Biology Commons^™

Ua1b1/7 Groundbreaking Complex For Engineering & Biological Sciences, Western Kentucky University

WKU Administration Documents

Invitation to the Complex for Engineering & Biological Sciences groundbreaking.

Effects Of Subcultivation On Cryopreservation On The Surface Expression Of Na+, Kt- Atpase Of Bovine Corneal Epithelium, Leslie Dossett

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

More than 50,000 corneal transplants are perfonned each year in the United States to save orrestore nonnal vision for cornea recipients. While this procedure remains the most successful transplant surgery currently perfonned, a shortage of donor tissue limits its application. Jnresponse, scientists have begun to investigate two means of increasing the supply and availability of donor tissue: transplanting cultured corneal endothelial cells in lieu of donor tissue, and using cryopreservationas ameans of longtenn tissue storage. This study will attempt to determine whether culture and storage techniques, such as subcultivationor cryopreservation, affectthe ability of the corneal endothelium to maintain its pump …

Study Of The Baie Gene In Bile Acid 7Α-Dehydroxylating Bacteria, Yasemin Kaya

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Intestinal bile acid 7α-dehydroxylating bacteria have recently been implicated in cholesterol allstone disease. Eubacterium sp. V.P.I. 12708, a bile acid 7α-dehydroxylating bacterium, contains multiple bile acid inducible (bai) genes which encode the enzymes responsible for bile acid 7a-dehydroxylation. The baiE gene encodes a bile acid dehydratase activity in Eubacterium sp.V.P.I. 12708. Using the polymerase chain reaction assay we determined the presence or absence of baiE-like genes in five clostridial bile-acid 7α-dehydroxylating strains: Clostridium sp. TO-931, Clostridium sp. HD-17, Clostridium sp. TN-271, Clostridium bifermentans 1-55, and Clostridium sordellii ATCC 9714. Results from all the strains tested showed amplification at the predicted …

The Effects Of Pool Size On The Microinvertebrate Populations Of Chaney Lake, An Ephemeral Wetland Located In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Shannon Gaines

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Studies concerning the microinvertebrate communities of differing pool sizes were conducted at Chaney Lake, an ephemeral, karst wetland located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. As the lake begins to dry in the early summer, smaller, isolated ponds begin to form. Several ponds of various sizes were marked for analysis. Microinvertebrate samples and physiochemical readings were taken at each of the sites and were counted in the lab. T-tests were performed on the samples to determine if the microinvertebrate densities differed between ponds that dried later in the season as opposed to those that dried earlier. Ostracoda densities of the late dry …

Phylogenetic Placement Of African Cornus: Evidence Of Nuclear Rdna, Scott Myers

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The genus Comus (the dogwoods) contains 50 species that have been divided into nine subgenera. One of these species, C. volkensii, has been segregated into the subgenus Ajrocrania. Previous studies combined morphological, anatomical, and chemical data to produce a hypothesis of evolutionary relationships that placed the subg. Afrocrania as a segregate lineage sister to the subg. Comus, and placed the Ajrocrania/Comus lineage sister to the big-bracted dogwoods (Murrell 1997). The subgenus Afrocrania has been examined morphologically, anatomically, and palynologically; however, it was not sequenced in Xiang's (1993) analysis of rbcL (chloroplast) sequence data, or in her analysis of the matK …

Ua66/6/3/1 Biennial Report, Kentucky Gamma, Alpha Epsilon Delta

Student Organizations

Biennial report created by and about the Kentucky Gamma Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta premedical honor society sponsored by WKU Biology.

Circadian Rhythm Of Brain Gaba Levels In The Cockroach, Leucophaea Maderae, Juli Martin Mccay, Jeanette Marie Gibson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Brain levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were determined at three-hour intervals in roaches acclimated to a 12-hour lightl12-hour dark cycle (light onset 0600 h) at 25 ± 2° C using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorometnc detection GABA levels were found to be highest at noon and lowest at 1800 h. A difference between the high and low levels at these two times remained during the second day under constant dark conditions, indicating that GABA levels do indeed vary on a circadian basis. Brain GABA levels were highest at a time of day that corresponded with …

Ua66/6/3/1 Biennial Report, Kentucky Gamma, Alpha Epsilon Delta

Student Organizations

Biennial report created by and about the Kentucky Gamma Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta premedical honor society sponsored by WKU Biology.

