Biology Commons^™

Inhibition Of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 With The Modified Green Tea Polyphenol Palmitoyl-Epigallocatechin Gallate, Aline De Oliveira, Sandra Adams, Lee Lee, Sean R. Murray, Stephen D. Hsu, Jeffrey R. Hammond, Douglas Dickinson, Ping Chen, Tin Chun Chu

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a strong antioxidant that has previously been shown to reduce the number of plaques in HIV-infected cultured cells. Modified EGCG, palmitoyl-EGCG (p-EGCG), is of interest as a topical antiviral agent for herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) infections. This study evaluated the effect of p-EGCG on HSV-infected Vero cells. Results of cell viability and cell proliferation assays indicate that p-EGCG is not toxic to cultured Vero cells and show that modification of the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) with palmitate increases the effectiveness of EGCG as an antiviral agent. Furthermore, p-EGCG is a more …

Water-Use Strategies Of Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica), Lisa Nicole Cummins

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japónica, is an herbaceous perennial that is invasive on many continents, including North America. Stands of Japanese knotweed are often located in riparian regions, disturbed sites, and along roadways. Recent studies have evaluated the impact of Japanese knotweed on the hydrologic cycle. Japanese knotweed may have the ability to markedly decrease stream discharge, potentially because of its high LAI. In the summer of 2010, a two-part study was conducted to determine the impact of water availability on the physiology and morphology of Japanese knotweed. A greenhouse study of Japanese knotweed measured transpiration and other factors that may …

Assessment Of Seagrass Floral Community Structure From Two Caribbean Marine Protected Areas, Paul Bologna, Anthony John Suleski

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Seagrass communities represent spatially complex and biomass producing systems comprised of intermixed seagrass and algal species. We investigated shallow water communities from two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Caribbean: St. John, United States Virgin Islands and Cayos Cochinos, Honduras. St. John sites (4) lie within the Virgin Islands National Park and the Coral Reef National Monument and are designated within an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Honduran sites (4) lie within the designated Marine National Monument. Our results indicate that both MPAs were dominated by Thalassia testudinum with spatial coverage and shoot density significantly greater in Honduras. Many sites also showed …

Macroevolutionary Dynamics And Historical Biogeography Of Primate Diversification Inferred From A Species Supermatrix, Mark S. Springer, Robert Meredith, John Gatesy, Christopher A. Emerling, Jong Park, Daniel L. Rabosky, Tanja Stadler, Cynthia Steiner, Oliver A. Ryder, Jan E. Janečka, Colleen A. Fisher, William J. Murphy

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Phylogenetic relationships, divergence times, and patterns of biogeographic descent among primate species are both complex and contentious. Here, we generate a robust molecular phylogeny for 70 primate genera and 367 primate species based on a concatenation of 69 nuclear gene segments and ten mitochondrial gene sequences, most of which were extracted from GenBank. Relaxed clock analyses of divergence times with 14 fossil-calibrated nodes suggest that living Primates last shared a common ancestor 71-63 Ma, and that divergences within both Strepsirrhini and Haplorhini are entirely post-Cretaceous. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction of non-avian dinosaurs …

Self-Enhancement Processing In The Default Network: A Single-Pulse Tms Study, Bruce Luber, Hans C. Lou, Julian Keenan, Sarah H. Lisanby

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Abstract Much research has been done on positive self-evaluation and its relationship to mental health. However, little is known about its neural underpinnings. Imaging studies have suggested that the brain's default network is involved with self-related processing and that one portion of the default network, medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), is particularly involved with self-evaluation. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to causally demonstrate that this network, and particularly MPFC, is involved with self-evaluative processing. In a first experiment, 27 healthy volunteers judged whether adjectives, evenly divided between desirable and undesirable traits, described themselves or their best friends, and a …

Acid Sensing Ion Channels Regulate Neuronal Excitability By Inhibiting Bk Potassium Channels, Elena Petroff, Vladislav Snitsarev, Huiyu Gong, Francois M. Abboud

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Acid sensing ion channels (ASICs), Ca2+ and voltage-activated potassium channels (BK) are widely present throughout the central nervous system. Previous studies have shown that when expressed together in heterologous cells, ASICs inhibit BK channels, and this inhibition is relieved by acidic extracellular pH. We hypothesized that ASIC and BK channels might interact in neurons, and that ASICs may regulate BK channel activity. We found that ASICs inhibited BK currents in cultured wild-type cortical neurons, but not in ASIC1a/2/3 triple knockout neurons. The inhibition in the wild-type was partially relieved by a drop in extracellular pH to 6. To test the …

