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Full-Text Articles in Biotechnology

Effect Of Superconsciousness External Energy On The Atomic, Crystalline And Powder Characterisitics Of “Carbon Allotrope Powders”, Mahendra Kumar Trivedi Dec 2009

Effect Of Superconsciousness External Energy On The Atomic, Crystalline And Powder Characterisitics Of “Carbon Allotrope Powders”, Mahendra Kumar Trivedi

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi

Scientists are searching for eluding link between spirituality and science. Some believe fundamental essences of universe to be energy and information. As per current understanding energy and matter always co- existed and is considered one and the same. Energy is consideredas ‘matter-inperpetual-motion’and matter as ‘stationary-energy’.Inter conversion between matter and energy has been defined by Einstein’s famous energy-mass equation (E=mc2) which has been provedby nuclear physicists using complex nuclear reactions involving high energy particles. However, many spiritual masters have claimed to realize this energy-matter inter conversion using their spiritual powers/energy but scientifically unknown and unverified. It is the first time that …


Genetic Effect Of The Dwarfing Genes On Some Culm Characteristics Associatcd With Lodging Resistance In Bread Wheat, Md. Mahbub Hasan Dec 2009

Genetic Effect Of The Dwarfing Genes On Some Culm Characteristics Associatcd With Lodging Resistance In Bread Wheat, Md. Mahbub Hasan

Md. Mahbub Hasan

Due to the challenge of screening traits related to lodging resistance under natural field conditions, selection for lodging resistant varieties in wheat breeding programs is difficult. The identification of easily measurable culm anatomical traits related to lodging resistance would simplify the selection process. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of dwarfing genes on culm anatomical traits related to lodging resistance in our of basal internode 1. Field and laboratory study was conducted in Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh with eight wheat genotypes having Rhr1, Rht2 dwarfing genes in them and a local land race …


Drosophila Adult Eye Model To Teach Scanning Electron Microscopy In An Undergraduate Cell Biology Laboratory, Meghana Tare, Oorvashi Roy Puli, Sarah M. Oros, Amit Singh Dec 2009

Drosophila Adult Eye Model To Teach Scanning Electron Microscopy In An Undergraduate Cell Biology Laboratory, Meghana Tare, Oorvashi Roy Puli, Sarah M. Oros, Amit Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

We have devised an undergraduate laboratory exercise to study tissue morphology using fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as the model organism. Drosophila can be reared in a cost effective manner in a short period of time. This experiment was a part of the undergraduate curriculum of the cell biology laboratory course aimed to demonstrate the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique to study the morphology of adult eye of Drosophila. The adult eye of Drosophila is a compound eye, which comprises of 800 unit eyes, and serves as an excellent model for SEM studies. We used flies that …


Quantifying And Resolving Multiple Vector Transformants In S. Cerevisiae Plasmid Libraries, Thomas C. Scanlon, Elizabeth C. Gray, Karl E. Griswold Nov 2009

Quantifying And Resolving Multiple Vector Transformants In S. Cerevisiae Plasmid Libraries, Thomas C. Scanlon, Elizabeth C. Gray, Karl E. Griswold

Dartmouth Scholarship

In addition to providing the molecular machinery for transcription and translation, recombinant microbial expression hosts maintain the critical genotype-phenotype link that is essential for high throughput screening and recovery of proteins encoded by plasmid libraries. It is known that Escherichia coli cells can be simultaneously transformed with multiple unique plasmids and thusly complicate recombinant library screening experiments. As a result of their potential to yield misleading results, bacterial multiple vector transformants have been thoroughly characterized in previous model studies. In contrast to bacterial systems, there is little quantitative information available regarding multiple vector transformants in yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the …


Artificial Intelligence – Ii: Retinal Image Blood Vessel Segmentation, M. Usman Akram, Anam Tariq, Shoab A. Khan Aug 2009

Artificial Intelligence – Ii: Retinal Image Blood Vessel Segmentation, M. Usman Akram, Anam Tariq, Shoab A. Khan

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

The appearance and structure of blood vessels in retinal images play an important role in diagnosis of eye diseases. This paper proposes a method for segmentation of blood vessels in color retinal images. We present a method that uses 2-D Gabor wavelet to enhance the vascular pattern. We locate and segment the blood vessels using adaptive thresholding. The technique is tested on publicly available DRIVE database of manually labeled images which has been established to facilitate comparative studies on segmentation of blood vessels in retinal images. The proposed method achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.963 …


Rapid Evolution Of Sex-Pheromone-Producing Enzyme In Drosophila, Troy R. Shirangi, Héloïse D. Dufour, Thomas M. Williams, Sean B. Carroll Aug 2009

Rapid Evolution Of Sex-Pheromone-Producing Enzyme In Drosophila, Troy R. Shirangi, Héloïse D. Dufour, Thomas M. Williams, Sean B. Carroll

