease risk. But recently research suggested that …

Ocean Acidification And Predator-Prey Relations: Correlating Disruption Of Predator Avoidance With Chemosensory Deficits, Alexandra Fw Sidun, William G. Wright

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

One of the most destructive effects of global climate change is the increased carbon sequestering and consequential acidification of our world’s oceans. The impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms are still relatively unknown, especially effects on behavioral ecology. Avoiding predation has emerged from recent behavioral ecology literature as a critical feature in the life history of a wide array of animal species; experiments on marine fishes suggest acidic water compromises their predator-avoidance abilities. Recent assays in our lab suggest predator-induced behavior is reduced by weakly acidic water. These experiments do not address the potential factor of generalized malaise caused …

Exploratory Study Of Graph Drawing On A Continuum Of Expertise, Emily Macleish

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Graphs are used in our lives daily to communicate information such as political ads or car sales. In the sciences, understanding graphs is essential to effective communication as graphs are often used to report experimental results or observed trends. However, research suggests that college students are not fluent in this form of scientific communication. Additionally, research has also found that standardized assessments of quantitative literacy fail to be clearly defined at the curricular or institutional levels. This research looks at the differences between the cognitive and metacognitive strategies of how individuals along a continuum of biological expertise visually represent data. …

How Changes In Plant Community Structure Affect Terrestrial Invertebrate Food Webs, Chadwick V. Tillberg, Sarah Rasmussen-Rehkopf, Kiera Thurman, Renee Lafountain, Cheryl Schultz

Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement

We investigated how change in plant community composition and vegetative structure brought about by annual grass-specific herbicide application affects terrestrial arthropod communities, with special emphasis on the potential mutualists and predators of the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly, Plebejus icarioides fenderi (Family: Lycaenidae). Larvae of this species form facultative protective mutualisms with ants, and they may be preyed upon by numerous invertebrate predators. We used pitfall trapping to compare terrestrial invertebrate community structure between control and herbicide-treated plots through time. The extent to which major changes in plant community composition affect the rest of the invertebrate community may have relevance for …