Life Sciences Commons^™

A Review Of Theropithecus Oswaldi With The Proposal Of A New Subspecies, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Eric Delson, Chalachew Mesfin Seyoum

Publications and Research

Theropithecus oswaldi darti, as currently understood, is the oldest Theropithecus taxon in the fossil record and the earliest subspecies in the Theropithecus oswaldi lineage. Theropithecus oswaldi darti is typified at the site of Makapansgat in South Africa, and a similar form (T. o. cf. darti) is usually recognized at Hadar, Dikika, some Middle Awash localities, and Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia. This taxon is also tentatively believed to occur in Kenya at Kanam and Koobi Fora and in Member C of the Shungura Formation in Ethiopia. While there is a general consensus that the East African ‘darti’ specimens are …

Comparison Of Hydrolysis Efficiency And Performance Of Four Recombinant Β- Glucuronidase Enzymes For The Detection Of Opioids In Urine Samples By Lc-Ms/Ms, Christina Fernandez

Student Theses

The United States has been experiencing a nationwide public health crisis since introducing prescription opioids in the 1990s. A central problem with opioids is their highly addictive nature causing a dose-dependent respiratory depression leading to overdoses and deaths. Drug overdose deaths have risen in the past two decades, with opioids being the dominant driver of this epidemic. Given the circumstances, accurate and efficient confirmatory analysis of opioids in urine is essential to monitoring patients’ compliance and preventing drug diversion in clinical and forensic settings. The development of recombinant β-glucuronidases allows for the hydrolysis of glucuronidated opioids using a shorter incubation …

Extraction Of Challenging Forensic Samples Using The Microgem Dna Extraction Kit, Falyn R. Vega

Student Theses

In forensic science, DNA extraction can be a tedious and resource-intensive process. Extraction with Proteinase K is an industry standard but has its drawbacks, such as requiring multiple ionic detergents and washing steps. MicroGEM has developed a new enzyme called forensicGEM that is temperature-dependent and compatible with mesophilic enzymes, offering complete DNA extraction in about 20 minutes in a single tube, limiting contamination, loss of sample, and working time. ForensicGEM can extract DNA from highly degraded samples, potentially leading to more complete STR profiles. Highly degraded tissue and bone samples were collected and extracted with the forensicGEM …

Leveraging Local Perturbations To Map Allosteric Networks Of Phosphatases, Tamar (Skaist) Mehlman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Allostery is central to regulation of protein function, but our mechanistic understanding remains incomplete. A deeper understanding of how redistributions of conformational states drive allostery in proteins could allow us to better grasp natural regulatory principles in cells and open new doors to therapeutic development. Conformationally dynamic human Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases (PTPs) exemplify the challenges and opportunities associated with allostery. The archetypal PTP, PTP1B, has been highly validated as a therapeutic target but no allosteric inhibitors have been approved for clinical use. This is largely because our understanding of the mechanisms underlying allostery in PTP1B remains limited, despite the discovery …

Statistical And Biological Analyses Of Acoustic Signals In Estrildid Finches, Moises Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Acoustic communication is a process that involves auditory perception and signal processing. Discrimination and recognition further require cognitive processes and supporting mechanisms in order to successfully identify and appropriately respond to signal senders. Although acoustic communication is common across birds, classical research has largely disregarded the perceptual abilities of perinatal altricial taxa. Chapter 1 reviews the literature of perinatal acoustic stimulation in birds, highlighting the disproportionate focus on precocial birds (e.g., chickens, ducks, quails). The long-held belief that altricial birds were incapable of acoustic perception in ovo was only recently overturned, as researchers began to find behavioral and physiological evidence …

Into The Unknown: Exploring The Role Of Uncertainty In Threat-Safety Discrimination, Maia Kinney-Petrucha

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Learning to predict the arrival of threat is crucial to survival. Key to this learning process is the ability to discriminate between which stimuli signify safety and which signify threat. The extent to which a threat is uncertain impacts this ability, but which factors of uncertainty are primarily responsible remains unresolved. Uncertainty at the level of the stimulus can be examined in threat learning paradigms by adjusting threat reinforcement rate, referring to the frequency at which a cue is reinforced with an aversive stimulus. Previous research has shown that a continuous (more certain) threat reinforcement is associated with enhanced threat …

Modulatory Effects Of Schreckstoff On The Startle Escape Response Of Goldfish (Carassius Auratus), Denis Shor

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fish face a variety of stressors in nature, a prominent one being a predatory threat to which they respond with an adaptive behavioral response thus maximizing their chances of survival. A primary anti-predatory behavior is a startle response or C-start. This behavior is controlled by two large reticulospinal neurons, the Mauthner cells (M-cells) which integrate multimodal sensory inputs. Detecting a predator involves various sensory information such as visual and mechanosensory cues but also olfaction. Indeed, following an attack, an injured fish will release an alarm pheromone (Schreckstoff) and thus acutely alert close by conspecifics. However, whether the alarm pheromone in …

The Effects Of Music Therapy On Elderly Adults With Dementia, Jeante J. Jackson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As people age, the brain is more susceptible to changes that diminish cognitive function. In recent years neuroscience has found convergent evidence between music therapy and brain architecture, as it has shown the generation of new connections in the brain or a reorganization and possible strengthening of existing connections already in the brain. However, the literature regarding music training’s effects on executive control, selective attention, and speech processing is lacking particularly when it comes to older populations.

