Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons^™

Expression And Purification Of Proteins For A Structural Determination: Orf8, Paivy1, Paivy2, Sarah Fashinasi, Avery Moss

Symposium of Student Scholars

Protein purification is a crucial procedure in order to analyze the behavior, structure, and function of a select protein. The Orf8 protein is an increasingly mutable accessory protein found within the SARS-CoV2 virus, however the complex and unpredictable nature of this protein has been met by its inability to be purified thus far. By purifying the model proteins, PaIVY1 and PaIVY2, we believe that we can denote a sound purification method to apply to the Orf8 protein. In our procedure, we transformed BL21(DE3)pLysS cells and inoculated them in LB media. The cells were then placed into a centrifuge to isolate …

The Probability Of Success-Through Fault Tree Analytical Binomial Result, Tyleka Riddle

Night Flight: Online Literary Journal

Prestigious Appeal Rule of Thumb (Ear Drum Plugs)

In truant fashion, with proven accidental probabilistic perception for proposed cued facial expression recognition and voice commands without filtering. The estimated cost analysis for design and development generated from the enhanced project in the word "no”: Additionally, an audio noise effect size (ES) for desired level of comprehensive sensory receptors in sound reference to noisy party syndrome. Sytoss, (2019) "Resulting in a cocktail party theory for chalkboard distinction and conversation with applied facial recognition. As well as, the enhanced project management tool, EPMT, to provide output and input determination for higher-level acoustic …

Developing An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Project For Chem 142l Course At Bsu, Manuel Pina

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In addition to content knowledge, critical and independent thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem-solving skills are essential in preparing next generation of successful workforce. Since one of the biggest advantages of STEM disciplines is a “must-have” hands-on laboratory experience, it is intuitive to exploit this learning space to reinforce afore-mentioned skills. In this context, project-based (PBL) or inquiry-based (IBL) laboratory experiences are rapidly becoming mainstream pedagogical choice for many STEM instructors across United States.^[1-4] PBL, and IBL are learning experiences that offer students an opportunity to experience realistic scientific process of discovery through carefully designed inquiry-driven and/or open-ended investigative laboratory …

Search For Palladin, An Actin-Associated Protein, In Pig Retinal Pigmented Epithelium And Its Role In Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, Katrina Powell

Undergraduate Theses

This study investigates the expression of Palladin, a phosphoprotein product of the PALLD gene, in the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). Palladin is an actin cross-linking protein and plays a role in cell adhesion and motility. Published reports have demonstrated that a down regulation of Palladin in colon cancer cells results in a reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, causing the cells to lose their typical shape, become proliferative and migratory. This process is otherwise known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). A similar EMT phenomenon is observed when the RPE is exposed to the vitreous humor in patients with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). In …

Biomedical Porcine Models For The Study Of Surgical Hemostasis, Hindlimb Ischemia, And Pancreatic Cancer, Shruthishree Aravind

Theses & Dissertations

Murine models have dominated the world of biomedical research and comparative medicine since their development in the early 1900s. [1] While they may be suitable models to study proteomics and genomics, they may not serve as effective translational models. [2-4] Murine models do not accurately model the pathophysiology of human disease and are limited by their size, application of medical imaging and intervention, which reduces their overall preclinical predictive value. [2-4]

Porcine models on the other hand, are slowly and steadily bridging the gap between murine models and human patients. [5] Pigs …

Safety Of Silver Oxide Coated Biomaterials In Mice, Michael Klug, Darien L. Seidman, Rahyan Mahmoud, Destiny Morot, Lei Yu, Jeffrey D Hettinger, Renee M Demarest

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

It has been demonstrated that silver oxide coatings designed by our collaborators are able to prevent E. coli and P. aeruginosa attachment to biomaterials in vivo. These findings demonstrate that such coatings show promise in preventing the development of biofilm on biodevices. However, it is unknown if the use of silver oxide in this fashion is toxic in vivo. The goal of this project was to determine whether our silver oxide coatings are safe to use in vivo. To assess the toxicity of our silver oxide formula, mice were implanted with either silver oxide coated titanium discs or uncoated titanium …

