Biology Commons^™

Creating Rna Aptamers To Modulate Function Of Human Estrogen Receptor Alpha, Daiying Xu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACT

Design And Application Of Composite Rna Aptamers, Shengchun Wang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

aptamers are being developed as an essential tool in many fields of biological research. Their utility is not limited to being protein inhibitors; a lot of novel functions can be realized. However, in vivo application of RNA aptamers still faces many challenges. The aim of this dissertation is to design and apply composite aptamers in multiple expression and delivery systems to address some critical issues, such as correct folding, high level production, degradation by nucleases, excessive consumption of cellular resource and potential toxic effect.

Bringing The Dead Compartment Of A Plant Cell To Life: A Novel Imaging Technique Resurrects The Dynamic Nature Of The Apoplast, Doug Van Hoewyk

Biology

No abstract provided.

Floristic And Environmental Characteristics Of Sub-Boreal Peatlands Of Minnesota And Western Wisconsin, Kevin Douglas Clement

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Peatland communities in the sub-boreal region of Minnesota and western Wisconsin were characterized by floristic composition, structure and environmental characteristics to determine the natural variation among peatland communities in the region and their shared associations with the boreal and temperate peatlands of North America. Floristic classification revealed five, distinct peatland community types, identified as Sphagnum Bogs, Herbaceous Fens, Forested Fens, Rich/Calcareous Fens and Phalaris anrundinacea dominated peatlands. Differences among sub-boreal peatlands largely reflected changes in the significant indicator and dominant plant species identified, which were found to exhibit high fidelities to a particular peatland community type. Floristic variations among sub-boreal …

An Assessment Of Histone-Modification Antibody Quality, Thea Egelhofer, Aki Minoda, Sarit Klugman, Kyungjoon Lee, Paulina Kolasinska-Zwierz, Artyom Alekseyenko, Ming-Sin Cheung, Daniel Day, Sarah Gadel, Andrey Gorchakov, Tingting Gu, Peter Kharchenko, Samantha Kuan, Isabel Latorre, Daniela Linder-Basso, Ying Luu, Queminh Ngo, Marc Perry, Andreas Rechtsteiner, Nicole Riddle, Yuri Schwartz, Gregory Shanower, Anne Vielle, Julie Ahringer, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Mitzi Kuroda, Vincenzo Pirrotta, Bing Ren, Susan Strome, Peter Park, Gary Karpen, R Hawkins, Jason Lieb

Biology Faculty Research

We have tested the specificity and utility of more than 200 antibodies raised against 57 different histone modifications in Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and human cells. Although most antibodies performed well, more than 25% failed specificity tests by dot blot or western blot. Among specific antibodies, more than 20% failed in chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. We advise rigorous testing of histone-modification antibodies before use, and we provide a website for posting new test results (http://compbio.med.harvard.edu/antibodies/).

Distributions And Abundances Of Microstegium Vimineum Along Forest Roadsides At The Grassy Hill Natural Area, Franklin County, Virginia, Gregory D. Turner

Virginia Journal of Science

In summer 2005, plots were surveyed along roads passing through forest habitats at the Grassy Hill Natural Area Preserve in Franklin County, Virginia to assess the distributions and abundances of Microstegium vimineum in transects located at increasing distances away from roadsides into forest interiors. Across plots, Microstegium was encountered almost exclusively in roadside transects, where abundances were relatively high. While forest composition and topographic features were similar across plots, percent canopy cover and leaf litter depth were greater in interior compared to roadside transects due to undisturbed tree canopies and ground cover located in interior plot areas. Results imply that …

