Life Sciences Commons^™

Forage Grass Growth Habit And Allelopathy In Birdsfoot Trefoil Germination And Establishment, Nathan El Blake

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) (BFT) is a high quality, tanniniferous forage legume that has been shown to mitigate gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection in sheep. Reliable establishment of birdsfoot trefoil in existing pastures is difficult due to BFT’s poor seedling vigor, susceptibility to crown and root rot, and, perhaps chiefly, competition from other pasture plants. Most existing pastures in the Northeastern United States are primarily composed of cool-season grasses, many of which can be highly competitive. A common form of interplant competition is allelopathy, which occurs when secondary metabolites produced by a plant inhibit a necessary growth process of …

Analysis Of Experimental Antimicrobial Prevention Strategies Against Microbial Contamination Of Locally Harvested Poultry And Produce In West Virginia, Rebecca Breanne Stearns

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fresh produce and poultry have been associated with several foodborne illness outbreaks. Strategies to mitigate these risks are a much-needed research priority; therefore, five experiments were conducted to analyze pathogen cross-contamination capabilities on produce and poultry. Microbial contamination prevention and reduction strategies were also studied.

In Chapter Two, three antimicrobial delivery methods in combination with increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide-peroxyacetic acid (H₂O₂-PAA) (0.05-0.25 ml/dL) were compared to evaluate their ability to reduce and prevent cross-contamination of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) and Listeria innocua (L. innocua) on inoculated apples. Apples have been …

In Situ Carbon Uptake Of Marine Macrophytes Is Highly Variable Among Species, Taxa, And Morphology, Julian Jacobs, Lucian Himes, Florybeth Flores La Valle Dr.

Summer Undergraduate Research in Biology Program

Macroalgae form important coastal ecosystems and are considered to be highly

productive, yet individual macrophyte carbon uptake rates are

poorly documented and methodologies for in situ assessments of productivity

are not well developed. In this study, we employ a 13C enrichment method in

benthic chambers to calculate carbon uptake rates and assess d13C signatures of

a large stock of nearshore benthic macroalgae varying in taxa and morphology in

Southern California. Our objectives are to 1) identify the variability of carbon

uptake and inorganic carbon use among individuals of the same species or

morphology and speculate how macroalgae might respond to …

Hybridization And Genetic Distances Suggest One Large Monobaramin In The Gourd Family (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae), Timothy R. Brophy, Jack R. Gregory, Brigitte Townsend

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The gourds form a primarily tropical and subtropical family (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae) of herbaceous climbers and woody lianas composed of approximately 960 species in 95 genera and 15 tribes. Many of these are globally important food crops and ornamentals including cucumbers, gourds, squashes, melons, pumpkins, and luffas. Utilizing published literature, there is evidence of interspecific hybridization (natural, experimental cross-pollination, and embryo/ovule culture) in five of the 15 tribes. These consist of successful crosses between 131 unique species pairs, including two intergeneric and one intertribal cross, forming eight monobaramins. In addition, species that do not hybridize directly, but hybridize with the same …

Molecular And Morphological Analyses Confirm That All Loons (Aves: Gaviiformes) Form A Single Holobaramin, Timothy R. Brophy, Mary-Clark A. Matthews, Mckayla M. Guillory, Alexis M. Ramerth

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Loons or divers (Aves: Gaviiformes), a group of waterbirds found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, are comprised of several extinct taxa as well as an extant family (Gaviidae) with one genus (Gavia) and five species. Recent phylogenetic studies suggest that the Sphenisciformes (penguins) and Procellariiformes (petrels, albatrosses, and shearwaters) form a sister group to the loons. Our previous research, based on hybridization, morphological, and vocalization data, found that all extant loons form a single holobaramin (i.e., created kind). This previous study, however, was inconclusive as to the membership of fossil taxa within the kind. The goal of the present study …

Preclinical Assessment Of Psychoplastogens For Treatment Of Psychiatric Symptoms And Neuroplasticity Deficits In Huntington Disease, Nicholas Skiados

