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open access

Biodiversity of Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the South-Central Nearctic and Adjacent Neotropical Biotic Provinces

Description: The south-central United States serves as an important biogeographical link and dispersal corridor between Nearctic and Neotropical elements of western hemisphere odonate faunas. Its species are reasonably well known because of substantial collections, but there has been no concerted effort to document the extent of biodiversity and possible geographic affinities of dragonflies and damselflies of this region. The recent discoveries of Argia leonorae Garrison, Gomphus gonzalezi Dunkle and Erpeto… more
Date: May 1999
Creator: Abbott, John C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Solvent Effects and Bioconcentration Patterns of Antimicrobial Compounds in Wetland Plants

Description: This study looked at effects of organic solvents dimethylsulfoxide, dimethylformamide and acetone at 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1% concentration on germination and seedling development wetland plants. Even at 0.01% level, all solvents affected some aspect of seed germination or seedling growth. Acetone at 0.01% was least toxic. Root morphological characteristics were most sensitive compared to shoot morphological characteristics. This study also looked at bioconcentration patterns of antimicrobial comp… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Adhikari, Sajag
Partner: UNT Libraries

Traffic-Generated Air Pollution-Exposure Mediated Expression of Factors Associated with Progression of Multiple Sclerosis in a Female Polipoprotein E Knockout Mouse Model

Description: Environmental air pollution is one risk factor associated with the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). In this project, we investigated the effects of ubiquitous traffic-generated pollutants, namely a mixture of gasoline and diesel vehicle exhaust (MVE), on signaling pathways associated with the pathophysiology of MS in the central nervous system (CNS) of either ovary intact (ov+) or ovariectomized (ov-) female Apolipoprotein (Apo) E-/-. Specifically, we investigated whether a sub… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Adivi, Anna
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Degradation of Phenolic Acids by Azotobacter Species Isolated from Sorghum Fields

Description: Sorghum plants excrete phenolic acids which reduce subsequent crop yields. These acids accumulate in field soil by combining with soil and clay particles to form stable complexes which remain until degraded by bacterial metabolism. The amount of phenolic acids in soil samples were obtained by gas chromatography measurements, while Azotobacter populations were obtained by plate counts in 40 sorghum field samples from Denton County, Texas. One can conclude that increasing the Azotobacter populati… more
Date: August 1989
Creator: Al-Hadhrami, Mohamed N. (Mohamed Nasser)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Systematics of the Stonefly Tribe Suwalliini Surdick and Behavioral Studies of Selected Species in the Stonefly Families Chloroperlidae and Perlidae

Description: The purpose of this study is to revise the genus Suwallia and to evaluate the potential taxonomic importance of adeagal and other genitalic characters, adult pigment patterns and egg characters. The revision concentrates on western North American species while providing coverage of all species, except Suwallia asiatica Zhiltzova and Lavanidova where only presumed females have been available for study. Communication and mate locating behaviors in adult stoneflies are critical for life cycle comp… more
Date: August 1997
Creator: Alexander, Kevin D. (Kevin Dewayne)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effectiveness of Hybrid Problem-Based Learning versus Manual-Based Learning in the Microbiology Laboratory

Description: Promising results from the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as a teaching method in medical programs have encouraged many institutions to incorporate PBL into their curricula. This study investigates how applying hybrid-PBL (H-PBL) in a microbiology laboratory impacts students' higher-order thinking as compared to applying a lecture-based pedagogy. The experimental design compared the learning outcomes of two groups of students: the control group and the H-PBL group, for whom PBL cases compr… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Alharbi, Najwa
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Evaluation of Diet, Water, and Culture Size for Ceriodaphnia Dubia Laboratory Culturing

Description: Six reagent waters, eleven diets, and two culture sizes were evaluated for culturing C. dubia. Different filtration techniques were used to prepare the reagent waters. The eleven diets were comprised of two algae augmented with eight supplements. Reproduction and growth were assessed to discern differences among C. dubia raised in mass cultures and cultured in individual cups, during which, bacterial population densities, lipid, protein, and carbohydrate concentrations of the diets were measure… more
Date: December 1992
Creator: Allen, Jerry D. (Jerry Dee)
Partner: UNT Libraries

