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Gain-Of-Function Mutations In Scn5a Gene Lead To Type-3 Long Qt Syndrome, Fang Fang

ETD Archive

Type-3 long QT syndrome, which is related to type 5 voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunit (SCN5A) mutation, has been identified since 1995. LQTS mutation in SCN5A is a gain-of-function mutation producing late sodium current, INa,L. Brugada mutation in SCN5A is a loss-of-function causing INa decrease. Whereas, the mechanism for Dilated Cardiomyopathy mutations in SCN5A is still not fully understood. N1325S is one of the first series of mutations identified for type-3 LQTS. Our lab created a mouse model for LQTS by expressing SCN5A mutation N1325S in the mouse hearts (TG-NS) and a matched experimental control line with overexpression of wild- …

Starvation Causes Disturbance In Amino Acid And Fatty Acid Metabolism In Diporeia, Suman Maity, Amber Jannasch, Jiri Adamec, Thomas Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök, Maria S. Sepúlveda

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The benthic amphipod Diporeia spp. was once the predominant macroinvertebrate in deep, offshore regions of the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, since the early 1990s, Diporeia populations have steadily declined across the area. It has been hypothesized that this decline is due to starvation from increasing competition for food with invasive dreissenid mussels. In order to gain a better understanding of the changes in Diporeia physiology during starvation, we applied two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry (GCXGC/TOF-MS) for investigating the responses in Diporeia metabolome during starvation. We starved Diporeia for 60 days and collected five organisms every …

Health Status, Infection And Disease In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus) Studied Using A Canine Microarray Platform And Machine-Learning Approaches, Annalaura Mancia, James C. Ryan, Robert W. Chapman, Qingzhong Wu, Gregory W. Warr, Frances M.D. Gulland, Frances M. Van Dolah

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Conservation biologists face many challenges in assessing health, immune status and infectious diseases in protected species. These challenges include unpredictable sample populations, diverse genetic and environmental backgrounds of the animals, as well as the practical, legal and ethical issues involved in experimentation. The use of whole genome scale transcriptomics with animal samples obtained in a minimally invasive manner is an approach that shows promise for health assessment. In this study we assessed the utility of a microarray to identify changes in gene expression predictive of health status by interrogating blood samples from California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) in …

Disease Will Limit Future Food Supply From The Global Crustacean Fishery And Aquaculture Sectors, G.D. Stentiford, D.M. Neil, E.J. Peeler, J.D. Shields, H.J. Small, T.W. Flegel, J.M. Vlak, B. Jones, F. Morado, S. Moss, J. Lotz, L. Bartholomay, D.C. Behringer, C. Hauton, D.V. Lightner

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Seafood is a highly traded food commodity. Farmed and captured crustaceans contribute a significant proportion with annual production exceeding 10 M metric tonnes with first sale value of $40bn. The sector is dominated by farmed tropical marine shrimp, the fastest growing sector of the global aquaculture industry. It is significant in supporting rural livelihoods and alleviating poverty in producing nations within Asia and Latin America while forming an increasing contribution to aquatic food supply in more developed countries. Nations with marine borders often also support important marine fisheries for crustaceans that are regionally traded as live animals and commodity products. …

Critique On The Use Of The Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test For First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics …

Climate Change And Infectious Disease Dynamics, Raina K. Plowright, Paul C. Cross, Gary M. Tabor, Emily Almberg, Leslie Bienen, Peter J. Hudson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The International Panel on Climate Change has made an unequivocal case that the earth's climate is changing in profound ways, and that human activities are contributing significantly to climate disruption (IPCC 2007). The weight of evidence demonstrates warming global temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation, and increasing climate variability, with more extreme events. Thus, the physical underpinnings of ecology are changing, with pervasive effects on disease dynamics. Interactions among environment, hosts, and pathogens drive disease processes, and climate change will influence every interaction in this triad, directly and indirectly.

Sorta Situ: The New Reality Of Management Conditions For Wildlife Populations In The Absence Of "Wild" Spaces, Barbara A. Wolfe, Roberto F. Aguilar, A. Alonso Aguirre, Glenn H. Olsen, Evan S. Blumer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The rate of species loss today is approaching catastrophic levels. Scientists project that over the next two decades, more than 1 million species of plants and animals will become extinct. E.O. Wilson has estimated that "the rate ofloss may exceed 50,000 a year, 137 a day ... this rate, while horrendous, is actually the minimal estimate, based on the species/area relationship alone" (Kellert and Wilson 1993, p. 16; Aguirre 2009). Ever-expanding communities, strained natural resources, changes in land use, and other anthropogenic drivers are compromising ecosystems and rapidly changing the landscape and the availability of "wild" spaces.

