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Characterizing the Municipal Solid Waste Stream in Denton, Texas

Description: Forty-two commercially collected dumpsters from Denton’s Municipal Solid Waste Stream were emptied, sorted and weighed to characterize the material types and make preliminary recycling policy recommendations. The general composition of Denton’s solid waste stream was not significantly different from the composition of the nation’s solid waste stream. Fifty-eight percent of the observed waste stream was recyclable. Paper made up the largest portion of recyclable materials and the "grocery" sourc… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Brady, Patricia D.

Chemotactic Response of Lumbricus terrestris Coelomocytes to Larval and Adult Stages of Rhabditis pellio

Description: Experiments were performed to assess the suitability of Rhabditis pellio, a nematode found in earthworms, as a challenge organism for use in development of a biomarker assay to determine the potential of chemicals to suppress the immunocompetence of the non-specific immune system. To accomplish this goal, information on the life cycle of R. pellio was determined; including effects of incubation time and temperature on growth rates; along with information on the immune response elicited in the e… more
Date: December 1999
Creator: Medrano, Jennifer Centurion

Comparative Bioavailability of Dietary and Dissolved Cadmium to Freshwater Aquatic Snails

Description: Heavy metal bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms may occur through direct or indirect uptake routes. Research indicates that the significance of uptake route varies with contaminant and organism exposed. The relative importance of different metal sources in aquatic systems was investigated by exposing freshwater snails to dietary or dissolved sources of cadmium. Snails were exposed to control, contaminated food only, contaminated water only, and contaminated food and water treatments. During… more
Date: December 2003
Creator: White, Jessica C.

Comparative Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Diversity in Isolated and Open Populations of Southern Flying Squirrels

Description: Three populations of Southern flying squirrels were studied in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas to assess the impact of population subdivision-due to island formation--on the population genetics of Glaucomys volans. One island, one mainland, and one open population were investigated. A 367 nucleotide hypervariable region of mitochondrial DNA was sequenced in individuals from each population. Individuals and populations were compared to assess relatedness. Higher sequence diversity was detecte… more
Date: August 1999
Creator: Cook, Melaney Birdsong

Comparison of GPS Point Selection Methods for GIS Area Measurement of Small Jurisdictional Wetlands

Description: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) regulates fill of jurisdictional waters of the United States including wetlands. Recent USACE regulations set a threshold of impacts to wetlands at one-half acre. Impact area can be determined by Global Positioning System (GPS) measurement of wetland boundary and Geographic Information System (GIS) calculation of impact area. GPS point selection methods include (1) equal time interval, (2) transect and (3) intuition. Four two-acre shapes were measured with e… more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Shelton, Michael

Culturing Vallisneria americana for Restoration Efforts

Description: Robust Vallisneria americana was cultured for restoration purposes. Preliminary studies, with various iron treatments, were conducted to ascertain the amount of phosphorous release into the water column from sediments. There was a significant difference in the amount of phosphorous released if commercial sediment was used with a low iron amendment or without an iron amendment. The second study consisted of planting V. americana on two different sediment types while supplying half of the pla… more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Tanski, Erin M.

Determination of Dissociation Constants for GABAA Receptor Antagonists using Spontaneously Active Neuronal Networks in vitro

Description: Changes in spontaneous spike activities recorded from murine frontal cortex networks grown on substrate-integrated microelectrodes were used to determine the dissociation constant (KB) of three GABAA antagonists. Neuronal networks were treated with fixed concentrations of GABAA antagonists and titrated with muscimol, a GABAA receptor agonist. Muscimol decreased spike activity in a concentration dependent manner with full efficacy (100% spike inhibition) and a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50)… more
Date: December 2005
Creator: Oli-Rijal, Sabnam

Development of a Pre-Impact Environmental Site Characterization for the Bryan Mound, Texas Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Description: This thesis presents a model for developing site-specific contingency plans to be used during spill response, remediation, and post-spill monitoring using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's Bryan Mound site as a case study. Bird and vegetation observations provide baseline data for biological conditions, and sediment sampling for total petroleum hydrocarbons serves as a chemical component of the model. Results demonstrate previously unknown conditions that would hinder remediation and affect the… more
Date: December 2001
Creator: Hernandez, Sylvia A.

Evaluation of virulence in wild type and pyrimidine auxotrophs of Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the eukaryotic model system Caenorhabditis elegans.

