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2022

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Articles 451 - 480 of 1814

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Cyclase-Associated Protein 1 (Cap1) In Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (Camp) And Protein Kinase C (Pkc) Signals To Regulate Cancer Cell Functions, Lokesh Kalki Mani Sai Akana Aug 2022

Cyclase-Associated Protein 1 (Cap1) In Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (Camp) And Protein Kinase C (Pkc) Signals To Regulate Cancer Cell Functions, Lokesh Kalki Mani Sai Akana

Student Theses and Dissertations

Cyclase-Associated Protein 1 (CAP1) is an actin-regulating protein that promotes actin dynamics and is also involved in cell adhesion and proliferation as well as implicated in human cancers. We previously found that phosphorylation at the Ser307/Ser309 tandem regulatory site on CAP1 is critical for CAP1 functions in breast and pancreatic cancer cells. We silenced CAP1 through RNAi in HCT116 and SW480 colon cancer cells as confirmed in Western blotting. We have found that depletion of CAP1 led to reduced FAK (Focal Adhesion Kinase) activity and matrix adhesion in SW480 cells, while it stimulated FAK activity and cell adhesion in HCT116 …

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Targeting The Maladaptive Effects Of Binge Drinking On Circadian Gene Expression, Courtney Ledford Aug 2022

Targeting The Maladaptive Effects Of Binge Drinking On Circadian Gene Expression, Courtney Ledford

University Honors Theses

Previous studies 1) support a role of circadian genes in regulating alcohol intake, and 2) reveal that harmful alcohol use alters circadian rhythms. However, there [is] minimal knowledge of the effects of chronic alcohol processes on rhythmic circadian gene expression across brain regions important for circadian biology and alcohol intake. Therefore, the present study sought to test the effects of chronic binge-like drinking on diurnal circadian gene rhythms in the master circadian pacemaker (SCN), the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in High Drinking in the Dark-1 (HDID-1) mice, a unique genetic risk model for drinking to …

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The Timing And Development Of Infections In A Fish-Cestode Host-Parasite System, Anika M. Wohlleben, Natalie C. Steinel, Néva P. Meyer, John A. Baker, Susan A. Foster Aug 2022

The Timing And Development Of Infections In A Fish-Cestode Host-Parasite System, Anika M. Wohlleben, Natalie C. Steinel, Néva P. Meyer, John A. Baker, Susan A. Foster

Biology

The cestode Schistocephalus solidus is a common parasite in freshwater threespine stickleback populations, imposing strong fitness costs on their hosts. Given this, it is surprising how little is known about the timing and development of infections in natural stickleback populations. Previous work showed that young-of-year stickleback can get infected shortly after hatching. We extended this observation by comparing infection prevalence of young-of-year stickleback from 3 Alaskan populations (Walby, Cornelius and Wolf lakes) over 2 successive cohorts (2018/19 and 2019/20). We observed strong variation between sampling years (2018 vs 2019 vs 2020), stickleback age groups (young-of-year vs 1-year-old) and sampling populations.

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Constraints On The Evolution Of Toxin-Resistant Na,K-Atpases Have Limited Dependence On Sequence Divergence, Shabnam Mohammadi, Santiago Herrera-Álvarez, Lu Yang, María Del Pilar Rodrı´Guez-Ordoñez, Karen Zhang, Jay F. Storz, Susanne Dobler, Andrew J. Crawford, Peter Andolfatto Aug 2022

Constraints On The Evolution Of Toxin-Resistant Na,K-Atpases Have Limited Dependence On Sequence Divergence, Shabnam Mohammadi, Santiago Herrera-Álvarez, Lu Yang, María Del Pilar Rodrı´Guez-Ordoñez, Karen Zhang, Jay F. Storz, Susanne Dobler, Andrew J. Crawford, Peter Andolfatto

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

A growing body of theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that intramolecular epistasis is a major determinant of rates and patterns of protein evolution and imposes a substantial constraint on the evolution of novel protein functions. Here, we examine the role of intramolecular epistasis in the recurrent evolution of resistance to cardiotonic steroids (CTS) across tetrapods, which occurs via specific amino acid substitutions to the α-subunit family of Na,K-ATPases (ATP1A). After identifying a series of recurrent substitutions at two key sites of ATP1A that are predicted to confer CTS resistance in diverse tetrapods, we then performed protein engineering experiments to test …

