Life Sciences Commons^™

Cultivating Algae To Generate Pufas, And Macromolecules Using Struvite And Stress Factors, Alejandro Torres

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural and municipal wastewaters contain vital elements necessary for algal growth (i.e., N, P, Mg, K). One way to capture these elements, in an environmentally friendly way, is through struvite production (NH4MgPO4·6H2O), however, this process is costly to implement. High-value secondary commodities coupled to struvite production can enable implementation of this nutrient capture strategy for agricultural and municipal wastewater systems. In this study, struvite was tested as a nutrient source for cultivation of high-value algal biomass with the main focus on high-value lipids such as Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). We compared the growth of microalgal strains C. …

Automating Pharmacokinetic Predictions In Artemisia, Celin Younan

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Pharmacokinetics (PK) is the time course of a compound in the body that is dependent on mechanisms of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion or ADME. A thorough understanding of PK is essential to predict the consequences of organisms exposed to chemicals. In medicine, predictions of PK of drugs allows us to properly prescribe drug treatments. In toxicology, PK allows us to predict the potential exposure of environmental contaminants and how they may affect organisms at the time of exposure or in the future. Chemical ecology could benefit from computational predictions of PK to better understand which plants are consumed or …

The Role Of Decorin And Biglycan In Cns Angiogenesis And Eae Recovery, Kristina Chapman

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a severe demyelinating disease of the Central Nervous System (CNS) associated with an autoimmune response directed against myelin antigens. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting ones, is a vital process for tissue regeneration and wound healing but is a pathological hallmark of both MS and an MS mouse model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). This type of aberrant angiogenesis is a fundamental event during an inflammatory injury, which is mutually dependent upon the intrusion of inflammatory molecules, disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and immature vessel formation. In the EAE recovery phase, this process …

Understanding Temporal Dynamics Of Plant Specialized Metabolites In Response To Simulated Browsing In Winter, Bryanna Hope Bright

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Plants are continually defending themselves from the herbivores that consume them, often using an array of plant specialized metabolites (PSMs). Volatile organic compounds, including monoterpenes, are one such type of PSMs that can be emitted and induced by plants in response to mechanical damage and herbivory. These volatiles serve as direct defenses against herbivores and can alert neighboring plants about potential threats, resulting in protection against future attacks. However, how these chemicals change over time in response to browsing by vertebrates in the winter has received limited attention and is crucial to interpreting how monoterpenes defend plants against vertebrate herbivores. …

Identifying Sources Of Landscape Variation To Improve Predictions Of Post-Fire Sagebrush Steppe Recovery, Cara Applestein

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Sagebrush steppe ecosystems are endangered landscapes, threated by the annual grass-fire cycle where invasion by annual grasses drives larger fires and larger fires drive invasion. Despite extensive input of resources by land management agencies, restoration of these ecosystems is notoriously variable and difficult to predict. Understanding and accounting for variation is key to effectively allocating limited resources and having success in restoring burned sagebrush landscapes. I utilized Bayesian modeling to assess how variation in weather, seed dispersal, and topography/slope/landscape position affects understanding of post-fire sagebrush-steppe recovery and how we can best incorporate sources of variation into models predicting where plant …

A Coupled Human And Natural Systems Approach To Studying Recreation On Public Lands, Madeline C. Aberg

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Outdoor recreational use has increased rapidly in the western United States in recent years, which provides more people with opportunities to enjoy public lands and benefit from recreation. However, increased recreation can lead to negative social and ecological impacts that degrade both natural resources and the recreation experience. I used a Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) approach to study recreational use at the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA) in southwest Idaho. This approach considers the human and natural systems, feedbacks within the systems, and effects from telecoupled influences outside of the site, which …

Using Nmr Chemical Shift Perturbations To Map Interactions Between Acyl-Acyl Carrier Proteins And Acyl Homoserine Lactone Synthases, Madison N. Rizzo