Biology Faculty Publications

A wide range of organisms use sex pheromones to communicate with each other and to identify appropriate mating partners. While the evolution of chemical communication has been suggested to cause sexual isolation and speciation, the mechanisms that govern evolutionary transitions in sex pheromone production are poorly understood. Here, we decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying the rapid evolution in the expression of a gene involved in sex pheromone production in Drosophilid flies. Long-chain cuticular hydrocarbons (e.g., dienes) are produced female-specifically, notably via the activity of the desaturase DESAT-F, and are potent pheromones for male courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. We …


Altered Regulation Of Aquaporin Gene Expression In Allergen And Il-13-Induced Mouse Models Of Asthma, Carissa M. Krane, Bijia Deng, Venkateshwar Mutyam, Casey A. Mcdonald, Stephen Pazdziorko, Lawrence Mason, Samuel Goldman, Marion Kasaian, Divya Chaudhary, Cara Williams, Melisa W.Y. Ho Apr 2009

Altered Regulation Of Aquaporin Gene Expression In Allergen And Il-13-Induced Mouse Models Of Asthma, Carissa M. Krane, Bijia Deng, Venkateshwar Mutyam, Casey A. Mcdonald, Stephen Pazdziorko, Lawrence Mason, Samuel Goldman, Marion Kasaian, Divya Chaudhary, Cara Williams, Melisa W.Y. Ho

Biology Faculty Publications

IL-13 is known to affect many processes that contribute to an asthmatic phenotype, including inflammation, fibrosis, and mucus production. Members of the aquaporin (AQP) family of transmembrane water channels are targets of regulation in models of lung injury and inflammation. Therefore, we examined AQP mRNA and protein expression in allergen and IL-13-induced mouse models of asthma. Lungs from ovalbumin sensitized and ovalbumin challenged (OVA/OVA) and IL-13 treated mice showed airway thickening, increased mucus production, and pulmonary eosinophilia. Pulmonary function tests showed a significant increase in methacholine-induced airway hyperreactivity in OVA/OVA and IL-13-treated mice as compared with controls. Quantitative PCR analysis …


Impact Of An External Energy On Enterococcus Faecalis [Atcc – 51299] In Relation To Antibiotic Susceptibility And Biochemical Reactions – An Experimental Study, Mahendra Kumar Trivedi Jan 2009

Impact Of An External Energy On Enterococcus Faecalis [Atcc – 51299] In Relation To Antibiotic Susceptibility And Biochemical Reactions – An Experimental Study, Mahendra Kumar Trivedi

Mahendra Kumar Trivedi

Background:

While spiritual and mental energies are known to man, their impact has never been scientifically measurable in the material world and they remain outside the domain of science. The present experiments on Enterococcus faecalis [ATCC –51299], report the effects of such energy transmitted through a person, Mahendra Trivedi, which has produced an impact measurable in scientifically rigorous manner.

Methods:

Enterococcus faecalis strains in revived and lyophilized state were subjected to spiritual energy transmitted through thought intervention and/or physical touch of Mr. Trivedi to the sealed tubes containing strain, the process taking about 3 minutes and were analyzed within 10 …


A Quantitative Taqman Mgb Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Based Assay For Detection Of The Causative Agent Of Crayfish Plague Aphanomyces Astaci, Torstein Tengs Jan 2009

A Quantitative Taqman Mgb Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Based Assay For Detection Of The Causative Agent Of Crayfish Plague Aphanomyces Astaci, Torstein Tengs

Dr. Torstein Tengs

Here we present the development and first validation of a TaqMan minor groove binder (MGB) real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method for quantitative and highly specific detection of Aphanomyces astaci, the causative agent of crayfish plague. The assay specificity was experimentally assessed by testing against DNA representative of closely related oomycetes, and theoretically assessed by additional sequence similarity analyses comparing the primers and probe sequences to available sequences in EMBL/GenBank. The target of the assay is a 59 bp unique sequence motif of A. astaci found in the internal transcribed spacer 1 of the nuclear ribosomal gene cluster. A standard …


Patterning Defects In Silkworm Embryos Analysed Through Cuticle Preparations, Amit Singh, Madhuri Kango-Singh, K. P. Gopinathan Jan 2009

Patterning Defects In Silkworm Embryos Analysed Through Cuticle Preparations, Amit Singh, Madhuri Kango-Singh, K. P. Gopinathan

Biology Faculty Publications

The mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori, a holometabolous lepidopteran insect, has a metameric body plan. Due to its functional adaptation, B. mori presents some unique deviations in its pal/ern from the evolutionarily advanced dipteran insect, Drosophila melanogaster. Previous studies on mutant phenotype analysis in B. mori have been carried out in late stages of larval development. Here we employ, the cuticle preparation approach during embryonic development to study morphological landmarks associated with B. mori, Eri, another race a/silkworm, and pattern defects associated with Ekp mutant of B.mori. The homeotic mutant Ekp, generates ectopic abdominallegs, a feature …


