Life Sciences Commons^™

Genetic Diversity Of Local Canines Assessed By Derived Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences, Nicole Benmoshe, Jeremy Seto

Publications and Research

Breeding of the dog, Canis Iupus familiaris, over centuries has given rise to the selection of certain traits including size, shape, coat length, color and many behavioral traits. Inbreeding within dog breeds has resulted in the increase of genetic diseases, many of which are similar to human diseases making the dog an exemplary model organism to study. Using dCAPS (Derived Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences) we can identify SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) in the dog genome using buccal samples collected from four local dogs of different breeds, both large and small. After performing DNA extractions, PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), restriction enzyme …

Cultural Competence: Issues And Benefits In Healthcare Delivery, Tetiana Soloviova, Amina Shahbaz, Fahaneda Hassan, Zoya Vinokur

Publications and Research

The extreme growth of New York State population causes to bring more challenges and opportunities for healthcare organization to provide culturally competent service to meet the need of diverse population. According to data from the US Census Bureau, minority groups are projected to make up nearly 50% of the population by the year 2050 compared with 30% in 2000. Outside of ethnicity, there are also many cultural and social groups with which people identify that may affect how they view or receive healthcare. It is very difficult to provide quality service for a diverse population due to language barriers, health …

Enhancing The Anti-Tumor Efficacy Of T Cells With Naturally Occurring Plant Stilbenes, Elle Richardson, Andrea Leigh Soles

Undergraduate Publications

Despite advances in treatment options, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States. Many therapies use immune cells, specifically T cells, for cancer therapy. To enhance tumor recognition by T cells, chimeric antigen receptors consisting of signaling domains fused to receptors that recognize tumor antigens can be created and expressed in T cells. One receptor that is a prospective target for a chimeric antigen receptor is PD1 because the ligands for the PD1 receptor are expressed on many cancer types. Our lab has genetically engineered a chimeric PD1 (chPD1) receptor and has shown that chPD1-expressing T …

Post-Fire Competition Between Native Ceanothus Spinosus And Exotic Grasses, Katarina Carter, Nina Duchild

Featured Research

In our experiment, we investigated the post-fire competition between native Ceanothus spinosus and exotic grasses in low and high-density fuel sites. We hypothesized that C. spinosus seedlings in the high-density fuel site would be larger and more numerous than seedlings in the low-density fuel site, due to differences in competition from exotics. Our results showed that there was no significant difference in seedling height of C. spinosus in the high-density fuel site (5.33 ± 0.55 cm) and in the low-density fuel site (4.31 ± 0.51 cm). There was also no significant difference in the average number of seedlings in the …

Physiological Performance Of Ceanothus Spinosus In Hot Burn And Cool Burn Sites, Rishi Gattu, Christian Hill, Chris Kulpaca

Featured Research

After the Woolsey Fire, many fire adapted plants will resprout. However, increased fire frequency has negatively impacted the reproduction of many native species, while enhancing the survivorship of many invasive species. We compared the physiological performance of Ceanothus spinosus resprouters in areas that burned hotter compared to areas that burned cooler. We hypothesized that resprouters in hotter burn sites would have better physiological performance than resprouters in cooler burn sites. The resprouters in hotter burn sites would have better performance because of decreased competition from invasive species. We measured physiological performance using a Li-Cor LI-6400, specifically photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal …

A Post-Fire Comparison Of Resprouts To Unburned Malosma Laurina Shrubs In The Santa Monica Mountains Of Southern California, Anthony Joseph Adducci Ii, Sierra Jo Smith, Dylan Jesse Waddill

Featured Research

Fire is a cornerstone to Mediterranean ecosystems but increased droughts, climate change and human interference has caused a shift in fire frequency and severity. This experiment accessed the physiological performance of Malosma laurina resprouts in burned areas compared to mature Malosma laurina in unburned areas. Specifically, we hypothesized that the stomatal conductance, photosynthesis rate, and electron transport rate of the burned resprouts would all be higher than the unburned shrubs as there are more nutrients available in the soil post-fire and the resprouts have a larger root to stem ratio. Using the LI-6400 Portable Photosynthesis System, we measured the physiological …