Ua3/8/1 L.Y. Lancaster Professorship Report, Wku Ogden College Of Science & Technology

WKU Administration Documents

Report of activities by Dr. Blaine Ferrell, L.Y. Lancaster Professor for the year 1993-94, funded by Ogden Foundation.

Clock Control Of Circadian Changes Of Ommatidial Structure In The Cockroach, Leucophaea Maderae (L.), Zhuming Zhang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

All eukaryotic organisms display rhythms which persist under constant environmental conditions with periods of approximately, but very seldom exactly, 24 hours. Such rhythms are "circadian" and are driven by an internal "biological clock." Circadian rhythms of locomotor activity, retinal sensitivity to light and ommatidial morphology have been characterized in the cockroach, Leucophaea maderae (L.). It is not known whether the same clock(s) controls both circadian rhythms of electroretinogram (ERG) amplitude and morphological changes of the compound eye. In order to determine whether the location of the clock that controls morphological changes is in the same location as the one that …

In Vivo & In Vitro Effects Of Light On Ommatidial Morphology In The Cockroach, Leucophaea Maderae, Channon Yule

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Clock-driven endogenous circadian rhythms in ommatidial morphology have been reported in Leucophaea maderae. The parameters used to measure changes in ommatidial morphology over time were palisade layer and rhabdom areas and the organization of lightscreening pigment granules about the rhabdom. The fact that the palisade layer area only partially returned to the light-adapted state in vivo during subjective midday was indicative of a passive mechanism, not involving the clock output. Complete return of the palisade layer area to the light-adapted state during the daytime in animals held under LD 12:12 indicated light might play an active role. Temporal changes …

Purification & Characterization Of A Deoxyribonuclease From Etiolated Soybean, Cunyong Xu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A deoxyribonuclease (DNase) has been isolated from a purified preparation of soybean nuclei. The procedure, involving solubilization of proteins using ammonium sulfate, Sephadex G-75, DEAE-Cellulose and CMSephadex chromatography and non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, resulted in a 554-fold purification with a yield of 6% of the enzyme. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of 60 KDa as monitored by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In addition, high-molecular-weight (HMW) soybean DNA, essentially free from protein, RNA and other contaminates, has been isolated from soybean to be used as a substrate for the enzyme. Enzyme activity was directly proportional to the concentration of …

A Comparison Of Hemoglobin Zurich Erythrocytic Membrane Proteins & Identification Of The Mutation At The Dna Level, Yijuan Liu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hemoglobin Zurich is a rare blood condition which causes severe rupturing of erythrocytes upon the administration of sulfonamides. Hemoglobin Zurich is caused by a specific genetic mutation in which there is a single amino acid (histidine) substituted for arginine at position 63 in the beta chain of hemoglobin molecules [β 63 Histidine --> Arginine].

In this study, the membrane proteins of Hemoglobin Zurich erythrocytes were compared to membrane proteins from normal human erythrocytes employing sodium dodecyl sulfatepolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and visualized by periodic-acid Schiff (PAS) and DZANDU staining. No differences were detected employing these techniques.

