Life Sciences Commons^™

Pollinators Differ In Their Contribution To The Male Fitness Of A Self-Incompatible Composite [Data Analysis Files], Avery E. Pearson, Zeke Zelman, Lauryn A. Hill, Mia A. Stevens, Evan X. Jackson, Miyauna M. N. Incarnato, Ren M. Johnson, Stuart Wagenius, Jennifer L. Ison

All Faculty Articles

Premise of the study

Reproductive fitness in plants is often determined by the quantity and quality of pollen transferred by pollinators. However, many fitness studies measure only female fitness, or rely on proxies for male fitness. Here we assess how five bee taxa affect male fitness in a prairie plant by quantifying pollen removal, visitation, and siring success using paternity assignments and a unique experimental approach.

Methods

In Echinacea angustifolia, we measured per-visit pollen removal for each pollinator taxa and estimated the number of pollen grains needed for successful ovule fertilization. Additionally, we directly measured pollinator influence on siring …

Range Beef Cow Symposium Xxvii Proceedings, 2023, Loveland, Colorado

Range Beef Cow Symposium

2023—Range Beef Cow Symposium XXVIII, Loveland, Colorado, presented by the Cooperative Extension Services and Animal Science Departments of University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, South Dakota State University, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Marketing Feeder Calves for Increased Value, Darrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University

Principles for Successful Livestock Grazing Management on Western Rangelands, K. E. Jablonski and K. R. Stackhouse-Lawson, Colorado State University

Ionophores and Reproduction: What is the Benefit for Range Cows and Heifers? J. Travis Mulliniks and Juliana Ranches, Oregon State University, Jacki A.Musgrave and Kacie L.McCarthy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Should We Be Supplementing More Vitamin A to …

White Coat Color Of A Black Angus Calf Attributed To An Occurrence Of The Delr217 Variant Of Mitf, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Renae Sieck, David Steffen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

A white calf, with minimal pigmented markings, was born to two registered Black Angus parents. Given the possibility of an unknown recessive or de novo dominant mutation, whole-genome sequencing was conducted on the trio of individuals. A 3-bp in-frame deletion in MITF was identified; this mutation was unique to the calf but identical to the delR217 variant reported in both humans and murine models of Waardenburg syndrome type 2A and Tietz syndrome. Given the coat color phenotype and identity of the mutation, our data support that this calf represents the first instance of this recurring MITF mutation in cattle.

Influence Of Box Height On Inter-Limb Asymmetry And Box Jump Performance, Marcel Lopes Dos Santos, Ricardo Berton, Jocarol Shields, Chris Bishop, Taylor Dinyer-Mcneely, Olivia Anderson, Jay Dawes

Faculty Publications - Kinesiology and Recreation

Box jumps are often included in training programs as an introductory exercise to novice athletes and untrained individuals and are an efficient option of lower-body explosiveness training. However, it is unclear whether the use of boxes of differing heights affect the inter-limb asymmetry during this exercise. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of box height in inter-limb asymmetry during box jumps. Recreationally active young males (n = 14) and females (n = 16) performed three jumps at boxes that corresponded to approximately 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80% of their individual countermovement jumps. The selected performance …

Measuring Mental Health Service Preferences Amongst Illinois Dairy Producers, Michael Barrowclough, Brianna Messman, Daniel Lannin, Maria Boerngen, Michelle Kibler

Faculty Publications - Agriculture

Objectives

To mitigate mental health concerns of farmers, research is needed to investigate strategies that encourage help-seeking behavior in this population. This study attempts to identify those help-seeking strategies. Six mental health service options were examined.

Methods

A survey, implementing a best-worst scaling choice experiment, was disseminated to members of the Illinois Milk Producers Association. Two methods of analysis were conducted. The first, a count-based method, employs a simple count-based approach to measure the relative preferences for the six mental health service options in question. The second is more complex and employs a latent-class logit regression model to measure individual …

The Effects Of Anthropogenic Modification To The Landscape On Turtle Distribution And Health In South Dakota, Anna C. Kase

Dissertations and Theses

The Missouri River is a dynamic ecosystem that has been affected by anthropogenic modification and activity. The implementation of mainstem dams, reservoir formation, pollution, and non-native species invasions have greatly impacted this habitat and its constituents, particularly the false map turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica). False map turtles are listed as a state threatened species in South Dakota and a focused large-scale assessment of their distribution and health has not been conducted since the 1960s. To address the gap in knowledge of how anthropogenic modifications to the Missouri River have impacted false map turtle distributions and health, the effect of a common …

