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2018

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Articles 3001 - 3030 of 3206

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Quantifying Cortical And Cancellous Bone Volume: A Computed Tomography Approach, Hannah Rutkowski Jan 2018

Quantifying Cortical And Cancellous Bone Volume: A Computed Tomography Approach, Hannah Rutkowski

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Human identification primarily uses long bones of the body such as femora and tibiae which have a high cortical bone amount, these are thought to contain the highest amount of DNA. However, current research shows this is not the case, cancellous bone could contain more DNA in the porous spaces than dense cortical bone. This study aims to measure the variation in the amount of cortical and cancellous bone taken from sampling sites of seven individuals from ten different skeletal elements: femur, tibia, middle rib, calcaneus, first cuneiform, patella, third metacarpal, third metatarsal, first distal phalanx, and cervical vertebra. This …

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Pitx1 Regulates Cement Gland Development In Xenopus Laevis Through Activation Of Transcriptional Targets And Inhibition Of Bmp Signaling, Ye Jin, Daniel C. Weinstein Jan 2018

Pitx1 Regulates Cement Gland Development In Xenopus Laevis Through Activation Of Transcriptional Targets And Inhibition Of Bmp Signaling, Ye Jin, Daniel C. Weinstein

Publications and Research

The cement gland in Xenopus laevis has long been used as a model to study the interplay of cell signaling and transcription factors during embryogenesis. It has been shown that an intermediate level of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling is essential for cement gland formation. In addition, several transcription factors have been linked to cement gland development. One of these, the homeodomain-containing protein Pitx1, can generate ectopic cement gland formation; however, the mechanisms underlying this process remain obscure. We report here, for the first time, a requirement for Pitx proteins in cement gland formation, in vivo: knockdown of both pitx1 …

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Informing Canada’S Commitment To Biodiversity Conservation: A Science-Based Framework To Help Guide Protected Areas Designation Through Target 1 And Beyond, Sarah Joy Bittick Jan 2018

Informing Canada’S Commitment To Biodiversity Conservation: A Science-Based Framework To Help Guide Protected Areas Designation Through Target 1 And Beyond, Sarah Joy Bittick

Biology Faculty Works

Biodiversity is intrinsically linked to the health of our planet—and its people. Yet, increasingly, human activities are causing the extinction of species, degrading ecosystems, and reducing nature’s resilience to climate change and other threats. As a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada has a legal responsibility to protect 17% of land and freshwater by 2020. Currently, Canada has protected ∼10% of its terrestrial lands, requiring a marked increase in the pace and focus of protection over the next three years. Given the distribution, extent, and geography of Canada’s current protected areas, systematic conservation planning would provide decision-makers with …

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Patterns Of Uncertainty In Life-History And Extinction Risk For Arctic Vertebrates, Sarah Joy Bittick Jan 2018

Patterns Of Uncertainty In Life-History And Extinction Risk For Arctic Vertebrates, Sarah Joy Bittick

Biology Faculty Works

Conserving Arctic wildlife will be challenging given the ongoing environmental changes in the region. In addition, there is a lack of fundamental biological information for many Arctic species, including a dearth of knowledge surrounding conservation threats and the risk of extinction. In this study, we gather all available data on research effort and life-history traits to assess the current state of scientific knowledge surrounding 389 Arctic vertebrate species. We also quantify patterns of species evaluation by the IUCN Red List, a global database of conservation risk used to measure success and prioritize resources in many conservation programs. We find that …

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Delivering On Seafood Traceability Under The New U.S. Import Monitoring Program, Demian A. Willette, Samantha H. Cheng Jan 2018

Delivering On Seafood Traceability Under The New U.S. Import Monitoring Program, Demian A. Willette, Samantha H. Cheng

Biology Faculty Works

The United States is the world’s largest fish importer. Recent reports, however, indicate that 25–30% of wild-caught seafood imported into the US is illegally caught, heightening concerns over the country’s significant role in driving Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. In January 2017, NOAA enacted the Seafood Import Monitoring Program in an effort to combat IUU fishing through mandating improved seafood traceability requirements. This program requires reporting of fisheries data from harvest to arrival at the US border. Given the role of the US as a major global importer of seafood, this regulation could be a transformative action on fisheries …