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

A pandemic of antibiotic resistance is underway and affecting multiple industries, including veterinary, agricultural, and healthcare. High bacterial population density is a major form of defense for bacterial cells against drugs, contributes to antibiotic resistance, and is one of the requirements for the formation of biofilms. Quorum sensing is a form of cell-to-cell communication that both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria use to account for density behavior. When the population density of bacteria reaches a certain level (a “quorum”), there is an observed coordinated shift in gene expression that leads to optimized growth or virulence. Acyl carrier proteins (ACP) and the …

Nutrient Recovery From Wastewater By A Consortium Of Algae Species For Biofuel Production, Edgardo Ayala

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Current energy sources are predominantly petroleum-based and their use increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As the global population grows, and along with it the demand for energy, there is a need to further develop renewable energy sources to avoid the effects of increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations on the climate. Biofuels, a renewable energy source, have gained significant interest as a replacement for petroleum-based fuels due to their environmental benefits and carbon neutrality. Biofuels are expected to make up 9.0% of the total fuel consumption in the U.S. by 2040, up from 7.3% in 2019 [1]. Currently, terrestrial crop-based biofuels …

Anticipating The Impacts Of The Social, Political, And Biophysical Landscape On Long-Term Connectivity For Reintroduced Plains Bison, Jamie Ann Faselt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Intense anthropogenic pressures on the natural environment have created the need for implementing strategies that promote or restore habitat connectivity. The ability for animals to move between habitat patches allows animals to find mates, access resources, and shift their range in response to the changing climate and ensures that ecological and evolutionary processes persist. Connectivity conservation typically focuses on biophysical barriers to animal movement, but for many species reintroductions, establishing and maintaining connectivity often requires overcoming both ecological and socio-political barriers. Despite the need to navigate complex socio-political landscapes to implement connectivity conservation plans, datasets depicting those conditions are rarely …

The Influence Of Visitors, Habitat, And Methodology On Mexican Spotted Owl (Strik Occidentalis Lucida) Occupancy And Detection In A Remote Canyon Environment, Kirsten Fuller

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

National Parks across America play an important role in protecting natural resources and providing access to recreation for visitors. However, these goals may come into conflict as visitation rates rise. Grand Canyon National Park in Northern Arizona is one of the most highly visited parks in the United States, with over 6 million visitors a year. Backcountry hiking and camping are popular activities in the park, and many highly visited hiking trails and campgrounds overlap with known breeding areas of a threatened species, Mexican Spotted Owl. In this thesis, I explore the intersection of recreation and wildlife conservation at this …

Dna Origami Scaffold Development For Digital Nucleic Acid Memory, Sarah Elizabeth Kobernat

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Recently, DNA nanotechnology has emerged as a promising and rapidly expanding method to utilize nucleic acids as a nanoscale building material. DNA origami is a major structural application of DNA nanotechnology, using DNA to construct two- and three-dimensional shapes. These structures have been employed for a variety of uses including DNA data storage. DNA is a promising material to address the impending shortage of silicon-based storage as data demands increase. There are many sequence-based methods of data storage, but digit Nucleic Acid Memory (dNAM) uses DNA origami as a breadboard and is read by super-resolution microscopy instead. dNAM uses DNA …

The Effects Of Mental Training On Acute Psychophysiological Stress Responses In Endurance Athletes, Shelanda Antonia Maria Kujala

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: In sports, pre-competition stress responses can influence performance. Mental skills training is a strategy used to successfully mitigate stress responses and positively impact performance. Psychological (e.g., anxiety) and physiological (e.g., cortisol) stress responses are not often measured in a single study, providing an incomplete picture of athlete experiences. When researchers have measured these constructs together, studies have excluded endurance athletes and ways to effectively buffer stress responses. Purpose: The current study had two aims. 1. How will athlete’s perceptions of stress and physiological markers of stress be related to each other? 2. How will athlete’s perceptions of stress and …

Structure, Function, And Immunogenic Applications Of Ab5-Type Adp-Ribosylating Bacterial Toxins, Elise Marie Overgaard

