Biology Commons^™

A Comparative In Vitro Investigation Of Rainbow Trout Vig-3 And Human Isg15, Kristof Jenik, Sarah J. Poynter, Shanee Herrington-Krause, Kayla Samms, Nichole Sanchez Diaz, Stephanie J. Dewitte-Orr, Tania Rodriguez-Ramos, Brian Dixon, Adebisi Sanyaolu, Tamiru Alkie, Bryce M. Warner, Nikesh Tailor, Shawna Semple

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The aquaculture industry is a big part of the global economy, supplying food and supporting many livelihoods, yet it faces formidable challenges from diverse aquatic pathogens, especially viruses. Effective antiviral treatments are lacking for both humans and economically significant farmed fish like rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). When viruses invade host cells, pattern recognition receptors detect viral components, initiating intracellular signaling and type I interferon (IFN-I) production. IFN-I triggers interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) that establish an antiviral state in infected and nearby cells, curbing viral spread. In rainbow trout, a particularly understudied ISG is viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV)-induced gene 3 (vig-3), …

The Sewage Microbiome Dynamics Of Different Serving Neighborhoods In Charleston, Illinois, Sandra Chiamaka Okoye

Masters Theses

The complex microbial ecosystem within sewage systems holds significant implications for environmental and public health. Unlike studies on wastewater treatment plant microbiomes, upstream sewage systems have not been studied widely. This research investigated the dynamic sewage microbiome across diverse serving neighborhoods in Charleston, Illinois, encompassing residential, hospital, industrial, and university areas. Drawing upon recent advancements in microbiome research, the study aimed to unravel the spatial and temporal variations in microbial structures. Three times between June to December 2023 sewage samples were collected from manholes in the areas mentioned above. Community DNA was extracted and sequenced for the V4-V5 region of …

Konsep Diagnosis Dan Penatalaksanaan Fraktur Osteoporosis Terkini, I Gusti Ngurah Wien Aryana, Febyan Febyan

Jurnal Penyakit Dalam Indonesia

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease that is caused by a decreased amount of bone mass, and microarchitectural damage to bone tissue that affects the bone to break easily. Osteoporosis can be divided into primary and secondary etiologies. Vertebral, hip, distal radius, and proximal humerus are the most common predilection of fracture complication due to osteoporosis. The diagnosis of osteoporotic fractures is established based on the identification of risk factors, general clinical manifestations, specific manifestation from each fracture predilection, and advanced examinations, including radiology imaging and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The purpose of osteoporotic fractures management in elderly is a stable …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Hyperoxidized Prdx3 As A Specific Ferroptosis Marker, Yuelong Yan, Boyi Gan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The lack of a reliable and specific marker for ferroptosis has hindered the advancement of treatments related to this cell death mechanism toward clinical application. A recent study published in Molecular Cell has identified hyperoxidized peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3) as a promising marker for ferroptosis, opening up new avenues for monitoring and targeting ferroptosis in disease treatment.

The Persistence Of Blue Ash In The Aftermath Of Emerald Ash Borer May Be Due To Adult Oviposition Preferences And Reduced Larval Performance, Don Cipollini, Emily Morton

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

1. We examined the health of mature blue ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata, in two forests in southwestern Ohio in relation to that of mature white ash, F. americana, and examined the potential importance of oviposition preferences and larval resistance in the persistence of blue ash.
2. Both blue ash and white ash were largely unaffected by emerald ash borer in 2012. By 2018, nearly 90% of the blue ash trees observed in these forests had full or nearly full canopies, as opposed to less than 20% of the white ash encountered in our studies. In 2021, blue ash maintained a …

Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity Of Miniature Excitatory Postsynaptic Currents In Mouse Cortical Cultures Requires Neuronal Rab3a, Andrew G. Koesters, Mark M. Rich, Kathrin L. Engisch

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Following prolonged activity blockade, amplitudes of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) increase, a form of homeostatic plasticity termed “synaptic scaling.” We previously showed that a presynaptic protein, the small GTPase Rab3A, is required for full expression of the increase in miniature endplate current amplitudes following prolonged blockade of action potential activity at the mouse neuromuscular junction in vivo (Wang et al., 2011), but it is unknown whether this form of Rab3A-dependent homeostatic plasticity shares any characteristics with central synapses. We show here that synaptic scaling of mEPSCs is impaired in mouse cortical neuron cultures prepared from Rab3A-/- and Rab3A Earlybird …