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Behavioral And Disease Ecology Of Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus Polyphemus) Post Exclusion And Relocation With A Novel Approach To Homing Determination, Johnathan Napier Jan 2018

Behavioral And Disease Ecology Of Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus Polyphemus) Post Exclusion And Relocation With A Novel Approach To Homing Determination, Johnathan Napier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of human expansion, relocations and the loss of habitat can be stressful to an organism, plausibly leading to population declines. The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a keystone species that constructs burrows it shares with 362 commensal species. Frequent exclusions and relocations and long generation times have contributed to G. polyphemus being State-designated as Threatened in Florida. Prior studies have indicated that G. polyphemus may possess homing behavior and thus be able to counteract stressors due to relocation and exclusion. I radiotracked a cohort of G. polyphemus for 11 months following excavation, relocation, and exclusion due to …

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Molecular And Evolutionary Analysis Of Cyanobacterial Taxonomic Methods, Chelsea Denise Villanueva Jan 2018

Molecular And Evolutionary Analysis Of Cyanobacterial Taxonomic Methods, Chelsea Denise Villanueva

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cyanobacteria are a group of photo-oxygenic bacteria found in nearly every ecosystem, but much cyanobacterial diversity, in various habitats, has yet to be explored. Cyanobacteria are often conspicuous components of photosynthetic flora, providing significant carbon and nitrogen inputs to surrounding systems. As possible primary colonizers of stone substrates not native to this region, cyanobacteria isolated from headstones may provide biogeographically informative data. An exploratory study of lichen-dominated microbial consortia, growing on headstones, was conducted to isolate and identify novel microaerophytic cyanobacteria, and resulted in the establishment of four novel cyanobacterial taxa. Phylogenetic analyses of photobionts in one tripartite lichen revealed …

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Vegetation Community Development After Dam Removal On The Elwha River, Olivia A. Morgan Jan 2018

Vegetation Community Development After Dam Removal On The Elwha River, Olivia A. Morgan

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The Elwha River is the site of the largest dam removal project in the world to date and serves as a case study for the ecological effects of large dam removal. The 2012-2014 removal of two dams on the Elwha River exposed a cumulative 2.76 km2 of previously inundated surfaces. Environmental conditions including sediment texture and nutrients, slope-aspect, dispersal distance from the river and mature forest, disturbance, and elevation vary widely across the reservoir surfaces, causing significant variation in the plant community. The first objective of my study is to continue a long-term study of the passively restored vegetation community …

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Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Summer Habitat Use In Lake Spokane, Washington, Shawna B. Warehime Jan 2018

Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Summer Habitat Use In Lake Spokane, Washington, Shawna B. Warehime

