Biology Commons^™

Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Properties Of Metal-Ion Doped Borate Bioactive Glasses For Clinical Applications, Megan Ottomeyer

Masters Theses

"Bioactive glasses with antimicrobial properties can be implemented as coatings on medical devices and implants, as well as a treatment for tissue repair and prevention of common hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA A borate-containing glass, B3, is also undergoing clinical trials to assess wound-healing properties. The sensitivities of various bacteria to B3, B3-Ag, B3-Ga, and B3-I bioactive glasses were tested. In addition, the mechanism of action for the glasses was studied by spectroscopic enzyme kinetics experiments, Live-Dead staining fluorescence microscopy, and luminescence assays using two gene fusion strains of Escherichia coli.

It was found that gram-positive bacteria were more …

Production Of 1,3-Propanediol From Glycerol Under Haloalkaline Conditions By Halanaerobium Hydrogeniformans, Daniel William Roush

Masters Theses

"With increased demands around the world to make modern lifestyles more environmentally friendly, the chemical commodity market has rapidly shifted. Through new technologies in chemical production, certain high value products have oversaturated the market and have become high-volume, low value waste products. The expansion of biodiesel production offers a prime example; high volumes of glycerol byproduct from this process have shifted glycerol from a high priced commodity to a common waste product. A number of microorganisms are known to synthesize the polymeric precursor 1,3-propanediol from glycerol; however, crude glycerol from biodiesel production creates a harsh environment for most microbes, and …

Wetting And Drying Cycles And The Fungal Communities On Leaf Litter In Streams, Kele Qwinn Thrailkill

Masters Theses

"Leaf litter is a major source of energy for streams in deciduous forests. Fungi play a critical role by converting the leaves into nutritional material for the rest of the food web. The breakdown of leaf litter and associated biota, including invertebrates and fungi, have been proposed as measures of stream health in systems affected by anthropogenic activity. Rates of leaf breakdown can be depressed in streams affected by acidity, metals, organic contaminants, and other stressors. Climate change may lead to alterations in stream hydrology such that streams experience more frequent floods as well as drying episodes. Fungal communities can …

Evidence For An Interaction Of Neuronostatin With The Orphan G Protein-Coupled Receptor, Gpr107, Gina L.C. Yosten, Lauren J. Redlinger, Willis K. Samson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Neuronostatin, derived from the somatostatin preprohormone, is a recently described peptide that is produced by several tissues involved in cardiovascular regulation and metabolism, including the hypothalamus. Injection of neuronostatin into the lateral cerebroventricle led to a dose-related increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in rats. Any attempt to inhibit the production of neuronostatin would alter somatostatin production as well, making determination of the physiological relevance of the peptide's pharmacologic effects by compromise of production approaches impossible. Therefore, we employed an alternative approach to identify and compromise the production of the neuronostatin receptor. Because neuronostatin was shown to signal via a …

Iqgap Family Members In Yeast, Dictyostelium, And Mammalian Cells, Katie Shannon

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

IQGAPs are a family of scaffolding proteins with multiple domains, named for the IQ motifs and GTPase activating protein (GAP) related domains. Despite their GAP homology, IQGAP proteins act as effectors for GTP-bound GTPases of the Ras superfamily and do not stimulate GTP hydrolysis. IQGAPs are found in eukaryotic cells from yeast to human, and localize to actin-containing structures such as lamellipodia, membrane ruffles, cell-cell adhesions, phagocytic cups, and the actomyosin ring formed during cytokinesis. Mammalian IQGAPs also act as scaffolds for signaling pathways. IQGAPs perform their myriad functions through association with a large number of proteins including filamentous actin …

