Biology Commons^™

Assembly Mechanism Of Early Hsp90-Cdc37-Kinase Complexes, Dimitra Keramisanou, M.V. Vasantha Kumar, Nicole Boose, Rinat R. Abzalimov, Ioannis Gelis

Advanced Science Research Center

Molecular chaperones have an essential role for the maintenance of a balanced protein homeostasis. Here, we investigate how protein kinases are recruited and loaded to the Hsp90-Cdc37 complex, the first step during Hsp90-mediated chaperoning that leads to enhanced client kinase stability and activation. We show that conformational dynamics of all partners is a critical feature of the underlying loading mechanism. The kinome co-chaperone Cdc37 exists primarily in a dynamic extended conformation but samples a low-populated, well-defined compact structure. Exchange between these two states is maintained in an assembled Hsp90-Cdc37 complex and is necessary for substrate loading. Breathing motions at the …

Synergistic Impacts Of Climate Change And Human Induced Stressors On The Apalachicola Bay Food Web, Kira Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Apalachicola Bay, an estuary located in northwest Florida, is likely to experience an increase in climate change and human-induced stressors, such as sea level rise and changes in freshwater inflow, in the future. A coupled hydrodynamic and food web modeling approach was used to simulate future scenarios of low and high river flow and sea level rise in Apalachicola Bay from 2020 to 2049 and demonstrate the range of temporal and spatial changes in water temperature, salinity, fisheries species populations and the broader food web. Concurrent with model development, a survey of Apalachicola Bay stakeholders was conducted to assess stakeholder …

Environmental Effects On Constructed Wetland Microbial Diversity And Function In The Context Of Wastewater Management, Sandrine Grandmont-Lemire

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Microbial communities play a crucial role in ecosystems, yet we know little about how microbial diversity influences ecosystem functioning. An important gap in our understanding is how environmental change affects microbial Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function relationships (BEF). These complex interactions between microbial biodiversity and ecosystem function can influence major biogeochemical processes, such as the nitrogen cycle in wetland ecosystems, which play an important role in managing wastewater. To address the effect of biodiversity on function, my study investigates the BEF relationships between microbial diversity and the function in terms of ammonia removal from wastewater at the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility (AWTF) both …

Synthesis Of Rna Nucleotides Under Probable Prebiotic Conditions, Ryan Stimson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

RNA being composed of multiple covalently linked nucleotides is thought to have been a precursor to life circa 4.3-3.8 billion years ago. Non-enzymatically formed adenosine monophosphate (AMP), more specifically, is a vitally important subtopic of the self-assembly of the first RNA sequence. The goal of this study was to synthesize AMP non-enzymatically under benign conditions that are likely to have existed on early Earth. In this experiment, 3’,5’-cAMP was successfully formed using wet-dry cycles at 80°C paired with the minerals zeolite beta, hydroxyapatite, and aerosil 300 in the presence of adenosine, urea, and pyrophosphate. A nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer was …

Frayed Connections: How Long-Term Nitrogen Additions Disrupt Plant-Soil Interactions And The Carbon Cycle Of A Temperate Forest, Brooke A. Eastman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Forests are expected to mitigate some of the negative effects of climate change by sequestering anthropogenic carbon (C) from the atmosphere, but the degree to which they drawn down C will depend on the availability of key nutrients, such as nitrogen (N). There is a fair amount of uncertainty in the future of the forest C sink, mostly owing to the fate of soil organic matter (SOM) and soil heterotrophic respiration to future conditions. In N limited systems, plants allocate a significant amount of their photosynthate belowground for the acquisition of nutrients, but under conditions of chronic N deposition, plants …

The Challenges Of Growing Orchids From Seeds For Conservation: An Assessment Of Asymbiotic Techniques, Devani Jolman, Martín I. Batalla, Alexis Hungerford, Pryce Norwood, Noah Tait, Lisa E. Wallace

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Lewis Knudson first successfully germinated orchid seeds asymbiotically on artificial medium in 1922. While many orchid species have since been grown asymbiotically, the tremendous variation in how species respond to artificial medium and growth conditions ex situ has also become apparent in the past century. In this study, we reviewed published journal articles on asymbiotic orchid seed germination to provide a summary of techniques used and to evaluate if these differ between terrestrial and epiphytic species, to identify areas where additional research is needed, and to evaluate whether asymbiotic germination could be used more often in ex situ conservation. We …