Expanding The Diversity Of Mycobacteriophages: Insights Into Genome Architecture And Evolution., Welkin Pope, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Daniel Russell, Craig Peebles, Zein Al-Atrache, Turi Alcoser, Lisa Alexander, Matthew Alfano, Samantha Alford, Nichols Amy, Marie Anderson, Alexander Anderson, Andrew Ang, Manuel Ares Jr, Amanda Barber, Lucia Barker, Jonathan Barrett, William Barshop, Cynthia Bauerle, Ian Bayles, Katherine Belfield, Aaron Best, Agustin Borjon Jr, Charles Bowman, Christine Boyer, Kevin Bradley, Victoria Bradley, Lauren Broadway, Keshav Budwal, Kayla Busby, Ian Campbell, Anne Campbell, Alyssa Carey, Steven Caruso, Rebekah Chew, Chelsea Cockburn, Lianne Cohen, Jeffrey Corajod, Steven Cresawn, Kimberly Davis, Lisa Deng, Dee Denver, Breyon Dixon, Sahrish Ekram, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Angela Engelsen, Belle English, Marcella Erb, Crystal Estrada, Laura Filliger, Ann Findley, Lauren Forbes, Mark Forsyth, Tyler Fox, Melissa Fritz, Roberto Garcia, Zindzi George, Anne Georges, Christopher Gissendanner, Shannon Goff, Rebecca Goldstein, Kobie Gordon, Russell Green, Stephanie Guerra, Krysta Guiney-Olsen, Bridget Guiza, Leila Haghighat, Garrett Hagopian, Catherine Harmon, Jeremy Harmson, Grant Hartzog, Samuel Harvey, Siping He, Kevin He, Kaitlin Healy, Ellen Higinbotham, Erin Hildebrandt, Jason Ho, Gina Hogan, Victoria Hohenstein, Nathan Holz, Vincent Huang, Ericka Hufford, Peter Hynes, Arrykka Jackson, Erica Jansen, Jonathan Jarvik, Paul Jasinto, Tuajuanda Jordan, Tomas Kasza, Murray Katelyn, Jessica Kelsey, Larisa Kerrigan, Daryl Khaw, Junghee Kim, Justin Knutter, Ching-Chung Ko, Gail Larkin, Jennifer Laroche, Asma Latif, Kohana Leuba, Sequoia Leuba, Lynn Lewis, Kathryn Loesser-Case, Courtney Long, A Javier Lopez, Nicholas Lowery, Tina Lu, Victor Mac, Isaac Masters, Jazmyn Mccloud, Molly Mcdonough, Andrew Medenbach, Anjali Menon, Rachel Miller, Brandon Morgan, Patrick Ng, Elvis Nguyen, Katrina Nguyen, Emilie Nguyen, Kaylee Nicholson, Lindsay Parnell, Caitlin Peirce, Allison Perz, Luke Peterson, Rachel Pferdehirt, Seegren Philip, Kit Pogliano, Joe Pogliano, Tamsen Polley, Erica Puopolo, Lauren Rodriguez, Hannah Rabinowitz, Michael Resiss, Corwin Rhyan, Yetta Robinson, Andrew Rose, Jeffrey Rubin, Jessica Ruby, Margaret Saha, James Sandoz, Judith Savitskaya, Dale Schipper, Christine Schnitzler, Amanda Schott, J Bradley Segal, Christopher Shaffer, Kathryn Sheldon, Erica Shepard, Jonathan Shepardson, Madav Shroff, Jessica Simmons, Erika Simms, Brandy Simpson, Kathryn Sinclair, Robert Sjoholm, Ingrid Slette, Blaire Spaulding, Clark Straub, Joseph Stukey, Trevor Sughrue, Tin-Yun Tang, Lyons Tatyana, Stephen Taylor, Barbara Taylor, Louise Temple, Jasper Thompson, Michael Tokarz, Stephanie Trapani, Alexander Troum, Jonathan Tsay, Anthony Thomas Tubbs, Jillian Walton, Danielle Wang, Hannah Wang, John Warner, Emilie Weisser, Samantha Wendler, Kathleen Weston-Hafer, Hilary Whelan, Kurt Williamson, Angelica Willis, Hannah Wirtshafter, Theresa Wong, Phillip Wu, Yun Jeong Yang, Brandon Yee, David Zaidins, Bo Zhang, Melina Zúniga, Roger Hendrix, Graham Hatfull

