Digital Commons Network^™

Crosstalk Between Camp And Map Kinase Signaling In The Regulation Of Cell Proliferation, Philip J. S. Stork, John M. Schmitt

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Hormonal stimulation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and the cAMP-dependent protein kinase PKA regulates cell growth by multiple mechanisms. A hallmark of cAMP is its ability to stimulate cell growth in many cell types while inhibiting cell growth in others. In this review, the cell type-specific effects of cAMP on the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (also called extracellular signal-regulated kinase, or ERK) cascade and cell proliferation are examined. Two basic themes are discussed. First, the capacity of cAMP for either positive or negative regulation of the ERK cascade accounts for many of the cell type-specific actions of cAMP on cell …

Ga And Gby Require Distinct Src-Dependent Pathways To Activate Rap1 And Ras, John M. Schmitt, Philip J. S. Stork

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

No abstract provided.

Activation Of Central Melanocortin Pathways By Fenfluramlne, Lora K. Heisler, Michael A. Cowley, Laurence H. Tecott, Wei Fan, Malcolm J. Low, James L. Smart, Marcelo Rubinstein, Jeffrey B. Tatro, Jacob N. Marcus, Henne Holstege, Charlotte E. Lee, Roger D. Cone, Joel K. Elmquist

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

D-fenfluramine (d-FEN) was once widely prescribed and was among the most effective weight loss drugs, but was withdrawn from clinical use because of reports of cardiac complications in a subset of patients. Discerning the neurobiology underlying the anorexic action of d-FEN may facilitate the development of new drugs to prevent and treat obesity. Through a combination of functional neuroanatomy, feeding, and electrophysiology studies in rodents, we show that d-FEN-induced anorexia requires activation of central nervous system melanocortin pathways. These results provide a mechanistic explanation of d-FEN's anorexic actions and indicate that drugs targeting these downstream melanocortin pathways may prove to …

A Complex, Cross-Taxon, Chemical Releaser Of Antipredator Behavior In Amphibians, Dale M. Madison, Aaron M. Sullivan, John C. Maerz, James H. Mcdarby, Jason R. Rohr

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Prey species show diverse antipredator responses to chemical cues signaling predation threat. Among terrestrial vertebrates, the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, is an important species in the study of these chemical defenses. During the day and early evening, this species avoids rinses from garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis, independent of snake diet, but late at night, avoids only those rinses from garter snakes that have recently eaten P. cinereus. We tested whether the selective, late-night response requires the ingestion or injury of salamanders. In three experiments, we tested P. cinereus for their responses to separate or combined rinses from salamanders (undisturbed, distressed, …

Sex Differences And Seasonal Trade-Offs In Response To Injured And Non-Injured Conspecifics In Red-Spotted Newts, Notophthalmus Viridescens, Jason R. Rohr, Dale M. Madison, Aaron M. Sullivan

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Injured prey often release alarm chemicals that induce antipredator behaviors in conspecifics. Injured or killed prey most likely release a wide array of chemicals in addition to alarm substances, such as sexual pheromones, which could enhance or compromise antipredator responses. Thus, damage-release cues provide an excellent opportunity to examine the influence of seasonally fluctuating sexual pheromones on antipredator behaviors. We used a series of laboratory and field experiments and meta-analysis to examine seasonal changes and sex differences in the response of red-spot-ted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, to the odor of non-injured conspecifics and conspecific tissue extracts, the latter of which presumably …

The Ontogeny Of Chemically-Mediated Antipredator Behaviours In Newts (Notophthalmus Viridescens): Responses To Injured And Non-Injured Conspecifics, Aaron M. Sullivan, Jason R. Rohr, Dale M. Madison

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Responses to alarm chemicals from injured prey may influence predation risk and foraging success of receivers and senders, while learning can influence the strength of these responses. Thus, it is important to know when in ontogeny prey produce and detect alarm substances and how learning shapes their response, but surprisingly little is known about either of these topics. We assessed when in the life of red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, alarm chemicals are produced and detected by comparing adult versus eft (terrestrial juveniles) and larval responses to rinses and tissue extracts from individuals in each life-history stage. To evaluate the influence …

The Number One Childhood Cancer: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-- Its Treatment Protocol, Vanessa Cosby-Wambaugh

