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Introduction To Focus Issue: Nonlinear And Stochastic Physics In Biology, Sonya Bahar, Alexander B. Neiman, Peter Jung, Jürgen Kurths, Lutz Schimansky-Geier, Kenneth Showalter

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Nutritional Properties Of The Invasive Lionfish: A Delicious And Nutritious Approach For Controlling The Invasion, James A. Morris, Jr., Amber Thomas, Andrew L. Rhyne, Nancy Breen E. Breen, Lad Akins, Barry Nash

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Lionfish, Pterois volitans and P. miles, are native to the Indo-Pacific and have recently invaded the Western Atlantic Ocean. Strategies for control of this invasion have included limited removal programs and promotion of lionfish consumption at both local and commercial scales. We demonstrate that lionfish meat contains higher levels of healthy n-3 fatty acids than some frequently consumed native marine fish species. Mean lionfish fillet yield was 30.5% of the total body wet weight, a value that is similar to that of some grouper and porgy species. A sensory evaluation indicated that lionfish meet the acceptability threshold of most consumers.

The Effect Of B27 Supplement On Promoting In Vitro Propagation Of Her2/Neu-Transformed Mammary Tumorspheres, Yiben Gu, Jie Fu, Pang-Kuo Lo, Shunqi Wang, Qian Wang, Hexin Chen

Faculty Publications

A variety of human solid tumors, including breast cancer, are considered to embrace a hierarchical organization in which only rare tumor-initiating cancer stem cells are truly responsible for tumor formation. Cultivation of tumorspheres in non-adherent conditions is widely employed for enriching these putative cancer stem cells in vitro. However, the absence of a defined culture medium has handicapped further characterization and isolation of this cell population. In this study, we used mouse mammary tumor virus MMTV-HER2/neu transgenic mice that mimic the HER2/Neu-positive subtype of human breast cancer as a model system, and cultured primary tumor cells and tumorspheres from …

The Characterization Of Genes Involved In Response To The Phenol Derivative And Xenoestrogen Bisphenol-A In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Sasha N. Farina

CMC Senior Theses

Bisphenol A is an estrogenic compound that is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins; humans are continuously exposed to the compound and it is believed to possess the same carcinogenic effects as estrogen (Iso, 2006). In this study, I used Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism to identify mechanisms by which BPA acts based on the genomic profiling of kinase genes from a Mat-α haploid deletion library. Kinases regulate many other proteins, so the identification of a single mutant could identify an entire affected pathway of genes. I conducted a systematic screen of these mutants using the phenotype of …

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A New Species Of Westralianus Boucek 1988 (Hymenoptera:Torymidae: Megastigminae) From Turkey, Mi̇kdat Doğanlar

Turkish Journal of Zoology

A new species of the Australian genus Westralianus Boucek (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Torymidae) is described from Altınözü, Hatay, Turkey. Some new diagnostic characters of the genus are provided by inclusion of a second species in the genus. The new species, W. altinoezus n.sp., is compared with the type species, W. microstigma Boucek 1988. The new species was recorded as a parasitoid of caterpillars of an unknown species of Lepidoptera living in galls of Gymnosporangium confusum (Uredinales: Pucciniaceae) on shoots of Crataegus monogyna Jacq. A description of the new species is provided and its diagnostic characters are photographed.

Review Of Palearctic And Australian Species Of Bootanomyia Girault 1915 (Hymenoptera: Torymidae: Megastigminae), With Descriptions Of New Species, Mi̇kdat Doğanlar

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The world species of Bootanomyia Girault (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Torymidae) are reviewed. Nine species are transferred from Megastigmus to Bootanomyia as new combinations: B. almusiensis (Doğanlar, 1989), B. dorsalis (Fabricius 1789), B. dumicola (Boucek 1982), B. habui (Kamijo, 1962), B. maculipennis (Yasumatsu and Kamijo, 1979), B. nipponicus (Yasumatsu and Kamijo, 1979), B. stigmatizans (Fabricious 1789), B. synophri (Mayr 1874), and B. zhaoi (Xu & He, 2003). Megastigmus bohemanii Ratzeburg, 1848 is reinstated as a species from synonymy under M. dorsalis Fabricius and transferred to Bootanomyia as B. bohemanii (Ratzeburg, 1848) (comb. and status n.). Seven species are described as new species: …

Measurements Of Resistance And Reactance In Fish With The Use Of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis: Sources Of Error, M. Cox, Ron Heintz, Kyle Hartman

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

New technologies can be riddled with unforeseen sources of error, jeopardizing the validity and application of their advancement. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a new technology in fisheries research that is capable of estimating proximate composition, condition, and energy content in fish quickly, cheaply, and (after calibration) without the need to sacrifice fish. Before BIA can be widely accepted in fisheries science, it is necessary to identify sources of error and determine a means to minimize potential errors with this analysis. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to identify sources of errors within BIA measurements. We concluded that electrode needle location, …

