Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Evaluation Of A Model For Secondary Evolution Educators’ Professional Development Needs, William L. Romine, Ellen Barnett, Patricia J. Friedrichsen, Aaron J. Sickel

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Professional development (PD) efforts have improved acceptance and pedagogical practice related to the theory of evolution in high school biology teachers. However, these teachers express need for more PD related to evolution. It therefore becomes necessary to understand teachers’ PD needs prior to structuring PD efforts.

Methods

We formulated and validated a model to explain secondary teachers’ PD needs using data from a survey of 276 secondary biology teachers who reported teaching evolution.

Results

In addition to reliable subscales, we found that obstacles to teaching evolution, school and community support for evolution instruction, confidence in evolution instruction, and prior …

Structural Insights Into The Architecture Of The Hyperthermophilic Fusellovirus Ssv1, Kenneth M. Stedman, Melissa Deyoung, Mitul Saha, Michael B. Sherman, Marc C. Morais

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The structure and assembly of many icosahedral and helical viruses are well-characterized. However, the molecular basis for the unique spindle-shaped morphology of many viruses that infect Archaea remains unknown. To understand the architecture and assembly of these viruses, the spindle-shaped virus SSV1 was examined using cryo-EM, providing the first 3D-structure of a spindle-shaped virus as well as insight into SSV1 biology, assembly and evolution. Furthermore, a geometric framework underlying the distinct spindle-shaped structure is proposed.

Students Examine Biodiversity, Conservation In Bali, Sarah Gardner, Dave Albee

Press Releases

The Dominican students discovered during their 14-day trip to Indonesia the challenges Bali confronts with regards to its environment, conservation and socio-economic issues. The students hiked through West Bali Natural Park to see rare species of birds and mammals and visited Project Penyu, a Reef Seen Turtle Hatchery project to help the plight of sea turtles. They also observed Pemuteran’s Coral Restoration Project, which is helping to restore some of the coral reefs and fisheries of Pemuteran Bay that were damaged in the past by environmentally destructive practices such as dynamite and cyanide fishing

Lifelines Fall 2014, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Fall 2014 issue of Lifelines features articles on the new research facilities in Hickman Science Center, the addition of Dr. David Nelsen to the faculty, and the Southern Union Medical/Dental Retreat.

Gold & Blue, Fall 2014, St. Mary's University- San Antonio, Texas

Gold & Blue

This is the Fall 2014 edition of Gold & Blue which is St. Mary's University's official school publication.

The Reproductive Body: Exploring Reproduction Beyond Gender, Ilyssa Ann Silfen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Most of us have been taught over the course of our lives that biological sex, gender, and reproduction are inescapably linked and, over time, this has created the illusion that these are all naturally connected. However, these “natural” connections have been formed over time after generations of repetition. While it may seem impossible to separate biological sex, gender, and reproduction from one another, it is important to deconstruct this falsely organic system from both a gender and human rights perspective.

This thesis seeks to explore the complex relationship between society’s reproductive mandate and the reality of the various processes of …

The Ecology Of Infancy And Early Childhood In Rural Senegal; A Five Year Old Can Boot But Not Foot, An Exploration Of Where Biology Meets Culture, Heather Mills

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project explores the life stages of infancy and early childhood in the village of Ndiane in the Thies region of Senegal. I will discuss how biology meets culture to influence children, parenting styles, and expectations of the life stage. How does ecology, the interaction of physical, biological and cultural landscapes, characterize childhood and the intertwined belief systems that influence parenting? The information was gathered using a combination of participant observation and free list interviews.

A Collagen‐Glycosaminoglycan‐Fibrin Scaffold For Heart Valve Tissue Engineering Applications, Claire Brougham, Stefan Jockenhoevel, Thomas Flanagan, Fergal O'Brien

Conference Papers

The field of heart valve biology and tissue engineering a heart valve continue to expand. The presentatio ns at this meeting reflect the advances made in both areas due to the multi-disciplinary approach taken by many laboratories.

Cosm News, Georgia Southern University

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

• Molecular Biology Initiative Named a STEM Education Awards Finalist

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Moth Project to Attract ‘Second-Shift Pollinators’ on Campus

Using A Train-The-Trainer Model And Active Learning To Reach Biology Freshmen, Valerie E. Perry, Beth Reeder, Melinda Borie

Library Presentations

Using the train-the-trainer model as our foundation, we created a new information literacy program in an introductory lab course. We will describe the program’s development, implementation, and evolution since first implemented in Spring Semester 2013.We also will share the advantages of using the train-the-trainer model in an information literacy program, particularly regarding its potential to reduce librarians’ time commitment and help librarians build lasting relationships with teaching faculty and graduate students.

