Biology Commons^™

The Dynamics Of Stage Structured Prey-Predator Model Involving Parasitic Infectious Disease, Raid K. Naji, Dina S. Al-Jaf

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper a prey-predator model involving parasitic infectious disease is proposed and analyzed. It is assumed that the life cycle of predator species is divided into two stages immature and mature. The analysis of local and global stability of all possible subsystems is carried out. The dynamical behaviors of the model system around biologically feasible equilibria are studied. The global dynamics of the model are investigated with the help of Suitable Lyapunov functions. Conditions for which the model persists are established. Finally, to nationalize our analytical results, numerical simulations are worked out for a hypothetical set of parameter values.

The Role Of Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Axl In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma And Its Regulation By Hematopoietic Progenitor Kinase 1, Xianzhou Song

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is one of the most aggressive malignancies with less than 5% of five year survival rate. New molecular markers and new therapeutic targets are urgently needed for patients with PDA. Oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase Axl has been reported to be overexpressed in many types of human malignancies, including diffuse glioma, melanoma, osteosarcoma, and carcinomas of lung, colon, prostate, breast, ovary, esophagus, stomach, and kidney. However, the expression and functions of Axl in PDA are unclear. We hypothesized that Axl contributes to the development and progression of PDA. We examined Axl expression in 54 human PDA samples …

Movement Ecology Of An Intercontinental Migratory Bird During Spring Stopover, Emily Beth Cohen

Dissertations

Movement ecology is a component of nearly all aspects of animal behavior and an animal’s decision to move is likely influenced by a complex combination of exogenous and endogenous factors. Therefore, an examination of the causes and consequences of organismal movement provides a conceptual framework for understanding complex behavioral strategies. My dissertation research is focused on the movement ecology of an intercontinental migratory songbird during spring migration. I adopted experimental approaches to study the factors influencing how a songbird migrant, red-eyed vireos (Vireo olivaceus), makes decisions in unfamiliar landscapes from the initiation of spring stopover.

I simulated the …

Effect Of Pesticides On Salicylic Acid Binding Protein 2 (Sabp2) And Plant Defense, Joannes Petrus Yuh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tobacco SABP2 has been shown to display high affinity for salicylic acid (SA) and methylsalicylate (MeSA) and plays an important role in SAR signal development. Using biochemical approach, SABP2 has been shown to demonstrate strong esterase activity in converting MeSA to SA. Recent study shows that tetra fluoroacetophenone, a synthetic analog of SA, competitively inhibits SABP2 esterase activity as well as suppresses SAR signal development in tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-infected tobacco plants. Not much has been studied on the effect of pesticides on plant defenses. Because both AChE and SABP2 are esterase-like proteins belonging to α/β hydroxylase superfamily, we hypothesize …

Relative Importance Of Environmental Variables For Spawning Cues And Tributary Use By An Adfluvial Lake Sucker, Brian A. Hines

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The endangered June sucker (Chasmistes liorus mictus), which is only found in Utah Lake, UT, historically spawned in all streams flowing into the lake, but due to human-caused changes their spawning is restricted to the Provo River. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the spawning and early life-history of the
June sucker for recovery purposes. My specific objectives were to determine:

1. what environmental factors attract or deter June suckers to certain Utah Lake tributaries for spawning,
2. what cues June suckers to migrate upstream to spawn,
3. if June suckers use more than one …

The Study Of The Parasitic Fauna In Sciaenops Ocellatus, Lower Laguna Madre, Texas, Veronica Abrigo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Parasitological investigations provide information on ecosystem health because parasite prevalence and abundance are influenced by biotic and abiotic environmental changes. This survey classified the parasitic fauna of red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, in the Lower Laguna Madre, TX. Fish (n = 239) were collected from four study sites (May 2005 - June 2006). Parasite identification consisted of digenean and monogenean trematodes, cestodes, larval nematodes, copepods, and protozoans. Parasite prevalence and host length was positively correlated from South Bay (r=0.473), Port Isabel (r=0.533), Arroyo(r=0.314), and Port Mansfield (r=0.630). Significant differences (p<0.001) between zone and parasite prevalence from Arroyo site indicated a higher prevalence of protozoa and monogeneans and reduced prevalence of digeneans. Statistical analyses indicated the greatest difference between Port Isabel and Arroyo sites ( divided by 2= 48.195; p<0.001; df= 14), and the least difference between South Bay and Arroyo sites ( divided by 2= 20.847; p= 1.06; df= 14).