Obesity And Renal Cell Carcinoma: Biological Mechanisms And Perspectives, Neha Venkatesh, Alberto Martini, Jennifer L Mcquade, Pavlos Msaouel, Andrew W Hahn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Obesity, defined by body mass index (BMI), is an established risk factor for specific renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtypes such as clear cell RCC, the most common RCC histology. Many studies have identified an association between obesity and improved survival after diagnosis of RCC, a potential "obesity paradox." Clinically, there is uncertainty whether improved outcomes observed after diagnosis are driven by stage, type of treatment received, or artifacts of longitudinal changes in weight and body composition. The biological mechanisms underlying obesity's influence on RCC are not fully established, but multiomic and mechanistic studies suggest an impact on tumor metabolism, particularly …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Environmental Bacteriophage Presence In Drainage Ponds At Coastal Carolina University, Hailey Oldfield, Alexei E. Chesnutwood, Gabriella A. Caldwell, Shiraz C. Cohen, Paul E. Richardson

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Developing A Safe And Effective Papillomavirus Screen To Be Used On College Students At A South Carolina University, Owen R. Smith, Nicole E. Frantz, Emily E. Bishop, Rahjai G. Thomas, Paul E. Richardson

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Co-Oncogenic Function Of Ecdysoneless Protein With Erbb2 In Mammary Epithelial Cells, Benjamin B. Kennedy

Theses & Dissertations

The Ecdysoneless (ECD) protein is highly evolutionarily conserved and ubiquitously expressed across human tissues. ECD has established roles in cell cycle regulation, embryogenesis, cell survival, and RNA biogenesis. ECD mRNA and protein are overexpressed in breast cancer, and its overexpression correlates with poor patient survival, especially in ErbB2/HER2-positive breast cancer. This thesis work investigates the co-oncogenic role of ECD in ErbB2-driven oncogenesis using immortalized mammary epithelial cells. Here, we show that ECD and ErbB2 overexpression in immortalized human mammary epithelial cells increases cancer traits, such as invasion, migration, and anchorage independent growth. Significantly, ECD+ErbB2 co-overexpression further enhanced all oncogenic traits. …

Analyzing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa With Bacteriophage Tags Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jennifer C. Schinke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The number of daily bacterial infections is climbing and the CDC explains that this is due to the antibiotic-resistant threat in the United States. Finding a faster way of bacterial identification is necessary as it currently takes 1-4 days for a medical lab to culture and identify bacteria. Photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) can be used as an alternative method resulting in swift identification within an hour (Edgar, 2019). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell line PA01, will be coated in up to a few hundred red dyed phages making it detectible by the photoacoustic flow cytometry system. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that …

Two Structurally Defined Aβ Polymorphs Promote Different Pathological Changes In Susceptible Mice, Ruben Gomez-Gutierrez, Ujjayini Ghosh, Wai-Ming Yau, Nazaret Gamez, Katherine Do, Carlos Kramm, Hamid Shirani, Laura Vegas-Gomez, Jonathan Schulz, Ines Moreno-Gonzalez, Antonia Gutierrez, K Peter R Nilsson, Robert Tycko, Claudio Soto, Rodrigo Morales

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Misfolded Aβ is involved in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the role of its polymorphic variants or conformational strains in AD pathogenesis is not fully understood. Here, we study the seeding properties of two structurally defined synthetic misfolded Aβ strains (termed 2F and 3F) using in vitro and in vivo assays. We show that 2F and 3F strains differ in their biochemical properties, including resistance to proteolysis, binding to strain-specific dyes, and in vitro seeding. Injection of these strains into a transgenic mouse model produces different pathological features, namely different rates of aggregation, formation of different plaque types, …

Long-Term Spring Through Fall Capture Data Of Eptesicus Fuscus In The Eastern Usa Before And After White-Nose Syndrome, Molly Simonis, Lynn K. Hartzler, Joshua Campbell, Timothy C. Carter, Lisa Noelle Cooper, Katelin Cross, Katherine Etchison, Traci, R. Andrew King, Richard J. Reynolds, Yasmeen Samar, Michael Yasmeen, Sarah Stankavich, Gregory G. Turner, Megan A. Rúa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Emerging infectious diseases threaten wildlife populations. Without well monitored wildlife systems, it is challenging to determine accurate population and ecosystem losses following disease emergence. North American temperate bats present a unique opportunity for studying the broad impacts of wildlife disease emergence, as their federal monitoring programs were prioritized in the USA throughout the 20 th century and they are currently threatened by the invasive fungal pathogen, Pseudogymnoascus destructans ( Pd ), which causes white-nose syndrome. Here we provide a long-term dataset for capture records of Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat) across the eastern USA, spanning 16 years before and 14 …