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An Ecological And Physiological Assessment Of Feather Mite-Bird Symbioses, Kevin James Krajcir Aug 2022

An Ecological And Physiological Assessment Of Feather Mite-Bird Symbioses, Kevin James Krajcir

Student Theses and Dissertations

Feather mites are ectosymbiotic arthropods that reside primarily on the wing and tail feathers of most birds. Despite our growing understanding of feather mite biology, previous studies of the nature of the feather mite-avian host relationship report mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism. Such inconsistencies are likely due to narrow study designs that fail to capture the possibility of context dependency in this interaction. To provide some clarity surrounding the nature of this symbiotic system, we explored how geographical, climatic, and ecological contexts relate to variation in feather mite abundance and how that abundance, consequently, associates with multiple metrics of host condition …

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Machine Learning And Scalable Informatics Methods To Predict Disease Status From Multimodal Biomedical Data, Hossein Mohammadian Foroushani Aug 2022

Machine Learning And Scalable Informatics Methods To Predict Disease Status From Multimodal Biomedical Data, Hossein Mohammadian Foroushani

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Biological understanding of complex diseases such as stroke and obesity is critical for the advancement of medicine. Further knowledge discovery can provide effective biomarkers to improve disease diagnosis and prognosis, identify driver mutations, predict individual genetic susceptibility for early prevention and effective disease management, and facilitate development of personalized drugs. Stroke is the second leading cause of death and long-term disability in the world. Thus, stroke management is a time-sensitive emergency. The initial hours after stroke onset map the trajectory of subsequent neurologic complications. Cerebral edema develops hours to days after acute ischemic stroke and may result in midline shift …

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Tfa Inference: Using Mathematical Modeling Of Gene Expression Data To Infer The Activity Of Transcription Factors, Cynthia Ma Aug 2022

Tfa Inference: Using Mathematical Modeling Of Gene Expression Data To Infer The Activity Of Transcription Factors, Cynthia Ma

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Transcription factors (TFs) are a set of proteins that play a key role in the information processing system that enables a cell to respond to changes in internal and external state. By binding near a gene in a cell’s DNA, a TF can influence that gene’s expression level, triggering the appropriate increase or decrease in production levels of proteins that are needed to handle stressors like a change in nutrient availability or damage to the cell’s internal structures. Transcription factor activity (TFA) is a measure of how much effect a TF has on its target genes in a given sample …

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Circadian Rhythms Mediate Infection Risk In Daphnia Dentifera, Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, David T. Nguyen, Jessica L. Hite, Clayton E. Cressler Aug 2022

Circadian Rhythms Mediate Infection Risk In Daphnia Dentifera, Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, David T. Nguyen, Jessica L. Hite, Clayton E. Cressler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Biological rhythms mediate important within-host processes such as metabolism, immunity, and behavior which are often linked to combating disease exposure. For many hosts, exposure to pathogens occurs while feeding. However, the link between feeding rhythms and infection risk is unclear because feeding behavior is tightly coupled with immune and metabolic processes which may decrease susceptibility to infection. Here, we use the Daphnia dentifera–Metschnikowia bicuspidata host–pathogen system to determine how rhythms in feeding rate and immune function mediate infection risk. The host is known to have a nocturnal circadian rhythm in feeding rate, yet we found that they do not exhibit …

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Foraging Habitat Selection Of Shrubland Bird Community In Tropical Dry Forest, Anant Deshwal, Steven L. Stephenson, Pooja Panwar, Brett A. Degregorio, Ragupathy Kannan, John D. Willson Aug 2022

Foraging Habitat Selection Of Shrubland Bird Community In Tropical Dry Forest, Anant Deshwal, Steven L. Stephenson, Pooja Panwar, Brett A. Degregorio, Ragupathy Kannan, John D. Willson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Habitat loss due to increasing anthropogenic disturbance is the major driver for bird population declines across the globe. Within the Eastern Ghats of India, shrubland bird communities are threatened by shrinking of suitable habitats due to increased anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. The development of an effective habitat management strategy is hampered by the absence of data for this bird community. To address this knowledge gap, we examined foraging sites for 14 shrubland bird species, including three declining species, in three study areas representing the shrubland type of forest community in the Eastern Ghats. We recorded microhabitat features within an …

