Biology Commons^™

Ultra-Strong Long-Chain Polyamide Elastomers With Programmable Supramolecular Interactions And Oriented Crystalline Microstructures, Lingzhi Song, Tianyu Zhu, Liang Yuan, Jiangjun Zhou, Yaqiong Zhang, Zhongkai Wang, Chuanbing Tang

Faculty Publications

Polyamides are one of the most important polymers. Long-chain aliphatic polyamides could bridge the gap between traditional polyamides and polyethylenes. Here we report an approach to preparing sustainable ultra-strong elastomers from biomass-derived long-chain polyamides by thiol-ene addition copolymerization with diamide diene monomers. The pendant polar hydroxyl and non-polar butyrate groups between amides allow controlled programming of supramolecular hydrogen bonding and facile tuning of crystallization of polymer chains. The presence of thioether groups on the main chain can further induce metal–ligand coordination (cuprous-thioether). Unidirectional step-cycle tensile deformation has been applied to these polyamides and significantly enhances tensile strength to over 210 …

Plasticity Of Mating Duration In Response To Slightly Biased Operational Sex Ratios In The Water Strider (Aquarius Remigis): The Effect Of Cohabitation Under Standard Laboratory Conditions, Andrew C. Gallup, Krista Pietruch, Omar Tonsi Eldakar

Biology Faculty Articles

In polygynandrous species, males face the trade-off between the pursuit of increased mating opportunities and securing paternity. Within such systems, males need to accurately assess the social composition of the local environment to maximize fitness. Here, we investigated this capability in the water strider (Aquarius remigis), a semi-aquatic insect known to exhibit a broad spectrum of mating behaviors and inhabit a socially diverse and changing environment. Using a combination of methodological designs to track both within- and between-subject effects, individuals remained in same-sex housing prior to being exposed to slightly biased operational sex ratios (2:1 vs. 1:2) with or without …

Investigating Student Conceptual Understanding Of Structure And Function By Using Formative Assessment And Automated Scoring Models, Kelli Patrice Carter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been a call from the national community of biologists and biology educators to increase biological literacy of undergraduate students, including understanding and application of core concepts. The structure and function relationship is a core concept identified by the wider biology community and by physiology faculty. Understanding of the core concept structure and function across multiple levels of organization may promote biological literacy. My research focused on the development of formative written assessment tools to provide insight into student understanding of structure and function in anatomy and physiology.

In chapter two I developed automated scoring tools to facilitate the …

Complex Tripartite Hydro Politics Of River Ganges, Muttaki Bin Kamal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies if the Flagship Namami Gange program of Cleaning the river Ganges in India aligns with the transcendental discourse on the river. Web contents as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter along with Indian English daily newspaper reports are used here as the source of data. The study shows that the program aligns with the transcendental discourse on river Ganges as the Mother Goddess and reaching out to her devotees.

Functional And Transcriptomic Characterization Of Carboplatin-Resistant A2780 Ovarian Cancer Cell Line, Tamara Viscarra, Kurt Buchegger, Ignacio Jofre, Ismael Riquelme, Louise Zanella, Michel Abanto, Alyssa C. Parker, Stephen R. Piccolo, Juan Carlos Roa, Carmen Ili, Priscilla Brebi

Faculty Publications

Background

Ovarian cancer is a significant cancer-related cause of death in women worldwide. The most used chemotherapeutic regimen is based on carboplatin (CBDCA). However, CBDCA resistance is the main obstacle to a better prognosis. An in vitro drug-resistant cell model would help in the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying this drug-resistance phenomenon. The aim of this study was to characterize cellular and molecular changes of induced CBDCA-resistant ovarian cancer cell line A2780.

