Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Black Rat Population Abundance And Persistence At The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, Mars Lu, Julia Kristina Perez

Biological Sciences

The black rat, Rattus rattus, is considered one of the most destructive and widespread invasive species around the world, with the ability to damage crops, kill native species, and spread disease. The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) is home to numerous at-risk species such as the Western Snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) and California Least Tern (Sternula antillarum browni). Black rats have been detected at the ODSVRA in studies conducted in 2015 and 2018, and may be a potential threat to nesting seabirds like the plover and the tern. In addition, they may …

Biomass Estimation Of Marine Biofilms On Plastic Surfaces, Kian Banihashemi, Fernando Javier Gil

Biological Sciences

Plastics have become a major source of marine pollution, which threatens food safety and quality, human health, and marine ecosystems. Due to the drastic negative effects of plastics in a marine environment, alternative biodegradable plastics are being generated that are more eco-friendly and have less environmental impact. Though some of these plastics are known to biodegrade, the process of degradation for bioplastics has not been heavily studied in a marine environment. This pilot project sought to both quantify the process of biodegradation and compare across different methods for effectiveness of biomass estimation, which serves as an indicator of biodegradation. Plastics …

Asas–Nanp Symposium: Mathematical Modeling In Animal Nutrition: Opportunities And Challenges Of Confned And Extensive Precision Livestock Production, Hector M. Menendez Iii, Jameson R. Brennan, Charlotte Gaillard, Krista Ehlert, Jaelyn Quintana, Suresh Neethirajan, Aline Remus, Marc Jacobs, Izabelle A.M.A. Teixerira, Benjamin L. Turner, Luis O. Tedeschi

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Modern animal scientists, industry, and managers have never faced a more complex world. Precision livestock technologies have altered management in confned operations to meet production, environmental, and consumer goals. Applications of precision technologies have been limited in extensive systems such as rangelands due to lack of infrastructure, electrical power, communication, and durability. However, advancements in technology have helped to overcome many of these challenges. Investment in precision technologies is growing within the livestock sector, requiring the need to assess opportunities and challenges associated with implementation to enhance livestock production systems. In this review, precision livestock farming and digital livestock farming …

Oxidative Stress Protection By Canary Seed (Phalaris Canariensis L.) Peptides In Caco-2 Cells And Caenorhabditis Elegans, Uriel Urbizo-Reyes, Kee-Hong Kim, Lavanya Reddivari, Joseph M. Anderson

Department of Food Science Faculty Publications

During oxidative stress, degenerative diseases such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's, and certain cancers are likely to develop. Recent research on canary seed (Phalaris canariensis) peptides has demonstrated the high in vitro antioxidant potential. Thus, this study aimed to assess the cellular and in vivo antioxidant capacity of a low-molecular-weight (<3 kDa) canary seed peptide fraction (CSPF) using Caco-2 cells and the Caenorhabditis elegans model. The results show that the CSPF had no cytotoxicity effect on Caco-2 cells at any tested concentration (0.3-2.5 mg/mL). Additionally, the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) of the CSPF was concentration-dependent, and the highest activity achieved was 80% by the CSPF at 2.5 mg/mL. Similarly, incubation with …

Mapping Auditory And Vestibular Response Neurons In The Optic Tectum Of Larval Zebrafish, Erika Marks, Arminda Suli

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cellular mapping of the sensory receptive fields of brain structures is a critical step in understanding function and dysfunction in development. Deficits in the ability to receive, process and integrate the senses leads to difficulties recognizing and responding appropriately to stimuli. To understand how the senses are integrated, it is first necessary to map the neurons receptive to inputs from individual senses. The optic tectum of zebrafish is a structure known for its homology to the superior colliculus of mammals and is a center of multisensory integration – including visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimuli. However, the microcircuitry of this important …

