Biology Commons^™

Autopsy V. Virtopsy: A New Approach For Postmortem Forensic Examination, Nicole Elaine Lawson

Honors Projects

Virtopsy as a potential new standard in forensic science investigation in the place of a conventional autopsy. In recent years there have been new advancements across the forensic field and in the scientific world as a whole. These advancements have changed many approaches bringing new capabilities and new challenges and pushback. This report takes a specific interest in the evolution of forensic autopsy. With improvements such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography scan (CT), X-Rays, and other approaches a new term and technique have been coined Virtopsy. As this new potential approach has come to light the resistance against …

Induction Of Multiple Immune Signaling Pathways In Gryllodes Sigillatus Crickets During Overt Viral Infections, Kristin R. Duffield, Bert Foquet, Judith A. Stasko, John Hunt, Ben M. Sadd, Scott K. Sakaluk, José L. Ramirez

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Despite decades of focus on crickets (family: Gryllidae) as a popular commodity and model organism, we still know very little about their immune responses to microbial pathogens. Previous studies have measured downstream immune effects (e.g., encapsulation response, circulating hemocytes) following an immune challenge in crickets, but almost none have identified and quantified the expression of immune genes during an active pathogenic infection. Furthermore, the prevalence of covert (i.e., asymptomatic) infections within insect populations is becoming increasingly apparent, yet we do not fully understand the mechanisms that maintain low viral loads. In the present study, we measured the expression of several …

Mahi Mahi (Coryphaena Hippurus) Neurocranium, Logan Exton, David William Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 13.335 cm total length (TL) Mahi Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), collected from Fort Lauderdale on 04/11/2022 by Logan Exton

Little Tunny, Euthynnus Alletteratus, Neurocranium, Andrew C. Kuntz, Kylie Bosket, Amy Hirons

Hirons Field Techniques

Neurocranium from Little Tunny, Euthynnus alletteratus. Sample belongs to David Kerstetter.

Toro (Priacanthus Arenatus) Neurocranium, Nicole Mozer, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 7.8 cm

Toro - Priacanthus arenatus

Collected from Kerstetter Fisheries & Avian Ecology Lab on 9/21/2022 by Nicole Mozer & David Kerstetter

Scamp Grouper, (Mycteroperca Phenax) Neurocranium, Liam L. Wilcox, David William Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 5.40 cm; total length unknown. Scamp Grouper, (Mycteroperca phenax)

Specimen received from Kerstetter's lab

Upper Temperature Limit Of Larval Pacifc Lamprey Entosphenus Tridentatus: Implications For Conservation In A Warming Climate, Timothy A. Whitesel, Christina T. Uh

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate models suggest that by 2100, maximum temperatures where many larval Pacific lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus, rear now may approach 27–31 °C. Little information exists on whether larval Pacific lamprey can tolerate these temperatures. We used acclimated chronic exposure (ACE) and direct acute exposure (DAE) experiments to determine the water temperature that is lethal to larval Pacific lamprey and whether sublethal water temperatures influence larval burrowing behavior. After 30 days in ACE experiments, all larvae survived in temperatures averaging ≤ 27.7 °C, no larvae survived in temperatures averaging ≥ 30.7 °C and the ultimate upper incipient lethal temperature (UILT) was …

Rad51-Mediated Interhomolog Recombination During Budding Yeast Meiosis Is Promoted By The Meiotic Recombination Checkpoint And The Conserved Pif1 Helicase, Andrew Ziesel, Qixuan Weng, Jasvinder S. Ahuja, Abhishek Bhattacharya, Raunak Dutta, Evan Cheng, G. Valentin Borner Ph.D., Michael Lichten, Nancy M. Hollingsworth

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

During meiosis, recombination between homologous chromosomes (homologs) generates crossovers that promote proper segregation at the first meiotic division. Recombination is initiated by Spo11-catalyzed DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). 5' end resection of the DSBs creates 3' single strand tails that two recombinases, Rad51 and Dmc1, bind to form presynaptic filaments that search for homology, mediate strand invasion and generate displacement loops (D-loops). D-loop processing then forms crossover and noncrossover recombinants. Meiotic recombination occurs in two temporally distinct phases. During Phase 1, Rad51 is inhibited and Dmc1 mediates the interhomolog recombination that promotes homolog synapsis. In Phase 2, Rad51 becomes active …