Characterization And Antibiotic Resistance Profile Of Staphylococci In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Diana E. Trevino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Staphylococci from part of the natural flora of humans and some, like Staphylococcus aureus, appear to be evolving antibiotic resistance. The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) is an area of interest due to its proximity to the US/Mexico border where antibiotics could recently be purchased without prescription. Two libraries from community association (CA-S) and environmental association (E-S) have been collected and the staphylococci isolated. We hypothesize that their SCCmec type, which aids the staphylococci in antibiotic resistance, will not display classically defined association schemes and will surface in many species of staphylococci. This study generates antibiotic resistance profiles via antibiotic …

Flexibility In The Patterning And Control Of Axial Locomotor Networks In Lamprey, James T. Buchanan

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

In lower vertebrates, locomotor burst generators for axial muscles generally produce unitary bursts that alternate between the two sides of the body. In lamprey, a lower vertebrate, locomotor activity in the axial ventral roots of the isolated spinal cord can exhibit flexibility in the timings of bursts to dorsally-located myotomal muscle fibers versus ventrally-located myotomal muscle fibers. These episodes of decreased synchrony can occur spontaneously, especially in the rostral spinal cord where the propagating body waves of swimming originate. Application of serotonin, an endogenous spinal neurotransmitter known to presynaptically inhibit excitatory synapses in lamprey, can promote decreased synchrony of dorsal–ventral …

Identifying Polyglutamine Protein Species In Situ That Best Predict Neurodegeneration, Jason Miller, Montserrat Arrasate, Elizabeth Brooks, Clare Peter Libeu, Justin Legleiter, Danny Hatters, Jessica Curtis, Kenneth Cheung, Preethi Krishnan, Siddhartha Mitra, Kartika Widjaja, Benjamin A. Shaby, Gregor P. Lotz, Yvonne Newhouse, Emily M. Sontag, Alex Osmand, Michelle Gray, Vanitha Thulasiramin, Frederic Saudou, Mark Segal, X William Yang, Eliezer Masliah, Leslie M. Thompson, Paul J. Muchowski, Karl H. Weisgraber, Steven Finkbeiner

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Polyglutamine (polyQ) stretches exceeding a threshold length confer a toxic function to proteins that contain them and cause at least nine neurological disorders. The basis for this toxicity threshold is unclear. Although polyQ expansions render proteins prone to aggregate into inclusion bodies, this may be a neuronal coping response to more toxic forms of polyQ. The exact structure of these more toxic forms is unknown. Here we show that the monoclonal antibody 3B5H10 recognizes a species of polyQ protein in situ that strongly predicts neuronal death. The epitope selectively appears among some of the many low-molecular-weight conformational states assumed by …

Infectious Disease And The Worldwide Distribution Of Iq, Christopher Guiles Eppig

Biology ETDs

We show that infectious disease is a major contributor to the worldwide distribution of human cognitive ability, as measured by psychometric IQ. In areas where infectious disease is high, average human intelligence tends to be lower, and in areas where infectious disease is low, average human intelligence tends to be higher. In separate studies, we tested this across world nations (chapter 2) and across states of the USA (chapter 3). In efforts to disseminate our research to wider audiences, I reviewed the findings contained in chapters 2 and 3 using language that is accessible to non-biologists (chapter 4). Although it …

Lateralization Of The Developing Rat Hippocampal Formation, Amanda Lynn Gross

Biology ETDs

Differences between the left and right hemisphere of the brain have been observed in humans and rodents (Broca, 1861; Wernicke, 1881), including the hippocampal formation, a region of the brain that is necessary for some forms of learning and memory (Olton and Samuelson, 1976; deToledo-Morrell et al., 1988; Bernasconi-Guastalla et al., 1994; Tabibnia et al., 1994; Poe et al., 2000; Lister et al., 2006; Hanlon et al., 2005; Sommer et al., 2005; Moskal et al., 2006; Thompson et al., 2008; Klur et al., 2009). Although lateralization of the hippocampal formation has been studied in the adult, few have sought to …

