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Selection For Rapid Embryo Development Correlates With Embryo Exposure To Maternal Androgens Among Passerine Birds, Hubert Schwabl, Maria G. Palacios, Thomas E. Martin

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

Greater offspring predation favors evolution of faster development among species. We hypothesized that greater offspring predation exerts selection on mothers to increase levels of anabolic androgens in egg yolks to achieve faster development. Here, we tested whether (1) concentrations of yolk androgens in passerine species were associated with offspring predation and (2) embryo and nestling development rates were associated with yolk androgen concentrations. We examined three androgens that increase in potency along the synthesis pathway: androstenedione (A(4)) to testosterone (T) to 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (5 alpha-DHT). Concentrations of none of these steroids were related to clutch size; only A, was allometrically …

Chronic Administration Of R-Flurbiprofen Attenuates Learning Impairments In Transgenic Amyloid Precursor Protein Mice, Thomas Kukar, Sonya Prescott, Jason L. Eriksen, Vallie Holloway, M. Paul Murphy, Edward H. Koo, Todd E. Golde, Michelle M. Nicolle

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We and others have shown that certain NSAIDs reduce secretion of Abeta42 in cell culture and animal models, and that the effect of NSAIDs on Abeta42 is independent of the inhibition of cyclooxygenase by these compounds. Since Abeta42 is hypothesized to be the initiating pathologic molecule in AD, the ability of these compounds to lower Abeta42 selectively may be associated with their protective effect. We have previously identified R-flurbiprofen (tarenflurbil) as a selective Abeta42 lowering agent with greatly reduced cyclooxygenase activity that …

Monitoring Stress During Training, Olivita Couso

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The highly stressful job of law enforcement personnel, rescue workers and soldiers requires them to constantly put to the test their previous training. In order too respond effectively under pressure, the training of these personnel must be preformed under conditions that elicit pressure. The research proposed in this thesis evaluates established training regimens for the degree of stressfulness instilled in trainees from physiological (hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, autonomic nervous system) and psychological perspectives (anxiety). Subjects participating in SWAT and military training were recruited, as well as subjects having no prior SWAT or military training. Individual physiological stress responses measured included heart …

9th Annual Pacific Research Day Abstracts, University Of The Pacific

Excellence Day

No abstract provided.

Low Temperature Induces Two Growth-Arrested Stages And Change Of Secondary Metabolites In Bursaphelenchus Xylophilus, L. L. Zhao, W. Wei, David L. Kulhavy, Xing Yao Zhang, Jiang Hua Sun

Faculty Publications

The third-stage dispersal juvenile (JIII) is the stage for survival and dispersal in the winter of the pine wood nematode,

Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Through investigations at different temperatures, we found two kinds of growth-arrested development, including the adult longevity extension and JIII formation induced by low temperature. They showed similar characters: densely packed lipid droplets and extended longevity. We considered that there were four stages in the formation of growth-arrested stages: induction, growth-arrested pathway, growth-arrested development and cold-tolerance duration. Moreover, at 4◦C there were significant changes in secondary metabolites, which may be related to signal communication and metabolism associated with …

Down-Regulation Of Natural Killer Cell Activation In Response To Influenza Virus In Older Adults, Yu Jing

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Immune senescence contributes to influenza-associated high mortality and morbidity and reduced vaccine efficacy in elderly people. Type I T cell (Thl)-mediated immunity plays a significant role in Immune responses to influenza infection and vaccination. Natural killer (NK) cells secrete significant amount of IFN-7 , a hallmark Thl cytokine, in response to influenza infection. How aging influences human NK cell IFN-7 production in response to influenza virus has not been well documented. In this study we employed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and performed intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry primarily to investigate how aging influences NK cell activation with …

Does Increasing Biology Teacher Knowledge Of Evolution And The Nature Of Science Lead To Greater Advocacy For The Teaching Of Evolution In Schools?, Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

This study investigated whether or not an increase in secondary science teacher knowledge about evolution and the nature of science gained from completing a graduate-level evolution course was associated with greater preference for the teaching of evolution in schools. Forty-four precertified secondary biology teachers participated in a 14-week intervention designed to address documented misconceptions identified by a precourse instrument. The course produced statistically significant gains in teacher knowledge of evolution and the nature of science and a significant decrease in misconceptions about evolution and natural selection. Nevertheless, teachers' postcourse preference positions remained unchanged; the majority of science teachers still preferred …

