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Innate Immunity and the Retinal Pigment Epithelium in Gene Therapy for Inherited Retinal Disorders
DownloadFall 2021
Background: The photoreceptors are post-mitotic (no longer dividing), so the eye has evolved several unique immunological mechanisms to protect the photoreceptors and prevent vision loss. Inherited retinal disorders occur when mutations disrupt normal retinal function and photoreceptors die....
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Insights from Sponge Transcriptomes & Physiology about the Early Evolution of Nervous Systems
DownloadFall 2014
The origin of neurons and neural systems is a research area that has begun to experience increased progress with the growing availability of genomic data from a range of basal metazoans and closely related outgroups. This has allowed a reevaluation of previous models of neural evolution....
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Fall 2020
Rac1 is a small GTPase that belongs to the Rho family. Like other Rho family GTPases, it mediates a plethora of cellular effects, including regulation of cytoarchitecture, cell size, cell adhesion, cell polarity, cell motility, proliferation, apoptosis/survival, and membrane trafficking. The...
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Fall 2019
Cilia are microtubule-based structures that project from nearly every cell in the vertebrate body. While cilia in different contexts can have either sensory or motile functions, all cilia rely upon a core set of genes. When these genes are mutated either singly or in various combinations, a...
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Investigation of transcriptional and translational regulation of the Neurospora crassa alternative oxidase
DownloadFall 2018
Mitochondria are organelles found in most eukaryotes and supply the cell with the majority of its energy needs in the form of ATP. Most of the proteins needed for mitochondrial function are nuclear encoded. Therefore, mitochondria communicate their functional status to the nucleus, resulting in...
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Manipulation of Seed Carbon Flow from Cellulose to Lipid and Protein Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis to Accelerate the Characterization of Protein-Related Genes in Canola
DownloadFall 2023
Canola (Brassica napus L.) is the major oilseed crop in Canada. After oil extraction, the protein-rich seed meal (around 40% protein) serves as a nutritious feedstock for animals and the protein fraction has potential for human consumption. However, excess fiber in the seed meal (about 33%) can...
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Modular Design and Directed Evolution for the Development of Genetically Encodable Fluorescent Sensors
DownloadSpring 2019
The development of genetically encodable sensors for optical imaging has revolutionized the way researchers investigate cellular phenomena. Illuminating the molecular dynamics of the cell has become nearly routine with countless improvements in sensor design and directed evolution efforts to...
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Fall 2010
I investigated the paired sternum V glands in thirty-eight trichopteran families and all lepidopteran families possessing the gland or associated structures. Using my morphological data and literature data on sternum V gland secretions, I examined phylogenetic trends in morphology and gland...
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Fall 2013
A basic tenet of comparative studies of the brain is that the larger size of any neural structure is related to the need for progressing more complex or larger quantities of information, the so call Jerison's “principle of proper mass”. Base on this principle, variation of the absolute and...