Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Teaching Muscle Function And Physical Fitness: An Afterschool Program For Elementary Schools, Julianna Peters Oct 2021

Teaching Muscle Function And Physical Fitness: An Afterschool Program For Elementary Schools, Julianna Peters

Honors Theses

For this creative project, a nine-week club curriculum about muscle function and exercise was designed for upper elementary students (4th-6th grade), integrating science and physical education. This curriculum aims to introduce students to a basic understanding of muscle function and their body utilizing a scientific lens while also encouraging movement through the education of different muscle groups. It principally covers the three types of muscle with an emphasis on skeletal muscles. Students engage in experiments and activities focused on different aspects of muscle function and then do exercises focused on certain muscle groups. Additionally, it aims to …


Determine The Effects Of Propionate On The Interactions Between Macrophages And Listeria Monocytogenes, Stephanie M. Johnson May 2021

Determine The Effects Of Propionate On The Interactions Between Macrophages And Listeria Monocytogenes, Stephanie M. Johnson

Honors Theses

Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic and intracellular foodborne pathogen that can be deadly in high risk populations. During infection in the human body, L. monocytogenes may encounter macrophages, a type of white blood cell that is critical in innate immune response both by directly targeting invading pathogens and by eliciting adaptive immune responses. During intestinal as well as peripheral infections, both L. monocytogenes and macrophages may encounter propionate, a common gut microbiome metabolite. Although propionate is shown to have various regulatory and nutritional functions, its effects on infection outcome is not well understood. Therefore, the goal of this research is …


An Exploration Of The Widely Observed Mechanisms Permitting Freeze Tolerance & The Potential Of Cope’S Gray Treefrog, Dryophytes Chrysoscelis, Samuel A. Ripley May 2021

An Exploration Of The Widely Observed Mechanisms Permitting Freeze Tolerance & The Potential Of Cope’S Gray Treefrog, Dryophytes Chrysoscelis, Samuel A. Ripley

Honors Theses

Over 80% of the Earth’s surface is exposed to seasonal cold temperatures less than 5.0oC. Ectotherms implement a variety of strategies to survive seasonal, or permanent, cold exposure. Some of the most common overwintering strategies are migration, hibernation, and freeze avoiding behavior. However, freeze tolerance is a minority choice among ectotherms. This strategy permits organisms to survive between 50.0 to 70.0% of their total body water volumes frozen primarily in extracellular spaces for up to several months at a time. Freeze tolerant organisms undergo minimal supercooling of their body fluids to ensure ice formation is slow and produce a wide …


Investigating The Effects Of A P53 Mutation And Various Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors On Glioma Progression And Therapy Resistance In Drosophila, Kaitlyn M. Alleman May 2021

Investigating The Effects Of A P53 Mutation And Various Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors On Glioma Progression And Therapy Resistance In Drosophila, Kaitlyn M. Alleman

Honors Theses

Gliomas, which are brain tumors that arise from glial cells, are some of the most aggressive and lethal types of tumors. These brain tumors are difficult to treat because not enough information regarding the mutations present in these tumors exists. This project studies effects of a p53 mutation on Drosophila glioma progression and then will test to see if this results in resistance to current chemotherapy. The main goal of this endeavor is to investigate the numerous defects occurring at the cellular and biochemical level in gliomas, which will give insight into why these types of tumors are so difficult …


Leaf Phenology And Freeze Tolerance Of The Invasive Tree Pyrus Calleryana (Rosaceae) And Potential Native Competitors, Abby E. Hay May 2021

Leaf Phenology And Freeze Tolerance Of The Invasive Tree Pyrus Calleryana (Rosaceae) And Potential Native Competitors, Abby E. Hay

Honors Theses

Pyrus calleryana is quickly becoming one of the most problematic invasive species in the Eastern and Central part of the United States. Pyrus calleryana is an early successional species that quickly proliferates in highly disturbed soils such as old fields and younger prairies. Currently, this species poses a large threat to land managers as it changes the successional trajectories of forest and prairie systems, creating new novel ecosystems. Pyrus calleryana outcompetes most native early successional species and is relatively understudied. The mechanism in which Pyrus calleryana utilizes to dominate ecosystems are not fully understood, but one theory is Pyrus calleryana …


Determine The Effects Of Propionate On The Activation Of Macrophages Against The Intracellular Pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes, Leah O. Allen May 2021

Determine The Effects Of Propionate On The Activation Of Macrophages Against The Intracellular Pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes, Leah O. Allen

Honors Theses

The main goal of this research is to see how propionate, a common food preservative and an important metabolite in humans, alters the activation of our immune system. The effects of propionate on macrophage activation will be determined by using nitrite and LDH assays. For these assays, different concentrations of propionate will be tested to determine how macrophages respond to the activation by LPS and interferon gamma. Another goal of this project is to determine the effects of propionate and macrophage activation on intracellular survival of L. monocytogenes. A gentamicin protection assay will be used to better establish the role …


A Mathematical Model Of Pancreatic Cancer Growth And Response To Treatment, Allison Cruikshank Apr 2021

A Mathematical Model Of Pancreatic Cancer Growth And Response To Treatment, Allison Cruikshank

Honors Theses

Pancreatic cancer is one of the leading causes of death due to cancer in the United States. Analyzing the effects of radiation is extremely valuable in determining when a patient is allowed surgical resection, which is, presently, the only potentially curative treatment for pancreatic cancer. This study examines pancreatic tumor growth and shrinkage to predict tumor response and change of resectability for pancreatic cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. This is done using ordinary differential equations as a mathematical model. Mathematical models have increasingly been applied to various biological systems/processes to analyze the principles involved. In our project, a population dynamical …