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs) catalyze the singular transfer of an ADP-ribose moiety from an NAD+ molecule onto a target molecule. ARTs contain an ancient and highly conserved tertiary structure and have a wide variety of intracellular targets and effects. Some, but not all, bacterial ARTs have an AB₅-type multimeric structure consisting of an enzymatically active subunit non-covalently situated atop of a non-toxic pentamer. The active, or A, subunit of AB₅-type toxins has a catalytic action that contributes to bacterial pathogenicity, and it is sometimes, but not always, an ART. ArtAB is an ART with AB₅-type …

Modulation Of Alpha-Crystallin-Membrane Association By Phospholipid Acyl Chain Length And Degree Of Unsaturation, Geraline Trossi-Torres

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. The only treatment for cataracts is the surgical removal of the cataractous lens and the replacement of an intraocular lens. With less availability of treatment and low income, the visual damage caused by cataracts can go untreated. The cataract may develop again after surgery, such as posterior capsule opacification. With age and cataracts, α-crystallin, a significant protein of the mammalian eye lens, is progressively associated with the eye lens membrane. The primary association sites of α-crystallin with the membranes are phospholipids. However, it is unclear if phospholipids’ acyl chain length and degree …

Tibial Compression During Activities Of Daily Living In Young And Older Adults, Elijah Miles Walker

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Stress fracture, particularly in the tibia, is a growing concern among older adults (greater than 65 years). Older adults may have inherent stress fracture risk from ageing-related changes to their musculoskeletal system. Specifically, older adults reduced ankle neuromuscular function may impair their ability to attenuate repetitive compressive forces experienced during daily locomotor tasks and increase the likelihood of suffering bone damage from decreased bone tissue elasticity. Yet, it is currently unknown if older adults exhibit greater tibial compression than their younger counterparts during locomotor tasks. Purpose: This study sought to quantify tibial compression for older and younger adults when …

Improved Computational Prediction Of Function And Structural Representation Of Self-Cleaving Ribozymes With Enhanced Parameter Selection And Library Design, James D. Beck

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Biomolecules could be engineered to solve many societal challenges, including disease diagnosis and treatment, environmental sustainability, and food security. However, our limited understanding of how mutational variants alter molecular structures and functional performance has constrained the potential of important technological advances, such as high-throughput sequencing and gene editing. Ribonuleic Acid (RNA) sequences are thought to play a central role within many of these challenges. Their continual discovery throughout all domains of life is evidence of their significant biological importance (Weinreb et al., 2016). The self-cleaving ribozyme is a class of noncoding Ribonuleic Acid (ncRNA) that has been useful for …

Drought Tolerance Of Artemisia Tridentata In Response To Herbivory And Mycorrhizal Colonization, Mathew Geisler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Interactions with other organisms can affect a plant’s ability to cope with drought. The re-establishment of Artemisia tridentata, a keystone species of the sagebrush steppe, is often limited by summer drought. This study investigated the effect of two biotic factors, herbivory and symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), on the drought tolerance of Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (Wyoming big sagebrush) seedlings. For this purpose, I conducted two separate but concurrent field experiments. The herbivory experiment had three treatments: seedlings without tree protectors and seedlings within Vexar or metal-mesh tree protectors. In the mycorrhizal experiment, all seedlings were within metal-mesh …

Validation Of Non-Invasive Co2 Tolerance Field Test, Joshua T. Murphey

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Breathwork, or the specific act of controlling breathing to elicit a desired outcome, is not only a potential way to improve one’s mental well-being but also to alter adaptative responses through gas exchange at the capillary level. Increasing tolerance to carbon dioxide (CO₂) has been positively correlated with improvement in athletic performance and reduction of stress and anxiety. However, there does not exist a validated non-invasive test to accurately measure one’s tolerance to CO₂. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to validate the only currently known CO₂ tolerance (CO₂T) field test …

Improving The Ribozyme Toolbox: From Structure-Function Insights To Synthetic Biology Applications, Jessica Michelle Roberts

