Browsing by Subject "Biology"
Now showing items 1-20 of 198
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A Naturalistic Philosophy of Play
(2015)This is a philosophical work on the subject of play. Organized around a handful of questions, the thesis approaches inquiry by first integrating empirical lines of research and then applying the methods of philosophy. The ... -
A Next-Generation Approach to Systematics in the Classic Reticulate <italic>Polypodium vulgare<italic> Species Complex (Polypodiaceae)
(2014)The <italic>Polypodium vulgare<italic> complex (Polypodiaceae) comprises a well-studied group of fern taxa whose members are cryptically differentiated morphologically and have generated a confusing and highly reticulate ... -
A Novel Function of Giant Ankyrin-G in Promoting the Formation of Somatodendritic GABAA Receptor Synaptogenesis
(2014)The formation and retention of distinct membrane domains in the fluidic membrane bilayer is the key process in establishing spatial organization for mediating physiological functions in metazoans. The spectrin-ankyrin network ... -
A Phylogenetic, Ecological, and Functional Characterization of Non-Photoautotrophic Bacteria in the Lichen Microbiome
(2011)Although common knowledge dictates that the lichen thallus is formed solely by a fungus (mycobiont) that develops a symbiotic relationship with an alga and/or cyanobacterium (photobiont), the non-photoautotrophic bacteria ... -
A Role for Gic1 and Gic2 in Promoting Cdc42 Polarization
(2018)The Rho GTPase Cdc42 is a master regulator of cell polarity that orchestrates reorganization of the cytoskeleton. During polarity establishment, active GTP-Cdc42 accumulates at a part of the cell cortex that becomes the ... -
A Role for PICALM in Macroautophagy and Cellular Cholesterol Homeostasis
(2015)The dissertation will focus on deciphering novel roles for PICALM in cellular biology. PICALM (Phosphatidyl Inositol Clathrin Assembly Lymphoid Myeloid Protein) is a ubiquitously expressed protein that was initially identified ... -
A Three-Molecule Model of Structural Plasticity: the Role of the Rho family GTPases in Local Biochemical Computation in Dendrites
(2015)It has long been appreciated that the process of learning might invoke a physical change in the brain, establishing a lasting trace of experience. Recent evidence has revealed that this change manifests, at least in part, ... -
Activation and Subversion of MDA5-Dependent Immune Responses by the Engineered Oncolytic Poliovirus PVSRIPO
(2018)Cancer-specific cytopathogenicity of oncolytic viruses is often defined by viralsensitivity to innate antiviral immune responses, e.g. type I Interferons (IFNs), limitingcytotoxicity to cells lacking these responses. However, ... -
Acute and Intergenerational Nutrient Responses in Caenorhabditis elegans
(2017)Nearly all animals live in environments with fluctuations in nutrient availability. The ability to sense and respond to these changes is essential for survival. Nutrition impacts physiology immediately, but can also have ... -
Advances in Bayesian Modeling of Protein Structure Evolution
(2018)This thesis contributes to a statistical modeling framework for protein sequence and structure evolution. An existing Bayesian model for protein structure evolution is extended in two unique ways. Each of these model extensions ... -
An Experimental and Quantitative Analysis of E. coli Stress Response: Metabolic and Antibiotic Stressors
(2014)A series of experiments and mathematical models explore the response of the bacteria <italic>E. coli</italic> to stressors. Experimentally, the effect of L-homocysteine, a non-protein amino acid, is explored, and via math ... -
Analysis of <italic>crinkled</italic> Function in <italic>Drosophila melanogaster</italic> Hair and Bristle Morphogenesis
(2012)Mutations in myosin VIIa (MyoVIIa), an unconventional myosin, have been shown to cause Usher Syndrome Type 1B in humans. Usher Syndrome Type 1B is characterized by congenital sensorineural deafness, vestibular dysfunction ... -
Aneuploidy Tolerance in a Polyploid Organ
(2016)Endopolyploid cells (hereafter - polyploid cells), which contain whole genome duplications in an otherwise diploid organism, play vital roles in development and physiology of diverse organs such as our heart and liver. Polyploidy ... -
Application of Phylogenetic Analysis in Cancer Evolution
(2018)Cancer is a major threat to human health and results in 1 in 6 deaths globally. Despite an extraordinary amount of effort and money spent, eradication or control of advanced disease has not yet been achieved. Understanding ... -
Aspects of the Feeding Ecology of the Antillean Manatee (<italic>Trichechus manatus manatus</italic>) in the Wetlands of Tabasco, Mexico
(2013)Manatees (Mammalia: Sirenia), along with the closely related dugongs, are the only herbivorous marine mammals. Manatees consume a wide variety of vascular plants and algae in both marine and freshwater habitats. However, ... -
Autophagy in Metabolism, Cell Death, and Leukemogenesis
(2011)Tissue homeostasis is controlled by the availability of growth factors, which sustain exogenous nutrient uptake and prevent apoptosis. Cancer cells, however, can express constitutively active oncogenic kinases such as BCR-Abl ... -
Bacterial Communication and Cooperation: From Understanding to Applications
(2013)Bacteria communicate, coordinate, and cooperate as a population and this `social' behavior is key to their proliferation. Quorum sensing (QS) is the cell-cell communication mechanism by which bacteria sense their population ... -
Basement Membrane Dynamics During Anchor Cell Invasion
(2015)Basement membranes are a dense, sheet-like form of extracellular matrix that underlie epithelia and endothelia, and surround muscle, fat and Schwann cells. Basement membranes separate tissues and protect them from mechanical ... -
Bayesian Models for Relating Gene Expression and Morphological Shape Variation in Sea Urchin Larvae
(2012)A general goal of biology is to understand how two or more sets of traits in an organism are related - for example, disease state and genetics, physiology and behavior, or phenotypic variation and gene function. Many of ... -
Bayesian Statistical Models of Cell-Cycle Progression at Single-Cell and Population Levels
(2014)Cell division is a biological process fundamental to all life. One aspect of the process that is still under investigation is whether or not cells in a lineage are correlated in their cell-cycle progression. Data on cell-cycle ...