Biotic Characteristics Of Managed And Unmanaged Coastal Dunes In The Outer Banks, North Carolina, Andrew E. White

Theses and Dissertations

Under future climate change and sea level rise scenarios, Natural and Nature-Based Features (e.g., dunes) that protect coastal habitat and infrastructure will be exposed to increased wave energy and storm surge. Understanding how these forces will impact coastal dunes is necessary for their continued use as protective features. Coastal dunes develop through feedback between vegetation and sediment deposition, a process complicated by species-specific growth rates and responses to burial. Wave flume studies have tested the effects of dune vegetation on erosion and found multiple plant organs across several functional types to be important for resisting erosion. Although dune building and …

Grassland Bird Responses To Bison And Prescribed Fire Disturbances At Nachusa Grasslands And Kankakee Sands, Antonio Del Valle

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Grazing from native herbivores such as bison (Bison bison), in combination with prescribed fire, are applied to tallgrass prairies by managers to recreate important disturbance patterns in this ecosystem. Bird communities may be indirectly impacted by these disturbances through their direct impact on plants that provides critical breeding habitat for grassland birds. The objectives of this research are to determine the impacts that bison and prescribed fire have on grassland breeding birds in two tallgrass prairie preserves, Kankakee Sands and Nachusa Grasslands. Birds, vegetation structure, and bison activity were surveyed systematically at these two preserves in 2020 and 2021. Prescribed …

Monitoring And Modelling The Dynamics Of The Cellular Glycolysis Pathway: A Review And Future Perspectives, Nitin Patil, Hugh Byrne, Orla L. Howe, Paul A. Cahill

Articles

Background

The dynamics of the cellular glycolysis pathway underpin cellular function and dysfunction, and therefore ultimately health, disease, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Evolving our understanding of this fundamental process and its dynamics remains critical.

Scope of review

This paper reviews the medical relevance of glycolytic pathway in depth and explores the current state of the art for monitoring and modelling the dynamics of the process. The future perspectives of label free, vibrational microspectroscopic techniques to overcome the limitations of the current approaches are considered.

Major conclusions

Vibrational microspectroscopic techniques can potentially operate in the niche area of limitations of other …

Assessment Of Temperature Optimum Signatures Of Corals At Both Latitudinal Extremes Of The Red Sea, Guilhem Banc-Prandi, Nicolas R. Evensen, Daniel J. Barshis, Gabriela Perna, Youssouf Moussa Omar, Maoz Fine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Rising ocean temperatures are pushing reef-building corals beyond their temperature optima (T_opt), resulting in reduced physiological performances and increased risk of bleaching. Identifying refugia with thermally resistant corals and understanding their thermal adaptation strategy is therefore urgent to guide conservation actions. The Gulf of Aqaba (GoA, northern Red Sea) is considered a climate refuge, hosting corals that may originate from populations selected for thermal resistance in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura (GoT, entrance to the Red Sea and 2000 km south of the GoA). To better understand the thermal adaptation strategy of GoA corals, …

Impacts Of Plastic Pollution On A Pelagic Marine Mammal, The Northern Elephant Seal, Lauren M. Kashiwabara

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

As plastic pollution increases, top marine predators such as marine mammals are becoming increasingly susceptible to plastic particles and their additives. Plastic particles have been found in gastrointestinal tracts and scat of many marine mammals, and quantifying plastic pollution in those that are pelagic can provide insight into plastic pollution in mesopelagic ecosystems that are just beginning to be analyzed. Adapting well-developed laboratory techniques for microplastic (MP) isolation (i.e. density separation and chemical digestion), I isolated MPs from the scat of the deepest diving pinniped, the northern elephant seal (NES), and found that100% of scat samples (n=11) contained high counts …

Disentangling The Complex Evolutionary History Of Invasive Russian Thistle: Phylogenetic Relationships, The Role Of Hybridization, And Public Engagement, Deva Raj Khanal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species are forces of environmental, economic, and social change with detrimental impacts on ecosystems, commerce, agriculture, and human health. However, we still have a poor understanding of the processes that could be driving invasive potential. Hybridization may contribute to the establishment and spread of invasive lineages, as it may enhance genetic variation and facilitate rapid adaptation. Focusing on Russian thistle (Salsola tragus s.l., family Amaranthaceae) and closely related species, my thesis aims to clarify phylogenetic relationships and investigate how hybridization has shaped the invasion dynamics of these lineages. Known as one of the fastest plant invasions in the United …

