Biology Commons^™

Measurement Of Fungal Biomass In Wooden Art Objects Using Atp Photometry And Energy Charge, Fernando Nieto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this study ATP photometry and energy charge (EC) measurements were used to detect and quantify fungal biomass in wood. Three species of wood decaying fungi were used: Phanerochaete chrysosporium (white rot), Poria placenta (brown rot), and Chaetomnium globosum (soft rot). The fungi were grown in malt extract broth (MEB) for one month at 25 °C, and sampled at selected intervals to measure the ATP content and the EC of the mycelium. The mycelia were ground and extracted with cold 5% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) for 20 hours. The conversion factors calculated were based upon the EC of the mycelium. When …

Structural And Functional Studies Of The Tryptophan Operon Of Bacillus Pumilus, Miriam V. Rivas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The nucleotide sequence of the trpE, trpD, and 5’trpC genes of the Bacillus pumilus tryptophan operon was determined for a comparative evaluation. DNA comparisons to the tryptophan operon of a related species, Bacillus subtilis, showed 66% base homology. The overlapping of translational start and stop signals indicate that, similar to Escherichia coli, the trpE, trpD, and trpC genes of the B.pumilus trp operon are translationally coupled. The values for amino acid identity between the two Bacilli showed 68, 62, and 65% for trpE, trpD and 5’trpC genes, respectively. Charge related residues …

Amino Acids And N-Acetyl-Aspartyl-Glutamate As Neurotransmitter Candidates In The Monkey Retinogeniculate Pathways, Ricardo A. Molinar-Rode

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) receives chemically identified inputs from brain stem structures, the thalamus and visual cortex. The identity of the neurotransmitter(s) in the retinal input, however, is unknown.

To investigate the possibility that some amino acids and certain dipeptides, such as N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (NAAG), fulfill this function, changes in their concentration were measured in the optic tract, parvocellular and magno-cellular segments of the LGNd, superior colliculus and visual cortex of six monkeys (Macaca fascicularis), seven days after right optic tractotomy. The LGNd was studied also in two additional macaques, three months after occipital lobectomy. Tissue was frozen within five …

The Ontogeny And Functional Significance Of Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone (Lhrh) Containing Centers Of The Brain Of The Freshwater Teleost, Xiphophorus Maculatus, Leslie R. Halpern-Sebold

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The use of cytometric, immunocytochemical and radioimmunological methods has allowed the investigation of the ontogeny and functional significance of LHRH containing centers in sibling platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) genetically determined to reach sexual maturity at different ages and in adult fish which were hypophysectomized and given replacement therapy with gonadotropin.

There is a sequential development of three immunoreactive (ir-) LHRH centers in the brain that is directly related to stage, not age of sexual maturation. The first region to contain ir-LHRH is the nucleus olfactoretinalis (NOR). Ir-LHRH then appears in the nucleus preopticus periventricularis (NPP), followed by the nucleus lateralis tuberis …

The Basicranial Anatomy Of The Nimravidae (Mammalia: Carnivora): Character Analyses And Phylogenetic Inferences, Nancy Ann Neff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The phylogenetic relationships of the Nimravidae (Oligocene through latest Miocene catlike carnivorans) are controversial: they have been placed either within the family Felidae, or as sister group to the Felidae, to the modern aeluroid Carnivora, or to the Caniformia. Adoption of cladistic analysis is not sufficient to resolve this controversy: all of the last three hypotheses of relationship have resulted from cladistic analyses.

Competing hypotheses of phylogenetic relationship are here demonstrated to be primarily the result of disagreement about the identification and distribution of characters. Such disagreements reflect the need for a rigorous method of character analysis to enable explicit …

The Effects Of Forebrain Ablations On Some Behaviors In Xenopus Laevis, Lawrence Paul Kunstadt

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In order to further elucidate the hypothesis that the telencephalon of ectothermic vertebrates functions primarily as a non-specific arousal mechanism, facilitating lower brain areas, (the Arousal Hypothesis) the South African clawed frog, Xenoous laevis, was studied in four behavioral situations before and after telencephalon ablation, olfactory bulb ablation or sham surgery. Particular attention was paid to measurements of the temporal aspects of the behaviors studied.

The behaviors studied were:

1. Habituation to an acoustic-vibratory stimulus

2. The optomotor response

3. Escape from shallow water

4. Feeding behavior

In the habituation experiment no changes were found in the number of …

A Study Of The Effects Of Changing Environmental Salinity Upon The Prolactin Cells In A Freshwater Teleost, Xiphophorus Maculatus (The Platyfish), Seymour Holtzman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.