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Assessment Of Obesity And Fear Of Fatness Among Inner-City Dublin Schoolchildren In A One-Year-Follow-Up Study, Anne Griffin, Katherine Younger, Mary Flynn

Articles

Background: Positive secular trends in adolescent obesity and an increased prevalence of fear of fatness, particularly among girls, have been documented world-wide. There is a lack of consensus about assessment criteria for childhood obesity and no standard exists for assessing Irish children. In 1990, the Irish National Nutrition Survey used body mass index (BMI) $26 kgm22 to describe the prevalence of overweight among Irish adolescents.

Objectives: (1) To examine the range in classification of Dublin schoolchildren as overweight according to four standard assessment methods; (2) to assess changes in weight status, prevalence of fear of fatness and accompanying slimming practices …

The Learning Garden: A Case Study, Laurie Ann Kellogg Hayzlett

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

How do we best capture the interest of our students? Are there environments that would better serve the needs of our students and the objectives of our schools? Reflection on these questions led to the planning and development of the Leaming Garden. This research was a case study of the use of the Leaming Garden. Proposed and actual uses were identified using teacher questionnaires, student and teacher interviews and researcher field notes. Teachers and students were asked about their use of the Leaming Garden both in conjunction with classes and for activities during off-school hours. This study was conducted in …

Body Mass Of Late Quaternary Mammals (Data Set), Felisa A. Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Kate E. Jones, Kansas State University, Tamar Dayan, Pablo A. Marquet, James H. Brown, John P. Haskell

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this data set was to compile body mass information for all mammals on Earth so that we could investigate the patterns of body mass seen across geographic and taxonomic space and evolutionary time. We were interested in the heritability of body size across taxonomic groups (How conserved is body mass within a genus, family, and order?), in the overall pattern of body mass across continents (Do the moments and other descriptive statistics remain the same across geographic space?), and over evolutionary time (How quickly did body mass patterns iterate on the patterns seen today? Were the Pleistocene …

Antipredator Behavior And Physiology Determine Lestes Species Turnover Along The Pond-Permanence Gradient, Robby Stoks, Mark A. Mcpeek

Dartmouth Scholarship

Identifying key traits that shape trade-offs that restrict species to only a subset of environmental gradients is crucial to understanding and predicting species turnover. Previous field experiments have shown that larvae of Lestes damselfly species segregate along the entire gradient of pond permanence and predator presence and that differential predation risk and life history constraints together shape their distribution. Here, we report laboratory experiments that identify key differences in behavior and physiology among species that structure their distributions along this gradient. The absence of adaptive antipredator behavioral responses against large dragonfly larvae and fish of Lestes dryas, the only species …

Development Of A Method For Determining Antioxidant Efficacy Against Hydroxyl Radicals, Cherie Hacker

Masters Theses

Hydroxyl free radicals are biologically important molecules in that they attack proteins, lipids and DNA to obtain an electron to fill their outer valence shell. The consequences of such attacks include protein degradation, lipid peroxidation and DNA damage, which leads to many diseases and cancer. While there are many antioxidant assays available to predict anti-radical properties of compounds against different free radicals, the assessment of hydroxyl radical damage has been challenging. This is due to the extremely high reaction rate of hydroxyl radicals. The present study defines an in vitro assay that quantitatively detects antioxidant efficacy against hydroxyl free radicals, …

Djungarian Hamsters Exhibit Temperature-Dependent Dietary Fat Choice In Long Days, Sara Hiebert Burch, Kelley Carl Hauser , '99, Abbas Ebrahim , '00

Biology Faculty Works

Previous studies have shown that whole-animal thermal responses of ectotherms and heterotherms (e.g., hibernators), both of which experience a wide range of body temperatures, are related to the saturation level of somatic lipids, which in turn can be influenced by the ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the diet. This study demonstrates that Djungarian hamsters held in long days display ambient temperature dependent choice of dietary fats, increasing their preference for saturated fats when ambient temperature increases ( to 27 degreesC) and later reversing this preference when ambient temperature is returned to its original value ( 8 degreesC). …

The Biology Of Canadian Weeds. 126. Amaranthus Albus L., A. Blitoides S. Watson And A. Blitum L., Mihai Costea, François J. Tardif