Decomposition And Macroinvertebrate Shredder Colonization Of Autumnal Shed Sycamore Leaves In Mining-Contaminated Streams, Leslie Marie Hatch

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Leaf decomposition in streams is an important ecological function facilitated by bacteria, fungi, and macroinvertebrates. Metal contamination can decrease leaf decomposition rates and reduce macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity. In the current study, I focused on mining-contamination in well-buffered streams in two different Missouri mining districts with varying extents of mining contamination, Big River and Pierson Creek. I measured decomposition rates of sycamore leaves, and abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate shredders in leaf pack experiments with a full-factorial design to determine the effects of metal contamination of leaves and stream substrates. Comparisons were made between leaf packs upstream and downstream of …

Optical And Chemical Properties Of Fragaria Ananassa And Galena: Potential Photosensitizers In A Natural Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell, Ibukun S Akinsola, Aderemi B Alabi, Coppede Nicola

Tanzania Journal of Science

Dye is one of the major components for high power conversion efficiency in a dye-sensitized solar cell. There are challenges natural dyes encounter, especially with quick degradation of the dye molecules. This work considered mineral dye in comparison with plant dye to address the challenge of degradation of natural plant dyes. The optical properties and functional groups of the two natural dyes were studied in this work. The absorption spectra, the optical band gaps and the absorption coefficients of the dyes were reported and found to be suitable for use as photosensitizers in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), as they …

Biodiesel Generation From Palm Kernel Biomass Via An In-Situ Transesterification Approach, Chikaodili D Ikechukwu, Ikhazuagbe H Ifijen, Nyaknno U. Udokpoh

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study investigated an in-situ transesterification of palm kernel biomass at variable reaction times (4 h, 5 h and 6 h) and catalyst loading (2 wt%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.%). The biodiesel yields were observed to vary with these parameters. GC-MS analysis showed high fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) contents for all the prepared biodiesel samples (C-18:1, C-14:0, C-16:0, and C-18:0). 2 wt.% catalyst loading and 4 h reaction time were observed to be the best reaction conditions from the experimented parameters that gave the best biodiesel yield at 300 rpm mixing intensity. The in-situ method recorded a higher …

Joint Management Of Upland & Aquatic Habitat For The California Red-Legged Frog & California Tiger Salamander, Kyle E. Verblaauw

Master's Projects and Capstones

As federally and state protected amphibians, the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) are recipients of ample management focus. Both species face a variety of threats, including habitat loss and alteration, introduction of non-native species, spread of disease, and effects of climate change. While management plans for the California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog exist, they frequently do not consider both species in tandem and often contain multiple shortcomings. This document aims to address the shortfalls of current management by providing practical recommendations for jointly managing the upland and …

Characterization Of Landfill Leachate For Enhanced Metal Recovery, Hanna Fulford, Amisha Shah, Inez Hua, Nadezhda Zyaykina, Lori Hoagland, Alejandro Rodriguez Sanchez, Umut Bicim

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Landfills contain a trove of valuable materials, such as critical, precious, and rare earth metals, that are integral to the United State’s economy and national security. The leachate that filters through landfills picks up these materials, which allows for the possibility of recovery. For this research, samples will be analyzed from landfills throughout the Midwestern United States to provide a baseline on water quality constituents, elements present, and microbial activity. Preliminary data for this study was acquired by analyzing samples of landfill leachate from a landfill in northern Indiana. pH readings indicate that the leachate is slightly basic. It also …

Flavonoids Reduce Lipid Peroxides And Increase Glutathione Levels In Pooled Human Liver Microsomes (Hlms), William Yaw Boadi, Camille Stevenson, Dontrez Johnson, Mohamed Adel Mohamed

Chemistry Faculty Research

The effects of each of the flavonoids; genistein (G), quercetin (Q) and kaempferol (K) at several doses on lipid peroxides (LP) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in pooled human liver microsomes (HLMs) were investigated following the oxidative damage for 4, 6, 18 and 24 hr. HLMs (1 mg/ml) were exposed to each of the above flavonoids at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 μM and incubated for the respective times as previously stated. Our hypothesis was that HLMs exposed to the flavonoids for the respective exposure times can decrease LP and increase GSH in HLMs to better cope with the …

Mass Spectra Of Mesonic Molecules At Finite Temperature, Arezu Jahanshir, Mohammad Reza Soltani

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

At a finite temperature, exotic hadronic systems, mass spectrum was studied using the quark structure and the radial Schrödinger equation with the Cornell interaction potential representing the hadronic interaction. The projective unitary representation has been used in the study of hadronic ground states in physics. A relativistic bound state's mass spectrum with temperature dependence is shown to have a unique feature. The resulting values are compared to experimental and theoretical values, and the study showed a high level of conformity with additional values wherever feasible.