Maternal Provisioning Interacts With Incubation Temperature To Affect Hatchling Mercury Exposure In An Oviparous Reptile, Josiah M Johnson, Christopher R Smaga, Samantha L Bock, Benjamin B Parrott

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The thermal environment experienced by developing embryos can influence the utilization of maternally provisioned resources. Despite being particularly consequential for oviparous ectotherms, these dynamics are largely unexplored within ecotoxicological frameworks. Here, we test if incubation temperature interacts with maternally transferred mercury to affect subsequent body burdens and tissue distributions of mercury in hatchling American alligators (

Tmbim6 Deficiency Leads To Bone Loss By Accelerating Osteoclastogenesis, Sun-Ju Yi, You-Jee Jang, Seokchan Lee, Sung-Jin Cho, Kyuho Kang, Jae-Il Park, Han-Jung Chae, Hyung-Ryong Kim, Kyunghwan Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

TMBIM6 is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein that modulates various physiological and pathological processes, including metabolism and cancer. However, its involvement in bone remodeling has not been investigated. In this study, we demonstrate that TMBIM6 serves as a crucial negative regulator of osteoclast differentiation, a process essential for bone remodeling. Our investigation of Tmbim6-knockout mice revealed an osteoporotic phenotype, and knockdown of Tmbim6 inhibited the formation of multinucleated tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive cells, which are characteristic of osteoclasts. Transcriptome and immunoblot analyses uncovered that TMBIM6 exerts its inhibitory effect on osteoclastogenesis by scavenging reactive oxygen species and preventing p65 nuclear localization. …

Gabaergic Synaptic Scaling Is Triggered By Changes In Spiking Activity Rather Than Transmitter Receptor Activation, Carlos Gonzalez-Islas, Zahraa Sabra, Ming-Fai Fong, Pernille Bülow, Nicholas Au Yong, Kathrin Engisch, Peter Wenner

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Homeostatic plasticity represents a set of mechanisms that are thought to recover some aspect of neural function. One such mechanism called AMPAergic scaling was thought to be a likely candidate to homeostatically control spiking activity. However, recent findings have forced us to reconsider this idea as several studies suggest AMPAergic scaling is not directly triggered by changes in spiking. Moreover, studies examining homeostatic perturbations in vivo have suggested that GABAergic synapses may be more critical in terms of spiking homeostasis. Here we show results that GABAergic scaling can act to homeostatically control spiking levels. We find that increased or decreased …

A Guide To The Brain Initiative Cell Census Network Data Ecosystem, Michael Hawrylycz, Maryann E Martone, Giorgio A Ascoli, Jan G Bjaalie, Hong-Wei Dong, Satrajit S Ghosh, Jesse Gillis, Ronna Hertzano, David R Haynor, Patrick R Hof, Yongsoo Kim, Ed Lein, Yufeng Liu, Jeremy A Miller, Partha P Mitra, Eran Mukamel, Lydia Ng, David Osumi-Sutherland, Hanchuan Peng, Patrick L Ray, Raymond Sanchez, Aviv Regev, Alex Ropelewski, Richard H Scheuermann, Shawn Zheng Kai Tan, Carol L Thompson, Timothy Tickle, Hagen Tilgner, Merina Varghese, Brock Wester, Owen White, Hongkui Zeng, Brian Aevermann, David Allemang, Seth Ament, Thomas L Athey, Cody Baker, Katherine S Baker, Pamela M Baker, Anita Bandrowski, Samik Banerjee, Prajal Bishwakarma, Ambrose Carr, Min Chen, Roni Choudhury, Jonah Cool, Heather Creasy, Florence D'Orazi, Kylee Degatano, Benjamin Dichter, Song-Lin Ding, Tim Dolbeare, Joseph R Ecker, Rongxin Fang, Jean-Christophe Fillion-Robin, Timothy P Fliss, James Gee, Tom Gillespie, Nathan Gouwens, Guo-Qiang Zhang, Yaroslav O Halchenko, Nomi L Harris, Brian R Herb, Houri Hintiryan, Gregory Hood, Sam Horvath, Bingxing Huo, Dorota Jarecka, Shengdian Jiang, Farzaneh Khajouei, Elizabeth A Kiernan, Huseyin Kir, Lauren Kruse, Changkyu Lee, Boudewijn Lelieveldt, Yang Li, Hanqing Liu, Lijuan Liu, Anup Markuhar, James Mathews, Kaylee L Mathews, Chris Mezias, Michael I Miller, Tyler Mollenkopf, Shoaib Mufti, Christopher J Mungall, Joshua Orvis, Maja A Puchades, Lei Qu, Joseph P Receveur, Bing Ren, Nathan Sjoquist, Brian Staats, Daniel Tward, Cindy T J Van Velthoven, Quanxin Wang, Fangming Xie, Hua Xu, Zizhen Yao, Zhixi Yun, Yun Renee Zhang, W Jim Zheng, Brian Zingg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Characterizing cellular diversity at different levels of biological organization and across data modalities is a prerequisite to understanding the function of cell types in the brain. Classification of neurons is also essential to manipulate cell types in controlled ways and to understand their variation and vulnerability in brain disorders. The BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) is an integrated network of data-generating centers, data archives, and data standards developers, with the goal of systematic multimodal brain cell type profiling and characterization. Emphasis of the BICCN is on the whole mouse brain with demonstration of prototype feasibility for human and nonhuman …

