Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Protection Against Experimental Autoimmune Myocarditis Is Mediated By Interleukin-10-Producing T Cells That Are Controlled By Dendritic Cells, Ya Li, Janet S. Heuser, Stanley D. Kosanke, Mark E. Hemric, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) can be induced in the Lewis rat by cardiac myosin or its cryptic S2-16 peptide epitope (amino acids1052 to 1076). To investigate cellular mechanisms and the role of antigen-presenting cells in regulation of myocarditis, we induced protection against EAM in Lewis rats by administration of S2-16 peptide in incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (IFA). Protection to EAM was associated with activation of S2-16-reactive splenocytes secreting high levels of interleukin (IL)-10 and reduced levels of interferon- and IL-2. Adoptive transfer of S2-16:IFA-induced splenocytes producing IL-10 suppressed myocarditis induction in syngeneic recipients, suggesting their regulatory cell nature. However, exposure of …

Ndp Kinase Moves Into Developing Primary Cilia, Kimberly A. P. Mitchell, Betty C. Gallagher, Gabor Szabo, Angela De S. Otero

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Inmunofluorescence staining of murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts grown at high density shows that conventional nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinases A and B localize to a sensory organelle, the primary cilium. Similar results are obtained with Xenopus A6 kidney epithelial cells, suggesting that NDP kinases are a universal component of the primary cilium. The translocation of NDP kinase into primary cilia depends on size, taking place only when cilia reach a critical length of 5-6 μm. In mature cilia, NDP kinases are distributed along the ciliary shaft in a punctate pattern that is distinct from the continuous staining observed with acetylated α-tubulin, a …

Receptor Activation Regulates Cortical, But Not Vesicular Localization Of Ndp Kinase, Betty C. Gallagher, Kimberly A.P. Mitchell, Gabor Szabo, Angela De S. Otero

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We used immunofluorescence techniques to determine the localization of nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. We found that cytoplasmic NDP kinase can be separated into two populations according to subcellular localization and response to extracellular stimuli. Specifically, within minutes of stimulation of resting fibroblasts with serum, growth factors or bombesin, a portion of NDP kinase becomes associated with membrane ruffles and lamellipodia. Another pool of NDP kinase accumulates independently of stimulation around intracellular vesicles. Transfection of cells with activated Rac mimics, whereas expression of dominant negative Rac inhibits, the effects of extracellular stimulation on the translocation of NDP kinase …

Effects Of A Yec Apologetics Class On Student Worldview, David A. Dewitt, Steve Deckard, Sharon E. Cargo

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Creationism is a significant component of an overall Christian worldview. A Creation Worldview Test (CWT) was administered to students both before and after completion of a required Apologetics course dealing with the creation/evolution controversy. Pre-test analysis revealed that incoming students tend to have a creationist worldview, however their CWT scores reflected a degree of uncertainty or neutrality on scientific creation and the age of the earth. Post-test analysis showed a significant shift toward a young earth creationist (YEC) view. Implications for teaching apologetics and development of a Creationist worldview based on a Six-day Young Earth perspective were explored and identified.

Reproduction In West Virginia Populations Of The Southern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea Cirrigera), Timothy R. Brophy, Thomas K. Pauley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We describe reproduction in West Virginia populations of the southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) and provide insights into the behavioral ecology of this wide-ranging urodele. The first signs of reproduction are evident well before the arrival of Spring. Sexually mature adults inhabit the cold, rocky streams of southwestern West Virginia in early February. Females arc known by the presence of large oocytes visible through the body wall and males by their extremely swollen heads. Breeding occurs in the stream during late March and is marked by the presence of gravid females with sperm caps in their posterior cloacae. Eggs are …