2d Face Database Diversification Based On 3d Face Modeling, Qun Wang, Jiang Li, Vijayan K. Asari, Mohammad A. Karim, Manuel Filipe Costa (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Pose and illumination are identified as major problems in 2D face recognition (FR). It has been theoretically proven that the more diversified instances in the training phase, the more accurate and adaptable the FR system appears to be. Based on this common awareness, researchers have developed a large number of photographic face databases to meet the demand for data training purposes. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme for 2D face database diversification based on 3D face modeling and computer graphics techniques, which supplies augmented variances of pose and illumination. Based on the existing samples from identical individuals of …

Biological Metaphors For Whiteness: Beyond Merit And Malice, Brant T. Lee

Akron Law Faculty Publications

The problem of persistent racial inequality is grounded in a failure of imagination. The general mainstream conception is that unfair racial inequality occurs only when there is intentional racism. Absent conscious racial malice, no racism is seen to exist. The only generally available alternative explanation for racial inequality is the meritocratic system. Viewing the distribution of resources as a product of a generally fair meritocratic system provides a defense against any charge of racism, and justifies the status quo.

But in economics, business, computer science, and even biology, observers of complexity are coming to understand how dominant systems can prevail …

Regulation Of Neutrophil Homeostasis By Chemokines Signaling Through The Cxcr2 And Cxcr4 Receptors, Kyle Eash

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The number of neutrophils in the blood is tightly regulated to ensure adequate protection against microbial pathogens while minimizing damage to host tissue. Neutrophil homeostasis in the blood is achieved through a balance of neutrophil production, release from the bone marrow, and clearance from the circulation. Accumulating evidence suggests that chemokine signaling in the bone marrow may play a key role in maintaining neutrophil homeostasis. Based on this evidence, we developed a "tug-of-war" model in which opposing chemokine gradients, specifically release-inducing CXCR2 signals and retention-promoting CXCR4 signals, act antagonistically to regulate neutrophil release from the bone marrow. We generated mice …

Society For The Advancement Of Biology Education Research (Saber), Erika G. Offerdahl, Teri Balser, Clarissa Dirks, Kathryn Miller, Jennifer L. Momsen, Lisa Montplaisir, Marcy Osgood, Karen Sirum, Mary Pat Wenderoth, Brian White, William B. Wood, Michelle Withers, Robin Wright

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Mechanosensitive Channels: What Can They Do And How Do They Do It?, Elizabeth S. Haswell, Rob Phillips, Douglas C. Rees

Biology Faculty Research

While mechanobiological processes employ diverse mechanisms, at their heart are force-induced perturbations in the structure and dynamics of molecules capable of triggering subsequent events. Among the best characterized force-sensing systems are bacterial mechanosensitive channels. These channels reflect an intimate coupling of protein conformation with the mechanics of the surrounding membrane; the membrane serves as an adaptable sensor that responds to an input of applied force and converts it into an output signal, interpreted for the cell by mechanosensitive channels. The cell can exploit this information in a number of ways: ensuring cellular viability in the presence of osmotic stress and …

The Gut Microbiome In Healthy And Severely Malnourished Humans, Tanya Yatsunenko

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Human large intestine is home to tens of trillions of microbes belonging to all three do- mains of life. The functions encoded by the genes in this community: microbiome) include processing and production of macro- and micronutrients. Much remains unknown about the factors that determine the assembly of the gut microbial community starting at birth, and if disruptions in the assembly of this `microbial metabolic organ' early in life result in physiologic and metabolic deficits later in life. The central goal of my thesis was to char- acterize development of the gut microbiome early in life, with a focus on …

Interactions Between Bmp And Canonical Wnt Signaling Regulate Critical Stages Of The Osteoblast Lifecycle, Valerie Salazar

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Skeletal development and post-natal bone homeostasis are dependent on the coordinated activity of bone-forming cells called osteoblasts and bone-resorbing cells called osteoclasts. Over 10 million people in the US currently suffer from osteoporosis, which increases the risk of low-trauma fractures and accounts for health care expenditures exceeding $14 billion per year. Osteoporosis is often treated with anti-resorptive compounds, primarily bisphosphonates, which inhibit osteoclast-mediated bone destruction. However, these drugs do not restore bone mass, which can only be accomplished by activation new bone formation, as with intermittent parathyroid hormone therapy. The development of additional bone "anabolic" therapies will require genetic and …

Myosin Vi Regulates Actin Structure Specialization Through Conserved Cargo-Binding Domain Sites, Mamiko Isaji, Marta Lenartowska, Tatsuhiko Noguchi, Deborah J. Frank, Kathryn G. Miller