A Survey Of Post-Fire Chaparral Species’ Densities Using Point Quarter Sampling, Emma C. Stenz, Brandon R. Grinovich, Catherine H. William, Michael E. Gayed, Stephen D. Davis, Grace Palmer

Featured Research

The purpose of this observational study was twofold: to add to the existing data regarding the plant species composition of the Pepperdine hillsides and to set in place a foundation for post-fire chaparral recovery studies that will ensue over the coming years through various programs and classes. The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned nearly all of the natural environment surrounding Pepperdine University and the greater Malibu region, so it is a matter of urgency to take this opportunity to learn more about how this natural environment of the chaparral responds to a catastrophic event like fire. We focused primarily on facultative …

Soil Respiration In Burned And Unburned Sites Of The Santa Monica Mountains, Sydney C. Jones, Micah S. Kim, Sierra H. Ball, Stephen D. Davis

Featured Research

Soil respiration (the flux of CO₂ released by the soil due to microbial and root respiration and organic matter decomposition) can be affected by fire (Qu et al., 2009, Richards et al., 2012, Ryu et al., 2009). After the 2018 Woolsey Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains, we hypothesized that soil respiration would be greater in unburned soil than in burned soil. This is because fire can decrease soil nutrient concentration, which could decrease soil microbial concentration and also because fire could burn and kill soil microbes and roots. To test this relationship, we recorded soil respiration on three …

The Presence Of Fungal Pathogen, Botryosphaeria Dothidea, In Post-Fire Malosma Laurina Resprouts, Georgiana Gibson, Sarah Parker, Lauren Van Tress

Featured Research

Botryosphaeria dothidea is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that infects plants, causing cankers to form on branches and stems, ultimately causing cell cavitation and embolism in the plant. Botyrosphaeria dothidea was found in much of the chaparral vegetation present in the Santa Monica Mountains prior to the November 2018 fire. In this study, we focused on the presence of Botryosphaeria dothidea in the chaparral plant Malosma laurina on Pepperdine University’s campus in 2 different populations: unburned and resprouts. We looked at whether the November 2018 fires had eliminated the pathogen from post-fire Malosma laurina resprouts, using the unburned Malosma laurina population …

Comparative Fitness Of Post-Fire Transplant Stipa Pulchra And Wild Stipa Pulchra In Competition With Avena Fatua, Ashley Bonin, Madison Cook, Sara Head

Featured Research

In the Spring Semesters of 2016 and 2017, research was conducted on the relative fitness of Stipa pulchra in the transplant garden on the Drescher campus at Pepperdine University. The first study in 2016 examined the fitness of Stipa pulchra and Avena fatua in the transplant and wild gardens after a five year drought in California. In the results of this experiment, the hypothesis was supported when observing that the wild S. pulchra depicted higher fitness that the transplant S. pulchra in areas of stomatal conductance, height, water potential, percent sun and dark-adapted fluorescence. The second study in 2017 investigated …

Post Fire Seedling And Resprout Survival Of Melasma Laurina, Matthew Sturtevant, Gil So

Featured Research

For this research project we set out to see how seedling and resprout survival rate of melasma laurina would fare in the post fire environment found around pepperdine. The expected seedling survival was set to be 1% and the resprout survival was at 100%. From our field research we found that the the seedling survival was 41% and the resprout 57.3%. By using a T-test we had a p value < 0.001 for both data sets, this means that our data deviated greatly from our expected data and meant that we had to reject our hypothesis.

Carbon Dioxide Flux Rate For Cold Burn And Hot Burn Sites, Sophia Cheong, Alexander G. Grissom, Grace K. Lank

Featured Research

This experiment seeks to further expand modern understanding of post-fire ecology via systematic measurement of soil respiration within areas burned by cool, mild flames and hot, intense flames caused by the recent Woolsey Fire. We theorized that within hot burned areas, soil respiration would be less than that of the cool burned areas because the microbe population in the hot burned areas would be affected far more than those subjected to a cool burn. By measuring soil respiration with our Li-6800 CO₂ soil flux chamber at each of the according disc sites within hot and cold burned areas we …

