Hydrilla verticillata is an invasive aquatic weed in the United States that has recently developed resistance to the herbicide fluridone due to point mutations in the pds gene. I amplified and sequenced the pds gene of 49 hydrilla samples from five Florida water bodies that vary in resistance to fluridone from none to very high. Genetic diversity within individuals was high with most individuals having 2-3 different pds alleles. I found two previously described resistance alleles and their occurrence across water bodies was broadly consistent with the observed levels of fluridone resistance. Fluridone resistance alleles were also cloned at higher frequencies within individuals than the susceptible alleles in water bodies with intermediate and high resistance to fluridone suggesting there are multiple copies of these alleles. Our study suggests that point mutations and allele copy number may both be responsible for fluridone resistance in hydrilla.

Increased awareness to the repercussions of unethical behavior in recent years has led to the development of various ethics training programs and studies examining the factors that influence ethical behavior. Although effective training programs have been established, these programs are lengthy, time intensive, and require sacrifices on the part of the participant. Further, multiple factors have been shown to impact ethical behavior, but research on factors that affect the perception of ethical dilemmas has been limited. The present studies examine of the effect of a cognitive guide map (ACED IT) and two individual factors, trait self-control and emotional intelligence, on participant perceptions of ethical dilemmas. Results indicate that the use of ACED IT positively affects ethical judgments, while emotional intelligence positively affects ethical identifications and intentions.

The present experiments were designed to study transfer of tolerance to frustration through paradigms. Animals were exposed to a surprising reward reduction via consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC), enhanced counterconditioning to the reward reduction via naloxone (Nlx) administration, and tolerance to frustration was examined in these same animals via the partial reinforcement acquisition effect (PRAE), the partial reinfocement extinction effect (PREE), and anxiety induced open-field activity. The results revealed Nlx enhanced and lengthened the cSNC effect while having no effect on unshifted animals. Previously downshifted animals with previous Nlx administration in cSNC showed an elimination of the PRAE , while Nlx had no effect on the PRAE in previously unshifted animals or on PREE in all animals. Nlx exposure to previously unshifted continuously reinforced animals demonstrated an increase in ambulation in the open-field apparatus.

<bold>ABSTRACT</bold> VOLCANOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF CAMBRIAN RIFT-RELATED IGNEOUS ROCKS IN THE WESTERN ARBUCKLE MOUNTAINS, SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA by Amy Michelle Eschberger, M.S., 2012 Department of Geology, Energy and the Environment Texas Christian University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Richard Hanson, Professor of Geology The Carlton Rhyolite Group formed within a major Cambrian rift in southern Oklahoma. The rhyolites are exposed in the Wichita Mountains of southwestern Oklahoma and in the East and West Timbered Hills in the Arbuckle Mountains. My project is the first modern study of the Arbuckle rhyolites. Two thick rhyolite flows are present in the East Timbered Hills and are separated by a lacustrine volcaniclastic sequence. The nearest basement well shows a similar series of rhyolite lavas, but correlation between units in the two areas is not possible. Studies of an igneous breccia in the West Timbered Hills show it to represent a basaltic phreatomagmatic vent complex. The Arbuckle rhyolites have similar A-type geochemical compositions to those in the Wichitas and are divided into four distinct trace element groups. Late diabases in the Arbuckles show geochemical affinities to within-plate tholeiitic to alkaline basalts, similar to those documented in the Wichitas.

N-terminal (N<super>&alpha;</super>) protein acetylation, one of the most common post-translational modifications in eukaryotes, plays a pivotal role in the stability, activity and targeting of certain proteins (Chapter 1). This protein modification is significantly less frequent in prokaryotes. In <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>, the only N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetyltransferases identified are RimI, RimJ, and RimL, which acetylate the ribosomal proteins S18, S5 and L7/L12, respectively. Although most eukaryotic proteins are not acetylated when ectopically expressed in <italic>E. coli</italic>, partial or complete N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation has been reported for several recombinant proteins. Just recently, it was demonstrated that N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation of the thymosin &alpha;1 fusion proteins is catalyzed by RimJ. For most other proteins, however, the underlying mechanism of N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation remains unknown. We recently observed that the Z-domain protein, a small three-helix bundle protein derived from the <italic>Staphylococcal</italic> protein A, is N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylated only under certain conditions. We decided to use the Z-domain as a model protein to study the N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation in <italic>E. coli</italic>. We revealed that the N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation of the Z-domain depends on the <italic>E. coli</italic> strains, expression vectors and amino acid residues near the N-terminus, and is enhanced by high cellular levels of RimJ (Chapter 2). In order to systematically study the sequence dependence of the N-terminal methionine cleavage and RimJ-mediated N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation in <italic>E. coli</italic>, the Z-domain variants differing by the second or third amino acid residue were expressed and analyzed by mass spectrometry (Chapter 3). The initiating methionine residue of the Z-domain was removed only when a small and uncharged amino acid residue was in the second position. Only subsequent to the cleavage of the initiating methionine residue, the RimJ-catalyzed N-terminal acetylation mainly occurred at the N-terminal serine and threonine residues and was significantly enhanced by a hydrophobic or negatively charged residue in the penultimate position. Although primarily used for analysis of N-terminal acetylation, mass spectrometry often requires careful sample preparation and expensive instrumentation. Therefore, in order to find a simple and sensitive method to analyze the acetylation status of proteins, we developed a fluorogenic derivatization method using 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-Cl) (Chapter 4). The unacetylated protein selectively reacted with NBD-Cl at neutral pH to provide high fluorescence. In contrast, the N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylated protein was essentially non-fluorescent under the same conditions despite the presence of many internal lysine residues. This method should be particularly useful for a large scale high-throughput proteomic analysis of protein N<super>&alpha;</super>-acetylation.