Analysis of Multipartite Bacterial Genomes Using Alignment-Free and Alignment-Based Pipelines

Description: In this work, we have performed comparative evolutionary analysis, functional genomics analysis, and machine learning analysis to identify the molecular factors that discriminate between multipartite and unipartite bacteria, with the goal to decipher taxon-specific factors and those that are prevalent across the taxa underlying the these traits. We assessed the roles of evolutionary mechanisms, namely, horizontal gene transfer and gene gain, in driving the divergence of bacteria with single and… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Almalki, Fatemah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Retinoic acid Treatment Affects Kidney Development and Osmoregulatory System in the Developing Chicken (Gallus Gallus)

Description: Development is a dynamic process characterized by critical periods in which organ systems are sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment. In the current study, critical windows of embryonic growth and kidney development were assessed in the embryonic chicken. All‐trans retinoic acid (tRA) influences not only organogenesis and cell proliferation, but also targets metanephric kidney nephrogenesis. Embryonic chickens were given a single injection of tRA on embryonic day 8. tRA decre… more
Date: May 2011
Creator: Alvine, Travis Douglas
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Isolation and Bioinformatic Characterization of Four Novel Bacteriophages from Streptomyces toxytricini

Description: Six initial phage isolates with high titer lysates were obtained using Streptomyces toxytricini B-5426 as the host bacterium. These isolates were named Goby, Toma, Yosif, Yara, Deema, and Hsoos. However, upon completion of the sequencing, it was found that the Yara and Hsoos isolates were identical, as were Goby and Deema. As a result, final analysis was completed on only the four unique isolates. All of the phages mentioned above were isolated from soil samples from different locations. Al… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Alzaid, Hessah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of Probiotics on Growth, and Metabolism in Juvenile Oreochromis mossambicus (Mozambique Tilapia)

Description: Improving growth, lowering mortality rates, and having a faster turnaround to harvest is essential for the future of commercial aquaculture. The primary goal of this study was to determine if introducing a single strain probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501 into the feed regimen of a commercially important aquaculture freshwater fish, Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), would decrease mortality; change metabolic rates; and increase tissue wet mass (MW), standard length, growth rat… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Anderson, Michael Earl
Partner: UNT Libraries

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
Access: Restricted to the UNT Community Members at a UNT Libraries Location.
Date: August 2004
Creator: Anvari, Sara
Partner: UNT Libraries

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
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Apple, Kendra Kea
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Characterization of the OCT Plasmid-Encoded Mercury Resistance Genetic Locus in Pseudomonas putida

Description: A 17.1 Kb genetic element encoding for mercury resistance (OCT-Hg^r) was shown to translocate from its original location on the OCT plasmid to the resistance plasmid, RPl, in Pseudomonas putida. Analysis of RPl-Hg^r recombinant plasmids revealed that insertion of mercury resistance genes into RPl could occur at a variety of sites, with all recombinants having common EcoRI restriction fragments of 9.4, 3.8, 2.3, and 1.6 Kb, derived from the insertion. Hybridization analysis suggested the existen… more
Date: May 1989
Creator: Armbruster, Steven C. (Steven Christopher)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effector Response of the Aspartate Transcarbamoylase From Wild Type Pseudomonas Putida and a Mutant with 11 Amino Acids Deleted at the N-terminus of PyrB.

Description: Like its enteric counterpart, aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) from Pseudomonas putida is a dodecamer of two different polypeptides. Unlike the enterics, the Pseudomonas ATCase lacks regulatory polypeptides but employs instead inactive dihydroorotases for an active dodecamer. Previous work showed that PyrB contains not only the active site but also the effector binding sites for ATP, UTP and CTP at its N-terminus. In this work, 11 amino acids were deleted from the N-terminus of PyrB and t… more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Asfour, Hani
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Hypoxia-Induced Cardiac Arrest Alters Central Nervous System Concentrations of the GLYT2 Glycine Transporter in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Description: Hypoxia as a stressor has physiological implications that have been a focal point for many physiological studies in recent years. In some studies, hypoxia had large effects on the organ tissue degeneration, which ultimately effects multiple ecological processes. These organ tissue studies played a part in the development of new fields like neurocardiology, a specialty that studied the relationship between the brain and the heart. This thesis focuses on how hypoxia-induced cardiac arrest alte… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Auzenne, Alexis
Partner: UNT Libraries