Comparison Of Postfire Seedling Recruitment Of 2019 In Three Key Chaparral Species, Karagan Smith, Reid Furukawa, Brett Muramoto, Stephen D. Davis

Featured Research

Fire is a common natural disaster that sweeps through Southern California. Combined with periods of acute, and most recent, chronic drought, we have seen an increase in the damage and frequency of these fires in recent years. Three chaparral species are common to the Pepperdine campus: Malosma laurina, Ceanothus spinosus, and Ceanothus megacarpus. The survival of these three native species is essential because they serve as biomarkers for the changes that are occurring in our local ecosystem and provide further implications for how our ecosystem is responding to natural disaster. Seedling recruitment is a mechanism that is used by …

Heteromeles Arbutifolia Associated Post-Fire Soil Microbiome Recovery And Respiration In A Chaparral Ecosystem, Gabrielle Boeger, Lauren Dedmon, Emma Thomsen, Alexander Soloniuk

Featured Research

The purpose of this post-Woolsey Fire project is to examine the relationship between soil respiration in areas of cool burns and hot burns relative to individuals of Heteromeles Arbutifolia. It was hypothesized that the soil subjected to a cooler burn would have greater respiration rates due to increased survival of microorganisms compared to a hotter burn. An Li-6800 CO2 Flux Chamber was used to collect measurements for several replicates. Significance was detected in the “Day 3” data, with the soil respiration higher at the cool burn site. Temperature and soil flux also varied directly. In the future experiments including increasingly …

Nitrate Removal And Patterns Of Ph-Induced Flocculation In High-Lipid Producing Algae Ochromonas Danica, Abigail E. Armstrong, Timothy Gsell Dr.

Research Days

Algae have grown in popularity as a source for biofuels as some algae species, like Ochromonas danica, can produce energy-rich lipids for biofuels while simultaneously removing nutrients from wastewater. As such, use of biologic systems to mitigate pollutants are an attractive method of pollution control. Given the unique metabolic properties of O. danica, this organism is a promising candidate organism for this purpose. This study seeks to characterize the basic metabolic parameters of these algae as well as their population behaviors with attention to their growth rates and nitrate removal at varying pH over time. To do this, live cultures …

Preservation Of Ozark Glades: Soil Inocula And Plant Additions Effect On Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Srikavi Premnath

Show Your Stripes Research and Creative Showcase

Soil microbial communities can play a major role in the structure of natural plant communities, and restoring the soil microbial content can be important in restoring the plant community in prairies. In 2014, an experiment was set up to test whether soil inoculation along with native plant additions (Schizachyrium scoparium and Rudbeckia missouriensis) produce a similar restoration effect among glades, rocky grasslands found in south central Missouri. The following six inoculation treatments were set up in three sites: live inocula soil from well-restored glade sites, sterilized glade soil as a control, inoculated S. scoparium, uninoculated S. scoparium, inoculated R. missouriensis, …

The Relationship Between Diet And Evolution In Primates, Tori Spencer

Show Your Stripes Research and Creative Showcase

This literature review investigates the evolutionary relationship between diet and primate physiology, using both human and non-human primates as evidence of past and present examples. Special attention is devoted to physiological factors shaped by diet that have and may still cause differences between primate groups. Diet has heritable markers and can predisposition individuals to change both physically and behaviorally. Diet in primates appears to play a role in the teeth placement, brain size, shape and chemistry, taste and olfactory sense, to name a few. This information can be used to identify future human features that may continue to evolve as …

Selecting Phycoremediators For Consortia, Tori Spencer

Show Your Stripes Research and Creative Showcase

Bioremediation is the process by which organisms remove and transform toxic compounds in a contaminated source. This is a waste management technique currently used to clean up man-made contamination. Many organisms act as natural remediators; in the case of algae, they are called phycoremediators who perform phycoremediaton. The term algae encompasses a variety of taxonomic groups and their diversity is still being realized; there are over 44,000 named species of the 72,000 species that we have identified. Some estimates calculate that there are over 200,000 diatom species alone. This diversity continues to be difficult to organize, which is problematic for …