Whittier Scholars Program

Mary Jones, age 7, has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Prior to this decade, the chances of her reachering her 17th birthday would have been nonexistent. But, with the advent of various modern treatments, doctors would have been able to increase the survival rates of children affected with cancer. Now the survival rate is around 80%. As hopeful as these treatments are, the medical world is still unable to determine why children are affected with cancer and what is going on. The most common pediatric cancer is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I am interested in two things about this psrticular …

Phylogenetic Analysis And Review Of Panacea And Batesia Butterflies (Nymphalidae), Ryan I. Hill, Carla M. Penz, P. J. Devries

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

Phylogenetic analysis of 53 morphological characte rs for five species of Panacea and Batesia hypochlora supports the separation of the two genera and showed that the monotypic genus Batesia is basal to Panacea. Male genitalia were Ilniform within Panacea and characters inir)f)llative for phylogeny reconstruction were restricted to wing coloration. Illustrations of adults and genitalia, a brief diagnosis, and distributions are provided le)r each species.

Ultrastructure Of The Reproductive System Of The Black Swamp Snake (Seminatrix Pygaea). Part Iii. The Sexual Segment Of The Male Kidney., David M. Sever

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

In mature male snakes and lizards, a distal portion of the nephron is hypertrophied in relation to its appearance in females and immature males. This sexual segment of the male kidney apparently provides seminal fluid that is mixed with sperm and released into the female cloaca during copulation. In this article, we provide the first study at the ultrastructural level of seasonal variation in the sexual segment of the kidney of a squamate, the natricine snake Seminatrix pygaea. Previous workers have indicated that the sexual segment is secretory only when the testes are spermatogenically active. The sexual segment of the …

Imaginal Discs: The Genetic And Cellular Logic Of Pattern Formation, Michael Dietrich

Dartmouth Scholarship

Review of Imaginal Discs: The Gneetic and Cellular Logic of Pattern Formation by Lewis I. Held, Jr., Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Population Maintenance Of The Scyphozoan Cyanea Sp. Settled Planulae And The Distribution Of Medusae In The Niantic River, Connecticut, Usa, Sean Colin, Patricia Krener

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Scyphozoan jellyfish are seasonally conspicuous in coastal waters, but relatively little is known about the factors that control their distribution and population dynamics.Cyanea sp is a seasonally abundant medusa in the Niantic River, Connecticut, U.S. and appears to maintain a population entirely within the estuary. To better understand the factors controlling their occurrence, we examined the temporal and spatial distribution of settled scyphistomae in relation to that of the medusae. Planula settlement patterns mirrored the presence of mature female medusae. The planulae settled primarily near the bottom. After settlement, planulacysts and polyps on the settlement plates were out competed …

A Baseline Assessment Of Furbearers On The Upper Coastal Plain Of Virginia, A. Scott Bellows, Joseph C. Mitchell

Virginia Journal of Science

We assessed the status of furbearing mammals on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia during the 1998-1999 trapping season with the cooperation of local licensed trappers. Our analyses were based on 345 captures representing of 10 mammal species, ranging from one bobcat (Lynx rufus) to 157 beavers (Castor canadensis). Mean number of captures per 100 trap nights was 17.0. Captures varied from 11.9 to 17.9 per 100 trap nights for conibear traps and 9.7 to 18.3 per 100 trap nights for leg-hold traps. External measurements of six species were similar to those reported for other populations …

Effects Of Melatonin On Hemolymph Glucose And Lactate Concentrations In The Fiddler Crab, Uca Pugilator, Kathryn M. Dalton

Honors Theses

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an indolamine hormone produced by the pineal gland that works to regulate sleep/wake cycles and activity rhythms. The effects of melatonin in metabolism are far from understood. Melatonin was injected into the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator, to investigate the effects of melatonin on hemolymph glucose and lactate levels. Following injection at t=O, hemolymph samples were collected at t=O.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 5.0 hours. Melatonin caused a decrease in the stress response to injection and also caused delayed hyperglycemia. Melatonin-injected crabs also retained the glucose and lactate rhythymicity when compared to saline-injected crabs. Glucose and lactate rhythms followed …

Latitudinal Differentiation In The Effects Of The Toxic Dinoflagellate Alexandrium Spp. On The Feeding And Reproduction Of Populations Of The Copepod Acartia Hudsonica, Sean Colin, Hans G. Dam