The life cycles of galaxies over cosmic time is yet to be fully understood. How did galaxies evolve from their formative stages to the structures we observe today? This dissertation details the identification and analysis of a sample of Luminous Blue Compact Galaxies (LBCGs), a class of galaxy in the local (z < 0.05) universe exhibit- ing blue colors, high surface brightness, and high star formation rates. These systems appear to be very similar in their global properties to the early evolutionary phases of most galaxies, however their locality permits detailed investigation over a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum in contrast to the smaller angular sizes and extreme faintness of distant galaxies. We use a combination of optical, ultraviolet, and infrared data to investigate a sample of LBCGs utilizing space and ground-based data.

High self-control is a dispositional feature that is strongly related to success. Having high self-control is associated with outcomes such as goal achievement success in school and at work, as well as better interpersonal functioning both as individuals and in groups. This project was interested in developing a "treatment-friendly" self-control scale in order to measure the relationship of dispositional self-control to substance abuse treatment outcomes. Using the Self-Control Scale (SCS; Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone, 2004) as a model, items embedded a standard instrument, the Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment (CEST; Simpson, Joe, Knight, Rowan-Szal, & Gray, 2012), were selected for the new CEST Self-Control scale. This project includes three studies that present psychometric results from diverse samples, incarcerated adults, university students, and adolescents in substance abuse treatment. In the student sample, this project uniquely presents CEST scale scores from a sample of normal-functioning individuals living in a non-substance abuse treatment, non-prison setting. The CEST-SC scale demonstrated good internal reliability, convergent validity, and cross-validity when compared to the SCS. It showed promise in predicting treatment outcomes. Once fully implemented, the CEST-SC has potential as a "treatment-friendly" self-control scale.

Ultraviolet light is typically associated with negative effects (e.g. cancer, sunburn etc.). However, recent studies have demonstrated the importance of ultraviolet light for calcium metabolism through production and regulation of vitamin D3. The present study surveyed the UVB exposure of three species of snakes at the Old Sabine Bottom Wildlife Management Area, in East Texas. Exposure of 40 snakes encountered in the field during daylight hours was measured with a Solartech 6.2 UVB meter. Agkistrodon piscivorus had the lowest mean UVB exposure (10.3 + 1.9 μW cm-2), while Nerodia erythrogaster experienced the highest mean UVB exposure (36.6 + 8.2 μW cm-2). Thamnophis proximus showed an intermediate UVB exposure (28.8 + 6.5 μW cm-2). Possible reasons for the differences of mean UVB exposure are discussed. The mean UVB exposure of the three snake species was also compared with that of 8 species of lizards. Finally, the microhabitat was described for each species of snake.

The Barnett Shale (Mississippian) in the Delaware basin has the potential to be a prolific gas producer. It is organic-rich and thermally mature over large portions of the basin. Depths to the Barnett range from 7,000 feet along the western edge of the basin to more than 18,000 feet along the basin axis. The Barnett Shale began generating gas 250 Ma ago and remains in the gas window to this day. The shale can be divided into an upper clastic unit and a lower limy unit by changes in resistivity. The lower unit can be subdivided into five subunits by distinctive well-log markers. Preliminary analyses suggest that intervals in the lower Barnett marked by high resistivity and high neutron porosity readings on well-logs have high gas contents. Areas in which to focus future exploration can be delineated by mapping net-resistivity greater than 50 ohmm in the lower Barnett.

This study investigated the mechanisms that mediate cocaines effects on self-control and impulsive behavior in rats. Rats were exposed to a discrete-trials self-control procedure in which a lever press to one lever produced 1 pellet of food following a 1 s delay and a lever press to the opposite lever produced 3 pellets of food following a 3 s delay. Rats were given 0 ,7.5, 15 and 30 mg/kg of cocaine and 0, .01, .10 and 1.0 mg/kg of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist Ly-278,584 separately and in combination with each other to assess the effects of 5HT3 receptor inhibition on cocaines effects on self-control. Results revealed a decrease in self-control when the two drugs were administered together. Therefore, results support past research suggesting that serotonergic and dopaminergic systems play a role in mediating the behavioral effects of cocaine.