Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Immunotoxicological Study Of Depleted Uranium, Bin Wan

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine toxicity of depleted uranium (DU) to the immune system and the gene expression profile of DU-exposed immune cells including peritoneal macrophages, primary CD4⁺ T-cells and T Cell Hybridoma (TCH) PLP1 5B6. Flow cytometry analysis of annexin-V and Propidium Iodide (PI) binding revealed that DU causes death in those cells at various concentrations. The non-cytotoxic concentrations of DU determined in macrophages, primary CD4⁺ T-cells, and T cells hybridoma are 50µM, 100 µM, and 500 µM, respectively. Findings also revealed that DU-exposed macrophages are able to promote CD4⁺ T-cell proliferation in …

The Role Of History In The Diversification Of The Funnel-Web Spiders, Agelenopsis Aperta, And Its Congeners, Nadia Antoine Ayoub

Doctoral Dissertations

Identifying the influence of history on the diversity of life is an important goal of evolutionary biology, whether it is an historical event that is extrinsic to the organism such as past climate change or an intrinsic event such as a single switch in behavior. Phylogenetic trees offer an indirect record of the history of diversification in a group of organisms and can be used in conjunction with other information to deduce the multiple roles of history affecting a particular group. Intra- and inter-specific phylogenetic relationships in the spider genus Agelenopsis Geibel (Araneae: Agelenidae) were analyzed using sequence data from …

An Analysis Of The End-Of-Life Choices Of Elderly Patients And Their Healthcare Providers At A Community Hospital In Tennessee, Elizabeth Harder Dobbins

Doctoral Dissertations

The Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990 was expected to popularize the use of advance directives (living wills and durable powers of attorney for healthcare (DPOA-HC)). Since the law was passed, researchers have found that the use of the documents has not increased as expected and that the documents, when present, were not always respected by healthcare providers.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the end-of-life choices of elderly patients and their healthcare providers in a community hospital setting. The subjects of this study were 160 patients, aged 65 years and older, who died in a community hospital in …

Online Atmospherics: An Investigation Of Feeling And Internet Purchase Intention, Kelly Price Rankin

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the online atmospheric cues of color and music and their impact upon feeling, attitude and purchase intention of consumers in the online environment. The research design was experimental and used data from a questionnaire. A pilot test of the instrument was conducted. The final questionnaire contained 39 items and a demographic section. A total of 200 questionnaires were collected. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Each group of 50 participants was exposed to a specific set of online atmospheric elements. The results indicated that Hypotheses 1, 3 and 4 were rejected while Hypotheses 2 …

The Dynamics, Distribution, And Activity Of Viruses In Lake Erie, Amanda Dean

Masters Theses

As viruses-- specifically pervasive pathogens of aquatic microorganisms-- are now included in most studies of aquatic food webs and nutrient cycles, presented here is new information from samples collected in July 2003 which demonstrates that bacteria lysed by viruses released 122 - 1080 nM of phosphorus per day throughout Lake Erie, implying that viruses acted as a major mechanism of phosphorus recycling in the lake. Viruses have been shown to be ubiquitous throughout Lake Erie, with a weak correlation between their distribution and the distribution of bacteria. Moreover, evidence suggests that virus production rates are tightly tied to the growth …

Group Differences In Safety Climate Among Workers In The Nuclear Decommissioning And Demolition Industry In The United States, Michael Everett Findley

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated group differences in safety climate among workers in the nuclear decommissioning and demolition (D&D) industry in the United States. The study population representative of workers in a high reliability industry included employees and subcontractors who worked at one of 10 locations in the United States managed by a multi-national corporation performing nuclear D&D operations. Safety climate was measured with a self-reported questionnaire, the Health and Safety Executive’s Health and Safety Climate Survey Tool (CST). The voluntary and anonymous responses totaled 1,587 out of an available population of 3,296 for an overall response rate of 48.1 percent. Significant …

