Biology Commons^™

Validation Of A Low-Cost Sensor For Development Of Wearable And Handheld Spectrometers, Justin Leslie Cathey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the possibility of creating a quantitative radiometric spectrometer from a low-cost relative radiometric spectrometer sensor through the use of statistical analysis and development of a correction factor (p > 0.05). Radiometric spectrometers are able to measure and fully characterize the radiometric and photometric characteristics of light, while relative spectrometers are not able to fully, quantitatively characterize the radiometric response from a light source, thus they are less expensive. The spectrometer created in this research is able to measure and produce comparative lighting parameters as well as an actual radiometer spectrometer.

The photoreceptors cells within the human eye allow …

Effects Of Habitat Disturbance On The Teeth Of Propithecus Diadema In The Forests Of Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar: Implications For Species Viability And Conservation, Katie Susann Heffernan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The accelerated transformation of Madagascar’s ecosystems is a direct result of habitat destruction which has devastating consequences for the viability of the island’s animals. This dissertation focuses on the critically endangered diademed sifaka, Propithecus diadema, living in the rainforests of Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar. Tsinjoarivo has been heavily impacted by slash and burn agriculture and transformed into isolated forest fragments. Previous research by Irwin and colleagues has demonstrated that the diet and group dynamics of Propithecus diadema differ between continuous and degraded forests, but whether fragmented landscapes provide tougher foods and lead to behavioral changes through increased tooth wear has not been …

The Link Between Antibiotic Resistance Used For Recombinant Dna Selection And Cellular Phenotype In Rat Liver Epithelial Cells, Doaa Alshammari

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Recombinant DNA plasmids are often used to mediate forced gene overexpression or suppression in mammalian cells, to address questions regarding the role of specific proteins in cell behavior and function. To select for cells harboring such recombinant plasmids, lethal antibiotics such as Puromycin, Geneticin (Neomycin) and Zeocin are frequently used, as plasmids contain selective antibiotic resistance genes that biochemically disarm them. Antibiotic resistance, induced by plasmid-borne genes and chronic exposure to lethal antibiotics can likewise potentially change the phenotype of cells, confounding the conclusions drawn from experiments on gene overexpression or suppression. Yet, little is known about the effects of …

Why Do Symbiodinium Migrate? Evolutionary Conflict In A Host-Symbiont Community, Jacey Lynn Strohecker

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Climate change is an increasing problem for species all around the globe, including coral reef communities, which are among the most diverse and productive in the world. The mutualistic symbiosis between corals and photosynthetic dinoflagellates (symbionts) is central to these ecosystems. The rising temperatures are causing corals to lose their symbionts in a process known as bleaching, thus endangering the entire community. In this context, it is imperative to discover mechanisms that might mitigate the effects of stress on corals. Previous work has established that stress increases the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), that is, partially reduced forms of …

An Assessment Of Night Time And Seasonal Electrofishing In The Lower Wabash River, Eric Christopher Hine

Masters Theses

Large rivers are highly important systems; being exploited both commercially and recreationally. Because of this usage by humans, close monitoring of the ecology of theses rivers is of the utmost importance. The Long-Term Electrofishing project (LTEF) monitors the fish communities of the Illinois, Mississippi, Wabash, and Ohio rivers using day time, pulsed-DC electrofishing during the late Spring through the early Fall each year. Given that previous studies have noted diel and seasonal changes in catch and composition of fish communities, the addition of night time electrofishing may be beneficial to the overarching goals of the LTEF. This study sought to …

In The Eye Of The Storm: Houston After Hurricane Harvey, Brandon Tolentino-Serrano

Pomona Senior Theses

Situated in one of the wettest climates in America, Houston, TX has had a long history of heavy rains and unprecedented floods. Unfortunately, floods have become more common over the last few decades as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of hurricanes around the globe. To complicate matters further, Houston has quickly sprawled to accommodate over 2.5 billion people. Rapid urbanization has rendered the landscape even more susceptible to floods through excess concretization and watershed disturbance. This thesis traces the history of the Bayou City in relation to the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey. By mapping out the original …

Seaweed Community Structure Along Environmental Gradients In An Ocean-Dominated Estuary, Saskia A. Raether

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Macrophyte community structure in estuaries that have been modified by the addition of hard substrata are poorly documented, especially in relation to the physical and environmental gradients that shape them. Therefore, this study describes the summer macrophyte flora that occurs on hard and soft substrata throughout Humboldt Bay, CA and tests how the macrophyte communities correlate to measures of horizontal and vertical environmental gradients. The percent cover of macroalgae, vascular plants, cyanobacteria, lichens, diatom film, sessile invertebrates, and substratum types were quantified during the summers of 2017 and 2018 at eleven intertidal locations in the bay and outer coast. Horizontal …