Neuroactivational And Behavioral Correlates Of Psychosocial Stress-Induced Cocaine Seeking In Rats, Nicole M. Hinds, Ireneusz D. Wojtas, Desta M. Pulley, Stephany J. Mcdonald, Samantha De Guzman, Nicole E. Hubbard, Colin M. Kulick-Soper, Jessica J. Debski, Bianca Patel, Daniel Manvich

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

A prominent feature of cocaine abuse is a high risk of relapse even despite prolonged periods of abstinence. Psychosocial stress is thought to be a major contributor to the onset of cocaine craving and relapse in human substance abusers, yet most preclinical models of stress-induced relapse employ physical stressors (e.g., unpredictable footshock) or pharmacological stressors (e.g., yohimbine to elicit a drug seeking response) and do not rely upon psychosocial stress per se. Importantly, social stressors are well known to activate distinct neural circuits within the brain as compared to other stressors. It is therefore possible that currently available animal models …

Novel Technology Enables Diagnostic Ultrasound Machine To Treat Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Mice, Ryan Morrison, Mrigendra B. Karmacharya, Chandra M. Sehgal

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

An off-the-shelf diagnostic transducer (ULTRASONIX C5-2) was modified with custom-built circuitry to enable the transducer to produce therapeutic ultrasound in order to ablate hepatocellular carcinomas grown in immunodeficient athymic nude mice (25-35 g; Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, MA, USA). The therapeutic antivascular ultrasound (AVUS) produced by the off-the-shelf abdominal transducer was unfocused, continuous 2.8MHz ultrasound targeting contrast-enhancing perflutren lipid microbubbles within tumor vasculature. Previous research with a dedicated physiotherapy ultrasound machine (D150 Plus, Dynatronics Corp., Salt Lake City, UT, USA) targeting similar hepatocellular carcinomas showed disrupted tumor neovasculature and irreparable dilation of tumor capillaries with subsequent intercellular edema and hemorrhage.1-3 …

Substrate-Dependent Modulation Of Sirt2 By A Fluorescent Probe, 1-Aminoanthracene, David Bi, Prashit Parikh, Jie Yang, Brian P Weiser

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Sirtuin isoform 2 (SIRT2) is an enzyme that catalyzes the removal of acyl groups from lysine residues. SIRT2’s catalytic domain has a hydrophobic tunnel where its substrate acyl groups bind. Here, we report that the fluorescent probe 1-aminoanthracene (AMA) binds within SIRT2’s hydrophobic tunnel in a substrate-dependent manner. AMA’s interaction with SIRT2 was characterized by its enhanced fluorescence upon protein binding (>10-fold). AMA interacted weakly with SIRT2 alone in solution (Kd = 37 μM). However, when SIRT2 was equilibrated with a decanoylated peptide substrate, AMA’s affinity for SIRT2 was enhanced ∼10-fold (Kd = 4μM). The peptide’s decanoyl chain and …

Stage Of Estrous Cycle Influences Behavior After Social Stress, Alexander Jonah Rodriguez

Honors Thesis

Since women are almost twice as likely to develop major depression compared to men, research into this and other potentially debilitating mood disorders using behavioral studies should involve females despite hormonal, physiological, and potential behavior changes due to reproductive cyclicity. Until recently, most studies exclusively used males, thus limiting results of previous research to half of the population. Using adult female C57BL/6N mice as model organisms, we exposed them to novel forms of social stress across five days which encompassed the four-day estrous cycle to determine if the stages of the estrous cycle had an impact on behavior when they …

Investigations Involving Mononuclear And Dinuclear Transition Metal Catalysts For Photochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction, Ansu Edwards

Honors Theses

There is currently a global energy crisis, which is in desperate need of solutions. New energy sources are required that will not pollute as much as our longstanding reliance on nonrenewable fossil fuels as an energy source. This pollution involves large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, predominantly carbon dioxide (CO₂), that contribute to environmental problems such as climate change. In this context, a fairly recent research direction to address this problem is the development of transition metal catalysts that can convert CO₂ into reduced carbon products that can serve as chemical fuels. This work focuses on the …

Cyclin C Determines Cell Fate In Response To Oxidative Stress And Proteasome Inhibition, David C. Stieg

