Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Metamemory Vary By Task Difficulty, Tiffanie T. Li

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Metamemory is broadly defined as the awareness of one’s memory and consists, in part, of a process referred to as monitoring, where one is assessing the contents of their memory. Feeling of knowing (FOK) is one metamemory monitoring judgment where one rates how strongly they believe they will remember a currently unrecalled item. Prior work has shown that HighDefinition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) led to greater metamemory accuracy and that HD-tDCS over the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) led to better recall for medium difficulty questions. Other work has also shown that effects …

A Causal Inference Approach For Spike Train Interactions, Zach Saccomano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1960s, neuroscientists have worked on the problem of estimating synaptic properties, such as connectivity and strength, from simultaneously recorded spike trains. Recent years have seen renewed interest in the problem coinciding with rapid advances in experimental technologies, including an approximate exponential increase in the number of neurons that can be recorded in parallel and perturbation techniques such as optogenetics that can be used to calibrate and validate causal hypotheses about functional connectivity. This thesis presents a mathematical examination of synaptic inference from two perspectives: (1) using in vivo data and biophysical models, we ask in what cases the …

Studying Lake Surface Temperature Variabilities At Regional And Global Scales Using Remote Sensing And In-Situ Observations, Abdou Rachid Bah

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Surface temperature changes can be effectively monitored by employing remote sensing thermal infrared (TIR) data, offering advantages such as improved spatial and temporal coverage. Notably, this approach enables observation without disturbing the studied object and overcomes accessibility challenges in the study regions. The study utilizes remotely sensed data from Landsat 8, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R series (GOES-R), and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) thermal infrared bands. These satellite TIR data are instrumental in model development and understanding patterns and processes in environmental systems. In my dissertation, I employed remote sensing tools, specifically Landsat 8, GOES-R, and MODIS Aqua temperature …

Biomolecular Crystals As Functional Materials, Fahmeed Khan Sheehan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The field of supramolecular chemistry has undergone significant evolution over the last few decades, progressing from fundamental studies of self-assembling systems to the rational design of functional materials with exceptional properties. Among these materials, short peptides have emerged as a chemically simple yet highly versatile class of biomimetic compounds. Initially, short peptides were used as model systems to understand larger protein interactions. As the field progressed, short peptides were found to have exceptional functionality, and are now explored as functional nanomaterials for diverse applications. In many cases, short peptide materials have displayed properties not found in biology, in some cases …

Neurochemical Signaling Of Reward-Based Learning In Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons, Kyla F. Wholley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons signal and participate in reward-related learning. Specifically, dopamine is postulated to encode reward-related environmental stimuli to compute reward prediction errors (RPEs). It is through the computation and maintenance of RPEs that learning occurs. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms that underlie how dopamine neurons compute RPEs and facilitate reward-related learning. The present study utilized fiber photometry in conjunction with a Pavlovian reward-based task to identify how GABA inputs to VTA dopamine neurons contribute to the computation of RPEs and reward-based behavior. Activity of GABA inputs to VTA dopamine neurons increased for reward-predicting …

Adaptive Evolution Of Surface Proteins In Microbial Pathogens: Lyme Disease Pathogens (Borreliella Sp.) And Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (Hiv-1), Li Li

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cell and virion surface proteins are key to the survival and adaptation of microbial pathogens by enabling them to evade host immune responses and to persist in diverse environments. Pathogens respond to host immune pressures with genetic changes in surface proteins through mechanisms including point mutations, recombination, gene duplication and loss, and lateral gene transfer, resulting in novel antigenic variants and antigenic diversity. This continuous adaptation helps pathogens evade host immunity, leading to chronic infections and recurrent disease outbreaks. Understanding these mechanisms is vital for developing effective strategies to combat infectious diseases.