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Construction of dams dramatically alters the hydrology of rivers, influencing a wide variety of water quality characteristics directly impacting fish species. These physical alterations will interact with increasing temperatures, due to climate change, reducing thermal habitat for cold-water fish species. Rainbow Trout are sensitive to changes in their habitat and prefer water temperatures < 20 °C and DO levels ≥ 5.0 mg/L. The overarching goal of this study is to document Rainbow Trout movements in an environment that experiences oxygen stress and high water temperatures not meeting preferred levels. Lake Spokane is a 38.62 km long reservoir on the Spokane River located between Long Lake and Nine Mile Falls Dam in Washington State. Long Lake has three reaches, riverine, transitional, and lacustrine, and experiences low DO and high temperatures. The objectives of this project were to 1: Determine summer habitat use of Rainbow Trout from tracking data that provides location, depth, and temperature. 2: Compare habitat use and variation between two sequential years. 3: Use water quality and tracking data to predict future habitat characteristics Rainbow Trout will select for, based on past use. Hypotheses were 1: Tagged Rainbow Trout will leave the lower lacustrine zone during the summer period and select locations within the upper lacustrine and transitional zone. 2: Rainbow Trout will inhabit the upper hypolimnion and lower metalimnion for cooler water temperatures and higher DO during the summer period. To determine summer salmonid habitat utilization 20 and 25 triploid Rainbow Trout were acoustically tagged and released in Lake Spokane in the spring of 2017 and 2018 respectively. Weekly tracking events followed a pre-determined grid, and were conducted to determine location, water column depth, and water temperature for each tagged fish. Locations of the Rainbow Trout were then compared to the water quality (DO, pH, and temperature) from six to ten sampling locations. Parameters were collected on a bi-weekly basis from June to September, and monthly for May and October. Data analysis consisted of using tracking date to make monthly kernel density maps in Geographic Information Systems and a combination of tracking data and water quality data for a range bagging model in Program R. Monthly kernel density maps showed locations selected during two summers (2017 and 2018). The probability of presence of Rainbow Trout will be determined from water quality data and Rainbow Trout depth and temperature selections. Range bagging is the presence-only model in Program R that was used to store, average, and predict frequency of selections of depth, temperature, DO, and pH. Kernel density maps for 2017 and 2018 revealed similar patterns of selected locations. Early in the tracking season (July and April respectively) revealed Rainbow Trout primarily selecting areas in the mid-range of the lacustrine reach, with a few individuals within the mid-range of the transitional reach. As the tracking season progressed into late July, selections in 2018 were within the transitional reach unlike the previous year. August selections were nearly identical with Rainbow Trout selecting locations throughout the entire reservoir, except for the riverine reach. As temperatures cooled in September Rainbow Trout were found to school in similar areas throughout the mid-range of the lacustrine and transitional reaches. October was the only month that revealed different patterns of use between years. In 2017 the Rainbow Trout remained in small schools of fish in the two reaches, but in 2018 the fish exhibited the same pattern as August of both years. Depth selections in 2017 were more variable earlier in the season between 0 and 16 m. After the August 4th tracking event, depth selections averaged less than 6 m. Water temperatures were correlated with depths, fish that were shallow experienced warmer temperatures as high as 23.6 °C. As temperatures cooled, temperatures at the surface were as low as 8.4 °C. Depth selections in 2018 were more consistent across the entire season with two patterns being revealed. Either Rainbow Trout selected depths less than 6 m or were found between 6 and 15.6 m. Therefore Rainbow Trout experienced warmer temperatures of 18.0 to 20.4 °C during the peak of the season. Deeper fish were found at temperatures at, or below, 19.6 °C. When temperatures cooled, fish were found at 14.8 °C. Range bagging for both years revealed that Rainbow Trout were more likely to select intermediate water temperatures within the range of 0 to 30 °C and shallower depths (< 16 m) in the range of 0 to 20 m. With those selections falling between 10 and 22 °C and depths of 5 m or less. The predicted DO and temperature range bagging revealed that fish were going to select warmer temperatures (nearing 25 °C) at a wide range of DO between 4.0 and 13.0 mg/L. However, the 2018 model showed fewer Rainbow Trout selecting DO as low as 4.0 mg/L, falling between 5.0 and 11.0 mg/L. The final range bagging models for predicted DO and predicted pH revealed a wide range of DO being selected in 2017 with a higher probability of presence between 7.5 and 13.0 mg/L for 2018. Similarly, the predicted pH was over a wider range between 4 and 9 for 2017, but fell between 6 and 9 for 2018. The most surprising conclusions of this study were that Rainbow Trout were selecting depths within the epilimnion and upper metalimnion. Therefore were found at temperatures bordering the upper temperature limit at 20 °C and above. Furthermore, these fish selected locations throughout much of the reservoir during the warmest period of the season in August, the time period expected for Rainbow Trout to find cold-water refuge. Literature suggests that there were more location selections due to increased movement to locate coldwater refuge, perhaps not finding it, and surviving until temperatures cooled. Although they did not appear to be selecting the riverine section, as shown by the data, there were individuals that were not during the 2018 season, and then were found in the upper transitional reach. The lack of data for location selections within the riverine reach are believed to be due to the limitations of acoustic telemetry. Therefore, tracking adaptations would need to be made for future studies. The range bagging model could be improved with using water quality data set over a finer scale from a prediction model developed by Portland State University. For example, the probability of presence of Rainbow Trout were shown at DO levels as low as 4.0 mg/L, this could not occur because it is the level of asphyxiation. In addition to improving the predictive power of the range bagging model and changing tracking methods, a diet and growth study could be conducted to understand Rainbow Trout health. Although Rainbow Trout in this study were shown to have survived selecting warmer water temperatures, particularly in August, these fish may be thermally stressed and attempting to locate cold-water refuge. These fish may be pushed towards the surface due to lower DO levels near 5.0 mg/L. Although this is still within the suitable limit for Rainbow Trout to survive, it is not at 9.0 mg/L and above which are suggested when temperatures are ≥ 15.0 °C to reduce stress. Therefore, even though these selections are made, there is still concern for increasing water temperatures and low DO with climate change. Studies of Rainbow Trout responses to climate change and habitat selections and understand behavior under, what had traditionally been believed to be, marginal conditions.