Effect Of Fires On Soil Organic Carbon Pool And Mineralization In A Northeastern China Wetland, Hongmei Zhao, Daniel Q. Tong, Qianxin Lin, Xianguo Lu, Guoping Wang

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Fire occurs frequently over wetland, but little is known of its impact on soil carbon variations and carbon mineralization, process that are potentially important in global carbon cycle. To investigate this issue, we have designed and implemented a two-year field campaign to quality the effects of fire seasonality and frequency on soil carbon abundance and carbon mineralization in a wetland of the Sanjiang Plain in Northeastern China. A total of 4 burning experiments were conducted over 12 wetland plots from autumn 2007 to spring 2009. Our results show that after burning soil organic carbon (OC) increased in the burned soils …

A Computational Study Of The Vibrational Behavior Of Fluid-Filled Spherical Thin Shells, Sami Abdul-Wahid

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Three-dimensional finite-element modeling of the resonance behavior of thin spherical shells is done with the COMSOL multi-physics software package and comparisons are made with experimental data and theoretical predictions. Computational models of the sell in vacuo, and with water inside, are tested. Results in vacuo show a 1% agreement in the very thin shell (h/R=1/250, for thickness h and radius R). Three experimentally measured resonance frequencies below 8500 Hz of the water filled shell are predicted computationally to within 25 Hz. Other spectral similarities and discrepancies are discussed qualitatively. The data suggests that the COMSOL …

Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Meredith Fairbanks, David Bowran, Geraldine Pasqual

Bulletins 4000 -

Agriculture contributes 15.5 per cent of Australia’s emissions (Figure 1), largely due to methane, from ruminant livestock digestion, nitrous oxide from soils and carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use (Australian National Greenhouse Accounts 2011; ABARES 2011).

This bulletin identifies current ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Australian agriculture.

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2012, 132nd Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-Second Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Applied Science and Technology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Nebraska Wesleyan University Health and Sciences Graduate School Fair

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Maiben Memorial Lecture: "The Status of Nebraska's Native Aspen," "Buffalo" Bruce McIntosh, Western Nebraska Resources Council

Aeronautics

Anthropology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Chemistry and Physics

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Earth Science

History/Philosophy of Science

Junior Academy, Senior High Competition

Teaching of Science and Math

Junior Academy, Junior High Competition

Morphology And Variation Of The Asiatic Wild Ass (Equus Hemionus Hemionus), Kati Schöpke, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, Nyamsuren Batsaikhan, Renate Schafberg

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

A collection of recent skeletal remains from the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus hemionus PALLAS) was prepared and stored in the Museum of Domesticated Animals “JULIUS KÜHN” in Halle, Germany.

The collection is based on carcass remains sampled between 2001 and 2006 under the leadership of Michael Stubbe during joint Mongolian-German Biological Expeditions

Skeletal remains of 43 individual specimens were studied (18 mares, 15 stallions, and 10 juvenile asses). The determination of sex and age was initially based on carcass information from observations made in situ in the field. Subsequently, skull traits, including dentition and development of canine teeth …

New Data On The Fish Coregonus Peled (Gmelin, 1788) In Some Water Bodies Of Mongolia, Ayuriin Dulmaa

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

In connection with the planned establishment of a coregonid fishery and the construction of a specialized hatchery in the area of Western Mongolia a study was undertaken with the aim of studying some parts of the reproductive biology of population of Coregonus peled inhabiting the lake Ulaagchnii Khar (Zavhan aimag). This species was introduced into this Mongolian lake, originally lacking any fish stock, in the period from 1980–1982. 11,230 fish were collected and examined during the periods from 1993–1999 and 2005–2011 and consisted partly of the fish originating from imported and introduced larvae and partly of the individuals belonging about …

First Stable Isotope Analysis Of Asiatic Wild Ass Tail Hair From The Mongolian Gobi, Micha Horacek, Petra Kaczensky, Merina Burnik Sturm