International Society Of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Tactical Athlete Nutrition, Drew E. Gonzalez, Matthew J. Mcallister, Hunter S. Waldman, Arny A. Ferrando, Jill Joyce, Nicholas D. Barringer, J. Jay Dawes, Adam J. Kieffer, Travis Harvey, Chad M. Kerksick, Jeffrey R. Stout, Tim N. Ziegenfuss, Annette Zapp, Jamie L. Tartar, Jeffrey L. Heileson, Trisha A. Vandusseldorp, Douglas S. Kalman, Bill I. Campbell, Jose Antonio, Richard B. Kreider

Faculty Scholarship

This position stand aims to provide an evidence-based summary of the energy and nutritional demands of tactical athletes to promote optimal health and performance while keeping in mind the unique challenges faced due to work schedules, job demands, and austere environments. After a critical analysis of the literature, the following nutritional guidelines represent the position of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN).

Brain Tract Structure Predicts Relapse To Stimulant Drug Use, Loreen Tisdall, Kelly H. Macniven, Claudia B. Padula, Josiah K. Leong, Brian Knutson

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diffusion tractography allows identification and measurement of structural tracts in the human brain previously associated with motivated behavior in animal models. Recent findings indicate that the structural properties of a tract connecting the midbrain to nucleus accumbens (NAcc) are associated with a diagnosis of stimulant use disorder (SUD), but not relapse. In this preregistered study, we used diffusion tractography in a sample of patients treated for SUD (n = 60) to determine whether qualities of tracts projecting from medial prefrontal, anterior insular, and amygdalar cortices to NAcc might instead foreshadow relapse. As predicted, reduced diffusion metrics of a tract …

Inflammatory Diseases And Resections Of The Digestive Tract Influence The Risk Of Circulating Food-Specific-Igg, Jacques Izard, Walker Carson, Joseph Baumert, Jennifer Clarke

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Individuals affected with inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract or have had surgical removal of sections of the digestive tract are often in need to adjust their diet. The symptomatology associated with food intake issues is often informally reported as food sensitivity. We investigated the circulating food-specific-IgG among ten conditions.

Conclusion: The risk of the having circulating food-specific IgG differed widely among the conditions investigated. The maintenance of a colonic environment might influence the risk of food sensitivity in ostomates.

The Urinary Microbiome And Biological Therapeutics: Novel Therapies For Urinary Tract Infections, Ciara Kenneally, Craig P. Murphy, Roy D. Sleator, Eamonn P. Culligan

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

The discovery of microbial communities in the urinary tract (the urobiome) has fundamentally altered the previous doctrine regarding urine sterility and associated urinary disorders. Recent advances in culturing and culture-independent DNA sequencing technologies have characterised the resident microbial community in the urobiome, and has, in turn, demonstrated how community imbalances potentially contribute to infection and disease. As we enter a post-antibiotic era, the effectiveness of standard antimicrobial treatments against multi-drug resistant (MDR) uropathogens is vastly diminished. Preliminary research is accumulating surrounding microbiome-based therapies, and their potential as non-antibiotic therapeutics. In this context, the urobiome is significantly underexplored, and knowledge regarding …

Ours Lived Lived: Faculty Responses To Stem Students' Lived Experiences, Stan Nguyen

University Honors Theses

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields have historically had low undergraduate retention rates. To aid in counteracting this, classroom exercises, or 'belonging interventions' can play a vital role in keeping new STEM students motivated through the "cultural shock" period of the college transition. However, much is still unknown about STEM instructors' perceptions on belonging interventions in STEM classrooms. Would understanding students' lives and experiences in the past and present help them make better informed decisions in their teaching practices?