This study investigated Verbal Working Memory, Visuospatial Attention and Task Initiation, and Auditory Selective Attention in a 91-year-old adult (B.P.) diagnosed with dementia. …

The Development Of Novel Radioimmunoconjugates For The Pet Imaging And Radioimmunotherapy Of Cancer, Samantha M. Sarrett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Antibodies have long played a vital role in nuclear medicine for both the diagnosis and therapy of various malignancies. The role and development of antibodies in nuclear medicine can be broadly separated into three different categories: 1) bioconjugation strategies, 2) immunoPET imaging, and 3) radioimmunotherapy. This dissertation will attempt to comprehensively cover each of these categories through a series of studies, protocols, and reviews. For the bioconjugation strategies, we will describe the development of a novel site-selective bioconjugation strategy using an innovative lysine-targeting reagent, PFP-bisN₃, to prepare [⁸⁹Zr]Zr-^SSKDFO-pertuzumab for visualizing HER2+ breast cancer. Further, …

Targeting Hif/Coregulator Complexes In Cancer: Characterizing Fragile Fold And Inhibitor Binding Sites Of Arnt, Xingjian Xu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are transcription factors that play crucial roles in regulating adaptive cellular responses to low oxygen concentrations (hypoxia). Structurally, HIFs are heterodimers composed of one of three α-subunits (HIF-1α, -2α, and -3α) and a β subunit (HIF-β, also known as ARNT), with the heterodimerization mediated by the tandem PAS domains (PAS-A and PAS-B) found within both proteins. Dysregulation of the HIF pathway has been implicated in various types of cancers, contributing to cancer cell survival, tumor growth and progression, and resistance to therapies, resulting in poor treatment outcomes. As such, HIF-specific inhibitors have been extensively investigated as novel …

Characterization Of Boreal-Arctic Vegetation Growth Phases And Active Soil Layer Dynamics In The High-Latitudes Of North America: A Study Combining Multi-Year In Situ And Satellite-Based Observations, Michael G. Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examined the seasonal freeze/thaw activity in boreal-Arctic soils and vegetation physiology in Alaska, USA and Alberta, Canada, using in situ environmental measurements and passive microwave satellite observations. The boreal-Arctic high-latitudes have been experiencing ecosystem changes more rapidly in comparison to the rest of Earth due to the presently warming climatic conditions having a magnified effect over Polar Regions. Currently, the boreal-Arctic is a carbon sink; however, recent studies indicate a shift over the next century to become a carbon source. High-latitude vegetation and cold soil dynamics are influenced by climatic shifts and are largely responsible for the regions …

Illuminating The Drivers Of Genomic Diversification In Lamprologine Cichlids Of The Lower Congo River, Naoko P. Kurata

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Freshwater fishes are extraordinarily diverse, considering their available habitats represent a tiny proportion of the earth’s surface. Rivers connect heterogeneous habitats in a linear form and provide excellent simplified models to understand how aquatic biodiversity evolves. In particular, the lower Congo River (LCR) in west Central Africa consists of a dynamic hydroscape exhibiting extraordinary aquatic biodiversity, endemicity, and morphological and ecological specialization. This system is thus an excellent natural laboratory for understanding complex speciation and population diversification processes. In my research, I explore various drivers of diversification, and adaptive evolution in rheophilic lamprologine cichlids endemic to the LCR, including Lamprologus …

Multi-Target Ligand-Guided Selection (Ligs) Against B-Cell Specific Antigens Expressed In A Single Lymphoma Cell Population, Nicole B. Williams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Nucleic acid ligands called aptamers are single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules which fold into functional three-dimensional structures to facilitate their target binding with high affinity and specificity. The method used to generate aptamers is an in vitro process called Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX). A variant of SELEX, cell-SELEX has been used to select aptamers against cell-surface proteins in their native state. We recently introduced a novel method called Ligand-Guided Selection (LIGS) to identify aptamers against cell-surface markers. Herein, we expanded LIGS method into a multiplexing platform to partition multiple aptamers against B-cell-specific antigens, CD19 and CD20, …

