Life Sciences Commons^™

2023 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Todd Bruns, Diane Highland

Programs

Annually, Eastern Illinois University honors faculty achievements in the areas of research, creativity, and engagement. This year, the list of faculty accomplishments is again truly impressive, reflective of an engaged faculty committed to excellence and the ongoing pursuit and creation of knowledge. A number of these accomplishments occurred in collaboration with our students, who serve as co-authors, research assistants and partners in bringing these activities to fruition. Indeed, in some cases these professional ambitions transpired over the course of many years, and are a testament to persistence and tenacity--ensuring that these works extend to a broader community of scholars that …

2022 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Todd Bruns, Beth Heldebrandt

Programs

At this annual celebration, the entire Division of Academic Affairs is pleased that the important work of faculty continues and evolves as EIU’s professors have individually and collectively redefined the boundaries of scholarship, creativity, and innovation for the emerging post-COVID era. Indeed, we are excited to come together to celebrate the achievements and outstanding contributions of our colleagues and students to their disciplines and professions. And, as the following pages illustrate, faculty have engaged in continuing scholarly and creative activities that have provided outstanding mentoring experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to sharing faculty productivity, research excellence …

Low-Head Dam Removal Increases Functional Diversity Of Stream Fish Assemblages, Adam Christopher Jones

Masters Theses

Despite the growing number of dam removals to date, very few have been studied to understand their impacts on stream fish communities. Despite being the most common type of dam in the U.S., an even smaller proportion of studies focus on the impacts of low-head dam removals, instead, focusing on the impacts of removal of larger dams. In this study, two previously impounded Illinois rivers were monitored to assess the impacts of low-head dam removal on the functional assemblage of stream fishes. This was accomplished by aggregating fishes into habitat and reproductive guilds, relating community changes to habitat, environmental metrics, …

2021 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Todd Bruns, Beth Heldebrandt

Programs

At this annual celebration, we, as a shared community, are pleased that the important work of faculty continues and evolves as faculty have broadened and redefined the boundaries of scholarship, creativity, and innovation throughout the COVID, late-COVID, and soon-to-be post-COVID eras. While we are pleased to return to more familiar campus-based traditions, functions, and activities, the experiences of 2020-2021 have contributed to the development of new forms and strategies for scholarship and creativity that reflect the core principles of faculty life and ensure that student learning remains central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University.

For that reason, our faculty, …

2020 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Todd Bruns, Beth Heldebrandt

Programs

The 2020-2021 academic year is truly extraordinary and higher education’s new, hopefully temporary, normal began on rather short notice in Spring 2020. While our environment has changed, we, as a shared community, are pleased that the important work of faculty continues and evolves as faculty broaden and redefine the boundaries of scholarship, creativity, and innovation in accelerating hybrid and remote environments. And, as new forms and strategies for scholarship and creativity emerge, the core principles of faculty life and student learning remain central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University.

For that reason, our faculty, department chairs, college deans, the …

A Perspective On Changes Across The U.S. Corn Belt, Eric Hunt, Hannah Birge, Christopher Laingen, Mark Licht, Justin Mcmechan, William Baule, Tom Connor

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Design, Synthesis, And Characterization Of Chemical Tools To Study Peroxisomal Import, Jhalak N. Timilsena

Masters Theses

Peroxisomes are dynamic and interconnected single lipid membrane bound organelles found in the eukaryotic cells which are involved in various biochemical processes including the b-oxidation of very long chain and branched chain fatty acids, metabolism of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and reduction of hydrogen peroxide among others. These organelles are known to host numerous proteins and enzymes depending on the cellular environment. All of the proteins needed in the peroxisomes are encoded in the nucleus and synthesized in the cytosol which are then transported to the peroxisomes with the help of a sophisticated protein-transport machinery. Pex5 is one of …

2019 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Beth Heldebrandt, Todd Bruns, Seth Yeakel, Matthew Eifrid

Programs

Scholarship, creativity, innovation, and the many forms of collaborative engagement that shape faculty life and student learning are central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University. For that reason, our faculty, department chairs, college deans, the Provost, and the entire campus community celebrate the achievements and outstanding contributions of our colleagues and students to their disciplines and professions every year. And, as the following pages illustrate, faculty engaged in continuing scholarly and creative activities that have provided outstanding mentoring experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to recognizing faculty performances, shows, publications, grants and other professional efforts, the …

