Digital Commons Network^™

Genetic And Biochemical Properties Of Arabidopsis Rna Polymerases Iv And V, Jeremy Haag

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

RNA Polymerases IV and V: Pol IV and Pol V) are plant-specific enzyme complexes with subunit homology to RNA Polymerase II: Pol II). The largest subunits in Pol IV and Pol V, NRPD1 and NRPE1 respectively, share a second largest subunit, NRPD2/NRPE2. The evolutionarily conserved Metal A and Metal B binding sites are required for Pol IV and V in vivo function fitting the prediction that these are functional polymerases. The Defective Chloroplast and Leaves-like: DeCL) domain at the C-terminus of both NRPD1 and NRPE1 is also required for complementation but other domains in the NRPE1 CTD are largely dispensable. …

A New Quantitative Method For The Taxonomic Identification Of Tetrapods, Stephanie Kuster

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The rarity of good fossil samples throughout geologic time frequently makes fossil identification difficult. This dissertation presents a new, multivariate, statistically validated method to identify tetrapods based on quantification of the shapes of microstructural features in cortical bone of the postcranial skeleton. The ultimate goal is to reduce the reliance on rare, near-complete fossil skeletons. The method is validated on a set of 15,745 mammalian microstructural features from eleven diverse species. An additional set of 21,122 microstructural features from one species serve to examine microstructural variation within a single skeleton. Microstructural measurements were made on thin-sections using optical microscopy. Initial …

Dissecting The Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Synpase Development And Neuronal Functions In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Shuo Luo

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The development and function of the nervous system is under delicate regulation of diverse tissue-derived signals in multi-cellular organisms. In Dr. Nonet's lab, I am using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to ask two basic questions: 1) How do different tissues in an organism coordinate to regulate neural functions and behaviors? 2) What controls the development of synapse, the basic unit of the nervous system? These questions divide my dissertation into three parts, with the first two parts related to the first question and the third part to the second question. In the first part of this dissertation, I present …

Engineering The Optical Properties Of Gold Nanostructures For Biomedical Applications, Leslie Au

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

This research investigated the synthesis and optical properties of Au nanostructures with an aim to use them as imaging agents and photothermal transducers for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I have produced Au nanocages with hollow interiors and porous walls using the galvanic replacement reaction between Ag nanocubes and AuCl₄-. I have engineered these Au nanocages to have localized surface plasmon resonance: LSPR) peaks in the near-infrared region with strong absorption. These optical properties allow for the imaging of biological tissues at deeper penetration and the photoablation of cancer. By replacing AuCl₄- with AuCl_{2 …}

An Examination Of The Correlation Between Shoot Apical Meristem Size And Leaf Heterophylly In Pisum Sativum, Cynthia Mary Halfman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This study is a quantitative examination of the ramifications of leaf development as influenced by the size of the shoot apical meristem. I wish not to delve into a genetic examination of the shoot apical meristem but rather into the possible correlation between the apical meristem size and leaf heterophylly. If changes in shoot apical meristem size influence heterophylly in leaves, then as shoot apical meristem changes, leaf characteristics will change. This change may result from two different relationships.

Role Of The P21 Protein In The Fanconi Anemia Pathway, Mae Shen

Senior Honors Projects

Our bodies are constantly exposed to a variety of substances that damage our DNA, such as ultraviolet radiation, environmental chemicals, and the reactive by-products of our metabolism. To prevent the harmful effects that may result from such damage, our cells possess multiple DNA repair mechanisms. However, if their ability to repair damaged DNA is somehow impaired, cells are more likely to accumulate potentially harmful mutations, including those that may lead to the development of cancer.

