Digital Commons Network^™

Investing In Maine Research Infrastructure: Sustainable Forest Bioproducts, Michael Eckardt, Stephen Shaler, Hemant P. Pendse, Adriaan R. P. Van Heiningen, Robert G. Wagner

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The University of Maine, the University of Southern Maine, several baccalaureate institutions in the state, along with other federal, state and local public, private, and non-profit institutions will collaborate to create the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) at the University of Maine. The vision of the FBRI is to advance understanding about the scientific underpinnings, system behavior, and policy implications for the production of forest-based bioproducts that meet societal needs for materials, chemicals, and fuels in an economically and ecologically sustainable manner.

The research plans Integrate three themes. They are (1) forest sustainability modeling of life cycle assessment, (2) integrated …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• All milestones and deliverables are on schedule
• Fall surveys at all sites have been completed
• Mark-recapture surveys scheduled for fall were completed
• Short-term habitat improvements at two sites were conducted
• RLFCT meeting was hosted
• Draft annual report was written and presented at the RLFCT meeting

Project 2. Bald Eagle Winter Monitoring and Evaluation

• All milestones and deliverables are on schedule
• An annual project review presentation was given to Clark County
• A draft final report was written and submitted to Clark County
• All data for this project was transferred to the County …

Joint Fire Science Program – Lake Mead National Recreation Area Revegetating Burned Arid Lands: Identifying Successful Native Species Using Trait And Competition Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, Time Period: October 1 — December 31, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Fire Science

• Article accepted for publication in Journal of Arid Environments.

• Recharged irrigation gel packs for outplanting and watered seed plots at Goodsprings site.

• Completed full year of seed granivory trials at Goodsprings site.

• Presented information on this Task Agreement to 4th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress.

• Maintained nursery plots and added installment of nitrogen treatment.

Anomalous Constitutive Src Kinase Activity Promotes B Lymphoma Survival And Growth, Jiyuan Ke, R. Lakshman Chelvarajan, Vishal Sindhava, Darrell A. Robertson, Lazaros Lekakis, C. Darrell Jennings, Subbarao Bondada

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Background: Previously we have shown that B cell receptor (BCR) expression and B cell receptor signaling pathways are important for the basal growth of B lymphoma cells. In particular we have shown that the activation of Syk, a non-src family protein tyrosine kinase and the mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK), ERK and JNK that mediate BCR signals are required for the constitutive growth of B lymphoma cells. Since src family protein tyrosine kinases (SFKs) like Lyn are known to be needed for the phosphorylation of BCR co-receptors, Ig-alpha and Ig-beta, we hypothesized that one or more SFKs will be constitutively …

A Laser Pointer Driven Microheater For Precise Local Heating And Conditional Gene Regulation In Vivo. Microheater Driven Gene Regulation In Zebrafish, Mike Placinta, Meng-Chieh Shen, Marc Achermann, Rolf O. Karlstrom

Rolf O Karlstrom

Background - Tissue heating has been employed to study a variety of biological processes, including the study of genes that control embryonic development. Conditional regulation of gene expression is a particularly powerful approach for understanding gene function. One popular method for mis-expressing a gene of interest employs heat-inducible heat shock protein (hsp) promoters. Global heat shock of hsp-promoter-containing transgenic animals induces gene expression throughout all tissues, but does not allow for spatial control. Local heating allows for spatial control of hsp-promoter-driven transgenes, but methods for local heating are cumbersome and variably effective. Results - We describe a simple, highly controllable, …

The Acidic Domains Of The Toc159 Chloroplast Preprotein Receptor Family Are Instrinsically Disordered Protein Domains, Lynn G.L. Richardson, Masoud Jelokhani-Niaraki, Matthew D. Smith

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: The Toc159 family of proteins serve as receptors for chloroplast-destined preproteins. They directly bind to transit peptides, and exhibit preprotein substrate selectivity conferred by an unknown mechanism. The Toc159 receptors each include three domains: C-terminal membrane, central GTPase, and N-terminal acidic (A-) domains. Although the function(s) of the A-domain remains largely unknown, the amino acid sequences are most variable within these domains, suggesting they may contribute to the functional specificity of the receptors.