Impacts Of Plant-Microbe Interactions On Seedling Performance In A Riparian Forest Invaded By Lonicera Maackii, Taylor E. K. Strehl

Masters Theses

Soil microbes have profound impacts on plant growth and survival and can either promote or inhibit plant dominance. Exotic plants are often strongly invasive because they have escaped their natural enemies, potentially including antagonistic soil microbes. I examined how the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii and a common native tree, Acer negundo, responded to soil microbial communities to determine the role of soil microbes in regulating invasion success. This was done by growing both species with microbes from invaded (L. maackii) and uninvaded (A. negundo) soils collected from three locations within a riparian forest. Seedlings were …

Identifying Priority Conservation Areas And Strategies For Myotis Sodalis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) Via Habitat And Connectivity Modeling, Ashleigh B. Cable

Masters Theses

Myotis sodalis, the Indiana bat, is a federally endangered bat species in the United States of America (USA). Conservation efforts are typically focused at identified maternity sites at local scales, however, the species is a regional migrant that interacts with its environment at multiple spatial scales. We are limited in our knowledge of landscape-level requirements of this species, especially in large areas such as Illinois, USA, where a wide range of environmental and landscape conditions exist. Many previous M. sodalis habitat studies have limited their focus to smaller spatial scales. Due to limitations in funding, personnel, and time, it …

Variation In Leaf Morphology Of An Alpine Shrub Community Along Environmental Gradients, Abdulssalam Khafsha

Masters Theses

Mountains represent complex environment gradients which strongly affect local temperature regimes and rainfall. These changes in climate conditions drive a diversity of plant responses. As alpine environments are expected to change dramatically in response to climate change, understanding plant responses to environmental variation is critical in these environments. Although they are a critical component of alpine communities, the environmental responses of shrubs have been much less examined than trees, representing an important knowledge gap. Leaves, as the primary photosynthetic organs on plants, would be expected to respond strongly to local climate conditions. In this study, I documented how the leaf …

2018 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity And Engagement, Eastern Illinois University

Programs

Scholarship, creativity, innovation, and the many forms of collaborative engagement that shape faculty life and student learning are central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University. For that reason, our faculty, department chairs, college deans, the provost, and the entire campus community celebrate the achievements and outstanding contributions of our colleagues and students to their disciplines and professions every year.

And, as the following pages illustrate, faculty engaged in continuing scholarly and creative activities provide outstanding mentoring experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to recognizing faculty performances, shows, publications, grants and other professional efforts, the University will …

Co-Product Potential Of Algae Biocake, Elizabeth J. Nixon

Masters Theses

Society needs to find replacements for fossil fuels, which are finite resources that may be fully depleted within a few generations. While solar and wind have great potential as alternative energy sources, they are unlikely to completely replace all of the current fuel sources, particularly liquid fuels. Plant biomass has great potential for this market, and is already used in many forms for heat energy (e.g. direct combustion). However, the bulk density of important bioenergy crops, particularly grasses, is often low, which necessitates the use of binders in densification strategies. In the present study, waste algae biocake from a proprietary …

Impact Of Temperature Increase On Freshwater Fish Species: Energetics And Muscle Mechanics Of Two Centrarchids, Israt Jahan

Masters Theses

Fishes have evolved physiologically to live within a specific range of environmental variation and existence outside of that range can be stressful or fatal. These ranges can coincide for fishes that evolved in similar habitats. This study investigates physiological processes limiting thermal tolerance, specifically how changes in water temperature affect the swimming energetics and muscle mechanics in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). I focused on the impact of temperature change at the muscle level in these two species and the capacity to adapt to rapid changes in the environment. Fish were housed at …

2017 Program, Office Of Academic Affairs

Programs

Scholarship, creativity, innovation, and the many forms of collaborative engagement that shape faculty life and student learning are central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University. For that reason, our faculty, department chairs, college deans, the Provost, and the entire campus community celebrate the achievements and outstanding contributions of our colleagues and students to their disciplines and professions every year. And, as the following pages illustrate, faculty engaged in continuing scholarly and creative activities that have provided outstanding mentoring experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to recognizing faculty performances, shows, publications, grants and other professional efforts, the …