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Context-Dependent Interactive Effects Of Non-Lethal Predation On Larvae Impact Adult Longevity And Body Composition, Karthikeyan Chandrasegaran, Samyuktha Rao Kandregula, Suhel Quader, Steven A. Juliano Jan 2018

Context-Dependent Interactive Effects Of Non-Lethal Predation On Larvae Impact Adult Longevity And Body Composition, Karthikeyan Chandrasegaran, Samyuktha Rao Kandregula, Suhel Quader, Steven A. Juliano

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Predation impacts development, behavior and morphology of prey species thereby shaping their abundances, distribution and community structure. Non-lethal threat of predation, specifically, can have a strong influence on prey lifehistory characteristics. While investigations often focus on the impact of predation threat on prey in isolation, tests of its interactive effects with food availability and resource competition on prey survival and fitness can improve understanding of costs, benefits and trade-offs of anti-predator strategies. This study, involving Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as a model organism, investigates both simple and interactive effects of predation threat during the larval stage on survival, size at and …

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Environmental Dna Analysis Of An Obligate Subterranean Shrimp, Jennifer S. Nix Jan 2018

Environmental Dna Analysis Of An Obligate Subterranean Shrimp, Jennifer S. Nix

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

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Developing Small-Molecule Ribosomal Sensors, Joseph Noble Jan 2018

Developing Small-Molecule Ribosomal Sensors, Joseph Noble

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

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A Tale Of Two Algal Blooms: Negative Effects Of Two Dominant Genera On Seagrass And Its Epiphytes, Sarah Joy Bittick Jan 2018

A Tale Of Two Algal Blooms: Negative Effects Of Two Dominant Genera On Seagrass And Its Epiphytes, Sarah Joy Bittick

Biology Faculty Works

Recent evidence suggests macroalgal blooms may play a role in the worldwide decline in seagrass, but the shape of the functional relationship between seagrass health and dominant bloom-forming macroalgae is poorly characterized. We tested whether the impact of varying abundances of two cosmopolitan bloom-forming macroalgal genera caused linear/quasi-linear or sudden threshold changes in measures of eelgrass, Zostera marina, meadow health. We conducted two caging experiments in a shallow Z. marina bed (∼1 m depth) in Bodega Harbor, California, USA where we maintained six densities within the range of natural abundances of macroalgae, Ulva (0-4.0 kg m-2) and Gracilariopsis (0-2.0 kg …

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Rethinking Solutions To Seafood Fraud, Demian A. Willette, Samantha H. Cheng, Jerry A. Greenberg, Paul H. Barber Jan 2018

Rethinking Solutions To Seafood Fraud, Demian A. Willette, Samantha H. Cheng, Jerry A. Greenberg, Paul H. Barber

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

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Re: Edna To Identify Rare Species In Fisheries By-Catch., Demian A. Willette, Gabriella Navarrete Forego, Apollo Marco Lizano, Giovanna Sotil Jan 2018

Re: Edna To Identify Rare Species In Fisheries By-Catch., Demian A. Willette, Gabriella Navarrete Forego, Apollo Marco Lizano, Giovanna Sotil