Biology Faculty Publications

A review of biological information is provided for three species of the genus Amaranthus: A. albus L., A. blitoides S. Watson and A. blitum L. The last species has been revised taxonomically and a new subspecies for Canada is presented—A. blitum subsp. emarginatus (Moq. ex Uline & Bray) Carretero, Munoz Garmendia & Pedrol. Amaranthus albus and A. blitoides are native to the U.S.A. and introduced to Canada. Both species are annual ruderal and agrestal weeds. During the past 100 yr the two species have spread across most provinces of Canada, but the greatest frequency and abundance have been …

Functional And Comparative Genomic Analyses Of An Operon Involved In Fructooligosaccharide Utilization By Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Rodolphe Barrangou, Eric Altermann, Robert Hutkins, Raul J. Cano, Todd Klaenhammer

Biological Sciences

Lactobacillus acidophilus is a probiotic organism that displays the ability to use prebiotic compounds such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which stimulate the growth of beneficial commensals in the gastrointestinal tract. However, little is known about the mechanisms and genes involved in FOS utilization by Lactobacillus species. Analysis of the L. acidophilus NCFM genome revealed an msm locus composed of a transcriptional regulator of the LacI family, a four-component ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transport system, a fructosidase, and a sucrose phosphorylase. Transcriptional analysis of this operon demonstrated that gene expression was induced by sucrose and FOS but not by glucose or fructose, …

Differences In Cottonwood Growth Between A Losing And A Gaining Reach Of An Alluvial Floodplain, Mary J. Harner, Jack Arthur Stanford

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Interstitial flow of river (hyporheic) water influences algal productivity, benthic assemblages, and locations of fish spawning. However, little is known of the effects of hyporheic flow on the growth of riparian vegetation. By increasing water availability and nutrient delivery, regional upwelling of hyporheic water may increase the growth of terrestrial vegetation. We tested and accepted the hypothesis that cottonwood trees (Populus trichocarpa) in a gaining reach of an alluvial floodplain grow faster than trees in a losing reach by comparing basal areas and ages on an expansive floodplain in western Montana (USA). Trees in the gaining reach had …

Phenotypic Plasticity And Interactions Among Plants, Ragan M. Callaway, Steven C. Pennings, Christina L. Richards

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We know a great deal about the plastic responses of plant phenotypes to the abiotic and biotic environment, but very little about the consequences of phenotypic plasticity for plant communities. In other words, we know that plant traits can vary widely for a given genotype, but we know little about the importance of trait-mediated interactions (TMI) among plants. Here, we discuss three major factors that affect the expression of phenotypic plasticity: variation in the abiotic environment, variation in the presence or identity of neighbors, and variation in herbivory. We consider how plastic responses to these factors might affect interactions among …

Biochemical Composition Of Embryonic Blue Crabs Callinectes Sapidus Rathbun 1896 (Crustacea : Decapoda) From The Gulf Of Mexico, Janet R. Jacobs, Patricia M. Biesiot, Harriet M. Perry, Christine Trigg

Faculty Publications

Blue crab Callinectes sapidus embryos from the Mississippi Sound were sampled in spring and in late summer to determine patterns of biochemical composition and of yolk utilization during embryogenesis and to ascertain potential seasonal differences in biochemical composition. The diameter of spring embryos was similar to 6% greater than summer embryos but this significant size difference was due to increased water content, not to increased organic content. The general trend in initial biochemical composition was similar in both seasons; protein was the primary component at similar to 50% of initial dry weight followed by lipid (similar to 30%), ash (similar …

Microalgal-Meiofaunal Trophic Relationships In Muddy Intertidal Estuarine Sediments, James L. Pinckney, Kevin R. Carman, S. Elizabeth Lumsden, Sabrina N. Hymel

Faculty Publications

The determination of the primary factors controlling carbon (C) transfer rates in situ are a basic requirement for developing a mechanistic view of the processes that regulate benthic microbial community structure and function. In many estuarine ecosystems, the base of the food web is dominated by microalgal production; however, information on the quantitative relationships and process rates of meiofaunal grazers and benthic microalgal (BMA) producers is limited to a few habitats and short temporal scales. The primary objective of this study was to examine the trophic interactions between meiofaunal grazers and BMA producers to determine if grazing is a primary …

Five-Member Gene Family Of Bartonella Quintana, Michael F. Minnick, Kate N. Sappington, Laura S. Smitherman, Siv G. E. Andersson, Olof Karlberg, James A. Carroll