This dissertation comprises three chapters exploring the adaptive …

The Effect Of Alpha Binaural Beats On Virtual Reality Experiences, Andronikki C. Gerohristodoulos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS), a subset of motion sickness, has been a long-term obstacle preventing comfortable experiences in virtual reality (VR). There is a growing body of research showing that binaural beats (BBs) have been effective to influence aspects of cognition. The goal of this experiment was to investigate the possible effects of attending to BBs and any changes to the severity of VIMS symptoms following immersion in a virtual reality environment (VRE). To validate our hypothesis a repeated-measures, between-subjects experiment was designed (n=16) and an alpha (10Hz) frequency BB and a control audio were created. Participants were split …

Towards Sociobiogeochemistry: Critical Perspectives On Anthropogenic Alterations To Soil Nitrogen Chemistry Via U.S. Urban And Suburban Development, Christopher D. Ryan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The ecological impacts of changes to land use are relevant to concerns about climate change, eutrophication of waterbodies, and reductions in biodiversity. As a foundational component of ecosystem functioning, changes to soil biogeochemistry have significant effects on overall ecosystem health. With cities continuing to grow and develop in extent, the impacts of urbanization and suburbanization on soils are of particular concern. Despite a wide range of natural climatic and geologic conditions, several factors have driven similar patterns of land transformation and management across the United States. In particular, federal initiatives including the Home Owners Loan Corporation, the Federal Housing Administration, …

Avian Symbionts Of Sulawesi: Identifying And Correlating Malaria Parasites And The Microbiome In Communities Of Endemic Avian Hosts, Rachael Joakim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the evolution of complex organisms, there have been communities of symbionts inhabiting them. Thanks to the development of parallel sequencing techniques, DNA of entire microbial communities can be sequenced from a single sample. Some microbes can be parasitic in nature, such as Haemosporida, an order of eukaryotes causing malaria. While most symbionts form a more commensal host relationship in wild systems, host-symbiont dynamics can vary in pathogenicity based on biotic and abiotic factors. In vertebrates, microbial communities in the gut play a major role in host function, including immune responses to Haemosporida. Though this relationship is most commonly explored …

Nanoparticles For Applications In Specific Diagnostics And Precision Medicine, Naxhije Berisha

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Heterogeneity is common in the expression of cancer and treatment response. Precision medicine enables healthcare providers to tailor medical care to an individual's distinct genetic and environmental makeup. This customization has the potential to result in more efficient treatments while minimizing side effects. We believe that by studying the interface of nanotechnology and cancer medicine we can elucidate innovative solutions that address the challenges of disease heterogeneity. This includes advancements in drug delivery, formulations development, and diagnostic sensing. We highlight three studies that use nanotechnology for applications in precision medicine. In Chapter 2, we highlight design optimization of drug formulations …

Stereospecific Cross-Coupling Reactions Of Enantioenriched Secondary Alkyltricyclohexyltin Nucleophiles, Meruyert Binayeva

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions have evolved into a remarkable instrument for the formation of new bonds, and have significantly impacted how we approach to access complex organic molecules. Palladium is currently one of the most popular elements for catalytic applications due to its ability to facilitate powerful carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom couplings. Traditional Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions have primarily concentrated on C(sp2)-C(sp2) cross-couplings, yielding planar products. Considering the use of C(sp3) nucleophiles would offer a viable control of the three dimensional arrangement in molecules. Herein, the first chapter details the history and development of Pd-catalyzed Stille cross-coupling reactions. The use of configurationally …

Analyzing The Effects Of Data Variability & Volume On Predicting Particulate Matter (Pm2.5): Insights From A Machine Learning Approach, Jada A. Macharie

Theses and Dissertations

Accurately predicting PM_2.5 concentrations are imperative to the future of public health and environmental policies. Machine learning models incorporating spatial and temporal datasets to predict PM_2.5 are often limited by data availability constraints and poor resolution satellite imagery.

Gene Flow And Isolation In The Arid Nearctic Revealed By Genomic Analyses Of Desert Spiny Lizards, Carlos J. Pavón-Vázquez, Qaantah Rana, Keaka Farleigh, Erika Crispo, Mimi Zeng, Jeevanie Liliah, Daniel Mulcahy, Alfredo Ascanio, Tereza Jezkova, Adam D. Leaché, Tomas Flouri, Ziheng Yang, Christopher Blair

Publications and Research

The opposing forces of gene flow and isolation are two major processes shaping genetic diversity. Understanding how these vary across space and time is necessary to identify the environmental features that promote diversification. The detection of considerable geographic structure in taxa from the arid Nearctic has prompted research into the drivers of isolation in the region. Several geographic features have been proposed as barriers to gene flow, including the Colorado River, Western Continental Divide, and a hypothetical Mid-Peninsular Seaway in Baja California. However, recent studies suggest that the role of barriers in genetic differentiation may have been overestimated when compared …