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Ewing Sarcoma Transcriptome: Identification Of Foxn3 As A Novel Target Of Ews-Fli1, Natasha Kreiling Aug 2022

Ewing Sarcoma Transcriptome: Identification Of Foxn3 As A Novel Target Of Ews-Fli1, Natasha Kreiling

Theses & Dissertations

Ewing Sarcoma is an aggressive cancer characterized by a fusion gene formed from a chromosomal translocation between a RNA binding protein and a transcription factor. The most common fusion gene is EWS-FLI1 a potent oncogenic transcription factor responsible for initiating genome instability. EWS-FLI1 promotes tumor growth by dysregulating several genes and pathways. We have identified FOXN3, an important gene in cell cycle control and development, as being suppressed by EWS-FLI1. In the future, a better understanding of FOXN3 and its ability to act as a tumor suppressor in EWS will unravel novel mechanisms of EWS pathogenesis, potential biomarker and drug …

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Behavioral Responses Of A Parasitoid Fly To Rapidly Evolving Host Signals, E. Dale Broder, James H. Gallagher, Aaron W. Wikle, Cameron P. Venable, David M. Zonana, Spencer J. Ingley, Tanner C. Smith, Robin M. Tinghitella Aug 2022

Behavioral Responses Of A Parasitoid Fly To Rapidly Evolving Host Signals, E. Dale Broder, James H. Gallagher, Aaron W. Wikle, Cameron P. Venable, David M. Zonana, Spencer J. Ingley, Tanner C. Smith, Robin M. Tinghitella

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Animals eavesdrop on signals and cues generated by prey, predators, hosts, parasites, competing species, and conspecifics, and the conspicuousness of sexual signals makes them particularly susceptible. Yet, when sexual signals evolve, most attention is paid to impacts on intended receivers (potential mates) rather than fitness consequences for eavesdroppers. Using the rapidly evolving interaction between the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus, and the parasitoid fly, Ormia ochracea, we asked how parasitoids initially respond to novel changes in host signals. We recently discovered a novel sexual signal, purring song, in Hawaiian populations of T. oceanicus that appears to have evolved because it …

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Purifications Of Iraqi Petroleum Using Ceramic Ball Nano Cobalt Nickel Ferrite Filter, Huda Jabbar, Enas Muhi, Tahseen Hussien Aug 2022

Purifications Of Iraqi Petroleum Using Ceramic Ball Nano Cobalt Nickel Ferrite Filter, Huda Jabbar, Enas Muhi, Tahseen Hussien

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Iraqi petroleum, especially from the Al-Ahdab, has a big problem resulting from its high percentage of heavy metals. In this paper, heavy metals were reduced or removed from Iraqi petroleum using a Ceramic Ball Nano Cobalt Nickel Ferrite Filter (BCNF), synthesized by combining kaolin and palm frond in a 30% ratio with Co0.8Ni0.2Fe2O4 nanoparticles in a various ratios (5, 10, 15, and 20%). The sol-gel technique prepared Co0.8Ni0.2Fe2O4 nanoparticles. The structure and magnetic properties of the material are described using X-RD, FT-IR, and VSM techniques. In addition, the water ab-sorption ratio and apparent porosity were assessed. The results show that …

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Studying The Physical And Biological Characteristics Of Denture Base Resin Pmma Reinforced With Zro2 And Tio2 Nanoparticles, Fatin A. Asim, Entessar H.A. Al-Mosaweb, Wafaa A. Hussain Aug 2022

Studying The Physical And Biological Characteristics Of Denture Base Resin Pmma Reinforced With Zro2 And Tio2 Nanoparticles, Fatin A. Asim, Entessar H.A. Al-Mosaweb, Wafaa A. Hussain

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) suffers from poor mechanical properties that limit its application in the bio-medical field. In this study, PMMA was reinforced with zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanopar-ticles; subsequently, the hardness, porosity, biocompatibility, bacterial adhesion, and colonization of the reinforced PMMA with various oxide nanoparticles were characterized. The results of this study indicated that reinforced material inhibits bacterial growth and decreases bacterial adhesion by decreasing porosity and increasing PMMA hardness. Based on the findings, 3 wt% PMMA-ZrO2 and 3 wt% PMMA-ZrO2 -TiO2 composites significantly inhibited bacterial growth and adherence while maintaining hemolysis PT and INR and enhancing …