Effects Of Vertical Transmission Of Maternal Antibodies To Mycoplasma Gallisepticum On Growth And Condition Of Eastern Bluebird Nestlings (Sialia Sialis), Mckenzie Xiang Denton

Honors Theses

Mothers display maternal effects to influence the development and success of offspring through processes such as resource allocation. In birds, this occurs largely through the egg yolk with the vertical transmission of antibodies to offspring to protect the vulnerable young from disease. Specifically, poultry and eastern bluebirds across the eastern United States are commonly infected by the bacteria Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), for which mothers may produce antibodies against. To test for the vertical transmission of MG-specific antibodies from mothers to nestlings in eastern bluebirds and the associated fitness effects, bluebird boxes were set up and monitored during the field season. …

Fungal-Algal Speed Dating: Exploring Symbiotic Potential Of Fungal-Algal Cocultures, Natalie S. Williams

Honors Theses

Symbiotic relationships are widely studied phenomena in the biological world. Of particular interest are the ubiquitous relationships that exist between fungi and photoautotrophs. While much is known about the commonly occurring interactions that persist between fungi and a wide range of terrestrial plants, we are interested in exploring the symbiotic capacity between fungi and earlier diverging lineages of the plant kingdom, notably green algae. We developed an experiment to allow for a medium-throughput analysis of fungal-algal interactions using three model green algae: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella vulgaris, and Penium margaritaceum. With numerous replicated assays, these algae were individually paired with a …

Differential Analysis Of Gene Expression In Arabidopsis Thaliana Organ Boundary Mutants, Jack Mason

Honors Theses

Differences in gene expression occur due to cell type differentiation, the stages of an organism’s life cycle, genetic variation, and changes in the environment. The quantification of these changes can be valuable for helping deduce the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of model organisms such as Arabidopsis. A pair of homeobox genes, ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMEOBOX GENE1 (ATH1) and SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), encode transcription factors that play key roles in establishing organ boundaries in Arabidopsis flowers. Plants that carry mutations in both of these genes are missing floral organ-stem boundary regions and fail to shed their outer floral organs. Previous studies …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of A Recombinant Simian Varicella Virus Vaccine Expressing Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Envelope And Capsid Proteins, Thomas G. Wichman

Honors Theses

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects CD4+ T-lymphocytes, which when left untreated, later develops into Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Up to 25,000 people die every week from AIDS infection, making HIV and AIDS research a very high priority for virologists. While highly researched by scholars around the world, no person has been able to develop a successful vaccine, as the retroviral nature of the virus and its high mutation rate make vaccine development incredibly difficult. However, recombinant genetic technology will hopefully allow the revolutionization of vaccines which have already proven effective in immunization. The already developed varicella-zoster …

The Role Of The Age/Rage Signaling Pathway In Cardiac Fibroblast Migration, Mallory B. Harmon

Honors Theses

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States with around 30 million who suffer from diabetes and 84 million who are considered pre-diabetic. Diabetic individuals are at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease due to a stiffening of the left ventricle, which is thought to occur through fibroblast “activation” mediated by increased AGE/RAGE signaling. Advanced glycated end products (AGEs) accumulate within the body overtime and are accelerated under hyperglycemic conditions, and AGEs exert their effects by binding to their receptor (RAGE). Fibroblast “activation” is marked by elevated levels of α-smooth muscle actin expression and …

Healthcare Practices Related To Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Muriel Mikayla Johnson

Honors Theses

The incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is abounding in hospitals across the nation due to the recent surge in opioid abuse. This thesis explores the variation in protocols and guidelines used by healthcare practitioners concerning NAS. This study consisted of a literature review as well as observations and interviews with healthcare practitioners in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The literature review revealed there has been a greater increase in NAS among rural areas, and there is currently no national standardized protocol for the treatment of NAS. Field notes taken during the interviews and observations confirmed the literature in that …

The Effects Of Retrieval Strategy On A Collaborative Reconstruction Task, Amanda M. Bullock

Honors Theses

The purpose of the present experiment was to explore the effects of using various retrieval strategies on a collaborative reconstruction task. More specifically, we sought to determine the extent to which the Retrieval Strategy Disruption Hypothesis (RSD) could explain the effects of collaborative inhibition on such tasks. Collaborative inhibition is observed when collaborative group performance is lower than the pooled performance of an identical number of individuals working alone (nominal groups). The RSD hypothesis suggests that one group member’s output disrupts another group member’s idiosyncratic retrieval strategy leading to poorer performance relative to individuals working alone. In the present study, …

Effects Of Kanglaite, An Anticancer Herbal Medicine, On Breast Cancer Cell Metabolism, Sarah A. Hillhouse