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

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A Correlation Study Of The Nest Incubation Period And Hatchling Development And Success Rate For Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidocheyls Olivacea) Turtle Conservation: Playa Junquillal, Costa Rica, Natalie O'Brien Jan 2018

A Correlation Study Of The Nest Incubation Period And Hatchling Development And Success Rate For Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidocheyls Olivacea) Turtle Conservation: Playa Junquillal, Costa Rica, Natalie O'Brien

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the Olive Ridley sea turtle contributes to the stability of an ecosystem by transferring nutrients and energy to both the terrestrial and oceanic environment [1]. Costa Rica holds some of the most prominent nesting beaches for Olive Ridley sea turtles in the World. Collection and relocation of surveyed nests to monitored hatcheries increases the success rate significantly [2]. Realistically, nest and hatchling protection against land-based threats such as poaching, predation and beach erosion is a practical and accessible conservation measure. Facilitated by access to the sea turtle …

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Inferring Species Origin Through Virtual Histology: A Comparison Of Third Metapodials From Homo Sapiens And Ursus Americanus Using Micro-Computed Tomography, Hannah Stephen Jan 2018

Inferring Species Origin Through Virtual Histology: A Comparison Of Third Metapodials From Homo Sapiens And Ursus Americanus Using Micro-Computed Tomography, Hannah Stephen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Human and black bear metacarpals and metatarsals, or the hand and foot bones and bear paws, are well documented on a gross anatomical level. The macrostructural data comparing the two species is useful in distinguishing the species unless fragmented bone is found. In this case, histological data is used for clearer and more accurate comparisons but, research that compares the metapodials of black bears and humans on a microstrutural level is scarce. This study aimed to aid in forensic science identification scenarios where fragmented bone is discovered by providing the differences between black bear and human metacarpals and metatarsals on …

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Preliminary Investigations Into Endospanin Expression In Zebrafish, Brittany Gray Jan 2018

Preliminary Investigations Into Endospanin Expression In Zebrafish, Brittany Gray

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study investigated endospanin expression in zebrafish by performing western blots to identify which tissues expressed endospanin. A feeding study was also conducted to see if endospanin expression varied in fed versus unfed fish. After tissues were dissected, protein assays were performed on homogenized tissues and then gels were run using gel electrophoresis. The primary antibody rabbit anti-endospanin peptide was used on the finished blots. Chemiluminescence was then used to visualize the blots using GeneSnap software. Endospanin expression was evident in heart, liver, and ovary tissues. The feeding study showed that endospanin expression in liver tissue was not significantly different …

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Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment Application For Multiple Purposes, Eric M. Bendel Jan 2018

Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment Application For Multiple Purposes, Eric M. Bendel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments, a relatively new practice, are used for a variety of medical and clinical treatments. More recently, an increasing number of case studies and research has focused on the efficacy and use of PRP to treat injuries, and potential cosmetic benefits. This article is a compilation of numerous case studies regarding diverse uses of PRP in order to better understand the uses as well as efficacy of the treatment. The applications include: atrophic acne scarring3, orthopedic care2, Hepple stage V osteochondral lesion of the talus5, chronic non-healing ulcers6, …

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A Chronology Of Diet And Habitat Use In The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris): Insights From Stable Isotope Analysis, Malia Smith Jan 2018

A Chronology Of Diet And Habitat Use In The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris): Insights From Stable Isotope Analysis, Malia Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is a threatened species that primarily feeds on marine and estuarine seagrasses. Over the past several years, the seagrass coverage in the Indian River Lagoon has varied due to human influence and algal blooms. This led to an unusual number of manatees dying and potentially, to remaining manatees shifting their diets. It can be difficult to decipher why or how diets shift, however, creating a timeline using stable isotopes can help address this challenge. Red blood cells from live Florida Manatees were analyzed for stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope ratios. All …

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An Unconventional Collaboration At The College Level To Improve Stem Student Success, Amy N. Scott, Eileen Kogl Camfield, Alex Miller, Kirkwood M. Land Jan 2018

