Biology Commons^™

Review Of Acanthocephala (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae) Of America North Of Mexico With A Key To Species, J. E. Mcpherson, Richard J. Packauskas Ph.D., Robert W. Sites, Steven J. Taylor, C. Scott Bundy, Jeffrey D. Bradshaw, Paula Levin Mitchell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

A review of Acanthocephala of America north of Mexico is presented with an updated key to species. A. confraterna is considered a junior synonym of A. terminalis, thus reducing the number of known species in this region from five to four. New state and country records are presented.

Why Are You A Biologist?: Role Of Societies (Tri-Beta) In Professional Development, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin

Biology Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

No abstract provided.

A Unique Coxiella Burnetii Lipoprotein Involved In Metal Binding (Limb), James M. Battisti, Linda D. Hicks, Michael F. Minnick

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coxiella burnetii is the bacterial agent of Q fever in humans. Here, we describe a unique, ~7.2 kDa, surface-exposed lipoprotein involved in metal binding which we have termed LimB. LimB was initially identified as a potential metal-binding protein on far-Western (FW) blots containing whole-cell lysate proteins when probed with nickel-coated horseradish peroxidase (Ni-HRP) and developed with a chemiluminescent HRP substrate. The corresponding identity of LimB as CBU1224a was established by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry. blast analyses with CBU1224a showed no significant similarity to sequences outside strains of C. burnetii. Additional in silico analyses revealed a putative 20 …

Compost Application Affects Metal Uptake In Plants Grown In Urban Garden Soils And Potential Human Health Risk, Hollydawn Murray, Trevor A. Pinchin, Sheila M. Macfie

Biology Publications

Purpose This study explores the effect of varying organic matter content on the potential human health risk of consuming vegetables grown in urban garden soils.

Materials and methods Metal accumulation among edible tissues of green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and carrot (Daucus carota L.) was determined for plants grown in five urban garden soils amended with 0, 9, or 25% (v/v) compost. Potential risk to human health was assessed by calculating a bioconcentration factor and a hazard quotient.

Results and discussion Overall, the consumption of lettuce and green bean pods grown in some …

Morphological Convergence During Pregnancy Among Predator And Nonpredator Populations Of The Livebearing Fish Brachyrhaphis Rhabdophora (Teleostei: Poeciliidae), Jeff S. Wesner, Eric J. Billman, Adam Meier, Mark C. Belk

Faculty Publications

Predation can drive morphological divergence in prey populations, although examples of divergent selection are typically limited to nonreproductive individuals. In livebearing females, shape often changes drastically during pregnancy, reducing speed and mobility and enhancing susceptibility to predation. In the present study, we document morphological divergence among populations of nonreproductive female livebearing fish (Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora) in predator and nonpredator environments. We then test the hypothesis that shape differences among nonreproductive females are maintained among reproductive females between predator and nonpredator environments. Nonreproductive females in predator environments had larger caudal regions and more fusiform bodies than females in nonpredator environments; …

Structure/Function Assessment Of Synapses At Motor Nerve Terminals, Andrew Fredericks Moser Johnstone, Kert Viele, Robin L. Cooper

Biology Faculty Publications

The release of transmitter at neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) of the opener muscle in crayfish is quantal in nature. This NMJ offers the advantage of being able to record quantal events at specific visually identified release sites, thus allowing measurement of the physiological parameters of vesicle release and its response to be directly correlated with synaptic structure.

These experiments take advantage of areas between the varicosities on the nerve terminal that we define as "stems." Stems were chosen as the region to study because of their low synaptic output due to fewer synaptic sites. Through 3D reconstruction from hundreds of serial …

A Comparison Of Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia Coli To The Wild Type Strain, Matthew Thomas Schreiner

Senior Honors Theses

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem that has rendered many antibiotics ineffective. Bacteria can gain resistance through spontaneous mutations and horizontal gene transfer. A better understanding of the overarching effects of antibiotic resistance on resistant strains is necessary when considering possible solutions to this issue. Tetracycline and doxycycline resistant strains of E. coli were compared to a wild type K-12 strain to determine if resistance engenders any fitness costs. The different strains were compared using antibiotic sensitivity tests, growth rate analysis and metabolic tests. The resistant strains actually grew at a slightly faster rate than the wild type strain. However, …

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes Spring 2011, Scott R. Abella, Ross Guida, S. D. Smith, Christopher L. Roberts, Haroon Stephen, William J. Smith, Zhongwei Liu, James S. Holland, Aurore Giguet

