Determining age in crustaceans is inherently imprecise because they molt
periodically and do not retain hard structures throughout their lifespan. Morphological
measurements, such as carapace length, are often used to estimate age because
methods for direct ageing do not exist. However, variability in individual growth rate
and molt frequency can...
Two indigenous species of burrowing shrimp inhabit and often dominate the intertidal zone of estuaries along the US West Coast, the ghost shrimp, Neotrypaea californiensis, and the blue mud shrimp, Upogebia pugettensis. Both species are considered ecosystem engineers and play a role in maintaining estuarine health and ecosystem function. They...
Steven Universe, a relatively new show from Cartoon Network, explores an unexpectedly complex understanding of gender through their main protagonists. Utilizing Judith Butler’s work on gender performativity and doing gender, as well as Daniel Dennett’s conception of the self as a theorist’s fiction, and Alexander Weheliye’s understanding of power and...
This work sought to characterize a link between Vitamin C and nitroglycerin at the level of enzymatic bioactivation. Before we could proceed, we needed to develop a method that sensitively and selectively identified the product of bioactivation, nitrite. We successfully adapted traditional diaminonaphthalene derivatization with the use of stable isotope...
This thesis consists of four chapters. Literature is
reviewed in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 describes an addition
series experiment to determine the influence of species
density and proportion on vegetative and reproductive yield
of spring wheat and Lolium multiflorum. Chapter 3 consists
of a growth analysis experiment to determine whether...
A fossil-calibrated phylogenetic framework based on exemplars from each of the four taxonomic sections within Pinus was created using multiple nuclear and chloroplast loci. Calibration at the well-defined subgeneric split within Pinus with either fossil leaves and cones (ca. 45 million years ago) or fossil wood (ca. 85 million years...
In addition to its longstanding recognition as an influential evolutionary process, interspecific hybridization is increasingly regarded as a potential threat to the genetic integrity and survival of rare plant species, manifested through gamete wasting, increased pest and disease pressures, outbreeding depression, competitive exclusion, and genetic assimilation. Alternatively, hybridization has also...
The central goal of this study was to assess Venezuelan parent attitudes toward specific areas of parent-child
relationships such as child creativity, child play,
parental sense of frustration in childrearing, the amount
of parental control exercised over their children, and
parents' perception of themselves as teachers of their
own children....
Recent advances in DNA vaccine technology has brought about a promising strategy for the control of viruses that contain surface membrane glycoproteins. This type of vaccine involves the intramuscular injection of a bacterial plasmid containing a gene encoding a viral protein. The strategy uses eukaryotic processing of the protein as...