Through Their Eyes: Illuminating The Nature Of Animal Use In Conservation Research Through An Analysis Of Peer-Reviewed Literature In The Journal Conservation Biology, Sarah Hollmann

Theses and Dissertations

Non-human animals habitually have been treated as a resource in the service of humans and human-driven values. The field of conservation is not immune to this fact. But, because conservation is seemingly dedicated to the saving and protection of species and nature, until recently the field historically has been given a pass for the use and treatment of animals that are done “in the name of conservation”. This treatment is evident in common conservation practices such as capture, captivity, invasive sampling, aversive treatment, experimental manipulation, and intentional killing. A principal question we are asking is how individual animals are impacted …

Description Of Gastrophryne Elegans (Boulenger, 1882) Tadpole From The Rainforest Of Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico, Víctor H. Jiménez-Arcos, Rafael Alejandro Calzada-Arciniega, Bruno Cortés-Ortiz, Christopher Blair

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Pioneering Plant Metabolomic Library Of Indonesian Plants For Research, Conservation, Capacity Building And Economic Development, Isabel Armas, Ernawati Sinaga, Nonon Saribanon, Noverita, Alvira Noer Effendi, Chairil Rohadi, Hanifa Nur Adilah, Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Ilya Raskin

Publications and Research

Indonesia, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, is undergoing mass deforestation, exacerbating climate change and leading to accelerated loss of species. This project addressed the urgent need to conserve endangered Indonesian biodiversity. Specifically, the potentially life-saving bioactive compounds harbored within its plants. A group of Indonesian researchers from Universitas Nasional (UNAS) in Jakarta received training in RApid Metabolome Extraction and Storage (RAMES) technology, an ethical, low-impact, field-deployable and cost-effective methodology developed by Rutgers University. The team of Indonesian scientists used this technology to create the first metabolomic library of Indonesian plant species and an easily transportable collection containing 501 …

Drosophila Parasitoids Go To Space: Unexpected Effects Of Spaceflight On Hosts And Their Parasitoids, Jennifer Chou, Johnny R. Ramroop, Amanda M. Saravia-Butler, Brian Wey, Matthew P. Lera, Medaya L. Torres, Mary Ellen Heavner, Janani Iyer, Siddhita D. Mhatre, Sharmila Bhattacharya, Shubha Govind

Publications and Research

While fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and humans exhibit immune system dysfunction in space, studies examining their immune systems’ interactions with natural parasites in space are lacking. Drosophila parasitoid wasps modify blood cell function to suppress host immunity. In this study, naive and parasitized ground and space flies from a tumor-free control and a blood tumor-bearing mutant strain were examined. Inflammation-related genes were activated in space in both fly strains. Whereas control flies did not develop tumors, tumor burden increased in the space-returned tumor-bearing mutants. Surprisingly, control flies were more sensitive to spaceflight than mutant flies; many of their …

South America Holds The Greatest Diversity Of Native Daisies (Asteraceae) In The World: An Updated Catalogue Supporting Continental-Scale Conservation, Andrés Moreira-Muñoz, Marcelo Monge, Mariana A. Grossi, Fabio Andrés Ávila, Vanezza Morales-Fierro, Gustavo Heiden, Berni Britto, Stephan Beck, Jimi N. Nakajima, Vanina G. Salgado, Juan Facundo Rodríguez-Cravero, Diego G. Gutiérrez

Publications and Research

Asteraceae is the world’s richest plant family and is found on all continents, in environments ranging from the coast to the highest mountains. The family shows all growth forms and, as in other angiosperm families, species richness is concentrated in tropical regions. South America has the highest diversity of Asteraceae in the world, yet taxonomic and distributional knowledge gaps remain. This study compiles an updated catalog of Asteraceae native to South America, based on national and regional checklists and ongoing large-scale flora projects. The resulting checklist includes a total of 6,940 species and 564 genera native to South America to …

Time-Efficient Filtering Of Imaging Polarimetric Data By Checking Physical Realizability Of Experimental Mueller Matrices, Tatiana Novikova, Alexey Ovchinnikov, Gleb Pogudin, Jessica C. Ramella-Roman

