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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Models Of Functional Redundancy In Ecological Communities, Sandra Annie Tsiorintsoa May 2024

Models Of Functional Redundancy In Ecological Communities, Sandra Annie Tsiorintsoa

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Functional redundancy is the number of taxa that perform a given function within a given community. In most systems, high levels of functional redundancy are important, because they contribute to ecosystem stability. However, we currently have very little understanding of why functional redundancy varies among communities. One possible factor that could affect functional redundancy is environmental complexity. Many studies show that simplified ecosystems harbor communities with lower taxon diversity. What is less clear is if this simplicity and lower taxon diversity also affects functional redundancy. To answer this question, we use metacommunity models to explore the connection between environmental complexity …


Green On The Map - The Influence Of Conservation Easements On The Naturalness Of Landscapes In The United States, Nakisha Fouch Dec 2022

Green On The Map - The Influence Of Conservation Easements On The Naturalness Of Landscapes In The United States, Nakisha Fouch

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Large protected areas have long been the cornerstone of conservation biology, however, in an era branded by the human dominance of ecosystems, regional landscape structure and function are often a consequence of accumulated land-use decisions that may or may not include a nod to conservation planning. With underrepresentation of habitats in publicly protected areas, attention has focused on the function of alternative land conservation mechanisms. Private conservation easements (CEs) have proliferated in the United States, yet assessing landscape-level function is confounded by holder and donor intent, national and regional policy, regional landscape contexts, varying extents, resolution, and temporal scale. Over …


Radioluminescence Based Biochemical Sensing And Imaging Strategies To Measure Local Drug Release And Ph, Gretchen B. Schober Aug 2022

Radioluminescence Based Biochemical Sensing And Imaging Strategies To Measure Local Drug Release And Ph, Gretchen B. Schober

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In this dissertation we describe methods for measuring infection relevant biochemical analytes using radioluminescent and ultrasound luminescent materials. Films and nanoparticles fabricated with europium doped gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S:Eu3+) are used to quantitatively measure radiolabeled pharmaceutical concentration, specifically tritium labeled vancomycin (3H-vancomycin). Europium and dysprosium doped strontium aluminate is used to fabricate an ultrasound modulated, pH sensing film. These methods are indicated for theranostic evaluation of implant associated infection. Bacterial biofilms are inherently resistant to traditional antibiotic treatment and can coat biomedical implants. These biofilm related infections are difficult or impossible to eradicate …


Optimization Of Modular, Long-Range, Ultra-Fast Optical Tweezers With Fluorescence Capabilities For Single-Molecule And Single-Cell Based Biophysical Measurements, Subash C. Godar May 2022

Optimization Of Modular, Long-Range, Ultra-Fast Optical Tweezers With Fluorescence Capabilities For Single-Molecule And Single-Cell Based Biophysical Measurements, Subash C. Godar

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An Optical tweezer is a tightly focused laser beam that applies and senses precise and localized optical force to a dielectric microsphere and offers a unique and effective tool for manipulating the single cell or cell components, including nucleotides and dynein motor proteins. Here, I used highly stabilized optomechanical components and ultra-sensitive detection modules to significantly improve the measurement capabilities over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. I combined the optical tweezer-based force spectroscopy technique with fluorescence microscopy to develop an integrated high-resolution force-fluorescence system capable of measuring displacements at sub-nanometer, forces at sub-piconewton over a temporal range …


Supertertiary Structural Dynamics Modulate Function In Postsynaptic Density Protein 95, George L. Hamilton Iii May 2022

Supertertiary Structural Dynamics Modulate Function In Postsynaptic Density Protein 95, George L. Hamilton Iii

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Proteins, RNA, and DNA serve as the primary sub-cellular machinery that give rise to the necessary functions of life. The long-standing paradigm has been that the structures of biomolecules, or the arrangement of the subunits that make up a biomolecule, determine biological function. However, biomolecules are not static objects. Instead, they often undergo structural rearrangements that are crucial to enabling and regulating their functions. In my thesis I present several studies of the interplay between the structures, dynamics, and functions of biomolecules that combine experimental fluorescence spectroscopy and computational methods to probe these systems at the single-molecule level. In particular, …


Intelligent Resource Prediction For Hpc And Scientific Workflows, Benjamin Shealy Dec 2021

Intelligent Resource Prediction For Hpc And Scientific Workflows, Benjamin Shealy

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Scientific workflows and high-performance computing (HPC) platforms are critically important to modern scientific research. In order to perform scientific experiments at scale, domain scientists must have knowledge and expertise in software and hardware systems that are highly complex and rapidly evolving. While computational expertise will be essential for domain scientists going forward, any tools or practices that reduce this burden for domain scientists will greatly increase the rate of scientific discoveries. One challenge that exists for domain scientists today is knowing the resource usage patterns of an application for the purpose of resource provisioning. A tool that accurately estimates these …


Development, Validation, And Application Of Analytical Methods For Characterizing Adsorbed Protein Orientation, Conformation, And Bioactivity, Aby Thyparambil May 2015

Development, Validation, And Application Of Analytical Methods For Characterizing Adsorbed Protein Orientation, Conformation, And Bioactivity, Aby Thyparambil

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The structure and bioactivity of adsorbed proteins are tightly interrelated and play a key role in their interaction with the surrounding environment. These factors are of critical importance in many biotechnological applications. However, because the bioactive state of an adsorbed protein is a function of the orientation, conformation, and accessibility of its bioactive site(s), the isolated determination of just one or two of these factors will typically not be sufficient to understand the structure-function relationships of the adsorbed layer. Rather a combination of methods is needed to address each of these factors in a synergistic manner to provide a complementary …


South Atlantic Stream Fish Assemblages: Multi-Scale Structuring Factors, Trait Associations And Channelization, And Responses To Dam Removal, Cathy Marion Aug 2014

South Atlantic Stream Fish Assemblages: Multi-Scale Structuring Factors, Trait Associations And Channelization, And Responses To Dam Removal, Cathy Marion

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South Atlantic coastal plain wadeable streams are unique and understudied freshwater environments that provide crucial habitats for a wide range of aquatic taxa. In Chapter 1, we investigated patterns in fish assemblages across South Carolina's coastal plain, and developed statistical models to identify the dominant multi-scale abiotic environmental factors that influence assemblage structure. Our analyses indicated the presence of four predominant fish assemblages that commonly occur in the coastal plain, which we termed the: 1) fluvial, 2) eastern mudminnow, 3) centrarchid, and 4) non-fluvial assemblages. Natural geographic gradients and instream habitat parameters associated with velocity, channel form, stream size, and …