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. HD manifests as a triad of psychiatric, cognitive, and motor symptoms, the latter of which defines symptomatic onset of the disease. Psychiatric symptoms including aggression and depression often emerge decades prior to motor symptom onset. Psychiatric disorders are closely linked with dysregulated neural plasticity, the ability of the brain to form new synaptic connections. Neural plasticity is impaired in HD, potentially playing a role in psychiatric symptoms. However, the association between plasticity and psychopathology in HD has yet to be thoroughly …

Following Faculty Engaging In Collaborative Action Research To Approach Curricular Change In Undergraduate Biochemistry, Christopher Nix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study engaged in a curricular redesign of an undergraduate biochemistry course undertaken by a collaborative action research group. The initial portion of this study investigated student conceptual understanding of foundational concepts via a rigorously tested concept inventory. the impact of the redesign on the student foundational conceptual understanding was determined by comparison with a baseline data set. Findings suggest that students enter and exit the biochemistry course with little understanding of key foundational concepts. Examination of student performance after the incorporation of creative exercises showed a significant impact of the curricular changes on two of the concepts of interest. …

Responses Of A Pine Flatwoods Specialist Treefrog To Prescribed Fire, Ian Biazzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Coarse outcomes of prescribed fires are well-understood, but fine scale impacts on many assemblages are still unknown. When fire approaches, animals escape to unburned areas, hide in place, or are killed by fire. Treefrogs are unique in their use of trees for most of their adult nonbreeding activities. This reliance on uplands and three-dimensional landscape composition makes them a great model to study prescribed fire impacts. We focused analyses on an upland flatwoods specialist comprising 99% of our captures, the pinewoods treefrog Dryophytes femoralis. We assessed this species' responses to prescribed fire using two separate before-after-control-impact replicated field experiments in …

Refining The Use Of Stable Isotope Analysis In Detecting Wildlife Laundering, Kevin Guilfoyle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The international wildlife trade has caused significant declines in wild populations. Captive breeding can reduce the pressure on wild populations caused by overcollection, but if not properly monitored, wildlife laundering can lead to further population declines. Improving the forensic ability to detect wildlife laundering will assist in monitoring the wildlife trade and enforcing regulations, thereby aiding recovery of wild populations. Stable isotope analysis has grown in importance as a forensic tool, but improvements are needed. Here, stable isotope analysis (δ13C) on eggshells of captive bred and wild sourced island apple snails (Pomacea maculata) distinguished between the two; eggshells of captive …

Variation In Genetic Structure And Dispersal Of Juvenile Green Turtles, Gustavo Stahelin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Sea turtles are long-lived, globally distributed animals with a complex life-history. Individuals from different populations often share the same foraging areas (mixed stock aggregations). Understanding patterns of dispersal and connectivity between reproductive populations and mixed stock aggregations is fundamental for the development of effective conservation plans. Recently, green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations in several reproductive areas have increased, providing an opportunity to evaluate how demographic changes in reproductive areas impact dispersal to, and the composition of, mixed stock aggregations. In this dissertation, I evaluated how dispersal from reproductive populations in the Greater Caribbean to mixed stock aggregations may have …

Identification And Influence Of Species-Informative 16s Ribosomal Rna Sequences And Evaluation Of Ocean Biofilms, Nikhil Bose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences are commonly analyzed for taxonomic and phylogenetic purposes because they contain variable regions that help distinguish genera. However, intra-genus classification is difficult due to high sequence similarity among closely related species. The biological impact of nucleotide variants in 16S variable regions are often unknown and hence their sequence differences are weighted evenly during classification, which provides poor species identity confidence. In this dissertation, I determined that analysis of intra-genus 16S allelic variants can provide species information and that nucleotide changes in 16S rRNA variable regions can impact ribosome quality. In one study, I analyzed …

Clay As A Control Technique For Karenia Brevis: Water Chemistry Dynamics And Physiological Impacts On Benthic Invertebrates, Victoria Devillier

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Clay-based compounds are globally the most advanced and widely used method of direct suppression of marine harmful algal blooms, and are currently undergoing investigation as an option to control Karenia brevis blooms in Florida. Before clay may be accepted for widespread use, there are multiple concerns and challenges that must be addressed regarding the environmental safety of this method, such as effects on water quality, the fate of toxins, and potential impacts of clay treatment to non-target organisms. To contribute to ongoing assessments of clay as a potential control method for K. brevis blooms, we conducted experiments with a formulation …

