Researchers of healthy aging have determined trends between a species’ body mass and its maximal life span (MLSP). Actual MLSPs are then compared to predicted MLSPs and reported as a longevity quotient (LQ). Long-lived mammals, such as humans and naked mole rats (NMR), have LQs ranging from 5.0 to 10.0,...
Eukaryotic cells have developed elaborate biochemical processes to counteract oxidative stress, electrophiles, or carcinogens due to environmental insults. One of these important cellular defense mechanisms is mediated by the transcription factor Nrf2 that have been shown to have decrease activity with age. While the process of which Nrf2 is involved...
Hallmarks of aging include the accumulation of aberrant proteins and a lower resistance to stresses. Because the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) functions to fold proteins and possesses unique stress sensing pathways, the central hypothesis of this dissertation is that the ER is a target of cellular aging and significantly underlies these...
Understanding the effects of disturbance and restoration on a species’ habitat is essential for understanding the demographic rates and population trends observed in a species. Sufficient habitat provides the space and resources required for survival and successful reproduction, such as food availability, access to water, protection from predators, protection from...
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Christian A. Hagen
ABSTRACT
Understanding the effects of disturbance and restoration on
In the United States, the oil and gas extraction industry produces large amounts of highly contaminated wastewater that is seldom treated for reuse in other applications. Current wastewater storage and disposal strategies lead to contamination of valuable freshwater resources that can have negative effects on both human communities and the...
Nuclear Factor, Erythroid Derived 2, Like 2 (NFE2L2 or Nrf2) is the primary transcription factor in cellular defense against oxidative and xenobiotic stresses in higher eukaryotes. This basic leucine zipper transcription factor regulates over 200 antioxidant, detoxification, and lipid metabolizing genes by binding to the Antioxidant Response Element (ARE; a...
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a crucial organelle in the cell where protein folding and processing occurs, and conditions that negatively affect ER functions are highly detrimental to the cell. The accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins in the ER leads to a condition known as ER Stress. The ER has developed...
In the event of a mid-flight flameout of a gas turbine engine, reignition is paramount to occupant safety. Ignition at high altitude can be challenging, due in part to the potentially lower ambient pressures. An understanding of the effects of sub-atmospheric pressures on the temperature evolution of spark kernels is...
Large-hydrocarbon fuels are used for ground and air transportation because of their high energy-density and will be for the foreseeable future. However, combustion of large-hydrocarbon fuels in a turbulent environment is poorly understood and difficult to predict. The turbulent flame speed, which is the velocity at which a flame front...
The Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington in the United States and British Columbia in Canada) is one of the major producers of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) in the world. The expansion of growing area with these crops has resulted in the emergence of new...