Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Binding Affinity Between Bovine Serum Albumin And Platinum Drugs, Nathan Puckett

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Platinum complex drugs such as cisplatin have been used as highly successful chemotherapy drugs since the 1970s. We are interested in how the ligands attached to cisplatin analogs influences their reactivity with biologically relevant targets along with time and amount. For this study, reactions were conducted to determine the reactivity between different platinum compounds and the protein bovine serum albumin. Various platinum compounds with different ligands were reacted in varying amounts with albumin in ammonium acetate buffer for either 1 hour, 4 hours, or 24 hours. Each reaction was quenched after the designated reaction time by dialysis and the platinum …

Optical Backscattering Measured By Airborne Lidar And Underwater Glider, James H. Churnside, Richard D. Marchbanks, Chad Lembke, Jordon Beckler

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The optical backscattering from particles in the ocean is an important quantity that has been measured by remote sensing techniques and in situ instruments. In this paper, we compare estimates of this quantity from airborne lidar with those from an in situ instrument on an underwater glider. Both of these technologies allow much denser sampling of backscatter profiles than traditional ship surveys. We found a moderate correlation (R = 0.28, p < 10⁻⁵), with differences that are partially explained by spatial and temporal sampling mismatches, variability in particle composition, and lidar retrieval errors. The data suggest that there are two …

Large-Scale Deposition Of Weathered Oil In The Gulf Of Mexico Following A Deep-Water Oil Spill, Isabel Romero, Gerardo Toro-Farmer, Arne R. Diercks, Patrick Schwing, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Steven Murawski, David Hollander

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The blowout of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) drilling rig in 2010 released an unprecedented amount of oil at depth (1,500 m) into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Sedimentary geochemical data from an extensive area (∼194,000 km2) was used to characterize the amount, chemical signature, distribution, and extent of the DWH oil deposited on the seafloor in 2010–2011 from coastal to deep-sea areas in the GoM. The analysis of numerous hydrocarbon compounds (N = 158) and sediment cores (N = 2,613) suggests that, 1.9 ± 0.9 × 104 metric tons of hydrocarbons (>C9 saturated and aromatic fractions) were deposited in …

The Use Of Molecular Dynamics Simulations To Predict Thymine Dimer Formation In Histone Bound Dna, Emily Ann Brune Heinsen

CUP Undergraduate Research

Thymine dimers are the major lesions in DNA that are caused by environmental conditions that can lead to apoptosis or can become carcinogenic (Schreier, et al., 2007). These dimers form when the pi electrons of one thymine in a neighboring thymine pair is excited by a photon from UV light, and occurs on the picosecond time scale (Schreier, et al., 2007). Due to the ultrafast nature of this reaction, the thymines must be in proper conformation prior to excitation in order for the reaction to take place. The proper conformation for the reaction has been found to occur when the …

Effects Of Ph20 Hyaluronidase Inhibition In Vivo Following Cerebral White Matter Injury, Rachel E. Siltman

CUP Undergraduate Research

Human infants born prematurely between 23-32 weeks have a predisposition toward sustaining white matter injury (WMI). In survivors of preterm birth, hypoxic-ischemic (H-I) damage to the cerebral white matter is the leading cause of a spectrum of neurological and motor deficits and in severe cases, cerebral palsy (CP). H-I triggers extracellular matrix (ECM) breakdown leading to production of inhibitory ECM components. H-I also induces vigorous proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) leading to accumulation of the pre-oligodendrocytes (preOLs). However, these preOLs fail to differentiate and generate myelin producing oligodendrocytes (OLs). Mechanistically, ECM breakdown blocks repair and regeneration of myelin following …

Student Misconceptions About Plants – A First Step In Building A Teaching Resource, April N. Wynn, Irvin L. Pan, Elizabeth E. Rueschhoff, Maryann A B Herman, E Kathleen Archer