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

In response to various sources of cellular stress, the coordination of intracellular events is necessary to elicit the appropriate molecular response. In particular, the reprogramming of gene expression by stress-specific transcription factors drives the activation of signaling pathways, triggering either cell survival or regulated cell death pathways. The Cdk8 kinase module (CKM) is a highly conserved transcriptional regulatory complex with a role in this decision. The CKM is composed of Cdk8, its activating partner cyclin C, and two scaffold proteins, Med12 and Med13. The CKM is a detachable subunit of the Mediator complex, which interacts with RNA polymerase II to …

The Bombay Blood Group: How Does It Fit In The Human Blood Group, Maya Davis

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

The Bombay blood phenotype is one of the rarest ABO blood group. It is autosomal recessive allele and occurs due to a point mutation in the FUT1gene on chromosome 19. The H gene synthesizes the H antigen which is located on the red blood cells (RBCs). This thesis analyzes the Bombay phenotype, more specifically how it fits in the human blood group. It questions whether the differences between the Bombay phenotype and the ABO blood group affects its place as an actual blood group. The goal of this study is to increase the amount of knowledge regarding the Bombay phenotype …

Implementing Crispr-Cas9 Gene Editing System In Microbotryum., Stevana Reese Schauer

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Microbotryum dianthorum is a species of smut fungus which causes infection in plants in the Dianthus genus. The infection process is aided by small-secreted proteins known as effectors. Effectors may aid in the infection process because they are secreted by the fungus and can enter plant tissue, possibly to facilitate infection and/or manipulate the host. Thus, it is of interest to investigate the genes for these effectors to determine their role in the infection process. One method to study genes is through gene disruption, via the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system, but this has not yet been implemented in Microbotryum dianthorum …

Comparing Cognition In Women Between The Ages Of (18-40) And (40-70), Annalyn Smith

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Currently, 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is a degenerative brain disease. It is currently the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States (Alzheimer’s Association, 2019). AD also possesses a financial burned on the United States, estimated to cost $290 billion in 2019. Sufferers of AD insidiously lose their memory, personality, and judgment abilities until there are no longer recognizable by their loved ones. Currently, the best chance suffers of AD have is to catch the disease early on to slow its effects. This is due to the fact that treatment can only prevent and …

Intermachine Reliability Of The Velotron During Wingate Anaerobic Testing, Caleb Christie

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate inter-machine reliability of the Velotron electromagnetically-braked cycle ergometer for the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) with power-trained athletes. Methods: Anaerobic athletes participating in football or track and field at a National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I program were recruited for participation in the study. Each participant visited the laboratory 3 times (1 familiarization trial, 2 experimental trials) within 2 weeks and at least 24 hours between visits. Participants completed a “practice trial” on the first visit to familiarize themselves with the 30-second WAnT. The WAnT procedure included a 5-minute warmup at a …

Assessing The Outcomes Of Blocking Ccl2-Ccr2 Signaling Axis On Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis, Yutao Qi

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Breast cancer brain metastases have remained one of the most intense challenges for precision cancer therapeutics, but current treatment options are limited and not curative. Recently, our lab reported that adoptive PTEN downregulation in metastatic breast tumor cells activates PI3K/NF-ƙB signaling and increases the secretion of the chemokine CCL2, which enhances the chemotaxis of CCR2⁺ myeloid cells, a major subpopulation of bone marrow-derived myeloid cells (BMDMs), from peripheral blood into the brain tumor microenvironment (TME), eventually promoting brain metastasis outgrowth by driving immune suppression. Here, in this project we have been aiming to develop effective therapies by immune-modulating the …

Unraveling Host-Gut Microbiota Dialogue And Its Impact On Response To Immune Checkpoint Blockade, Alexandria Cogdill

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Cancer is a disease with only one degree of separation, affecting one in two men and one in three women in their lifetimes; accounting for 1 of every 6 deaths. While cancer mortality rates continue to improve, incidence rates are expected to rise and shift through 2050 due to epidemiological and demographic transitions worldwide. As such, it is imperative to continue to investigate and improve our understanding of both disease etiology and hallmarks of response to treatment. Currently, conventional therapies include, but are not limited to, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, within the past decade, major advances have been made …

Effect Of Temperature On Questing Activity Of Ixodes Scapularis In A Laboratory Setting, Molly Meagher