Description: The human opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, has been shown to kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans has been a valuable model for the study of bacterial pathogenesis, and has reinforced the notion that common virulence and host defense mechanisms exist. Recently, the pyrimidine pathway was shown to regulate virulence levels. Therefore, mutations in the pyrimidine pathway of PAO1 showed decrease virulence in the nematode. When starving the nematode, bacterial… more
Date: August 2004
Creator: Anvari, Sara

Evidentiary Value of Condoms: Comparison of Durable Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Condoms

Description: Condom trace evidence must not be overlooked in sexual assault cases; understanding the chemical and physical characteristics of condoms is imperative if condoms are to be useful evidence. Previous research shows that condom identification is possible, but it is equally important to evaluate durability of condom residues versus time. Using FT-IR, this study examined vaginal swabs from subjects who self-sampled at intervals for up to 72 hours after having intercourse with a condom. This study in… more
Date: May 2000
Creator: Belcher, Kelly Leigh

An examination of the riparian bottomland forest in north central Texas through ecology, history, field study, and computer simulation

Description: This paper explores the characterization of a riparian bottomland forest in north central Texas in two ways: field study, and computer simulation with the model ZELIG. First, context is provided in Chapter One with a brief description of a southern bottomland forest, the ecological services it provides, and a history of bottomland forests in Texas from the nineteenth century to the present. A report on a characterization study of the Lake Ray Roberts Greenbelt forest comprises Chapter Two. The … more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Holcomb, Sheralyn S.

Genetic Modification of Fatty Acid Profiles in Cotton

Description: The industrial uses of cottonseed oil are limited by its fatty acid composition. Genetic modification of cotton lipid profiles using seed-specific promoters could allow cotton growers to produce valuable new oils in the seed without adverse effects on fiber quality and yield, therefore making this crop more commercially profitable. Transgenic cotton callus harboring a diverged fatty acid desaturase gene (FADX) from Momordica charantia was characterized for production of alpha-eleostearic aci… more
Date: August 2005
Creator: Rommel, Amy A.

Inquiry-based science for high school students: a forensic unit

Description: This project constitutes an instructional unit for honors biology that involves the use of science in the field of criminal investigation and forensics. Before beginning the unit, the learners should have mastered basic laboratory skills, including use of the microscope. They should also have an understanding of the basic structure and function of DNA and its role in heredity and protein synthesis. The standard time frame is 24 days with 70-minute periods, but can be easily adjusted to meet cla… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Apple, Kendra Kea

Integrating life cycle analysis and the ecological footprint calculator to foster sustainable behaviors

Description: Many tools have been developed to assess global, national or regional sustainable development policies. However, as governments develop sustainable policies, individuals must also feel empowered to affect their personal impact on the planet. This thesis integrates three sustainability concepts that lend themselves to individual sustainability: The natural step, life cycle assessment, and the ecological footprint. TNS serves to provide the meaning and substance toward sustainable development. … more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Anderle, Kathryn

A laboratory course in experimental genetics for the biology major.

Description: This manual has been designed for a class of twenty- four students concurrently enrolled in the lecture course. The laboratory aids in the learning process and fosters an interest in the science of genetics. This manual and the experiments contained within are both informative and fun. The manual correlates with and expands upon the genetics course. Each investigation, with the exception of the Drosophila melanogaster project, can be completed in a 3-4 hour timeframe. This manual provides a “ha… more
Date: December 2001
Creator: Lux, Melissa McNeil

Life History and Case Building Behaviors of Phylloicus ornatus (Banks) (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae) In Two Spring Fed Tributaries in the Central Edwards Plateau Bioregion of Texas

Description: The life history and case-making behaviors of Phylloicus ornatus from two springfed first order streams in the Edwards Plateau Bioregion of Texas were studied from January 1998 to November 1999. Field larval, pupal and adult samples and laboratory rearings indicated a multivoltine cycle. First instars differ from late instars in number of labral setae and in having a unique spur-like claw on each lateral hump. Larval development was asynchronous with second through fifth instars and pupae pres… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Norwood, James Christopher

Macroinvertebrate Community Structure as an Indicator of Watershed Health in the Upper Trinity River Basin, North Central Texas

Description: This study describes macroinvertebrate community structure and assesses its potential in detecting point and non-point sources of disturbance associated with rural and urban areas in the Upper Trinity River Basin. Geospatial techniques were used to quantify landuse within the watershed in a GIS. At rural sites near the headwaters of the Trinity River, collector-gathering burrowers that are adapted to minimal flow comprised the majority of taxa. Destinies of taxa compositions at downstream sites… more
Date: May 2000
Creator: Stephenson, Jaynie M.