Biological Sciences Research

Plants are ubiquitous and found in virtually every ecosystem on Earth, but their biology is often poorly understood, and inaccurate ideas about how plants grow and function abound. Many articles have been published documenting student misconceptions about photosynthesis and respiration, but there are substantially fewer on such topics as plant cell structure and growth; plant genetics, evolution, and classification; plant physiology (beyond energy relations); and plant ecology. The available studies of misconceptions held on those topics show that many are formed at a very young age and persist throughout all educational levels. Our goal is to begin building a central …

Correlated Mutation In The Evolution Of Catalysis In Uracil Dna Glycosylase Superfamily, Bo Xia, Yingling Liu, Jose Guevara, Jing Li, Celeste Jilich, Ye Yang, Liangjiang Wang, Brian N. Dominy, Weiguo Cao

Publications

Enzymes in Uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) superfamily are essential for the removal of uracil. Family 4 UDGa is a robust uracil DNA glycosylase that only acts on double-stranded and single-stranded uracil-containing DNA. Based on mutational, kinetic and modeling analyses, a catalytic mechanism involving leaving group stabilization by H155 in motif 2 and water coordination by N89 in motif 3 is proposed. Mutual Information analysis identifies a complexed correlated mutation network including a strong correlation in the EG doublet in motif 1 of family 4 UDGa and in the QD doublet in motif 1 of family 1 UNG. Conversion of EG …

Monitoring Anuran Populations In Bosque Protector Candelaria: A Multi-Year Comparison Of Frog Populations In An Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, Mindee Goodrum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For many years, amphibian populations around the world have been declining due to climate change, habitat loss or change, and diseases such as Ranavirus or the Chytrid fungus. However, there is still a great lack of information regarding the diversity of frogs, especially in the cloud forests of Ecuador where this study was conducted. This study was conducted in April and May of 2017 in the Ecominga Reserve of Cerro Candelaria in El Placer, Ecuador. The objective was to conduct visual-encounter surveys of several sites in the reserve and compare the results to studies that have been conducted in the …

Eassistant: Cognitive Assistance For Identification And Auto-Triage Of Actionable Conversations, Hamid R. Motahari Nezhad, Kalpa Gunaratna, Juan Cappi

Kno.e.sis Publications

The browser and screen have been the main user interfaces of the Web and mobile apps. The notification mechanism is an evolution in the user interaction paradigm by keeping users updated without checking applications. Conversational agents are posed to be the next revolution in user interaction paradigms. However, without intelligence on the triage of content served by the interaction and content differentiation in applications, interaction paradigms may still place the burden of information overload on users. In this paper, we focus on the problem of intelligent identification of actionable information in the content served by applications, and in particular in …

Herpetoplogical Survey Across Three Distinct Habitats In Ankarana National Park: Long-Term Effects Of Past Land Use On Species Composition In And Around The Park, Julia Park

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ankarana National Park is home to a diverse population of herpetofauna. In this study, three distinct habitats in and around Ankarana National Park were surveyed for herpetological diversity. These habitats were defined as the deciduous forest located within the “tsingy” limestone karst canyons, the dry deciduous forest outside of the canyons, within the borders of the park, and the anthropogenically affected forest outside of the park’s borders, which is subject to logging and fruit tree harvesting. A total of 27 species of herpetofauna – six amphibian and 21 reptile species were found over the course of twelve days of surveying …

Understanding The Effects Of Propionic Acid On Listeria Monocytogenes Growth, Survival, And Virulence, Elizabeth A. Abrams

Honors Theses

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that causes illnesses with a high fatality rate immunocompromised and elderly individuals. It colonizes the human intestine, which contains low levels of oxygen but high levels of fermentation acids. This work investigates how that environment affects various aspects of Listeria pathogenesis. Based on these results, we can ascertain whether propionate supplementation can be explored as an effective method of protecting individuals from Listeria infection.