Thinking Matters Symposium

Understanding deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) behavior is increasingly important due to the species’ northerly range expansion, and consequently, increased human contact. Deer ticks are a major public health concern, as they are the primary vector of Lyme disease and other serious diseases. Differences in questing behavior are of considerable interest as fluctuating weather due to climate change effect the species’ range expansion and time spent questing. Although previous research has examined temperature preferences of tick behavior, there are conflicting reports about direct effects on questing activity. Therefore, I addressed the relationship between temperature and questing behavior of adult deer ticks. …

Validation Of A Novel Trpm8 Knockout Mouse Model, Bilan Mohamed

Thinking Matters Symposium

Recent studies suggest that the use of thermoregulatory treatments that affect brown fat may help curb obesity. However it is unknown how these treatments may affect bone homeostasis. Our work has focused on the transient receptor potential melastatin (TRPM8) protein, which is responsible for detecting colder temperatures in sensory neurons. Previous work within the Motyl laboratory has found that Trpm8 plays a role in bone acquisition. Mice with a global deletion of the Trpm8 gene have reduced trabecular bone volume fraction due to reduced bone formation by osteoblasts. However, it is unclear whether sensory neuron or osteoblast-mediated expression of Trpm8 …

Perivascular Adipose Tissue In Relation To Diet, Thermogenesis And Cardiovascular Health, Ginger Paquette, Caitlin Stieber, Ashely Soucy, Benjamin Tero, Lucy Liaw

Thinking Matters Symposium

Adipose tissue is a diverse and crucial component to vascular health due to its role in energy storage and heat production. The primary function of white adipose tissue (WAT) is energy storage while the function of mitochondria-rich brown adipose tissue (BAT) is heat production. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), which surrounds blood vessels, contains both WAT and BAT adipocytes. Dietary calorie restriction is associated with increased lifespan with decreased adiposity. Increased prevalence of WAT-like PVAT, due to high-fat diets and obesity, leads to increased metabolic disfunction and cardiovascular-disease. We used a calorie-restriction model in C57BL6/J mice to test the hypothesis that …

Importance Of Understanding Genetic Predisposition, Andrew Carter

Thinking Matters Symposium

Hypersensitivity reactions can be sudden and are often fatal. Many of these reactions occur as a result of allergies to prescribed medication. Adverse drug reactions or (ADR’s) were show in a recent study to affect over 6% of hospitalized patients and resulted in over 100,000 deaths a year in the US alone. This poster will review the importance of understanding genetic predisposition, through articles about possible genetic causes of allergies to penicillin and other beta-lactams. Changes in a specific HLA gene located on chromosome 6 showed a correlation to penicillin reactions in over 600,000 participants. Another study found a conclusive …

Purple Variety Of Sweet Potato, Ming Gao

Datasets Collection

Purple sweet potatoes are versatile enough to be used in cupcakes as well as ice cream. However, when cooked in their natural state, they are dry and starchy, prompting most to use the purple sweet potatoes as flour for baked goods, or in some cases, for ice cream. Dr. Gao wants his variety of purple sweet potato to be more palatable. Gao earned the coveted USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture 1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant to support his research. The project will focus on developing a variety that is enjoyable in its natural state and is moist and tastefully …

S.O.S. For Covid-19 (Subjective And Objective Screening): Are Asymptomatic Cases Truly Without Warning Signs?, Nathan Hughes

Honors College Theses

This study investigates the usefulness of five objective signs, evaluates relationships between objective signs with symptoms of COVID-19, and assesses the accuracy of ambient forehead temperature with tympanic temperature. Data were collected at Wayne State University. Blood oxygen levels and blood pressure were measured via pulse oximeters and blood pressure cuff. Body temperature was measured with a thermometer via the temple and the forehead. Smell was tested with two scented markers. None of the 29 participants confirmed a positive COVID-19 test. Therefore, only relationships between vital sign measurements were reported. No significant correlations were revealed upon analysis. Infrared and temporal …

The Effect Of A Single Dose Of Beetroot Juice On Speed, Strength, And Power In Healthy Recreationally Active Females., Maya A. Hammer, Ryan Kenney, Katie Price, Chandler Riley, Alyssa Riley, Courtney Merrill, Adam Pennell, Rachel Tan