To answer this question, we drew upon results from a belonging intervention conducted by the Biology Education Research (BER) group …

Distribution And Ecological Function Of Pacific Lamprey In The San Luis Obispo Creek Watershed, Parker Kalan

Master's Theses

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) is an endemic species to coastal watersheds along the Pacific Rim in North America and Asia. The species' geographic distribution is retracting and has not been mapped precisely, and the ability for the species to provide ecosystem services, such as water filtration, for supporting watershed management has not been tested. The San Luis Obispo Creek watershed, California, USA is at the southern end of Pacific lamprey’s retracting distribution, and the San Luis Obispo watershed is impacted by degraded water quality, making investigation of Pacific lamprey in the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed of direct …

Seed Longevity And Climatic Tolerance Of San Joaquin Wooly-Threads (Monolopia Congdonii; Asteraceae) An Endangered Plant From The San Joaquin Desert, California, Paul Excoffier

Master's Theses

San Joaquin wooly-threads (Monolopia congdonii; Asteraceae) is a federally-listed, endangered annual plant species from the desert areas of the San Joaquin Valley. Its limited range puts it at risk of extinction if the climate changes in such a way as to hinder its growth and reproduction. The primary aims of the study were to 1) determine how long-lived the seeds of the M. congdonii are, a key determinant of survival of desert annual plant populations through long droughts and 2) determine how severely hotter, drier conditions impact the ability of emerged plants to grow and reproduce. Secondarily, I …

Reproductive Timing In Percina Aurora And Other Percina Species In The Pascagoula River Watershed, Malia Davidson

Honors Theses

The Southeastern United States is home to high levels of aquatic biodiversity and was recently named one of the Earth’s biodiversity hotspots. Within this region, growing human populations continue to place pressure on aquatic ecosystems and the resident species. Darters (Percidae: Percina) represent a large proportion of the freshwater fish diversity in the region. However, for some species the fundamentals of age, growth, reproductive timing and effort, and ecology remain poorly understood. That said, understanding the timing, duration, and effort allocated to reproduction is vital to successful management of any species. The pearl darter, Percina aurora, has been …

Oligomerization Of Amyloid-Β Peptide In The Presence Of Gangliosides–Implications For Alzheimer Disease, Sydney Boyd

Honors Theses

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to memory impairment and cognitive dysfunction in elderly populations worldwide. A key characteristic of AD is the formation of neuritic plaques composed of extracellularly deposited aggregates of amyloid-β (Aβ), an intrinsically disordered protein. Although Aβ fibrils were once thought to be the prime initiators of the disease, research has since been shifted to consider soluble, low molecular weight Aβ oligomers as the driving force behind AD toxicity. Due to its origin as a cleavage product of amyloid precursor protein (APP), an integral membrane protein, Aβ is known to perpetually interact with …

It Is Time For A New Type Of Type To Facilitate Naming The Microbial World, M. Palmer, I. Sutcliffe, S. N. Venter, B. P. Hedlund

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Since January 1, 2001, the only acceptable nomenclatural type for species under the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) has been pure cultures. Here, we argue that this requirement is discordant with the more inclusive nature of nomenclatural types accepted under other codes of nomenclature and posit that the unique rigidity of the ICNP has failed to serve the broad research community and has stifled progress. This case is based on the axiom that many archaea and bacteria are interdependent in nature and therefore difficult, if not impossible, to grow, preserve, and distribute as pure cultures. As such, a …

The Estuarine Ecological Knowledge Network Makes Progress: International Project Sites And Potential Ways Forward, Grant S. Mccall, Anthony Akpan, Doru Banaduc, Diego F. Figueroa, Nelson Fontoura, Robert Hitchcock, Sherman Horn, Devashish Kar, Thong Tran

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Estuarine Ecological Knowledge Network (EEKN) brings together scientists and coastal fishing communities in seeking new ways forward for Earth's major river deltas and estuaries, including the Mississippi (United States), Rio Grande (United States), Danube (Romania/Ukraine), Ganges (India/Bangladesh), Niger (Nigeria), and Mekong (Vietnam) river deltas, and the Patos Lagoon (Brazil). Such environments are universally understood as crucial for the biological productivity of oceans and they are home to hundreds of millions of human inhabitants, many of whom directly depend on that marine richness in terms of the operation of their socioeconomic systems. As human-induced climate change and its consequences for …