Results: The physicochemical properties of the A-domains are characteristic of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Using CD spectroscopy we show that the A-domains of two Arabidopsis Toc159 …

The Principled Control Of False Positives In Neuroimaging, Craig M. Bennett, George L. Wolford, Michael B. Miller

Dartmouth Scholarship

An incredible amount of data is generated in the course of a functional neuroimaging experiment. The quantity of data gives us improved temporal and spatial resolution with which to evaluate our results. It also creates a staggering multiple testing problem. A number of methods have been created that address the multiple testing problem in neuroimaging in a principled fashion. These methods place limits on either the familywise error rate (FWER) or the false discovery rate (FDR) of the results. These principled approaches are well established in the literature and are known to properly limit the amount of false positives across …

Mir319a Targeting Of Tcp4 Is Critical For Petal Growth And Development In Arabidopsis, Anwesha Nag, Stacey King, Thomas Jack

Dartmouth Scholarship

In a genetic screen in a drnl-2 background, we isolated a loss-of-function allele in miR319a (miR319a¹²⁹). Previously, miR319a has been postulated to play a role in leaf development based on the dramatic curled-leaf phenotype of plants that ectopically express miR319a (jaw-D). miR319a¹²⁹ mutants exhibit defects in petal and stamen development; petals are narrow and short, and stamens exhibit defects in anther development. The miR319a¹²⁹ loss-of-function allele contains a single-base change in the middle of the encoded miRNA, which reduces the ability of miR319a to recognize targets. Analysis of the expression patterns of the …

Rearrangement Of The Rna Polymerase Subunit H And The Lower Jaw In Archaeal Elongation Complexes, Sebastian Grünberg, Christoph Reich, Mirijam E. Zeller, Michael S. Bartlett, Michael Thomm

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The lower jaws of archaeal RNA polymerase and eukaryotic RNA polymerase II include orthologous subunits H and Rpb5, respectively. The tertiary structure of H is very similar to the structure of the C-terminal domain of Rpb5, and both subunits are proximal to downstream DNA in pre-initiation complexes. Analyses of reconstituted euryarchaeal polymerase lacking subunit H revealed that H is important for open complex formation and initial transcription. Eukaryotic Rpb5 rescues activity of the ΔH enzyme indicating a strong conservation of function for this subunit from archaea to eukaryotes. Photochemical cross-linking in elongation complexes revealed a striking structural rearrangement of RNA …

Proteolytic Regulation Of Toxin-Antitoxin Systems By Clppc In Staphylococcus Aureus, Niles P. Donegan, Earl T. Thompson, Zhibiao Fu, Ambrose L. Cheung

Dartmouth Scholarship

Bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems typically consist of a small, labile antitoxin that inactivates a specific longer-lived toxin. In Escherichia coli, such antitoxins are proteolytically regulated by the ATP-dependent proteases Lon and ClpP. Under normal conditions, antitoxin synthesis is sufficient to replace this loss from proteolysis, and the bacterium remains protected from the toxin. However, if TA production is interrupted, antitoxin levels decrease, and the cognate toxin is free to inhibit the specific cellular component, such as mRNA, DnaB, or gyrase. To date, antitoxin degradation has been studied only in E. coli, so it remains unclear whether similar mechanisms of regulation …

Smokejumper Obituary: Herred, Doy A. (Missoula 1946), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Urbanisation In The United Arab Emirates: The Challenges For Ecological Mitigation In A Rapidly Developing Country, Andrew Gardner, Brigitte Howarth

All Works

Th e United Arab Emirates is a small Gulf country with perhaps the fastest rate of infrastructure development anywhere. While there is legislation in place requiring environmental impact assessments (EIA) to be undertaken for all major projects, the speed and scope of development provides special challenges in devising and implementing ecological mitigation against the loss of habitats and biodiversity that this development engenders. Th is paper critically discusses mitigation strategies that have been attempted, and suggests mitigation strategies in the local context. It is hoped that this will assist both the environmental consultants involved in the EIA process and the …

Sympatric Ecological Speciation Meets Pyrosequencing: Sampling The Transcriptome Of The Apple Maggot Rhagoletis Pomonella, Dietmar Schwarz, Hugh M. Robertson, Jeffrey L. Feder, Kranthi Varala, Matthew E. Hudson, Gregory J. Ragland, Daniel A. Hahn, Stewart H. Berlocher

Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Background

The full power of modern genetics has been applied to the study of speciation in only a small handful of genetic model species - all of which speciated allopatrically. Here we report the first large expressed sequence tag (EST) study of a candidate for ecological sympatric speciation, the apple maggot Rhagoletis pomonella, using massively parallel pyrosequencing on the Roche 454-FLX platform. To maximize transcript diversity we created and sequenced separate libraries from larvae, pupae, adult heads, and headless adult bodies.