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Bartonella quintana, the agent of trench fever and an etiologic agent of bacillary angiomatosis, has an extraordinarily high hemin requirement for growth compared to other bacterial pathogens. We previously identified the major hemin receptor of the pathogen as a 30-kDa surface protein, termed HbpA. This report describes four additional homologues that share approximately 48% amino acid sequence identity with hbpA. Three of the genes form a paralagous cluster, termed hbpCAB, whereas the other members, hbpD and hbpE, are unlinked. Secondary structure predictions and other evidence suggest that Hbp family members are beta-barrels located in the outer membrane and contain eight …

The Comparative Energetics And Growth Strategies Of Sympatric Antarctic And Sub Antarctic Fur Seal Pups, At Iles Crozet, J Py Arnould, S P. Luque, C Guinet, D P. Costa, J Kingston, Scott A. Shaffer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

The period of maternal dependence is a time during which mammalian infants must optimise both their growth and the development of behavioural skills in order to successfully meet the demands of independent living. The rate and duration of maternal provisioning, post-weaning food availability and climatic conditions are all factors likely to influence the growth strategies of infants. While numerous studies have documented differences in growth strategies at high taxonomic levels, few have investigated those of closely related species inhabiting similar environments. The present study examined the body composition, metabolism and indices of physiological development in pups of Antarctic fur seals …

Educating For Social Responsibility: Changing The Syllabus Of Developmental Biology, Scott F. Gilbert, A. Fausto-Sterling

Biology Faculty Works

Developmental biology is deeply embedded in the social issues of our times. Such topics as cloning, stems cells, reproductive technologies, sex selection, environmental hormone mimics and gene therapy all converge on developmental biology. It is therefore critical that developmental biologists learn about the possible social consequences of their work and of the possible molding of their discipline by social forces. We present two models for integrating social issues into the developmental biology curriculum. One model seeks to place discussions of social issues into the laboratory portion of the curriculum; the other model seeks to restructure the course, such that developmental …

The Morphogenesis Of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

The early studies of evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo) come from several sources. Tributaries flowing into Evo-Devo came from such disciplines as embryology, developmental genetics, evolutionary biology, ecology, paleontology, systematics, medical embryology and mathematical modeling. This essay will trace one of the major pathways, that from evolutionary embryology to Evo-Devo and it will show the interactions of this pathway with two other sources of Evo-Devo: ecological developmental biology and medical developmental biology. Together, these three fields are forming a more inclusive evolutionary developmental biology that is revitalizing and providing answers to old and important questions involving the formation of biodiversity on …

Are Hummingbirds Facultatively Ammonotelic? Nitrogen Excretion And Requirements As A Function Of Body Size, Todd J. Mcwhorter, Donald R. Powers, Carlos Martinez Del Rio

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Most birds are uricotelic. An exception to this rule may be nectar-feeding birds, which excrete significant amounts of ammonia under certain conditions. Although ammonia is toxic, because it is highly water soluble its excretion may be facilitated in animals that ingest and excrete large amounts of water. Birdpollinated plants secrete carbohydrate- and water-rich floral nectars that contain exceedingly little protein. Thus, nectarfeeding birds are faced with the dual challenge of meeting nitrogen requirements while disposing of large amounts of water. The peculiar diet of nectar-feeding birds suggests two hypotheses: (1) these birds must have low protein requirements, and (2) when …

The Anorexigenic Fatty Acid Synthase Inhibitor, C75, Is A Nonspecific Neuronal Activator, Kanji A. Takahashi, James L. Smart, Hongyan Liu, Roger D. Cone

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

C75, a recently derived compound that potently suppresses feeding and induces weight loss, has been proposed to act mainly by inhibiting fatty acid synthase (FAS) in central neurons that control feeding. For example, normal, fasting- associated, hypothalamic increases in neuropeptide Y (NPY)/Agouti-related protein (AGRP) expression and decreases in proopiomelanocortin (POMC)/cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) expression were reported to be blocked by C75. Using loose-patch extracellular recording in acute slices, we tested the effect of C75 on anorexigenic POMC neurons and orexigenic NPY neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, which were identified by promoter-driven GFP expression, as well as on …

Dynamic Versus Instantaneous Models Of Diet Choice, Brian O. Ma, Peter A. Abrams, Chad Brassil