Biology Faculty Research

Actin structures are often stable, remaining unchanged in organization for the lifetime of a differentiated cell. Little is known about stable actin structure formation, organization, or maintenance. During Drosophila spermatid individualization, long-lived actin cones mediate cellular remodeling. Myosin VI is necessary for building the dense meshwork at the cones' fronts. We test several ideas for myosin VI's mechanism of action using domain deletions or site-specific mutations of myosin VI. The head (motor) and globular tail (cargo-binding) domains were both needed for localization at the cone front and dense meshwork formation. Several conserved partner-binding sites in the globular tail previously identified …

Will The Use Of Less Fecund Cultivars Reduce The Invasiveness Of Perennial Plants?, Tiffany M. Knight, Kayri Havens, Pati Vitt

Biology Faculty Research

Many invasive species were originally introduced for horticultural purposes, and several continue to be profitable for the green (nursery, horticulture, and landscape) industry. Recently, some plant suppliers have marketed less fecund cultivars of several invasive species, including glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), as “safe” alternatives to invasive relatives. We use published matrix population models to simulate the effect of reducing fecundity on the population growth rates of invasive species. We show that large changes in fecundity result in relatively small changes to the population growth rates of long-lived species, which suggests that …

On The Utility Of Population Models For Invasive Plant Management: Response To Evans And Davis, Eleanor A. Pardini, John M. Drake, Tiffany M. Knight

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

The Roles Of Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide In Circadian Entrainment Of Suprachiasmatic Nucleus, Sungwon An

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

In mammalian hypothalamus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus: SCN) generates daily behavioral and physiological rhythms as a circadian pacemaker. The 20,000 SCN neurons synchronize to each other and to the ambient cues to generate coherent daily rhythms. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide: VIP), a neuropeptide produced by SCN neurons, plays a major role in synchronizing SCN neurons to each other. Whether VIP mediates synchrony to environmental cues and how synchrony within the SCN is achieved has not been examined extensively. We recorded PERIOD::LUCIFERASE: PER2::LUC) expression from SCN explant cultures over multiple days following VIP application at different circadian time points to generate a phase …

The Manipulated Mechanism: Towards An Account Of The Experimental Discovery Of Mechanistic Explanations, Donald Goodman-Wilson

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Recent work in the philosophy of biology has sought after an account of mechanistic explanation. Biologists frequently encounter causal relationships that beg for explanation. For example, genes appear to encode for particular phenotypes. How does gene expression work? Biologists posit mechanisms to explain the link between cause and effect. Thus, gene expression would be explained by an appeal to a complex mechanism linking the gene to the phenotype, as such an appeal will provide answers to broad ranges of "how" and "why" questions about the causal relationship, and predict novel effects. Here, I focus on a recent problem raised for …

Two Mechanosensitive Channel Homologs Influence Division Ring Placement In Arabidopsis Chloroplasts, Margaret E. Wilson, Gregory S. Jensen, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

Chloroplasts must divide repeatedly to maintain their population during plant growth and development. A number of proteins required for chloroplast division have been identified, and the functional relationships between them are beginning to be elucidated. In both chloroplasts and bacteria, the future site of division is specified by placement of the Filamentous temperature sensitive Z (FtsZ) ring, and the Min system serves to restrict FtsZ ring formation to mid-chloroplast or mid-cell. How the Min system is regulated in response to environmental and developmental factors is largely unstudied. Here, we investigated the role in chloroplast division played by two Arabidopsis thaliana …

Expression And Characterization Of The Bacterial Mechanosensitive Channel Mscs In Xenopus Laevis Oocytes., Elizabeth S. Haswell, Grigory Maksaev

Biology Faculty Research

We have successfully expressed and characterized mechanosensitive channel of small conductance (MscS) from Escherichia coli in oocytes of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. MscS expressed in oocytes has the same single-channel conductance and voltage dependence as the channel in its native environment. Two hallmarks of MscS activity, the presence of conducting substates at high potentials and reversible adaptation to a sustained stimulus, are also exhibited by oocyte-expressed MscS. In addition to its ease of use, the oocyte system allows the user to work with relatively large patches, which could be an advantage for the visualization of membrane deformation. …

Mhc Class I-Dependent Acquisition And Maintenance Of Natural Killer Cell Function, Julie Chase

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Natural killer: NK) cells are hematopoietically derived immune cells of the lymphoid lineage. Their effector functions, including cytokine secretion and cytotoxicity, are controlled by the integration of signals received from both activating and inhibitory receptors. In a phenomenon known as "missing-self" recognition, NK cells eliminate self-tissues with aberrantly low or absent MHC class I surface expression, as is common in settings of viral infection and transformation, when these cells fail to engage the critical NK cell inhibitory receptors. Interestingly, NK cells that develop in an MHC class I-deficient environment are defective in natural killing and hyporesponsive to stimulation through their …