An Unconventional Collaboration At The College Level To Improve Stem Student Success, Amy N. Scott, Eileen Kogl Camfield, Alex Miller, Kirkwood M. Land

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the work that has resulted from a collaboration between a biology professor, a school psychology professor, a researcher in higher education access, and the writing programs director. The essential school psychologist role, as classroom observer and data analyzer, is discussed through an example of work done as part of a larger project focusing on student success and retention for at-risk populations in introductory college biology courses. Best practices for consulting at the college level are discussed and include: collaborate to cultivate the willing, collect and analyze data to sustain instructor involvement, and …

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Community Structure And Epizootic Infection Prevalence Of Northern Wisconsin Anurans, Kayla Christine Watters Jan 2018

Community Structure And Epizootic Infection Prevalence Of Northern Wisconsin Anurans, Kayla Christine Watters

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Amphibian populations are declining globally at historically rapid rates, and while a multitude of factors have contributed to amphibian population declines, emerging infectious diseases, such as chytridiomycosis and ranavirus have been linked to a large proportion of the reported amphibian mass mortality events. Distribution and infection prevalence data for chytridiomycosis and ranavirus are lacking, and effective surveillance is crucial. This project aims to describe anuran richness, relative abundance, habitat occupancy, and community structure and to identify the chytridiomycosis and ranavirus infection prevalence rates of the anuran population at Dairymen's Inc. Wood frogs, spring peepers, boreal chorus frogs, northern leopard frogs, …

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Mapping Hybrid Lethal Genes On The X Chromosome Of C. Briggsae, Blaine E. Bittorf Jan 2018

Mapping Hybrid Lethal Genes On The X Chromosome Of C. Briggsae, Blaine E. Bittorf

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In the cross of C. nigoni males to C. briggsae hermaphrodites, all F1 males arrest during embryogenesis. However in the reciprocal cross there are some viable F1 male progeny. This unidirectional male-specific lethality in the F1 hybrids has been attributed to a hybrid lethal gene in a 500 Kb region of the X chromosome of C. briggsae. Cbr-him-8 is a recessive maternal suppressor of the male-specific lethal phenotype, due to the requirement of the him-8 protein for proper X chromosome pairing. Without proper pairing of any one of the chromosomes in the Caenorhabditis genome, genes present on the unpaired chromosome …

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Demography And Dendrochronology Of A Disjunct Population Of Eastern Hemlock In Southwestern Ohio, Marie Johnson Jan 2018

Demography And Dendrochronology Of A Disjunct Population Of Eastern Hemlock In Southwestern Ohio, Marie Johnson

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Edge and isolated plant populations provide information about the resilience and the most basic resource needs of a species. Plant demography examines changes in population size and structure over time. An isolated, disjunct eastern hemlock population in Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, Yellow Springs, Ohio consists of two distinct subpopulations each with different environmental characteristics, reproductive capacities, and health ratings. Both subpopulations at Clifton Gorge were found to exhibit significant decreases in average annual ring width through time. Linear regression modeling determined that average annual growing season precipitation and temperature were the strongest predictors of these growth trends. A comparative …

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Transcriptional Characterization Of Osteogenic And Adipogenic Differentiation Of Human Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells In 2d And 3d Peptide Hydrogel Culture System, R. M. Imtiaz Karim Rony Jan 2018

Transcriptional Characterization Of Osteogenic And Adipogenic Differentiation Of Human Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells In 2d And 3d Peptide Hydrogel Culture System, R. M. Imtiaz Karim Rony

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult multipotent stem cell that can differentiate into mesodermal lineages such osteoblast, adipocytes, and chondrocytes, or can be transdifferentiated into clinically relevant lineages such as cardiac or neural cells using in vitro reprogramming techniques. In addition to the multilineage differentiation potential, MSCs from most tissue origins such bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) or adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) have immune modulatory functions which indicate their promise in clinical applications for cell-based therapy, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems, which utilize 3D scaffolds or hydrogels to …

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Fast Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Currents And Action Potential Firing In R6/2 Skeletal Muscle, Eric Joshua Reed Jan 2018

Fast Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Currents And Action Potential Firing In R6/2 Skeletal Muscle, Eric Joshua Reed