Publications and Research

Motivation: Imaging Mueller polarimetry has already proved its potential for biomedicine, remote sensing, and metrology. The real-time applications of this modality require both video rate image acquisition and fast data post-processing algorithms. First, one must check the physical realizability of the experimental Mueller matrices in order to filter out non-physical data, i.e. to test the positive semi-definiteness of the 4 × 4 Hermitian coherency matrix calculated from the elements of corresponding Mueller matrix pixel-wise. For this purpose, we compared the execution time for the calculations of (i) eigenvalues, (ii) Cholesky decomposition, (iii) Sylvester’s criterion, and (iv) coefficients of the characteristic …

Investigating The Roles Of Dapk, P53/Cep-1, And Mitochondrial Damage In Necrotic Neurodegeneration In C. Elegans, Anil Singh

Dissertations and Theses

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., with minority groups, suffering higher fatality rates. Stroke is caused by ischemia, where occlusion of blood supply to the brain results in neurodegeneration. Most of the damage is attributed to excitotoxicity, where an accumulation of the neurotransmitter glutamate in the synapse overstimulates postsynaptic neurons and ultimately leads to cell death (largely by necrosis). Stroke treatments are often ineffective, due to the delay between the onset of stroke and the delivery of effective treatment. To address this, we focus our study on putative later-acting mediators of excitotoxicity such as …

Atm-/-Ung-/- Mice Present Reduced Levels Of Switched Immunoglobulin Isotypes Igg1 And Igg3, Lyric M. Haughton

Dissertations and Theses

B cells excise and recombine the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene locus during class switch recombination (CSR). CSR is mediated by activation induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and results in a new immunoglobulin isotype that B cells will secrete and present. AID produces mutations that convert cytosines to uracils within the intronic switch regions that precede and follow the target immunoglobulin isotype coding sequence. To resolve the mutations, B cells conduct either base excision repair (BER) or mismatch repair (MMR). Inactivating genetic mutations in BER or MMR reduce CSR. For example, a knock-out of uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) causes a 50% reduction …

Synthesis Of Novel 5-Aryl 2’-Deoxyuridine And 2’-Deoxycytidine Analogues, Kevin E. Persaud

Dissertations and Theses

Briefly, the following report details a synthetic route to prepare 5-phenyl-2’-deoxycytidine analogues. This multistep synthesis began with silyl protection of the 3’- and 5’-hydroxyl groups of 5-iodo-2’-deoxyuridine. Next, the installation of a phenyl ring at the C5 position of the nucleobase via a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction, yielding 5-phenyl-2’-deoxyuridine (5-PdU). After that, modification of the obtained 5-PdU at the C4 position was performed with benzotriazole-1-yl-oxy-tris-(dimethylamino)-phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (BOP, a peptide-coupling agent) and a base (cesium carbonate) to activate the amide group of the uridine nucleobase for subsequent displacement with a variety of amines. Modification of the C4 position resulted in protected 5-phenyl-2’-deoxycytidine …

The Role Of The Vibrio Cholerae Type Vi Secretion System During Kin Cell Interaction, Biofilm Formation And Priority Effects, Karen A. Castro

Dissertations and Theses

Vibrio cholerae’s Type VI secretion system (T6SS) is one of the arsenals used by the bacteria for its long-term survival in different environments, against a variety of opponents, and for its maintained pathogenicity in vulnerable regions of the world. Therefore, the more we understand about the activity of the T6SS, the closer we get to understanding its role in bacterial competition; inter-and-intra, and how this shapes a bacterial niche. Further, although the probiotic-like effect in the V. cholerae vaccine is described to work fast due to niche uptake hindering colonization of toxigenic strains, it is not yet clear if there …

The Effect Of Nanoconfined Liquid Properties On The Water-Responsive Behavior Of Bacterial Cell Walls, Seungri Kim

Dissertations and Theses

Water-responsive (WR) materials have the ability to mechanically swell and shrink in response to changes in relative humidity (RH). These WR materials are used by many biological systems to perform essential tasks; for example, pinecones use WR materials to release their seeds in dry environments, and wheat awns open and close to propel seeds into the soil, driven by daily RH changes. The WR actuation of some biomaterials is extremely powerful, for example Bacillus subtilis cell walls display record-high actuation energy and power densities of 72 MJ m^-3 and 9.1 MW m^-3, surpassing those of all existing …

Celestial Bodies, Rebecca L. Rand, Mark Popinchalk

Capstones

Most of us will never come close to touching space. But space touches us every day. On Celestial Bodies, journalist Rebecca Rand and astronomer Mark Popinchalk explore the ways outer space interacts with life on earth.