In Fanconi anemia (FA), a rare recessive genetic disorder, a defect in a DNA repair pathway results in increased sensitivity to a particular type of …

Protozoan Vaccine Candidate Homologues In Tetrahymena Thermophila, Justin Schumacher

Senior Honors Projects

Tetrahymena thermophila is a member of the phylum Ciliophora (the ciliated protozoa) and is currently of great interest due to its unique qualities that make it useful as a model for research directed towards understanding how eukaryotic cells function. Recently, the T. thermophila genome was sequenced, and made available online. Since Tetrahymena is a member of the Alveolata, the major eukaryotic clade that also contains the apicomplexan parasites that cause a number of serious human and animal diseases, we sought to determine whether the genes coding for apicomplexan vaccine candidates were represented in the genome of Tetrahymena. In addition, we …

Biomersa: The Biology Media Repository With Semantic Augmentation, Adam Cornwell

Theses

With computers now capable of easily handling all kinds of multimedia files in vast quantity, and with the Internet now well-suited to exchange these files, we are faced with the challenge of organizing this data in such a way so as to make the information most useful and accessible. This holds true as well for media pertaining to the field of biology, where multimedia is particularly useful in education, as well as in research. To help address this, a software system with a Web-based interface has been developed for improving the accuracy and specificity of multimedia searching and browsing by …

Biology And Ecology Of Wild Radish (Raphanus Raphanistrum), Mayank Malik

All Dissertations

Wild radish ( L.), a facultative winter annual is a troublesome weed in small grain crops of the Southeastern United States. Besides being a weed, it may also be used as a cover crop for weed management due to its production of glucosinolates. Studies were conducted to evaluate the biology and ecology of wild radish as well as its glucosinolate production and its weed management possibilities.
Wild radish emerging in fall months formed a rosette of leaves which aided its winter survival. Plants emerging from December through March that did not form a rosette had minimal survival. Wild radish life …

A Mounted Strengthening And Stretching Program To Prevent Musculoskeletal Injury In Equestrians, Abigail Guy

Senior Honors Projects

Equestrian sports use muscles uncommon to most normal daily activities. In beginning or returning riders this can lead to muscle strain and pain, and if not addressed, even to serious injury. This program is designed to stretch and strengthen the main muscle groups used in horseback riding: quadriceps, hamstrings, abdominals and obliques, and the lower back. The program is designed to be carried out during fifteen minutes of an hour-long riding lesson to prevent undue discomfort or injury. The counsel of a professional horseback riding instructor and a physical therapist was integrated with exercises from physical therapy resources. Proven stretching …

The Effects Of Tail Flukes On The Swimming Pattern Of Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, Lauri Leach

Senior Honors Projects

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are top predators in the wild, due in part because they are excellent swimmers. When dolphins swim through the water, the tail flukes are moved in an up and down motion to propel the animal through the water. They use the pectoral fins for steering and braking, and the dorsal fin for stabilization as they swim. Using this style of swimming, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins can swim up to 25 miles per hour and leap 15 to 20 feet into the air.

During the spring of 2008, I was an intern at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida. …

An Analysis Of The Environmental And Hormonal Effects On The Growth And Development Of The Moss Ceratodon Purpureus, Megan Knight

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Ceratodon has not been documented in scientific literature as thoroughly as other species of moss such as Funaria or Tortula. Commonly known as fire moss or purple horned moss, Ceratodon is often reddish or yellow-brown and the spore capsules are usually purple (Crum, 1983). A picture of the species growing in its natural habitat is shown in Figure 4. Ceratodon often grows in tufts and is considered a weed, often thriving in polluted or disturbed areas and frequently invading after a fire (Crum 1983). Ceratodon belongs to the class Bryopsida, which also contains the previously mentioned Funaria and Tortula species. …

Common-Path Multimodal Optical Microscopy, Marla Tipping, Chandra S. Yelleswarapu, Sri-Rajasekhar Kothapalli, Alexey Veraksa, D.V.G.L.N. Rao

Biology Faculty Publications

We have developed a common-path multimodal optical microscopy system that is capable of using a single optical source and a single camera to image amplitude, phase, and fluorescence features of a biological specimen. This is achieved by varying either contrast enhancement filters at the Fourier plane and/or neutral density/fluorescence filters in front of the CCD camera. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated by obtaining brightfield, fluorescence, phase-contrast, spatially filtered, brightfield + fluorescence, phase +fluorescence, and edge-enhanced+fluorescence images of the same Drosophila embryo without the need for image registration and fusion. This comprehensive microscope has the capability of providing both …

Stem Cell Order Was Immoral And Unnecessary, Nicanor Austriaco

Theology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Faculty Should Consider Peer Review As A Means Of Improving Students' Scientific Reasoning Skill, Briana Eileen Timmerman, Denise Strickland

Faculty Publications

The following article provides highlights of a larger body of work on the impact of peer review on undergraduate biology students’ scientific reasoning, scientific writing and attitudes. Results suggest that undergraduates, even freshman can be effective peer reviewers and that peer review improves scientific writing, content knowledge, and scientific reasoning skills. Students report peer review to be a beneficial experience both within the course and in terms of helping them to develop as aspiring scientists. Science faculty are therefore encouraged to consider incorporating peer review as a regular part of instruction.