Biology Faculty Research

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect mycobacterial hosts such as Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All mycobacteriophages characterized to date are dsDNA tailed phages, and have either siphoviral or myoviral morphotypes. However, their genetic diversity is considerable, and although sixty-two genomes have been sequenced and comparatively analyzed, these likely represent only a small portion of the diversity of the mycobacteriophage population at large. Here we report the isolation, sequencing and comparative genomic analysis of 18 new mycobacteriophages isolated from geographically distinct locations within the United States. Although no clear correlation between location and genome type can be discerned, these genomes expand …

Nuclear Reorganization And Gene Expression During Muscle Cell Differentiation, Amy L. Pitstick

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Cellular differentiation is a process regulated by environmental, intracellular and intercellular factors. Myogenesis is a differentiation program in mammalian myotome cells in which Pax3 activates myogenic transcription factors to convert myotome cells to committed myoblasts. Myoblasts differentiate to become fully differentiated, multi-nucleated myotubes (Tajbakhsh et al., 1997). C2C12 cells are a model system for myogenesis. We noted that Bcl2-associated transcription factor (Btf) is upregulated during myogenesis. We observed that C2C12 nuclei reorganize during myogenesis. We observed that myoblast nuclei have approximately 5-10 small nucleoli, while nuclei in myotubes have fewer and larger nucleoli. Nucleolar reorganization occurs independently of multinucleation. Also, …

Scoliosis: Comparative Analysis Of Surgery Vs. Brace Treatment, Jerry Frenkel

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

The following is the introduction of this article: The spine, or spinal column, as it is also called, is a complex structure made up of 33 vertebrae (bone segments) arranged vertically in succession from just below the skull to the tailbone. The entire column is broken up into various classes of vertebrae named, from superior to inferior, as cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal. Different forms of spinal deformities that can occur include kyphosis, lordosis and scoliosis (Neuwirth and Osborn 2001). Scoliosis is defined simply in medical terms as a lateral three-dimensional irregular curvature of the spine. The curvature as …

Full Issue: Volume 5, Number 1, Fall 2011

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

No abstract provided.

A New Species Of The Subterranean Amphipod Crustacean Genus Stygobromus (Crangonyctidae) From A Cave In Nevada, Usa, Steven J. Taylor, John R. Holsinger

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Stygobromus albapinus, a new stygobiotic amphipod crustacean species in the family Crangonyctidae, is described from two pools in Model Cave in Great Basin National Park, White Pine County, Nevada, USA. The type specimens were collected on two different visits to the cave. The new species is assigned to the hubbsi group, bringing the number of described species in this group to 45, but many other provisionally recognized species assigned to this group remain undescribed. With exception of a single species from deep wells in southeastern Wisconsin, all other members of the hubbsi group are recorded from a wide variety …

On Characterizing Adaptive Events Unique To Modern Humans, Jessica L. Crisci, Alex Wong, Jeffrey M. Good, Jeffrey D. Jensen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ever since the first draft of the human genome was completed in 2001, there has been increased interest in identifying genetic changes that are uniquely human, which could account for our distinct morphological and cognitive capabilities with respect to other apes. Recently, draft sequences of two extinct hominin genomes, a Neanderthal and Denisovan, have been released. These two genomes provide a much greater resolution to identify human-specific genetic differences than the chimpanzee, our closest extant relative. The Neanderthal genome paper presented a list of regions putatively targeted by positive selection around the time of the human-Neanderthal split. We here seek …

Influence Of Vegetation On Sediment Bacterial Community Structure, Microbial Enzyme Activities And Phosphorus Retention In Constructed Freshwater Wetlands, Rani Menon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural activities are major sources of non-point pollutants causing eutrophication. Constructed wetlands are used as a best management practice for sequestration of nutrients from agricultural runoff. This dissertation focuses on the influence of vegetation on bacterial community structure, microbial enzyme activities, and phosphorus retention capacity of constructed wetland systems. A greenhouse experiment was conducted using unvegetated or vegetated mesocosms with Juncus effusus, Carex lurida or Dichanthelium acuminatum var. acuminatum in monoculture or mixed culture.