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Stable isotope analysis has become a powerful tool to study feeding ecology, water use or movement pattern in contemporary, historic and ancient species. Certain hair and teeth grow continuously, and when sampled longitudinally can provide temporally explicit information on dietary regime and movement pattern. In an initial trial, we analysed a tail sample of an Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) from the Mongolian Gobi. We found seasonal variations in H, C, and N isotope patterns, likely being the result of temporal variations in available feeds, water supply and possibly physiological status. Thus stable isotope analysis shows promise to …

Eastern Ichigan University Graduate Catalog, 2012-2013, Office Of The Registrar

Graduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Profiles In Science: John Bennett Fenn, Kimberly Brady, Roy Brown, Emily Johnson, Shannon D. Jones, Margaret Henderson, Dana Ladd, Irene Lubker, Jennifer A. Mcdaniel

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

“Don’t ever try to be a scientist or engineer!” Had John Bennett Fenn listened to this advice given by his ninth grade teacher, he might not have gone on to pursue a career in analytical chemistry which would culminate in the attainment of the Nobel Prize in 2002. Gathered from interviews, publication analyses, glowing tributes, and his reminiscences, this paper outlines the academic and professional life of John Fenn from childhood through the end of his career in 2010.

Overfishing Of The Common Snook, Allison Ashcroft

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

The chief aim of this project is to determine if the populations of the common snook, Centropomus Undecimalis, in the Atlantic and Gulf coast are being affected by overfishing. This is established by evaluating the intrinsic rate of change for these populations and their carrying capacities. It turns out that the carrying capacity for the population of the Atlantic coast is approximately one million snook and its intrinsic rate is 0.00621, while the carrying capacity of the Gulf coast's population is 2.9 million snook and its intrinsic rate is 0.00165. The decline of both populations is most likely due …

Co-Grazing Beef Cattle And Goats In Kentucky, David C. Ditsch, Patty Scharko

Plant and Soil Sciences Research Report

A two season grazing study of mixed (goats and beef cattle) species was conducted in 2006 and 2008 at Sebastian Farms in Breathitt County KY. The objective of this study was to determine if the order of mixed species grazing affected beef cattle and goat weight gain and goat exposure to the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) in a rotational grazing system. In this study, two co-grazing management strategies were tested. In treatment 1, goats and cattle were rotationally grazed together. In treatment 2, goats rotated through pastures as first grazers followed by cattle. Each co-grazing treatment was …

Droughtscape, Winter 2012, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Drought Planning for Kansas Ranchers Jan. 21

South Hoping La Niña Dryness Stays Away

2011 Brought Record-Breaking Extent of D4

Reported Impacts Ease as Growing Season Ends

Disaster Planning in Nanjing at Hohai U

Ag, Fire and Water Supply Topped 2011 Impacts

Perspectives: Developing And Defining Both Science And Science Education As Disciplines, Robert E. Yager

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The six "domains" have been identified as features for the "doing" of science. These six are: Concept, Process, Creativity, Attitude, Application, and Worldview. They are offered to affect teaching, student learning, as well as a new way of defining science. Concepts and Processes often are the only two typically used to define school and college science content; Creativity and Positive Attitudes are added as two "enabling" domains; a fifth Domain is offered as a focus on the Application of typical concepts and process skills. It is the Domain where and how most people live and operate! The sixth Domain is …

Incorporating Personal Health Records Into The Disease Management Of Rural Heart Failure Patients, Karen Baron

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Personal Health Records (PHRs) allow patients to access and in some cases manage their own health records. Their potential benefits include access to health information, enhanced asynchronous communication between patients and clinicians, and convenience of online appointment scheduling and prescription refills. Potential barriers to PHR use include lack of computer and internet access, poor computer or health literacy, security concerns, and provider disengagement. PHRs may help those living in rural areas and those with chronic conditions such as heart failure, monitor and manage their disease, communicate with their health care team and adhere to clinical recommendations. To provide some much …

Cloud Security: A Case Study In Telemedicine, Michael Johnstone

Australian eHealth Informatics and Security Conference

Security as part of requirements engineering is now seen as an essential part of systems development in several modern methodologies. Unfortunately, medical systems are one domain where security is seen as an impediment to patient care and not as an essential part of a system. Cloud computing may offer a seamless way to allow medical data to be transferred from patient to medical practitioners, whilst maintaining security requirements. This paper uses a case study to investigate the use of cloud computing in a mobile application for Parkinson Disease. It was found that functionality took precedence over security requirements and standards.