Understanding Patient Safety Reports Via Multi-Label Text Classification And Semantic Representation, Chen Liang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Medical errors are the results of problems in health care delivery. One of the key steps to eliminate errors and improve patient safety is through patient safety event reporting. A patient safety report may record a number of critical factors that are involved in the health care when incidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions occur. Therefore, clinicians and risk management can generate actionable knowledge by harnessing useful information from reports. To date, efforts have been made to establish a nationwide reporting and error analysis mechanism. The increasing volume of reports has been driving improvement in quantity measures of patient safety. …

Black Bugbane & The Blues: Interactions Between Our Wildflower Of The Year And The Insect World, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

No, this article has nothing to do with American Roots music. Black Bugbane is one of several common names for the 2017 VNPS Wildflower of the Year, Actaea racemosa. And Blues refers to a subfamily of lycaenid butterflies, commonly referred to as Blues or Azures. The interactions between Black Bugbane, a.k.a., Black Cohosh, Appalachian Azure butterflies (Celastrina neglectamajor), and ants was recently summarized by VNPS charter member and past president Nicky Staunton (2015). In brief, Black Bugbane is the sole food source for caterpillars of Appalachian Azure butterflies, a situation that, superficially, might seem like any other caterpillar and host …

Consumer Sensory Evaluation And Chemical Composition Of Beef Gluteus Medius And Triceps Brachii Steaks From Cattle Finished On Forage Or Concentrate Diets, A. Chail, Jerrad F. Legako, L. R. Pitcher, Robert E. Ward, Silvana Martini, Jennifer W. Macadam

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of cattle finishing diet and muscle type on meat quality. Consumer sensory response, proximate composition, Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF), fatty acid composition, and volatile compounds were assessed from the gluteus medius (GM) and triceps brachii (TB) muscles of cattle (n = 6 per diet) which were grain-finished (USUGrain) on conventional feedlot or 2 forage diets, a perennial legume, birdsfoot trefoil-fin-ished (USUBFT; Lotus corniculatus), and grass-finished (USUGrass; Bromus riparius). Diet had an interacting effect with muscle for all sensory attributes (P ≤ 0.002), except aroma and flavor (P ≥ 0.078). In …

Abiotic Conditions Of Rare Pitcher's Thistle Attract Selection By An Invasive Weevil, Monica Paniagua Montoya

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Plant associations occur when host selection of a focal plant is reduced or increased by the presence of another plant species. Larinus planus is an invasive weevil whose larvae feed in the flower heads of native and federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri). Studies have linked the presence of neighboring plants to increased host selection of Pitcher’s thistle by the weevil, but the factors contributing to host selection remain unknown. In our study, we determined if there were differences among abiotic factors, host selection and weevil behavior at Pitcher’s thistles surrounded by beach grass, sand and at high …

Understanding The Patterns Of Distribution And Abundance Of Lyme Disease Carrying Ticks And Their Hosts, Julio Ruiz

Honors Theses

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgodorferi and spreads to their hosts by the bites of infected Ixodes scapularis ticks. In the United States, Lyme disease is typically found in the northeast but in recent years the disease has begun to be found further south and west than previously before. Yet, today, little information can be found about the patters of distribution and abundance of ticks and their host. The main goal of this research work was to expand the knowledge of the abundance and distribution of ticks and host. Based on tick collection data obtained from Maikis …

Proteomic Profiling Of Vetiver Grass (Chrysopogon Zizanioides) Under 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (Tnt) Stress, Padmini Das, Dibyendu Sarkar, Rupali Datta

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Vetiver grass is an ideal plant for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) phytoremediation, due to its ability to tolerate and metabolize TNT as previously reported. The current study is the first attempt to investigate the changes in the proteomic profile of a plant under TNT stress. Vetiver plants were grown in nutrient media with varying concentrations of TNT (0, 25, 50, and 100 mg L−1) for 10 days. Although the plants appeared healthy, significant biomass reductions (p = 0.0008) were observed in treated plants. Total proteins in the root decreased significantly (p = 0.0003). Proteomic analysis of root proteins revealed the downregulation of …

A Balanced Approach To Adaptive Probability Density Estimation, Julio Kovacs, Cailee Helmick, Willy Wriggers

