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Performance And Scaling Of A Novel Locomotor Structure: Adhesive Capacity Of Climbing Gobiid Fishes, Richard W. Blob, Takashi Maie, Heiko L. Schoenfuss

Publications

Many species of gobiid fishes adhere to surfaces using a sucker formed from fusion of the pelvic fins. Juveniles of many amphidromous species use this pelvic sucker to scale waterfalls during migrations to upstream habitats after an oceanic larval phase. However, adults may still use suckers to re-scale waterfalls if displaced. If attachment force is proportional to sucker area and if growth of the sucker is isometric, then increases in the forces that climbing fish must resist might outpace adhesive capacity, causing climbing performance to decline through ontogeny. To test for such trends, we measured pressure differentials and adhesive suction …

The Effect Of Increasing Salinity And Forest Mortality On Soil Nitrogen And Phosphorus Mineralization In Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands, William Conner, Gregory Noe, B Graeme Lockaby, Ken Krauss

Publications

Tidal freshwater wetlands are sensitive to sea level rise and increased salinity, although little information is known about the impact of salinification on nutrient biogeochemistry in tidal freshwater forested wetlands. We quantified soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) mineralization using seasonal in situincubations of modified resin cores along spatial gradients of chronic salinification (from continuously freshwater tidal forest to salt impacted tidal forest to oligohaline marsh) and in hummocks and hollows of the continuously freshwater tidal forest along the blackwater Waccamaw River and alluvial Savannah River. Salinification increased rates of net N and P mineralization fluxes and turnover in tidal …

The Genus Plectrocnemia Stephens In China (Trichoptera, Polycentropodidae), Hua Zhong, Lian-Fang Yang, John C. Morse

Publications

Currently, 21 species of the genus Plectrocnemia are known from China. Examination of material collected from 13 provinces of China from 1990–2005 has revealed 9 new species and 3 new records of this genus, bringing the number of Chinese Plectrocnemia species to 33. Newly described species include: P. monacanthus sp. nov., P. huangi sp. nov., P. maoerensis sp. nov., P. pectinata sp. nov., P. fanjingensis sp. nov., P. platilobus sp. nov., P. paragryphalis sp. nov., P. bifoliolata sp. nov., and P. wuyiensis sp. nov. Two species, Plectrocnemia sinualis Wang & Yang and P. uncata Wang & Yang are synonymized with …

A Genome-Wide Over-Expression Screen Identifies Genes Involved In Phagocytosis In The Human Protozoan Parasite, Entamoeba Histolytica, Ada V. King, Brenda H. Welter, Amrita B. Koushik, Lindsay N. Gordon, Lesly A. Temesvari

Publications

Functional genomics and forward genetics seek to assign function to all known genes in a genome. Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan parasite for which forward genetics approaches have not been extensively applied. It is the causative agent of amoebic dysentery and liver abscess, and infection is prevalent in developing countries that cannot prevent its fecal-oral spread. It is responsible for considerable global morbidity and mortality. Given that the E. histolytica genome has been sequenced, it should be possible to apply genomic approaches to discover gene function. We used a genome-wide over-expression screen to uncover genes regulating an important virulence function …

A Revision Of The Genus Mecistostethus Marseul (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini), Michael S. Caterino, Alexey K. Tishechkin, Nicolas Degallier

Publications

We revise the genus Mecistostethus Marseul, sinking the monotypic genus Tarsilister Bruch as a junior synonym. Mecistostethus contains six valid species: M. pilifer Marseul, M. loretoensis (Bruch), comb. n., M. seagorum sp. n., M. carltoni sp. n., M. marseuli sp. n., and M. flechtmanni sp. n. The few existing records show the genus to be widespread in tropical and subtropical South America, from northern Argentina to western Amazonian Ecuador and French Guiana. Only a single host record associates one species with the ant
Pachycondyla striata Smith (Formicidae: Ponerinae), but it is possible that related ants host all the species.

Exposure To Host Ligands Correlates With Colocalization Of Gal/Galnac Lectin Subunits In Lipid Rafts And Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-Bisphosphate Signaling In Entamoeba Histolytica, Amanda M. Goldston, Rhonda R. Powell, Amrita B. Koushik, Lesly A. Temesvari

Publications

Entamoeba histolytica is an intestinal parasite that causes dysentery and liver abscess. Parasite cell surface receptors, such as the Gal/GalNAc lectin, facilitate attachment to host cells and extracellular matrix. The Gal/GalNAc lectin binds to galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine residues on host components and is composed of heavy (Hgl), intermediate (Igl), and light (Lgl) subunits. Although Igl is constitutively localized to lipid rafts (cholesterol-rich membrane domains), Hgl and Lgl transiently associate with this compartment in a cholesterol-dependent fashion. In this study, trophozoites were exposed to biologically relevant ligands to determine if ligand binding influences the submembrane distribution of the subunits. Exposure …

