Biology Commons^™

Activation Of Microglia In The Rotenone Lymnaea Stagnalis Model Of Parkinson's Disease, Xiomara Galvan

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common irreversible neurodegenerative movement disorder affecting approximately ten million people worldwide. In the central nervous system (CNS), PD is known by the selective loss of Dopamine (DA) cells of the substantia nigra pars compacta. Although the disease has been very widely studied, the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood. Several hypotheses have arisen as result of injury of the mitochondria, some experiments include microglia activation, microtubule damage, and reactive oxidative species, which all result in the death of DA cells. The theory of microglia activation upon inflammation was explored in this study. Using the …

Balanus Eburneus (Crustacea: Cirripedia) As A Potential Indicator Of Estuarine System Recovery In South Texas: A Study Of Recruitment, Growth And Stable Isotopes, Crystal Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

Population characteristics of the barnacle Balanus eburneus were analyzed with the purpose of exploring its potential use as a discriminating indicator among sites exhibiting different disturbances or stages of recovery. The study was conducted from May 2012 to May 2013 at four estuaries in the Lower Laguna Madre, TX including a) Bahia Grande, currently under restoration and divided into Bahia Grande North and Bahia Grande South, b) San Martin Lake, which receives runoff water and c) South Bay, a relatively undisturbed reference estuary. In general, similar barnacle recruitment and growth trends in Bahia Grande South and South Bay were explained …

Influence Of Lactobacillus Rhamnosus Isolated From “Amabere Amaruranu” Cultured Milk On Adipogenesis, Justin E. Kotala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was performed to test the in vitro effects of a Lactobacillus rhamnosus isolate from “amabere amaruranu”, a traditional Kenyan cultured milk, on 3T3-L1 and Caco-2 cell lines. Cultures of fully mature 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with bacterial isolate cell extract (CE), filtered spent broth (FSB) from overnight bacterial culture, or with a PBS control. Expression levels of PPAR³1 and 2, C/EBP±, and ATGL proteins in 3T3-L1 cells were upregulated by FSB treatment. CE treatment did not affect protein expression levels. Expression of MTTP and SREBP-1c proteins in Caco-2 cells showed no change with either treatment. Optical density measurements …

Normal Glycolytic Enzyme Activity Is Critical For Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1a Activity And Provides Novel Targets For Inhibiting Tumor Growth, Geoffrey Grandjean Phd

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Normal Glycolytic Enzyme Activity is Critical for Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α Activity and Provides Novel Targets for Inhibiting Tumor Growth

By Geoffrey Grandjean

Advisory Professor: Garth Powis, D. Phil

Unique to proliferating cancer cells is the observation that their increased need for energy is provided by a high rate of glycolysis followed by lactic acid fermentation in a process known as the Warburg Effect, a process many times less efficient than oxidative phosphorylation employed by normal cells to satisfy a similar energy demand ^[1]. This high rate of glycolysis occurs regardless of the concentration of oxygen in the cell and …

Diversification And Speciation Across Sundaland And The Philippines: The Effects Of 30 Million Years Of Eustatic Flux, Luke J. Welton

Theses and Dissertations

I highlight two squamate lineages endemic to Southeast Asia, the Asian water monitors (Varanus salvator Complex) and the Angle-headed lizards (Agamidae: Gonocephalus), and elucidate their systematic affinities and historical biogeography. My results represent novel phylogenetic inferences, with biogeographic histories and diversification events corresponding to major climatic fluctuations over the past 30 million years. Additionally, I solidify the taxonomy and systematics of the Varanus salvator Complex, and enumerate more than a dozen Gonocephalus lineages as candidate species in need of taxonomic scrutiny. Lastly, I investigate contemporary and historical patterns of dispersal throughout Sundaland, and between Sundaland and the Philippines.

Comparing Reproductive Capacity Of Nearshore And Offshore Red Snapper, Lutjanus Campechanus, On Artificial Reefs In The Western Gulf Of Mexico, Ricky J. Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Red snapper collected quarterly from four artificial reefs in south Texas were examined to compare total length, total weight, age, and the proportion of male to female red snapper, calculate gonadosomatic index values, batch fecundity, annual spawning frequency, and annual fecundity, and estimate size and age at maturity. Spawning occurred from April to September, with most active spawning observed in June (58%). Despite larger red snapper producing more eggs, and fish being larger offshore, most active spawning (68%) and egg production (74%) was observed nearshore. Female red snapper reached 50% maturity (L50) between 350-550 mm, and L75 by 600 mm. …

The Role Of Valproic Acid, A Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, In Reducing Anxiety Levels In Rats: An Epigenetics Study, Juliet Buteme