DNA was isolated from …

Cryptococcus Neoformans Serotype Groups Found In Clinical And Environmental Isolates, John Clauson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast responsible for severe meningoencephalitis. The importance of epidemiological studies on cryptococcosis has increased since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. C. neoformans exists in two varieties containing four serotypes, C. neoformans var. neoformans (serotypes A and D) and C. neoformans var. gattii (serotypes B and C). Locally C. neoformans var. neoformans has been associated with pigeon feces during those months having an average temperature of 64.2°F j(17.8°C) and above. Clinical and environmental isolates of C. neoformans obtained from regional hospitals and environmental samplings, respectively, have been grouped into their variety status utilizing canavanine-glycine-bromthymol blue …

Bioremediation: A New Technology Using Inhabitants Of The Soil, Matthew Fields

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms to clean the environment contaminated with various pollutants such as chemical wastes and petroleum -based products. The microbes use the pollutants as their carbon source and by doing so the contaminants are broken down. This paper examined the numbers of indigenous microorganisms in soil contaminated with diesel fuel and oil. Contaminant-degrading microbes were isolated and enumerated using phenanthrene in mineral media. The breakdown of phenanthrene was used as an indicator for contaminant degradation. The effects of aeration and the addition of nutrients on bioremediation processes was also studied. Soil samples used in the performed …

Early Behavior Formation In Larval Fathead Minnows, Pimephales Promelas, Shamali Salgado

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study was undertaken in order to identify the approximate times of recruitment of the senses of vision, mechanoreception and chemoreception into the feeding behavior of the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, during the first 15 days of life. Larvae were reared on diets of live or freshly killed brine shrimp nauplii and their feeding activity observed daily under light and dark conditions. On every third day during the feeding trials, the larvae were reverse-fed the type of food upon which they were reared. The first evidence of feeding occurred on Day 3, when larvae conditioned on dead food ingested …

Ua66/6/2 Bionews From The Hill, Wku Biology

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about WKU Biology highlighting the activities of faculty, students and alumni.

The Ratio Of Heinz Body Formation In Different Hemoglobin Zurich Subjects, Yenya Hu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Hemoglobin Zurich is a hemoglobin anomaly that results when one amino acid (histidine) is substituted by arginine at position 63 in the beta chain of hemoglobin molecules [β 63 His—Arg]. When Hemoglobin Zurich individuals are exposed to sulfonamide medication, their hemoglobins denature and subsequently form Heinz bodies which attach to the surface of the plasma membrane.

Four Hemoglobin Zurich family members were the subjects of the current study. They included a splenectomized female subject, non-splenectomized female and male subjects, and a non-splenectomized female member without Hemoglobin Zurich as the control. The results collaborate that splenectomy increases the number of erythrocytes …

A Modified Scheme For The Isolation And Enumeration Of Bacteria In Municipal Sewage Sludge, Kelly Ball

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Because of the potential health hazards associated with the use of sludge for agricultural purposes, Dudley et al (1980) published a scheme for the routine analysis of bacteria in municipal sewage sludge. In this study, the Dudley et al scheme (1980) was modified by updating some of the procedures. Aerobically digested sludge generated by the Bowling Green Wastewater Treatment Plant, Bowling Green, Kentucky, was analyzed using the modified scheme. Sludge samples were collected once every two months over a one-year period from October 1989 to August 1990.

Egg yolk-free tryptose sulfite cycloserine agar in conjunction with the revewrse CAMP test …

Thermal Properties Of Some Lipid Components Of Cell Membranes, Lihua Wei

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Phospholipids are the major structural components of the lipid portion of biological membranes. The study of the thermal properties of these phospholipid provides a systematic understanding of the relationships between the chemical structures and functional properties of phospholipid molecules in artificial and biological membranes. This study examined the thermal behavior of phospholipids in the solid state using DSC and TG coupled with FITR. The phospholipids were found to have phase transitions below the melting point. Egg-yolk lecithin had four transitions below its melting point; sphingomyelin had two phase transitions below its melting point. Phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine had complex phase transitions. …

Ua1d Thomas Coohill Personnel File, Wku Human Resources

WKU Administration Documents

Personnel file of Biology professor Thomas Coohill.

