Life Sciences Commons^™

Dose Patterns For ¹⁰⁶Ruo₄ Inhaled By Fischer-344 Rats, Gene E. Runkle

Biology ETDs

Ruthenium-106 is an abundant fission product radionuclide in the nuclear fuel cycle which has potential for release as ruthenium tetroxide. This study was designed to provide additional data needed to adequately assess the risk for humans potentially exposed to ¹⁰⁶RuO₄vapor. Fiscner-344 rats were given a nose-only exposure to ¹⁰⁶RuO₄ vapor to determine its distribution and retention patterns. The largest percentage of the initial body burden was found in the nasopharyngeal region of the respiratory tract. Ruthenium-106 deposited in this region was rapidly cleared and excreted in the feces. Less than 1% of the initial body …

Resource Use, Habitat Selection, And Seasonal Activity Of A Chihuahuan Snake Community, Robert Paul Reynolds

Biology ETDs

Food habits and habitat selection were investigated in a snake community 1n northeastern Chihuahua, Mexico, from 1975 to 1977. A total of 418 snakes (20 species) was collected along Highway 16 from Villa Aldama to El Pastor. Examination of snake capture sites for the plant species present, and a study of structural characteristics of the vegetation and topographic features showed that snakes exhibited distinct habitat preferences. Rodent species present and their relative densities were assessed by 5400 trap nights at 18 trap stations.

Digestive tracts of 351 snakes of 16 species were examined and they yielded 153 food items. Rodents …

A Floristic Assessment Of The Datil Mountains, Reggie A. Fletcher

Biology ETDs

The Datil Mountains of west-central New Mexico were selected for a floristic inventory and analysis because of the lack of previous study in this section of the state. The location of the study area in relationship to the Basin and Range, Southern Rocky Mountain, and Colorado Plateau physiographic provinces was a major factor in determining the initial need for floristic work in the Datil Mountain area. An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of the study area was compiled. For those 590 collected taxa, available information was compiled which could serve as a useful tool for land management in this …

Immunization And Infection Of Rhesus Monkeys With Plasmodium Knowlesi: Evaluation Of Assays For Immunity, Robert Charles Jost

Biology ETDs

This study was done to test the efficacy of 3 malarial vaccine preparations using merozoite, schizont, and French press antigens (Ags). The experiment utilized the Plasmodium knowlesi - rhesus monkey system. In conjunction with this study the lymphocyte transformation test and the solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) were evaluated as in vitro assays for protective cell-mediated and humoral immune responses, respectively. Delayed dermal hypersensitivity reactions to P. knowlesi and the proportion of B and T lymphocytes were also examined by rosette formation. Lymphocytes from Ag-immunized monkeys showed greater in vitro blastogenic responses to P. knowlesi French press Ag than did lymphocytes …

Effects Of Inorganic Ions On The Catalytic Activity Of Pig Liver Phosphofructokinase, Lawrence Gregory Foe

Biology ETDs

The effects of inorganic ions on the catalytic activity of pig liver phosphofructokinase were investigated. High concentrations of monovalent anions inhibit the enzyme by decreasing max with little change in the Hill coefficient. The efficiency of inhibition follows the

series NO3- < Cl- < ClO3- = Br- < I- < SCN-, which is similar to the classical Hofmeister series. Low concentrations (<2 mM) of the divalent anions Pi, sO4 2-, s2O3 2- SO32- , and MoO42- all activate the enzyme by changing the kinetics from sigmoidal to hyperbolic, with no change in V max . However, B4o72- has no effect. The apparent dissociation constants of the activating anions for the enzyme were calculated from activation curves for the anions at 0.5mM ATP and 1.0m MF6p.The activation curve for so4-2 is sigmoidal; the activation curves for the other activating anions are hyperbolic. The monovalent cations K+, NH4+ , and Rb+ activate the enzyme by increasing V max without greatly affecting the Hill coefficient.

However, the [S}0.5 for F6P is decreased by these cations to an extent directly proportional to their ionic volumes.

The monovalent cations Li + , Na+ , and C s + have no activating effect; instead, high concentrations of these cations inhibit the enzyme in a manner similar to the monovalent anions. The efficiency of inhibition follows the series …

Clustering Of Phenotypic Variables And Construction Of An Identification Scheme For Human Isolates Of Haemophilus, Lynne Alice Johnson

Biology ETDs

The taxonomy of the genus Haemophilus has been in a state of confusion for many years. As a result, laboratory identification of haemophili has been difficult, if not impossible. Due to the considerable pathogenicity of some members of the genus, it was felt that an accurate method of identification of those organisms was needed. This study has attempted to create a practical identification scheme for haemophili isolated in the clinical laboratory. A collection of 220 isolates from clinical laboratories was subjected to 35 biochemical and physiological tests and the data posted to a random matrix. The 7700 bits (220 X …