Honors College Theses

Rats, like humans, show personality traits: they are born with different anxiety levels (i.e., high (HAn) or low anxiety (LAn) levels). In this study, we investigated (1) if treatment with valproic acid (VPA) can lower anxiety level in trait anxiety rats and (2) how VPA may interact with environment (e.g., enriched (EE), standard (SE) and isolated environments (IE)). VPA is a deacetylase inhibitor that increases Histone 3 acetylation, a known epigenetic mechanism that interacts with stress response proteins, and treats epilepsy and mood disorders. Since rats reared in IE exhibit heightened anxiety levels as compared to those in EE, we …

Scardovia Wiggsiae Prevalence In Orthodontic Patients, Brandon Joseph Streiff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Dental caries has mainly been associated with Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces and Veillonella species. But in recent salivary studies a new cariogenic pathogen, has been identified. This new bacteria, Scardovia wiggsiae (SW), is currently being tested within the UNLV School of Dental Medicine patient population. Although these current studies are being conducted to study its prevalence in both pediatric and adult populations, it has not been evaluated among patients with an altered oral environment as seen in patients with orthodontic appliances. Fixed orthodontic appliances increase the difficulty of removing daily plaque on and in between the teeth with standard oral hygiene …

Environmental Impacts And Carry-Over Effects In Complex Life Cycles: The Role Of Different Life History Stages, Nnaemeka F. Ezeakacha

Dissertations

A challenge faced by organisms with complex life cycles is how environmental factors experienced at an earlier life stage affect the fitness at that stage or are carried over to subsequent life stages. I used container-inhabiting mosquitoes: Aedes albopictus, Aedes aegypti, Aedes triseriatus and Culex quinquefasciatus to study the interactions and performance of life history stages under specific environmental factors. I investigated the effects of egg-desiccation tolerance on egg viability and larval performance in the Aedes mosquitoes. I found increase in egg hatch rate with relative humidity and interaction between relative humidity and egg storage period. Larval performance …

Anthropogenic Influences On The Tolipir Landscape, Lesser Himalayas, Pakistan, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Lariab Zahra

Journal of Bioresource Management

The present study describes anthropogenic pressure in Tolipir landscape of lesser Himalayas. The GIS tools, questionnaire and field sampling surveys were used to estimate threats in landscape. The study was conducted from January 2013 to January 2014. The five model villages (Ali Sojal, Kanchi Kot, Khori Chana, Kahoo Kot and Noor Kot) of Tolipir landscape were selected to determine anthropogenic pressure. The study documents that Tolipir landscape has average number of house (350 ± 82.4), with number of individual per house (10.8 ± 1.1) and fuel consumption per day (43.72±3.30) kg. The preferred fuel wood plant species among inhabitants of …

Virtual Screening Of Phytochemicals For Cancer Therapy, Asma Ahmad Al Haddad

Theses

Cancer is one of the leading cause of deaths in the world. Vast majority of contemporary cancer therapies have side effects. Dietary plants and plant-based products have been shown to reduce the severity of the condition with minimal or no side effects. However, the precise molecular interactions that lead to this are largely unknown. In this study, several target proteins in cancer pathways were chosen and a collection of chemical derived from plants, or phytochemicals, were virtually screened in silico using molecular docking techniques. Furthermore, the docking modes were subjected to extended molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The pharmacokinetic properties of …

Assessing The Importance Of Nurse Plant Associations To The Growth Of Pre-~Reproductive Yucca Brevifolia, Eric James Chameroy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Facilitation and competition among plant species, in addition to abiotic factors, play an important role in determining plant community structure in arid and semi-arid environments. I conducted a study in Dry Lake Valley, Lincoln County, Nevada, USA to investigate the importance of nurse plant associations to pre-reproductive Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree). Dry Lake Valley lies within a transition desert between the Mojave and Great Basin Deserts with ecotonal plant communities consisting of species representative of both deserts. A vegetation survey described the communities in which this study was conducted as a Y. brevifolia woodland dominated by an understory of Ephedra …

Impact Of Sleep And Circadian Disruption On Energy Balance And Diabetes: A Summary Of Workshop Discussions, Deanna M. Arble, Joseph Bass, Cecilia Diniz Behn, Matthew P. Butler, Etienne Challet, Charles Czeisler, Christopher M. Depner, Joel Elmquist, Paul Franken, Michael A. Grandner, Erin C. Hanlon, Alex C. Keene, Michael J. Joyner, Ilia Karatsoreos, Philip A. Kern, Samuel Klein, Christopher J. Morris, Allan I. Pack, Satchidananda Panda, Louis J. Ptacek, Naresh M. Punjabi, Paolo Sessone-Corsi, Frank A. Scheer, Richa Saxena, Elizabeth R. Seaquest, Matthew S. Thimgan, Eve Van Cauter, Kenneth P. Wright