Methods

The cell selection strategy used in this study was a dose-per-pulse method using a concentration of 100 μM for 2 h. Once 20 cycles of exposure to …

Evaluation Of Reproductive Phenology And Ecology Of Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris) Across The Southeastern United States, Nicholas W. Bakner

LSU Master's Theses

Avian reproduction is known to be a driver of population dynamics across species and systems. Behavioral decisions during incubation such as habitat selection and nest attentiveness are thought to affect nest success. The incubation process is a costly period during which individuals are sedentary and must balance survival with reproductive success and overall fitness. Current understanding of Eastern wild turkey incubation behavior provides a limited view of the incubation period. Using GPS data collected from Eastern wild turkeys (n = 220), I evaluated nest fate as it relates to recess frequency, distance travelled during recess, and habitat selection during …

Genbank 16s Rdna Sequences For Ca. Annandia Pinicola, Ca. Gillettellia Cooleyia, Ca. Hartigia Pinicola, Ca. Profftia Spp., Ca. Pseudomonas Adelgestsugas From Taiwan, And Ca. Vallotia Spp., Carol Von Dohlen, Usha Spaulding, Kistie B. Patch, Kathryn Weglarz, Robert G. Foottit, Nathan P. Havill, Gaelen R. Burke

Browse all Datasets

The attached .csv file contains accession number, definition, and GenBank URL for 28 rDNA sequences: MF077637–MF077640 and MF098761 (‘Ca. Annandia pinicola’), MF077633–MF077636 (‘Ca. Gillettellia cooleyia’), MF077641–MF077645 (‘Ca. Hartigia pinicola’), MF108835-MF108838 (‘Ca. Profftia spp.’), MF098762 (‘Ca. Pseudomonas adelgestsugas from Taiwan), MF063340- MF063348 (‘Ca. Vallotia spp.’).

Characterization Of The Φctx-Like Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Phage Dobby Isolated From The Kidney Stone Microbiota, Genevieve Johnson, Alan J. Wolfe, Catherine Putonti

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Bacteriophages (phages) are vital members of the human microbiota. They are abundant even within low biomass niches of the human body, including the lower urinary tract. While several prior studies have cultured bacteria from kidney stones, this is the first study to explore phages within the kidney stone microbiota. Here we report Dobby, a temperate phage isolated from a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultured from a kidney stone. Dobby is capable of lysing clinical P. aeruginosa strains within our collection from the urinary tract. Sequencing was performed producing a 37 152 bp genome that closely resembles the temperate P. aeruginosa …

Comparison Of Nest Defense Behaviors Of Goshawks (Accipiter Gentilis) From Finland And Montana, Marilyn Wright, Risto Tornberg, Dustin H. Ranglack, Nate Bickford

Biology Student Research

As human impacts on wildlife have become a topic of increasing interest, studies have focused on issues such as overexploitation and habitat loss. However, little research has examined potential anthropogenic impacts on animal behavior. Understanding the degree to which human interaction may alter natural animal behavior has become increasingly important in developing effective conservation strategies. We examined two populations of northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) in Montana and Finland. Goshawks in Finland were not protected until the late 1980s, and prior to this protection were routinely shot, as it was believed that shooting goshawks would keep grouse populations high. In the …

Cryptic Lineages And A Population Damned To Incipient Extinction? Insights Into The Genetic Structure Of A Mekong River Catfish, Amanda S. Ackiss, Binh T. Dang, Christopher E. Bird, Ellen E. Biesack, Phen Chheng, Latsamy Phounvisouk, Quyen H.D. Vu, Sophorn Uy, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

An understanding of the genetic composition of populations across management boundaries is vital to developing successful strategies for sustaining biodiversity and food resources. This is especially important in ecosystems where habitat fragmentation has altered baseline patterns of gene flow, dividing natural populations into smaller sub-populations and increasing potential loss of genetic variation through genetic drift. River systems can be highly fragmented by dams built for flow regulation and hydropower. We used reduced-representation sequencing to examine genomic patterns in an exploited catfish, Hemibagrus spilopterus, in a hotspot of biodiversity and hydropower development- the Mekong River basin. Our results revealed the …

Where Has All The Ceanothus Megacarpu S Gone?, Alden Kruse, Hudson Kruse, Naomi Kruse

Biology

Background: Wildfire is a large part of the chaparral biome, where seedlings from sclerophyllous plants need fire to crack the seed coat. When shrubs reach maturity they produce seeds, allowing for greater genetic diversity and variation. We visually, noticed that the coastal chaparral appeared to be in distress and suspected climate extremes of drought and frequent fire were the cause.