Policy Challenges Of Accelerating Technological Change: Security Policy And Strategy Implications Of Parallel Scientific Revolutions, James Kadtke, Linton Wells Ii

Defense and Technology Papers

This paper examines policy, legal, ethical, and strategy implications for national security of the accelerating science, technology, and engineering (ST&E) revolutions underway in five broad areas: biology, robotics, information, nanotechnology, and energy (BRINE), with a particular emphasis on how they are interacting. The paper considers the timeframe between now and 2030 but emphasizes policy and related choices that need to be made in the next few years to shape the future competitive space favorably, and focuses on those decisions that are within U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) purview. The pace and complexity of technological change mean that linear predictions of …

Acute Effects Of Tio2 Nanomaterials On The Viability And Taxonomic Composition Of Aquatic Bacterial Communities Assessed Via High-Throughput Screening And Next Generation Sequencing, Binh Chu, Tiezheng Tong, Jean-François Gaillard, Kimberley A. Gray, John J. Kelly

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The nanotechnology industry is growing rapidly, leading to concerns about the potential ecological consequences of the release of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to the environment. One challenge of assessing the ecological risks of ENMs is the incredible diversity of ENMs currently available and the rapid pace at which new ENMs are being developed. High-throughput screening (HTS) is a popular approach to assessing ENM cytotoxicity that offers the opportunity to rapidly test in parallel a wide range of ENMs at multiple concentrations. However, current HTS approaches generally test one cell type at a time, which limits their ability to predict responses of …

Phenotypic Robustness And The Assortativity Signature Of Human Transcription Factor Networks, Dov A. Pechenick, Joshua L. Payne, Jason H. Moore

Dartmouth Scholarship

Many developmental, physiological, and behavioral processes depend on the precise expression of genes in space and time. Such spatiotemporal gene expression phenotypes arise from the binding of sequence-specific transcription factors (TFs) to DNA, and from the regulation of nearby genes that such binding causes. These nearby genes may themselves encode TFs, giving rise to a transcription factor network (TFN), wherein nodes represent TFs and directed edges denote regulatory interactions between TFs. Computational studies have linked several topological properties of TFNs - such as their degree distribution - with the robustness of a TFN's gene expression phenotype to genetic and environmental …

Discovery And Elucidation Of The Fgfr3-Tacc3 Recurrent Fusion In Glioblastoma, Brittany C. Parker Kerrigan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Fusion genes occur due to chromosomal instability where two previously separate genes rearrange and fuse together, forming a hybrid gene. The first fusions were reported in leukemias; however, with the advent of more powerful sequencing technologies, fusions have recently been reported in several solid tumors. Using next-generation deep sequencing approaches, we discovered a fusion gene connecting the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene to the transforming coiled-coil containing protein 3 (TACC3) gene in glioblastoma multiforme. The fusion occurred in 8.3% of patient samples, but not in low grade or normal samples. FGFR3-TACC3 produced an in-frame …

Christology, Theology, & Evolution In Celia Deane-Drummond's Christ And Evolution, Trevor Beach Sj

School of Theology and Seminary Graduate Papers/Theses

This paper explores the relationship between theology and biological understandings of evolution. This paper explores some of the major themes in theology as they relate to contemporary observation of the natural world in biology. By this paper, I hope to highlight kenosis and eschatology as two theological foci that can aid in the discussion between biological evolution and contemporary theology.

Wonders Of Wisconsin: A Study On Insect Macrophotography, Brenna L. Decker

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This past year I have been honing my skills as an entomologist and as a photographer. My solo exhibition “Wonders of Wisconsin: A Study on Insect Macrophotography” not only presents my personal progress, but also represents an overarching theme of a liberal arts education: connectivity. Everything we see or learn on campus and throughout life is connected. This audience-engaging exhibition has provided a visual for the connections between the fields of science and studio art, the art movements of New Objectivity and Relational Aesthetics, and between human and insect life.