Ectoparasites Of American Kestrels In Northwestern New Jersey And Their Relationship To Nestling Growth And Survival, Mark J. Lesko, John Smallwood

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) populations have been declining throughout much of North America during recent decades. To determine if the ectoparasite burdens of nestlings may be a contributing factor, we examined broods of kestrels in nest boxes in northwestern New Jersey. Our objectives were to identify and quantify the arthropod ectoparasites of nestlings, and to determine if removing these parasites from nestlings would increase kestrel nesting success. Of 26 broods we examined, we randomly chose 13 and manually removed from the nestlings all visible arthropods during three visits, when nestlings were age 57, 1012, and 1517 d old; we handled …

Coxsackievirus And Adenovirus Receptor (Car) Mediates Trafficking Of Acid Sensing Ion Channel 3 (Asic3) Via Psd-95, Katherine J.D.A. Excoffon, Abimbola O. Kolawole, Nobuyoshi Kusama, Nicholas D. Gansemer, Priyanka Sharma, Alesia M. Hruska-Hageman, Elena Petroff, Christopher J. Benson

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We have previously shown that the Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) can interact with post-synaptic density 95 (PSD-95) and localize PSD-95 to cell-cell junctions. We have also shown that activity of the acid sensing ion channel (ASIC3), a H+-gated cation channel that plays a role in mechanosensation and pain signaling, is negatively modulated by PSD-95 through a PDZ-based interaction. We asked whether CAR and ASIC3 simultaneously interact with PSD-95, and if so, whether co-expression of these proteins alters their cellular distribution and localization. Results indicate that CAR and ASIC3 co-immunoprecipitate only when co-expressed with PSD-95. CAR also brings both PSD-95 …

Direct Effects Of Glucose And Fructose On Proliferation And Activation Of Jurkat T-Lymphocytes, C.J. Urso

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

High-fructose com syrup has been used with increasing commonality in recent decades. During this interval there is strong evidence of increased occurrence of autoimmune disease. We hypothesized that increased glucose and fructose concentration activates T-cells. Using Jurkat T-cells as a model, we found that increased glucose and fructose concentration decreased Jurkat T-cell proliferation and death rates at pH 7.4 while at pH 7.2 the above effects did not reach significance. Cells in high glucose and fructose concentration formed clusters that were unbreakable by standard trituration techniques suggesting the expression of high-affinity adhesion molecules characteristic of T-cell activation; this effect was …

The Small Molecule Inhibitor Roscovitine Does Not Promote The Establishment Of A Quiescent Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Mutant Ghsv-Ul46 Infection In Neurally Differentiated Pc 12 Cells, Mario D. Caldararo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 leads to a lifelong presence of the vims in the host typified by the punctuated recrudescence of herpetic lesions of the orofacial region. Recmdescence of symptoms is due to the ability of the virus to reactivate from a latent state in neurons of the trigeminal ganglia. The latent state characterized by a complete lack of DNA replication, absence of virion stmctural protein production, and the minimal expression of a very limited set of regulatory genes. Reactivation is seen as the return to full viral gene expression, production of new infectious virions, and the …

Comparison Of World Trade Center Dust With Zinc And Lead Combinations To Determine Damage To Human Lung Cells, Niharika Pattnaik

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The terrible events of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) tragedy left many dead, injured, devastated and emotionally scarred. The effects of the tragic event were noticed even after a decade in upper-respiratory ailments resulting from the exposure of the toxic dust. WTC dust contained many toxic heavy metals including lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) that might be responsible for upper respiratory complications. The very high concentrations of Zn (ranging from 1000 ppm to 3000 ppm ) together with high concentration of Pb (100 ppm to 500 ppm ) might create toxicity alone or in combination. Synergistic effects …

Ecology Of The Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon Platirhinos) At Cape Cod National Seashore, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Scott W. Buchanan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) is an understudied species of increasing conservation concern, especially in the northeastern portion of its range. Conservation and management efforts often rely on ecological information to guide best practices when dealing with vulnerable and/or cryptic species. A radiotelemetry study was initiated at Cape Cod National Seashore, Barnstable County, Massachusetts on H. platirhinos in an effort to increase the understanding of spatial ecology, habitat selection, and associated natural history attributes. Sixteen adult H. platirhinos were tracked over two years yielding a total of 413 relocations. We observed a large variation in home range size among …

The Role Of Protons In Synaptic Transmission In Rat Cortical Neurons, Paul Castellano