Age And Diet Strongly Affect Total Fat Body Protein In Lubber Grasshoppers, Leigh Erin Fuller

All Volumes (2001-2008)

Diet is the only environmental variable that has been shown to slow aging. Late-onset caloric restriction results in increased longevity in female grasshoppers. To better
understand the physiological processes involved, and how rapid the responses can occur, we studied the effect of diet on total fat body protein. We tested the effects of short-term treatments on the amount of fat body protein for day 20 and day 50 of adulthood: ad libitum feeding (free access to food), starvation (only water), caloric restriction (1.5g of lettuce) and heat shocking (60 min at 48°C). Grasshoppers were initially fed ad libitum and then …

The Association Of Whole Grain Ontakes With The Metabolic Syndrome: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study Of Aging (Blsa), Janice Eileen Maras

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Whole grains and their nutrient components have an important protective effect on the metabolic syndrome. Studies are needed to examine their bioactive components in relation to diet and the metabolic syndrome.

Objective: Our objective was to examine the associations between dietary intakes of whole grains and the metabolic syndrome.

Design: The study subjects were 1516 healthy men and women participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Dietary information was collected with 7-day food records, and estimates of whole grain intake were obtained from a newly developed database.

Results: A total of 17% (n = 251) of subjects met …

Feeding Drosophila A Biotin-Deficient Diet For Multiple Generations Increases Stress Resistance And Lifespan And Alters Gene Expression And Histone Biotinylation Patterns, Erin M. Smith, Jia Tse Hoi, Joel C. Eissenberg, James D. Shoemaker, Wendi S. Neckameyer, Anne M. Ilvarsonn, Lawrence G. Harshman, Vicki L. Schlegel, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Caloric restriction increases stress resistance and lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster and other species. The roles of individual nutrients in stress resistance and longevity are largely unknown. The vitamin biotin is a potential candidate for mediating these effects, given its known roles in stress signaling and gene regulation by epigenetic mechanisms, i.e., biotinylation of histones. Here, we tested the hypothesis that prolonged culture of Drosophila on biotin-deficient medium increases stress resistance and lifespan. Flies were fed a biotin-deficient diet for multiple generations; controls were fed a biotin-normal diet. In some experiments, a third group of flies was fed a biotin-deficient diet …

Predictors Of Adl Disability In Culturally Diverse Older Adults, Fernanda Holton

LSU Master's Theses

Almost 42% of adults over 65 years of age live with at least one disability. Further, people of lower socioeconomic status and Blacks have greater risks for disability than Whites and individuals at higher socioeconomic status. The consequences of disability include loss of independence, decreased quality of life, increased chances of depression, consumption of health care services, and institutionalization. The purpose of this study was to utilize the disablement process framework to examine the contribution of physical function, dyspnea, and pain to disability in activities-of-daily-living (ADL) in culturally diverse older adults (i.e., diverse according to race, income, and education). Participants …

Diversity Of The Ig Repertoire Is Maintained With Age In Spite Of Reduced Germinal Centre Cells In Human Tonsil Lymphoid Tissue, G. R. Kolar, D. Mehta, P. C. Wilson, J. D. Capra

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Humans and almost all species studied to date exhibit a decreased responsiveness to immunization and increased autoimmunity with age. While this has been observed clinically for decades, only recently has an understanding of the molecular basis for these changes begun to be appreciated. Studies of the B-cell aspects of these changes in ageing mice and the very few reports in ageing humans have not been conclusive. Here we examine the nucleotide sequence of over 1250 VH transcripts from the tonsils of individuals of various ages for changes to the VH4 immunoglobulin repertoire. An exhaustive examination of VH, DH and JH …

Environmental Stress And Reproduction In Drosophila Melanogaster: Starvation Resistance, Ovariole Numbers And Early Age Egg Production, Marta L. Wayne, Usha Soundararajan, Lawrence G. Harshman

Papers in Genetics

Background: The Y model of resource allocation predicts a tradeoff between reproduction and survival. Environmental stress could affect a tradeoff between reproduction and survival, but the physiological mechanisms underlying environmental mediation of the tradeoff are largely unknown. One example is the tradeoff between starvation resistance and early fecundity. One goal of the present study was to determine if reduced early age fecundity was indeed a robust indirect response to selection for starvation resistance, by investigation of a set of D. melanogaster starvation selected lines which had not previously been characterized for age specific egg production. Another goal of the present …

Predictors Of Influenza Immunization Among Home Care Clients In Ontario, John P. Hirdes, Dawn M. Dalby, R. Knight Steel, G. Iain Carpenter, Roberto Bernabei, John N. Morris, Brant E. Fries

Kinesiology and Physical Education Faculty Publications

Background: This study examined factors associated with the receipt of influenza vaccination among Ontario home care clients.

