Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Energetic Demands Of Immature Sea Otters From Birth To Weaning: Implications For Maternal Costs, Reproductive Behavior And Population-Level Trends, Nicole Thometz, M. T. Tinker, M. M. Staedler, K. A. Mayer, T. M. Williams Jan 2014

Energetic Demands Of Immature Sea Otters From Birth To Weaning: Implications For Maternal Costs, Reproductive Behavior And Population-Level Trends, Nicole Thometz, M. T. Tinker, M. M. Staedler, K. A. Mayer, T. M. Williams

Biology Faculty Publications

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any marine mammal, which is superimposed on the inherently high costs of reproduction and lactation in adult females. These combined energetic demands have been implicated in the poor body condition and increased mortality of female sea otters nearing the end of lactation along the central California coast. However, the cost of lactation is unknown and currently cannot be directly measured for this marine species in the wild. Here, we quantified the energetic demands of immature sea otters across five developmental stages as a means of assessing the …


Inducing Task-Relevant Responses To Speech In The Sleeping Brain, Sid Kouider, Thomas Andrillon, Leonardo S. Barbosa, Louise Goupil, Tristan A. Bekinschtein Jan 2014

Inducing Task-Relevant Responses To Speech In The Sleeping Brain, Sid Kouider, Thomas Andrillon, Leonardo S. Barbosa, Louise Goupil, Tristan A. Bekinschtein

Biology Faculty Publications

Falling asleep leads to a loss of sensory awareness and to the inability to interact with the environment [1]. While this was traditionally thought as a consequence of the brain shutting down to external inputs, it is now acknowledged that incoming stimuli can still be processed, at least to some extent, during sleep [2]. For instance, sleeping participants can create novel sensory associations between tones and odors [3] or reactivate existing semantic associations, as evidenced by event-related potentials [4; 5; 6 ; 7]. Yet, the extent to which the brain …


The Dry Box And C-Terminal Domain Of The Human Cytomegalovirus Us27 Gene Product Play A Role In Promoting Cell Growth And Survival, C C. Tu, Juliet Spencer Jan 2014

The Dry Box And C-Terminal Domain Of The Human Cytomegalovirus Us27 Gene Product Play A Role In Promoting Cell Growth And Survival, C C. Tu, Juliet Spencer

Biology Faculty Publications

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widespread pathogen that can lay dormant in healthy individuals and establish lifelong latent infection. This successful co-existence is facilitated by a number of viral gene products that manipulate host cellular functions and immune responses. Among these immunomodulatory genes are four G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) encoded by HCMV, designated US27, US28, UL33, and UL78. Studies have shown the US28 gene product to be a functional chemokine receptor that signals both constitutively and in a ligand-dependent manner, resulting in a wide range of cellular effects. In previous work, we have found that US27 expression results in at …


Cmvil-10 Stimulates The Invasive Potential Of Mda-Mb-231 Breast Cancer Cells, Cendy Valle Oseguera, Juliet Spencer Jan 2014

Cmvil-10 Stimulates The Invasive Potential Of Mda-Mb-231 Breast Cancer Cells, Cendy Valle Oseguera, Juliet Spencer

Biology Faculty Publications

Cancer is the result of unregulated cell growth that leads to tumor formation, and in many cases, metastases. Although there are several risk factors associated with cancer, one area that remains poorly understood is the impact of infectious disease. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a member of the herpesvirus family that is highly prevalent in the population. HCMV usually causes clinical disease only in immune compromised individuals, but recent evidence suggests that HCMV may be strongly associated with some forms of cancer, particularly glioblastoma and breast cancer. We investigated the possibility that cmvIL-10, a viral cytokine with homology to human IL-10 …


Lack Of Quantitative Training Among Early-Career Ecologists: A Survey Of The Problem And Potential Solutions, F. Barraquand, T. G. Ezard, P. Søgaard Jørgensen, Naupaka B. Zimmerman, S. Chamberlain, R. Salguero-Gómez, T. J. Curran, T. Poisot Jan 2014

Lack Of Quantitative Training Among Early-Career Ecologists: A Survey Of The Problem And Potential Solutions, F. Barraquand, T. G. Ezard, P. Søgaard Jørgensen, Naupaka B. Zimmerman, S. Chamberlain, R. Salguero-Gómez, T. J. Curran, T. Poisot

Biology Faculty Publications

Proficiency in mathematics and statistics is essential to modern ecological science, yet few studies have assessed the level of quantitative training received by ecologists. To do so, we conducted an online survey. The 937 respondents were mostly early-career scientists who studied biology as undergraduates. We found a clear self-perceived lack of quantitative training: 75% were not satisfied with their understanding of mathematical models; 75% felt that the level of mathematics was “too low” in their ecology classes; 90% wanted more mathematics classes for ecologists; and 95% more statistics classes. Respondents thought that 30% of classes in ecology-related degrees should be …


The Unseen World: Environmental Microbial Sequencing And Identification Methods For Ecologists, Naupaka B. Zimmerman, J. Izard, C. Klatt, J. Zhou, E. Aronson Jan 2014

The Unseen World: Environmental Microbial Sequencing And Identification Methods For Ecologists, Naupaka B. Zimmerman, J. Izard, C. Klatt, J. Zhou, E. Aronson

Biology Faculty Publications

Microorganisms inhabit almost every environment, comprise the majority of diversity on Earth, are important in biogeochemical cycling, and may be vital to ecosystem responses to large-scale climatic change. In recent years, ecologists have begun to use rapidly advancing molecular techniques to address questions about microbial diversity, biogeography, and responses to environmental change. Studies of microbes in the environment generally focus on three broad objectives: determining which organisms are present, what their functional capabilities are, and which are active at any given time. However, comprehending the range of methodologies currently in use can be daunting. To provide an overview of environmental …