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Skin Lesion Segmentation Based On U-Shaped Network, Muna Khalaf, Ban N. Dhannoon Aug 2022

Skin Lesion Segmentation Based On U-Shaped Network, Muna Khalaf, Ban N. Dhannoon

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Skin lesion segmentation is an essential step toward accurate skin lesion diagnosis. The need to automate Skin lesion segmentation on the one hand, and the challenges it faces, on the other hand, have made it a growing area of research and focus. Automation of skin lesion segmentation helps reduce the effort and time needed for diagnosis and treatment and helps make better utilization of available data and shared experiences. The challenges faced by the automation of skin lesion segmentation can be broadly defined by (but not limited to); variations in texture, shape, and size for skin lesions and the low …

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C60 Hydrofullerene Induced Autophagy And Ameliorated Gfap In H2o2 Treated Human Malignant Glioblastoma U-373 Cell Line, Aryan M. Faraj, Can A. Agca, Victor S. Nedzvetsky, Artem A. Tykhomyrov Aug 2022

C60 Hydrofullerene Induced Autophagy And Ameliorated Gfap In H2o2 Treated Human Malignant Glioblastoma U-373 Cell Line, Aryan M. Faraj, Can A. Agca, Victor S. Nedzvetsky, Artem A. Tykhomyrov

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Glioblastoma is one of the most combative astrocytoma that is resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This resistance makes it very difficult to treat. However, researches have shown that nanoparticles especially C60 hydrofullerene have antioxidant and anticancer activity. The effect of C60 hydrofullerene in cancer has been extensively studied; however, the potential regulation of autophagy and modulation of the Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) gene has not been addressed in glioblastomas. Glioblastoma U-373 cell was treated with 0.5 µM of C60 hydrofullerene and/or 1 mM of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for 24 hours. This study demonstrated that C60 hydrofullerene and H2O2 significantly …

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Improving Prediction Of Arabic Fake News Using Fuzzy Logic And Modified Random Forest Model, Tahseen A. Wotaifi, Ban N. Dhannoon Aug 2022

Improving Prediction Of Arabic Fake News Using Fuzzy Logic And Modified Random Forest Model, Tahseen A. Wotaifi, Ban N. Dhannoon

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Throughout the last few years, the world is witnessing the so-called age of social media, as there is a complete dependence on these sites for following up on events and activities. The problem is that the misinformation or fake news is always released at the appropriate time, so this false news spreads quickly and takes a very wide resonance. Although several studies are performed to determine English fake news, the identification of Arabic misinformation remains underdeveloped. This study aims to build an improved learning model for detecting fake news in the Arabic language. Unlike previous studies that depended on analyzing …

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Synthesized Zinc Nanoparticles Via Pulsed Laser Ablation: Characterization And Antibacterial Activity, Sahar Naji Rashid, Kadhim A. Aadim, Awatif Sabir Jasim, Arshad Mahdi Hamad Aug 2022

Synthesized Zinc Nanoparticles Via Pulsed Laser Ablation: Characterization And Antibacterial Activity, Sahar Naji Rashid, Kadhim A. Aadim, Awatif Sabir Jasim, Arshad Mahdi Hamad

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

The pulsed laser ablation of a metallic target in the liquid (PLAL) is a modern and good method for creating a variety of nanomaterials that have piqued the interest of researchers in the last decade. It is used in this work to prepare zinc na-noparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnPNs and ZnO NPs) using Nd: YAG laser with the two wavelengths (532 nm) and (355 nm) using the energies (600 mJ) and (500 mJ) respectively, and the number of the pulse (500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 Pulses); for each wavelength used in this work. The properties of the prepared …

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A Successful Elimination Of Indonesian Sars-Cov-2 Variants And Airborne Transmission Prevention By Cold Plasma In Fighting Covid-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Study, Muhammad Nur, Chairul A. Nidom, Setyarina Indrasari, Arif N. M. Ansori, Mohamad Y. Alamudi, Astria N. Nidom, Sumariyah Sumariyah, Eva Sasmita, Eko Yulianto, Andi W. Kinandana, Anwar Usman, Muhammad K. J. Kusala, Irine Normalina, Reviany V. Nidom Aug 2022