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Acid Sensing Ion Channels (ASICs) have recently been identified as inhibitors of voltage and calcium gated ion channels (BK) (Petroff et al. 2008), and their overexpression has been shown to reduce seizure elongation and severity in mice (Ziemenn et al.2008). ASICs regulate BK channel activity in accordance with pH variation (Petroff et al. 2008), and seizures are concurrent with increased acidity in the brain (Ziemenn et al. 2008). Influx of Na⁺ through the ASIC pore domain has been speculated to cause membrane potential repolarization that reduces seizure proliferation (Vukicevic and Kellenburger, 2004), but this is counterintuitive to what is …

Evidence That Inducible Cyclic Amp Early Repressor Is A Potent Tumor Suppressor Protein That May Hold Therapeutic Promise For Targeted Therapy Of Various Malignancies, Marni Crow

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There is compelling evidence supporting Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER) as a potent anti-proliferative and potential tumor suppressor protein. ICER is a dominant negative transcription factor that is inducible upon cAMP level increase and represses genes important for cell-cycle regulation, proliferation and differentiation. This thesis discusses the evidence in support of ICER as a tumor suppressor gene product and elucidates mechanisms by which cancer cells that express ICER can nullify its antiproliferative properties. Interestingly, when ICER is put back in the nucleus of particular cancer cells where it works to repress cAMP genes, these cells have impaired tumorigenicity.

This thesis …

Investigation Of Autoregulation Of Icer And Electrochemical Properties Of Tryptophan, Mark Demilio

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

A relatively new development in the field of research-based chemistry is to study biomolecules, their interactions, and a biochemical mechanisms by examination of their physical properties and application of laboratory techniques rooted in concepts of physical chemistry. Both projects that are encompassed within this master's thesis indeed fall under the umbrella of biophysical chemistry, as they apply physical chemical techniques study particular biomolecular interactions.

The first of these two projects is the study of a leucine zipper protein, Inducible cAMP Early Repressor [ICER], which is a product of the cAMP Responsive Element Modulator [CREM] gene. ICER functions as a transcriptional …

Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Regulation Of Glial Cell Proliferation, Jennifer C. Guercio

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Glioma, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, involves faster glial proliferation. Increased activity of large conductance calcium and voltage-activated potassium (BK) channels has been shown to accelerate glial proliferation. Our previous studies have shown that Acid Sensing Ion Channels (ASICs) inhibit BK current at physiological pH levels, and that this inhibition can be relieved at acidic pH (Petroff et al, 2008). ASICs can therefore act as endogenous pH-dependent regulators of BK channel activity. Both normal glia and glioma tissue express BK and ASIC channels. We hypothesized that ASICs may function as endogenous inhibitors of glial cell growth …

The Antiviral Activity Of Curcumin On Herpes Simplex Virus-1, Susan A. Pungitore

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Herpes simplex virus 1 is a common human pathogen that causes an initial productive infection followed by a lifelong latent infection of sensory neurons. Although the active infection is self-limiting in healthy populations, HSV can pose serious health risks to immunocompromised individuals. Furthermore, drug-resistant strains of HSV-1 have emerged in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) afflicted populations, necessitating the development of efficacious treatment options to combat HSV-1 infections. In recent years, plant derived products have gained popularity as promising antiviral agents. Studies of plant-derived compounds, including polysaccharide extracts from algae and hydrolyzable tannins, indicated that antiviral activity may be contributed …

Inhibition O F Herpes Simplex Virus-1 By Black Tea Extract, Sadé Diahann Randall

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Tea is a highly consumed beverage with numerous health benefits, such as antioxidant and antiviral properties. The compounds within tea that are believed to be associated with these benefits are polyphenols. Black tea polyphenols are known as theaflavins, and in previous studies have exhibited inhibitory effects on influenza and human immunodeficiency virus 1. Herpes simplex virus -1 (HSV-1) is an extremely common virus and has the ability to cause recurrent infections. A vast majority of adults have been exposed to the virus and could be asymptomatic. The purpose of this study was to determine the lowest inhibitory concentration of black …

A New Baseline For Diadema Antillarum, Echinometra Viridis, E. Lucunter, And Eucidaris Tribuloides Populations Within The Cayos Cochinos Mpa, Honduras, Paul Bologna, Lucy Webb-Wilson, Patrick Connelly, James E. Saunders