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Studies Investigating The Role Of The Dlpfc In Memory And Metamemory, Casey M. Imperio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Metamemory, broadly defined as knowledge about one’s own memory, is thought to consist of two separate processes, monitoring, the ability to assess the contents of your own memory, and control, altering behavior in service of memory, that work together to aide in encoding and retrieval processes. Prior work has shown that metamemory monitoring accuracy can be improved in a semantic memory task via high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Over three experiments, the current dissertation sought to replicate and extend this work by: 1) testing the effects …

Metabolic Reprogramming In Kras-Driven Cancer Cells, Ahmet Hatipoglu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cancer cells require nutrient uptake for anabolic reactions needed for cellular growth and proliferation. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key regulator of cellular growth that links nutrient availability and growth factor signals. mTOR mediated signaling pathways are often dysregulated in a wide range of cancers. We previously reported that KRas-driven cancer cells sense exogenous lipids via de novo production of phosphatidic acid, which ultimately activates both mTOR complexes – mTORC1 and mTORC2. Activated mTORC2 phosphorylates the survival kinase Akt at Ser 473 which is required for full Akt activation. A direct substrate of Akt and a major …

Effects Of Climate Change On Human Health, Sara El Houzaly, Richa Gupta

Publications and Research

The effects of climate change are evident worldwide as average global land and air temperatures have been rising, glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking with the concomitant rise in sea levels, extreme weather events have become more frequent, and oceans are warming and acidifying. Humanity is facing a big environmental challenge which not only impacts our habitat but will also have ramifications on our health. The present review describes a detailed examination of the scientific evidence proving the relationship between climate change and various fatal human diseases in different geographical regions. Our findings indicate that variations in the patterns of …

Multichannel Modulation Of Depolarizing And Repolarizing Ion Currents Increases The Positive Rate-Dependent Action Potential Prolongation, Candido Cabo

Publications and Research

Prolongation of the action potential duration (APD) could prevent reentrant arrhythmias if prolongation occurs at the fast excitation rates of tachycardia with minimal prolongation at slow excitation rates (i.e., if prolongation is positive rate-dependent). APD prolongation by current anti-arrhythmic agents is either reverse (larger APD prolongation at slow rates than at fast rates) or neutral (similar APD prolongation at slow and fast rates), which may not result in an effective anti-arrhythmic action. In this report we show that, in computer models of the human ventricular action potential, the combined modulation of both depolarizing and repolarizing ion currents results in a …

Roles For Mycobacterial Dinb2 In Frameshift And Substitution Mutagenesis, Pierre Dupuy, Shreya Ghosh, Allison Fay, Oyindamola Adefisayo, Richa Gupta, Stewart Shuman, Michael S. Glickman

Publications and Research

Translesion synthesis by translesion polymerases is a conserved mechanism of DNA damage tolerance. In bacteria, DinB enzymes are the widely distributed promutagenic translesion polymerases. The role of DinBs in mycobacterial mutagenesis was unclear until recent studies revealed a role for mycobacterial DinB1 in substitution and frameshift mutagenesis, overlapping with that of translesion polymerase DnaE2. Mycobacterium smegmatis encodes two additional DinBs (DinB2 and DinB3) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis encodes DinB2, but the roles of these polymerases in mycobacterial damage tolerance and mutagenesis is unknown. The biochemical properties of DinB2, including facile utilization of ribonucleotides and 8-oxo- guanine, suggest that DinB2 could be …

Examining Transcriptional Regulators During Muscle Development In Drosophila Melanogaster, Chaamy Yapa

Student Theses and Dissertations

In Drosophila melanogaster embryos, a distinct approach to study the transcriptional regulation is to examine the larval somatic muscle development. Transcription factors are essential regulatory proteins that help to control gene expression and respond to signaling pathways and various cues. Today, there are at least twenty transcription factors that have been discovered to contribute to the development of the 30 distinct larval somatic muscles in each abdominal hemisegment of Drosophila melanogaster. Several studies have already been conducted on muscle regulatory transcription factors including midline and apterous. These transcription factors were shown to control the development of muscles through mutant …

Validating A New In Vivo Model To Study Als, Izabela J. Cimachowska

Student Theses and Dissertations

Buildup of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are well known characteristics of both sporadic and hereditary amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). While both forms of the disease seem to arise from common cellular dysfunction, the genetic disease is studied to a much greater extent. Engineering novel animal models of the sporadic form of the disease is crucial for development of druggable targets to treat ALS and understand the underlying mechanisms. Interestingly, accumulation of oxidative stress by exacerbated emission of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from presynaptic mitochondria is a hallmark of both hereditary and sporadic ALS. Previous work by our laboratory showed …

The Effects Of Glycolytic Mutations In Drosophila Melanogaster Muscle Development, Coco Lim