The North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) On The Department Of Energy's Savannah River Site, Emily B. Mccallen

Masters Theses

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) faces a legacy of radionuclide and metal contamination from industrial processes that occurred within the site. The risks posed to ecosystems on the site from contaminants are quantified using the ecological risk assessment process, which often uses the health of a particular species as an ecological endpoint. Northern river otters (Lontra canadensis) are appropriate receptors for studying the effects of long-term, low-level contamination because they are long-lived, higher trophic level organisms likely to accumulate high levels of pollutants. However, little information about river otters on the SRS is known; …

2016 Program, Office Of Academic Affairs

Programs

Eastern Illinois University is a community enthusiastically engaged in intellectual exploration. This includes faculty testing the boundaries of knowledge within their disciplines and the boundaries of how to convey that knowledge to their students. It also includes students, both graduate students joining with their faculty mentors in pressing the disciplinary boundaries, and undergraduate students discovering the front edges of the disciplines under the guidance of their instructors. Today we celebrate the full range of such faculty contributions: journal articles, book chapters, monographs, art works, music compositions, performances in all forms, and a host of others. Funded research contributions also are …

White-Rot Fungi As Pretreatment Agents For Wood Destined For Biofuel Applications, Ryan M. Kalinoski

Masters Theses

Efficient and economical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels is often hampered by the chemical recalcitrance of the material. Inexpensive and environmentally-friendly pretreatment processes are therefore desirable in order to lower the cost of biofuel production and minimize negative environmental impacts. To that end, we have explored the use of a naturally occurring white-rot fungus, Trametes versicolor, as a direct pretreatment agent for hardwood destined for biofuel applications. Specifically, we examined the pretreatment effects on the hardwood mixture after treatment with the wild-type strain of T. versicolor (52J) compared with those from a cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH)-deficient strain (m4D) , …

2015 Program, Office Of Academic Affairs

Programs

A university is more than an amalgamation of several colleges. It also is an organization which celebrates the full richness of faculty contributions including those vital and exciting contributions in research, scholarship and creative activity within their disciplines. These contributions come in many forms: journal articles, book chapters, monographs, art works, music compositions, performances of many varieties and a host of others. Funded research contributions are similarly varied. Through such activities, faculty members stay at the growing edges of their fields, and in so doing, they enrich their intellectual lives as well as those of their students.

Once again, I …

Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel B. Johnson, Peter Ping Liu, Thomas Canam

Thomas Canam

Purpose: Lignocellulosic biomass has been regarded as an important future energy source due to its excessive availability; however, the wide application of this material for many applications is restricted by the high costs associated with densification, transportation, thermo-chemical pretreatment and conversion. In order to increase the density of lignocellulosic biomass, it is typically compressed into pellets or briquettes. This frequently requires the addition of additives, which may negatively impact the economics of the process. Environmentally-friendly binding agents that can be obtained inexpensively are therefore desirable. This study examines the change in physicochemical properties of densified Miscanthus straw where algae were …

Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel B. Johnson, Peter Ping Liu, Thomas Canam

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Purpose: Lignocellulosic biomass has been regarded as an important future energy source due to its excessive availability; however, the wide application of this material for many applications is restricted by the high costs associated with densification, transportation, thermo-chemical pretreatment and conversion. In order to increase the density of lignocellulosic biomass, it is typically compressed into pellets or briquettes. This frequently requires the addition of additives, which may negatively impact the economics of the process. Environmentally-friendly binding agents that can be obtained inexpensively are therefore desirable. This study examines the change in physicochemical properties of densified Miscanthus straw where algae were …

Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel Johnson, Peter Liu, Thomas Canam

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Purpose: Lignocellulosic biomass has been regarded as an important future energy source due to its excessive availability; however, the wide application of this material for many applications is restricted by the high costs associated with densification, transportation, thermo-chemical pretreatment and conversion. In order to increase the density of lignocellulosic biomass, it is typically compressed into pellets or briquettes. This frequently requires the addition of additives, which may negatively impact the economics of the process. Environmentally-friendly binding agents that can be obtained inexpensively are therefore desirable. This study examines the change in physicochemical properties of densified Miscanthus straw where algae were …