Purification And Characterization Of Aspergillus Niger Α-L-Rhamnosidase For The Biotransformation Of Naringin To Prunin, Hui Ni, An Feng Xiao, Hui Nong Cai, Feng Chen, Qi You, Yun Zheng Lu

Publications

This study was conducted to increase the bioactivity of litchi pericarp polysaccharides (LPPs) biotransformed by Aspergillus awamori. Comparedtothenon-A. awamori-fermented LPP, the growth effects of A. awamori-fermented LPP on Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus were four and two times higher after 3 days of fermentation, respectively. Increased 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and DNA protection activity of litchi pericarp polysaccharides were also achieved after A. awamori fermentation. Moreover, the relative content of glucose and arabinose in LPP after fermentation decreased from 58.82% to 22.60% and from 18.82% to 10.09%, respectively, with a concomitant increase in the relative contents of galactose, rhamnose, xylose, …

A Revision Of The Genus Kaszabister Mazur (Histeridae, Histerinae, Exosternini), Michael S. Caterino, Nicolas Degalllier, Slawomir Mazur, Alexey K. Tishechkin

Publications

We revise the four species of Kaszabister Mazur, 1972, one of which, Kaszabister barrigai sp. n., is described as new. The other species in the genus are K. rubellus (Erichson, 1834), K. ferrugineus (Kirsch, 1873) and K. carinatus (Lewis, 1888). The species are principally known from the subtropics of South America, with one in Central America. Lectotypes are designated for K. rubellus and K. ferrugineus, and a key is provided for all the species. Ants of the genus Solenopsis Westwood, mainly S. invicta Buren and S. saevissima (Smith), are documented as hosts of three of the four species.

Choline Supplementation And Dna Methylation In The Hippocampus And Prefrontal Cortex Of Rats Exposed To Alcohol During Development, Nicha K H Otero, Jennifer D. Thomas, Christopher Saski, Xiaoxia Xia, Sandra Kelly

Publications

BACKGROUND:

Some of the most frequent deficits seen in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and in animal models of FASD are spatial memory impairments and impaired executive functioning, which are likely related to alcohol-induced alterations of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC), respectively. Choline, a nutrient supplement, has been shown in a rat model to ameliorate some of alcohol's teratogenic effects, and this effect may be mediated through choline's effects on DNA methylation.

METHODS:

Alcohol was given by intragastric intubation to rat pups during the neonatal period (postnatal days 2 to 10) (ET group), which is equivalent to …

Predicting The Physiological Performance Of Ectotherms In Fluctuating Thermal Environments, Michael W. Sears, A C. Niehaus, M J. Angilletta, C E. Franklin, R S. Wilson

Publications

Physiological ecologists have long sought to understand the plasticity of organisms in environments that vary widely among years, seasons and even hours. This is now even more important because human-induced climate change is predicted to affect both the mean and variability of the thermal environment. Although environmental change occurs ubiquitously, relatively few researchers have studied the effects of fluctuating environments on the performance of developing organisms. Even fewer have tried to validate a framework for predicting performance in fluctuating environments. Here, we determined whether reaction norms based on performance at constant temperatures (18, 22, 26, 30 and 34°C) could be …

I Also Survived A Debate With A Creationist (With Reflections On The Perils Of Democratic Information), Kelly C. Smith

Publications

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of debating with a creationist.

Status Of Private Cypress Wetland Forests In Georgia - Alternatives For Conservation And Restoration, William Conner, Laura Fabrizio, Bill Sapp

Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Cytokinin On Multiplication And Rooting Of Aloe Barbadensis During Micropropagation On Agar And Liquid Medium, Jeffrey Adelberg, Jacqueline Naylor-Adelberg

Publications

Aloe barbadensis (syn. Aloe vera) was micropropagated on agar and liquid medium at varied benzyladenine (BA) and meta-topolin (MT) concentrations
(0, 1, 3.2, and 10 μM) for three successive culture cycles and then transferred to a greenhouse for growth. MT induced multiplication at the highest concentration (10 μM) and BA produced the greatest number of plantlets (at 3.2 μM) with optimal multiplication at approximately 6 μM. Liquid medium did not affect multiplication rate when compared with agar, but plants were twice as large from
liquid as compared with those from agar at the time of transfer to the greenhouse. After …

Fuel Conditions Associated With Native And Exotic Grasses In A Subtropical Dry Forest In Puerto Rico, Jarrod M. Thaxton, Skip J. Van Bloem, Stefanie Whitmire

Publications

Exotic grasses capable of increasing frequency and intensity of anthropogenic fire have invaded subtropical and tropical dry forests worldwide. Since many dry forest trees are susceptible to fire, this can result in decline of native species and loss of forest cover. While the contribution of exotic grasses to altered fire regimes has been well documented, the role of native grasses in contributing to fuel loads in dry forest has received little attention. We assessed differences in fuel conditions among native and exotic grasses within a subtropical dry forest preserve in Puerto Rico. We quantified fine fuel loads, fuel continuity, and …