Children Should Be Begotten And Not Made, Nicanor Austriaco

Theology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

From Cells To Coastlines: How Can We Use Physiology To Forecast The Impacts Of Climate Change?, Brian Helmuth

Faculty Publications

The interdisciplinary fields of conservation physiology, macrophysiology, and mechanistic ecological forecasting have recently emerged as means of integrating detailed physiological responses to the broader questions of ecological and evolutionary responses to global climate change. Bridging the gap between large-scale records of weather and climate (as measured by remote sensing platforms, buoys and ground-based weather stations) and the physical world as experienced by organisms (niche-level measurements) requires a mechanistic understanding of how ‘environmental signals’ (parameters such as air, surface and water temperature, food availability, water flow) are translated into signals at the scale of the organism or cell (e.g. body temperature, …

An Essay On Evolution: Evolution And The Origin Of Life Are Separate And Distinct Concepts, Kenneth Nickerson

Kenneth Nickerson Papers

Two years ago on a Saturday morning, I was asked quite pointedly by two friends how I could be both spiritual and a scientist. My questioning friends felt that these qualities were incompatible. It turned out their church taught that scientists were ‘the enemy’ because scientists believe in evolution. Since that time, Letters to the Editor regarding evolution have attracted my attention. Many of the published letters stated that the author did not believe in evolution, and argued in support of his/her position that God had created life. The authors thoroughly confuse two concepts which are separate and distinct: Evolution …

Formal And Informal Environmental Education Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Ocean Zones And Life Styles, Center For Science And Mathematics Education

Teacher Resource Documents

No abstract provided.

Biology And Conservation Of Horseshoe Crabs, John T. Tanacredi, Mark L. Bottom, David R. Smith

School of Marine and Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

We dedicate this book to Drs. Carl N. Shuster, Jr. and Koichi Sekiguchi for their life-long contributions to the biology and conservation of the magnificent horseshoe crab.

Lifelines Winter 2009, Southern Adventist University

Lifelines - Biology Department Newsletter

The Winter 2009 issue of Lifelines features articles on RAM Clinics, Dr. Earl Aagaard's retirement, the addition of Richard Seidel to the faculty, and a pictorial directory of the 2009 biology and allied health graduates.

C2 Domain Ontology Within Our Lifetime, Leslie Winters, Andreas Tolk

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Agile Command and Control (C2) requires agile information sharing with an increasingly wide variety of military and non-military partners. While current net-centric approaches may improve information sharing within a particular niche of C2, they do not support information sharing across the larger C2 domain. Although not a silver bullet, the development and application of a C2 domain ontology to improve C2 data and service integration appears to be increasingly realistic. In fact, there are several examples of successful ontology applications in domains such as medicine, biology, and engineering, and the new discipline of Applied Ontology is emerging. C2 data, architecture, …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing West Virginia Secondary Biology And Science Teacher Attrition Rates, Seth Perry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The high rate of attrition for beginning teachers has been blamed on many factors. Nationally these include low pay, urban versus rural school settings, age, with younger teachers leaving sooner, and other variables making a complex problem with no clear component responsible for the loss of teachers. This study examined the self reported variables that contribute to high school teachers in West Virginia leaving their profession. An electronic survey instrument was distributed to current secondary teachers across the state. Teachers were asked to respond to questions related to professional satisfaction, perceived value from students and parents, administrative support, content versus …

Gamebird 2006: Quail Vi And Perdix Xii, Sandra B. Cederbaum, Brant C. Faircloth, Theron M. Terhune, Jeffrey J. Thompson, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Foreword v