Methods: Home care clients were assessed, as part of a routine home visit, during a pilot study of the Resident Assessment Instrument – Home Care (RAI-HC) in 12 Ontario Community Care Access Centres (CCACs). The RAI-HC is a multidimensional assessment that identifies clients’ needs and level of functional ability. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with influenza immunization in the two years prior to assessment.

Results: The overall rate of immunization reached about 80% by 2002. Factors …

Behaviour Development: A Cephalopod Perspective, Jennifer A. Mather

Interactive Behavior Collection

This paper evaluates the development of behaviour from the viewpoint of the intelligent and learningdependent cephalopod mollusks as a contrast to that of mammals. They have a short lifespan, commonly one to two years, and most are semelparous, reproducing only near the end of their lifespan. In the first two months of life, Sepia officinalis cuttlefish show drastic limitation on learning of prey choice and capture, gradually acquiring first short-term and then long-term learning over 60 days. This is paralleled by development of the vertical lobe of the brain which processes visually learned information. In the long nonreproductive adulthood, Octopus …

Impaired Glutamate Transport In A Mouse Model Of Tau Pathology In Astrocytes, Deepa V. Dabir

Biology Faculty Works

Filamentous tau inclusions in neurons and glia are neuropathological hallmarks of tauopathies. The discovery of microtubule-associated protein tau gene mutations that are pathogenic for a heterogenous group of neurodegenerative disorders, called frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome-17 (FTDP-17), directly implicate tau abnormalities in the onset/progression of disease. Although the role of tau pathology in neurons in disease pathogenesis is well accepted, the contribution of glial pathology is essentially unknown. We recently generated a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of tau pathology in astrocytes by expressing the human tau protein under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter. …

Self-Regulation In Physical Activity: Understanding Decisions That Older Adults Make, Janene Marie Grodesky

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Physical activity and exercise have been shown to strongly contribute to an extended quality of life. Half of all physical declines in aging can be prevented by engaging in adequate levels of daily physical activity. Only one in four older adults over the age of 65 participates in regular physical activity. There are various factors that have been identified in this population that influence physical activity behaviors including gender, ethnicity, education, and socioeconomic status. Though important for providing baseline data on older adults, these descriptions do not fully explain why or why not this population engages in physical activity; or …

Rapid Senescence In Pacific Salmon, Yolanda E. Morbey, Chad Brassil, Andrew P. Hendry

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Any useful evolutionary theory of senescence must be able to explain variation within and among natural populations and species. This requires a careful characterization of age-specific mortality rates in nature as well as the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence these rates. We perform this task for two populations of semelparous Pacific salmon. During the breeding season, estimated daily mortality rates increased from 0 to 0.2–0.5 (depending on the year) over the course of several weeks. Early-arriving individuals had a later onset and/or a lower rate of senescence in each breeding season, consistent with adaptive expectations based on temporal variation …

Biodemography Of A Long-Lived Tephritid: Reproduction And Longevity In A Large Cohort Of Female Mexican Fruit Flies, Anastrepha Ludens, James R. Carey, Pablo Liedo, Hans-Georg Müller, Jane-Ling Wang, Damla Senturke, Lawrence G. Harshman

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

Age of sexual maturity, daily and lifetime reproductive rates, and life span were recorded in a laboratory cohort of Mexican fruit flies consisting of over 1100 females maintained individually. The results revealed that, relative to the medfly, the Mexfly is slower maturing (14 vs 17 days), more fecund (1400 vs 650–1100 eggs/female), and longer lived (50 vs 35 days). The results reinforced the generality of several earlier findings on the medfly including the deceleration of mortality at older ages and the weakness of the correlation between the rate of egg laying at early ages and both subsequent reproduction and remaining …

The Symmetry Of Longevity, Lawrence G. Harshman, Hans-Georg Müller, Xueli Liu, Yue Wang, James R. Carey