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Self-cleaving ribozymes are a naturally occurring class of catalytically active RNA molecules which cleave their own phosphate backbone. In nature, self-cleaving ribozymes are best known for their role in processing concatamers of viral genomes into monomers during viral replication in some RNA viruses, but to a lesser degree have also been implicated in mRNA regulation and processing in bacteria and eukaryotes. In addition to their biological relevance, these RNA enzymes have been harnessed as important biomolecular tools with a variety of applications in fields such as bioengineering. Self-cleaving ribozymes are relatively small and easy to generate in the lab using …

Effects Of Aging On Patellofemoral Joint Stress During Stair Negotiation On Challenging Surfaces, Nicholas Lynn Hunt

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Patellofemoral pain is an incessant lower limb musculoskeletal disorder that may be underreported in older adults. During common locomotor activities, such as when negotiating stairs, older adults (over the age of 65 years) adopt knee biomechanics reported to increase patellofemoral pain. Negotiating stairs with a challenging surface, such as uneven or slick, may place greater demand on the knee and further exacerbate joint biomechanics related to PFJ stress. Yet, it is unknown if older adults exhibit increases in patellofemoral joint (PFJ) stress when negotiating stairs with challenging surfaces. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect …

Evaluation Of Energy Release From Wildfires Across The Elevation Gradient, Isabelle Rose Butler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wildfires are an integral process in vegetative terrestrial land which shape ecosystem functions. A warming climate, however, has increased the size and severity of fires with significant ecosystem and societal implications. Furthermore, warming has changed characteristics of wildfires enabling a median upslope advance of 252 m in high-elevation forest fires from 1984 to 2017, allowing wildfires to burn in areas that were previously too wet to burn frequently. This exposed an additional 81,500 square kilometers (11%) of western US montane forests to fires.

In this thesis, I test the hypothesis that wildfires burn more intensely in high-elevation mesic forests than …

Biophysical Insights Into The Transport Properties Of Lysenin Channels, Andrew Merlin Bogard

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The defense work focused on deciphering novel functionalities of lysenin channels with respect to adjustment of their regulation and transport properties in response to environmental changes. Lysenin is a pore-forming toxin extracted from the earthworm E. fetida, which self-assembles into large pores in artificial and natural lipid membranes containing sphingomyelin. Prior investigations on their functionality identified strong regulation by voltage and ligands as fundamental traits of lysenin, similar to ion channels. In addition, stochastic sensing, controlled switching, and hysteretic conductance have been added to the list of intricate biophysical properties of lysenin channels as potential enablers of biotechnological and biomedical …

The Effects Of Roads On Movement, Flight Dynamics, Occupancy, And Productivity In Barn Owls (Tyto Alba), Brian Thomas Busby

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are a species of conservation concern in many portions of their cosmopolitan range. One important factor contributing to population declines and sometimes local extirpations is roads, which can cause direct mortality through Barn Owl-vehicle collisions, fragment habitat, limit dispersal and movement, and imperil long-term population viability. However, the effects of roads on Barn Owl reproduction are less clear. Further, the cumulative effects of roads on Barn Owls can be dependent on how they respond to them. Road and traffic responses of animals have been classified into four categories: 1) speeders, who increase speed to …

Effects Of Vegetation Heterogeneity On Multiphasic Treatment Outcomes In Sagebrush Steppe, Rebecca Donaldson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Exotic annual grass invasion into western North America has led to significant loss of native perennials, altering the structure and function of sagebrush-steppe ecosystems. Monitoring and assessment of necessary restoration treatments have provided mixed evidence of success. We hypothesized that treatment outcomes would be influenced by restoration strategy (e.g., the timing of herbicide or drill seeding) and by within-treatment vegetation heterogeneity. We evaluated exotic annual grass and exotic perennial forb response to three replicate treatments of the pre-emergent herbicides indaziflam and imazapic, and a combination treatment of both herbicides, followed with the broadleaf herbicide, aminopyralid, at a highly invaded site …