Evidence For A Role Of Endogenous Nesfatin-1 In The Control Of Water Drinking, G. L.C. Yosten, L. Redlinger, W. K. Samson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nesfatin-1, a post-translational product of the nucleobindin-2 (NucB2) gene, is produced in several brain areas known to be important in neuroendocrine, autonomic and metabolic function, including the hypothalamus and medulla. The hallmark action of the peptide is its ability at picomole doses to inhibit food and water intake in rodents and, indeed, the effect on water intake is more pronounced than that on food intake. In preliminary studies, we observed a decrease in hypothalamic NucB2 expression in response to overnight water deprivation even when food was present, which reversed when water was returned to the animals. We therefore hypothesised that …

Evolution Of A Sexually Dimorphic Trait In A Broadly Distributed Topminnow (Fundulus Olivaceus), Jacob F. Schaefer, David D. Duvernell, Brian R. Kreiser, Charles Champagne, Scott R. Clark, Melissa Gutierrez, Laura K. Stewart, Chazz Coleman

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Understanding the interaction between sexual and natural selection within variable environments is crucial to our understanding of evolutionary processes. The handicap principle predicts females will prefer males with exaggerated traits provided those traits are indicators of male quality to ensure direct or indirect female benefits. Spatial variability in ecological factors is expected to alter the balance between sexual and natural selection that defines the evolution of such traits. Male and female blackspotted topminnows (Fundulidae: Fundulus olivaceus) display prominent black dorsolateral spots that are variable in number across its broad range. We investigated variability in spot phenotypes at 117 sites …

A Streamlined Strategy For Biohydrogen Production With Halanaerobium Hydrogeniformans, An Alkaliphilic Bacterium, Matthew B. Begemann, Melanie R. Mormile, Oliver C. Sitton, Judy D. Wall, Dwayne A. Elias

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Biofuels are anticipated to enable a shift from fossil fuels for renewable transportation and manufacturing fuels, with biohydrogen considered attractive since it could offer the largest reduction of global carbon budgets. Currently, lignocellulosic biohydrogen production remains inefficient with pretreatments that are heavily fossil fuel-dependent. However, bacteria using alkali-treated biomass could streamline biofuel production while reducing costs and fossil fuel needs. An alkaliphilic bacterium, Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans, is described that is capable of biohydrogen production at levels rivaling neutrophilic strains, but at pH 11 and hypersaline conditions. H. hydrogeniformans ferments a variety of 5-and 6-carbon sugars derived from hemicellulose and cellulose …

Foraging Alters Resilience/Vulnerability To Sleep Disruption And Starvation In Drosophila, Jeffrey Donlea, Averi Leahy, Matthew S. Thimgan, Yasuko Suzuki, Bryon N. Hughson, Marla B. Sokolowski, Paul J. Shaw

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent human studies suggest that genetic polymorphisms allow an individual to maintain optimal cognitive functioning during sleep deprivation. If such polymorphisms were not associated with additional costs, selective pressures would allow these alleles to spread through the population such that an evolutionary alternative to sleep would emerge. To determine whether there are indeed costs associated with resiliency to sleep loss, we challenged natural allelic variants of the foraging gene (for) with either sleep deprivation or starvation. Flies with high levels of Protein Kinase G (PKG) (for^R) do not display deficits in short-term memory following 12 …

In Vivo Evaluation Of Microfibrous Bioactive Borate Glasses For Use In Wound Healing, Yinan Lin

Masters Theses

"This project consisted of two parts focused on in vivo evaluation of microfibrous bioactive borate glasses for use in wound healing. Part one of the project involved subcutaneous implantation of two types of borate glass microfibers and 45S5 glass micro fibers in the dorsum of rats and histologically evaluating the soft tissues at the implant sites at 2 to 4 weeks post surgery. The primary objective was to assess the angiogenic response to the implanted materials. The 13-93B3 and 13-93B3Cu glass microfibers were found to significantly increase the microvascular density in soft tissue, an outcome that suggests these simple and …

Physiochemical Characteristics Contributing To The Cytotoxicity Of Transition Metal Oxides, Chi-Heng Wu