Efficiency Of +Idonblender Photogrammetric Tool In Facial Prosthetics Rehabilitation – An Evaluation Study, Mohammed R. Falih, Fanar M. Abed, Rodrigo Salazar-Gamarra, Luciano Lauria Dib

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Several open-source 3D modeling software tools have recently been featured to reconstruct a 3D image-based model using Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms such as +IDonBlender. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate the accuracy of the models extracted from this tool to prove effectiveness for different applications. This paper aims to evaluate the +IDonBlender methodology tool in rehabilitating facial deformations. +IDonBlender is an add-on tool programmed within Blender software and designed for medical applications. In this research, two individuals from different genders have volunteered to contribute to this study, one with severe facial deformation and the other is healthy with no …

Proposed Hybrid Correlationfeatureselectionforestpanalizedattribute Approach To Advance Idss, Doaa Nteesha Mhawi, Prof. Soukaena H. Hashem

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

NetworkIntrusionDetectionSystem(NIDS), widely used network infrastructure. Although many datamining has been used to increase the effectiveness of IDSs, current ID still struggle to perform well. therfore; proposed a new NIDS focused on feature_selection. The proposed CorrelationFeatureSelection_ForestPanalizedAttributes(CFS_FPA) used for dimensionality_reduction and selects the optimal_subset. based on two steps: first check each feature with a target(class) and choose only features that most effective by applying CFS filter using a statistical_method, then applied FPA to select only features will enhance ID and reduce_dimensionality. proposal tested with the NSLKDD experimental results of accuracy 0.997% and 0.004 FAR, wherein UNSWNB15_dataset accuracy and FAR are 0.995%, 0.008 …

Analysis Of Modern Communication Protocols For Iot Applications, Neerendra Kumar, Pragti Jamwal

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

To facilitate increasing interactions of machines, various protocols are building up for IoT applications. Safeguarding communication among devices is necessary. In this paper, various protocols have been studied and compared using six parameters: Communication overhead, Security, Packet Loss, Throughput, Bandwidth and Support to QoS. LIDOR is found as the most successful communication protocol. A tabulated comparison of various communication protocols have been provided by comparing the parameters. Further, six star rating for the various protocols have been proposed. The study shows that LIDOR increases reliability under DoS attacks. Considering the existing literature, new research gaps and challenges have been presented.

The Effect Of Diode Laser On The Life And Appearance Of White Ant (Psammotermes Hypostoma), Estabraq Mahmood Mahdi Msc, Sahar Naji Rashid Msc., Saeed Maher Lafta Ph.D., Arshad Mahdi Hamad Msc

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

This work focused on studying effect of diode laser on external appearance of white ants, and finding the percentage of mortality resulting from this beam of (650nm),(5mW),exposure times (60,70,80,90,100)sec at (3,5)cm for each exposure. The results recorded showed a clear increase in death rates, and increase in deformations as laser exposure times increased (higher percentage at lower distance), where laser was used to capture results of this therapeutic effect after passage time periods (12,24,48,72)hours. These results, show laser thermal effects resulting from its interaction with tissues, thermal propagation leads to ravage to the structures, thus to an increase death rates.

Calculation And Comparison Of Certain Physical Properties Of Sample Irregular Galaxies With The Milky Way Galaxy, Hasanain Hassan Al-Dahlaki Msc

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Irregular galaxies often include a mix of old and young celestial populations, as well as dust and gas. This study makes an early effort at the morphological classification of irregular galaxies. These sources have been chosen from (70) irregular galaxies data samples from a Catalogue survey. We present a statistical analysis of the physical properties for the chosen data from the database and a collection of tools that used to study the physics of galaxies and cosmology HYPERLEDA (http://atlas.obshp.fr/hyperleda/) and NASA /IPAC Extragalactic Database NED (https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/) survey.