Pyrimidine Enzyme Specific Activity at Four Different Phases of Growth in Minimal and Rich Media, and Concomitant Virulence Factors Evaluation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Description: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative rod, aerobic, non-fermenting, oxidase positive, pigment producing, and nutritionally versatile bacterium. Infections by P. aeruginosa are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients, given virulence factor production that suppresses antibiotic therapy and promotes persistent infection. This research is the first comprehensive report of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway for all phases of growth in minimal and ric… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: December 2005
Creator: Azad, Kamran Nikkhah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Evaluation of a Constructed Wetland to Reduce Toxicity from Diazinon at the Pecan Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Denton, TX

Description: The City of Denton Pecan Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility has periodically failed effluent toxicity testing. A Toxicity Identification Evaluation has determined that Diazinon in the effluent is contributing to the observed toxicity. Chlorpyrifos is also implicated as a factor. The City of Denton constructed a half acre experimental wetland to remove Diazinon related toxicity. Results from spiking and microcosm experiments indicate that the wetland can reduce the Diazinon.
Date: May 1996
Creator: Baerenklau, Amy L. (Amy Lyn)
Partner: UNT Libraries

The Developmental Physiology of the Zebrafish: Influence of Environment and Cardiovascular Attributes

Description: Temperature effects on the development of the zebrafish embryos and larvae and adults were examined. It was found that the earlier in development a temperature change was performed on an embryo, the more significant the change in survival and/or subsequent development. Thus, viable temperature ranges for zebrafish widened significantly as development proceeded. Adults reared and bred at 25oC produced embryos that were significantly more successful at the lower range of rearing temperatures comp… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: August 2001
Creator: Bagatto, Brian
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

In vitro Cultures of Morus alba for Enhancing Production of Phytoestrogens

Description: Plant estrogens have long been associated with health benefits. The potential of tissue culture techniques for the production of several secondary metabolites has been known for many years. Tissue cultures stimulate the production or induce the biosynthesis of novel compounds not found in the mature plant. Tissue culture of Morus alba, family Moraceae, is known to contain phytoestrogens, was established on plant-hormone supplemented Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. Petiole and the stem tissue f… more
Date: December 2009
Creator: Bakshi, Vibhu
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Use of Similarity Indicies to Assess the Spatial Differences of the Phytoplankton Communities in Lake Ray Roberts, Texas

Description: A study of the phytoplankton communities of Lake Ray Roberts was conducted at three sampling sites on two sampling dates during the summer of 1995, assessing both community structure and chlorophyll a concentrations. Eight similarity indices were then used to characterize and compare the communities of these sites. Both community similarity and chlorophyll a concentrations were evaluated using a minimum detectable difference equation to determine the amount of change that must occur in these pa… more
Date: August 1996
Creator: Banks, Kenneth E. (Kenneth Edward)
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Comparison of Aspartate Transcarbamoylase and Pyrimidine Salvage in Sporosarcina urea, Sprolactobacillus inulinus, Lactobacillus fermentum, and Micrococcus luteus

Description: The enzyme that catalyzes the committed step in pyrimidine biosynthesis, aspartate transcarbamoylase, has been compared in selected endospore-forming organisms and in morphologically similar control organisms. The ATCases and pyrimidine salvage from Sporosarcina ureae, Sporolactobacillus inulinus, Lactobacillus fermentum, and Micrococcus luteus were compared to those of Bacillus subtilis. While the ATCases from Sporosarcina ureae, Sporolactobacillus inulinus, and L. fermentum were found to exhi… more
Date: August 1994
Creator: Barron, Vincent N. (Vincent Neal)
Partner: UNT Libraries
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