The final exhibition opening on May 1^st at 5:30pm …

Cytotoxicity Of Zno Nanoparticles Can Be Tailored By Modifying Their Surface Structure: A Green Chemistry Approach For Safer Nanomaterials, Alex Punnoose, Kelsey Dodge, John W. Rasmussen, Jordan Chess, Denise Wingett, Catherine Anders

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

ZnO nanoparticles (NP) are extensively used in numerous nanotechnology applications; however, they also happen to be one of the most toxic nanomaterials. This raises significant environmental and health concerns and calls for the need to develop new synthetic approaches to produce safer ZnO NP, while preserving their attractive optical, electronic, and structural properties. In this work, we demonstrate that the cytotoxicity of ZnO NP can be tailored by modifying their surface-bound chemical groups, while maintaining the core ZnO structure and related properties. Two equally sized (9.26 ± 0.11 nm) ZnO NP samples were synthesized from the same zinc acetate precursor …

Determining Amino Acid Propensity For Propagation Of The Prion Sup35 In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Emily K. Davis, James D. Knox, Kyle S. Maclea

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

Proteins are built based on a DNA sequence template and fold into distinctive shapes or conformations. Amyloids are beta sheet-rich proteins that can fold into two stable states, a normal form and an abnormal form. Prions, the infectious amyloids, are present in many eukaryotes, including humans, cows, sheep, and the baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and can cause the conversion of native protein structure into amyloid form. Unusually, yeast prion proteins have been shown to form amyloid structure on the basis of amino acid composition, independent of each protein’s primary structure. The most well-studied prion protein in yeast, Sup35, consists …

Genetic Analysis Of Mechanisms Of Gene Silencing In A First-Year Scientific Research Learning Community, Tika Zbornik, Rhese Thompson

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

Our broad goal is to use Drosophila melanogaster to identify new genes required for a form of gene regulation known as gene silencing. As participants in iFocus, an interdisciplinary first-year orientation camp for undergraduate sciences that introduces students to scientific research, we learned how classical genetics is used to identify novel genes essential for a particular biological process such as gene silencing. Specifically, we learned how to determine which chromosomes are present in a fruit fly by observing that fly’s physical characteristics, or phenotypes. We further learned how mutations in genes are mapped to a particular location on a chromosome …

Evolution Of The Morphology Of Bottom Walking Turtles, Victor David Munteanu

Honors Theses

Ecomorphology and functional morphology are two distinct disciplines within biology that are often conflated and erroneously used interchangeably. By investigating the morphological distinctiveness of bottom-walking turtles relative to aquatic swimmers and terrestrial walkers, we can disentangle the effects of ecology and performance. Shell morphology, tail length, digit length, webbing length, and integumental differences were examined using dry and wet preserved specimens. Bottom-walkers were hypothesized to be distinct in all measurements. Instead, bottom-walkers were typically distinct from terrestrial taxa but not aquatic taxa, although for integumentary structures, only bottom-walkers were found to have significantly more integumentary structures than terrestrial turtles. This …

Alteration Of Host Cell Ubiquitination By The Intracellular Bacterial Pathogen Coxiella Burnetii, Lindsey Elizabeth Pritchett

Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The intracellular bacterial agent of Q fever, Coxiella burnetii, replicates within a phagolysosome-like parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in human macrophages and delivers effector proteins to the host cytosol via a Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS). T4SS effectors are critical for PV formation and prevention of host cell death that allows sufficient time for bacterial replication. Recruitment of ubiquitin-related components to the C. burnetii PV is also predicted to be involved in PV formation and bacterial replication and is likely controlled by effector proteins. In this study, we assessed the role of the Dot/Icm T4SS in regulating ubiquitination by comparing subcellular …

Numerical Assessment Of Sequence Conservation In Flu-Virus Hemagglutinin, Scott S. Norton

Honors Scholar Theses

The flu virus was investigated to find a common recognition domain to which an antibody against human-infected viruses can bind. If such a target site is structurally and electrostaticly conserved or invariant, only a single antibody would be required to attack the virus in all cases. The sequence of one of the viral surface proteins contains 24 amino acids that do not vary through mutation. However, these amino acids are neither contiguous in sequence or in space, and the ones that are associated with each other are not readily accessible to an antibody. They do provide a first impression of …

The Republic Of The Philippines: Epidemiology And Epigenetics, Alexander A. Burkard