(R1980) Effect Of Climate Change On Brain Tumor, Pardeep Kumar, Sarita Jha, Rajiv Aggarwal, Govind Kumar Jha

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we introduce a new dynamical model addressing the variation in climate condition due the presence of microorganisms. We also introduce a new dynamical model of cancer growth which includes three interactive cell populations with drug free environment, namely tumor cells, healthy host cells, and immune effector cells. In this, we considered the super growth of tumor cells. For the choice of certain parameters, both of the systems exhibit chaotic behavior. The aim of this work is to design the controller to control the chaos and to provide sufficient conditions which achieve synchronization of two non-identical systems, which …

(R2020) Dynamical Study And Optimal Harvesting Of A Two-Species Amensalism Model Incorporating Nonlinear Harvesting, Manoj Kumar Singh, Poonam .

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This study proposes a two-species amensalism model with a cover to protect the first species from the second species, with the assumption that the growth of the second species is governed by nonlinear harvesting. Analytical and numerical analyses have both been done on this suggested ecological model. Boundedness and positivity of the solutions of the model are examined. The existence of feasible equilibrium points and their local stability have been discussed. In addition, the parametric conditions under which the proposed system is globally stable have been determined. It has also been shown, using the Sotomayor theorem, that under certain parametric …

Comparative Ubiquitination Proteomics Revealed The Salt Tolerance Mechanism In Sugar Beet Monomeric Additional Line M14, He Liu, Jialin Zhang, Jinna Li, Bing Yu, Sixue Chen, Chunquan Ma, Haiying Li

Faculty and Student Publications

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important molecular processes that regulate organismal responses to different stresses. Ubiquitination modification is not only involved in human health but also plays crucial roles in plant growth, development, and responses to environmental stresses. In this study, we investigated the ubiquitination proteome changes in the salt-tolerant sugar beet monomeric additional line M14 under salt stress treatments. Based on the expression of the key genes of the ubiquitination system and the ubiquitination-modified proteins before and after salt stress, 30 min of 200 mM NaCl treatment and 6 h of 400 mM NaCl treatment were selected as time points. …

Survival Analysis And Prognostic Factors Of The Carcinoma Of Gallbladder, Zainab Feroz, Priyanka Gautam, Sonia Tiwari, Girish C. Shukla, Munish Kuma

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

Background: The present study aims to evaluate the survival status of patients with gallbladder cancer (GBC) and explore the prognostic factors for the improvement and preventions.
Methods: The study consists of 176 patients with clinically diagnosed gallbladder cancer; the study was conducted between 2019 and 2021 registered at Kamala Nehru Memorial Cancer Hospital, Prayagraj, India. The survival rates were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method; survival rate difference was analyzed by log-rank test, prognosis factors; and hazard ratio for mortality outcomes was estimated using Cox regression method.
Results: The overall median survival time of patients was 5 months with the 1-year, …

Functional Analysis Of Legionella Pneumophila Effector Protein, Shreya Neupane

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Legionella pneumophila is a gram-negative bacterium that causes Legionnaire’s disease (a severe form of pneumonia) in humans. L. pneumophila can cause infection by utilizing its Type IV secretion system, a protein secretion system that transports proteins from the bacterial cytosol into the infected macrophage. Effectors released from the Type Iv secretion system allow L. pneumophila to create a safe environment to survive, replicate and cause infection. One such effector, RavQ, inhibits cell proliferation of mammalian HEK 293T cells and localizes to the cell’s nucleus, leading us to hypothesize that RavQ interferes with cellular activity in the nucleus. To detect its …

Deciphering The Role Of Spl12 And Agl6 From A Genetic Module That Functions In Nodulation And Root Regeneration In Medicago Sativa., Vida Nasrollahi, Ze-Chun Yuan, Qing Shi Mimmie Lu, Tim Mcdowell, Susanne Kohalmi, Abdelali Hannoufa