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BR) improves muscle contraction which is relevant for intense intermittent-type sports. However, few studies have examined the effect of BR ingestion on performance using sport-specific exercise protocols. Moreover, there is a scarcity of research that include female participants which limits real world application given that females potentially have different responses to BR ingestion. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of BR supplementation on speed, acceleration, strength and power before and after fatigue in females. In a double-blind, randomized crossover design, 15 recreationally active females consumed BR and nitrate-depleted placebo juice (PL) ~2.5 …

The Effects Of Nitrate-Rich Beetroot Juice Supplementation On Nonverbal Executive Function In Healthy Recreationally Active Females, Chandler F. Riley, Alyssa Riley, Maya A. Hammer, Ryan Kenney, Katie Price, Courtney Merrill, Adam Pennell, Rachel Tan

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BR) supplementation has been reported to preserve executive function (i.e. decision making and reaction time) before and after a simulated soccer match in recreationally active males, which may be due to enhanced cerebral blood flow. However, the literature examining the physiological response following BR ingestion in females is scarce, which hampers the extrapolation of results since physiological sex-differences may exist. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess if BR ingestion influenced executive function in an unfatigued and fatigued state in healthy recreationally active females. In a double-blind, randomized crossover design, 20 females consumed 140 mL …

The Effect Of Changing Substrate On Arctic Aquatic Invertebrates Abundance, Tom Dolman

Michael D. Wilson Symposium

Climate change is directly affecting tundra ecosystems in northern regions, and warming temperatures have caused discontinuous permafrost and thawing sediments across the region. This project investigates how increasing erosion and the foraging patterns of migratory snow geese may degrade habitat for aquatic invertebrates in the upper Mast River, located in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. In the past two decades, many of the important species of aquatic invertebrates have shown declines. Declining invertebrate populations are predicted to affect aquatic ecosystems and decrease the resources available to shorebirds and waterfowl, which breed and migrate through this area.

Corticospinal Excitability During A Perspective Taking Task As Measured By Tms-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials, Elizabeth Murray, Janet Brenya, Katherine Chavarria, Karen J. Kelly, Anjel Fierst, Nathira Ahmad, Caroline Anton, Layla Shaffer, Kairavi Kapila, Logan Driever, Kayla Weaver, Caroline Dial, Maya Crawford, Iso Hartman, Tommy Infantino, Fiona Butler, Abigail Straus, Shakeera L. Walker, Brianna Balugas, Matthew Pardillo, Briana Goncalves, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Only by understanding the ability to take a third-person perspective can we begin to elucidate the neural processes responsible for one’s inimitable conscious experience. The current study examined differences in hemispheric laterality during a first-person perspective (1PP) and third-person perspective (3PP) taking task, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants were asked to take either the 1PP or 3PP when identifying the number of spheres in a virtual scene. During this task, single-pulse TMS was delivered to the motor cortex of both the left and right hemispheres of 10 healthy volunteers. Measures of TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the contralateral abductor …

Toxic Effect Of Crotalus Adamanteus Acidic Phospholipase A2 On Mcf-7 Cell Line, Daniel J. Petra

Honors Thesis

We are investigating the effect of Crotalus adamanteus acidic phospholipase A₂ on MCF-7 cells using the MTS assay. Understanding these interactions and isolated effects is critical to developing new ways to treat envenomation. By understanding the effects of individual toxins within a whole venom, we are set to better understand the effects of the whole venom and investigate synergistic actions between venom toxins. In this paper, we are quantifying the amount of MCF-7 cell death caused by Crotalus adamanteus phospholipase A₂ on MCF-7 using the MTS assay. Analysis of the amount of cells death caused by the phospholipase …

Long-Term Impacts Of Acute Stressor Exposure On Locus Coeruleus Function And Anxiety-Like Behavior In Rats, Olga Borodovitsyna

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Stress is a physiological state characterized by behavioral arousal that occurs during exposure to harmful or threatening stimuli, and usually facilitates an adaptive behavioral response. The persistence of stress sometimes causes it to become maladaptive, potentially contributing to disease development, including physiological complications with altered neuroendocrine signaling and impaired function of organ systems, and psychological conditions including depression and anxiety. Anxiety disorders in particular are associated with a history of stress and are the most common class of mental disorders, with a lifetime prevalence of 33.7% in the general population. The locus coeruleus (LC) is a major node in the …