Sense Organs Commons^™

Field Journal: The Excluded Middle, Carrie E. Kouts

Masters Theses

What does it look like to engage with organisms and landscapes at the periphery of anthropocentric value structures? How does one break the internalized myth that the “built” environment is excluded from the natural world? When does a hyper-mobile and hyper-commodified society confront the exponential crisis of animal death? Within this series of journal entries, field notes, collection observations, weird prose, and sensory musings, one will find questions on the nature of being human and the complex narratives of care we encounter in a world shared with more-than-humans. Each handwritten vignette and photograph from daily life weaves a non-linear and …

Dog Sniffing Biomechanic Responses In An Odor Detection Test Of Odorants With Differing Physical Properties, Lydia Burnett, Nicholas Hebdon, Pete A. Stevens, Monica Moljo, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Lauryn Degreeff

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Dogs are utilized in forensic science for their extensive scent detection capabilities. They are often considered the “gold standard” in field detection for targets such as illicit drugs and explosives. Despite their prevalence in the field, relatively little is known about how dogs interact with and transport volatile organic compounds through their olfactory system. In this study, two groups of dogs were utilized – Sport detection dogs (n=19) that participate in the National Association of Canine Scent Work and have achieved advanced standing through training and successful search competitions and law enforcement explosive detection dogs (n=8) which were included for …

A Protocol For Immunostaining Of Macrophages In Whole-Mount Mouse Cornea, Conjunctiva, And Lacrimal Gland, Saleh Alfuraih, Dhruv Patel, Wonsuk Choi, Karthikeyan Ramasamy, Rais Ansari, Ajay Sharma

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The healthy lacrimal functional unit contains a resident macrophage population. Here, we present a protocol for immunofluorescent staining of macrophage markers, CD11b, F4/80, and CD206, in whole-mount mouse cornea, conjunctiva, and 50-μM-thick lacrimal gland section. We describe steps for dissection, fixation, permeabilization, and blocking. We then detail procedures for the detection and spatial localization of macrophages through immunostaining and confocal imaging. This approach circumvents the need to obtain thin tissue sections and acquire macrophage images from each tissue section.

Determining Spatiotemporal Regulation Of Actin Dynamics In Choroid Fissure Closure, Cristal Gonzalez

Master's Theses

There are several stages of development necessary for proper vision. During vertebrate eye development, early eye morphology progresses in three stages: optic cup morphogenesis, basement membrane breakdown, and tissue fusion. Eye development is an intricate collaboration between many cells and requires tissues to migrate and bridge together. The following research investigates the Danio Rerio eye development to understand the molecular regulation of choroid fissure closure (CFC). It is hypothesized that CFC requires temporal and spatial regulation of actin dynamics. We investigate this question using chemical inhibitors, cytochalasin D, an actin treadmilling inhibitor, and NSC23766, a Rac-GEF inhibitor of the actin …

A Guide To Otoliths Of Minnesota Fishes, Baylor J. Short

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Investigations into the diet patterns of piscivores can provide crucial information on predator-prey relationships, population dynamics, and responses to changing ecosystems. However, digestive processes often remove or alter physical characteristics that are traditionally used to identify consumed fish. This problem has been addressed to some degree with advances in molecular technologies, although these methods can be costly and require specific training and equipment to do so. In contrast, bony structures such as otoliths, vertebrae, cleithra, and others frequently have morphologies that are unique among families, genera, and species. Because these structures are resistant to digestion, they can be used to …

Water Transport In The Lateral Line Canal Of The Intertidal Fish Xiphister Mucosus (Girard 1858) And Its Significance To Evaporative Water With Preliminary Observations Of The Metabolic Consequences Of Water Loss, Whitney Anne Gayer

Dissertations and Theses

The lateral line canal system is a sensory organ found in all teleost fish that has a wide range of morphological variation. Variation in morphology may often be the result of evolutionary necessity where the need for function dictates form. Xiphister mucosus is an amphibious Stichaeid fish that inhabits the rocky intertidal zone of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The rocky intertidal is considered an extreme environment where crashing waves and ebbing tides may require the specialization of adaptations for surviving the many abiotic stressors encountered there.

The lateral line trunk canal of Xiphister is regarded as unique among teleosts with …

Acetylcholine Protection Of Adult Pig Retinal Ganglion Cells From Glutamate-Induced Excitotoxicity, Erica Wehrwein, Sean A. Thompson, Sylvie F. Coulibaly, David M. Linn, Cindy L. Linn

Peer Reviewed Articles

PURPOSE. To determine which glutamate receptor (GluR) subtypes are responsible for glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in cultured adult pig retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and to characterize the neuroprotective effect of acetylcholine (ACh) on pig RGCs.

METHODS. Adult pig RGCs were isolated from other retinal tissue by a modified panning technique using Thy 1.1 antibody. Isolated RGCs were cultured in control media and media containing: glutamate, NMDA, or KA; glutamate and CNQX, MK-801, or AP-7; ACh, nicotine or muscarine; ACh and α-bungarotoxin (Bgt) or methyllycaconitine (MLA); and glutamate and choline or glutamate, choline, and MLA. To determine cell viability, cells were …

A Light And Electron Microscopic Study Of Visual Neurons In The Medulla Externa Of The Crab Hemigrapsus Nudus, Yu Cheng Liao

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The decapod crustacean with a relatively well-defined visual system have contributed significantly to our understanding of visual neuron morphology and physiology. The general morphology of the optic lobes of several decapods were initially described by Parker (1897) and Hanstrom (1924). In the past few years, several light and electron microscope studies have been made on the lamina ganglionaris: the first optic ganglion, of the lobster (Hamori and Horridge, 1966a); the crayfish (Hafner, 1974; Nassel, 1976a), and the crab (Stowe et al., 1977; Rafuse et al., in preparation). As yet, no adequate description has been made of the visual neurons in …