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We investigated the density of 4 urchin species from 5 shallow reefs in the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area in Honduras. Individual species density varied among reefs with total urchin density ranging from 3.2–7.9 individuals/m². Echinometra viridis (Agassiz, 1863) was the numerically dominant species (2.29/m²) followed by E. lucunter (Linnaeus, 1758) (1.76/m²) with Eucidaris tribuloides (Lamarck 1816) representing the fewest individuals (0.42/m²). Our results indicated that density of Diadema antillarum (Philippi, 1845) differed significantly among reefs (0.4-1.3/m², mean = 0.63/m²), but are three times greater than data collected …

Chrysaora Quinquecirrha Polyps In Barnegat Bay, Nj, Monica Katherine Buesser

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Sea nettles (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) have become abundant in the estuaries of the Mid- Atlantic States. Their ample numbers are an indicator of a disturbed ecosystem. Various factors have been attributed to the rise in numbers of sea nettles including eutrophication, overfishing, global warming, construction and species introduction. Bamegat Bay is a highly eutrophic system with excess nitrogen and organic carbon arriving in the bay via runoff and watershed waste inputs. Many commercial fisheries in Bamegat Bay have ceased to exist and the remaining fisheries are dwindling. An overabundance of medusae and polyps will further impact fisheries since jellyfish compete with …

Pcr Amplification And Dna Sequence Analysis Of The Ss-Actin Gene From A Scyphozoan Jellyfish (Chrysaora Quinquecirrha), Lorraine Malkowitz

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The scyphozoan jellyfish Chrysaora quinquecirrha (CQ) is becoming a major pest of Eastern bays and waterways due to changing environmental conditions, including the warming of inlet waters, man-made plastic bulkheads and reduced plant life which serve as havens for their predators. Their increasing numbers warrants investigations into population control of these animals. Therefore any information about them may help in understanding and eventually controlling jellyfish blooms.

ß-actin is a ubiquitous cytoskeletal protein that has many essential functions. The protein and nucleotide sequences are highly conserved across all species, yet the number, size and sequences of the introns are highly variable. …

Characterization Of Human Icer Promoter And Comparative Studies Of Its Activity In Human Prostate Cancer Cells, Dipika Bhagvanji Patel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER) is a dominant transcriptional repressor that binds to cAMP responsive elements (CRE) located in the promoter of a target gene to repress cAMP-mediated gene transcription. The promoter of ICER contains four regulatory CRE sequences, termed cAMP autoregulatory response elements (CAREs) that are highly inducible by cAMP signaling. In a cell, cAMP pathway induces the expression of ICER, however, when ICER protein level increases above normal level, it can repress its own production by binding to these CARE sites located in its promoter region. ICER is normally present in neuroendocrine cells, however, it is not …

Study Of Ph And Cellular Response In Pulmonary Fibroblasts After Exposure To Market Street World Trade Center Particulate Matter, Michelle Hernandez, Sung Choi, Ann Marie Dilorenzo

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Chronic health conditions have been noted among first responders and residents exposed to the dust generated from the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse on September 11, 2001. This study sought to isolate a single factor thought to play a substantial role in the decreased lung function of World Trade Center (WTC) workers and victims. Human pulmonary fibroblasts were exposed to 0 (control), 2.5, 25, 250 mg mL-1 WTC dust at 5% CO2 and 10% CO2 to test the hypothesis that cellular toxicity is attributed to the high pH (9.3) of the WTC dust. A decrease in viability, increase in toxicity, …

The Complete Ac/Ds Transposon Family Of Maize, Chunguang Du, Andrew Hoffman, Limei He, Jason Caronna, Hugo K. Dooner

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: The nonautonomous maize Ds transposons can only move in the presence of the autonomous element Ac. They comprise a heterogeneous group that share 11-bp terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) and some subterminal repeats, but vary greatly in size and composition. Three classes of Ds elements can cause mutations: Ds-del, internal deletions of the 4.6-kb Ac element; Ds1, ~400-bp in size and sharing little homology with Ac, and Ds2, variably-sized elements containing about 0.5 kb from the Ac termini and unrelated internal sequences. Here, we analyze the entire complement of Ds-related sequences in the genome of the inbred B73 and ask …

The Tubulin Deglutamylase Ccpp-1 Regulates The Function And Stability Of Sensory Cilia In C. Elegans, Robert O'Hagan, Brian P. Piasecki, Malan Silva, Prasad Phirke, Ken C Q Nguyen, David H. Hall, Peter Swoboda, Maureen M. Barr