Cop9 Signalosome Promotes Neointimal Hyperplasia Via Deneddyaltion And Csn5-Mediated Nuclear Export, Samiksha Giri

Dissertations and Theses

Neointimal hyperplasia (NH) is a common pathological response to vascular injury and mediated primarily by vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration and proliferation. The COP9 signalosome (CSN) is formed by 8 canonical subunits (CSN1 through CSN8) with its deneddylation activity residing in CSN5. Each or some of CSN subunits may have deneddylation-independent function but this is not well established. Despite the CSN being known to be a key regulator of protein degradation, its role in vascular biology remains obscure. The present study was conducted to fill these critical gaps.Our immunohistochemistry analyses revealed substantially higher CSN5 levels in the neointimal VSMCs …

Monitoring Movement And Range Expansion Of Silver And Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix, H. Nobilis) In South Dakota Tributaries Of The Missouri River, Lindsey Ann Pearl Labrie

Dissertations and Theses

Invasive species, climate change, human impacts on the landscape, flooding, and drought are all dynamic factors that greatly impact the Missouri River and its tributaries in eastern South Dakota. Invasive Carp, and more specifically, Bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and Silver Carp (H. molitrix), first invaded the Missouri River watershed in eastern South Dakota in the late 1990s and have since spread throughout the basin downstream of Gavin’s Point Dam. The first chapter of this study uses environmental DNA (eDNA) in the context of two major barriers to fish movement in the Vermillion and Big Sioux Rivers to determine potential presence and …

Capacity-Building Project To Progress The Implementation Of International Instruments To Combat Iuu Fishing (Capfish) : Workshop 3, 18-21 October 2022, World Maritime University

Reports

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a complex and multifaceted problem, with dire consequences for aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. It particularly affects developing countries, and is estimated to cost the global economy USD 20 billion each year. This represents foregone taxes, license fees, and revenue from resources that could have been legally exploited. Future opportunities are also lost as fish stocks dwindle and collapse, with knock-on socioeconomic effects. As those involved in IUU fishing seek to cut costs wherever possible, and are often involved in other illegal activities, IUU fishing …

Genome-Scale Quantification Of Target Vulnerability In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Barbara Bosch

Student Theses and Dissertations

Essential bacterial genes orchestrate core biological processes and represent the targets of nearly all antibacterial drugs. Traditional genetic approaches such as knockout studies and transposon mutagenesis have cataloged hundreds of essential bacterial genes but provide no basis on which to identify the most attractive targets for antibiotics. In contrast to the binary definition of gene essentiality, the gene vulnerability is an expression that relates the magnitude of gene inhibition with the resulting impact on bacterial fitness. Partial gene inhibition results in stronger fitness costs for vulnerable genes than invulnerable genes. Understanding vulnerability is critical for prioritizing targets for drug development …

High Order Structures Formed By The Natural Aromatic Amino Acids, Gabriel Alexander Kupovics, Zeina Alraawi

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Excessive concentrations of the natural aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine are characteristic of the severe genetic abnormalities known as phenylketonuria (PKU) and tyrosinemia, respectively. Within this context, this feature article authenticates claims that tryptophan can form amyloid-like supramolecular structures in vitro and is the first to propose potential mechanisms of tryptophan self-assembly, including hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence kinetics and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data suggest the formation of amyloid-like fibrillar structures by natural aromatic amino acids in vitro. Additionally, the propensity of amino acid aggregation increases in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The …

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder And Identity: The Role Of Ego-Dystonicity, Andrea B. Mullin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been linked to a dysmorphic construction of self that is closely tied to mental illness (Bhar & Kyrios, 2007). Although associations have been found, no study has determined the impact of OCD on one's self-perception, to better understand how to resolve patients' dysmorphic construction and fear of oneself. College students (N = 410; M = 20.60, SD = 4.27) completed an anonymous online survey for course credit. The survey consisted of a demographic questionnaire, the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (Foa et al., 2002), theEgo-Dystonicity Questionnaire (Purdon et al., 2007), and the Self-concept Identity Measure (Kaufman et …