Method: Following the Woolsey Fire (2018) we quadrat sampled three chaparral sites on the Pepperdine Campus in Malibu, CA. All three experienced fire and drought. One site had been subjected to five fires in less than 35 years. Another experienced …

Breeding Record Of The Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes Monachus (Timminek, 1823) At Emi Abumo Woro, Kogi State, Nigeria, K. L. Adang, D. Tanko, K. L. Saliu, Umarfarooq Abdulwahab

Watershed Sciences Student Research

The hooded vulture Necrosyrtes monachus is a critically endangered species and recently published evidence suggests that its population is experiencing an extremely rapid decline, owing to indiscriminate poisoning, trade for traditional medicine, hunting, persecution, electrocution, habitat loss and degradation. As a result of these threats, the species is gradually disappearing from its range and thus, the sighting of vultures or their nests is becoming very rare. This paper thus, presents a report on the sighting of the Hooded Vulture and its nest at Emi Abumo Woro Village, Kogi State, Nigeria. This is an evident and equally an indication that Emi …

Lew.1wr1 Rats Have Altered Inflammation Responses During Type 1 Diabetes Induction, Madushika Wimalarathne, Kayleigh Cantrell, Joshua Derbort

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Unified Methods For Feature Selection In Large-Scale Genomic Studies With Censored Survival Outcomes, Lauren Spirko-Burns, Karthik Devarajan

COBRA Preprint Series

One of the major goals in large-scale genomic studies is to identify genes with a prognostic impact on time-to-event outcomes which provide insight into the disease's process. With rapid developments in high-throughput genomic technologies in the past two decades, the scientific community is able to monitor the expression levels of tens of thousands of genes and proteins resulting in enormous data sets where the number of genomic features is far greater than the number of subjects. Methods based on univariate Cox regression are often used to select genomic features related to survival outcome; however, the Cox model assumes proportional hazards …

Two-Component Signaling System Baesr Of Escherichia Coli In Development Of Antibiotic Resistance, Y. Savanie Fernando, Carolina Dolislager

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Draft Genome Sequence Of Campylobacter Fetus Subsp. Fetus Citcf01, Isolated From A Patient With Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis, Eamonn P. Culligan, Caoimhe Lynch, Aidan Coffey, Roy D. Sleator, Brigid Lucey, Et. Al.

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Campylobacter fetus is a Gram-negative, zoonotic pathogen and a member of the class Epsilonproteobacteria. We report the draft genome sequence of C. fetus subsp. fetus CITCf01, isolated from a patient with subacute bacterial endocarditis. CITCf01 grew under aerobic, microaerobic, and anaerobic conditions, and at 42°C, an unusual combination of growth conditions.

Mechanisms To Regulate Genes Encoding Clinically Relevant Multidrug Transporters At The Crossroads Of Antibiotic Resistance And Oxidative Stress Detection, Afsana Sabrin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Regulators (MarRs) are DNA binding proteins involved in bacterial survival and pathogenesis. My PhD dissertation focuses on a MarR homolog, OstR, which regulates genes encoding major multidrug transporters, a resistance-nodulation-division (RND) and an E. coli multidrug resistance B (EmrB) efflux pump homolog in Burkholderia thailandensis. The ostR gene is divergently oriented from genes encoding a hypothetical protein (Hyp) and an RND transporter and adjacent to a gene encoding an EmrB transporter. OstR binds to the promoters of each gene (K_d = 64.9 ± 8.0 nM, K_d = 126.1 ± 10.9 nM and K …

Susceptibility Of Wild-Caught Lutzomyia Longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) Sand Flies To Insecticide After An Extended Period Of Exposure In Western São Paulo, Brazil, Mikel A. González, Melissa J. Bell, Scott A. Bernhardt, Reginaldo P. Brazil, Erin Dilger, Orin Courtenay, James G. C. Hamilton

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

In Brazil, members of the sand fly species complex Lutzomyia longipalpis transmit Leishmania infantum, a protist parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis. Male Lu. longipalpis produce a sex pheromone that is attractive to both females and males. During a cluster randomised trial, to determine the combined effect of synthetic sex-aggregation pheromone and insecticide on Le. infantum transmission Lu. longipalpis had been continuously exposed to insecticide for 30 months. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of continuous exposure to the insecticides used in the trial on the susceptibility of Lu. longipalpis population.