Modeling Developmental, Molecular, And Behavioral Effects Of An Apolipoprotein-E4 Fragment On The Embryogenesis Of Zebrafish, Madyson Mccarthy

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Although the increased risk of developing sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) associated with the inheritance of the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele is well characterized, the molecular underpinnings of how ApoE4 imparts risk remains unknown. Enhanced proteolysis of the ApoE4 protein with a toxic-gain of function has been suggested and a 17 kDa amino-terminal ApoE4 fragment (nApoE4_1-151) has been identified in post-mortem human AD frontal cortex sections. Recently, we demonstrated in vitro, exogenous treatment of nApoE4_1-151 in BV2 microglial cells leads to uptake, trafficking to the nucleus and increased expression of genes associated with cell toxicity …

Sex, Body Size, And Winter Weather Explain Migration Strategies In A Partial Migrant Population Of American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius), Sadie Claire Ranck

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Partially migratory systems describe populations that consist of both individuals that migrate away from the breeding grounds for the winter, and others that remain resident near their nesting sites year-round. Partial migration is the most common type of migration across all animal taxa, but the evolution, maintenance, and consequences associated with different movement strategies are still poorly understood. Studying the factors that drive migratory strategies and the associated consequences of those decisions is important to understand how migratory animals may adapt to climate change. Partial migrant populations offer a great opportunity for which to study these questions because individuals with …

Gather Round The Tree: Woody Aboveground Biomass Increases Animal Presence And Species Richness In A Tropical Forest-Savanna Ecotone, Merry Vanessa Marshall Davidson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Boundaries between ecosystems are often biodiversity hotspots with relatively high vulnerability to global change. The boundary between tropical rainforest and savanna ecosystems in the Amazon presents an ecotone that is undergoing a shift in ecosystem structure, as a warming climate promotes the expansion of grassland. How animal communities in the Amazon will respond to changes in ecosystem structure is a crucial unanswered question with implications for the many ecosystem services that animals provide, from a food source for Indigenous people to seed dispersal for vulnerable tree populations. Recent modeling work has forecasted that faunal savannization will occur in the Amazon, …

Effects Of Habitat Disturbances On Reptiles In Sagebrush Steppe, Kristina Joan Parker

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Reptiles inhabiting shrub-steppe ecosystems of the Intermountain West have adapted to harsh, unpredictable desert conditions, yet recent changes in disturbance regimes may put species at risk. In southwest Idaho, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has altered the fire regime resulting in a vast conversion of shrub-steppe to mostly annual grasslands that burn too frequently to allow shrublands to recover. Southwest Idaho has the highest reptile diversity in the Pacific Northwest, yet we know little about reptile community dynamics in response to the cheatgrass-fire cycle. We hypothesized that wildfires and cheatgrass negatively affect reptile communities directly (i.e., mortality during fires) and …

Mechanisms For Extracellular Matrix-Dependent Blood-Brain Barrier Dysfunction, Brian Adam Hoettels

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Dysfunction of the blood vessels that form the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is observed across various neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). As barrier loss culminates in neuronal dysfunction and degeneration, a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying BBB dysfunction is needed.

Tight junctions are multiprotein complexes maintained by the endothelial cells lining the inner blood vessel wall to seal the intercellular space, and their disruption impairs BBB function. In my first chapter, I focus on how tight junctions are altered in CNS inflammatory demyelinating diseases (CNS-IDDs) like MS as BBB dysfunction is one of the earliest known stages in …

Liposomes: Production And Applications For Controlled Drug Delivery, Gamid Abatchev

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation recognizes the enormous potential presented by the ever-evolving development of liposomes as drug carriers and seeks to offer further investigation into their useful production and utilization. The first chapter presents the basic principles governing their formation by self-assembly in water solutions, briefly describes the most common production methods, and points out essential past advances that led to their use as drug carriers. Chapter two exemplifies production of liposomes by the traditional methods of extrusion and sonication, detailing passive and active loading, as well as physical characterization by Dynamic Light Scattering, microscopy imaging, and fluorescence spectroscopy. In the next …