Imaging Fluorescent Proteins In Plant Cells: A 12-Week Research-Project Oriented Cell Molecular Biology Laboratory, Michael Grubb, Bridget Mbula

Show Your Stripes Research and Creative Showcase

When plants are attacked by pathogenic fungi, plants defend themselves by "chewing" the fungal cell wall. Chitin, a main component of the fungal cell wall, is released and recognized by the plant cells to activate the innate immune response in the whole plant. The objective of this study is to investigate the cellular localization of the proteins encoded by two chitin-induced genes, Annexin 1 (ANN1) and SNAP33, from the genetic model Arabidopsis thaliana. The full-length cDNA (excluding stop codon) of ANN1 and SNAP33 were amplified from cDNA template and cloned into a binary vector pMDC83 to form a translational fusion …

The Relationship Between Insect Visitors And Chemical Fragrance Composition Of Cypripedium Parviflorum Var. Pubescens In Central Virginia., Ruth Elkins

Student Scholar Showcase

Due to its rarity, little is known regarding which insects pollinate Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens, large yellow lady slipper orchids, and why they do so when offered no reward. Insect identification and fragrance composition data have been collected from two populations of large yellow lady slippers in Central Virginia for more than a decade. This research analyzed data in order to determine potential relationships between visiting insects and fragrance compositions of the orchid. The results of this research can be used to establish and protect populations of Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens.

Abiotic Stress And Anthocyanins Biosynthesis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Carolanne Bekus

Student Scholar Showcase

Crops and farmers today are facing unprecedented challenges due to the changing environment. The plants of the future need to be hardy to survive harsh environmental conditions such as increased temperature, and prolonged droughts. It is imperative to understand the mechanisms plants employ to protect themselves under these types of stresses. Anthocyanins are pigments of the flavonoid subclass produced by plants. They impart red to purple color to flowers, fruits, and seeds. They also have antioxidant properties and they contribute to stress tolerance in plants. They are understood to be produced under abiotic stresses in order to protect the plant. …

The Perception Of Head Impacts Sustained By Collegiate Baseball Catchers: A Pilot Study, Caleb Johnston

Student Scholar Showcase

Repetitive subconcussive head impacts have been studied in a variety of contact sports and have been found to impair performance in football, soccer, hockey, and lacrosse athletes. To our knowledge no one has investigated the frequency of head impacts in the sport of collegiate baseball. To date, athlete perceived number of head impacts and actual head impacts recorded during participation have not been compared. A sample of 3 baseball catchers from one National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III baseball team were studied.Our results indicated perceived game impacts did not differ from actual game impacts (t₂=1.76, P=.23; …

Comparative Methodology For Analyzing Nitric Oxide Production In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages In Response To Lipopolysaccharide Treatment, Cassandra Robertson

Student Scholar Showcase

The purpose of this experiment is to develop comparative methodology for analyzing RAW 264.7 murine macrophage responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These results will yield two endpoints relative to nitric oxide production: nitrites in solution from the Greiss assay, and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The RAW 264.7 cell line is a standard culture model of macrophage activity and stimulation with LPS induces inflammatory reactions. This process has evolved to kill ingested pathogens and activate local immune responses, including the production of nitric oxide, synthesized by iNOS. RAW 264.7 cells are stimulated with LPS doses from 1 …

A Chemical In Filter Paper Interferes With Trail Following Behavior In The Termite Reticulitermes Hesperus (Banks), Kathryn Vest

Student Scholar Showcase

Termites follow chemical trails. In previous experiments we dissolved and diluted chemicals in acetone to test if they elicited trail following. Each trail was a straight line across the arena drawn with 10 µl using a glass capillary (Microcaps). We noticed a minor but stable response to trails laid with pure acetone. The response could be caused by contaminated acetone or by a chemical in the filter paper (Watman #5) that lined our arena (petri dish, 10cm diameter). We could confirm that the termites respond to acetone alone. Soxkhlet extraction for 8 hours removed the signal from the filter paper. …

Functional Movement Patterns And Perceived Mobility In Collegiate Lacrosse Athletes, Christopher J. Rosenborough

Student Scholar Showcase

Context: The stress on the body from sport participation may play a role in an athlete’s ability to function throughout a season. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of a non-traditional lacrosse fall season on functional movement patterns for both males and females. Our second objective was to observe how collegiate lacrosse athletes perceived mobility.

