Life Sciences Commons^™

Studies On Atp-Dependent Co2 Fixation By Desulfovibrio Vulgaris, Maria Alvarez H.

Biology ETDs

Cell-free extracts and whole cell suspensions of Desulfovibrio vulgaris were employed to examine the fixation of ¹⁴CO₂ into acid stable material. Moderate levels of CO₂ fixation occured in the presence of ribulose-1,5-diphosphate, ribose-5-phosphate or pyruvate with only minimal levels of CO₂ fixation occuring with formate, malate, or succinate. The fixation of CO₂ in the presence of pyruvate was attributed to the pyruvate-CO₂ exchange reaction. This exchange reaction was dependent on the presence of an acidic protein fraction but was not stimulated by the additions of ATP to the reaction mixture. The fixation of CO …

The Effects Of Tsh And Culture Conditions On Nucleic Acid Synthesis In Thyroid Cells In Vitro, David J. Orlicky

Biology ETDs

Cells enzymatically dispersed from ovine thyroid tissue were cultured in Ham's F-10 medium supplemented with 8.33% Fetal Calf Serum and 8.33% Lamb Serum. Cultures were maintained in a humidified 37° C incubator having a 5% CO₂ - 95% air atmosphere. At 48 hours post isolation, cell culture medium was replaced and experiments begun. Altering the serum content (between 4.76 - 16.66%) of the nutrient medium had little effect upon either DNA content or ³H-thyrnidine incorporation into DNA. Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) seemed to have a stablizing effect upon DNA content (between 0 and 7 days post TSH addition), and …

Cardiorespiratory Responses To Submaximal Exercise In Water, Karen Ann Carlberg

Biology ETDs

Maximal oxygen consumption is consistently lower when measured during swimming than during running or bicycling. A number of factors could contribute to this difference, including size of active muscle mass, body position, heat exchange mechanisms, breathing patterns and adjustments to water immersion.

In this study, the effects of water immersion on submaximal exer­cise were isolated by having subjects perform identical work in air and water. The exercise consisted of rowing on a rowing machine, with rate of movement controlled so that the subjects always worked at the same relative workload and oxygen consumption. To compare the physiological responses to exercise …

Respiratory Physiology Of The Scorpion Paruroctonus Aquilonalis, Wayne A. Riddle

Biology ETDs

The scorpion Paruroctonus aquilonalis (Stahnke) was studied to better understand the influence that six potentially important factors (size, sex, temperature, nutrition, season, and humidity) have on its respiratory metabolism. Respiratory rate: temperature relations of oxygen consumption from 5°C to 36°C, and standard metabolism estimates at 20°C and 25°C were employed. Respirometry was performed on both freshly collected mature and immature scorpions and on laboratory-maintained animals.

Inverse weight: metabolism relationships were noted for males and females above 24°C, but below 24°C live weight did not influence metabolic rate among females. For mature males positive weight: metabolism patterns were found below 24 …

Contribution Of The Electron Transport System To The Energetics Of Growth In Two Species Of Desulfovibrio, Burt D. Ensley

Biology ETDs

The growth of Desulfovibrio vulgaris and D. gigas on various electron donors and electron acceptors was measured in order to determine the influence of the donors and acceptors on energetics of growth. When using lactate, pyruvate, or formate as electron donors, and sulfate, sulfite, thiosulfate, or fumarate as electron acceptors, pyruvate-sulfate medium produced the most rapid growth, and intermediate levels of growth were observed on lactate­sulfate, with lowest levels on formate-sulfate. Both organisms grew best when sulfate was the electron acceptor regardless of electron donor. No growth occurred in cultures containing pyruvate and sulfite, and slight growth was observed in …

The Concentrations Of Ten Heavy Metals In Some Selected Lake Powell Game Fishes, Robert E. Bussey

Biology ETDs

Ten tissues from each of four species of fish-large­mouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) and rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) from Lake Powell were analyzed and compared for the concentrations of ten heavy metals: Fe, Ca, Mg, Cu, Cr, Cd, Zn, As, Se, and Pb.

Samples were digested with nitric and perchloric acids, and analyses were performed by atomic absorption spectro­photometry. Concentrations were expressed on a dry weight basis for all tissues, and were not corrected for percent recovery.

As expected, high levels of iron were observed in the blood tissues, with low concentrations being observed …

Macroinvertebrates And Diatoms On Submerged Bottom Substrates, Lake Powell, Ellen T. Louderbough

Biology ETDs

To collect and examine the organisms associated with newly inundated terrestrial vegetation in Lake Powell, small plastic Christmas trees were "planted" along a sloping sandy bottom at depths of 2, 3, 4.5, 6, 8, and 10 meters. For the 17 months from July, 1973, through October, 1974, the trees were harvested and replanted by scuba divers at 4- and 12-week intervals. The macroinvertebrate and diatom components of the periphytic community associated with each tree were collected and evaluated for number of individuals per unit area (density) and species composition. A diversity index was computed for the diatom portion of each …

Allografts And Xenografts Of Thyroid Gland Tissue And Cultured Thyroid Gland Cells Into Thyroidectomized Rats, Jerry Martin Katz

Biology ETDs

The most desirable way of treating endocrine deficiencies would be by the successful transplantation of functional endocrine tissue into the deficient animal. However, unless the donor and recipient are identical twins or from an inbred strain of animals, an immune response is usually elicited in the recipient by the foreign tissues leading to rejection of the transplant. Thyroid gland cells which have been enzymatically dispersed from thyroid tissue and cultured in vitro are capable of reforming functional thyroid tissue when implanted into animals of the same strain. The purpose of this work was to test the ability of cultured thyroid …

Vegetative Propagation Of Saltgrass Rhizomes, Kenneth A. Pavlicek

Biology ETDs

Saltgrass (Distichlis stricta) is a potential candidate for mine spoil-bank revegetation in New Mexico. Laboratory studies were conducted on the vegetative propagation of saltgrass from rhizomes. Optimum temperature for growth was 25 to 30 C. No clear relationship was found between the length of a rhizome section and its capacity to sprout vegetative material. In rhizome desiccation experiments, one-node segments lost water more quickly than did two-node sections. A marked reduction in rhizome sprouting was observed when moisture losses exceeded 35% of the initial fresh weight. Rhizome buds failed to demonstrate seasonal dormancy but were influenced by apical dominance. One­node …

Effect Of Hemozoin (A Malarial Pigment) On ⁵¹Cr Release From ⁵¹Cr-Labeled Rbc's, John E. Heidrich

Biology ETDs

The incubation of chromium (⁵¹Cr)-labeled red blood cells (RBC) at 37° C in 5% CO₂ in the presence of hemozoin, a malarial pigment, resulted in the release of ⁵¹Cr depending upon the species of Plasmodium (rodent or simian) from which the hemozoin was prepared. Hemozoin prepared from Plasmodium berghei caused specific release of 26% of the label from RBC of Lewis rats of age 4 months or older. No significant effect was seen in younger rats since the control RBC's released 55-65% of the label spontaneously. This same hemozoin preparation caused inhibition of release of the …