Induction Of Myocarditis And Valvuluitis In Lewis Rats By Different Epitopes Of Cardiac Myosin And Its Implications In Rheumatic Carditis, Jeffrey E. Galvin, Mark E. Hemric, Stanley D. Konsanke, Stephen M. Factor, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Immune responses against cardiac myosin and group A streptococcal M protein have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease. Although cardiac myosin is known to produce myocarditis in susceptible animals, it has never been investigated for its role in production of valvular heart disease, the most serious sequelae of group A streptococcal infection in acute rheumatic fever. In our study, cardiac myosin induced valvulitis in the Lewis rat, and epitopes responsible for production of valvulitis were located in the rod region. Human and rat cardiac myosins induced severe myocarditis in the Lewis rats as expected. A purified S2 …

Theories Of The Origin And Early Evolution Of Life, David A. Dewitt

Faculty Publications and Presentations

After the theory of spontaneous generation was discredited, only religious explanations were offered to explain the origin of life. Alexander Oparin (1894-1980), an atheist, suggested that natural chemical reactions produced biological molecules that came together to form the first living thing. Later, Stanley Miller tested this hypothesis and produced chemical "building blocks" but not life itself. In spite of much progress, there is still no clear consensus on how life originated on Earth. Some scientists are even looking to outer space for the origin of life.

An International Cross-Cultural Study Of The Role Of Chief Informational Officers In Healthcare, Wallace Saunders

Faculty Dissertations

The introduction and utilization of Information Systems (IS) in the hospital environment has had a significant and lasting impact on the practice of medicine. The development of this dissertation will attempt to explore a widely overlooked area: The comparison of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Aspects of CIO experiences relating to assumed roles, CIO challenges, skills, frustrations, success, failure, leadership, management, involvement and perceptions about the role of Information Technology (IT) in healthcare are discussed with a comparative global model. This study investigates the managerial roles of the Chief Information Officer based on …

Cytotoxic Mab From Rheumatic Carditis Recognizes Heart Valves And Laminin, Jeffrey E. Galvin, Mark E. Hemric, Kent Ward, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Anti-streptococcal antibodies cross-reactive with N-acetyl-bD-glucosamine (GlcNAc) and myosin are present in the sera of patients with rheumatic fever (RF). However, their role in tissue injury is not clear. In this study, we show that anti-GlcNAc/anti-myosin mAb 3.B6 from a rheumatic carditis patient was cytotoxic for human endothelial cell lines and reacted with human valvular endothelium and underlying basement membrane. Reactivity of mAb 3.B6 with the valve was inhibited by human cardiac myosin > laminin > GlcNAc. The mAb 3.B6 epitopes were localized in fragments of human cardiac myosin, including heavy meromyosin (HMM), the S1 subfragment, and two light meromyosin (LMM) peptides containing …

Reproduction And Health Of A Beaver (Castor Canadensis) Population In Prince William County, Virginia, Timothy R. Brophy, Carl H. Ernst

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reproduction and health were studied in a beaver (Castor canadensis) population from Prince William County, Virginia during 1998. Copulating beavers were observed in Quantico Creek at Prince William Forest Park on 22 January. Seven females from Quantico Marine Base were trapped between January and May, sacrificed, and dissected. Those reproductively active weighed over 39 pounds (17.7 kg) and were trapped before 1 March. Mean litter size based on counts of corpora lutea was 4.80 young (3-7); however, litter size based on the number of embryos present was only 2.75 (1-3), comparable to most others reported in the literature. Five of …

Immunological Relationship Between The Class I Epitope Of Streptococcal M Protein And Myosin, Anthony Quinn, Kent Ward, Vincent A. Fischetti, Mark E. Hemric, Medeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The class I epitope of streptococcal M protein is an epidemiological marker for acute rheumatic fever (ARF)-associated serotypes of group A streptococci and is recognized by anti-M protein monoclonal antibody (MAb) 10B6. Using MAb 10B6, we determined the relationship between the class I epitope of M protein and the a-helical coiled-coil protein myosin. MAb 10B6 reacted by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting with human cardiac myosin and rabbit skeletal myosin and its heavy meromyosin (HMM) subfragment. Overlapping synthetic peptides of M5 protein were used to identify the region of M5 protein recognized by MAb 10B6. Two C repeat peptides …