Masters Theses

"In the past ten years nanotechnology has not only evolved to play a prominent role in our economy but also increased the concern over potential adverse effects caused by nanomaterials to human health and the environment. Nanotoxicity is to understand the nature and origin of the toxicity imposed by nanomaterials. Studies from our laboratory have shown that nanoparticle induces oxidative stress, perturbs calcium homeostasis, alter gene expression, and produces pro-inflammatory responses. We also identified a trend of toxicity: TiO₂ < Cr₂O₃ < Fe₂O₃ < Mn₂O₃ < NiO < ZnO < CuO. We then asked a question: what are physiochemical factors of transition metal nanoparticles that contributed to this increasing cytotoxicity. In this thesis I investigated the correlation between physicochemical properties and toxicity of the transition metal oxides in the 4th Period of the Periodic Table of Elements. Particle size, BET surface area, point of zero charge, metal dissolution, and degree of surface adsorption of transition metal oxide nanoparticles were measured. There were no increasing trends in both particle size and specific surface area. The point of zero charge showed an increasing trend as TiO₂ < Cr₂O₃ < Fe₂O₃ < NiO < CuO = ZnO < Mn₂O₃. The number of available binding sites of nanoparticle showed an increasing trend as Cr₂O₃ > ZnO > CuO > NiO > Fe₂O₃ > Mn₂O₃ > TiO₂. The degree of adsorption on the surface of nanoparticles showed an increasing trend with atomic …

Analysis Of A Wound-Induced Gene Family In Glycine Max, Gena Robertson

Masters Theses

Gene families in plants are important in understanding genome evolution indicating when and where genome duplications and segmental duplications occurred as well as subsequent divergence and subfunctionalization. A gene family in Glycine max that encodes a WI12 protein, wound-induced protein, was found to consist of ten genes on five chromosomes. Wound-induced proteins are activated in response to wounding in plants, and the WI12 protein in particular is thought to be involved in cell wall modifications at the wound site. A variety of bioinformatics tools have been used to analyze the expansion of this family in soybean as well as identify …

Pulmonary Diffusional Screening And The Scaling Laws Of Mammalian Metabolic Rates, Chen Hou, Michael Mayo

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Theoretical considerations suggest that the mammalian metabolic rate is linearly proportional to the surface areas of mitochondria, capillary, and alveolar membranes. However, the scaling exponents of these surface areas to the mammals' body mass (approximately 0.9-1) are higher than exponents of the resting metabolic rate (RMR) to body mass (approximately 0.75), although similar to the one of exercise metabolic rate (EMR); the underlying physiological cause of this mismatch remains unclear. The analysis presented here shows that discrepancies between the scaling exponents of RMR and the relevant surface areas may originate from, at least for the system of alveolar membranes in …

Distant Positioning Of Proteasomal Proteolysis Relative To Actively Transcribed Genes, Andrea Scharf, Petar N. Grozdanov, Roman Veith, Ulrich Kubitscheck, U. Thomas Meier, Anna Von Mikecz

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

While it is widely acknowledged that the ubiquitin-proteasome system plays an important role in transcription, little is known concerning the mechanistic basis, in particular the spatial organization of proteasome-dependent proteolysis at the transcription site. Here, we show that proteasomal activity and tetraubiquitinated proteins concentrate to nucleoplasmic microenvironments in the euchromatin. Such proteolytic domains are immobile and distinctly positioned in relation to transcriptional processes. Analysis of gene arrays and early genes in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos reveals that proteasomes and proteasomal activity are distantly located relative to transcriptionally active genes. In contrast, transcriptional inhibition generally induces local overlap of proteolytic microdomains with …

A General Life History Theory For Effects Of Caloric Restriction On Health Maintenance, Chen Hou, Kendra Bolt, Aviv Bergman

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to keep organisms in a relatively youthful and healthy state compared to ad libitum fed counterparts, as well as to extend the lifespan of a diverse set of organisms. Several attempts have been made to understand the underlying mechanisms from the viewpoint of energy tradeoffs in organisms' life histories. However, most models are based on assumptions which are difficult to justify, or are endowed with free-adjusting parameters whose biological relevancy is unclear.

