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Development Of A Flameless Atomic Absorption Assay For Mercury In Biological Materials And Levels Of Mercury Detected In Striped Bass (Roccus Saxatilis) Collected In The San Joaquin Delta, Patrick Glenn Burch

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The method for the determination of total mercury in biological material described in this paper comprises a destruction of organic matter by wet digestion, a reduction of the mercury by stannous sulfate, and circulation of the displaced mercury vapor in a closed system directly connected with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer Seven tissues from ten samples of locally obtained Roccus saxatilis (striped bass) were analyzed, and a three-fold elevation of mercury levels in the liver over the levels in the filet noted. See Table XIX for a comparison of the high, low, and average values for each tissue.

Aspects Of The Oculomotor System Of Callinectes Sapidus, Antoinette Steinacker

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

An isolated perfused preparation was developed for the study of several aspects of the oculomotor system of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. The system for eyestalk rotation was investigated on an extracellular level. Two antagonistic pairs of muscles under visual and statocyst control were found to be responsible for stabilization and rotation of the eyestalk. The primary sensory input to the muscles appears to be from the statocysts, with both static position sense and dynamic acceleration components influencing the motor response. Two sensory feedback systems from mechanoreceptive hairs were found which influence the response of the eye stalks to statocyst …

Facilitated Diffusion In Rabbit Erythrocytes, Arthur Hing-Cheung Chui

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The present kinetic study of the permeability of rabbit erythrocytes has established that carrier systems are involved in the penetration of certain non-electrolytes. Saturation, competitive inhibition, and butanol inhibition kinetics were used to demonstrate the presence of carrier systems and the values of half-saturation constants (ø) were determined for the following water soluble non-electrolytes: glycerol, ethylene glycol, urea, and thiourea.

These non-electrolytes are commonly used in permeability studies because they are relatively non-toxic and their small sizes allow penetration of the erythrocyte membrane within a reasonable length of time.

A Study Of Lungs In Rana Catesbeiana Tadpoles, Ross Miles Hart

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The first quantitative studies of pulmonary and cutaneous respiration in the amphibians were made on Rana esculenta and Rana temporaria by Krogh (1904). He inserted a cannula connected to an air pump into the trachea and analyzed separately the air forced through the lungs by the pump and the air surrounding the frog. He was able to show that in R. temporaria the lungs and skin are both important in respiratory exchange but in somewhat different ways. Oxygen enters through the lungs whereas carbon dioxide is excreted through the skin. Oxygen intake through the skin is determined solely by physical …

Simple And Facilitated Diffusion In Rat Erythrocytes, Stephen Rudolph Cainelli

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Early studies of the permeability of the animal cell membrane were difficult to compare, because of the variety of cell types involved. In the late nineteenth century, workers chose to use erythrocytes due to their advantages over using a variety of cell types. With erythrocytes a comparison could be developed between strictly homologous cells of many different species. Erythrocytes are easily obtainable and mature cells are separate from all other cells of the body as well as from each other. Of even greater importance is the fact that the mature erythrocyte’s major function is the uptake of the greatest possible …

The Ecological Life History And Feeding Biology Of Batillaria Zonalis (Bruguière), Robert Bruce Whitlatch

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In the present study, aspects of the ecological life history of Batillaria zonalis (Brugiere) has been investigated for a period of two years. Trends in population dynamics and aspects of its biology in two salt marsh localities are described. Results of studies of the feeding biology of the sympatric population of Batillaria and Cerithidea californica (an “ecological equivalent” of Batillaria (Macdonald, 1969) and their interaction with diatoms are reported with reference to food-resource partitioning. The results are discussed within the context of problems of testing hypotheses about diversity and stability in salt marsh communities. Although these basic theoretical questions cannot …

Reproductive Ecology Of The California Sea Mussel, Mytilus Californianus Conrad, Bruce Robert Bartlett

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study deals with the reproductive ecology and larval development of Mytilus californianus. Mytilus californianus is the common mussel found along the more exposed west coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands south Isla Socorro, Mexico (Soot-Ryen, 1955) and was chosen because it is an important species in rocky intertidal communities (being the most abundant if not the most conspicuous) and forms the basis for diverse associations of numerous other species. The reproductive cycle, larval development to settlement, comparisons of reproduction in high and low populations and field observations on larval settlement are described.

The Larval Morphology Of Three Species Of Pagurus (Decapoda, Anomura) From California, William R. Hall

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study is concerned with description of larval stages of Pagurus granosimanus, P. hemphilli and P. hirsutiusculus. All three are found intertidally in Northern California. Descriptions are based on laboratory raised zoea and glaucothoe.

Studies On The Anthocyanin Pigments In Allium Amplectens Torr, Chun-Mei Chu

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In this investigation, the basic pigment component, or anthocyanidin, of the ten most common spots was identified using paper and thin layer chromatographic techniques.

Pharmacological Effects Of A Bufadienolide Isolated From The Toad Bufo Boreas Halophilus, Roy Gordon Knickelbein

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, men have known that the skin of toads and other amphibians possess pharmacologically active compounds (Abel and Nacht,1911;Chen and Jensen,1929;Chen and Kovarikova,1967).All amphibians produce toxins in glands scattered over the skin .Many anuran amphibians have parotoid glands located on the lateral ,anterior ldorsal surface which are apparently specialized for the secretion of large quantities of toxin. W'eiss(1899) and Muhse(1909) describe the histology of these glands.

The Effects Of Phenylbutazone On A Strain Of Fibroblasts Cultivated In Vitro, Ann Weyrauch Bauermeister

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Phenylbutazone was first synthesized in 1946 by H. Stenzyl during his investigation on pyrazole and pyrazoline derivatives. Although these compounds had been studied during the previous fifty years, the pharmacological properties were only recently recognized. It has been used clinically since 1952.

Two other pharmaceutical agents of the pyrazole group are phenazone and amidopyrine; these were used as early as the nineteenth century. While phenazone and aminopyrine have basic properties, phenylbutazone exhibits distinctly acidic ones and is capable of forming salts with organic and inorganic bases.

In order to achieve a more basic understanding of how phenylbutazone produces effects, the …

The Chemical Analysis Of Velella Lata Float, Ralph Lee Gainey

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Everything should be ultimately explainable in terms of the components of which it is composed. In the animal kingdom well over ninety-five percent of all recognized species are invertebrates, a distinction based on connective tissues, though most of our efforts have been directed towards vertebrates for reasons of convenience and closeness to man. Investigation of the various chemicals which make up plants and animals have been diverse, allowing us to get a general picture of what molecules to expect at each state of the evolutionary progression, but for now animal is the information complete, and for invertebrates the information is …