Results

We obtained 239,531 sequences which assembled into 24,373 contigs. A total of 6810 unique protein coding genes …

Smokejumper Obituary: Ewing, Shane Allen (Missoula 2004), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Penyebab Keberhasilan Dan Kegagalan Praktik Pemberian Asi Eksklusif, Sandra Fikawati, Ahmad Syafiq

Kesmas

Target cakupan ASI eksklusif oleh Depkes RI sebesar 80% masih sulit dilaksanakan. Berbagai studi menunjukkan cakupan ASI eksklusif di Indonesia masih sangat rendah. Ada berbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi keberhasilan dan kegagalan pelaksanaan ASI eksklusif. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggali berbagai faktor predisposisi, pemungkin, dan pendorong yang berhubungan dengan keberhasilan atau kegagalan pelaksanaan ASI eksklusif di Puskesmas Kecamatan Jagakarsa, Jakarta Selatan. Disain studi adalah studi kualitatif dengan 14 informan yaitu ibu bayi yang berusia >6-24 bulan yang dibagi berdasarkan keberhasilan pelaksanaan ASI eksklusifnya. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam dan dilakukan triangulasi sumber data mencakup bidan puskesmas dan suami serta triangulasi analisis …

2008-2009 Annual Report

Lancaster County, Nebraska Extension: Reports

Know how. Know now.
15-to-1 Return on Investment
2009 Program Highlights
Research Confirms 4-H Youth Are Leaders and Contribute to Our Community
From NU to You
http://lancaster.unl.edu is Your 24/7 Local Extension Connection
4-H Youth Learn Life Skills Through Learning-by-Doing
AmericCorps Member is part of Go-Green Initiative
Honors, Awards and Accomplishments
Lancaster Extension Education Center Conference Facilities
Yard & Garden
Plant and Pest Diagnostic Services
Pests & Wildlife
Home & Family Living
Farms & Acreages
Nutrition & Food Safety
Family & Community Education (FCE) Clubs

A Unique Role For The Host Escrt Proteins In Replication Of Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus, Daniel Barajas, Yi Jiang, Peter D. Nagy

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Plus-stranded RNA viruses replicate in infected cells by assembling viral replicase complexes consisting of viral- and host-coded proteins. Previous genome-wide screens with Tomato bushy stunt tombusvirus (TBSV) in a yeast model host revealed the involvement of seven ESCRT (endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) proteins in viral replication. In this paper, we show that the expression of dominant negative Vps23p, Vps24p, Snf7p, and Vps4p ESCRT factors inhibited virus replication in the plant host, suggesting that tombusviruses co-opt selected ESCRT proteins for the assembly of the viral replicase complex. We also show that TBSV p33 replication protein interacts with Vps23p ESCRT-I …

Northeast Research Station Watertown, South Dakota Annual Progress Report, 2009, Agricultural Experiment Station, Plant Science Department

Agricultural Experiment Station and Research Farm Annual Reports

This is the 2009 annual progress report for the Northeast Research Station in Watertown, South Dakota. This report is issued by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and the South Dakota State University Plant Science Department. This report includes weather data, yield comparisons, crop performance trials, corn trials, soybean trials, winter wheat performance testing, Barley Foliar information, weed and pest control, herbicide demonstrations, canola and flax variety trials and more.

Effects Of Temperature On Gene Expression In Embryos Of The Coral Montastraea Faveolata, Christian Voolstra, Julia Schnetzer, Leonid Peshkin, Carly J. Randall, Alina M. Szmant, Mónica Medina

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are expected to be severely impacted by rising seawater temperatures associated with climate change. This study used cDNA microarrays to investigate transcriptional effects of thermal stress in embryos of the coral Montastraea faveolata. Embryos were exposed to 27.5°C, 29.0°C, and 31.5°C directly after fertilization. Differences in gene expression were measured after 12 and 48 hours.Results: Analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated that increased temperatures may lead to oxidative stress, apoptosis, and a structural reconfiguration of the cytoskeletal network. Metabolic processes were downregulated, and the action of histones and zinc finger-containing proteins may have played a role in the …

Smokejumper Obituary: Dwight, George H. (Missoula 1950), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Defining The Role Of Syndecan-4 In Mechanotransduction Using Surfacemodification Approaches, Robert M. Bellin, James D. Kubicek, Matthew J. Frigault, Andrew J. Kamien, Robert L. Steward, Hillary M. Barnes, Michael B. Digiacomo, Luke J. Duncan, Christina K. Edgerly, Elizabeth M. Morse, Chan Young Park, Jeffrey J. Fredberg, Chao Min Cheng, Philip R. Leduc

Biology Department Faculty Scholarship

The ability of cells to respond to external mechanical stimulation is a complex and robust process involving a diversity of molecular interactions. Although mechanotransduction has been heavily studied, many questions remain regarding the link between physical stimulation and biochemical response. Of significant interest has been the contribution of the transmembrane proteins involved, and integrins in particular, because of their connectivity to both the extracellular matrix and the cytoskeleton. Here, we demonstrate the existence of a mechanically based initiation molecule, syndecan-4. We first demonstrate the ability of syndecan-4 molecules to support cell attachment and spreading without the direct extracellular binding of …