Results: In this paper, we derive a general quantitative, predictive model based on physiological data for endotherms. We test the hypothesis …

Neuronostatin Acts In Brain To Biphasically Increase Mean Arterial Pressure Through Sympatho-Activation Followed By Vasopressin Secretion: The Role Of Melanocortin Receptors, Gina L.C. Yosten, Alicia T. Pate, Willis K. Samson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Neuronostatin is a recently described neuropeptide that is derived from the somatostatin preprohormone. We have shown previously that neuronostatin led to a biphasic, dose-related increase in mean arterial pressure when injected into the lateral cerebroventricle of adult, male rats. Because neuronostatin depolarized both magnocellular and parvocellular, paraventricular nucleus neurons in hypothalamic slice preparations, we hypothesized that neuronostatin elevated mean arterial pressure first by stimulating sympathetic nervous system activity followed by the release of a pressor hormone, specifically vasopressin. We found that the first phase of neuronostatin-induced increase in mean arterial pressure was reversed by pretreatment with phentolamine, indicating that phase …

Microrna Profiling Reveals Age-Dependent Differential Expression Of Nuclear Factor B And Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase In Adipose And Bone Marrow-Derived Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Amitabh C. Pandey, Julie A. Semon, Deepak Kaushal, Regina P. O'Sullivan, Julie Glowacki, Jeffrey M.. Gimble, Bruce A. Bunnell

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Introduction. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play a central role in mediating endogenous repair of cell and tissue damage. Biologic aging is a universal process that results in changes at the cellular and molecular levels. In the present study, the role of microRNA (miRNA) in age-induced molecular changes in MSCs derived from adipose tissue (ASCs) and bone marrow (BMSCs) from young and old human donors were investigated by using an unbiased genome-wide approach.

Methods. Human ASCs and BMSCs from young and old donors were cultured, and total RNA was isolated. The miRNA fraction was enriched and used to determine the expression …

Casein Α S1 Is Expressed By Human Monocytes And Upregulates The Production Of Gm-Csf Via P38 Mapk, Stefan Vordenbäumen, Achim Braukmann, Klaudia Petermann, Andrea Scharf, Ellen Bleck, Anna Von Mikecz, Joachim Jose, Matthias Schneider

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Caseins are major constituents of mammalian milks that are thought to be exclusively expressed in mammary glands and to function primarily as a protein source, as well as to ameliorate intestinal calcium uptake. In addition, proinflammatory and immunomodulatory properties have been reported for bovine caseins. Our aim was to investigate whether human casein α s1 (CSN1S1) is expressed outside the mammary gland and possesses immunomodulatory functions in humans as well. For this purpose, CSN1S1 mRNA was detected in primary human monocytes and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but not in CD19 + B cells. CSN1S1 protein was traceable in supernatants …

Mutation Of The Hof1 Pest Domain Affects Cytokinesis In Budding Yeast, Katherine E. Stockstill

Masters Theses

"Cytokinesis is the division of a cell into two daughter cells. Cytokinesis failure results in polyploidy, which may contribute to tumorigenesis or cause cell death. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Hof1, which is required for efficient cytokinesis, is phosphorylated during mitosis. The hypothesis that MEN (mitotic exit network) dependent phosphorylation regulates Hof1 degradation, triggering completion of cytokinesis was tested. Hof1 contains a PEST sequence, which is rich in proline, glutamic acid, serine, and threonine, and is believed to be involved in protein degradation. To test the hypothesis, we created two non-phosphorylatable mutants of the Hof1 PEST domain tagged with GFP. The …

Synthesis And Toxicity Studies Of Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids, Ninu Madria

Masters Theses

"There is a considerable recent interest in the applications of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as green solvents in organic synthesis and as nonvolatile electrolytes in lithium ion batteries. A variety of commercially available imidazolium based RTILs have been used for these applications, mainly due to their negligible vapor pressures, high thermal stabilities, wide liquid range, wide electrochemical windows and high anodic stability. The state of the art lithium ion batteries require the use of electrolytes that have relatively low viscosities at temperatures as low as -35°C. This thesis describes the synthesis of novel oxygenated and fluorinated imidazolium based RTILs …