Biology Publications

Our results show that SPL12 plays a crucial role in regulating nodule development in Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa), and that AGL6 is targeted and downregulated by SPL12. Root architecture in plants is critical because of its role in controlling nutrient cycling, water use efficiency and response to biotic and abiotic stress factors. The small RNA, microRNA156 (miR156), is highly conserved in plants, where it functions by silencing a group of SQUAMOSA-PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) transcription factors. We previously showed that transgenic Medicago sativa (alfalfa) plants overexpressing miR156 display increased nodulation, improved nitrogen fixation and enhanced root regenerative capacity during vegetative …

(R2022) Mathematical Modelling Of Tuberculosis And Covid-19 Co-Infection In India: A Real Data Analysis On Concomitant Diseases, Vijai Shanker Verma, Harshita Kaushik, Archana Singh Bhadauria

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we have proposed an epidemiological model to study the dynamics of two concomitant diseases Tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19. Here, we have formulated a deterministic compartmental model as an extended form of the classical SIS model. First, the basic reproduction number R₀ is derived and then stability analysis of the model is done. It is observed that the disease-free equilibrium is stable when R₀ is less than one and the endemic equilibrium is stable only when R₀ is greater than one. Numerical simulation is carried out to illustrate the theoretical findings and to study the …

(R1522) Modelling The Influence Of Desertic Aerosols On The Transmission Dynamics Of Neisseria Meningitidis Serogroup A, Francis Signing, Berge Tsanou, Samuel Bowong

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

This paper assesses the role of desert aerosols and vaccine on the transmission dynamics of Neisseria Meningitis serogroup A (NmA). It is biologically well-documented that the inhalation of aerosol dust and its presence in the nasal cavity weakens the nasopharyngeal mucosa by damaging the mucosal barrier and inhibiting the mucosal immune defenses of susceptible and vaccinated individuals. We address the latter by proposing and analyzing a mathematical model for the dynamics of NmA that specifically accounts for the fast progression of susceptible and vaccinated individuals to the invasive stage of the disease. We compute the basic reproduction number and use …

Environmental Influences On The Growth Of Inland Cisco Populations In Three Minnesota Sentinel Lakes, Edward Carlson

Biology Graduate Theses

Cisco Coregonus artedi are a pelagic cold-water fish that are widely distributed throughout many inland lakes across the northern Midwest and play an important role as forage for large piscivores. Inland Cisco populations have been observed to vary in their overall size and recruitment potential based on the system in which they are found. Cisco are sensitive to oxythermal stress and with climate change, land use, and invasive species effects becoming more prevalent in Minnesota, aspects of lake ecosystems are changing, ultimately making Cisco more susceptible to these stressors. To investigate how different factors were affecting the population dynamics of …

Bioactivation And Detoxification Of Organophosphorus Pesticides In Freshwater Planarians Shares Similarities With Humans, Danielle Ireland, Christina Rabeler, Taixi Gong , '24, Eva-Maria S. Collins

Biology Faculty Works

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are a chemically diverse class of insecticides that inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Many OPs require bioactivation to their active oxon form via cytochrome P450 to effectively inhibit AChE. OP toxicity can be mitigated by detoxification reactions performed by carboxylesterase and paraoxonase. The relative extent of bioactivation to detoxification varies among individuals and between species, leading to differential susceptibility to OP toxicity. Because of these species differences, it is imperative to characterize OP metabolism in model systems used to assess OP toxicity. We have shown that the asexual freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica is a suitable model to assess OP …

Applied Studies Of Raptor Sensory Ecology Are Rare, Christopher J.W. Mcclure, Simon Potier, Jesse R. Barber

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Light and noise often act as pollutants, but can also be used as tools for managing wildlife (e.g., sensory deterrents). Given that raptors are among the most threatened groups of birds, we expected there to be a moderate amount of applied research on their sensory ecology. We searched Web of Science and Google Scholar to quantify and classify the research that has been conducted on the applied sensory ecology of raptors. Of 32 studies assessing the effects of sensory pollution on raptors, we found that 10 studies examined effects of light pollution and 24 studies examined effects of noise pollution. …