PiñOn Pine Cone Assessment By The Clark's Nutcracker, Nicifraga Columbiana, Donna Christine Cole

Biology ETDs

Clark's Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) rely heavily on seeds of pinon pine (Pinus edulis) as a winter food supply in years of good seed production. During late summer and autumn these birds spend considerable time and energy harvesting seeds from green, unopened cones. I tested abilities of three groups of wild-caught birds to discriminate cone quality: (1) adults, (2) experiences juveniles, and (3) naive juveniles. The birds were given choice tests with two cones, three cones, and cones that had been painted. Under controlled conditions nutcrackers discriminated between cones of differing quality. Adults assessed cones more accurately than did juveniles in …

Inhibition Of Normal Human Eosinophil Chemotaxis By Iga Myeloma Paraproteins, Kathleen J. Reed

Biology ETDs

Previous studies have been shown that IgA paraproteins suppress human neutrophil chemotaxis. This investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of isolated IgA myeloma component (IgA-MC) on eosinophil chemotaxis. The data presented here indicate that IgA myeloma sera inhibit eosinophil chemotaxis, and demonstrate that the IgA-MC is responsible for this chemotactic inhibitory activity (CIA). Chemotactic inhibition was cell directed and was lost following pepsin digestion or dithiothreitol reduction alkylation of the IgA-MC. Polymeric IgA was shown to be the most effective inhibitor of eosinophil chemotaxis as determined by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Both isolated …

Nasal Absorption Of Dtpa In Rats And Beagle Dogs, Robert E. Dudley

Biology ETDs

The use of nuclear generated power increases the risk that human accidental exposure to radionuclides will occur. Chelation therapy has been used to remove internally deposited radionuclides primarily by intravenous injection of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). Recently, inhalation of aerosolized DTPA has been shown to be both a convenient and effective means of treatment. Inhalation of aerosolized OTPA through the nose and mouth results in a significant deposition in the nasopharyngeal region of the respiratory tract. This study was designed to determine the fate of OTPA deposited in the nasopharyngeal region of the respiratory tract of rats and Beagle dogs, particularly …

Production Of Canine Macrophage Inhibitory Factor And Its Comparison To Canine Alpha₁-Antitrypsin, Carol Therese Schnizlein

Biology ETDs

Both migration inhibitory factory (MIF) and alpha1-antitrypsin (A1-AT) interact with macrophages. MIF interactions occur during cell-mediated immune responses while A1AT interacts by inhibiting proteolytic enzymes released by macrophages. A comparison of the characteristics of guinea pig MIF and human A1AT in the current literature indicates that both are glycoproteins containing sialic acid with molecular weights of approximately 50,000 daltons. To determine the comparative characteristics of MIF and A1AT, this study partially characterized MIF and A1AT from the dog and evaluated their effect on the in vitro migration of canine pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Canine MIF was produced by stimulating peripheral blood …

Environmental Factors Affecting Natural Succession On Coal Mine Spoils, Jens W. Deichmann

Biology ETDs

Strip-mining for coal and other mineral resources in the southwestern United States has produced problems in reclamation entirely different from those encountered in regions of higher or more effective precipitation. It was the intent of this study to look at the essentially random assortment of environmental factors left after the mining process and to determine qualitatively, as well as quantitatively, which of those factors are more likely to lead to the successful germination and establishment of invading plant species. A second objective was to determine what changes in the spoil material are occurring as a result of plant establishment.

Major …

Sex Ratio: Adaptive Response To Population Fluctuation In Pandalid Shrimp, Eric Charnov, Daniel Gotshall, Jack Robinson

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Pandalus jordani is a protandrus (sequential) hermaphrodite. Populations show large year-to-year variation in age composition. In response to this variation, individuals alter the age at which they change sex. This response is predicted by a genetic model that assumes an individual shrimp maximizes its genetic contribution to the next generation.

Facultative Sex Ratio And Population Dynamics, John Werren, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Eusocial Behavior: Offspring Choice Or Parental Parasitism?, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Assuming the subsocial route towards eusociality, I show that selection favors worker habits (under haplodiploidy) provided the mutant workers are able to bias the sex ratio towards sisters and/or selectively substitute their sons for brothers. If the original workers are not able to do this, selection does not favor the habit. However, under these conditions, selection is indifferent as to whether an individual rears offspring or sibs. This makes it easy for a mother to enlist her daughters services in rearing other offspring, since the daughter cannot evolve to stop the parental parasitism. These results deal with the origin of …

Sex-Ratio Selection In Eusocial Hymenoptera, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Seed Morphology In Identification Of Archeological Remains, Paul J. Knight

Biology ETDs

In the last century, archeologists working in the southwestern United States and in other localities around the world have uncovered a sufficient quantity and diversity of archeological-botanical materials to warrant serious investigation of these materials as a source of data on the subsistence of prehistoric populations.