The Nih-Niaid Filariasis Research Reagent Resource Center, Michelle L. Michalski, Kathryn G. Griffiths, Steven A. Williams, Ray M. Kaplan, Andrew Moorhead

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Filarial worms cause a variety of tropical diseases in humans; however, they are difficult to study because they have complex life cycles that require arthropod intermediate hosts and mammalian definitive hosts. Research efforts in industrialized countries are further complicated by the fact that some filarial nematodes that cause disease in humans are restricted in host specificity to humans alone. This potentially makes the commitment to research difficult, expensive, and restrictive. Over 40 years ago, the United States National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH-NIAID) established a resource from which investigators could obtain various filarial parasite species …

Phylogenomics Of Reichenowia Parasitica, An Alphaproteobacterial Endosymbiont Of The Freshwater Leech Placobdella Parasitica, Sebastian Kvist, Apurva Narechania, Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa, Bella Fuks, Mark E. Siddall

Publications and Research

Although several commensal alphaproteobacteria form close relationships with plant hosts where they aid in (e.g.,) nitrogen fixation and nodulation, only a few inhabit animal hosts. Among these, Reichenowia picta, R. ornata and R. parasitica, are currently the only known mutualistic, alphaproteobacterial endosymbionts to inhabit leeches. These bacteria are harbored in the epithelial cells of the mycetomal structures of their freshwater leech hosts, Placobdella spp., and these structures have no other obvious function than housing bacterial symbionts. However, the function of the bacterial symbionts has remained unclear. Here, we focused both on exploring the genomic makeup of R. parasitica and on …

Insulin Receptor-Mediated Signaling Via Phospholipase C-Γ Regulates Growth And Differentiation In Drosophila, Juan M. Murillo-Maldonado, Fouad Bou Zeineddine, Rachel Stock, Justin Thackeray, Juan R. Riesgo-Escovar

Biology

Coordination between growth and patterning/differentiation is critical if appropriate final organ structure and size is to be achieved. Understanding how these two processes are regulated is therefore a fundamental and as yet incompletely answered question. Here we show through genetic analysis that the phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ) encoded by small wing (sl) acts as such a link between growth and patterning/differentiation by modulating some MAPK outputs once activated by the insulin pathway; particularly, sl promotes growth and suppresses ectopic differentiation in the developing eye and wing, allowing cells to attain a normal size and differentiate properly. sl mutants have previously been …

Shifting Species Interactions In Terrestrial Dryland Ecosystems Under Altered Water Availability And Climate Change, Kevin E. Mccluney, Jayne Belnap, Scott L. Collins, Angélica L. González, Elizabeth M. Hagen, J. Nathaniel Holland, Burt P. Kotler, Fernando T. Maestre, Stanley D. Smith, Blair O. Wolf

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Shrubs As Sentinels Of Ordnance Contamination: Using Plant Physiology And Remote Sensing To Detect Tnt In Soils, Kathryn Rubis

Theses and Dissertations

Methods for rapid, safe and effective detection of unmapped buried ordnance are vital to the protection of humans and environmental quality throughout the world. This study aimed to investigate the use of phytosensing and to understand the physiological response of woody plants to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) contamination. Baccharis halimifolia were potted in soils containing various concentrations of TNT and physiological responses were observed over a 9-week experimental period. Measurements included the collection of remotely sensed data, such as hyperspectral reflectance and chlorophyll fluorescence, and traditional plant-level physiological data. In accordance with the hypothesis, low levels of TNT improved physiological response in …

Association Of Glpq With Serum-Resistance In Salmonella Typhimurium, Kristie Carlotta Mitchell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Salmonella typhimurium is a leading cause of infectious human gastroenteritis and systemic disease when it escapes into the bloodstream. The human serum complement system is central in fighting systemic bacterial infections. S. typhimurium exhibits resistance to killing by complement (serum-resistance), a trait conferred by several known virulence genes. This study investigates a potential chromosomal complement-resistance gene in S. typhimurium tagged by TnphoA insertional transposon mutagenesis. S. typhimurium strain EM876 has a chromosomal TnphoA insertion and reduced serum-resistance. Inverse PCR and subsequent DNA sequence analysis reveal the insertion to be in the gene glpQ. glpQ codes for a …

No Accession-Specific Effect Of Rhizosphere Soil Communities On The Growth And Competition Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Accessions, Anna G. Aguilera, Adán Colón-Carmona, Rick Kesseli, Jeffrey S. Dukes