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Our development of a Fast (Mutual) Information Matching (FIM) of molecular dynamics time series data led us to the general problem of how to accurately estimate the probability density function of a random variable, especially in cases of very uneven samples. Here, we propose a novel Balanced Adaptive Density Estimation (BADE) method that effectively optimizes the amount of smoothing at each point. To do this, BADE relies on an efficient nearest-neighbor search which results in good scaling for large data sizes. Our tests on simulated data show that BADE exhibits equal or better accuracy than existing methods, and visual tests …

Impact Of Fertilizer, Corn Residue, And Cover Crops On Mycorrhizal Inoculum Potential And Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Associations, Rachel Brockamp

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2017

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) can associate with roots of most land plants, helping to take up water and nutrients. Intensive agricultural practices like fallow treatments and adding inorganic nutrients reduce soil AMF. The purpose of my research was to examine whether three factors influenced AMF-crop associations: 1) fertilizer type and application rate 2) inclusion of cover crops that do or do not associate with AMF, and 3) impacts of corn residue. Soil Mycorrhizal Inoculum Potential (MIP) was measured to test treatment differences. MIP is the ability for soil AMF to infect roots. Roots grown in soil from the different treatments …

Clinical Applications Of Near-Infrared Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy And Tomography For Tissue Blood Flow Monitoring And Imaging, Yu Shang, Ting Li, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective. Blood flow is one such available observable promoting a wealth of physiological insight both individually and in combination with other metrics.

Approach. Near-infrared diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) and, to a lesser extent, diffuse correlation tomography (DCT), have increasingly received interest over the past decade as noninvasive methods for tissue blood flow measurements and imaging. DCS/DCT offers several attractive features for tissue blood flow measurements/imaging such as noninvasiveness, portability, high temporal resolution, and relatively large penetration depth (up to several centimeters).

Main results. This review first introduces the basic principle and instrumentation of DCS/DCT, followed by presenting …

Fibroblast Reticular Cells Engineer A Blastema Extracellular Network During Digit Tip Regeneration In Mice, Luis Marrero, Jennifer Simkin, Mimi Sammarco, Ken Muneoka

Biology Faculty Publications

The regeneration blastema which forms following amputation of the mouse digit tip is composed of undifferentiated cells bound together by an organized network of fibers. A monoclonal antibody (ER‐TR7) that identifies extracellular matrix (ECM) fibers produced by fibroblast reticular cells during lymphoid organogenesis was used to characterize the ECM of the digit, the blastema, and the regenerate. Digit fibroblast reticular cells produce an ER‐TR7⁺ ECM network associated with different tissues and represent a subset of loose connective tissue fibroblasts. During blastema formation there is an upregulation of matrix production that returns to its pre‐existing level and anatomical pattern in …

Integrating The Field Of Prebiotic Chemistry Into A Christian Worldview, Matthew B. Anderson

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis will provide an overarching examination into the scientific field of prebiotic chemistry, the purported chemistry of the formation of life on earth. Prebiotic chemistry is a critical area of science particularly for Christian scientists to study since it is used by many evolutionists as evidence for the evolution of life, rather than the formation by an intelligent designer. Extensive literature-based research from previously published articles will be conducted on the formation of biologically necessary molecules, including amino acids. Primary focus will be placed on the formation of amino acids in a primordial earth environment, first demonstrated by the …

Comparison Of The Kinematics And Muscle Responses During Obstacle Avoidance In People With Stroke, Cody Migliore

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Insights Into Stat5 Biology, Taylor Millar

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Characterizing Two Bestrophin Mutants Of Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Camille I. Prejean

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Localization Of The Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator In Retinal Amacrine Cells, Jordan Renschler

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Immunohistochemical Comparison Of Retinal Cell Populations In An Aquatic Predator Species And A Terrestrial Prey Species That Share A Common Evolutionary Ancestor, Nikka Khorsandi

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Urban Soils In Response To Flooding, Katherine Henry

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Secrets Of Sines: The Story Of Platy-1 Propagation In The Saimiri Lineage, Sarah Brantley

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Development Of An In Vivo Assay For Acetyl-Coa Carboxylase Using 1,3,6,8- Tetrahydroxynapthalene Synthase, Sarah Bond

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.