Seasonal Variation Of Microbiota In Shank Acanthopagrus Latus Living In Both Brackish And Fresh Water, Ali A. Al-Hisnawi Ph.D., Jassim M. Mustafa, Yass K. Yasser, Khalid A. Hussain, Ameera M. Jabur

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The present study was conducted to monitor the microbiota in the posterior intestine of Shank fish living in the river (fresh water) and Al-Razzaza lake (salt or brackish water) in Kerbala, Iraq. Cultivable bacteria were calculated and identified from specimens obtained from the posterior intestine of mucosa (PM) and digesta (PD) during summer and winter seasons. The total culturable bacteria (TCB) of bacteria isolated from both intestinal regions from fresh water fish during summer time were higher than counterparts in winter time. In contrast, the TVC of bacteria isolated from the PM from salt water fish during winter time were …

Evaluation Of The Healing Activity Of Cucurbita Spp. Leaf And Seed Extracts On Experimental Thermal Burns, Sanaa Jameel Thamer Ph.D., Prof. Maha Khalil Ibrahim, Dr. Khalid Shanshal Alnema

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Burns are the most common skin injuries associated with many complications and high incidences of wound infections. Many compounds of plant products have been assessed to accelerate wound healing or reduce contamination. The possible healing effect of two Cucurbita spp. in skin burns was investigated. Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita pepo leaves and seeds were extracted using ethanol and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Second-degree burn wounds were made on laboratory rats, and the burn wounds were applied topically with extracts for 14 days and silver sulfadiazine (SS) for comparison. Serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was analyzed post-treatment. Hydroxyproline content …

Energy Conservation Approach Of Wireless Sensor Networks For Iot Applications, Suha Abdulhussein Abdulzahra Msc, Ali Kadhum M. Al-Qurabat Ph.D., Prof. Dr. Ali Kadhum Idrees

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Wireless Sensor Network is one of the most important contributors to IoT and performs significant role in people's lives due to its extensive use in many applications. Energy-saving is essential since sensor nodes are working by their restricted battery. In this article, data reduction method proposed to work at Gateway level of network. In GW, proposed method works as filtering via enabling GW to identify, then remove, sets of data that are redundant and produced by neighboring nodes. Principle idea of method recommended at this level is to exploit the advantage of spatial correlation between sensors to minimize energy depletion.

Biosynthesis, Characterization And Antiproliferative Activity Of Green Synthesized Gold Nanoparticles Using Lantadene A Extracted From Lantana Camara, Dawood Ali Salim Dawood, Lee Suan Chua Ph.D, Tian Swee Tan Ph.D, Ahmed F. Alshemary Ph.D

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

This study was focused on the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles loaded with lantadene A (LA-AuNPs) from Lantana camara extract and the antiproliferative effects on prostate cancer cells (LNCaP). The synthesized LA-AuNPs had smooth surface, and nearly spherical in shape (67.94 nm) with the zeta potential (-30.11±0.83 mV). LAAuNPs showed a dose dependent cytotoxic activity with IC50, 126.82 µg/mL against LNCaP, but non-cytotoxic to normal prostate cells. The intrinsic pathway of apoptosis was caused by the increase of caspases-3/7 and -9 activity and cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Therefore, LA-AuNPs could be a potent lead to inhibit LNCaP

An Online E-Voting System Based On An Adaptive Ledger With Singular Value Decomposition Technique, Rihab Habeeb Sahib, Prof. Dr. Eman Salih Al-Shamery

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Regular E-voting systems for elections may count the votes in less time,less cost,save the privacy of citizens,but still considered risky as votes can be tampered.E-voting systems based on a network distributed ledger show fast results,more trusted,save privacy,cannot be tampered,and distributed in which no central organization controls the system.This paper illustrate an e-voting system to solve the challenge of a massive ledger that is distributed among network-nodes using a data reduction technique as a security-matching-tool,singular value decomposition(SVD) that handle a copy of election results in another form and matched with the SQL-database results to announce a successful election-event representing a transparency-powerful-secured-system

Detecting Malicious Dns Queries Over Encrypted Tunnels Using Statistical Analysis And Bi-Directional Recurrent Neural Networks, Mohammad Al-Fawa'reh, Zain Ashi, Mousa Tayseer Jafar

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The exponential rise in the number of malicious threats targeting computer networks and digital services puts network infrastructure in jeopardy. Domain name protocol attacks are one of the most pervasive network attacks posing a threat to networks, whereby attackers send harmful information to the network; this type of threat is identified as DNS tunneling. The DNS protocol has recently gained increased attention from cyber-attackers, targeting organizations with a web presence or reliance on e-commerce businesses. Cyber-attackers can subtly exploit the contents of encrypted DNS packets that are sent across covert network tunnels, which are difficult for firewalls and blacklist detection …