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Blooms of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium spp. increase in their frequency, toxicity and historical presence with increasing latitude from New Jersey (USA) to the Gaspé peninsula (Canada). Biogeographic variation in these blooms results in differential exposure of geographically separate copepod populations to toxic Alexandrium. We hypothesize that the ability of copepods to feed and reproduce on toxic Alexandrium should be higher in copepods from regions that are frequently exposed to toxic Alexandrium blooms. We tested this hypothesis with factorial common environment experiments in which female adults of the copepod Acartia hudsonica from five separate populations ranging from New Jersey to …

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 …

"A New Genus And New Species Of Freshwater Crab From Socotra Island, Yemen" , Neil Cumberlidge, Wolfgang Wranik

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

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 …

Genmapp, A New Tool For Viewing And Analyzing Microarray Data On Biological Pathways, Kam D. Dahlquist

Biology Faculty Works

Describes the computer program Gene Microarray Pathway Profiler (GenMAPP). Tool for viewing and analyzing gene expression data as biological pathways; Evaluation of the gene expression data without prior knowledge of gene function; Representation of biological pathways in a MAPP format.

Effects Of Indoleacetic Acid And Kinetin On Lipid Peroxidation Levels In Various Rat Tissues, İsmai̇l Çeli̇k, Yasi̇n Tülüce, Necati̇ Özok

Turkish Journal of Biology

This study was carried out to investigate whether plant growth regulators (PGRs) could affect lipid peroxidation (Malondialdehyde = MDA level) in erythrocyte, muscle, liver, heart and kidney tissue. Eighteen Sprague-Dawley albino rats were divided into three experimental groups: control and PGR-treated (indoleacetic acid and kinetin). Seventy-five ppm of PGRs, indoleacetic acid (IAA), and kinetin were administered orally to 6 rats ad libitum for 25 days. The hormone treatments caused different effects on the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) to those of the control rats. According to the results, while liver and kidney MDA levels were increased significantly by IAA administration in …

Antimicrobial And Cytotoxic Activities Of Ceratonia Siliqua L. Extracts, Bi̇jen Kivçak, Tuba Mert, H. Tansel Öztürk

Turkish Journal of Biology

The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of n-hexane, methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate and water extracts of Ceratonia siliqua L. leaves were evaluated in this study. The antimicrobial activities of the extracts were reported against Escherichia coli ATCC 29998, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Escherichia coli ATCC 11230, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538P, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, Salmonella thyphimurium CCM 5445, Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Pseudomonas aeroginosa ATCC 27853 as bacteria and Candida albicans ATCC 10239 as yeast-like fungi by the disc diffusion method. The cytotoxic activity of the extracts was evaluated by …

Antimicrobial Peptides: A Potential Therapeutic Alternative For The Treatment Of Fish Diseases, Ali̇ye Sarmaşik

Turkish Journal of Biology

Fish losses from infectious diseases are a significant problem in aquaculture worldwide. However, peptide antibiotics show potent activity against a broad range of pathogens including fish pathogens. Therefore, the ability of antimicrobial peptides to protect fish against infections caused by fish pathogens clearly shows the potential for utilisation of antimicrobial peptides for the treatment of fish diseases. The strategy of overexpressing the antimicrobial peptide genes in transgenic fish may provide a method of decreasing fish disease problems in aquaculture.

Some Properties Of Crude Carboxymethyl Cellulase Of Aspergillus Niger Z10 Wild-Type Strain, Gökhan Coral, Burhan Arikan, M. Ni̇sa Ünaldi, Hati̇ce Güvenmez

Turkish Journal of Biology

A carboxymethyl cellulase enzyme was prepared from a wild type strain of Aspergillus niger Z10. Analyses of the enzyme preparation by SDS-PAGE revealed two protein bands showing cellulolytic activity. The molecular weight of these bands was estimated to be around 83,000 and 50,000. The optimum temperature of the enzyme was observed to be around 40 °C. It was found that the enzyme's activity has a broad pH range between 3 to 9 and 41.2% of the original activity was retained after heat treatment at 90 °C for 15 min.