Mile-A-Minute Weed, (Polygonum Perfoliatum L.), An Invasive Vine In Natural And Disturbed Sites, J. Douglas Oliver

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Polygonum perfoliatum L. (Polygonaceae) or mile-a-minute weed, from eastern Asia, has been spreading through wild and disturbed areas of the mid-Atlantic United States. It has a wide ecological amplitude and is found on stream banks, moist thickets, roadsides, nurseries, wood-piles, clearings, and ditches. Polygonum perfoliatum presents serious problems for reforestation because it thrives where forests are clear-cut. A southward direction of spread indicates that the species will probably proliferate in at least some southern states. Mechanical control is not likely to be completely effective because seeds are often left behind. No appropriate biocontrols are known. The plant poses a threat …

A Review Of The Biology Of Giant Salvinia, J. Douglas Oliver

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Giant salvinia (Salviniaceae) is a potentially serious aquatic weed that is native to Brazil. It has been reported in more than 20 countries, but is not established in the U.S. at this time. Mitchell and Tur (1975) reported that three years after the formation of the Kariba Reservoir in Africa, giant salvinia blanketed 21.5% or 1003 km2 of the reservoir surface area. Creagh (199111992) wrote, "A single small plant may grow to form a thick mat covering more than 100 sq. km. in just three months - choking lakes and waterways, reducing populations of aquatic plants and animals and in …

Consumption Rates, Evacuation Rates And Diets Of Pygmy Killifish, Leptolucania Ommata, And Mosquitofish, Gambusia Affinis In The Okefenokee Swamp, J. Douglas Oliver

Faculty Publications and Presentations

I studied feeding dynamics of Leptolucania ommata and Gambusia affinis in the Okefenokee Swamp. Both fishes mainly ate insect larvae (such as Chironomidae) and Cladocera. Evacuation rates ranged from 0.143 (L. ommala in winter) to 0.279/hour (L. ommala in summer). Daily food consumption (dry weight) ranged from 24.2 (L. ommata in winter) to 148.3 mg/g/day (G. affinis in summer). Maximum consumption by both species was estimated at 26.31 mg/t m2 / day, in summer. These values are consistent with other observations supporting a hypothesis that invertebrate prey production is substantial in these blackwater wetlands.

Drop-Box Technique For Quantitative Sampling Of Macrofauna And Aquatic Plants At Restored And Natural Wetlands, J. Douglas Oliver, Andrew J. Leslie, William M. Bartodziej

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Residual Influence Of Macronutrient Enrichment On The Aquatic Food Web Of An Okefenokee Swamp Abandoned Bird Rookery, J. Douglas Oliver, Steven A. Schoenberg

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present evidence for residual nutrient enrichment of diverse components of a blackwater marsh, by a biotic component of the ecosystem itself. Thousands of nesting white ibis (Eudocimus albus) that foraged over a 20-km radius fertilized a rookery with guano within Okefenokee Swamp. Georgia. USA. One to two yr after the birds abandoned it. this marsh showed continued enrichment effects. Elevated available phosphorus in sediments, as measured by equilibrium phosphate concentration, contributed to enhanced biomass of phytoplankton in the overlying water column. Planktivorous fish were greater in biomass than at reference sites. Experimental phosphorus and nitrogen fertilization of enclosures at …

Comparison Of Three Methods For Sampling Fishes And Macroinvertebrates In A Vegetated Wetland, B. J. Freeman, H. S. Greening, J. Douglas Oliver

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three methods of sampling fishes, two seining methods and a drop trap method, were evaluated in heavily vegetated freshwater habitats. The portable drop trap method, which utilized a 1 x 1 m-sq. trap, collected significantly more macroinvertebrates and fish per unit area than did the seining methods. The meter square drop trap offered the additional advantages of a greater number of animals per unit effort and an integrated sample of vegetation, macroinvertebrates and fish in a given area. A 90% (s.d.= 7.4%) recovery of tagged fishes released into the traps in different habitats showed the m2 drop trap to be …