Honors Theses

Kanglaite (KLT) is an anticancer herbal medicine developed in China that consists of mainly fatty acid triglycerides from Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. mayuen (Roman.) Stapf. In this study, we analyzed the effects of KLT on normal versus breast cancer cell metabolism using the C2C12, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Each cell line was divided into controls (n=3), cells with 1 μM of rotenone (n=2), or cells 0.3%, 1%, and 1.72% KLT concentrations. Cells were cultured in serum containing regular FCS and serum containing charcoal-stripped FCS in order to examine the full effects of KLT on the cell. Cell energy phenotype …

Mice Fed An Obesogenic Western Diet, Administered Antibiotics, And Subjected To A Sterile Surgical Procedure Develop Lethal Septicemia With Multidrug-Resistant Pathobionts, Sanjiv K. Hyoju, Alexander Zaborin, Robert Keskey, Anukriti Sharma, Wyatt Arnold, Fons Van Den Berg, Sangman Michael Kim, Neil Gottel, Cindy Bethel, Angella Charnot-Katsikas, Peng Jianxin, Carleen Adriaansens, Emily Papazian, Jack A. Gilbert, Olga Zaborina, John C. Alverdy

Biology Faculty Publications

Despite antibiotics and sterile technique, postoperative infections remain a real and present danger to patients. Recent estimates suggest that 50% of the pathogens associated with postoperative infections have become resistant to the standard antibiotics used for prophylaxis. Risk factors identified in such cases include obesity and antibiotic exposure. To study the combined effect of obesity and antibiotic exposure on postoperative infection, mice were allowed to gain weight on an obesogenic Western-type diet (WD), administered antibiotics and then subjected to an otherwise recoverable sterile surgical injury (30% hepatectomy). The feeding of a WD alone resulted in a major imbalance of the …

The Role Of Glucose Level On The Performance Of The Framingham Risk Score, Uohna June Thiessen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are responsible for more deaths than any other disease, continue to threaten the quality of life for many, and is a major burden to the health care system. The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) identified the major CVD risk factors that became essential to effective CVD screening strategies and the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), is used to assess CVD risk. Based on the concepts of the health behavior model and CVD as a cardiometabolic disorder, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels and a CHD event, and to determine …

Assessing Rotifer Diversity In Desert Wetlands Through Sediment Rehydration And Amplicon Sequencing, Sergio David Samaniego

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Species living in temporary wetlands can be threatened due to the instability and fluctuation of rising temperatures and evaporation caused by global climate change. In addition, regions characterized by dry climates, where most temporary wetlands exist, are expected to have a stronger response to climate change than other ecosystems. While most organisms are not able to respond to rapid changes in their environments, others like freshwater invertebrates have shown great resiliency to short- and long-term ecological disturbances. Rotifers for example, inhabit temporary waters that remain desiccated for indefinite periods of time making assessment of rotifer biodiversity challenging. Fortunately, many microinvertebrates …

Tiger Sharks Eat Songbirds: Scavenging A Windfall Of Nutrients From The Sky, J. Marcus Drymon, K. Feldheim, A. M.V. Fournier, E. A. Seubert, A. E. Jefferson, A. M. Kroetz, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Molecular Mechanism Of Neurodegeneration Induced By 4-Nonylphenol, Michelle Alejandra Aranda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neurodegeneration, a progressive loss of nerve cells, occurs in many neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's diseases (PD), as well as in dementia. The pathogenesis of these diseases is unknown, and recent evidence suggests that environmental factors, which act as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) could play a significant role in developing the disease process. 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP), an EDC, and a ubiquitous environmental toxin has been shown to affect brain development and may cause neurodegeneration. 4-NP is produced in large quantities in the U.S. and used as raw materials for making detergents, pesticides, plastics, paints, cosmetics, rubber, and other industrial/household …

Dust Storms And The Dispersal Of Aquatic Invertebrates In The Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion, Jose Rivas Jr.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Chihuahuan Desert surrounding El Paso, Texas is one of the most intense sources of dust in the Western Hemisphere. Within this vast desert are ephemeral wetlands with micrometazoan propagules contained within their sediment egg banks. Dispersal of aquatic microinvertebrates between habitats is vital for the success of their populations. Passive dispersal of the propagules provides an escape mechanism from unfavorable conditions. Upon desiccation of these habitats, windstorms can potentially transport propagules mixed within entrained sediments across regional scales. To study this process, I collected falling sediment from 91 windstorms, with 59 samples collected at the University of Texas at …

Serosurvey For Evidence Of Dengue And West Nile Virus Human Infections In El Paso, Texas, Veronica Suarez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Dengue viruses (DENV), including the 4 serotypes are the cause of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. The viruses are transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in urban communities in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate regions and are the cause of the highest rate of infection and death of all known Flaviviruses. DENV are endemic in United States (US) -Mexico (MX) border communities in the Rio Grande Valley and suspected of being endemic in Ciudad Juarez, a sister city to El Paso, TX. To determine if DENV were endemic in the El Paso community, cord-blood samples from mothers were tested for antibody …