Protein-Dna Recognition Models For The Homeodomain And C2h2 Zinc Finger Transcription Factor Families, Ryan Christensen

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Transcription factors: TFs) play a central role in the gene regulatory network of each cell. They can stimulate or inhibit transcription of their target genes by binding to short, degenerate DNA sequence motifs. The goal of this research is to build improved models of TF binding site recognition. This can facilitate the determination of regulatory networks and also allow for the prediction of binding site motifs based only on the TF protein sequence. Recent technological advances have rapidly expanded the amount of quantitative TF binding data available. PBMs: Protein Binding Microarrays) have recently been implemented in a format that allows …

The Functions Of Human Dna2 In Mitochondrial And Nuclear Dna Maintenance, Julien Duxin

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Coordination between DNA replication, DNA repair and cell-cycle progression ensures high fidelity DNA replication thus preventing mutations and DNA rearrangements. Interestingly, in addition to nuclear DNA stability, mitochondrial DNA: mtDNA) integrity is also essential for normal development. The current challenge resides in unraveling the different mechanisms that govern nuclear and mtDNA stability and to understand how these two separated genomes have evolved. This work focuses on delineating the biological functions of human Dna2: hDna2). Dna2 is a highly conserved helicase/nuclease that in yeast participates in DNA replication and Okazaki fragment maturation, DNA repair, and telomere maintenance. Immunofluorescence and biochemical fractionation …

Discovering Conserved Cis-Regulatory Elements That Regulate Expression In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Nnamdi Ihuegbu

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The aim of this dissertation is two-fold:: 1) To catalog all cis-regulatory elements within the intergenic and intronic regions surrounding every gene in C.elegans: i.e. the regulome) and: 2) to determine which cis-regulatory elements are associated with expression under specific conditions. We initially use PhyloNet to predict conserved motifs with instances in about half of the protein-coding genes. This initial first step was valuable as it recovered some known elements and cis-regulatory modules. Yet the results had a lot of redundant motifs and sites, and the approach was not efficiently scalable to the entire regulome of C. elegans or other …

The Evolution And Reproductive Ecology Of Oenothera (Onagraceae), Kyra Krakos

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation describes the role of pollination in the floral diversification of Oenothera with an integration of both ecological and phylogenetic approaches. Oenothera: Onagraceae) is a model system for studying plant reproductive biology. It provides excellent examples of shifts in reproductive traits such as pollination and breeding system, features that have been important in angiosperm diversification. These systems are evolutionarily labile; they easily shift between different states. These different reproductive traits may shift in a concerted fashion; therefore, a more comprehensive approach to understanding the evolution of these plant systems simultaneously addresses shifts in pollination and breeding system. Using 54 …

Effects Of The Aquatic To Terrestrial Habitat Ratio On An Amphibian Predator And Its Prey, Amber Kramer

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This dissertation explores the effects of varying the composition of aquatic and terrestrial habitats in a landscape: the aquatic to terrestrial ratio) on amphibians that use both the aquatic and terrestrial habitats during their lives. In Chapter 1, I first used meta-analysis and simulations to demonstrate that as the longevity of an amphibian increases, the elasticity of the population growth rate to perturbations in the aquatic: larval) habitat decreases. In Chapter 2, I examined the abundance of larvae of a long-lived amphibian, Ambystoma maculatum, across landscapes that varied in their aquatic to terrestrial ratios and found that larvae of this …

The Role Of The Membrane Proximal Region Of The M2 Cytoplasmic Tail In Virus Replication, Shaun Stewart

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Influenza A virus encodes M2, a proton channel that has been shown to be important during virus entry and assembly. The primary aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of the membrane proximal region, residues 46-69, of the M2 cytoplasmic tail during virus replication. A cholesterol recognition/interaction amino consensus: CRAC) motif, previously identified in the membrane proximal region of M2 in some influenza A virus strains, was suggested to play a role in virus replication by mediating incorporation of M2 into budding virus particles. Alteration or completion of the M2 CRAC motif in two different recombinant virus strains …

Molecular Genetic Analysis Of Non-Catalytic Pol Iv And V Subunits, Ek Han Tan

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Among eukaryotes, plants have the distinction of encoding multisubunit RNA polymerases used exclusively for RNA directed DNA Methylation: RdDM) in addition to Pol I, II, and III. In Arabidopsis thaliana, Pol IV is required for the biogenesis of 24nt siRNAs whereas Pol V transcription is needed for cytosine methylation of the DNA sequences corresponding to these siRNAs. The ancestry of Pol IV and V can be traced back to Pol II, and Pol II, IV and V still utilize multiple non-catalytic subunits encoded by the same genes. Genetic analysis of non-catalytic subunits that are highly similar reveals that these subunits …