Drone Imagery Protocols To Map Vegetation Are Transferable Between Dryland Sites Across An Elevational Gradient, Anna Roser, Josh Enterkine, Juan M. Requena-Mullor, Nancy F. Glenn, Alex R. Boehm, Marie-Anne De Graaff, Patrick E. Clark, Fred Pierson, T. Trevor Caughlin

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The structure and composition of plant communities in drylands are highly variable across scales, from microsites to landscapes. Fine spatial resolution field surveys of dryland plants are essential to unravel the impact of climate change; however, traditional field data collection is challenging considering sampling efforts and costs. Unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) can alleviate this challenge by providing standardized measurements of plant community attributes with high resolution. However, given widespread heterogeneity in plant communities in drylands, and especially across environmental gradients, the transferability of UAS imagery protocols is unclear. Plant functional types (PFTs) are a classification scheme that aggregates the diversity …

Bugs, Bullets And Birds: Factors Affecting The Health And Survival Of Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings In The Intermountain West, Ellis A. Juhlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ferruginous Hawks are a bird of prey species that nest in sagebrush steppe and grassland habitat. These birds are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation from urbanization, rural development, oil and natural gas extraction, habitat treatment projects, and wildfires, and experiencing widespread population declines across their breeding range. Because of this, Ferruginous Hawks (FEHAs) have been deemed a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by state management agencies in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada. The health and survival of Ferruginous Hawk (FEHA) nestlings is crucial to long-term population viability. Understanding the threats these birds are facing as nestlings can provide valuable …

Insecticide Susceptibility And Resistance Detection In Phlebotomus Argentipes Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), Shawna M. Hennings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leishmaniasis is an understudied disease found predominantly in high heat and humidity areas. The disease is transmitted by sandflies which are blood-feeding, biting insects. There is currently no known vaccine for any form of leishmaniasis and treatment imposes a significant economic impact on already poor and marginalized populations, as well as severe, lingering side effects for afflicted individuals. Annually, there are millions of people around the world afflicted with a form of Leishmaniasis that is transmitted by species of sandflies. The primary sandfly population control method for over half a century has been indoor residual spraying using insecticides. The selective …

Immunological Tradeoffs And The Impacts Of Urbanization On The Reproductive Ecology And Physiology Of The Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta Stansburiana), Emily E. Virgin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investing resources into reproduction can limit energy available to other competing demands, such as fighting off an infection; yet, both processes are necessary for organisms to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation. These strategies often follow patterns associated with lifespan, such that shorter-lived animals are more likely to invest more resources into reproduction over survival, and vice versa in long-lived animals. However, environmental change caused by urbanization can disrupt these relationships, and the within- and transgenerational costs of urbanization on females and offspring are unknown. I address these uncertainties in three research chapters to better understand …

Context And Content Of Teaching Conversations: Exploring How To Promote Sharing Of Innovative Teaching Knowledge Between Science Faculty, A. Kelly Lane, Brittnee Earl, Stephanie Feola, Jennifer E. Lewis, Jacob D. Mcalpin, Karl Mertens, Susan E. Shadle, John Skvoretz, John P. Ziker, Marilyne Stains, Brian A. Couch, Luanna B. Prevost

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Change strategies may leverage interpersonal relationships and conversations to spread teaching innovations among science faculty. Knowledge sharing refers to the process by which individuals transfer information and thereby spread innovative ideas within an organization. We use knowledge sharing as a lens for identifying factors that encourage productive teaching-related conversations between individuals, characterizing the context and content of these discussions, and understanding how peer interactions may shape instructional practices. In this study, we interview 19 science faculty using innovative teaching practices about the teaching-focused conversations they have with different discussion partners.