Student Theses and Dissertations

Muscle atrophy, or muscle wasting, is caused due to lack of physical activity for an extended period of time, due to muscle diseases (such as muscle dystrophies), cancer chemotherapies, and aging. It is also extensively found on astronauts after spaceflight, particularly missions of long durations. Muscle cells are dependent on different metabolic pathways to optimize Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production to compensate for muscle exertion. Glycolysis converts glucose into ATP producing pyruvate, which can be sent into the citric acid cycle or converted to lactate (lactic acid). Muscles preferentially use lactate production, despite the fact that fewer molecules of ATP are …

Physics 422 Spring 2023 Syllabus, Ronald Koder

Open Educational Resources

Spring 2023 course syllabus for Physics 422, Biophysics, at the City College of New York

Physics 422 Spring 2023 Syllabus - Medical Physics, Ronald Koder

Open Educational Resources

This is the Spring 2023 syllabus for Physics 315, Medical Physics, at CCNY

Course Project Overview Biology 1400, General Biology Ii, Kristin Polizzotto

Open Educational Resources

This open pedagogy assignment is a semester-long project for an introductory general biology course for biology majors. Working in pairs or small groups, students will make a 3 to 5 minute video explaining concepts from the course learning objectives. Students will apply a creative commons license and publish their videos on CUNY Academic Works (or another appropriate platform), where they will be available to future introductory biology students as learning resources.

Learning outcomes:

At the end of this project, students will be able to do the following:

• Effectively teach a concept from the course to a general audience
• Identify and …

Introduction To Human Biology, Sharon S. Ellerton, Christopher Roblodowski

Open Educational Resources

This OER is intended as a textbook for a one semester introductory course in Human Anatomy and Physiology for non-science majors. It covers the major topics typically covered in A&P, but in a simplified, easier to understand manner. This textbook aims to educate students interested in lower-level health careers and non-science majors without the intimidating detail found in current textbooks. Text and images were created to be more accessible for these student populations.

Biotechnology Lab Manual Course Bi-453, Sarbani Ghoshal, Nidhi Gadura

Open Educational Resources

The purpose of the lab manual is to acquaint undergraduate students with hands-on training on key laboratory experiments needed to gain expertise in Biotechnology, Cell & Molecular Biology.

Genetic Determinants Involved In Acquisition Of Iron In The Opportunistic Pathogen Mycobacterium Abscessus, Manal F. Farhat

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The opportunistic pathogen Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus (Mab) has become an emerging public health threat due to the increasing number of Mab-associated chronic pulmonary disease cases. Infection cure rates are only 50% due to the complex resistance of Mab to most antimicrobial drugs and chemotherapy.

Deeper knowledge of Mab biology is needed to illuminate potential candidates for development of improved therapeutics against Mab infections. The ESX-3 type VII protein secretion system of Mab plays an important role in host inflammatory and pathological responses during infection.

In this study, we demonstrate a functional link between the ESX-3 secretion …

Civil Society Organizations Serving Children In Vietnam: Opportunities And Constraints Working With Government Agencies, Trang P. Kelly

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When Vietnamese civil society organization (CSO) administrators manage their relationships with government authorities to ensure children receive social services, they operate under Vietnam’s complex political, socioeconomic, and cultural constraints in environments where the Vietnamese government employs soft power to control CSOs and their donors. This study adds to the literature on the nature of CSO in Vietnam. It details the current imbalance of power between state-sponsored organizations (SSOs) and non-SSOs and provides an updated view of how Vietnamese non-SSOs mix social, economic, and political roles as employers and advocates.

Combining a qualitative exploratory and interpretative case study, I address a …

Dendritic Spine Density And Morphology In The Dorsolateral Striatum Following A High Fat Diet, Tikva Nabatian

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Obesity rates have been dramatically rising in recent years and in 2017-2018 more than 42% of adults in the United States were obese. Obesity is associated with numerous health problems, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, insulin resistance, and type II diabetes. The prevalence of highly palatable and calorically dense foods high in fats and sugars is a significant factor in the increase in obesity rates. Many suggest that palatable food affects the brain in ways similar to drugs of abuse, reinforcing the consumption of highly palatable foods in the same way drugs reinforce drug use. While numerous weight loss programs and …

Quantifying Psychostimulant-Induced Sensitization Effects On Dopamine And Acetylcholine Release Across Different Timescales, Georg Lange

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Drug-induced behavioral sensitization describes the phenomenon that behavioral response to a drug of abuse is getting stronger if the same psychostimulant is delivered multiple times which is much more pronounced if done in the same environmental context. A proposed neural basis is the formation of an association between contextual cues and the rewarding drug which is mediated by dopamine. Dopamine operates at different timescales and to fully understand dopamine sensitization, it is necessary to investigate dopamine release at slow (tens of minutes) but also faster (sub-second) timescales. But creating a holistic view has been difficult due to a lack of …