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

A workshop was held at the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases with a focus on the impact of sleep and circadian disruption on energy balance and diabetes. The workshop identified a number of key principles for research in this area and a number of specific opportunities. Studies in this area would be facilitated by active collaboration between investigators in sleep/circadian research and investigators in metabolism/diabetes. There is a need to translate the elegant findings from basic research into improving the metabolic health of the American public. There is also a need for investigators studying the impact …

After More Than A Decade Of Soil Moisture Deficit, Tropical Rainforest Trees Maintain Photosynthetic Capacity, Despite Increased Leaf Respiration, Lucy Rowland, Raquel L. Lobo-Do-Vale, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Eliane A. Melém, Bart Kruijt, Steel S. Vasconcelos, Tomas Domingues, Oliver J. Binks, Alex A. R. Oliveira, Daniel Metcalfe

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Determining climate change feedbacks from tropical rainforests requires an understanding of how carbon gain through photosynthesis and loss through respiration will be altered. One of the key changes that tropical rainforests may experience under future climate change scenarios is reduced soil moisture availability. In this study we examine if and how both leaf photosynthesis and leaf dark respiration acclimate following more than 12 years of experimental soil moisture deficit, via a through-fall exclusion experiment (TFE) in an eastern Amazonian rainforest. We find that experimentally drought-stressed trees and taxa maintain the same maximum leaf photosynthetic capacity as trees in corresponding control …

Genome Rearrangements Can Make And Break Small Rna Genes, Rahul Raghavan, Fenil R. Kacharia, Jess A. Millar, Christine Demko Sislak, Howard Ochman

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Small RNAs (sRNAs) are short, transcribed regulatory elements that are typically encoded in the intergenic regions (IGRs) of bacterial genomes. Several sRNAs, first recognized in Escherichia coli, are conserved among enteric bacteria, but because of the regulatory roles of sRNAs, differences in sRNA repertoires might be responsible for features that differentiate closely related species. We scanned the E. coli MG1655 and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium genomes for nonsyntenic IGRs as a potential source of uncharacterized, species-specific sRNAs and found that genome rearrangements have reconfigured several IGRs causing the disruption and formation of sRNAs. Within an IGR that is present in …

Demography And Disease Of The Rare Shrub Buckleya Distichophylla (Santalaceae) In Northeastern Tennessee, William Seth Ratliff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Piratebush (Buckleya distichophylla (Nutt.) Torr.) is a rare, hemiparasitic shrub with the only extant populations in western North Carolina, northeastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. The preferred natural hosts of piratebush, Carolina and eastern hemlocks, have seen sharp declines over the last decade due to the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. Virginia pine, another important host of piratebush, is also susceptible to disease, specifically Cronartium appalachianum, a rust fungus for which piratebush is the secondary host. This study described and analyzed current demographic parameters of three Tennessee piratebush populations. Additionally, spatial patterns of disease and demographic characters were analyzed. These …

An Inventory Of Endemic Leaf Litter Arthropods Of Arkansas With Emphasis On Certain Insect Groups And Diplopoda, Derek Alan Hennen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Endemic arthropods of Arkansas were sampled and their nomenclature and distributions were updated. The Arkansas endemic species list is updated to 121 species, including 16 species of millipedes. A study of the millipedes of Arkansas was undertaken, and resulted in the first checklist and key to all millipede species in the state. 68 species are known from Arkansas, including the genera Cylindroiulus and Polydesmus. The first state records for Ophyiulus pilosus, Cylindroiulus sp., and Ptyoiulus coveanus are reported, and new county records are reported for 16 species. This represents the first key to a state's species since 1980, and the …

Characterization Of Sbip68: A Putative Tobacco Glucosyltransferase Protein And Its Role In Plant Defense Mechanisms, Abdulkareem O. Odesina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plant secondary metabolites are essential for normal growth and development in plants ultimately affecting crop yield. They play roles ranging from appearance of the plants to defending against pathogen attack and herbivory. They have been used by humans for medicinal and recreational purposes amongst others. Glycosyltransferases catalyze the transfer of sugars from donor substrates to acceptors. Glucosyltransferases are a specific type of glycosyltransferases known to transfer glucose molecules from a glucose donor to a glucose acceptor (aglycone) producing the corresponding glucose secondary metabolite or glycone, in this case glucosides. It was hypothesized that SBIP68, a tobacco putative glucosyltransferase-like protein glucosylated …