Biology Faculty Publication Series

Soil communities associated with specific plant species affect individual plants' growth and competitive ability. Limited evidence suggests that unique soil communities can also differentially influence growth and competition at the ecotype level. Previous work with Arabidopsis thaliana has shown that accessions produce distinct and reproducible rhizosphere bacterial communities, with significant differences in both species composition and relative abundance. We tested the hypothesis that soil communities uniquely affect the growth and reproduction of the plant accessions with which they are associated. Specifically, we examined the growth of four accessions when exposed to their own soil communities and the communities generated by …

Traversing Swanton Road, 6th Ed., James A. West

Academic, Government & Associated Organizational Research Resources

Situated at the northwest end of Santa Cruz County and occupying circa 30 square miles of sharply contrasted terrain, the Scott Creek Watershed concentrates within its geomorphological boundaries, at least 10-12% of California's flora, both native and introduced. Paradoxically, the use/abuse that the watershed has sustained over the past 140+ years, has not necessarily diminished the biodiversity and perhaps parallels the naturally disruptive but biologically energizing processes (fire, flooding, landslides and erosion), which have also been historically documented for the area for +60 years. This is an early edition of an extensive document by James A. West. Please visit the …

Functions Of The Duplicated Hik31 Operons In Central Metabolism And Responses To Light, Dark, And Carbon Sources In Synechocystis Sp. Strain Pcc 6803, Sowmya Nagarajan, Debby Sherman, Isaac Shaw, Louis A. Sherman

Department of Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

There are two closely related hik31 operons involved in signal transduction on the chromosome and the pSYSX plasmid in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. We studied the growth, cell morphology, and gene expression in operon and hik mutants for both copies, under different growth conditions, to examine whether the duplicated copies have the same or different functions and gene targets and whether they are similarly regulated. Phenotype analysis suggested that both operons regulated common and separate targets in the light and the dark. The chromosomal operon was involved in the negative control of autotrophic events, whereas the plasmid …

Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein Is Not Required For Normal Ductal Or Alveolar Development In The Post-Natal Mammary Gland, Kata Boras-Granic, Joshua Vanhouten, Minoti Hiremath, John Wysolmerski

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

PTHrP is necessary for the formation of the embryonic mammary gland and, in its absence, the embryonic mammary bud fails to form the neonatal duct system. In addition, PTHrP is produced by the breast during lactation and contributes to the regulation of maternal calcium homeostasis during milk production. In this study, we examined the role of PTHrP during post-natal mammary development. Using a PTHrP-lacZ transgenic mouse, we surveyed the expression of PTHrP in the developing post-natal mouse mammary gland. We found that PTHrP expression is restricted to the basal cells of the gland during pubertal development and becomes expressed in …

Teaching Ethnobotany In China, Gordon C. Tucker

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

China has a rich and well documented tradition and diverse usage of plants. China provides examples of the incorporation of plant derived drugs in medicine. The diverse usage of plants is also reflected in the many kinds of Chinese food that are consumed by people of various nations around the world. China is one of the "cradles" of agriculture, the birth place of the cultivation of many important crops, including rice, millet, soybeans, and water chestnuts, and is the only undisrupted major ancient civilization in the world. Some plants find use in almost every aspect of Chinese life, such as …

Migration And Invasion Of Brain Tumors, Richard A. Able, Jr., Veronica Dudu, Maribel Vazquez

Publications and Research

Recent advances in molecular biology have led to new insights in the development, growth and infiltrative behaviors of primary brain tumors (Demuth and Berens, 2004; Huse and Holland, 2010; Johnson et al., 2009; Kanu et al., 2009). These tumors are derived from various brain cell lineages and have been historically classified on the basis of morphological and, more recently, immunohistochemical features with less emphasis on their underlying molecular pathogenesis (Huse and Holland, 2010). The detailed molecular characterization of brain tumors has laid the groundwork for augmentation of standard treatment with patient-specific designed targeted therapies (Johnson et al., 2009; Kanu et …

Parasite Infection And Sand Coarseness Increase Sand Crab (Emerita Analoga) Burrowing Time, Gita R. Kolluru, Zachary S. Green, Larisa K. Vredevoe, Matthew R. Kuzma, Sera N. Ramadan, Marc R. Zosky