Production Of Poly-B-Hydroxybutyrate (Phb) By Some Rhizobium Bacteria, Nazi̇me Mercan, Belma Aslim, Zehra Nur Yüksekdağ, Yavuz Beyatli

Turkish Journal of Biology

In this study, the production of Poly-b-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was determined in 1 Rhizobium japonicum, 6 Rhizobium cicer, 8 Rhizobium spp. and Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110. The content of according to dry cell weight was determined to be 1.38-40.0%. In our study, Rhizobium spp. 2426, which produced the highest percentage yield of PHB, and Rhizobium spp. 640, which produced the intermediate percentage yield of PHB, were first selected among all the strains, and then the effect of different carbon and nitrogen sources on PHB production in these strains was tested. While the strains produced less PHB in yeast extract mannitol (YEM) …

Epipelic And Epilithic Algae Of The Yedigöller Lakes (Erzurum-Turkey), Bülent Şahi̇n

Turkish Journal of Biology

The epipelic and epilithic algae of the Yedigöller Lakes were studied qualitatively between June and September 2001. As a result 90 taxa (43 belonging to Bacillariophyta, 33 to Chlorophyta, 11 to Cyanophyta and three to Euglenophyta) were determined. Based on the algal community composition, the Yedigöller Lakes can be characterized as oligotrophic.

The Treatment Efficiency Of Plankton In The İvedik Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Ankara, Ni̇lsun Demi̇r, Doğan Atay

Turkish Journal of Biology

The phyto-zooplankton composition and some physical and chemical properties of drinking water were investigated in the İvedik water treatment plant. The mean values of phytoplankton abundance were 641±92 and 438±55 ind/ml in the Kurtboğazı and Çamlıdere inlets, respectively. More than 50% of the phytoplankton belonging to the classes Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cryptophyceae and Dinophyceae were removed in the clarifiers. The treatment efficiency of phytoplankton ranged from 89 to 100% after the last chlorination. The mean values of zooplankton abundance were 93±23 and 59±18 ind/l in the Kurtboğazı and Çamlıdere inlets, respectively. The treatment efficiency of zooplankton varied between 97% and 100% …

The Role Of Phospholiphase D In Phospholiphid Transaction During Cotton Seeds Maturation, Muborak Mahmusovna Abdullaeva, Mamura Muhamedovna Mulladganova, Mirzalievna M. Umarova

Turkish Journal of Biology

The role of phospholipase D (EC 3.1.4.4) was studied in the changing of phospholipid content during cotton seed (Gossipium hirsutum 108-G) maturation. To define phospholipase D activity cotton seed homogenates were incubated in a water-methanol environment at 37 °C for various time intervals (15, 30, 60, 120, and 300 min). Enzyme activity was judged from the formation of hydrolysis products - phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylmethanol. The phospholipid content was defined by using thin-layer chromatography with a follow up analysis of phosphorus quantity in phospholipid fractions. It was shown that phospholipase D displayed two functions during cotton seed maturation: transferase and …

Subjective, Cultural, And Natural Ecology, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Mouse Ribonuclease Iii. Cdna Structure, Expression Analysis, And Chromosomal Location, Kristine R. Fortin, Rhonda H. Nicholson, Allen W. Nicholson

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Members of the ribonuclease III superfamily of double-stranded(ds)-RNA-specific endoribonucleases participate in diverse RNA maturation and decay pathways in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. A human RNase III orthologue has been implicated in ribosomal RNA maturation. To better understand the structure and mechanism of mammalian RNase III and its involvement in RNA metabolism we determined the cDNA structure, chromosomal location, and expression patterns of mouse RNase III.

Results

The predicted mouse RNase III polypeptide contains 1373 amino acids (~160 kDa). The polypeptide exhibits a single C-terminal dsRNA-binding motif (dsRBM), tandem catalytic domains, a proline-rich region (PRR) and an RS domain. …

Spinal Cord Of Lamprey, James T. Buchanan

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Serotonin On Functionally Diverse Isolated Lamprey Spinal Cord Neurons, I. V. Batueva, James T. Buchanan, N. P. Veselkin, E. I. Suderevskaya, E. A. Tsvetkov

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The experiments reported here showed that application of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) (100 µ M) did not induce any significant current through the membranes of any of the spinal neurons studied (n = 62). At the same time, the membranes of most motoneurons and interneurons (15 of 18) underwent slight depolarization (2–6 mV) in the presence of 5-HT, which was not accompanied by any change in the input resistance of the cells. Depolarization to 10–20 mV occurred in some cells (3 of 18) of these functional groups, this being accompanied by 20–60% decreases in input resistance. The same concentration of 5-HT …