Breeding Bird Census To Compare Long-Term Changes In The Avifauna Of The Spruce-Fir Forest On Mount Guyot, Great Smoky Mountains National Park 1967-2015, Kevin C. Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The high-elevation forests of the Southern Appalachian Mountains have been impacted and rearranged by a tiny introduced pest from Europe, known as the Balsam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges piceaea), creating a concern for conservation. Breeding bird censuses, along with botanical surveys, have been conducted periodically on an established 60-acre plot since 1967 on the virgin forested slopes of Mount Guyot, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the last census being completed in 2015. Breeding bird populations are shown to rise and fall in response to the forest’s changes over the last 48 years. Comparisons are made between all studies in order …

Moss In The Classroom: A Tiny But Mighty Tool For Teaching Biology, Erin E. Shortlidge, James R. Hashimoto

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Here we present a mechanism to infuse ecology into the classroom using a broadly adaptable system. We developed a novel moss-based project that introduces research-based experiences for middle school students, and can be modified for integration into K-16 classrooms. The project is ecologically relevant, facilliating opportunities for students to experience intimate interactions with ecosystem subtleties by asking their own questions. We describe and suggest how students can develop, build, test, and assess microcosm experiments of their own design, learning the process of science by “doing science.” Details on project execution, representative examples of distinctive research-question-based projects are presented. We aim …

Nucleotide-Induced Conformational Changes In Escherichia Coli Dnaa Protein Are Required For Bacterial Orc To Pre-Rc Conversion At The Chromosomal Origin, Rahul K. Saxena, Sona Vasudevan, Digvijay Patil, Norah Ashoura, Julia E. Grimwade, Elliott Crooke

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

DnaA oligomerizes when bound to origins of chromosomal replication. Structural analysis of a truncated form of DnaA from Aquifex aeolicus has provided insight into crucial conformational differences within the AAA+ domain that are specific to the ATP- versus ADP- bound form of DnaA. In this study molecular docking of ATP and ADP onto Escherichia coli DnaA, modeled on the crystal structure of Aquifex aeolicus DnaA, reveals changes in the orientation of amino acid residues within or near the vicinity of the nucleotide-binding pocket. Upon limited proteolysis with trypsin or chymotrypsin ADP-DnaA, but not ATP-DnaA generated relatively stable proteolytic fragments of …

Genetic And Morphological Diversity Along Altitudinal Gradients In The Genus Rhoadsia (Teleostei: Characidae: Rhoadsiinae), Grace Malato

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The Neotropics have the highest fish species diversity of any area in the world, with some experts estimating that as many as 4000 species of fishes are present in freshwater ecosystems. Elevational gradients are partially responsible for this diversity due to the rapidly changing ecological conditions associated with changes in altitude in rivers. One area where elevational gradients are particularly important is Western Ecuador; this region forms part of a biodiversity hotspot extending south from Panama along the western side of the Andes. Fish species diversity is relatively low because of the small size of most of the river drainages …

The Impeccable Timing Of The Apple Maggot Fly, Rhagoletis Pomonella (Dipetera: Tephritidae), And Its Implications For Ecological Speciation, Monte Arthur Mattsson

Dissertations and Theses

Speciation is the process by which life diversifies into discrete forms, and understanding its underlying mechanisms remains a primary focus for biologists. Increasingly, empirical studies are helping explain the role of ecology in generating biodiversity. Adaptive radiations are often propelled by selective fitness tradeoffs experienced by individuals that invade new habitats, resulting in reproductive isolation from ancestral conspecifics and potentially cladogenesis. Host specialist insects are among the most speciose organisms known and serve as highly useful models for studying adaptive radiations. We are just beginning to understand the pace and degree with which these insects diversify. The apple maggot, Rhagoletis …

Differences In Patterns Of Reproductive Allocation Between The Sexes In Nicrophorus Orbicollis, Ashlee N. Smith, J. Curtis Creighton, Mark C. Belk

Faculty Publications

Organisms are selected to maximize lifetime reproductive success by balancing the costs of current reproduction with costs to future survival and fecundity. Males and females typically face different reproductive costs, which makes comparisons of their reproductive strategies difficult. Burying beetles provide a unique system that allows us to compare the costs of reproduction between the sexes because males and females are capable of raising offspring together or alone and carcass preparation and offspring care represent the majority of reproductive costs for both sexes. Because both sexes perform the same functions of carcass preparation and offspring care, we predict that they …

Physiological Effects Of Aquatic Hypercarbia On Seawater Acclimation In The White Sturgeon (Acipenser Transmontanus), Ciaran A.S. Shaughnessy