Mojave Applied Ecology Notes

Red brome distribution in the eastern Mojave Desert, A look at the UNLV xeric gardens and Marjorie Barrick museum, Summary of recent science synthesis efforts

The Immunophenotypic And Cytokine Characterization Of The Osteoarthritic Human Patellar Fat Pad: Comparison To Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue, Katie Marie Hamel

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Activation Of Amp-Activated Protein Kinase As An Early Indicator For Stress In The Lobster, Homarus Americanus, Stephanie Podolski

All Theses And Dissertations

Variations in water temperature, salinity, pH, and oxygen concentration are stressors that marine invertebrates face on a daily basis. Each of these physiological stressors creates a large cellular demand for energy. In mammals, energy metabolism is regulated by the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is highly conserved during evolution. This project was designed to test the hypothesis that AMPK is present and activated by temperature, hypoxia, and anoxia stress in the lobster, Homarus americanus.

Animals were exposed to a rapid and progressive increase in temperature (6ºC per hour) beginning at 14 ºC. We measured lactate concentrations and AMPK …

Draft Western Rock Lobster Fishery Environmental Management Strategy November 2010 – October 2015, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.

Homocysteine And Cardiac Neural Crest Cell Cytoskeletal Proteins In The Chick Embryo, Anthony R. Mwakikunga, Amanda L. Clubine, Darrell J. Wiens

Faculty Work

Elevated serum homocysteine (Hcys) is correlated with cardiovascular disease and with embryonic malformations related to neural crest cells (NCCs). We predicted Hcys may alter the balance of actin networks, stress fibers and focal adhesions, altering migration. We cultured neural tube explants in control and Hcys-treated medium and visualized actin, α-actinin, vinculin, filamin, and LIM3 protein in NCCs migrating outward. In Hcys, phalloidin-stained actin in stress fibers was brighter, and vinculin was more abundant in focal adhesions and lamellipodia. α-actinin and LIM3 were also enhanced around nuclei and in focal adhesions, and α-actinin also in filopodia. Filamin was unchanged. Hcys caused …

Stem Cell Biology And Strategies For Therapeutic Development In Degenerative Diseases And Cancer, Angel A. Alvarez '98

Doctoral Dissertations

Stem cell biology is an exciting field that will lead to significant advancements in science and medicine. We hypothesize that inducing the expression of stem cell genes, using the embryonic stem cell gene nanog, will reprogram cells and dedifferentiate human mesenchymal stem cells into pluripotent stem cells capable of neural differentiation. The aims of initial studies are as follows:

Aim 1: Demonstrate that forced expression of the embryonic stem cell gene nanog induces changes in human mesenchymal stem cells to an embryonic stem cell-like phenotype.

Aim 2: Demonstrate that induced expression of nanog up-regulates the expression of multiple embryonic stem …

Uptake Of Nanoparticles Of Cerium Oxide And Yttrium Oxide By Acanthamoeba Castellanii (Protozoa) And Daphnia Magna (Crustacea), James R. Palmieri, Geneva Gehring, Catherine Minichino, Shaadi F. Elswaifi

Virginia Journal of Science

Currently, nanoparticles are synthesized and used at an unprecedented rate for industrial, medical, and research applications. The use of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeONP) and yttrium oxide nanoparticles (YtONP) results in their spread as contaminants into the environment. Once in the environment, CeONP and YtONP can be taken up by organisms in the food chain where they may pose a public health risk. In this study we determine whether Acanthamoeba castellanii and Daphnia magna uptake CeONP or YtONP from their environment and thereby play a role in the transmission of the nanoparticles. Using electron microscopy, orgranisms exposed to the nanoparticles were …

A User's Guide To The Encyclopedia Of Dna Elements (Encode), Morgan Giddings, Brian Risk

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The mission of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project is to enable the scientific and medical communities to interpret the human genome sequence and apply it to understand human biology and improve health. The ENCODE Consortium is integrating multiple technologies and approaches in a collective effort to discover and define the functional elements encoded in the human genome, including genes, transcripts, and transcriptional regulatory regions, together with their attendant chromatin states and DNA methylation patterns. In the process, standards to ensure high-quality data have been implemented, and novel algorithms have been developed to facilitate analysis. Data and derived results …

Tubulin Tyrosine Ligase-Like Genes Ttll3 And Ttll6 Maintain Zebrafish Cilia Structure And Motility, Narendra Pathak, Christina A. Austin, Iain A. Drummond