Results: This qualitative study describes characteristics of …

Late Quaternary Biotic Homogenization Of North American Mammalian Faunas, Danielle Fraser, Amelia Villaseñor, Anikó B. Tóth, Meghan A. Balk, Jussi T. Eronen, W. Andrew Barr, A. K. Behrensmeyer, Matt Davis, Andrew Du, J. Tyler Faith, Gary R. Graves, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Advait M. Jukar, Cindy V. Looy, Brian J. Mcgill, Joshua H. Miller, Silvia Pineda-Munoz, Richard Potts, Alex B. Shupinski, Laura C. Soul, S. Kathleen Lyons

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Biotic homogenization—increasing similarity of species composition among ecological communities—has been linked to anthropogenic processes operating over the last century. Fossil evidence, however, suggests that humans have had impacts on ecosystems for millennia. We quantify biotic homogenization of North American mammalian assemblages during the late Pleistocene through Holocene (~30,000 ybp to recent), a timespan encompassing increased evidence of humans on the landscape (~20,000–14,000 ybp). From ~10,000 ybp to recent, assemblages became significantly more homogenous (>100% increase in Jaccard similarity), a pattern that cannot be explained by changes in fossil record sampling. Homogenization was most pronounced among mammals larger than 1 …

Survey Of Fleas And Ticks For Rickettsia Rickettsii And Rickettsia Typhi And Surveys Of Humans And Wild Animals For Serological Evidence Of Infection By These Rickettsiae In Rural And Urban Areas Of El Paso, Texas And Other Areas Of Texas, Karen Rocio Valdez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The ecology and epidemiology of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and typhus fever pathogens are poorly understood along the United Statesâ??Mexico border, especially in the far Southwestern region of Texas. The objective of this dissertation was to understand the prevalence and distribution of Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia typhi and associated tick and flea species and the prevalence of these Rickettsiae in domestic and feral mammals in urban and rural areas of the El Paso community and other areas of Texas. Also, the goal was to determine if humans are being infected by R. rickettsii and R. typhi in the El Paso …

Avian Species Distribution Models: Using Location Data To Inform Management Decisions, Marilyn E. Wright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both state and federal wildlife agencies strive to conserve and protect wildlife and their habitats as an important public resource. Applied management decisions often rely on being able to obtain data that can efficiently and effectively enhance the understanding of these systems for informing management actions. Wildlife managers often focus efforts on a small subset of species from an ecosystem, typically called focal species, who can serve as surrogates for understanding the health and function of the system. Models that consider how these focal species interact with the ecosystem are often used to better understand important aspects of their life …

(R2023) Analysis Of The Auto-Oscillation Of A Perturbed Sir Epidemiological Model, Seyive J. Degbo, Guy A. Degla

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we study a class of compatimental epidemiological models consisting of Susceptible, Infected, and Removed (SIR) individuals with a perturbation factor or exterior effects such as noise, climate change, pollution, etc. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a limit cycle confined in a nonempty closed and convex set by relying on a recent result of Lobanova and Sadovskii. Moreover, we study the existence of Hopf and Bogdanov-Takens bifurcations by applying respectively Poincare-Andronov-Hopf bifurcation theorem and Bogdanov-Takens theorem. Eventually, using Scilab, we illustrate the validity of our results with numerical simulations and also interpret them.

Examining The Symbioses Between Bioluminescent Vibrio Species And Ponyfishes In The Indian Ocean And Between Vibrio Species And Crassostrea Virginica In The Gulf Of Mexico, Alexandra Chauvin

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Epidemic Time Series Similarity Is Related To Geographic Distance And Age Structure, Tad Dallas, Grant Foster, Robert L. Richards, Bret D. Elderd

Faculty Publications

Objective

More similar locations may have similar infectious disease dynamics. There is clear overlap in putative causes for epidemic similarity, such as geographic distance, age structure, and population size. We compare the effects of these potential drivers on epidemic similarity compared to a baseline assumption that differences in the basic reproductive number (R₀) will translate to differences in epidemic trajectories.

Methods

Using COVID-19 case counts from United States counties, we explore the importance of geographic distance, population size differences, and age structure dissimilarity on resulting epidemic similarity.

Results

We find clear effects of geographic space, age structure, …