Methods: Fifty males (age=19.38+1.24 years, height=182.63+6.16 cm, mass=82.37+8.46 kg) and 22 females (age=19.68+1.17 years, height=165.10+6.88 cm, mass=64.09+8.72 kg) who participated on National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III lacrosse teams volunteered to participate. Independent variable was time (pre, post). …

Age Status Effects On Female Silk Production And Male Courtship Response In Dolomedes Scriptus, Joseph Osborne

Student Scholar Showcase

Female Dolomedes scriptus, the striped fishing spider, serve as model organisms exhibiting pheromone production as a means of chemical signaling. Previous work has shown that male fishing spiders are responsive to female silk, and preferentially court in the presence of silk from mature virgins. In our research, we hypothesized that mature females produced larger quantities of silk than penultimate females in an attempt to elicit greater male mating response. Female spiders of both age statuses were kept for two days in a gridded tank. Sub-sampling of silk lines that crossed a random portion of the grid produced results signifying …

Lipoarabinomannan From Mycobacterium Smegmatis Stimulates An Inflammatory Response In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages, Aysha Zaman

Student Scholar Showcase

Macrophages are a key leukocyte in defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The precise mechanism by which M. tuberculosis evades host macrophage defenses remains unknown, so understanding how macrophages interact with cell wall components of mycobacteria is critical. Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) is a glycolipid Toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) ligand found on the cell wall of mycobacteria, and is thought to contribute to the cell wall structural integrity. When LAM binds to TLR on host leukocytes, this activates cellular responses and phagocytosis by host macrophages. Nitric oxide production can be used as a measure of inflammatory response and can be evaluated via nitrite response …

Co-Occurrence Of Manganese Oxidase Genes Indicates Lateral Transfer Between Classes Of Proteobacteria, Jacob Olichney

Student Scholar Showcase

Pseudomonas putida GB-1 is a model organism for the study of manganese oxidation in bacteria, however, the frequency of co-localization of multiple known and suspected manganese oxidizing proteins, as well as their occurrence between species, is unknown. Eight different genes isolated from known manganese oxidizing bacteria (MnxG, MopA, McoA, PputGB1_2552, PputGB1_2553, MoxA, MofA, and Bacillus MnxG) were tested individually using BioPython and BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) on multiple genomic databases. BLAST searches had an expect value cutoff of 1e-50, limiting gene homologs to those with high sequence similarity. The abundance of homologous genes across classes of proteobacteria point …

Effect Of Environmental Conditions On Biomass Of Symplocarpus Foetidus, Christy Lemay

Student Scholar Showcase

Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage) is an obligate wetland plant that occurs sporadically in wetlands throughout Virginia. Its life cycle is well studied with flowers budding in late January to early February through a process known as thermogenesis that heats the soil surrounding the plant. Pollination of fruits by flies and distribution of fruits/seeds through wildlife. Leaves appear in March with full growth above ground by early May. The leaves die back by July. Reproduction and distribution is sensitive to disturbance and environmental factors such as soil moisture, hydrology, and seed distribution. We collected environmental data in eight designated wetland plots …

Macrophage Infiltration And Activation In Old And Young Skeletal Muscle Following Lengthening Contractions, Jamie P. Kaluhiokalani, Jacob R. Sorensen, Robert D. Hyldahl

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2019

•Human skeletal muscle is capable of robust regeneration following damage. •Muscle repair following injury is dependent on the timely activity of pro-inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory, pro-regenerative (M2) macrophages. Following acute muscle injury, healthy skeletal muscle experiences a rapid and vigorous inflammatory response. •Macrophages clear necrotic tissue and facilitate satellite cell behavior through the secretion of cytokines and growth factors. •It is known that aged muscle experiences poor regenerative potential following injury, but the cause is not well-understood.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate macrophage behavior in old and young people in the context of muscle damage.

Hypothesis: …