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We investigate the dynamics of a series of two-prey-one predator models in which the predator exhibits adaptive diet choice based on the different energy contents and/or handling times of the two prey species. The predator is efficient at exploiting its prey and has a saturating functional response; these two features combine to produce sustained population cycles over a wide range of parameter values. Two types of models of behavioral change are compared. In one class of models (“instantaneous choice”), the probability of acceptance of the poorer prey by the predator instantaneously approximates the optimal choice, given current prey densities. In …

Effect Of Water Removal On Introduced Caddisflies From A Tropical Mountain Stream, Mollie D. Mcintosh, Mark Eric Benbow, Albert J. Burky

Biology Faculty Publications

Tropical island streams worldwide are being threatened by existing or proposed dams and diversions. Numerous streams of the Hawaiian Islands have diversions that remove freshwater for human use; however, little research has addressed diversion effects on aquatic insect communities in tropical streams. We studied the effect of water removal by a stream diversion on density and biomass of two introduced Trichoptera, Cheumatopsyche analis (Banks) (Hydropsychidae) and Hydroptila potosina (Buenoa- Soria) (Hydroptilidae), in Iao Stream, Maui, Hawaii, from April-August 2000. Both species seem to have multivoltine life cycles. Pooled Trichoptera (both species) biomass was significantly greater above the diversion (178.3 mg.m-2 …

The Reactive Genome, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Comparative Serological And Molecular Analysis Of Group Viii Spiroplasma From Australia And North America, April Carmita Murphy

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

Spiroplasma bacteria (Mollicutes: Spiroplasmataceae) are characterized by motility, helical morphology and are most frequently found in insect guts and phloem tubes of plants. Traditionally, Spiroplasma have been classified by serology. Recent work has generated 16S rDNA sequences that generally correlate with the serological findings. Although the serology and the 16S rDNA sequence analysis clearly classifies strains to the group level, they do not distinguish between strains within the same group. The goal of this project was to investigate the utility of the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region sequence as a means to distinguish these closely related strains.

We chose Group …

Plasticity And Genetic Diversity May Allow Saltcedar To Invade Cold Climates In North America, Jason P. Sexton, J. K. Mckay, Anna Sala

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Two major mechanisms have been proposed to explain the ability of introduced populations to colonize over large habitat gradients, despite significant population bottlenecks during introduction: (1) Broad environmental tolerance-successful invaders possess life history traits that confer superior colonizing ability and/or phenotypic plasticity, allowing acclimation to a wide range of habitats. (2) Local adaptation-successful invaders rapidly adapt to local selective pressures. However, even with bottlenecks, many introduced species exhibit surprisingly high levels of genetic variation and thus the potential for evolutionary increases in invasive traits and plasticity. Here we assess the invasive potential of Tamarix ramosissima, by examining the degree of …

Nonadditive Genetic Effects In Animal Behavior, Lisa M. Meffert, Sara K. Hicks, Jennifer L. Regan

Faculty Publications

Heritabilities, commonly used to predict evolutionary potential, are notoriously low for behaviors. Apart from strong contributions of environmental variance in reducing heritabilities, the additive genetic components can be very low, especially when they are camouflaged by nonadditive genetic effects. We first report the heritabilities of courtship traits in founder‐flush and control populations of the housefly (Musca domestica L.). We estimated the heritability of each male and female display through the regression of the courtships involving daughters and sons (with randomly selected mates) onto the “midparental” courtship values of their parents. Overall, the average heritability was significantly higher for the …

Culture-Independent Microbial Community Analysis Reveals That Inulin In The Diet Primarily Affects Previously Unknown Bacteria In The Mouse Cecum, Juha H. A. Apajalahti, Hannele Kettunen, Anu Kettunen, William E. Holben, Päivi H. Nurminen, Nina Rautonen, Marja Mutanen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Inulin is a well-known fructose-based prebiotic which has been shown to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria, a bacterial group generally considered beneficial for intestinal health. In the present study, we analyzed inulin-associated shifts in the total bacterial community of wild-type mice and mice carrying a genetically inactivated adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor gene by using DNA-based approaches independent of bacterial culturability. Mice were fed a high-fat, nonfiber diet with or without inulin inclusion at a 10% (wt/wt) concentration. Cecal contents were analyzed after 0, 3, and 9 weeks on the experimental diets. Inulin inclusion significantly affected the total bacterial community …