Dopamine D2 Receptor Priming Enhances Dopaminergic Response To Amphetamine In The Nucleus Accumbens: Role Of The D1 And D2 Receptors., Kimberly Norris Huggins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In past work, we have shown neonatal quinpirole (dopamine D₂/D₃ agonist) treatment produces a significant increase in dopamine D₂ receptor sensitivity, a phenomenon known as D₂ receptor priming. Dopamine D₂ receptor priming is common in psychosis. Male and female rats were administered quinpirole (1mg/kg) or saline from postnatal days 1-11 and raised to adulthood (P60). As adults, rats were administered d-amphetamine sulfate (1mg/kg) or saline every other day for 14 days. Approximately 10 min before each amphetamine or saline injection, animals were administered the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 (0.1 mg/kg), the D2 antagonist eticlopride …

Investigating Nectar Rhythms In Squash (Cucurbita Pepo): Effects On Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Foraging Behavior., Samuel David Boyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Experiments were performed to investigate the influence of water availability on the diel patterns of nectar secretion (volume, concentration, sugar production) in male squash flowers as well as to discover what physical component of nectar honey bees use to trigger their time-memory. Squash plants were grown in the greenhouse and in the field under both constant and variable watering regimes. Throughout anthesis, nectar volume and sugar concentration were recorded. In the field, the temporal distribution of arrivals to squash was observed with and without blossoms present. In the greenhouse and in the field, squash flowers exhibit a consistent diel pattern …

Genetic Structure Of Yonahlossee Salamander Populations., Joshua Andrew Rudd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plethodon yonahlossee is the largest eastern Plethodontid salamander. It has been classified as a species of greatest conservation need by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). Found only in mountainous areas along the borders of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia, populations of the yonahlossee are considered to be rare and local throughout their range. Genetic differentiation among populations of any species is usually attributable to long-standing, extrinsic barriers to gene flow. Because of their disjunct population structure and some observed morphological variation, genetic differentiation among yonahlossee populations is expected. A genetic structure study of yonahlossee was conducted to identify any …

Reproductive Success Of American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius) Nesting In Boxes Along An Interstate In Northeastern Tennessee., Jennifer Robertson Powers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nest box programs provide supplemental nest sites for American Kestrels, Falco sparverius. When the availability of nest sites is a limiting factor, the addition of nest boxes can increase local breeding populations. These programs also facilitate the collection of data on breeding kestrels.

This study focuses on an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) nest box trail along Interstate 26 in northeastern Tennessee during the breeding seasons of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009. Productivity measures and reproductive success of nesting birds are provided and compared to other programs. The data are analyzed across years and by …

Smokejumper Obituary: Gassner, Richard (Redmond 1968), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Whitmarsh, Donald Oliver (Missoula 1942), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Soil Water Repellency On Post-Fire Revegetation Success And Management Techniques To Improve Establishment Of Desired Species, Matthew D. Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

The influence of soil water repellency (WR) on vegetation recovery after a fire is poorly understood. This dissertation presents strategies to broaden opportunities for enhanced post-fire rangeland restoration and monitoring of burned piñon and juniper (P-J) woodlands by: 1) mapping the extent and severity of critical and subcritical WR, 2) determining the influence of WR on soil ecohydrologic properties and revegetation success, and 3) evaluating the suitability of a wetting agent composed of alkylpolyglycoside-ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymers as a post-fire restoration tool for ameliorating the effects of soil WR and increasing seedling establishment. Results indicate that:

• Post-fire patterns …

Rudra Interrupts Receptor Signaling Complexes To Negatively Regulate The Imd Pathway, Kamna Aggarwal, Florentina Rus, Christie Vriesema-Magnuson, Deniz Erturk Hasdemir, Nicholas Paquette, Neal S. Silverman

Neal Silverman

Insects rely primarily on innate immune responses to fight pathogens. In Drosophila, antimicrobial peptides are key contributors to host defense. Antimicrobial peptide gene expression is regulated by the IMD and Toll pathways. Bacterial peptidoglycans trigger these pathways, through recognition by peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs). DAP-type peptidoglycan triggers the IMD pathway via PGRP-LC and PGRP-LE, while lysine-type peptidoglycan is an agonist for the Toll pathway through PGRP-SA and PGRP-SD. Recent work has shown that the intensity and duration of the immune responses initiating with these receptors is tightly regulated at multiple levels, by a series of negative regulators. Through two-hybrid screening …

Fighting Infection Fly-Style, Louisa Wu, Neal S. Silverman

Neal Silverman

No abstract provided.