Evidence For The Location Of Aviral Protease & Protease Cleavage Sites In The 105 Kilodalton Protein Of Southern Bean Mosaic Virus, Timothy Shannon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Southern Bean Mosaic Virus (SBMV) codes for a large polyprotein which is subsequently cleaved into smaller functional proteins. A virally encoded protease is suspected of mediating the cleavages. SBMV, picornaviruses and picornavirus-like viruses appear to have similar genomic organizations, which would place the protease region of the genome between the VPg and RNA dependen,, RNA polymerase regions. Protein sequence comparisons revealed homology between SBMV putative protease and the known proteases from foot and mouth disease virus, encephlamyocarditis virus, poliovirus, and cowpea mosaic virus. Experimental evidence provides little information on the exact location of the protease; however, protein sequence analysis suggests …

Creation Of A Vector For Regulated Expression Of Antisense Rna In Escherichia Coli, Wen-Jun Wu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A plasmid (pGEM-SD) was constructed in which the Shine-Dalgarno sequence had been deleted from pGEM-7zf(+) plasmid to generate a vector for regulated expression of antisense RNA. The binding of antisense RNA to mRNA provides a potent mechanism by which specific transcripts can be translationally inactivated. Although part of the lac operator sequence was deleted in pGEM-SD plasmid, it was proven that mRNA still can be induced under the control of lac promoter. Recombinant plasmids were generated by ligating bacterial genornic DNA into pGEM-SD plasmid, but the orientation of the inserted gene with respect to the lac promoter has not been …

Ua3/8/1 L.Y. Lancaster Professorship Report, Wku Ogden College Of Science & Technology

WKU Administration Documents

Report by Dr. Blaine Ferrell, L.Y. Lancaster Professor about activities for 1991-1992 funded by the Ogden Foundation.

Ua66/6/3/1 Biennial Report, Kentucky Gamma, Alpha Epsilon Delta

Student Organizations

Biennial report created by and about the Kentucky Gamma Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta premedical honor society sponsored by WKU Biology.

Breeding Biology Of A Southeastern Population Of Tree Swallows Tachycineta Bicolor, Denise Stephens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An Ohio County, Kentucky, population of Tree Swallows utilizing nest boxes located over a strip pit lake on reclaimed Peabody Coal Company land was studied on a weekly basis throughout its breeding season. The season lasted from late April to late July. Dates and/or numbers were recorded regarding nest building, egg laying, clutch size, hatching and fledging success, age of females and adult activity at the nest in order to make comparisons with these data collected in studies of more northern populations. In addition, incubating females were color marked in order to determine if they produced a second clutch. No …

Ua66/6/2 Bionews From The Hill, Wku Biology

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about WKU Biology highlighting the activities of faculty, students and alumni.

Distribution Of Sexual Activities Within Estrus Of Dairy Cattle, Donna Durbin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Previous studies of dairy cattle have indicated that heifers and cows in hot, cold and moderate weather had different patterns of sexual activities. The purpose of this study was to compare distribution of sexual activities within estrus of dairy cattle. Three groups of lactating cows in hot, cold and moderate weather and a group of heifers in cold weather were observed. Estrus for each individual was divided into 12 equal periods. Sexual activities for 3 and 6 hours before and after estrus were also observed. The numbers of mounts and distribution of total sexual activities was analyzed. Mounts received per …

Ua3/8/1 John Robinson Professorship Report, Wku Ogden College Of Science & Technology

WKU Administration Documents

Report by Dr. John Riley, John Robinson Professor of activities for 1990-1991 funded by Ogden Foundation.

Evidence For Preadaption To Sociality In The Solitary Spider, Steatoda Triangulosa (Araneae, Theridiidae), Steven Germishuizen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Steatoda triangulosa is a solitary domestic spider. In the laboratory, newly hatched Steatoda triangulosa spiderlings attacked and fed on prey organisms as a group. Kullman (1972) recognized three characteristics necessary to classify a spider as social: tolerance. interattraction and cooperation. Laboratory studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that Steatoda triangulosa may be preadapted to sociality according to these criteria. The group response was demonstrated by plotting the position of caged spiderlings in relation to a prey item before and after feeding. The intensity of the response was inversely proportional to the distance of the spiderlings from the prey. In …