Biological Sciences

Parasites with indirect life cycles require trophic transmission from intermediate hosts to definitive (vertebrate) hosts. Transmission may be facilitated if parasite infection alters the behavior of intermediate hosts such that they are more vulnerable to predation. Vulnerability to predation may also be influenced by abiotic factors; however, rarely are the effects of parasites and abiotic factors examined simultaneously. The swash zone of sandy beaches is a particularly harsh environment. Sand crabs (Emerita analoga) burrow rapidly in the swash zone to avoid predators and dislodgment. We examined prevalence and abundance of the acanthocephalan parasite Profilicollis altmani in sand crabs, …

Climate Change, Body Size, And Phenotype Dependent Dispersal, Shannon J. Mccauley, Karen E. Mabry

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Genetics Of Coxiella Burnetii: On The Path Of Specialization, Michael F. Minnick, Rahul Raghavan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coxiella burnetii is an extremely infectious, zoonotic agent that causes Q fever in humans. With the exception of New Zealand, the bacterium is distributed worldwide. Coxiella is classified as a select agent based on its past and potential use as a bioweapon and its threat to public health. Despite decades of research, we know relatively little regarding Coxiella?s molecular pathogenesis, and a vaccine is not widely available. This article briefly reviews the unusual genetics of C. burnetii; a pathogen that retains telltale genetic mementos collected over the course of its evolutionary path from a free-living bacterium to an obligate intracellular …

A Taxonomic Revision Of The New World Genus Oropodes Casey (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae), Michael S. Caterino, Donald S. Chandler

Publications

The genus Oropodes is characterized and revised with 18 species being treated. Members of this genus are found in temperate forests to desert brush lands from Oregon to Baja California, but are associated primarily with dry forests and shrub lands of California. Keys to males and Females, where known, are provided. Seven species are redescribed: O. arcaps (California), O. dybasi (Oregon), O. ishii (California), O. nuclere (California), O. orbiceps (California), O. rumseyensis (California), O. yollabolly (California). The name Oropodes raffrayi (California) is raised from synonymy and the species is redescribed, stat. n. Ten new species are described: O. aalbui (California), …

Competencies.Pdf, Winston Anderson

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

IN 2009, THE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN Medical Colleges (AAMC), in collaboration with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), reviewed the educational prerequisites for admission to medical school in the United States. Because a large fraction of undergraduate students enroll in science courses to meet the requirements for admission to medical school, courses satisfying these requirements dominate the undergraduate science curriculum. The prescribed course structure has impeded educational innovation, particularly the development of new, multidisciplinary courses. To address this situation, the AAMCHHMI report (1) recommends that scientific competencies replace specific courses as requirements for medical school admissions.

Investigating The Roles Of Ndj1 And Tid1 In Crossover Assurance In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Rianna Knowles

Master's Theses

Meiosis is the specialized process of cell division utilized during gametogenesis in all sexually reproducing eukaryotes, which consists of one round of DNA replication followed by two rounds of chromosome segregation and results in four haploid cells. Crossovers between homologous chromosomes promote proper alignment and segregation of chromosomes during meiosis.

Crossover interference is a genetic phenomenon in which crossovers are non-randomly placed along chromosomes. Crossover assurance ensures that every homologous chromosome pair obtains at least one crossover during Prophase I. Crossovers physically connect homologous pairs, allowing spindle fibers to attach and separate homologs properly. However, some organisms have shown an …

Molecular Systematics Of The Middle American Genus Hypopachus (Anura: Microhylidae), Eli Greenbaum, Eric N. Smith, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

We present the first phylogenetic study on the widespread Middle American microhylid frog genus Hypopachus. Partial sequences of mitochondrial (12S and 16S ribosomal RNA) and nuclear (rhodopsin) genes (1275 bp total) were analyzed from 43 samples of Hypopachus, three currently recognized species of Gastrophryne, and seven arthroleptid, brevicipitid and microhylid outgroup taxa. Maximum parsimony (PAUP), maximum likelihood (RAxML) and Bayesian inference (MrBayes) optimality criteria were used for phylogenetic analyses, and BEAST was used to estimate divergence dates of major clades. Population-level analyses were conducted with the programs NETWORK and Arlequin. Results confirm the placement of Hypopachus …