Possible Relationship Between Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation And Recovery From Resistance Training, Saagar R. Patel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplementation and recovery from resistance training. Omega-3 Fatty Acids are a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid that is commonly found in marine sources. Omega-3 Fatty Acids are widely known for offering cardiovascular health benefits and for their anti-inflammatory properties, but their role in resistance training recovery is a relatively novel area of research. This review was conducted by qualitatively analyzing a collection of studies that have been published on the relationship between Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplementation and recovery from resistance training in either resistance-trained or untrained …

Effect Of Molecular Crowders On The Activation Of Cholera Toxin By Protein Disulfide Isomerase, Niral Shah

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Cholera toxin (CT) is a classic A-B type protein toxin that has an A subunit (A1 + A2) and a pentameric B subunit. The catalytic A1 domain is linked to the A2 domain via a disulfide linkage. CTA1 must be dissociated from the rest of the toxin to cause a cytopathic effect. Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) can reduce the CTA1/CTA2 disulfide bond, but disassembly of the reduced toxin requires the partial unfolding of PDI that occurs when it binds to CTA1. This unfolding event allows PDI to push CTA1 away from the rest of the toxin.

My research question is …

Investigating The Effects Of Paraquat On Kidney Disease Biomarkers In Hek293 Cells, Zounaira Shahzad

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Farmworkers in Apopka, FL, have been subjected to overhead pesticide exposure since the 1940s. Pesticides including Paraquat (PQ), Metribuzin and Aldicarb were sprayed onto the field while farmworkers worked. In "Fed Up: The High Cost of Cheap Food," farmworkers recalled the physical toll these conditions took on their bodies, blaming pesticides for their diseases, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD). While established that pesticides, specifically PQ, may be involved in some forms of Parkinson's disease, no explicit connection has been identified for SLE, CKD, and other diseases experienced by farm workers. This study evaluated whether pesticides could contribute to kidney …

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Kinesio-Taping In Golf-Induced Chronic Low Back Pain Management, Yushan Zhang

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Kinesio-Taping (KT) in golf-induced chronic low-back pain management. The golfing population continues to grow each year, and the risks of golf-induced chronic low back pain (CLBP) remain high. The Kinesio-taping technique is a non-invasive treatment intervention utilized in sports injury rehabilitation and prevention. Due to the lack of research on KT in golf-related injuries, this study addresses the injury mechanism of golf-induced CLBP and the proposed physiological mechanism and therapeutic effects on the musculoskeletal system of KT. This study is a comprehensive review of the golf swing, prevalence and …

Late Onset Sheehan Syndrome 23 Years After Post-Partum Hemorrhage, Igbayilola Dosunmu, Ali Tariq Alvi, Sarah Kaufman, Ayesha Malik

East Florida Division GME Research Day 2023

Please see supplemental content for full abstract with figures and references.

Sheehan syndrome is defined as ischemic necrosis of pituitary gland following massive postpartum hemorrhage leading to panhypopituitarism. It has an insidious course with multitude of presentations. The majority of cases remain undiagnosed for many years after the delivery with average time following postpartum hemorrhage to diagnosis of Sheehan syndrome is believed to be almost 13 years according to one study. Here, we present a unique case of late onset of Sheehan syndrome 23 years after the last childbirth which was complicated by hemorrhage. To our knowledge, this is the …

A Review On Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles As Efficient And Effective Antidiabetic Agents, Maryam Wahab, Srinivas Janaswamy

Dairy Science and Food Science Faculty Publications: 2022 to Present

The frontiers of nanomedicine are consistently being challenged by the gradually expanding knowledge of the properties of nanoparticles. Toward this end, biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles utilizing natural compounds in plants as reducing and capping agents grabbed considerable attention, in lieu of synthetic hazardous physical and chemical techniques. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has proven safe and effective in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus. Currently, biogenic silver nanoparticles have gained importance as safe and efficient antiglycation agents. Therapeutic strategies by employing nanomedicines from natural sources have been initiated to end the limitations of currently available medications for the treatment …

Observing Ceramide Pathway With Ferroptosis Via Mia Paca-2 Cell Treatment With Rsl3, Tazrin Rahman