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) such as acetylation, detyrosination, and polyglutamylation have long been considered markers of stable microtubules and have recently been proposed to guide molecular motors to specific subcellular destinations. Microtubules can be deglutamylated by the cytosolic carboxypeptidase CCP1. Loss of CCP1 in mice causes cerebellar Purkinje cell degeneration. Cilia, which are conserved organelles that play important diverse roles in animal development and sensation, contain axonemes comprising microtubules that are especially prone to PTMs. Results: Here, we report that a CCP1 homolog, CCPP-1, regulates the ciliary localization of the kinesin-3 KLP-6 and the polycystin PKD-2 in male-specific sensory neurons …

Guantánamo Bodies: Law, Media, And Biopower, Cary H. Federman, Dave Holmes

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The idea of the Guantánamo detainee as a Muselmann, the lowest order of concentration camp inmates, contains within it important implications for the new understanding of sovereignty in the era of Guantánamo, in an age of exception. The purpose of this article is to explain the status of those who are detained at Guantánamo Bay. Stated broadly, in assessing that status, we will emphasize the connection between the altered meaning of sovereignty that has accompanied the placing of prisoners in an American penal colony in Cuba and the biopolitical status of the prisoners who reside there. More particularly, we …

Sex Chromosome Mosaicism And Hybrid Speciation Among Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies, Krushnamegh Kunte, Cristina Shea, Matthew Aardema, J. Mark Scriber, Thomas E. Juenger, Lawrence E. Gilbert, Marcus R. Kronforst

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Hybrid speciation, or the formation of a daughter species due to interbreeding between two parental species, is a potentially important means of diversification, because it generates new forms from existing variation. However, factors responsible for the origin and maintenance of hybrid species are largely unknown. Here we show that the North American butterfly Papilio appalachiensis is a hybrid species, with genomic admixture from Papilio glaucus and Papilio canadensis. Papilio appalachiensis has a mosaic phenotype, which is hypothesized to be the result of combining sex-linked traits from P. glaucus and P. canadensis. We show that P. appalachiensis' Z-linked genes associated with …

The Deg/Enac Protein Mec-10 Regulates The Transduction Channel Complex In Caenorhabditis Elegans Touch Receptor Neurons, Jóhanna Árnadóttir, Robert O'Hagan, Yushu Chen, Miriam B. Goodman, Martin Chalfie

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Gentle touch sensation in Caenorhabditis elegans is mediated by the MEC-4/MEC-10 channel complex, which is expressed exclusively in six touch receptor neurons (TRNs). The complex contains two pore-forming subunits, MEC-4 and MEC-10, as well as the accessory subunits MEC-2, MEC-6, and UNC-24. MEC-4 is essential for channel function, but beyond its role as a pore-forming subunit, the functional contribution of MEC-10 to the channel complex and to touch sensation is unclear.Weaddressed this question using behavioral assays, in vivo electrophysiological recordings from TRNs, and heterologous expression of mutant MEC-10 isoforms. Animals with a deletion in mec-10 showed only a partial loss …

’’The Synergistic Effects Of Modified Green Tea Polyphenols [Gtp], Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate [Egcg], Lipid-Based Tea Polyphenol [Ltp], Curcuminoids, And Red Algae Polysaccharides On Antibiotics Against Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria.”, Bobak Haghjoo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Green tea leaves contain many polyphenolic compounds such as (-)-epicatechin, (-)- epicatechin-3-gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin, and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG). Green tea polyphenols (GTPs) have been implicated to have distinct properties that combat the harmful effects of cell proliferation. These compounds contain certain anti-viral and antimicrobial mechanisms that inhibit growth and perhaps reverse the process in which replication occurs. In this study, varied concentrations of GTP, Lipophilic Tea Polyphenol (LTP), Curcumin, and Red Algae Polysaccharides were used separately and in synergism with the most commonly used antiseptics and antibiotics to study the effect on different species of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The antiseptic …

Cloning And Characterization Of The Promoter For The Ovarian-Specific Inhibin Alpha Gene Form Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Caitlin Marie Ament

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER) is an important regulator of folliculogenesis as it regulates the nuclear response to gonadotropins in ovarian tissue. Studies in mice demonstrated a 3.0 kb region of the alpha inhibin (INHa) promoter is a site of transcriptional activation in response to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The purpose of this study was to isolate and construct an ICER transgene and characterize the putative 3.0 kb promoter region of the ovarian-specific INHa gene in Danio rerio (zebrafish).

The sequences for ICER and the INHa promoter in zebrafish were identified using BLAST searches with the known sequences from mouse and …