A Successful Elimination Of Indonesian Sars-Cov-2 Variants And Airborne Transmission Prevention By Cold Plasma In Fighting Covid-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Study, Muhammad Nur, Chairul A. Nidom, Setyarina Indrasari, Arif N. M. Ansori, Mohamad Y. Alamudi, Astria N. Nidom, Sumariyah Sumariyah, Eva Sasmita, Eko Yulianto, Andi W. Kinandana, Anwar Usman, Muhammad K. J. Kusala, Irine Normalina, Reviany V. Nidom

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Global infection and mortality rates have soared to millions due to SARS-CoV-2 human-to-human transmission from via droplets which then declared as pandemic. This study examined the created cold plasma equipment (CPE) effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 transmission in a confined space. CPE sucked air using a fan in a test chamber then pushed it into a cold plasma reactor. The results indicated that it was able to terminate all SARS-CoV-2 variants along with bacteria and fungi indoors by keeping it turned on for 30 minutes’ minimum. CPE was proven as safe and effective to hinder virus transmission with the acceptable ozone …

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Functional Traits’ Annual Variation Exceeds Nitrogen-Driven Variation In Grassland Plant Species, George R. Wheeler, Chad Brassil, Johannes M. H. Knops Aug 2022

Functional Traits’ Annual Variation Exceeds Nitrogen-Driven Variation In Grassland Plant Species, George R. Wheeler, Chad Brassil, Johannes M. H. Knops

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Effective application of functional trait approaches to ecological questions requires understanding the patterns of trait variation within species as well as between them. However, few studies address the potential for intraspecific variation to occur on a temporal basis and, thus, for trait-based findings to be contingent upon sampling year. To quantify annual variation in the functional traits of grassland plant species, we measured specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, plant height, and chlorophyll content in 12 shortgrass prairie plant species. We repeated these measurements across 4 years, both in long-term nitrogen addition plots and in corresponding control plots. Three …

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Effects Of Mass Death On Community Structure And Ecosystem Function, Abby Kimpton Jones Aug 2022

Effects Of Mass Death On Community Structure And Ecosystem Function, Abby Kimpton Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Death and decomposition are natural processes that are generally well-understood. However, large events of death, such as mass mortality events (MMEs) are increasing in frequency and their impacts on the ecosystem are largely unknown. These events may have both bottom-up effects from increased nutrient input as well as top-down effects from loss of an ecological functional group by the affected population. Different functional MMEs may result in different top-down effects, creating cascading effects. In Chapter 1, I test the hypothesis that scavenger and herbivore simulated MMEs generate novel bottom-up and top-down effects. Results indicate that MMEs have a significant effect …

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Effects Of Anthropogenic Global Change On A Grassland Prairie Community, Carter Wolff Aug 2022

Effects Of Anthropogenic Global Change On A Grassland Prairie Community, Carter Wolff

Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic global change is altering food web dynamics. Global change comprises factors, like temperature, sound, light and more. In this dissertation, I evaluate how two factors, sound and temperature, alter prairie communities. In Chapter 1, I test if sound influences grasshopper respiration rate, thereby altering diet. Some sound frequencies increased grasshopper respiration rate while others decreased respiration rate. Frequencies that elevated respiration rate led to grasshoppers consuming more carbohydrate-rich foods compared to protein-rich foods. This diet change stems from a carbon deficit due to increased respiration rate and could act as a mechanism by which sound pollution indirectly alters plant …

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Time Domains Of Hypoxia Responses And -Omics Insights, James J. Yu, Amy L. Non, Erica C. Heinrich, Wanjun Gu, Joe Alcock, Esteban A. Moya, Elijah S. Lawrence, Michael S. Tift, Katie A. O'Brien, Jay F. Storz, Anthony V. Signore, Jane I. Khudyakov, William K. Milsom, Sean M. Wilson, Cynthia M. Beall, Francisco C. Villafuerte, Tsering Stobdan, Colleen G. Julian, Lorna G. Moore, Mark M. Fuster, Jennifer A. Stokes, Richard Milner, John B. West, Jiao Zhang, John Y. Shyy, Ainash Childebayeva, José Pablo Vázquez-Medina, Luu V. Pham, Omar A. Mesarwi, James E. Hall, Zachary A. Cheviron, Jeremy Sieker, Arlin B. Blood, Jason X. Yuan, Tatum S. Simonson, Et Al. Aug 2022