Ecology Of The Cerulean Warbler In The Cumberland Mountains Of East Tennessee, Charles Patrick Nicholson

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this study was to describe the distribution, local breeding densities and population trends, breeding biology, and habitat selection of the Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) in the Cumberland Mountains of Morgan, Campbell, Scott, and Anderson Counties, Tennessee. Point counts were conducted during three years at six study sites. The Cerulean Warbler was detected at 50% of the point counts and was the sixth most frequently encountered bird. Spot-map censuses were conducted on five plots at three study sites. Cerulean Warblers occurred on all census plots at an average density of 84.9 pairs/100 ha. Average density on …

Relationships Between Spatial Enviromental Variability And Black Bear Occurrence In The Continental United States Of America, Donald Alfonso Martorello

Doctoral Dissertations

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) historically occurred throughout the forested regions of the continental United States of America (USA), and was absent only in central Nevada and portions of southern California and Arizona. Today, black bears only occur in a fraction of their former range, particularly in the Southeast where bear populations are highly fragmented and isolated.

Past research efforts have investigated the habitat preferences of black bears in several regions of the continental USA, but these studies were either limited to relatively small geographic areas or focused on selection preferences of individual bears. As a result, there is …

Relationships Between Spatial Environmental Variability And Black Bear Occurrence In The Continental United States Of America, Donald Alfonso Martorello

Doctoral Dissertations

The American black bear ( Ursus americanus) historically occurred throughout the forested regions of the continental United States of America (USA), and was absent only in central Nevada and portions of southern California and Arizona. Today, black bears only occur in a fraction of their former range, particularly in the Southeast where bear populations are highly fragmented and isolated.

Past research efforts have investigated the habitat preferences of black bears in several regions of the continental USA, but these studies were either limited to relatively small geographic areas or focused on selection preferences of individual bears. As a result, there …

Spatial Ecology And Habitat Use Of The Endangered Iguana, Cyclura Lewisi, In An Unnatural Setting, Rachel M. Goodman

Masters Theses

The Grand Cayman blue iguana, Cyclura lewisi, is critically endangered with an estimated 7-25 individuals remaining in the wild. This taxon is in need of intensive management, but little has been published on any aspect of its biology, and the remaining wild population is too small to be the basis of a research program. In order to aid in the conservation of this and other iguanid species, I investigated the spatial ecology and habitat use of a population of captive-bred, released C. lewisi in a botanic park on Grand Cayman. Movements and locations of these iguanas were verified through …

An Assessment Of Environmental Enrichment On Morphology And Behavior Of Yearling Rat Snakes (Elaphe Obsoleta), Lynn M. Almli

Masters Theses

Behavioral consequences of differential experience relating to studies of environmental enrichment have been documented primarily in mammals and birds. Similar data on experience-dependent behavioral plasticity are lacking in other vertebrates, especially non-avian reptiles. This project examined whether environmentally induced change occurs in snakes. Specifically, I housed rat snakes, Elaphe obsoleta, in enriched and standard environments to determine if differential experience can alter body morphology and improve behavioral abilities. Rat snakes are a particularly good model for this type of experiment because they are typically solitary and live in a complex three-dimensional habitat.

After being housed in different conditions for …

Mutrack: A Genome Analysis System For Large-Scale Mutagenesis In The Mouse, Erich J. Baker, Leslie Galloway, Barbara Jackson, Denise Schmoyer, Jay Snoddy

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Abstract

Background

Modern biological research makes possible the comprehensive study and development of heritable mutations in the mouse model at high-throughput. Using techniques spanning genetics, molecular biology, histology, and behavioral science, researchers may examine, with varying degrees of granularity, numerous phenotypic aspects of mutant mouse strains directly pertinent to human disease states. Success of these and other genome-wide endeavors relies on a well-structured bioinformatics core that brings together investigators from widely dispersed institutions and enables them to seamlessly integrate data, observations and discussions.

Description

MuTrack was developed as the bioinformatics core for a large mouse phenotype screening effort. It is …