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Composed of sphingosine and a fatty acid, ceramides are lipid molecules that serve as key metabolic signaling molecules of a sphingolipid pathway. While it acts as a precursor of complex sphingolipids, inducing ceramide generation can cause cell stress leading to subsequent cell death via apoptosis, necrosis, and even mitophagy. With regards to cell death specifically, a novel form of regulated cell death, ferroptosis, has recently been recognized of necrotic nature. Its unique morphological features and distinct properties have been observed over the last several decades; however, the molecular features were not identifiable as pure evidence of cell death, until recently …

A Vascular Flora Of The Nopah Range, Inyo County, California, Carolyn J. Mills

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The Nopah Range is an arid mountain range of the northern Mojave Desert located just east of Death Valley National Park in southeastern Inyo County, California. The study site is ca. 490 sq. km (189 sq. mi), with elevations ranging from 234 m (767 ft) to 1,949 m (6,394 ft) and includes the Nopah Range as well as portions of the California, Chicago, and Pahrump valleys. The objective of the study was to complete a specimen-based inventory of the vascular plants resulting in the production of an annotated checklist, and to assess the status of rare plant species and possible …

Effects Of Pregnancy And Lactation On Muscle-Tendon Morphology, Nicole Danos, Marjorie Patrick, Jacob Barretto, Francesca Bilotta, Megan Lee

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

Pregnancy and lactation hormones have been shown to mediate anatomical changes to the musculoskeletal system that generates animal movement. In this study, we characterize changes in the medial gastrocnemius muscle, its tendon and aponeuroses that are likely to have an effect on whole animal movement and energy expenditure, using the rat model system, Rattus norvegicus. We quantified muscle architecture (mass, cross-sectional area, and pennation angle), muscle fiber type and diameter, and Young's modulus of stiffness for the medial gastrocnemius aponeuroses as well as its contribution to Achilles tendon in three groups of three-month-old female rats: virgin, primiparous pregnant, and primiparous …

Mutational Analysis Of Mechanosensitive Ion Channels In The Carnivorous Venus Flytrap Plant, Carl Procko, Wen Mai Wong, Janki Patel, Seyed Ali Reza Mousavi, Tsegaye Dabi, Marc Duque, Lisa Baird, Sreekanth H. Chalasani, Joanne Chory

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

How the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) evolved the remarkable ability to sense, capture, and digest animal prey for nutrients has long puzzled the scientific community.1 Recent genome and transcriptome sequencing studies have provided clues to the genes thought to play a role in these tasks.2,3,4,5 However, proving a causal link between these and any aspect of the plant’s hunting behavior has been challenging due to the genetic intractability of this non-model organism. Here, we use CRISPR-Cas9 methods to generate targeted modifications in the Venus flytrap genome. The plant detects prey …

Building Consensus Around The Assessment And Interpretation Of Symbiodiniaceae Diversity, Cawa Tran, Et Al.

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

Within microeukaryotes, genetic variation and functional variation sometimes accumulate more quickly than morphological differences. To understand the evolutionary history and ecology of such lineages, it is key to examine diversity at multiple levels of organization. In the dinoflagellate family Symbiodiniaceae, which can form endosymbioses with cnidarians (e.g., corals, octocorals, sea anemones, jellyfish), other marine invertebrates (e.g., sponges, molluscs, flatworms), and protists (e.g., foraminifera), molecular data have been used extensively over the past three decades to describe phenotypes and to make evolutionary and ecological inferences. Despite advances in Symbiodiniaceae genomics, a lack of consensus among researchers with respect to interpreting genetic …

Changes In The Microbiome Of The Sea Anemone Exaiptasia Diaphana During Bleaching From Short-Term Thermal Elevation, Jamison R. Sydnor, Jamie Lopez, Gordon V. Wolfe, Lisa Ott, Cawa Tran

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

We examined the response of microbial communities in the model sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana (Aiptasia) to short-term thermal elevation. Through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we characterized the microbiomes of symbiotic (with algal symbionts) and aposymbiotic (bleached) anemones under ambient (27°C) and heat-stressed (34°C) conditions for 8-10 days, using both replicated endpoint and non-replicated time-course approaches. Consistent with prior studies, we observed a stable abundance of bacteria from the families Alteromonadaceae and Rhodobacteraceae, though with wide variation among individual anemones. We observed that symbiotic state conferred a larger impact on the microbiome than heat stress, implying the microbiome may play a …