Acknowledgements vi

Editorial Panel vii

Sponsors x

Invited Manuscripts 2

Integrating Management, Research, and Monitoring: Balancing the 3-Legged Stool. Michael J. Conroy & James T. Peterson . 2

Management of Southern African Gamebirds: Opportunities and Threats. Tim Crowe . 11

Taking the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative to the Next Level. Donald F. McKenzie . 16

Restoring a Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) Population and the Future of Predation Control. G.R. Potts . 24

Abundance Estimation 27

The GWCT Partridge Count Scheme: A Volunteer-Based Monitoring and Conservation Promotion Scheme. Julie Ewald, Nevile Kingdon, & Hugues Santin-Janin . 27

Refining the …

Cellular And Genetic Factors In Traumatic Brain Injury: A Histological Analysis, Christopher Ganey

Theses & ETDs

Traumatic brain is a growing concern among the general population with debilitating long -term effects. The introduction in the thesis will review other literature on traumatic brain injury to give the reader a brief overview of the topic. I hypothesized that traumatic brain injury has a profound effect on physiological activity. I also hypothesized that there is genetic influence on the outcome of injury as well. I performed histological analyses on brain tissues of mice that have undergone traumatic brain injury experiments at the Roskamp Institute. The results from my analyses have indicated that both traumatic brain injury and genetic …

Exploring The Relationship Between Sampling Efficiency And Short Range Endemism For Groundwater Fauna In The Pilbara Region, Western Australia, Harley J. Barron, James Cocking, Stefan Eberhard

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Uva Absorbance In Sun And Shade Leaves, James Newton, Kevin Rivera, James Kim

Featured Research

In observing chaparral species’ resistance to abiotic plant stresses, this investigation sought to study plant defense against UVA radiation in sun and shade leaves. We predicted that sun leaves would have higher absorbance of UV radiation considering their day-long exposure to sunlight.

UVA (350nm-400nm) absorbance in sun and shade leaves of Heteromeles arbutifolia and Malosma laurina were measured using an integrating sphere. Four leaves from each group were surveyed for reflectance and absorbance. Using the spectrophotometer, reflectance in the green wavelengths (500-600nm) was measured and divided by reflectance in the red (600-700nm) to give a quantitative estimation of the redness …

Measuring Water Use Efficiency In Large And Small Leaves Of Malosma Laurina, Caitlin Ishibashi, Dan Kaczrowski, Evan Mattiansen

Featured Research

Our study set out to compare Water Use Efficiency (WUE) levels of Malosma laurina plants in both small and large leaves. We collected a total of 3 data sets, with each set consisting of 5 small leaves and 5 large leaves from a single specimen of Malosma laurina located on Pepperdine’s campus. Parameters including transpiration and photosynthesis were measured to calculate WUE of small and large leaves using an LI- 6400 Gas Exchange System. We hypothesized that small leaves would have a higher WUE rate than large leaves of the M. laurina. Analysis of this data via a paired …

The Effects Of Light Intensity And Color Absorption Of Diurnal Leaf Movements Of Malva Parviflora, Amy Lawrence, Ben Young, Matthew Yarborough

Featured Research

Our group measured the heliotropic response rate of the Malva parviflora under various light environments in order to see the effect that light color and intensity had on daily leaf movement. In our experiment we measured the leaf angle of plants under white, blue, red and green light, as well as plants under shade, over a specific duration of time in order to determine the rate of change. We ran a One-Way Analysis of Variance on leaf angle for light color as well as coverage at a 0.05 level using SPSS 17.0. The ANOVA test showed no significance for light …

Soil Salinity And Stomatal Conductance On Chaparral Plants, Ron King, Lisa Malyak, Kelly Rausch

Featured Research

In our experiment we evaluated the soil salinity and corresponding stomatal conductance rates of Malosma laurina and Rhus integrifolia located near the coast and farther inland. Our prediction was that stomatal conductance would vary with the change in location of each species. Stomatal conductance was measured using a simple diffusion porometer and soil salinity was measured using a refractometer. We concluded that soil salinity caused a decline in stomatal conductance in both chaparral species. M. laurina was also found to be more sensitive to an increase in soil salinity, as its stomatal conductance rates declined more than that of R. …