Modeling An Improvement In Phosphorus Utilization In Tropical Agriculture, David Edelstein, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Studies of Terra Preta soils have generated interest in recreating their fertility elsewhere. Much of the research has focused on soil amendment charcoal (“biochar”). Terra Preta also contains bone fragments, producing a high concentration of phosphorus. Some forecast worldwide declines in phosphorus supplies, and better agricultural system management is required to improve phosphorus use efficiency. A conceptual model is offered to consider the influence of charcoal on bioavailability of phosphorus. The model describes a system where improvements in the chemical and biological condition of the soil result in increased phosphorus availability and cycling. Mechanisms of phosphorus/charcoal interaction are considered, and …

Summary Report: Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2012 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Natural Antiparasitic Coumarins: An In Silico Study, William R. Erwin

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Trace Element Analysis Of Environmental And Clinical Materials Using Novel Instrumentation Based On X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry : New Capabilities For Public Health Laboratories, Kathryn G. Mcintosh

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is a well-established analytical technique for determining the elemental content of many different materials. XRF has long been used for public health applications, particularly for identifying lead-based paint hazards. The primary advantage of XRF over other atomic spectrometric techniques is that it is nondestructive. In addition, little sample preparation is required, so results are obtained rapidly and at low cost. The principal aim of this study was to characterize the utility and reliability of current XRF instrumentation for use in the environmental health sciences. Interest in the use of XRF for detecting lead in children's toys …

Ecological Literacy, Nutrition Knowledge, And Dietary Practices Among Students At University At Albany, Elaine Hills

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

University students (N=1,924) at a large public university were surveyed to measure their nutrition knowledge, dietary practices, and ecological literacy. A quantitative measure of ecological literacy was developed for this purpose, reflecting familiarity with nature, awareness of one's personal impact on local and global ecologies, and personal lifestyle choices that demonstrate civic responsibility for the natural environment. The association between nutrition knowledge and dietary practices was compared to the association between ecological literacy and dietary practices. The results showed that: (1) many students were not familiar with public health eating recommendations and did not eat recommended amounts of foods, particularly …

Spatial Variation In Rna:Dna Ratios Of Diporeia Spp. In The Great Lakes Region, Daniel J. Ryan, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Thomas F. Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Over the past two decades, Diporeia in all of the Laurentian Great Lakes, except Superior, have declined dramatically. These declines have seemingly coincided with expansion of invasive Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis, however the exact mechanisms underlying decreasing Diporeia densities are obscure. We explored the use of RNA:DNA (R/D) ratios as a conditional index for Diporeia by experimentally demonstrating that Diporeia R/D responds to periods of starvation. Moreover, during 2008–2009 we collected Diporeia from throughout the Great Lakes and Cayuga Lake (New York, USA), and used R/D ratios to index condition of these in situ collected animals. We evaluated …

Linking Ciguatera Poisoning To Spatial Ecology Of Fish: A Novel Approach To Examining The Distribution Of Biotoxin Levels In The Great Barracuda By Combining Non-Lethal Blood Sampling And Biotelemetry, Amanda C. O'Toole, Marie-Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein, Andy J. Danylchuk, John S. Ramsdell, Steven J. Cooke

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Ciguatera in humans is typically caused by the consumption of reef fish that have accumulated Ciguatoxins (CTXs) in their flesh. Over a six month period, we captured 38 wild adult great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), a species commonly associated with ciguatera in The Bahamas. We sampled three tissues (i.e.,muscle, liver, and blood) and analysed them for the presence of ciguatoxins using a functional in vitro N2A bioassay. Detectable concentrations of ciguatoxins found in the three tissue types ranged from 2.51 to 211.74 pg C-CTX-1 equivalents/ g. Blood and liver toxin concentrations were positively correlated (ρ=0.86, P=0.003), indicating …

Metabolite Profiles In Starved Diporeia Spp. Using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms) Based Metabolomics, Suman Maity, Amber Jannasch, Jiri Adamec, Michael Gribskov, Thomas F. Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök, Maria S. Sepúlveda

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The holarctic amphipod Diporeia spp. was historically the most abundant benthic macroinvertebrate in the offshore region of the Laurentian Great Lakes basin. However, since the 1990’s, the numbers of Diporeia have declined precipitously throughout the region. Competition for food with introduced dreissenid mussels may be partly to blame for this decline. Thus, a better understanding of how Diporeia responds and adjust to starvation is needed. For this purpose, we used liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) to study the metabolite profiles of Diporeia during starvation. Diporeia were collected from Lake Michigan, brought to the laboratory and starved …