Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body by mass, comprising roughly 40% of total bodyweight in adults. It plays diverse and unique roles that include movement, locomotion, and support for posture and internal organs, among others. The structural foundation for all skeletal muscle in adults is formed early...
This dissertation uses manipulative experiments to explore amphibian-Bd infection dynamics. Although there has been almost two decades research since the discovery of Bd, many questions still remain regarding what conditions mediate chytridiomycosis virulence. My research shows how certain host and pathogen factors can influence disease virulence. Identifying how host and...
Large ensembles of regional climate simulations were generated from the weather@home distributed volunteer computing project over the western US domain. Weather@home uses the U.K. Met Office Hadley Centre’s regional climate model HadRM3P (~0.22°) nested within the atmospheric global model HadAM3P (1.875 longitude° by 1.25 latitude°). Simulations from HadRM3P were evaluated...
Mixing of ferrite tracer with silica sand was studied in a 0.91 m
x 0.91 m cold fluidized bed. Inductance probes located Inside dummy
heat transfer tubes [in a 4 x 4 x 4 array] were used to monitor a
ferrite tracer with physical properties similar to coal as it...
Cytokinin oxidase activity in callus tissues of
Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Great Northern has been examined
using an assay based on the oxidation of radioactively
labeled N⁶ -(Δ² -isopentenyl) adenine (i⁶Ade) to adenine
(Ade). Conditions for the quantitative extraction and
assay of the enzyme have been established. The substrate
specificity...
This thesis includes four separate studies. The first two studies assessed edge effects in a
700-year-old forest. After 20 years of exposure, epiphyte assemblages on the clearcut edge
were similar to those of the forest interior, but there were some differences in vertical
distribution patterns. Several species restricted to the...
β-catenin is a multi functional protein that is involved in cell-cell adhesion and cell signaling. In non-stimulated cells, β-catenin is tightly down-regulated by GSK-3β-dependent phosphorylation at Ser and Thr residues, followed by rapid ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. It is well established that mutations within the regulatory GSK-3β region lead to...
In this thesis, we investigated the surface composition and orientation of both pure room-temperature ionic liquids (Ils) and binary mixtures of the ILs of the type consisting of the 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ([C[subscropt n]mim]⁺, n=4, 8, and 12) cation coupled with either [PF₆]⁻, [BF₄]⁻, [Cl]⁻, or [Br]⁻. The surfaces of the ILs...