Molecular and biochemical characterization of phospholipase D in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) seedlings.

Description: N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are enriched in seed-derived tissues and are believed to be formed from the membrane phospholipid, N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine (NAPE) via the action of phospholipase D (PLD). In an effort to identify a functional NAPE-PLD in cotton seeds and seedlings, we have screened a cotton seedling cDNA (cotyledon mRNA from 48 h dark grown seedlings) library with a 1.2 kb tobacco partial cDNA fragment encoding the middle third of a putative PLDβ/γ (genbank accession, AF195614)… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: McHugh, John

A morphological study of the avian (Gallus domesticus) ductus arteriosi during hatching.

Description: The ductus arteriosi (DA) are two blood vessels connecting the pulmonary arteries to the descending aorta in the avian embryo. Following hatching, the DA closes, separation of the systemic and pulmonary circulation. I present the morphological changes that occur in the chicken DA during prepipping, internal pipping, external pipping, and hatching. The avian DA consists of two distinct tissue types, a proximal and a distal portion. Histological examination shows developmental differences bet… more
Date: May 2006
Creator: Belanger, Candace

A Multimedia Atlas of Dissection for Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates

Description: Traditional methods of teaching the laboratory course for Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates could be improved by applying current computer technology to construct an interactive, multimedial atlas of dissection. Five specimens used in comparative anatomy courses at most institutions were chosen as representative members of the Phylum Chordata: amphioxus, lamprey, dogfish shark, mud puppy, and cat. Specimens were dissected according to the modified method of Wischnitzer, 1993, and each stag… more
Date: August 1999
Creator: Curran, Anthony A.

Phenotype Analysis of the CISD Gene Family Relative to Mitochondrial Function in Caenorhabditis elegans

Description: NEET proteins belong to a unique class of [2Fe-2S] cluster proteins that have been shown to participate in various biological processes such as regulating iron, reactive oxygen species and apoptosis within the cell and are localized to the mitochondria. Disruption of the mitochondrial NEET proteins are associated with different human diseases such as obesity, neurodegeneration, cancer and diabetes. In humans, a missense mutation in the CISD2 gene results in a heritable multisystem disorder term… more
Date: December 2019
Creator: Mungwira, Chipo F

The Potential of Coelomocyte Chemotaxis as an Immune Biomarker in the Earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris

Description: Coelomocyte migration responses, both random and chemotatic, were examined in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. Coelomocyte random migration patterns towards non-stimulatory, non-chemotatic solutions were described. Migration responses to immunostimulatory agents lipopolysaccharides (LPS), N-formly-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), sheep erythrocytes, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aeromonas hydrophila, Eisenia fetida and Rhabditis pellio were characterized. Chemotaxis was reported to LPS, FM… more
Date: December 1999
Creator: Mota, Jennifer A.

Solid phase microextraction of amino-dinitrotoluenes in tissue.

Description: TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) readily and predominantly transforms to 2ADNT (2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene) and 4ADNT (4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene) in environmental matrixes and tissues. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was used to extract ADNTs (amino-dinitrotoluenes) from tissue as a potential method to investigate the recalcitrance of metabolically-generated ADNTs versus absorbed ADNTs. Tubifex tubifex was allowed to metabolize TNT into ADNTs in 24-hr static non-renewal exposure test followed b… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Tsui-Bowen, Alethea

Temperature tolerances and predation susceptibilities of transgenic and wildtype zebra danios, Danio rerio.

Description: Both the upper and lower temperature tolerances of red fluorescent protein transgenic zebra danios and wildtype zebra danios, Danio rerio, were significantly different via two different methods; however, all differences are small (< 1°C) and probably not ecologically important. The U.S. geographic distributions of both transgenic and wildtype zebra danios will not be restricted by their upper thermal tolerances, but will be limited to the southern and western portions of the U.S. by their lowe… more
Date: August 2005
Creator: Cortemeglia, Cheryl
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