Metals And Metal Complexes In Diseases With A Focus On Covid-19: Facts And Opinions, Agnieszka Ścibior, Manuel Aureliano, Alvin A. Holder, Juan Llopis

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

In the present Special Issue on “Metals and Metal Complexes in Diseases with a Focus on COVID-19: Facts and Opinions”, an attempt has been made to include reports updating our knowledge of elements considered to be potential candidates for therapeutic applications and certain metal-containing species, which are extensively being examined towards their potential biomedical use due to their specific physicochemical properties. The Special Issue compiles data on the role of metals in COVID-19 and focuses on other illnesses and biological processes that affect metal metabolism. It consists of eight manuscripts, including five review articles and three original research papers (Figure …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Elucidating The Impact Of Sos-Response Timing In On Escherichia Coli Survival Following Treatment With Fluoroquinolone Topoisomerase Inhibitors, Stephanie Schofield

Honors Scholar Theses

Antibiotic treatment failure is a public health crisis, with a 2019 report stating that roughly 35,000 deaths occur in the United States yearly due to bacterial infections that are unresponsive to antibiotics (1). One complication in the treatment of bacterial infection is antibiotic persistence which further compromises our battle to effectively treat infection. Bacterial persisters can exist in clonal bacterial cultures and can tolerate antibiotic treatment by undergoing reversible phenotypic changes. They can survive drug concentrations that their genetically identical kin cannot. Some persisters remain in a slow growing state and are difficult to target with current antibiotics. A specific …

Impact Of Lyophilization On Porcine Hemoglobin Properties., Mustafa Almosawi

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Blood transfusion is the single most often performed lifesaving procedure in hospitals worldwide. Unfortunately, packed red blood cells (RBCs) used for transfusion can only be stored for 42 days at 4 °C before being discarded due to irreversible damage that occurs during storage. Any reduction in available RBCs for an extended period can lead to blood shortages. To increase the shelf-life of RBCs, we investigated freeze-drying (lyophilizing) in the presence of the non-toxic sugar trehalose as a method for long-term preservation. However, the oxidative stress of the lyophilization and storage processes can compromise the functionality of these cells, and the …

Development Of A Computational Model To Investigate Pathways And The Effects Of Treatment In Fanconi Anemia, Sabrina Kellett

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a rare type of anemia that is not easily studied and can have very detrimental effects. This disease compromises the bone marrow, resulting in decreased hemopoiesis. Symptoms of FA also include abnormalities in the brain and spinal cord, incorrect formation of the kidneys, abnormal formation of the heart and lungs, and a dramatically increased risk of developing cancer. FA can be caused by various mutations in any of the 22 genes that encode for proteins involved in what is called the FA DNA repair pathway. In healthy individuals, this pathway specifically repairs interstrand cross-links (ICLs) recognized …

Mapping The Functional Interactions At The Tumor-Immune Checkpoint Interface, Behnaz Bozorgui, Elisabeth K Kong, Augustin Luna, Anil Korkut