Effects Of Treated Wastewater Effluent On Microbial Community Structure In A Natural Receiving Aquatic System, Matthew D. Hladilek

Masters Theses

Despite our dependency on treatment facilities to condition wastewater for eventual release to the environment, our knowledge regarding the effects of treated water on the local watershed is extremely limited. Responses of these lotic systems to the treated wastewater effluent have been traditionally investigated by examining the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages and community structure; however, these studies do not address the microbial diversity of the water systems. In the present study, planktonic and benthic bacterial community structure were examined at fourteen sites (from 60 m upstream to 12,100 m downstream) and at two time points along an aquatic system receiving treated …

2014 Program, Office Of Academic Affairs

Programs

At its best, a university is a collection of individuals ‐‐ students and faculty ‐‐ focused on learning and discovering new knowledge. For this goal to be realized, a critical element is having faculty members deeply engaged in such discovery within their disciplines. Scholarship, in the form of journal articles, book chapters, monographs and similar endeavors, creative activity which can take an even wider range of forms, and funded research which explores the boundaries of disciplines all contribute to such engagement. Through such participation, faculty members stay at the growing edges of their fields, and in so doing, they enrich …

Plant-Microbial Interactions Change Along A Prairie Restoration Chronosequence, Anna Herzberger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Soil microbial communities are critical in determining the performance and density of species in plant communities. However, their role in regulating the success of restorations is much less clear. This study assessed the ability of soil microbial communities to regulate the growth and performance of two potentially dominant grasses and two common forbs in prairie restorations. Specifically, I examined the effects of soil microbial communities along a restoration chronosequence from agricultural fields to remnant prairies using experimentally inoculated soils. The two grass species, Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans, produced larger biomass with the agricultural inoculates and experienced a decline …

Know Where To Go, Kirstin Duffin

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Assessing library article databases for efficient access to multidisciplinary research – A case study in bioenergy

Identification Of Disufide Bond Formation Between Mitoneet And Glutamate Dehydrogenase 1, Morgan E. Roberts, Jacquelyn P. Crail, Megan M. Laffoon, William G. Fernandez, Michael A. Menze, Mary E. Konkle

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

MitoNEET is a protein that was identified as a drug target for diabetes, but its cellular function as well as its role in diabetes remains elusive. Protein pull-down experiments identified glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (GDH1) as a potential binding partner. GDH1 is a key metabolic enzyme with emerging roles in insulin regulation. MitoNEET forms a covalent complex with GDH1 through disulfide bond formation and acts as an activator. Proteomic analysis identified the specific cysteine residues that participate in the disulfide bond. This is the first report that effectively links mitoNEET to activation of the insulin regulator GDH1.

Identification Of Disulfide Bond Formation Between Mitoneet And Glutamate Dehydrogenase 1, Morgan E. Roberts, Jacquelyn P. Crail, Megan M. Laffoon, William G. Fernandez, Michael A. Menze, Mary E. Konkle

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

MitoNEET is a protein that was identified as a drug target for diabetes, but its cellular function as well as its role in diabetes remains elusive. Protein pull-down experiments identified glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (GDH1) as a potential binding partner. GDH1 is a key metabolic enzyme with emerging roles in insulin regulation. MitoNEET forms a covalent complex with GDH1 through disulfide bond formation and acts as an activator. Proteomic analysis identified the specific cysteine residues that participate in the disulfide bond. This is the first report that effectively links mitoNEET to activation of the insulin regulator GDH1.

2013 Program, Office Of Academic Affairs

Programs

At its best, a university is a collection of individuals ‐‐ students and faculty ‐‐ focused on learning and discovering new knowledge. For this goal to be realized, a critical element is having faculty members deeply engaged with their disciplines. Scholarship, in the form of journal articles, book chapters, monographs and similar endeavors, creative activity which can take an even wider range of forms, and funded research which explores the boundaries of their disciplines all contribute to such engagement. Through such participation, faculty members stay at the growing edges of their fields, and in so doing, they enrich their intellectual …

Determination Of Structural Stabilities Of Metal-Free Porphyrin Cytochrome C, Zinc Cytochrome C, And Cobalt Cytochrome C, Usha K. Tottempudi

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.