Chronic Exercise And The Treatment Of Progressive Disorders, Kristin Ann Richardson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Exercise is a known, beneficial treatment for a variety of normal (aging) and abnormal (disease) declines in health. These benefits can be observed in a range of tissues, including the brain and muscle, and organelles, such as the mitochondria. Many of the mechanisms through which exercise can promote health in these contexts have recently come to light. However, how these mechanisms can be targeted to promote health in sedentary populations is still under investigation. In Drosophila, stimulation of octopaminergic neurons provides the benefits of endurance exercise to sedentary flies. Neuroplasticity following exercise is one possible mechanism for how octopaminergic activation …

Investigation Of Biomechanical Thresholds Of Mild To Severe Brain Injury Using An Anisotropic Visco-Hyperelastic Finite Element Head Model: Model Development And Simulation Of Impact Injury And Blast Injury, Ding Lyu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a significant cause of death and disability in the United States, with approximately 2.5 million emergency department visits, 288,000 hospitalizations, and 56,800 deaths reported to be related to TBI. The majority of TBIs are caused by blunt impacts resulting from falls and motor vehicle crashes. The head injury criterion is the only standard used to assess the safety related to vehicles, personal protective gear, and sports equipment. A new brain injury criterion assessing rotation velocity effect was recently proposed by the US government. Unfortunately, it derivation from animal data scaled to a computer model of …

Two Pathways Collaborate For X Recognition In Drosophila Melanogaster, Reem Makki

Wayne State University Dissertations

Drosophila melanogaster males have one X chromosome while females have two. This creates an imbalance in X:A gene dosage between the sexes. This imbalance is corrected by increasing transcription of male X-linked genes approximately two-fold. This process involves the Male Specific Lethal (MSL) complex, which is recruited to Chromatin Entry Sites (CES) and transcribed X-linked genes where it modifies chromatin to increase expression. It is unclear how the MSL complex recognizes X-chromatin. Repetitive sequences strikingly enriched in X euchromatin, the 1.688X satellite repeats, also promote recruitment of the MSL complex to nearby genes. Unlike CES, the 1.688X repeats do not …

Understanding Inflammation, Immunity, And Infection, Jeff Vasiloff, Md, Mph

OHIO Open Faculty Textbooks

Inflammation, immunity, and infection explained by Jeffrey Vasiloff, MD, MPH, Associate Clinical Professor, PA Program; Adjunct Professor, PT Program, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University Dublin Medical Campus; Physician Consultant: Ohio Association of Physician Assistants; Physician Volunteer: Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps; Board Certification: Internal Medicine & Diabetes and Endocrinology.

What Are You Doing Here? Unexpected Occurrences Of Knobfin Sculpins (Cottus Immaculatus) In Connecticut, Joshua M. Tellier, Brooke Winsmann, Michael Humphreys, Stella Minoudi, Alexandros Triantafyllidis, Eric T. Schultz

EEB Articles

Reductions in cold-water habitat owing to anthropogenic stressors are focusing attention on indicator fish species. We investigated an apparent range expansion in Connecticut of a native cold-water fish, Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus). Unexpectedly, genetic and morphological analyses identified the new population as a non-native cottid from the Ozark region, the Knobfin Sculpin (C. immaculatus). This is the first record of C. immaculatus outside of its native range. The new occurrences were not recognized for over a decade despite comprehensive watershed inventories by state natural resource managers. The mechanism by which the non-native Knobfin Sculpin first arrived in Connecticut is currently …

A Methodology For Statistical Mean Wave Climate Regime Characterisation In Oceanic Islands: The Case Of The Southern Coast Of Tenerife, Emilio Megías, Manuel García-Román

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Oceanic islands of volcanic origin tend to have peculiar characteristics, such as: exposure to many wave directions; grouping in archipelagos; steep coastal slopes; and small coastal shelves. All these features require certain considerations in wave climate studies. These types of studies, when wave spectra are not available and have to be performed with parametric data, can be unreliable without an adequate systematic treatment. In this work we propose a methodology consisting of pre-classification according to the peak period and subsequent separation into different sectors according to the geographical fetch. The island of Tenerife is the case study, and in particular …

