1025 research outputs found
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The Killer\u27s Dog
No full textThe Killer\u27s Dog, a collection of short stories, is the winner of the Elixir Press Fiction Awardhttps://scholarlycommons.susqu.edu/facultybooks/1054/thumbnail.jp
Kappa Delta
No full textKappa Delta members pose on their Homecoming float.https://scholarlycommons.susqu.edu/historic_photos/1145/thumbnail.jp
Examination of Prefrontal Cortex Microglia Morphology in Males and Females in a Mouse Model of Acute Ethanol Intoxication
No full textEthanol use has been shown to have adverse effects on the brain, sometimes leading to psychiatric disorders likely due to changes in stress-related regions such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Interestingly, evidence suggests that females may be more susceptible to some of these disorders than men. Often, activation of microglia, the innate immune cells of the central nervous system, is associated with psychiatric disease. In the present study, we investigated if changes occurred in microglial activity in the vmPFC in an acute model of ethanol intoxication, and further, if those changes were more substantial in females compared to males. To examine relative changes in microglial activity, we used morphological parameters such as soma area and branching complexity of the cell’s processes. Understanding the role of neuroimmune dysfunction in the development of psychiatric disorders may help pave the way to better public health and treatments in the future
Cognitive Bias - It May Not Be All About Stress
No full textEmotional state can influence decision making, especially when available information for making the decision is ambiguous. This study examined the impact of acute stress on decision making in male Long-Evans rats. Rats learned to associate high value (chocolate) or low value (fruit loop) food rewards with tactile cues of either course or fine sandpaper. Training continued for a period of 5 weeks in which food rewards were buried progressively deeper in cinnamon or coriander scented sawdust in black or white foraging bowls placed on the right or left side of the goal box. These cues (scent, bowl color, and side placement) were counterbalanced within the cohorts of rats to minimize the possibility of bias. Results from training trials indicate rats naturally demonstrate an optimistic judgement when the sandpaper stimulus is ambiguous. It was found that rats in cohort 1 subjected to three days of acute stress (restraint, water, and footshock) and retested on the final phase demonstrated a negative cognitive bias by making decisions consistent with an expectation of a low value reward when the stimulus is ambiguous. However, there was a significant difference in the cognitive bias between rats in cohort 1 and those tested in cohort 2 after acute stress. The results are discussed in the context of other environmental factors that may have contributed to this difference
Sensitive Streams: Seasonal Assessments of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Assemblage at Five Headwater Streams in Central Pennsylvania
No full textThis was the end of the second year of a survey of five headwater streams in Bald Eagle State Forest (Little Weikert, Green Gap, Lick, Coral and Henstep Run), each of which forms a separate cut on Penns Creek Mountain. Conductivity (11-29 µs/cm) and buffering capacity (57.37-304 µeq/L) are low, pH varied between 4.85 and 6.84, but the average pH remained below 6.5 across all sites. We sampled each stream for benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) using the PADEP six kick method within a one-hundred-meter reach each season which were later identified to family-level taxonomy. Compared to samples taken during the summer of 2015, we saw a higher Proportional Bray-Curtis similarity in communities between streams during 2016 (24%-55% and 36%-80%, respectively). Bray-Curtis similarity in communities between streams sampled during the fall of 2016 were slightly lower than those observed during the fall of 2015 (31%-74% and 37%-62%, respectively)
Insertion of Yellow-Fluorescent Protein(YFP) into the ELM1P Kinase
No full textIn Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or budding yeast, proteins exist in the bud neck ring structure that are important for cellular morphology as well as cell division. In this neck ring structure the serine/threonine kinase Elm1p is located and is required for cell growth and division. In previous work Elm1p was co-purified with Gin4p, Nap1p, and Clb2p and the interaction of these proteins can be measured using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) plasmids were used as a template for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the plasmids. These amplified plasmid cassettes were used to transform yeast cells. This transformation created Elm1p-YFP yeast cell strains. This strain will be used to verify the co-purification results with FRET
Climate change impacts on food sources of terrestrial salamanders in the northeastern United States
No full textClimate change is becoming an increasingly prevalent topic as it affects populations globally. Invertebrates are a primary food source of terrestrial salamanders and their decline would initiate a trophic cascade, thereby leading to a decline in the abundance of salamanders. A study using cover board arrays to examine Plethodon cinereus demography has been in operation since 2013. In three of the nine sites, we applied a snow removal treatment to imitate potential impacts from climate change anticipated in northeast U.S. We collected leaf litter samples and processed samples in a Berlese funnel apparatus to collect invertebrates. We identified invertebrates to class level and used gastric lavage to determine which invertebrates are the primary food source of P. cinereus. We did not find a statistically significant difference between snow removal and control sites. Fall 2016 samples are currently being examined and data from Massachusetts will be examined for latitudinal comparison
Impacts of two Impoundments (Walker and Faylor Lakes) on their Stream Systems in Central PA
No full textIn recent years, dams have received extensive scrutiny for their effects on stream and river systems throughout the U.S. Direct land use has also been observed to be a major influence on the water quality of streams and rivers (Robins et al. 1987). The presence of two water impoundments; Walker and Faylor Lakes located respectively on the South and North branches of Middle Creek in Snyder County, Pennsylvania are believed to have a significant effect on the geochemistry and the benthic communities of these two headwater streams. This study focused on measuring onsite physical properties and water grab samples for geochemistry in the laboratory. In addition, to further correlate results, kick sampling for the benthic communities from all 7 sites was performed. The Water Quality Index (WQI) shows a relative degradation in the water quality in the two lakes with respect to both up and down-streams sites
Examining how landscape permeability affects the movement of a terrestrial salamander
No full textLandscape features inhibit movement of species with poor dispersal capabilities and high sensitivity to habitat alteration. Terrestrial salamanders are thought of as incapable of long distance movement, but records indicate that individuals will travel up to 90 meters to return to their territories. Different sexes and size classes of salamanders may vary in their motivation to move across a landscape. Our study examines whether forest roads and streams are obstacles in the movement of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). We began an experimental study at Camp Karoondinha in Millmont, PA in June 2015 to quantify recapture rates of P. cinereus after displacement across roads and streams. A displacement method allows us to understand the movement capabilities of salamanders and how distance and barriers affect these capabilities. Our data suggest that P. cinereus are capable of moving across barriers. Return rates are reduced with greater distance and when an obstacle is present
Age determination of voles (Microtus spp) consumed by barn owls (Tyto alba) based on wear of the occlusal surfaces on individual molars
No full textMeadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus, Ord, 1815) are an integral part of the food web as they often bridge the gap between producers and carnivores. Due to their large biomass and the fact that they “feed” everybody else in the ecosystem, we want to understand the age distribution of the meadow vole population. We examined the wear on the occlusal surface on individual molars found in barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets that were collected from nests in a 0.16 km^2 range in central PA. The molars were identified to species by using an ad hoc pictorial atlas made from the Natural History Collection at Susquehanna University. Our preliminary results have revealed that all 590 of the individual molars collected are from Microtus pennsylvanicus. Based on the occlusal wear of all 590 molars, we defined three age classes (i.e. juvenile, adult, and senior) and we sorted samples accordingly. As most of the sampled molars seemed to have medium wear, the most represented age class (76%) corresponded to adult individuals. This may prove useful in future studies where age determination of the prey population will indicate the ages of voles that are available in the surrounding area, or may represent which age classes the owls selected for consumption, providing an indirect way to establish a relative age structure of the voles available for consumption or directly eaten by owls