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

Tubulin post-translational modifications generate microtubule heterogeneity and modulate microtubule function, and are catalyzed by tubulin tyrosine ligase-like (TTLL) proteins. Using antibodies specific to monoglycylated, polyglycylated, and glutamylated tubulin in whole mount immunostaining of zebrafish embryos, we observed distinct, tissue-specific patterns of tubulin modifications. Tubulin modification patterns in cilia correlated with the expression of ttll3 and ttll6 in ciliated cells. Expression screening of all zebrafish tubulin tyrosine ligase-like genes revealed additional tissue-specific expression of ttll1 in brain neurons, ttll4 in muscle, and ttll7 in otic placodes. Knockdown of ttll3 eliminated cilia tubulin glycylation but had surprisingly mild effects on cilia structure …

Plant Invasions, Generalist Herbivores, And Novel Defense Weapons, Urs Schaffner, Wendy M. Ridenour, Vera C. Wolf, Thomas Bassett, Caroline Müller-Schärer, Steve Sutherland, Christopher J. Lortie, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

One commonly accepted mechanism for biological invasions is that species, after introduction to a new region, leave behind their natural enemies and therefore increase in distribution and abundance. However, which enemies are escaped remains unclear. Escape from specialist invertebrate herbivores has been examined in detail, but despite the profound effects of generalist herbivores in natural communities their potential to control invasive species is poorly understood. We carried out parallel laboratory feeding bioassays with generalist invertebrate herbivores from the native (Europe) and from the introduced (North America) range using native and nonnative tetraploid populations of the invasive spotted knapweed, Centaurea stoebe. …

Society For The Advancement Of Biology Education Research (Saber), Karen Sirum, Erika G. Offerdahl, Teri Balser, Clarisa Dirks, Kathryn Miller, Jennifer L. Momsen, Lisa Montplaisir, Marcy Osgood

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dayton, Ohio: A Study, Nolan Nicaise

Honors Theses

The urban forest is an important element of cityscapes today. Urban trees provide a habitat to wildlife populations, create more tolerable city living conditions, and better the lives of residents around them. The urban forest, however, is not distributed equitably to the urban population, and some residents receive more or less of its positive externalities. Montgomery County, Ohio, was chosen as the study site to determine if environmental injustice was present regarding the urban forest. It was found that there was environmental injustice present in Montgomery County, as the density of the urban forest was limited by the educational obtainment …

Mutational-Kinetic Analysis Reveals The Roles Of Arginines And Aromatics In The Core Of The Gabaa Receptor Ligand-Binding Pocket, Phu Tran

Dissertations (1934 -)

The γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA) receptor is a member of the cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels that plays a crucial role in normal brain function by transducing the majority of inhibitory neurotransmission in the central nervous system. The studies documented in this dissertation were aimed at validating and refining the current best model for the interaction of GABA with the GABAA receptor via structure-function perturbation analysis. Mutational-kinetic data was used in conjunction with homology modeling knowledge to draw up architectural and functional roles of the arginines and aromatics in GABA-binding pocket. The results provide interesting new insights.

Two …

Exploring The Architecture Of The Human Gaba(A) Receptor Ligand Binding Pocket Via Mutational, Electrophysiological, And Kinetic Analysis, Kurt Thomas Laha

Dissertations (1934 -)

The gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA_A) receptor is a member of the cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels, and plays a crucial role in normal brain function by providing inhibitory neurotransmission. The objective of my research is to establish the mechanisms that underlie the interaction between the GABA_A receptor and GABA during binding, as well as to provide direct information about the architecture of the ligand binding pocket. To achieve this, a multitude of amino acid residues surrounding the GABA binding pocket were individually mutated and structure-function relationships were explored. Changes in EC_50-GABA, macroscopic kinetics, …

Exploring Identity Through Genetic And Genealogical Research: Development Of A Collaborative Course Between Humanities And Biology, Emily F. Schmitt Lavin, James Doan

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Dna Methylation Levels At Specific Genomic Loci, Rebecca Garrett

Senior Honors Theses

Alzheimer's disease is a devastating disease, affecting millions. There is some familial evidence of an inheritance pattern from a genetic basis in Alzheimer's disease patients, but even with revelation of the genetic linkage and genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, the inheritance pattern is too complicated to be properly explained. It is necessary to investigate other causes of the debilitating disease. To investigate further, the epigenome was studied - the regulation of the genome by methyl group addition.