Restoration Of Normal Blood Flow In Atherosclerotic Arteries Promotes Plaque Stabilization, Morgan A. Schake, Ian S. Mccue, Evan T. Curtis, Thomas J. Ripperda, Samuel Harvey, Bryan T. Hackfort, Anna Fitzwater, Yiannis S. Chatzizisis, Forrest M. Kievit, Ryan M. Pedrigi

Journal Articles: Cellular & Integrative Physiology

Blood flow is a key regulator of atherosclerosis. Disturbed blood flow promotes atherosclerotic plaque development, whereas normal blood flow protects against plaque development. We hypothesized that normal blood flow is also therapeutic, if it were able to be restored within atherosclerotic arteries. Apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE^−/−) mice were initially instrumented with a blood flow-modifying cuff to induce plaque development and then five weeks later the cuff was removed to allow restoration of normal blood flow. Plaques in decuffed mice exhibited compositional changes that indicated increased stability compared to plaques in mice with the cuff maintained. The therapeutic benefit of …

Smallholder Views On Chinese Agricultural Investments In Mozambique And Tanzania In The Context Of Vggts, Rebecca Pointer, Emmanuel Sulle, Clemente Ntauazi

East Africa Institute

Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments. The study also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholders. Due to COVID-19, …

Effects Of Elevated Extracellular Dopamine On Astrocytes In The Nucleus Accumbens, Mengfan Xia

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Nucleus accumbens is involved in processing of motivational and affective behaviors and plays a significant role in development and maintenance of substance use. Released from the ventral tegmental area into the nucleus accumbens, the mesolimbic dopamine controls incentive salience and facilitates learning of reinforcement and reward-related motor functions. Recent studies reveal that, in the context of cocaine exposure, dopamine transmission in the ventromedial striatum is pivotal to the regulation of initial drug use. Astrocytes, a major subpopulation of the brain glial cells, are an active component of the so-called tripartite synapse and communicate with neurons through the release of transmitters …

Impact Of Pistachio Shell Biochar In Finishing Beef Cattle Diets, Levi J. Mcphillips, Mitchell M. Norman, J. L. Sperber, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A 190-day finishing experiment was conducted to evaluate effects of feeding biochar on methane and carbon dioxide production, animal performance and carcass traits in beef steers. A high concentrate feedlot diet was used, and two dietary treatments were compared, 0 or 1% biochar as % of diet dry matter. Cattle were monitored using a calorimetry emissions barn to quantify production of methane and carbon dioxide. There were no differences in emissions, performance, or carcass characteristics for cattle fed the control diet or with biochar supplemented into the diet.

A Gain-Of-Function Role Of Apolipoprotein E2 In Melanoma Progression, Nneoma Adaku

Student Theses and Dissertations

Genetic polymorphism of the secreted lipid transporter apolipoprotein E (APOE) plays important roles in the development of atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. More recently, three common APOE alleles have been implicated as modulators of melanoma progression and survival. Melanoma patients born with a copy of the APOE4 allele exhibit improved disease survival and responses to immunotherapy. Conversely, APOE2 allele carriers experience substantially worsened survival outcomes compared to APOE4 carriers and APOE3 homozygotes. These survival differences are partly governed by effects on the immune system, as the APOE4 genotype augments anti-tumor immunity. However, APOE variants also exert direct suppressive effects on melanoma …

Anteromedial Thalamus Gates The Selection & Stabilization Of Long-Term Memories, Andrew Toader

Student Theses and Dissertations

The hippocampus is necessary for the initial encoding and recent storage of memories. Under the standard model of systems consolidation, it is thought that the memory trace eventually reorganizes from the hippocampus to a distributed cortical network, with the anterior cingulate cortex playing a central role in remote memory retrieval. However, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for coordinating this process. Additionally, the intermediate memory representations in the brain and the circuits that might gate and select memories for permanent storage remain unknown. To facilitate the longitudinal tracking of memory circuits in the brain, we first developed a novel …