Methods

During the trial …

Symbiosis In Archaea: Functional And Phylogenetic Diversity Of Marine And Terrestrial Nanoarchaeota And Their Hosts, Emily Joyce St. John

Dissertations and Theses

The Nanoarchaeota are an enigmatic lineage of Archaea found in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and geothermal springs across the globe. These small (~100-400 nm) hyperthermophiles live ectosymbiotically with diverse hosts from the Crenarchaeota. Despite their broad distribution in high-temperature environments, very few Nanoarchaeota have been successfully isolated in co-culture with their hosts and nanoarchaeote genomes are poorly represented in public databases. However, the Nanoarchaeota provide unique insights into the structure and function of symbiosis in the archaeal domain. This study describes novel nanoarchaeotes from multiple geothermal habitats, using a combination of direct cultivation techniques and genomic analysis. A new nanoarchaeote …

Complex Gene Loss And Duplication Events Have Facilitated The Evolution Of Multiple Loricrin Genes In Diverse Bird Species, Anthony C. Davis, Matthew J. Greenwold, Roger H. Sawyer

Faculty Publications

The evolution of a mechanically resilient epidermis was a key adaptation in the transition of amniotes to a fully terrestrial lifestyle. Skin appendages usually form via a specialized type of programmed cell death known as cornification which is characterized by the formation of an insoluble cornified envelope (CE). Many of the substrates of cornification are encoded by linked genes located at a conserved genetic locus known as the epidermal differentiation complex (EDC). Loricrin is the main protein component of the mammalian CE and is encoded for by a gene located within the EDC. Recently, genes resembling mammalian loricrin, along with …

Genetics Beyond The Classroom: An Analysis Of Undergraduate Students’ Understanding Of Genetics And Attitudes Towards Clinical Genetics, Jessica Mcclintock

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Genetics is a field of study that has been difficult for high school students, college students, and the general public to fully grasp, comprehend, and apply to clinical settings. Other studies show that students who are given hands on experiences with difficult concepts, like personalized genomics, have a better attitude towards and retention of those concepts. The purpose of this study was to determine if an in-class lecture specifically discussing clinical genetics concepts and benefits in solving difficult polygenic diseases would increase student attitudes towards genetic testing and prenatal testing and their knowledge of genetics in general. Students were asked …

The Accelerating Influence Of Humans On Mammalian Macroecological Patterns Over The Late Quaternary, Felisa A. Smith, Rosemary E. Elliott Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, Jonathan L. Payne, Amelia Villaseñor

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The transition of hominins to a largely meat-based diet ~1.8 million years ago led to the exploitation of other mammals for food and resources. As hominins, particularly archaic and modern humans, became increasingly abundant and dispersed across the globe, a temporally and spatially transgressive extinction of large-bodied mammals followed; the degree of selectivity was unprecedented in the Cenozoic fossil record. Today, most remaining large-bodied mammal species are confined to Africa, where they coevolved with hominins. Here, using a comprehensive global dataset of mammal distribution, life history and ecology, we examine the consequences of “body size downgrading” of mammals over the …

Population Dynamics And Demographics Of Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion Nebulosus, Through Spatial Analysis: Towards An Integrative Management Approach, Ashley Melancon Baer

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) is one of the most highly prized sportfish along the Gulf of Mexico coast, particularly in Louisiana. Although spotted seatrout are considered to be well managed and sustainably fished according to the state’s most recent stock assessment, the spatial ecology of this species is largely understudied in Louisiana waters. Acoustic telemetry is an innovative technology that is commonly used to assess the movements and behavior of aquatic species, and can be used as a tool to address the paucity of information on the spatial dynamics of spotted seatrout. The focus of this study was …

Editorial Board

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

No abstract provided.