In Episode 1, hosts Rebecca Rand and Mark Popinchalk explore how, for millions of years, trees have been recording celestial events in space. Within the rings of their trunks, trees store radiation from solar flares, supernovae, and changes in the earth’s magnetic field. The hosts talk to Dr. Ben Pope to learn more about what we can discover by looking at radioactive molecules …

Where Did All The Bed Bugs Go?, Lauren Friedman

Capstones

In the early 2000s in New York City, everyone was talking about bed bugs. The disc-shaped, bloodsucking pests had been a common domestic nuisance up to the World War II era, but in the decades since, they’d mostly faded into obscurity. That was until bed bug infestations, which are often psychologically distressing and sometimes impossible to overcome, suddenly became routine across the five boroughs, driving people from their apartments and stoking fear about everything from upholstered theater seats to thrift stores.

But then, just as quickly as bed bugs had invaded, they seemed to fade away. In a 2022 study …

Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And Cannabidiol Effect On Dopamine Transporter Expression And Function, Delia M. Guzman

Student Theses

Drug addiction is a major endemic crisis in the United States with a higher prevalence than any other country. Marijuana and hallucinogens make up a great percentage of the drugs of abuse in Americans ranging from 15 to 64 years old. Marijuana contains over 500 active compounds that contribute to its effects, the major components being delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Understanding the pharmacological mechanism as well as the effects that they elicit through the dopaminergic reward system is a key factor in being able to understand why addiction is so prevalent in our society. This research was aimed to …

The Method Development And Validation Of Designer Benzodiazepines In Oral Fluid Using Solid Phase Extraction And Lc-Ms/Ms, Jenna L. Monsell

Student Theses

Oral fluid is a useful biological matrix. Collection is non-invasive, quick, observable, and its correlation between oral fluid and blood drug concentration make oral fluid an important matrix to use as a roadside test. Designer benzodiazepines have become increasingly popular over the years, adversely affecting motor skills and leading to driving under the influence. Many previous studies have focused on the method development and validation of designer benzodiazepines in blood and hair but fail to validate a method to detect designer benzodiazepines in oral fluid. This study focuses on the method validation of 13 designer benzodiazepines in oral fluid using …

Insights Into The Molecular Roles Of Foxr2 In The Pathology Of Primary Pediatric Brain Tumors, Rajendra Gharbaran

Publications and Research

Forkhead box gene R2 (FOXR2) belongs to the family of FOX genes which codes for highly conserved transcription factors (TFs) with critical roles in biological processes ranging from development to organogenesis to metabolic and immune regulation to cellular homeostasis. A number of FOX genes are associated with cancer development and progression and poor prognosis. A growing body of evidence suggests that FOXR2 is an oncogene. Studies suggested important roles for FOXR2 in cancer cell growth, metastasis, and drug resistance. Recent studies showed that FOXR2 is overexpressed by a subset of newly identified entities of embryonal tumors. This review discusses the …

Diminazene Aceturate-Induced Cytotoxicity Is Associated With The Deregulation Of Cell Cycle Signaling And Downregulation Of Oncogenes Furin, C-Myc, And Foxm1 In Human Cervical Carcinoma Hela Cells, Rajendra Gharbaran

Publications and Research

Diminazene aceturate (DIZE) is an FDA‐listed small molecule known for thetreatment of African sleeping sickness. In vivo studies showed that DIZE may bebeneficial for a range of human ailments. However, there is very limited informationon the effects of DIZE on human cancer cells. The current study aimed to investigatethe cytotoxic responses of DIZE, using the human carcinoma Hela cell line. WST‐1cell proliferation assay showed that DIZE inhibited the viability of Hela cells in adose‐dependent manner and the observed response was associated with thedownregulation of Ki67 and PCNA cell proliferation markers. DIZE‐treated cellsstained with acridine orange‐ethidium and JC‐10 dye revealed cell …