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

We tested the hypothesis that relatively symmetrical flies live longer. Vein measurements on the left and right wings from the same individual were used to characterize bilateral symmetry in relationship to age-specific survival in defined cohorts. A longitudinal cohort study supported the hypothesis of a correlation between bilateral symmetry and longevity. For another type of experiment, wings were removed from females and males at approximately the beginning of adult life. Thus, there would be no effect of wings per se on adult survival. These wings were measured to characterize bilateral asymmetry, and the day of death of each dewinged individual …

Online Dictionary Of Invertebrate Zoology: G, Mary Ann Basinger Maggenti, Armand R. Maggenti, Scott L. Gardner

Armand R. Maggenti Online Dictionary of Invertebrate Zoology

galea gallery gallicola gallicolae gallicolous galliphagous galvanotaxis galvanotropism gametangiogamy gametangium gamete gametocyte gametogamy gametogenesis gametogenetic gametogeny gametogonium gametogony gametotoky gamma gamobium gamodeme gamogenesis gamogonic gamogony gamones gamophase ganglia gangliate ganglion ganglionic gap gaper gaping gas gaseous gaster gasterostome gasterotheca gastraea gastraeum gastral gastralia gastric gastrilegous gastrocoele gastrocoelus gastrodermis gastro-ileal gastrolith gastroorbital Gastropoda gastropods gastropores Gastrotricha gastrotrichs gastrovascular gastrozooid gastrula gastrular gathering Gause's gelatigenous gelatin gelatine gelatinous geminate gemma gemmate gemmation gemmipara gemmipares gemmule gemmulostasin gena genacerore genae genal genaponta genatasinus gene genera generalized generation generative generitype generotype Gene's genesiology genetic genetics genic genicular geniculate genital genitalia genitointestinal genocline genocopy genodeme …

Functional Electric Stimulation Cycle Ergometry Training Effect On Lower Limb Muscles In Acute Sci Individuals, Timothy J. Demchak, Jon K. Linderman, W. Jerry Mysiw, Rebecca Jackson, Jihong Sunn, Steven T. Devor

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to compare three different intervals for a between sets rest period during a common isokinetic knee extension strength-testing protocol of twenty older Brazilian men (66.30 ± 3.92 yrs). The volunteers underwent unilateral knee extension (Biodex System 3) testing to determine their individual isokinetic peak torque at 60, 90, and 120° ·s-1. The contraction speeds and the rest periods between sets (30, 60 and 90 s) were randomly performed in three different days with a minimum rest period of 48 hours. Significant differences between and within sets were analyzed using a One Way Analysis of …

Reporting Quality Of Randomized Trials In The Diet And Exercise Literature For Weight Loss, Cheryl A. Gibson, Erik P. Kirk, James D. Lecheminant, Bruce W. Bailey Jr, Guoyuan Huang, Joseph E. Donnelly

Faculty Publications

Background

To adequately assess individual studies and synthesize quantitative research on weight loss studies, transparent reporting of data is required. The authors examined the reporting quality of randomized trials in the weight loss literature, focusing exclusively on subject characteristics as they relate to enrollment, allocation, and follow-up.

Methods

An extensive literature review, which included a computerized search of the MEDLINE database, manual searches of bibliographic references, and cross-referencing of 92 review articles was conducted. A checklist, based on CONSORT recommendations, was used to collect information on whether or not authors reported age, gender, co-morbid disease, medication use, race/ethnicity, and postmenopausal …

Stochastic Dietary Restriction Using A Markov-Chain Feeding Protocol Elicits Complex, Life History Response In Medflies, James R. Carey, Pablo Liedo, Hans-Georg Müller, Jane-Ling Wang, Ying Zhang, Lawrence G. Harshman

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

Lifespan in individually housed medflies (virgins of both sexes) and daily reproduction for females were studied following one of 12 dietary restriction (DR) treatments in which the availability of high-quality food (yeast–sugar mixture) for each fly was based on a Markov chain feeding scheme – a stochastic dietary regime which specifies that the future dietary state depends only on the present dietary state and not on the path by which the present state was achieved. The stochastic treatments consisted of a combination of one of four values of a ‘discovery’ parameter and one of three values of a ‘persistence’ parameter. …

Transgenic Mouse Model Of Tau Pathology In Astrocytes Leading To Nervous System Degeneration, Deepa V. Dabir