Time Domains Of Hypoxia Responses And -Omics Insights, James J. Yu, Amy L. Non, Erica C. Heinrich, Wanjun Gu, Joe Alcock, Esteban A. Moya, Elijah S. Lawrence, Michael S. Tift, Katie A. O'Brien, Jay F. Storz, Anthony V. Signore, Jane I. Khudyakov, William K. Milsom, Sean M. Wilson, Cynthia M. Beall, Francisco C. Villafuerte, Tsering Stobdan, Colleen G. Julian, Lorna G. Moore, Mark M. Fuster, Jennifer A. Stokes, Richard Milner, John B. West, Jiao Zhang, John Y. Shyy, Ainash Childebayeva, José Pablo Vázquez-Medina, Luu V. Pham, Omar A. Mesarwi, James E. Hall, Zachary A. Cheviron, Jeremy Sieker, Arlin B. Blood, Jason X. Yuan, Tatum S. Simonson, Et Al.

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The ability to respond rapidly to changes in oxygen tension is critical for many forms of life. Challenges to oxygen homeostasis, specifically in the contexts of evolutionary biology and biomedicine, provide important insights into mechanisms of hypoxia adaptation and tolerance. Here we synthesize findings across varying time domains of hypoxia in terms of oxygen delivery, ranging from early animal to modern human evolution and examine the potential impacts of environmental and clinical challenges through emerging multi-omics approaches. We discuss how diverse animal species have adapted to hypoxic environments, how humans vary in their responses to hypoxia (i.e., in the context …

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Circadian Rhythms Mediate Infection Risk In Daphnia Dentifera, Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, David T. Nguyen, Jessica L. Hite, Clayton E. Cressler Aug 2022

Circadian Rhythms Mediate Infection Risk In Daphnia Dentifera, Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, David T. Nguyen, Jessica L. Hite, Clayton E. Cressler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Biological rhythms mediate important within-host processes such as metabolism, immunity, and behavior which are often linked to combating disease exposure. For many hosts, exposure to pathogens occurs while feeding. However, the link between feeding rhythms and infection risk is unclear because feeding behavior is tightly coupled with immune and metabolic processes which may decrease susceptibility to infection. Here, we use the Daphnia dentifera–Metschnikowia bicuspidata host–pathogen system to determine how rhythms in feeding rate and immune function mediate infection risk. The host is known to have a nocturnal circadian rhythm in feeding rate, yet we found that they do not exhibit …

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Circadian Rhythms Mediate Infection Risk In Daphnia Dentifera, Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, David T. Nguyen, Jessica L. Hite, Clayton E. Cressler Aug 2022

Circadian Rhythms Mediate Infection Risk In Daphnia Dentifera, Alaina C. Pfenning-Butterworth, David T. Nguyen, Jessica L. Hite, Clayton E. Cressler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Biological rhythms mediate important within-host processes such as metabolism, immunity, and behavior which are often linked to combating disease exposure. For many hosts, exposure to pathogens occurs while feeding. However, the link between feeding rhythms and infection risk is unclear because feeding behavior is tightly coupled with immune and metabolic processes which may decrease susceptibility to infection. Here, we use the Daphnia dentifera–Metschnikowia bicuspidata host–pathogen system to determine how rhythms in feeding rate and immune function mediate infection risk. The host is known to have a nocturnal circadian rhythm in feeding rate, yet we found that they do not exhibit …

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Feeding Ecology Of Highly Migratory Epipelagic Offshore Predators In The Western North Atlantic Ocean, Rachel Lorraine Hildebrand Aug 2022

Feeding Ecology Of Highly Migratory Epipelagic Offshore Predators In The Western North Atlantic Ocean, Rachel Lorraine Hildebrand

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Describing trophic ecology of top predators in marine ecosystems is key to understanding the dynamics of these environments. Feeding ecologies of large predatory fishes were assessed using a combination of stomach content and stable isotope analysis. The target species for this study inhabit the epipelagic ecosystem of the U.S. South Atlantic Bight in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The studied species included five tuna species, five billfish species, Common Dolphinfish, and Wahoo. The goal of this study was to describe and compare the trophic dynamics of each species. From these data, the trophic complex of the offshore pelagic ecosystem was …