Gestational Vulnerability To Ozone Air Pollution - A Placental Story, Vishnupriya Alavala, Sarah Brent, Russell Hunter, Matthew J. Campen, Andrew Ottens

UROP Posters

About 99% of the global population resides in areas with air pollution surpassing World Health Organization standards. Air pollution is associated with adverse neonatal health outcomes such as low fetal birth weight and an increased risk for maternal pre-eclampsia. A particularly reactive air pollutant is ozone, which forms reactive oxygen species that induce cellular damage. Research exists on the dispersion of reactive oxygen species through the bloodstream leading to fetal vulnerability during pregnancy, specifically via the placenta. Yet, placental and fetal development is a temporal process with varied susceptibility to negative gestational outcomes.

To addressing this gap, our laboratory utilized …

Proposing An Rna Interference (Rnai)-Based Treatment For Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) By Analyzing The Post-Transcriptional Gene Targeting Of Sars-Cov-2, Hepatitis C Virus, And A549 Lung Cancer Cells, Arjun Jagdeesh

UROP Posters

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects CD4+ T cell lymphocytes in humans, leading to the development of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) if left untreated. While current treatment methods, including antiretroviral combination treatments, effectively limit HIV replication, HIV can evade these treatments due to its high mutation rate. Long-term antiretroviral treatment can also be toxic to patients, meaning patients would benefit from a new mechanism of HIV treatment. RNA interference (RNAi) is an antiviral pathway found in mammals, plants, and insects that involves a small-interfering RNA that is incorporated into a protein complex called the RNA-induced Silencing Complex …

Structural Analysis Of Predicted Proteins Using Alphafold, Brydon P. Wall

UROP Posters

The function of around 67% of predicted proteins from genes in Mycobacteriophage CheetoDust can not be confidently predicted using traditional techniques and can only be functionally labeled “hypothetical proteins”. However, a new approach using AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence tool to generate a structural prediction from a sequence, can take advantage of structurally conserved regions that were previously obfuscated to gain new insights and visualize data in new ways.

Since amino acid sequences are more conserved than its corresponding DNA sequence, amino acid sequences are used when predicting the function of the corresponding translated protein. Until recently, predicting structure from an …

Ros And Sfk Signaling Is Required For Development Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells In Zebrafish, Bradley Williams, Erich Damm

UROP Posters

ROS and SFK signaling is required for development of hematopoietic stem cells in zebrafish

Bradley Williams and Erich Damm

Background

Hematopoiesis is the process in which the myriad of mature blood cell types, including erythrocytes and leukocytes, develop from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) throughout the life of an organism. In vertebrates, HSCs originate from endothelial cells lining the floor of the dorsal aorta. This process is referred to as the endothelial to hematopoietic transition and is likely controlled in part by molecular signals from neighboring cells. Investigation into the molecular signaling mechanisms controlling the development of HSCs is critical to …

Clonal Diversity, Antibiotic Resistance, And Virulence Factor Prevalence Of Community Associated Staphylococcus Aureus In Southeastern Virginia, Katelyn D. Cranmer, Mohan D. Pant, Suzanne Quesnel, Julia A. Sharp

EVMS School of Health Professions Faculty Publications

Staphylococcus aureus is a significant human pathogen with a formidable propensity for antibiotic resistance. Worldwide, it is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and infective endocarditis originating from both community- and healthcare associated settings. Although often grouped by methicillin resistance, both methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) strains are known to cause significant pathologies and injuries. Virulence factors and growing resistance to antibiotics play major roles in the pathogenicity of community-associated strains. In our study, we examined the genetic variability and acquired antibiograms of 122 S. aureus clinical isolates from SSTI, blood, and urinary …

Investigation Of Fungal Pathogens And Woodboring Beetles Of Sugarbush Stands In The Central Appalachian Region, Molly A. Sherlock

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The production of maple syrup is a valuable source of income and cultural identity for many rural communities throughout the central Appalachian region. Regardless, maple syrup producers face difficulties maintaining the health and productivity
of their stands due to various impacts of climate change, which have given rise to extreme weather events that exacerbate damage caused by pests and diseases. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the maple syrup industry, it is crucial to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the current biotic threats within the region, particularly woodboring insects and fungal pathogens. However, insufficient information exists regarding the community assemblages …