Biology Faculty Works

Filamentous tau inclusions in neurons and glia are neuropathological hallmarks of sporadic and familial tauopathies. Because tau gene mutations are pathogenic for the autosomal dominant tauopathy "frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17," tau abnormalities are implicated directly in the onset and/or progression of disease. Although filamentous tau aggregates are acknowledged to play roles in degenerative mechanisms resulting in neuron loss, the contributions of glial tau pathology to neurodegeneration remain essentially unexplored. To begin to elucidate the role of glial pathology in tauopathies, we generated a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of astrocytic tau pathology by expressing the human tau …

Physical Function And Health Related Quality Of Life In Culturally Diverse Elders: Evidence Of Environmental Press, Robyn M. Bossier

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to identify group differences in physical function and HRQL between older adults living in different environments, and to compare information from these groups to data from a random sample of elders pulled from the general population. METHODS: Seventy-eight older adults were evaluated for physical function using the continuous-scale physical functional performance test (CS-PFP) and HRQL using the SF-36 v.2. Subjects were 26 predominantly African American participants (LOW group; age 72.2 ± 8.1 years), 26 Caucasian adults (HIGH group; age 77.6 ± 4.8 years), and 26 adults selected from a population-based study (POP group; age …

Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope And Functional Physical Performance In Elderly Adults, Scott Eric Fuller

LSU Master's Theses

Background: The Oxygen Uptake Efficiency Slope (OUES) attained during submaximal treadmill exercise is a reliable index of cardiorespiratory capacity in older adults. This investigation compares OUES values derived during treadmill walking and performance of the Continuous Scale Physical Function Performance test (CS-PFP). Method: A Cosmed portable metabolic cart was used to collect breath gases in 36 older adults (age: 81.8 +/- 7.8 years). Twenty-one subjects performed both the incremental treadmill test and the CS-PFP while an additional 15 subjects performed the CS-PFP, only. Results: The regression of log Ventilation vs. VO₂ reveals similar correlations for the CS-PFP and treadmill …

Human Fetal, Cord Blood, And Adult Lymphocyte Progenitors Have Similar Potential For Generating B Cells With A Diverse Immunoglobulin Repertoire, Grant R. Kolar, Takafumi Yokota, Maria Isabel D. Rossi, Swapan K. Nath, J. Donald Capra

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Several characteristics of the immunoglobulin (Ig) repertoire in fetuses and adults set them apart from each other. Functionally, this translates into differences in the affinity and effectiveness of the humoral immune response between adults and the very young. At least 2 possibilities could explain these differences: (1) fetal and adult lymphocyte progenitors differ significantly in their potential to form a diverse repertoire, and (2) factors extrinsic to the immunoglobulin locus are more influential to the character of the repertoire. To address this, we used nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficient- β2 microglobulin knockout (NOD/SCID/β2m ^-/-) mice reconstituted with human B-cell progenitors …

Constraints On Adaptive Evolution: The Functional Trade-Off Between Reproduction And Fast-Start Swimming Performance In The Trinidadian Guppy (Poecilia Reticulata), Cameron K. Ghalambor, David N. Reznick, Jeffrey A. Walker Phd

Faculty Publications

The empirical study of natural selection reveals that adaptations often involve trade-offs between competing functions. Because natural selection acts on whole organisms rather than isolated traits, adaptive evolution may be constrained by the interaction between traits that are functionally integrated. Yet, few attempts have been made to characterize how and when such constraints are manifested or whether they limit the adaptive divergence of populations. Here we examine the consequences of adaptive life-history evolution on locomotor performance in the live-bearing guppy. In response to increased predation from piscivorous fish, Trinidadian guppies evolve an increased allocation of resources toward reproduction. These populations …

Enhancing Weight Gain In Long-Term Care Residents At Risk For Weight Loss Through Protein And Calorie Fortification., Shannon Marie Tolbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose of this study was to compare two methods of supplementing diets in order to provide additional protein and calories to increase body weight. The study consisted of two groups from the James H. Quillen Veterans Affair Medical Center Nursing Home Care Unit. Experimental group received foods fortified with increased calories and protein at mealtimes. Control group received nutrition supplements between meals. Fifteen subjects began the study. Analysis of weight change revealed that those in the experimental group had no weight change over the four months. Subjects in the control group gained an average of 4.8 lbs of body weight …