Biological Factors Affecting Dna Shedding Propensity, Ines G. Cedillo-Cruz

Student Theses

Recovery of trace DNA is important in forensic casework because it is the main type of biological evidence found in both violent and non-violent crimes. Researchers have been trying to determine if there are individual differences in shedding propensity, or how much DNA an individual leaves behind. A model for determining this would benefit evidence interpretation if passive transfer scenarios are being considered, as it can affect the probative value of DNA evidence. This study compared the amount of DNA collected with adhesive D-Squame tape disks from the fingers of individual’s washed non-dominant and dominant hands after 30 minutes of …

Lc-Ms/Ms Method For The Detection And Quantification Of Pharmaceuticals And Drugs Of Abuse In New York City Waterways, Natalie M. Fernandez

Student Theses

The use of licit and illicit drugs has been increasing significantly over the past few years within the United States. Due to this increase, these drugs are emerging as contaminants in surface and ground water. The presence of pharmacologically active compounds in this environment can be extremely harmful to aquatic life as they are continuously exposed to these substances. The goal of this study was two-fold: 1) Develop and validate an analytical method for 28 different drugs including cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, cannabis, and prescription medicines, in river water; 2) Identify and quantify drugs found in New York City waterways over …

Utility Of Roller Wiper Applications Of Dicamba For Palmer Amaranth Control In Soybean, Rodger Bruce Farr, Jason K. Norsworthy, L. Tom Barber, Thomas R. Butts, Trenton Roberts

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND

The commercialization of dicamba-resistant soybean has resulted in increased concern for off-target movement of dicamba onto sensitive vegetation. To mitigate the off-target movement through physical drift, one might consider use of rope wicks and other wiper applicators. Although wiper-type application methods have been efficacious in pasture settings, the utility of dicamba using wiper applicators in agronomic crops is not available in scientific literature. To determine the utility of roller wipers for dicamba applications in dicamba-resistant soybean, two separate experiments were conducted in the summer of 2020 and replicated in both Keiser and Fayetteville, AR, USA.

RESULTS

Utilizing opposing application …

A Review Of Animal Welfare And Current Enrichment Methods For Captive Marine Mammals, Ashleigh I. Richardson

University Honors Theses

Animal care and conservation facilities such as zoos, aquaria, and marine mammal parks often utilize a variety of enrichments to deter stereotypic behaviors and improve overall animal welfare. Facilities that go through the intense accreditation process of one or more accreditation organizations must uphold the animal care standards and education requirements that these organizations call for. These care standards typically include regulations regarding animal training and enrichment, though the extent to which these regulations go into detail often vary from species to species and between organizations. The goal of this review was to assess the current standard of animal enrichment …

Mycophagous Beetle Females Do Not Behave Competitively During Intrasexual Interactions In Presence Of A Fungal Resource, L. D. Mitchem, Vincent A. Formica, R. Debray, Dana E. Homer , '21, E. D. Brodie Iii

Biology Faculty Works

Intrasexual interactions can determine which individuals within a population have access to limited resources. Despite their potential importance on fitness generally and mating success especially, female–female interactions are not often measured in the same species where male–male interactions are well-defined. In this study, we characterized female–female interactions in Bolitotherus cornutus, a mycophagous beetle species native to Northeastern North America. We used dyadic, behavioral assays to determine whether females perform directly aggressive or indirectly exclusionary competitive behaviors. Polypore shelf fungus, an important food and egg-laying resource for B. cornutus females, is patchily distributed and of variable quality, so we tested …

Effect Of Vine Age And Selected Winemaking Techniques On The Sensory Profile Of Central Coast Red Wines, Isabelle Lomonaco