Isolation And Characterization Of Bacterial Symbionts From Crotalaria Spectabilis Grown On Trichloroethene Contaminated Soil, April Lyn Rocha

Masters Theses

"The discovery of several members of the Leguminosae family growing on a TCE contaminated site demonstrated that they have the capabilities to tolerate the TCE contamination. This led to an investigation of the plants' ability to metabolize TCE. Research by Dr. Lee Newman showed that nodules from Crotalaria spectabilis grown on the site had TCE metabolites present while nodules from other legumes at the site did not. The presence of TCE metabolites within the C. spectabilis nodules suggests that the bacterial symbiont may be responsible for TCE metabolism. This led us to investigate the symbiont of C. spectabilis and its …

Toxicity Of Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticles: Recent Insights From In Vitro Studies, Yue-Wern Huang, Chi-Heng Wu, Robert Aronstam

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nanotechnology has evolved to play a prominent role in our economy. Increased use of nanomaterials poses potential human health risk. It is therefore critical to understand the nature and origin of the toxicity imposed by nanomaterials (nanotoxicity). In this article we review the toxicity of the transition metal oxides in the 4th period that are widely used in industry and biotechnology. Nanoparticle toxicity is compellingly related to oxidative stress and alteration of calcium homeostasis, gene expression, pro-inflammatory responses, and cellular signaling events. The precise physicochemical properties that dictate the toxicity of nanoparticles have yet to be defined, but may include …

Nona-Arginine Facilitates Delivery Of Quantum Dots Into Cells Via Multiple Pathways, Yi Xu, Betty Revon Liu, Han Jung Lee, Katie Shannon, Jeffrey G. Winiarz, Tien-Chun Wang, Huey-Jenn Chiang, Yue-Wern Huang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have recently been used to deliver and monitor biomolecules, such as drugs and proteins. However, QDs alone have a low efficiency of transport across the plasma membrane. In order to increase the efficiency, we used synthetic nona-arginine (SR9), a cell-penetrating peptide, to facilitate uptake. We found that SR9 increased the cellular uptake of QDs in a noncovalent binding manner between QDs and SR9. Further, we investigated mechanisms of QD/SR9 cellular internalization. Low temperature and metabolic inhibitors markedly inhibited the uptake of QD/SR9, indicating that internalization is an energy-dependent process. Results from both the pathway inhibitors and …

The Perilipin Homologue, Lipid Storage Droplet 2, Regulates Sleep Homeostasis And Prevents Learning Impairments Following Sleep Loss, Matthew S. Thimgan, Yasuko Suzuki, Laurent Seugnet, Laura Gottschalk, Paul J. Shaw

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Extended periods of waking result in physiological impairments in humans, rats, and flies. Sleep homeostasis, the increase in sleep observed following sleep loss, is believed to counter the negative effects of prolonged waking by restoring vital biological processes that are degraded during sleep deprivation. Sleep homeostasis, as with other behaviors, is influenced by both genes and environment. We report here that during periods of starvation, flies remain spontaneously awake but, in contrast to sleep deprivation, do not accrue any of the negative consequences of prolonged waking. Specifically, the homeostatic response and learning impairments that are a characteristic of sleep loss …

Reverse Engineering Of Oxygen Transport In The Lung: Adaptation To Changing Demands And Resources Through Space-Filling Networks, Chen Hou, Stefan Gheorghiu, Virginia H. Huxley, Peter Pfeifer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The space-filling fractal network in the human lung creates a remarkable distribution system for gas exchange. Landmark studies have illuminated how the fractal network guarantees minimum energy dissipation, slows air down with minimum hardware, maximizes the gas- exchange surface area, and creates respiratory flexibility between rest and exercise. In this paper, we investigate how the fractal architecture affects oxygen transport and exchange under varying physiological conditions, with respect to performance metrics not previously studied. We present a renormalization treatment of the diffusion-reaction equation which describes how oxygen concentrations drop in the airways as oxygen crosses the alveolar membrane system. The …