Undergraduate Research Posters

A brief, yet concise investigation was conducted on the Republic of the Philippines, with a keen interest in the epidemiology of the current urban areas of the nation (+150,000 inhabitants), as well as possible epigenetic change that may be induced from disease or environmental stressors upon these same groups of people. G6PD deficiency, a common disorder among persons in urban dwellings within the Republic of the Philippines (Hsia 1993) was found to have a strong correlation of incidence with members of other nations in localized proximity to the equator. Additionally, low birth weight in infants has been identified as a …

Inkjet Printing Retinal Cells Vs. Gene Therapy In The Treatment Of Glaucoma, Shirley Yu

Undergraduate Research Posters

The neurodegenerative disease glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness and accounts for over ten million visits to physicians for treatment. Unfortunately, there is yet to be a concrete accepted approach to alleviating the effects of glaucoma. This dissertation examines recent studies and reports on the specifics of viral vectors, non-viral vectors, piezoelectric inkjet printing, heat inkjet printing, and glaucoma. A few of the studies involve the progression of an experiment while others combine and discuss the results of multiple experiments. Using these articles I compared the effectiveness of gene therapy to the use of inkjet printing to …

Colonization Of Intestinal Pathogen Changes The Gut Microbiota, Kaitlyn Shondelmyer

Senior Honors Theses

Enterohemorrhagic Escherechia coli is a serious human pathogen causing bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome. It is difficult to study in animal models, but pathogenesis may be modeled in mice with the similar murine pathogen, Citrobacter rodentium. C. rodentium does not cause disease in streptomycin-treated mice, suggesting that it is competition with other facultative anaerobes that triggers pathogenesis. Streptomycin-treated mice were co-colonized with C. rodentium and a commensal E. coli strain. The intestinal microbiota of each group was observed over a 15-day period using quantitative PCR. Colon weights were also measured over the same period. Results indicate that the …

Gabra2 And Frequency Of Alcohol Consumption In A College Population, Marcus-David Peters

Undergraduate Research Posters

Spit for Science: the VCU Student Survey aims to understand how genes and the environment come together to influence substance use and emotional health. Many studies have investigated the potential relationship between genetic variants in the GABRA2 gene and an individual’s subjective level of response to alcohol. Evidence suggests that individuals with specific GABRA2 variants have a lower subjective level of response to alcohol thus causing them to drink more, which in turn increases their risk for becoming alcohol dependent. The goal of the current study was to investigate the association between specific GABRA2 variants and alcohol use frequency in …

Relationships Between Gabra2, Alcohol, And Peer Deviance, Kenyada Williams

Undergraduate Research Posters

Kenyada Williams Spit for Science 24 March 2014 Mentor: Dr. Dick Title: My friends made me do it: peer deviance, alcohol, and GABRA 2 Abstract The Spit for Science research study aims to understand how genetic and environmental factors unite to influence substance use and environmental health. This research was done in order to determine the relationship between the GABRA2 gene and alcohol use along with the effects of peer deviance and amount of consumption. To determine these results, the Spit for Science research team has collected survey questions and DNA samples from voluntary first year participants at Virginia Commonwealth …

Diagnostics Of Brain Rehabilitation, Nathalie Spita

Undergraduate Research Posters

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term morbidity among the young resulting in significant societal impacts. Yet advances in TBI therapeutic care have been largely limited by the complexity of the pathobiology, heterogeneity among patients, and imprecise endpoint assessments with which to evaluate efficacy. Thus, there remains a significant need for improved diagnostics, particularly for guiding novel therapeutic use and outcomes. So-called theragnostic assays are of particular interest in the new area of TBI rehabilitation, which ideally would target a window of heightened brain plasticity during which circuit remodeling would support recapitulation of lost function. The biochemical …

Molecular Dynamics Simulations As A Characterization Method Of Biologically Relevant Segments Of Dna, Carman Polsinelli

Senior Honors Projects

Biologically relevant short sequences of DNA have previously been shown to possess high affinity and specificity for binding of small polyamide structures to their minor groove. These structures, or minor groove binders, have the potential to control access to specific regulatory regions of DNA. Before modeling the binding of these polyamides to the DNA, the small segments of DNA must be characterized for better understanding of the impact the minor groove binder will have on the structure of the DNA. The method for such a characterization is a molecular dynamics computer simulation including the solvent effects for a length of …