Master's Theses

Descriptive sensory analysis is essential to understanding how differing varietals, viticultural techniques, enological techniques, vintage, regions, etc. impact the sensory characteristics found in wines. These studies analyzed the sensory impacts of vine age, whole cluster and stem addition influences, the frequency of cap management regimes, and selected fermentation variables, on 2019 Zinfandel, 2020 Syrah, 2020 Tannat, 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2021 Graciano wines respectively, from the Central Coast of California, USA. The investigation of Old vine Zinfandel indicated that these wines were defined as complex due to the wide variety of descriptors used to characterize them, having high color saturation …

A Tale Of Two Genomes: The Complex Interplay Between The Mitochondrial And The Nuclear Genomes, Abhilesh S. Dhawanjewar

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mitochondria, the product of an ancient endosymbiotic event are pivotal to eukaryotic cells by synthesizing the majority of the cell’s ATP output. However, modern- day mitochondria are completely dependent on more than one thousand nuclear-encoded products for their function and the maintenance of their genomes. The fundamentally different ways in which the mitochondrial (mtDNA) and the nuclear (nucDNA) genomes are replicated and inherited lead to captivating coevolutionary dynamics between them. The aims of this dissertation are to investigate the coevolutionary dynamics between the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes at three distinct biological scales. At the organismal level, we use a Drosophila …

Discovering Novel Polyextremotolerant Fungi And Determining Their Ecological Role Within The Biological Soil Crust Consortium, Erin C. Carr

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The ecological niche of polyextremotolerant fungi within oligotrophic ecosystems such as biological soil crusts has not yet been determined. These fungi persist in locations where nutrients are depleted while simultaneously surrounded by autotrophic microbes such as algae and cyanobacteria. Yet it has not been shown that they are engaging in any exchange of nutrients the way lichens do. However, there is seemingly no other way for these fungi to obtain vital nutrients, such as carbon or nitrogen, other than from these microbes. Here we have isolated polyextremotolerant fungi from cold desert biological soil crusts which are a microbial biofilm that …

Terrestrial Movements, Activity Patterns And Habitat Use By Kinosternon Scorpioides (Testudines: Kinosternidae) In Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica, Jose M. Mora, Franklin E. Castaneda

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Scorpion Mud turtle, Kinosternon scorpioides, is a widely distributed, semiaquatic species known to engage in regular terrestrial movement and terrestrial estivation. We studied terrestrial behavior in this species in Palo Verde National Park, northwestern Costa Rica. We determined terrestrial activity patterns by searching for active individuals during transects along 3.4 km of trails. We determined the distance that turtles traveled between the wetlands and estivation sites by fitting 10 terrestrially active individuals with a thread-bobbin tracking device attached to the rear of the carapace. We identified sex and marked and measured every turtle found active. We accumulated 92 observations …

Rhizosphere-Competent Actinobacterial Isolates With Acc Deaminase Activity Alleviate Salt Stress In Tomato Plants In The Uae, Alaa Ahmed Abbas Elbadawi

Biology Theses

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most popular vegetables in the world, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Salinity is a global menace to plant growth and development, causing significant economic losses to tomato and other crop plants. It is well-known that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase (ACCD) can increase plant tolerance to environmental stresses. This can be attributed to the increased activity of the enzyme ACCD, which breaks down ACC [the immediate precursor of ethylene (ET)] to ammonia and α-ketobutyrate, to lower the overproduction of ET levels in planta and to reduce the damages caused …

Old Genes In New Places: A Taxon-Rich Analysis Of Interdomain Lateral Gene Transfer Events, Auden Cote-L’Heureux, Xyrus X. Maurer-Alcalá, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Vertical inheritance is foundational to Darwinian evolution, but fails to explain major innovations such as the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance among bacteria and the origin of photosynthesis in eukaryotes. While lateral gene transfer (LGT) is recognized as an evolutionary force in prokaryotes, the role of LGT in eukaryotic evolution is less clear. With the exception of the transfer of genes from organelles to the nucleus, a process termed endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT), the extent of interdomain transfer from prokaryotes to eukaryotes is highly debated. A common critique of studies of interdomain LGT is the reliance on the topology of …