Preclinical Models Of Metastatic Disease, Paloma Alejandra Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Breast cancer is a disease that continues to take the life of approximately 40,000 men and women in the United States each year [1]. Tumor drug resistance represents a major problem for the treatment of many breast cancer patients. The mechanisms underlying such resistance remain to be elucidated, and one approach to study this issue involves the development of tumor drug-resistant breast cancer models in mice. HER-2 positive breast cancer is considered to be one of the most aggressive subtypes of breast cancer and has become a major target for treatment. HER-2 status is a routinely checked marker for breast …

Recent Changes In The Zooplankton Communities Of Arctic Tundra Ponds In Response To Warmer Temperatures And Nutrient Enrichment, Mariana Vargas Medrano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Warming is altering Arctic freshwater ecosystems, enriching the water column, increasing primary productivity and shifting the composition, dominance and the timing of emergence and reproduction of zooplankton communities. Historic data from arctic tundra ponds near UtqiaÄ¡vik, AK have given us valuable insight into changes that have occurred in recent times. A change of dominance from cyclopoid copepods to Daphnia middendorffiana has occurred over a 40 year period. Daphnia are more common, abundant and larger, which may be explained by increased primary productivity stimulated by nutrient release from permafrost thaw. Copepods and fairy shrimp emerged earlier from the overwintering states, which …

Shining Light On An Amygdala -- Brainstem Connection Important For Attention Processing, Jose Carlos Cano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We are continuously being exposed to an exorbitant amount of sensory information, which should result overwhelming. However, the nervous system operates several intrinsic sensory filtering mechanisms that allow us to cope with such sensory cluttering and shape appropriate behavior. Sensorimotor gating is a pre-attentive neuronal filtering mechanism that gates superfluous sensory information, and orients attentional resources towards salient information processing. Its relevance becomes in individuals suffering from schizophrenia and several otherwise unrelated neuropsychiatric disorders where sensorimotor gating is impaired. To understand the neural impaired mechanisms, extensive research studies have focused on first identifying the neural substrates underlying sensorimotor gating. This …

Hspg2 Mediates Mandibular Jaw Joint Development, Barbara Samantha Castellanos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

We present a patient diagnosed with a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterized by scoliosis, intellectual disabilities, and craniofacial defects. Trio-based whole exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous variants in the HSPG2 gene: a maternally inherited c.5998-7A>G variant in the promoter region and a paternally inherited c.4916C>T variant in the coding sequence. HSPG2 encodes for perlecan, a large proteoglycan that plays an important role in cartilage formation, cell adhesion, and basement membrane stability. Mutations in HSPG2 have been associated with Schwartz-Jampel syndrome and Dyssegmental Dysplasia Silverman-Handmaker Type, two disorders characterized by skeletal abnormalities (1). These data indicate a function for …

Platelet Biology And Thrombosis: Juul E-Cigarette Exposure And 5ht2a Receptor Drug Discovery, Jean Emmanuel Montes Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

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Unclogging The Pipeline: Advancement To Full Professor In Academic Stem, Helga Van Miegroet, Christy Glass, Ronda R. Callister, Kimberly Sullivan

Ecology Center Publications

Purpose: Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and undocumented. This paper analyzes gender differences in advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western US, before and after the NSF-ADVANCE Program (2003-2007).

Methodology: Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and 2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated.

Findings: This study …

Quantitative Analysis Of The Thrbcrm1-Centered Gene Regulatory Network, Benjamin Souferi, Mark M. Emerson

Publications and Research

Enhancer activity is determined by both the activity and occupancy of transcription factors as well as the specific sequences they bind. Experimental investigation of this dynamic requires the ability to manipulate components of the system, ideally in as close to an in vivo context as possible. Here we use electroporation of plasmid reporters to define critical parameters of a specific cis-regulatory element, ThrbCRM1, during retinal development. ThrbCRM1 is associated with cone photoreceptor genesis and activated in a subset of developing retinal cells that co-express the Otx2 and Onecut1 (OC1) transcription factors. Variation of reporter plasmid concentration was used to generate …

Cross Faculty Collaboration In The Development Of An Integrated Mathematics And Science Initial Teacher Education Program, Sharon P. Fraser, Kim Beswick, Margaret Penson, Andrew Seen, Robert Whannell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes a collaborative project involving mathematicians, scientists and educators at an Australian university where an innovative initial teacher education (ITE) degree in mathematics/science was developed. The theoretical frameworks of identity theory and academic brokerage and their use in understanding the challenges associated with the early stages of collaborative projects is described. Data from reflections and interviews of the participants after involvement in the project from one to three years are presented to illustrate these challenges. The paper concludes with a description of the importance of the academic broker in overcoming identity challenges and facilitating cultural change for academics …