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Migratory fishes encounter a variety of environmental conditions throughout their life, including changes in salinity, temperature, and dissolved gases. It is important to understand how these fishes are able to acclimate to simultaneous environmental stressors. This thesis examined the physiological interaction of elevated dissolved CO2 (an acid-base disturbance) on osmoregulation during seawater acclimation (an ionoregulatory disturbance) in juvenile white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Many ion transport mechanisms at the gill involved with acid-base compensation are also required for the regulation of plasma Na+ and Cl+, the predominant extracellular ions. Thus, the interaction between iono- and acid-base regulation has been hypothesized. In …

Effects Of Multiple Species On Motility In Diatom Assemblages, Amanda L. Wolske

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Diatoms are unicellular algae that, like other phototrophs, depend on light in order to survive. Many diatoms are known to have regulated motile responses to light, giving them a competitive advantage in their complex community, often containing many other species of algae. In order for similar diatom species to coexist in the same assemblage it is thought that each species will resource partition; a behavioral response that allows closely related species to be successful and cohabitate by using slightly different resources. Many experiments have demonstrated that other organisms exhibit this behavior, although the effect of co-existing diatom species on motility …

Positional Plasticity In Regenerating Amybstoma Mexicanum Limbs Is Associated With Cell Proliferation And Pathways Of Cellular Differentiation, Catherine D. Mccusker, Antony Athippozhy, Carlos Diaz-Castillo, Charless Fowlkes, David M. Gardiner, S. Randal Voss

Biology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The endogenous ability to dedifferentiate, re-pattern, and re-differentiate adult cells to repair or replace damaged or missing structures is exclusive to only a few tetrapod species. The Mexican axolotl is one example of these species, having the capacity to regenerate multiple adult structures including their limbs by generating a group of progenitor cells, known as the blastema, which acquire pattern and differentiate into the missing tissues. The formation of a limb regenerate is dependent on cells in the connective tissues that retain memory of their original position in the limb, and use this information to generate the pattern …

Degradation By Cullin 3 And Effect On Wnk Kinases Suggest A Role Of Klhl2 In The Pathogenesis Of Familial Hyperkalemic Hypertension, Chong Zhang, Nicholas P. Meermeier, Andrew Terker, Katharina I. Blankenstein, Jeffrey D. Singer, Juliette Hadchouel, David Ellison, Chao-Ling Yang

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mutations in WNK1 and WNK4, and in components of the Cullin-Ring Ligase system, kelch-like 3 (KLHL3) and Cullin 3 (CUL3), can cause the rare hereditary disease, Familial Hyperkalemic Hypertension (FHHt). The disease is characterized by overactivity of the renal sodium chloride cotransporter (NCC), which is phosphorylated and activated by the WNK-stimulated Ste20-type kinases, SPAK and OSR1. WNK kinases themselves can be targeted for ubiquitination and degradataion by the CUL3-KLHL3 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. It is unclear, however, why there are significant differences in phenotypic severity among FHHt patients with mutations in different genes. It was reported that kelch-like 2 (KLHL2), …

Discovery And Metabolic Engineering Of Steroid Alkaloid Biosynthetic Genes From (Veratrum Californicum), Megan M. Augustin

Theses

The steroid alkaloid cyclopamine has shown much promise as a treatment for cancers in which aberrant hedgehog signaling plays a role. The compound, originally discovered due to its teratogenic effects in sheep, binds to the hedgehog signaling receptor Smoothend and prevents downstream activation. As this pathway is primarily active during embryonic development, overactivation later in life can lead to tumor formation and proliferation. Several studies have shown that cyclopamine can inhibit and even reverse tumor growth, but limited supply will prevent widespread use upon FDA approval of it or any of its semi-synthetic analogs. As high value plant medicinal compounds …

Premature Seed Germination And High Seedling Mortality In A Chaparral Shrub (Adenostoma Fasciculatum) Caused By Severe Drought In Calfiornia, Lexe Evans, Teal Speece, Stephen D. Davis

Biology

The Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) represents one of five Mediterranean-type environments in the world. With sustained summer droughts, this ecosystem is prone to frequent wildfires, a phenomenon that has affected the SMM with regularity once every 32 years. Adenostoma fasciculatum (chamise), is a chaparral shrub well adapted to wildfire cycles because typically its seeds are triggered to germinate by high fire temperatures, smoke, and charate. In the winter of 2015, we were surprised to discover seedlings of A. fasiculatum emerging at an unburned chaparral site without the occurrence of fire. We hypothesized that drought induced canopy dieback at some microsites, …