Interrogation And Manipulation Of The Igg Fc Glycan, Aaron Keshav Gupta

Student Theses and Dissertations

Antibody signaling is a cardinal feature of successful adaptive immune responses. The magnitude and direction of this signaling is determined by the structure of a given antibody's fragment crystallizable (Fc) domain, which interfaces with cells of the immune system. Often considered a constant region, the immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc protein backbone and conserved N-linked glycan combine to introduce structural diversity in IgG molecules that in turn, triggers divergent humoral responses. These N-glycans are variably constructed, ultimately leading to families of highly related, but non-equivalent glycoproteins known as glycoforms. Despite burgeoning interest in understanding the complexities of IgG Fc glycoforms and …

Rarely Acquired Type Ii-A Crispr-Cas Spacers Mediate Anti-Viral Immunity Through The Targeting Of A Non-Canonical Pam Sequence, Claire T. Kenney

Student Theses and Dissertations

Viruses that infect prokaryotes, called bacteriophages or phages, are thought to outnumber bacteria by a ratio of 10:1 and provide a constant threat to their hosts. In response, bacteria have evolved numerous defense mechanisms, attacking all major steps of the phage infection and replication cycle. In turn, phages have evolved their own counter defenses. One phage defense system, only recently characterized, has proved revolutionary for our understanding of prokaryote-phage dynamics and our ability to edit genomes of nearly any cell type. CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and CRISPR-associated genes) functions as an adaptive immune system by identifying and …

On The Origins Of Genetic Novelty In Drosophila, Eric Bo Zheng

Student Theses and Dissertations

Evolution is at its heart the study of variation: which variants survive and even thrive across generations, and why? Behind this lies the fundamental question of the origins of novelty, for there cannot be variation without a source of new variants. Understanding how novelty emerges, then, is a crucial problem of basic relevance in evolutionary biology. In this thesis, I examine two aspects regarding the origins of novelty: first, how new proteins originate and subsequently evolve; second, how chromatin accessibility maintains evolutionary lability while remaining conserved across broad sequence divergence. The study of the origins of new genes has flourished …

Neural Control Of Sickness Behavior, Anoj Ilanges

Student Theses and Dissertations

Infections are an omnipresent threat to all species. Thus, effective adaptive responses to resist and tolerate infections are essential for survival. Beyond the immune response, animals also induce a set of pleiotropic responses including anorexia, adipsia, lethargy, and changes in temperature, collectively termed sickness, during infections. While these responses have been shown to be adaptive for animal survival during infection and have been attributed to the central nervous system, the underlying control mechanisms for this response have not been elucidated. The goal of this work was to quantitatively characterize the many phenotypes associated with infection-induced sickness and to identify neural …

Inter-Organellar Nucleic Acid Communication By A Mitochondrial Trna Regulates Nuclear Transcription, Christopher Rouya

Student Theses and Dissertations

Balancing metabolic demands with transcriptional output requires efficient communication between mitochondria and the nucleus. However, the mitochondrial factors that mediate signals to the nucleus remain poorly defined. In eukaryotes, the mitochondrial genome encodes transfer RNAs (mito-tRNAs) that function in mitochondrial-specific translation. Here, we report the detection of multiple mito-tRNAs within the nucleus of human cells. Focused studies of one such nuclear-transported mito-tRNA-asparagine (mito-tRNA-Asn) revealed that its cognate charging enzyme (NARS2) is also present in the nucleus. Nuclear localization of mito-tRNA-Asn and NARS2 was dependent on the VDAC1 mitochondrial channel and importin-α nuclear transport factor, respectively. Mito-tRNA-Asn promoted the interaction of …

Transgenic Tools In Ants And The Representation Of Alarm Pheromones In The Ant Antennial Lobe, Taylor Eco Hart

Student Theses and Dissertations

For decades, ants have served as major study species for ethologists, theorists, geneticists, and chemical ecologists, who have been drawn to understand how their unique features contribute to the evolution and maintenance of insect societies. These features, especially their extreme morphological plasticity, collective behavior, and complex chemical communication, together with their small sizes and relatively simple brains, make ants intriguing model systems for many topics in neurobiology. While many ant species possess brains no larger than the wellcharacterized vinegar fly, the primary olfactory processing centers (antennal lobes) contain an order of magnitude more functional units compared to the vinegar fly, …