To study the influence of vegetation on the bacterial community structure and microbial enzyme activities, sediment samples were taken from monoculture mesocosms in the greenhouse. β-1,4-glucosidase, …

Relationship Between Coastal Vegetation Biomass With Elevation And Salinity Gradients, Ying Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surges and waves generated by hurricanes and other severe storms can cause devastating damage to property and loss of life in coastal areas. Vegetation in wetlands and coastal fringes can reduce storm surges and waves while complementing traditional coastal defense approaches such as permanent levees, seawalls and gates. The effectiveness of marsh vegetation in attenuating storm surge energy and reducing soil erosion depends on the level of primary production at the time of the storm surge and the ability of marsh vegetation to recover rapidly from damage caused by the storm surge. Marsh production depends on a variety of abiotic …

Age Determination Of The Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter, Homalodisca Vitripennis, Using Wing Pigmentation, Chris Timmons, Aaron Hassell, Isabelle Lauziere, Blake Bextine

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

A red pigment is contained in the wing veins of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). This insect is the main vector of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Wells (Xanthomonadales: Xanthomonadaceae), the causal agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines. Over the course of the H. vitripennis lifespan, the red pigment darkens and eventually becomes brown/black in color. These pigments are believed to be pheomelanin and eumelanin, respectively. The age of H. vitripennis can be determined by calculating the amount of red pigment found in the wings by analyzing high resolution wing photographs with image analysis software. In this study, …

Putting The X In Biology: A Review Of The Mathematics Of Life, John Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

(First Paragraph) Charles Darwin's 1859 work On the Origin of the Species contained no equations. But that does not mean mathematics has no role to play in the science of life; in fact, the field of biomathematics is burgeoning and has been for several decades. Ian Stewart's new book does an admirable job of unfolding the mathematics undergirding so much of the research being carried out today in the many fields that comprise the subject of biology. Stewart sets the context by noting five great revolutions that have changed the way scientists think about life. These five revolutions are: (i) …

Gulf Of Mexico Oil Blowout Increases Risks To Globally Threatened Species, Claudio Campagna, Frederick T. Short, Beth A. Polidoro, Roger Mcmanus, Bruce B. Collette, Nicolas J. Pilcher, Yvonne Sadovy De Mitcheson, Simon N. Stuart, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Fourteen marine species in the Gulf of Mexico are protected by the US Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. As the British Petroleum oil spill recovery and remediation proceed, species internationally recognized as having an elevated risk of extinction should also receive priority for protection and restoration efforts, whether or not they have specific legal protection. Forty additional marine species-unprotected by any federal laws-occur in the Gulf and are listed as threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. The Red List assessment process scientifically evaluates species' global …

Biology, Ecology And Control Of The Invasive Channeled Apple Snail, Pomacea Canaliculata, Christina M. Trexler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species are detrimental to native biotas worldwide. Recently, Florida was invaded by a freshwater snail (Pomacea canaliculata) native to Argentina. This snail is a serious pest of rice crops in Asia, but little is known about its interactions within Florida ecosystems. Possible competitive exclusion of the native congener (P. paludosa) is a concern because it is the almost exclusive prey of the federally endangered Everglades snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis). My research consisted of three parts. First, to identify possible methods to control P. canaliculata in the egg stage, I experimentally evaluated the effects of photoperiod, substrate availability, and food …

Variability Of Carbon Stock In Florida Flatwoods Ecosystems Undergoing Restoration And Management, Kathryn Elizabeth Becker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The global community is struggling with mitigating the effects of widespread habitat loss and degradation; the effects of which are being further magnified in the face of global climate change. Quality natural habitat is becoming increasingly limited and atmospheric carbon levels continue to rise. Therefore, land managers responsible for multiuse management are often faced with the dilemma of managing ecosystems for biodiversity, as well as optimizing ecosystem services such as carbon storage and sequestration. However, some management techniques used to meet these objectives may yield conflicting results, specifically, the management tool of prescribed fire. Fire is crucial in maintaining species …

