Other Life Sciences Commons^™

On The Origins Of Life — Modelling The Initial Stages Of Complex Coacervate Droplet Formation, Yixuan Wu

Western Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards (WLURAs)

Coacervate droplets are considered a plausible model for protocells due to their spontaneous formation and ability to compartmentalize macromolecules such as nucleic acid and peptides. Although experimental studies have observed and synthesized coacervates under different laboratory conditions, little is known about their structure. Here we present atomistic molecular dynamic simulations of the interactions between water and oppositely charged proteins that cluster together in a salt-dependent process. Observing such liquid-liquid phase separation on an atomic level would serve as a model for the initial stages of complex coacervate formation. Molecular Dynamics was used to compute diagnostics of the structure at different …

Species Pluralism: Conceptual, Ontological, And Practical Dimensions, Justin Bzovy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Species are central to biology, but there is currently no agreement on what the adequate species concept should be, and many have adopted a pluralist stance: different species concepts will be required for different purposes. This thesis is a multidimensional analysis of species pluralism. First I explicate how pluralism differs monism and relativism. I then consider the history of species pluralism. I argue that we must re-frame the species problem, and that re-evaluating Aristotle's role in the histories of systematics can shed light on pluralism. Next I consider different forms of pluralism: evolutionary and extra-evolutionary species pluralism, which differ in …

Morphological And Molecular Systematics Of Resupinatus (Basidiomycota), Jennifer Mcdonald

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cyphelloid fungi are, compared to their gilled relatives, poorly studied and understood. Within the tribe Resupinateae (which includes the genera Resupinatus, Stigmatolemma, Aphyllotus and Stromatocyphella), little is known about the evolution of the cyphelloid fruit body form. How many times has this reduced morphology evolved within the group? Do all cyphelloid members that are currently treated in this group belong there? Are there other described species of cyphelloid fungi currently treated in other genera that belong within the Resupinateae? This study presents phylogenies of the cyphelloid and small lamellate members of the Resupinateae based on rDNA …

Molecular Mechanisms Linking Amino Acid (Leucine) Deprivation To Igfbp-1 Hyperphosphorylation In Fetal Growth Restriction, Niyati M. Malkani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this study, we explore the molecular mechanisms linking amino acid (leucine) deprivation to IGFBP-1 hyperphosphorylation in vitro. During pregnancy, a maladaptive fetal response to in utero amino acid deprivation leads to Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR). FGR infants display elevated phosphorylated IGFBP-1, which is associated with decreased IGF-I bioavailability. Leucine deprivation inhibits mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling and stimulates the amino acid response (AAR). Using HepG2 cells, a model for fetal hepatocytes, we demonstrate that in leucine deprivation, the AAR modulates total and phosphorylated IGFBP-1 while mTOR mediates total IGFBP-1 secretion only. We also reveal that protein kinases …

Governing Occupation Through Constructions Of Risk: The Case Of The Aging Driver, Silke Dennhardt

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Risk and risk-management have become increasingly pervasive features of modern society and governmentality scholars have highlighted various ways risk discourses are taken up to govern citizens and their everyday conduct. Thus, attending to risk is imperative to advance an understanding of how everyday occupation is shaped and governed within contemporary society. Within this study, the example of driving in later life is drawn upon to address two objectives: 1. to advance the understanding of how risk is taken up to govern everyday occupation, and 2. to explicate how risk is taken up in discourses to constitute particular subjectivities and their …

A Profile Of Canadians Over The Age Of 65 Years Living With Coexisting Vision And Mobility Impairments: A Sequential Mixed Method Analysis, Jessica G. Huber-Wilhelm

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this dissertation was (i) to investigate the prevalence of older Canadian adults living with coexisting vision and mobility impairments, and (ii) to describe how disability associated with both impairments relate to health status, activities of daily living, physical activity participation, assistive technology use, and health care services. These goals were achieved by using mixed methodology approach.

The first manuscript was based on secondary analyses of the 2006/2007 National Population Health Survey (NPHS). The results of the secondary analysis of the NPHS revealed that approximately 3% of the Canadian population over the age of 65 was living with …