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The Association Of Cuzd1 And Stat5 In Adipocytes, Zachary Wigger Aug 2022

The Association Of Cuzd1 And Stat5 In Adipocytes, Zachary Wigger

LSU Master's Theses

Obesity is a metabolic disorder that has turned into a global epidemic over the past few decades. Adipocyte dysfunction brought on by obesity can lead to increased risk of metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Knowing how adipocytes function to regulate metabolic homeostasis is critical. CUZD1 (CUB and Zona Pellucida-like Domain-containing protein 1) has not been studied in the context of adipocyte biology but could play a role in several metabolic processes. CUZD1 has been suggested to be a biomarker for several inflammatory diseases and cancers but little functional data has been published. There …

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Sequencing The Guts Out Of Covid-19; The Evolution Behind The Covid-19 Pandemic, Madelyn Purnell Aug 2022

Sequencing The Guts Out Of Covid-19; The Evolution Behind The Covid-19 Pandemic, Madelyn Purnell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to an urgent need for scalable methods for clinical diagnostics and tracking of virus variants. In this paper, we attempted a novel method of sequencing using Large Reverse Transcriptase-based cloning (LRTC). Although our methodology ended up not working due to high amount and fast degradation of RNA, we were able to sequence multiple variants of COVID-19 Positive samples from the BYU Student Health Center and 4 sewage samples to check for variant outbreaks in corresponding times. We were able to find several corresponding variants and track the progression of mutation in our local population.

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Differential Dna Methylation In Pacific Oyster Reproductive Tissue In Response To Ocean Acidification, Yaamini R. Venkataraman, Samuel J. White, Steven B. Roberts Aug 2022

Differential Dna Methylation In Pacific Oyster Reproductive Tissue In Response To Ocean Acidification, Yaamini R. Venkataraman, Samuel J. White, Steven B. Roberts

Biology

Background
There is a need to investigate mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity in marine invertebrates as negative effects of climate change, like ocean acidification, are experienced by coastal ecosystems. Environmentally-induced changes to the methylome may regulate gene expression, but methylome responses can be species- and tissue-specific. Tissue-specificity has implications for gonad tissue, as gonad-specific methylation patterns may be inherited by offspring. We used the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) — a model for understanding pH impacts on bivalve molecular physiology due to its genomic resources and importance in global aquaculture— to assess how low pH could impact the gonad methylome. Oysters were …

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Chemically Induced Phytoextraction Of Lead (Pb) Contaminated Soil By Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.), Assisted With Bap And Nta Applications, Genna Hart Aug 2022

Chemically Induced Phytoextraction Of Lead (Pb) Contaminated Soil By Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.), Assisted With Bap And Nta Applications, Genna Hart

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

The accumulation of lead (Pb) deposits in soil is a growing global concern. Phytoextraction of Pb-contaminated soil can be enhanced by soil chelation to increase the bioavailability of Pb. In the initial study nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) 5mM, the alkylpolyglucoside (APG) Triton X-100 (2%), and nano-silica were applied to switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) growing in 5L pots of Pb-contaminated soil. The second experiment used 10mM NTA, the alkylpolyglycoside Triton X-100 (2%), foliar application of the plant growth regulator 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) twice per week, Triple-12® nutrients, and Infuse™ a soil fungicide which were applied to switchgrass Plants were grown in a controlled …

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The Influence Of Land Coverage And Soil Chemical Factors On Soil Bacterial Community Diversity And Structure In Cedartown, Ga, Usa, Jake Smith Aug 2022

The Influence Of Land Coverage And Soil Chemical Factors On Soil Bacterial Community Diversity And Structure In Cedartown, Ga, Usa, Jake Smith

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Heavy metals pose serious threats to organisms due to their mobility and solubility in soil. Bacteria communities are vulnerable to heavy metal stress, but the response of different bacterial groups may vary depending on the level and type of heavy metal contamination. When subjected to heavy metal stress, many bacterial species or populations may become extirpated, while some may survive to form the foundations of a new microbial community. A study of the bacterial community at a lead (Pb) contaminated study site in Cedartown, GA, found that the microbiome in the Pb contaminated soil had significantly lower species richness. But …

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