Applications Of Airborne And Portable Lidar In The Structural Determination, Management, And Conservation Of Southeastern U.S. Pine Forests, Claudia De Mendonca Costa Synek Listopad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Active remote sensing techniques, such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), have transformed the field of forestry and natural resource management in the last decade. Intensive assessments of forest resources and detailed structural assessments can now be accomplished faster and at multiple landscape scales. The ecological applications of having this valuable information at-hand are still only being developed. This work explores the use of two active remote sensing techniques, airborne and portable LiDAR for forestry applications in a rapidly changing landscape, Southeastern Coastal Pine woodlands. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of airborne and portable LiDAR, the tools used to extract …

Settlement And Growth Of Quagga Mussels (Dreissenia Rostriformis Bugensis Andrusov, 1897) In Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, Usa, Wai Hing Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger, Wen Baldwin, Bryan Moore

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Settlement and growth of quagga mussels Dreissena rostriformis bugensis were monitored in Lake Mead, NV, USA, where the first dreissenid occurrence was confirmed in the western United States. To measure the settlement rate of these invasive mussels, seven acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) pipes were attached to a line in shallow water (7.7 m below the surface) since November 23, 2007; eight ABS pipes were placed on another line in deep water (13.4 m below the surface) since January 3, 2008. Quagga mussels were sampled from these pipes on March 19, May 21, July 9, October 20, and December 19, 2008. …

On The Nature Of Species: Insights From Paramecium And Other Ciliates, Meaghan S. Hall, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The multiple species concepts currently in use by the scientific community (e. g. Morphological, Biological, Phylogenetic) are united in that they all aim to capture the process of divergence between populations. For example, the Biological Species Concept defines a species as a natural group of organisms that is reproductively isolated from other such groups. Here we synthesize nearly a century of research on the ciliate genus Paramecium that highlights the shortcomings of our prevailing notions on the nature of species. In this lineage, there is discordance between morphology, mating behavior, and genetics, features assumed to be correlated, at least after …

Expanding Character Sampling For Ciliate Phylogenetic Inference Using Mitochondrial Ssu-Rdna As A Molecular Marker, Micah Dunthorn, Wilhelm Foissner, Laura A. Katz

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Molecular systematics of ciliates, particularly at deep nodes, has largely focused on increasing taxon sampling using the nuclear small subunit rDNA (nSSU-rDNA) locus. These previous analyses have generally been congruent with morphologically-based classifications, although there is extensive non-monophyly at many levels. However, caution is needed in interpreting these results as nSSU-rDNA is just a single molecular marker. Here the mitochondrial small subunit rDNA (mtSSU-rDNA) is evaluated for deep ciliate nodes using the Colpodea as an example. Overall, well-supported nodes in the mtSSU-rDNA and concatenated topologies are well supported in the nSSU-rDNA topology; e.g., the non-monophyly of the Cyrtolophosidida. The two …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

President's Message, Justin K. Wyatt

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Scas Officers And Council Members 2010 - 2011

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Properties And Uses Of Sodium Titanates And Peroxotitanates, David Hobbs

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Applications Of Biotechnology In Development Of Biomaterials: Nanotechnology And Biofilms, Robin L. Brigmon, Christopher Berry, Raj N. Singh, Roger J. Narayan

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Nanocarriers For Biomedical Applications, Shuyi Li, Lynsa Nguyen, Hairong Xion, Meiyao Wang, Tom C.-C. Hu, Jin-Xiong She, Steven M. Serkiz, George G. Wicks, William S. Dynan

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Removal And Sequestration Of Iodide From Alkaline Solutions Using Silver-Doped Carbon Nanotubes, Adrian L. Pishko, Steven M. Serkiz, Apparao M. Rao

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.