Development Of Optical Nanomaterial For Enhanced Cerenkov Imaging, Qize Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Cancer is a significant public health problem worldwide and is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Imaging has increasingly been used over the last two decades to improve the diagnosis and guidance of tumor tissue removal surgery. Among the most widely used techniques for in vivo imaging are planar and tomographic fluorescence imaging and bioluminescence imaging. Despite their utility, these techniques are primarily restricted to preclinical use. Factors that have prevented translation from the bench to the bedside include depth-penetration considerations, regulatory issues, and toxicity. A recent development in nuclear imaging has been the ability to …

Host And Gut Microbial Tryptophan Metabolism And Type 2 Diabetes: An Integrative Analysis Of Host Genetics, Diet, Gut Microbiome And Circulating Metabolites In Cohort Studies, Jin C Chai, Miguel Ruiz-Canela, Casey Rebholz, Zheng Wang, Mykhaylo Usyk, Guo-Chong Chen, Bianca C Porneala, Wenshuang Wang, Ngoc Quynh Nguyen, Elena V Feofanova, Megan L Grove, Thomas J Wang, Robert E Gerszten, Josée Dupuis, Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Wei Bao, David L Perkins, Martha L Daviglus, Jianwen Cai, Tao Wang, Joann E Manson, Miguel A Martínez-González, Elizabeth Selvin, Kathryn M Rexrode, Clary B Clish, Frank B Hu, James B Meigs, Rob Knight, Robert D Burk, Eric Boerwinkle, Robert C Kaplan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Tryptophan can be catabolised to various metabolites through host kynurenine and microbial indole pathways. We aimed to examine relationships of host and microbial tryptophan metabolites with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D), host genetics, diet and gut microbiota.

METHOD: We analysed associations between circulating levels of 11 tryptophan metabolites and incident T2D in 9180 participants of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds from five cohorts. We examined host genome-wide variants, dietary intake and gut microbiome associated with these metabolites.

RESULTS: Tryptophan, four kynurenine-pathway metabolites (kynurenine, kynurenate, xanthurenate and quinolinate) and indolelactate were positively associated with T2D risk, while indolepropionate was inversely associated with …

Integrative Analysis Of Clinical And Epigenetic Biomarkers Of Mortality, W David Hill, Yan Zhang, Antoine Baldassari, Mohamed Ahmed Elhadad, Tanaka Toshiko, Yinan Zheng, Arce Domingo-Relloso, Dong Heon Lee, Jiantao Ma, Chen Yao, Chunyu Liu, Shih-Jen Hwang, Roby Joehanes, Myriam Fornage, Jan Bressler, Joyce B J Van Meurs, Birgit Debrabant, Jonas Mengel-From, Kaare Christensen, Pantel Vokonas, Joel Schwartz, Sina A Gahrib, Nona Sotoodehnia, Colleen M Sitlani, Sonja Kunze, Christian Gieger, Annette Peters, Melanie Waldenberger, Ian J Deary, Luigi Ferrucci, Yishu Qu, Philip Greenland, Donald M Lloyd-Jones, Lifang Hou, Stefania Bandinelli, Trudy Voortman, Brenner Hermann, Andrea Baccarelli, Eric Whitsel, James S Pankow, Daniel Levy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

DNA methylation (DNAm) has been reported to be associated with many diseases and with mortality. We hypothesized that the integration of DNAm with clinical risk factors would improve mortality prediction. We performed an epigenome-wide association study of whole blood DNAm in relation to mortality in 15 cohorts (n = 15,013). During a mean follow-up of 10 years, there were 4314 deaths from all causes including 1235 cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths and 868 cancer deaths. Ancestry-stratified meta-analysis of all-cause mortality identified 163 CpGs in European ancestry (EA) and 17 in African ancestry (AA) participants at p < 1 × 10