To study the epigenome of an Alzheimer's disease-like state, isoschizomer enzymes were used to cleave CC*GG regions. Comparing the cleaved DNA sequences produced …

Monitoring Nesting Trends And Hatchling Success Of The Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) Population On Mnemba Island, Zanzibar, Taylor Dunbar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The nesting trends and hatching success of Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) were studied on Mnemba Island. This study involved a continuation of data collection for the ongoing monitoring program of sea turtles on Mnemba Island. Data was collected from nesting females as well as from post hatching nest excavations. The data that has been collected over the course of ten years was then analyzed to examine trends over time as well as to assess the current status of the turtle population on Mnemba Island. Hatch success as a function of different seasons was analyzed. It has been concluded that …

Preliminary Analysis Of An Agent-Based Model For A Tick-Borne Disease, Holly Gaff

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks have a unique life history including a distinct set of life stages and a single blood meal per life stage. This makes tick-host interactions more complex from a mathematical perspective. In addition, any model of these interactions must involve a significant degree of stochasticity on the individual tick level. In an attempt to quantify these relationships, I have developed an individual-based model of the interactions between ticks and their hosts as well as the transmission of tick-borne disease between the two populations. The results from this model are compared with those from previously published differential equation based population models. …

Effect Of Animal Facility Construction On Basal Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal And Renin-Aldosterone Activity In The Rat, Hershel Raff, Eric D. Bruder, William E. Cullinan, Dana R. Ziegler, Eric P. Cohen

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Nearby construction can cause subtle, but important activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in laboratory rats.

Although loud noise and intense vibration are known to alter the behavior and phenotype of laboratory animals, little is known about the effects of nearby construction. We studied the effect of a nearby construction project on the classic stress hormones ACTH, corticosterone, renin, and aldosterone in rats residing in a barrier animal facility before, for the first 3 months of a construction project, and at 1 month after all construction was completed. During some of the construction, noise and vibrations were not obvious to investigators …

Modulation Of Glutamate-Mediated Neuronal Cell Death By Neurosteroids, Benjamin J. Phelps

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and permanent disability in the United States. Approximately 1.7 million cases of TBI are reported annually. After an injury to the head, excessive glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, is released into the extracellular fluid resulting in the excitotoxic death of neuronal tissue. Recent studies have suggested neurosteroids, may serve as an effective means by which to modulate excitotoxicity via the excitatory neurotransmitter alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA). Using mixed astrocyte-neuronal cell cultures (14-16 DIV) exposed to increasing concentrations of AMPA as the model for TBI, the experiments examined the effect of the neurosteroids, …

Xenopus Laevis Transgenic Lines And Their Use In The Study Of Lymph Heart Musculature Development, Diana M. Filtz

Honors Theses

Lymph hearts are pulsatile organs present in lower vertebrates that propel lymph throughout the body and into the venous system, assisting in the maintenance of fluid homeostasis. In organisms such as frogs, several pairs of lymph hearts develop amidst the somites during the early tadpole stages. Due to the unique structure and function of lymph heart musculature—exhibiting characteristics of both skeletal and cardiac muscle—the origin of these cells remains highly controversial. Studies have found that in Xenopus, the engrailed gene is expressed explicitly in lymph heart muscle cells throughout development. Through designing a transgenic …

Characterization Of Microbial Community Structure In The Octocoral Leptogorgia Virgulata, Blair E. Armistead

Honors Theses

The process of spicule formation in L. virgulata results in a drop in pH, which, if left unregulated, could lead to demineralization and subsequent animal death. Carbonic anhydrase has been suggested as a possible pH regulatory mechanism in L. virgulata tissues. This study focuses on an additional hypothetical mechanism of pH regulation involving the production of urease by endosymbiotic bacteria living within L. virgulata tissue. PCR and DGGE are used as culture-independent methods to characterize facets of microbial community structure on L. virgulata in order to identify one …

Community And Ecosystem Ramifications Of Increasing Lianas In Neotropical Forests, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Frans Bongers, S. Joseph Wright

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Lianas (woody vines) are increasing in neotropical forests, representing one of the first large-scale structural changes documented for these important ecosystems. The potential ramifications of increasing lianas are huge, as lianas alter both tropical forest diversity and ecosystem functioning. At the community level, lianas affect tree species co-existence and diversity by competing more intensely with some tree species than others, and thus will likely alter tree species composition. At the ecosystem level, lianas affect forest carbon and nutrient storage and fluxes. A decrease in forest carbon storage and sequestration may be the most important ramification of liana increases. Lianas reduce …