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a degenerative disorder caused by expanded CAG repeats in the Huntingtin gene, which results in cognitive problems as well as muscle weakness, chorea, rigidity, and dystonia. Most research in HD has focused on neurodegeneration, but recent studies have found peripheral defects that may help explain the debilitating motor symptoms of HD. We have shown that skeletal muscle from the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of HD is hyperexcitable due to decreases in resting chloride and potassium currents. Other groups have speculated that the fast voltage-gated sodium channels may be affected in Huntington’s disease as well. To fully …

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Osmotic Activation Of Sperm Motility Via Water Flow Through Aquaporins In The Freeze-Tolerant Cope's Gray Treefrog, Dryophytes Chrysoscelis, Deja Miller Jan 2018

Osmotic Activation Of Sperm Motility Via Water Flow Through Aquaporins In The Freeze-Tolerant Cope's Gray Treefrog, Dryophytes Chrysoscelis, Deja Miller

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Gametes of gray treefrogs, Dryophytes chrysoscelis, are deposited into freshwater ponds. Sperm undergo spermatogenesis and maturation beginning in the seminiferous tubules and migrating to the lumen. In mammals and fishes, these cells are immotile within the isosmotic fluid of the testes and have motility activated by exposure to a hyper- or hypoosmotic medium. Water flows into or out of the sperm cell, altering intracellular ionic concentrations, and ultimately stimulates flagellar movement. We tested the hypothesis that exposure to a hypotonic environment activates motility of gray treefrog sperm. We also hypothesized that osmotic water uptake is facilitated by expression of water …

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Reconstructing The Phylogeny And Characterizing The Patterns Of Molecular Evolution Of The Tetraploid Freshwater Suckers (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae), Zachary Evan Sperstad Jan 2018

Reconstructing The Phylogeny And Characterizing The Patterns Of Molecular Evolution Of The Tetraploid Freshwater Suckers (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae), Zachary Evan Sperstad

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Catostomidae, colloquially known as the suckers, is a family of freshwater fish endemic to North America and Asia. This family is hypothesized to have evolved sometime before or during the Paleocene (56-66 Mya) from a single tetraploid ancestor, which is thought to be the product of a hybridization event between two closely related, diploid cypriniforms. Currently, there are 79 recognized, extant species, some of which are difficult to discriminate between in the field. Despite the numerous studies that have aimed to reconstruct the evolutionary history of this family, little consensus exists for the relationships of the subfamilies within the …

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The Ecology Of Land Managers In Riparian Restoration, Lisa Buie Clark Jan 2018

The Ecology Of Land Managers In Riparian Restoration, Lisa Buie Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While previous studies in restoration ecology have focused on the efficacy of direct management actions, the driving forces on management decisions (e.g., managers' characteristics or attitudes, environmental conditions) and the indirect impacts on restoration outcomes from management decisions (such as whether to collaborate) are quantified here for the first time. As a case study, I used data from 244 sites across the riparian Southwest US where the invasive shrubby tree Tamarix sp. was removed using various different methods. I surveyed and interviewed the 45 land managers who were responsible for the removal projects to determine their characteristics, attitudes, and …

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A Comparative Study Of Sleep, Diurnal Patterns, And Eye Closure Between The House Mouse (Mus Musculus) And African Spiny Mouse (Acomys Cahirinus), Chanung Wang Jan 2018

A Comparative Study Of Sleep, Diurnal Patterns, And Eye Closure Between The House Mouse (Mus Musculus) And African Spiny Mouse (Acomys Cahirinus), Chanung Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

To understand the function and origins of sleep, sleep needs to be studied across many different species. Although it is well conserved throughout mammals, 95% of papers are restricted to just three species, Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, and Rattus norvegicus. We aimed to characterize sleep and wake in a Murid rodent Acomys cahirinus in greater detail alongside the well-studied laboratory house mouse (Mus musculus) and wild M. musculus using a well validated, non-invasive, piezoelectric system for sleep and activity monitoring. We confirmed A. cahirinus, M. musculus, and wild M. musculus to be primarily …

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