Intradermal Delivery Of Plasmid Vegf(165) By Electroporation Promotes Wound Healing, Bernadette Ferraro, Yolmari Cruz, Domenico Coppola, Richard Heller Jan 2009

Intradermal Delivery Of Plasmid Vegf(165) By Electroporation Promotes Wound Healing, Bernadette Ferraro, Yolmari Cruz, Domenico Coppola, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Skin flaps are extensively used in reconstructive surgeries to repair large defects and deep wounds, but severe ischemia and necrosis often results in loss of the transplanted tissue. Thus, skin flap models are often used to study the biology of healing and necrosis of acute ischemic wounds. Delivery of exogenous vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to areas of ischemia has shown promise for promoting therapeutic angiogenesis, but its expression must be tightly regulated to avoid adverse effects. In this study, plasmid DNA encoding VEGF165 (pVEGF) was delivered to the ischemic skin of a rat skin flap model by intradermal …


Electroporation For The Delivery Of Dna-Based Vaccines And Immunotherapeutics: Current Clinical Developments, Angela M. Bodles-Brakhop, Richard Heller, Ruxandra Draghia-Akli Jan 2009

Electroporation For The Delivery Of Dna-Based Vaccines And Immunotherapeutics: Current Clinical Developments, Angela M. Bodles-Brakhop, Richard Heller, Ruxandra Draghia-Akli

Bioelectrics Publications

Electroporation (EP) has been used in basic research for the past 25 years to aid in the transfer of DNA into cells in vitro. EP in vivo enhances transfer of DNA vaccines and therapeutic plasmids to the skin, muscle, tumors, and other tissues resulting in high levels of expression, often with serological and clinical benefits. the recent interest in nonviral gene transfer as treatment options for a vast array of conditions has resulted in the refinement and optimization of EP technology. current research has revealed that EP can be successfully used in many species, including humans. clinical trials are …


A Discourse On The Public Nature Of Research In Contemporary Life Science: A Law-Policy Proposal To Promote The Public Nature Of Science In An Era Of Academia-Industry Integration, Michael J. Malinowski Jan 2009

A Discourse On The Public Nature Of Research In Contemporary Life Science: A Law-Policy Proposal To Promote The Public Nature Of Science In An Era Of Academia-Industry Integration, Michael J. Malinowski

Journal Articles

This article addresses the impact of integration of academia, industry, and government on the public nature of research. The article concludes that, while the integration has benefited science immensely, regulatory measures should be taken to restore the public nature of research in an age of integration.


The Evolution Of Flight In Insects: Insights From Mayflies And Dna, T. Heath Ogden Dec 2008

The Evolution Of Flight In Insects: Insights From Mayflies And Dna, T. Heath Ogden

T. Heath Ogden

No abstract provided.


Towards A New Paradigm In Mayfly Phylogeny (Ephemeroptera): Combined Analysis Of Morphological And Molecular Data, T. Heath Ogden Dec 2008

Towards A New Paradigm In Mayfly Phylogeny (Ephemeroptera): Combined Analysis Of Morphological And Molecular Data, T. Heath Ogden

T. Heath Ogden

This study represents the first formal morphological and combined (morphological and molecular) phylogenetic analyses of the order Ephemeroptera. Taxonomic sampling comprised 112 species in 107 genera, including 42 recognized families (all major lineages of Ephemeroptera). Morphological data consisted of 101 morphological characters. Molecular data were acquired from DNA sequences of the 12S, 16S, 18S, 28S and H3 genes. The Asian genus Siphluriscus (Siphluriscidae) was supported as sister to all other mayflies. The lineages Carapacea, Furcatergalia, Fossoriae, Pannota, Caenoidea and Ephemerelloidea were supported as monophyletic, as were many of the families. However, some recognized families (for example, Ameletopsidae and Coloburiscidae) and …


Combined Morphological And Molecular Phylogeny Of Ephemerellidae (Ephemeroptera), T. Heath Ogden Dec 2008

Combined Morphological And Molecular Phylogeny Of Ephemerellidae (Ephemeroptera), T. Heath Ogden

T. Heath Ogden

This study represents the first combined molecular and morphological analysis for the mayfly family Ephemerellidae (Ephemeroptera), with a focus on the relationships of genera and species groups of the subfamily Ephemerellinae. The phylogeny was constructed based on DNA sequence data from 3 nuclear (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, histone H3) and 2 mitochondrial (12S rDNA, 16S rDNA) genes, and 23 morphological characters. Taxon sampling for Ephemerellidae included exemplars from all 25 extant genus groups and additional representatives from those genera with the highest diversity. Ephemerellidae appears to consist of three major clades. Ephemerella, the largest genus of Ephemerellidae, and Serratella were …