Discovering Lactic Acid Bacteria By Genomics, Todd Klaenhammer, Eric Altermann, Fabrizio Arigoni, Alexander Bolotin, Fred Breidt, Jeffrey Broadbent, Raul J. Cano, Stephane Chaillou, Josef Deutscher, Mike Gasson, Maarten Van De Guchte, Jean Guzzo, Axel Hartke, Trevor Hawkins, Pascal Hols, Robert Hutkins, Michiel Kleerebezem, Jan Kok, Oscar Kuipers, Mark Lubbers, Emmanuelle Maguin, Larry Mckay, David Mills, Arjen Nauta, Ross Overbeek, Herman Pel, David Pridmore, Milton Saier, Douwe Van Sinderen, Alexei Sorokin, James Steele, Daniel O'Sullivan, Willem De Vos, Bart Weimer, Monique Zagorec, Roland Siezen

Biological Sciences

This review summarizes a collection of lactic acid bacteria that are now undergoing genomic sequencing and analysis. Summaries are presented on twenty different species, with each overview discussing the organisms fundamental and practical significance, environmental habitat, and its role in fermentation, bioprocessing, or probiotics. For those projects where genome sequence data were available by March 2002, summaries include a listing of key statistics and interesting genomic features. These efforts will revolutionize our molecular view of Gram-positive bacteria, as up to 15 genomes from the low GC content lactic acid bacteria are expected to be available in the public domain by …

Effects Of Ethanol On The Toxicity And Metabolism Of Acetonitrile And Acrylonitrile, Nancy Ochoa-Garza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examined the effects of ethanol on the toxicities and metabolism of two aliphatic nitriles: acetonitrile and acrylonitrile (one unsaturated and one saturated aliphatic nitrile, respectively) in male Sprague-Dawley rats at four different time intervals. Toxicity signs were apparent in all animals given the nitrile dosage, but those treated with ethanol dosages showed signs of toxicity earlier than those treated with glucose dosages. Both of the nitrites were metabolized to cyanide and thiocyanate. The concentration levels of each metabolite was apparent at 2 and 3 g/kg ethanol dosage for acetonitrile and 3 and 4.5 g/kg ethanol dosage for acrylonitrile …

Tolerance, Performance, And Aerobic Metabolism Of Redband Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss Ssp.) During Acute Exposure To Elevated Temperature, Karen Reed Lizars

Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this thesis was to determine whether the redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss ssp.) of Oregon's inland desert basins are negatively affected by the high peak temperatures (> 20 °C) often observed in their native streams. Small (40 - 140 g) redband trout from three streams (Bridge, Rock, and Twelve-mile creeks) were collected and tested on-site for aspects of thermal physiology, including: critical swimming velocity (Ucrit), maximum metabolic rate (MO₂), metabolic power, and total cost of transport (TCT) at 24 °C; routine MO₂ at 14 to 2: 28 °C: and critical thermal maximum (CTM). At …

Seasonal Niche Strategy Of The Bloom-Forming Dinoflagellate Heterocapsa Triquetra, R. W. Litaker, P. A. Tester, C. S. Duke, B. E. Kenney, James L. Pinckney, J. Ramus

Faculty Publications

Heterocapsa triquetra is one of the most common bloom-forming dinoflagellates found in estuaries and near shore regions around the world. This work examined the environmental factors associated with 3 separate wintertime H. triquetra blooms in the shallow tidally mixed Newport River estuary, North Carolina, USA. During 2 of the blooms in 1982 and 1983, the estuary was sampled from a fixed, single location every hour for 14 d. During the third study, the estuary was sampled at 9 fixed locations over its entire length each week from late December 1997 through March 1998. This time period included the formation and …

The Role Of Injury And Rain In The Infection Of Leaves By Erwinia Amylovora, Scott C. Ockey

Biology

Erwinia amylovora dissemination was studied by sampling apple and pear leaves before and after a precipitation event. All pear and apple experiments revealed similar trends for the temporal and spatial nature of E. amylovora. Rain dispersed the bacteria to leaves only a short distance from the infection and survived less than 24 hours on the leaf. An experiment was designed to determine leaf age susceptibility to inoculation by E. amylovora when leaves were subjected to injury types that simulated hail, wind-blown rain, and rain dispersal. Succulent leaves in the hail and rain dispersal treatments were more susceptible to infection …