A Stimulatory Role For Cytokinin In The Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis Of Pea, Dane M. Goh, Marco Cosme, Anna B. Kislala, Samantha Mulholland, Zakaria M.F. Said, Lukáš Spíchal, R.J. Neil Emery, Stéphane Declerck, Frédérique C. Guinel

Biology Faculty Publications

The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis between terrestrial plants and AM fungi is regulated by plant hormones. For most of these, a role has been clearly assigned in this mutualistic interaction; however, there are still contradictory reports for cytokinin (CK). Here, pea plants, the wild type (WT) cv. Sparkle and its mutant E151 (Pssym15), were inoculated with the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. E151 has previously been characterized as possessing high CK levels in non-mycorrhizal (myc^-) roots and exhibiting high number of fungal structures in mycorrhizal (myc⁺) roots. Myc^- and myc⁺ plants were …

H/L Ratio As A Measurement Of Immune Function In Terrapene Ornata Species, Vesa Govori

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

White blood cells are a key part of the immune system, and changes in white cell count can reveal the overall state of health and the immune systems functional ability of a species. White blood such as heterophils and lymphocytes are essential for being able to fight off infections. Analyzing different cell ratios has been commonly done before as a way to observe immune function in bird species as well as other species. Understanding that there are different functions between the different white blood cells provides an extra interesting perspective to what could be happening in the immune system function …

Restoration Of Aberrant Mtor Signaling By Intranasal Rapamycin Reduces Oxidative Damage: Focus On Hne-Modified Proteins In A Mouse Model Of Down Syndrome, Fabio Di Domenico, Antonella Tramutola, Eugenio Barone, Chiara Lanzillotta, Olivia Defever, Andrea Arena, Ilaria Zuliani, Cesira Foppoli, Federica Iavarone, Federica Vincenzoni, Massimo Castagnola, D. Allan Butterfield, Marzia Perluigi

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Increasing evidences support the notion that the impairment of intracellular degradative machinery is responsible for the accumulation of oxidized/misfolded proteins that ultimately results in the deposition of protein aggregates. These events are key pathological aspects of “protein misfolding diseases”, including Alzheimer disease (AD). Interestingly, Down syndrome (DS) neuropathology shares many features with AD, such as the deposition of both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Studies from our group and others demonstrated, in DS brain, the dysfunction of both proteasome and autophagy degradative systems, coupled with increased oxidative damage. Further, we observed the aberrant increase of mTOR signaling and of its …

Origin And Recent Expansion Of An Endogenous Gammaretroviral Lineage In Domestic And Wild Canids, Julia V. Halo, Amanda L. Pendleton, Abigail S. Jarosz, Robert J. Gifford, Malika L. Day, Jeffrey M. Kidd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Vertebrate genomes contain a record of retroviruses that invaded the germlines of ancestral hosts and are passed to offspring as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). ERVs can impact host function since they contain the necessary sequences for expression within the host. Dogs are an important system for the study of disease and evolution, yet no substantiated reports of infectious retroviruses in dogs exist. Here, we utilized Illumina whole genome sequence data to assess the origin and evolution of a recently active gammaretroviral lineage in domestic and wild canids.

RESULTS: We identified numerous recently integrated loci of a canid-specific ERV-Fc sublineage within …

Urinary Ratio Of Sodium And Potassium In Irish Adults, Eoin James Morrissey, M. Giltinan, L. Kehoe, A. P. Nugent, B. Mcnulty, A. Flynn, Janette Walton

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world accounting for approximately one third of global deaths. A diet low in sodium (Na) and high in potassium (K) is widely recommended as a strategy to lower blood pressure and to reduce the risk of CVD. The independent roles that both sodium and potassium play in blood pressure have been long established, however in recent times increasing evidence has suggested that an individual’s Na:K ratio is a more important predictor of hypertension than either sodium or potassium intake alone. The Food Safety Authority of …

Lack Of Antinociceptive Cross-Tolerance With Co-Administration Of Morphine And Fentanyl Into The Periaqueductal Gray Of Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Erin N. Bobeck, Shauna M. Schoo, Susan L. Ingram, Michael M. Morgan

Biology Faculty Publications

Tolerance to the antinociceptive effect of mu-opioid receptor (MOPr) agonists, such as morphine and fentanyl, greatly limits their effectiveness for long-term use to treat pain. Clinical studies have shown that combination therapy and opioid rotation can be used to enhance opioid-induced antinociception once tolerance has developed. The mechanism and brain regions involved in these processes are unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) to antinociceptive tolerance and cross-tolerance between administration and co- administration of morphine and fentanyl. Tolerance was induced by pretreating rats with morphine or fentanyl or low-dose combination …