The Anorexigenic And Hypertensive Effects Of Nesfatin-1 Are Reversed By Pretreatment With An Oxytocin Receptor Antagonist, Gina L.C. Yosten, Willis K. Samson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nesfatin-1 is an 82-amino acid protein encoded by the nucleobindin2 gene. When injected intracerebroventricularly, nesfatin-1, via a melanocortin 3/4 receptor-dependent mechanism, potently decreased both food and water intakes and elevated mean arterial pressure in a dose-related manner. Because nesfatin-1 colocalized with oxytocin in hypothalamus and because nesfatin-1 had direct depolarizing effects on oxytocin-producing neurons in hypothalamic slice preparations, we hypothesized that the actions of nesfatin-1 required the presence of functional oxytocin receptors. We, therefore, pretreated conscious, unrestrained male rats with the oxytocin receptor antagonist, ornithine vasotocin (OVT), before treatment with nesfatin-1. We found that pretreatment with OVT reversed the effects …

Energetic Basis Of Colonial Living In Social Insects, Chen Hou, Michael Kaspari, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, James F. Gillooly

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Understanding the ecology and evolution of insect societies requires greater knowledge of how sociality affects the performance of whole colonies. Metabolic scaling theory, based largely on the body mass scaling of metabolic rate, has successfully predicted many aspects of the physiology and life history of individual (or unitary) organisms. Here we show, using a diverse set of social insect species, that this same theory predicts the size dependence of basic features of the physiology (i.e., metabolic rate, reproductive allocation) and life history (i.e., survival, growth, and reproduction) of whole colonies. The similarity in the size dependence of these features in …

A Framework For Automated Enrichment Of Functionally Significant Inverted Repeats In Whole Genomes, Cyriac Kandoth, Fikret ErçAl, Ronald L. Frank

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: RNA transcripts from genomic sequences showing dyad symmetry typically adopt hairpin-like, cloverleaf, or similar structures that act as recognition sites for proteins. Such structures often are the precursors of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) sequences like microRNA (miRNA) and small-interfering RNA (siRNA) that have recently garnered more functional significance than in the past. Genomic DNA contains hundreds of thousands of such inverted repeats (IRs) with varying degrees of symmetry. But by collecting statistically significant information from a known set of ncRNA, we can sort these IRs into those that are likely to be functional.

Results: A novel method was developed to …

A Framework For Predicting And Managing Water Quality Impacts Of Mining On Streams: A User’S Guide, J. E. Cavanagh, J. Pope, J. S. Harding, D. Trumm, D. Craw, R. Rait, H. Greig, Dev Niyogi, R. Buxton, O. Champeau, A. Clemens

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Coal and gold mining are important economic activities in New Zealand, and the West Coast of the South Island and Southland, for example, have long histories of mining. The process of mineral extraction inevitably results in environmental impacts, but few tools exist to help mining companies and regulators assess and predict environmental impacts of mining operations. This framework has been developed as part of a collaborative research programme with key mining partners to assist with planning of future mine developments on the West Coast and in Southland. This framework focuses on water quality issues associated with coal and gold mining, …

Nutrient Flux, Uptake, And Transformation In A Spring-Fed Stream In The Missouri Ozarks, Usa, Dev Niyogi, Janet M. Bandeff, Cem Selman, Drew E. Menke

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

We examined nutrient flux, uptake, and transformation along a spring-fed stream in the Ozark region of Missouri, USA, over the year 2006. Water in Mill Creek originates from several springs, with a single spring contributing over 90% of the stream discharge during much of the year of study. Soluble reactive phosphate concentrations were usually low (< 10 lg L^-1) along Mill Creek but peaked during high discharge. Concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were relatively high in the spring water, mainly as nitrate, but usually declined across a small pond and the 10-km length of Mill Creek. During low flows in …