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The interactions between tumor intrinsic processes and immune checkpoints can mediate immune evasion by cancer cells and responses to immunotherapy. It is, however, challenging to identify functional interactions due to the prohibitively complex molecular landscape of the tumor-immune interfaces. We address this challenge with a statistical analysis framework, immuno-oncology gene interaction maps (ImogiMap). ImogiMap quantifies and statistically validates tumor-immune checkpoint interactions based on their co-associations with immune-associated phenotypes. The outcome is a catalog of tumor-immune checkpoint interaction maps for diverse immune-associated phenotypes. Applications of ImogiMap recapitulate the interaction of SERPINB9 and immune checkpoints with interferon gamma (IFNγ) expression. Our analyses …

Developmental Exposure To Corn Grown On Lake Erie Dredged Material: A Preliminary Analysis, Kaylyn A. S. Flanigan, Madelyn I. Czuba, Victoria R. Riesgo, Megan A. Rúa, Louise M. Stevenson, Jari Willing

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

While corn is considered to be a healthy food option, common agricultural practices, such as the application of soil amendments, might be introducing contaminants of concern (COC) into corn plants. The use of dredged material, which contain contaminants such as heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), as a soil amendment is increasing. Contaminants from these amendments can accumulate in corn kernels harvested from plants grown on these sediments and potentially biomagnify in organisms that consume them. The extent to which secondary exposure to such contaminants in corn affect the mammalian central nervous system has been virtually …

The Impact Of Study Strategies On Knowledge Growth And Summative Exam Performance In The First Year Of Medical School, Markia Black, William L. Romine, Molly Simonis, Jeffrey L. Peters, Volker Bahn, Amber Todd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Although the distinction between deep and surface processing strategies, their potential to differentially impact learning, and data supporting the superiority of deep processing strategies on summative exam scores are well supported by the literature, more work is needed to understand: (1) how medical students combine study strategies into learning practices, and (2) the effectiveness of these learning practices in facilitating knowledge gains as measured by standardized test scores.

Linking Science And Literacy Through Multimodal Text Sets: Student Perspectives, Heba Abdelnaby, William L. Romine, Delinda Van Garderen, Tracey Milarsky, Ankita Agarwal, Qingli Lei, Cassandra Smith, Amy Lannin, William Folk, Rachel Juergensen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We present findings of a mixed methods study examining the perceptions of students’ (with and without disabilities) understanding and engagement with multimodal STEM text sets. Exit slip and survey data were used to identify areas for improvement in the development of the multimodal STEM text sets for middle school students. Data were collected from 434 middle school students, 86 of whom had a disability, from six teachers’ classrooms in Spring 2021. Significant differences in perceptions of understanding of argumentation were reported between students with and without disabilities. However, ratings of the lessons and the quality of learning, as well as …

Measuring Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Using Scenario-Based Assessments Grounded In Real-World Issues, William L. Romine, Amy Lannin, Ankita Agarwal, Maha Kareem, Emily Burwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Improving students’ use of argumentation is front and center in the increasing emphasis on scientific practice in K-12 Science and STEM programs. We explore the construct validity of scenario-based assessments of claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) and the structure of the CER construct with respect to a learning progression framework. We also seek to understand how middle school students progress. Establishing the purpose of an argument is a competency that a majority of middle school students meet, whereas quantitative reasoning is the most difficult, and the Rasch model indicates that the competencies form a unidimensional hierarchy of skills. We also find no evidence …

Dnmt3a-Coordinated Splicing Governs The Stem State Switch Towards Differentiation In Embryonic And Haematopoietic Stem Cells, Raghav Ramabadran, Jarey H Wang, Jaime M Reyes, Anna G Guzman, Sinjini Gupta, Carina Rosas, Lorenzo Brunetti, Michael C Gundry, Ayala Tovy, Hali Long, Tianpeng Gu, Sean M Cullen, Siddhartha Tyagi, Danielle Rux, Jean J Kim, Steven M Kornblau, Michael Kyba, Fabio Stossi, Rachel E Rau, Koichi Takahashi, Thomas F Westbrook, Margaret A Goodell

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Upon stimulation by extrinsic stimuli, stem cells initiate a programme that enables differentiation or self-renewal. Disruption of the stem state exit has catastrophic consequences for embryogenesis and can lead to cancer. While some elements of this stem state switch are known, major regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. Here we show that this switch involves a global increase in splicing efficiency coordinated by DNA methyltransferase 3α (DNMT3A), an enzyme typically involved in DNA methylation. Proper activation of murine and human embryonic and haematopoietic stem cells depends on messenger RNA processing, influenced by DNMT3A in response to stimuli. DNMT3A coordinates splicing through recruitment …