Digital Commons Network^™

Understory Bird Communities In Amazonian Rainforest Fragments: Species Turnover Through 25 Years Post-Isolation In Recovering Landscapes, Philip C. Stouffer, Erik I. Johnson, Richard O. Bierregaard, Thomas E. Lovejoy

Faculty Publications

Inferences about species loss following habitat conversion are typically drawn from short-term surveys, which cannot reconstruct long-term temporal dynamics of extinction and colonization. A long-term view can be critical, however, to determine the stability of communities within fragments. Likewise, landscape dynamics must be considered, as second growth structure and overall forest cover contribute to processes in fragments. Here we examine bird communities in 11 Amazonian rainforest fragments of 1-100 ha, beginning before the fragments were isolated in the 1980s, and continuing through 2007. Using a method that accounts for imperfect detection, we estimated extinction and colonization based on standardized mist-net …

Intracellular Targeting Specificity Of Novel Phthalocyanines Assessed In A Host-Parasite Model For Developing Potential Photodynamic Medicine, Sujoy Dutta, Benson G. Ongarora, Hairong Li, Maria Graca H. Da Vicente, Bala K. Kolli, Kwang Poo Chang

Faculty Publications

Photodynamic therapy, unlikely to elicit drug-resistance, deserves attention as a strategy to counter this outstanding problem common to the chemotherapy of all diseases. Previously, we have broadened the applicability of this modality to photodynamic vaccination by exploiting the unusual properties of the trypanosomatid protozoa, Leishmania, i.e., their innate ability of homing to the phagolysosomes of the antigen-presenting cells and their selective photolysis therein, using transgenic mutants endogenously inducible for porphyrin accumulation. Here, we extended the utility of this host-parasite model for in vitro photodynamic therapy and vaccination by exploring exogenously supplied photosensitizers. Seventeen novel phthalocyanines (Pcs) were screened in vitro …

Hef1, A Novel Target Of Wnt Signaling, Promotes Colonic Cell Migration And Cancer Progression, Y. Li, J. H. Bavarva, Z. Wang, J. Guo, C. Qian, S. N. Thibodeau, E. A. Golemis, W. Liu

Faculty Publications

Misregulation of the canonical Wnt/Β-catenin pathway and aberrant activation of Wnt signaling target genes are common in colorectal cancer (CRC) and contribute to cancer progression. Altered expression of human enhancer of filamentation 1 (HEF1; also known as NEDD9 or Cas-L) has been implicated in progression of melanoma, breast, and CRC. However, the regulation of HEF1 and the role of HEF1 in CRC tumorigenesis are not fully understood. We here identify HEF1 as a novel Wnt signaling target. The expression of HEF1 was upregulated by Wnt-3a, Β-catenin, and Dvl2 in a dose-dependent manner, and was suppressed following Β-catenin downregulation by shRNA. …

Bobcats Do Not Exhibit Rub Response Despite Presence At Hair Collection Stations, Chirstopher E. Comer, Symmank M. E., James C. Kroll

Faculty Publications

We evaluated the detection rate for hair snare sampling for bobcats (Lynx rufus) using colocated hair snares and infrared-triggered cameras at 20 locations on private property in eastern Texas. Hair snares and cameras were placed together at survey stations that included both visual and olfactory attractants. In 1,680 trap-nights we photographically documented 15 visits by bobcats but collected only one bobcat hair sample. Our observations suggested limited rubbing behavior by bobcats at hair snares despite presence at hair collection stations. The explanation for this behavior remains unclear but is consistent with observations of low and variable hair trap …

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Simian Retrovirus Type 2 Vaccine Protects Macaques From Detectable Infection And B-Cell Destruction, Rajeev Gautam, Arun Iyer, Meredith Hunter, Arpita Das, Tessa Williams, Jason Dufour, Cristian Apetrei, K. Gus Kousoulas, Preston A. Marx

Faculty Publications

Natural infection with simian retrovirus (SRV) has long been recognized in rhesus macaques (RMs) and may result in an AIDS-like disease. Importantly, SRV infections persist as a problem in recently imported macaques. Therefore, there is a clear need to control SRV spread in macaque colonies. We developed a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-SRV vaccine consisting of replication-competent hybrid VSVs that express SRV gag and env in separate vectors. The goal of this study was to assess the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the VSV-SRV serotype 2 vaccine prime-boost approach in RMs. The VSV-SRV vector (expressing either SRV gag or env) …

Reading Te Leaves: New Approaches To The Identification Of Transposable Element Insertions, David A. Ray, Mark A. Batzer

Faculty Publications

Transposable elements (TEs) are a tremendous source of genome instability and genetic variation. Of particular interest to investigators of human biology and human evolution are retrotransposon insertions that are recent and/or polymorphic in the human population. As a consequence, the ability to assay large numbers of polymorphic TEs in a given genome is valuable. Five recent manuscripts each propose methods to scan whole human genomes to identify, map, and, in some cases, genotype polymorphic retrotransposon insertions in multiple human genomes simultaneously. These technologies promise to revolutionize our ability to analyze human genomes for TE-based variation important to studies of human …

Host Specificity Of Anthonomus Tenebrosus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), A Potential Biological Control Agent Of Tropical Soda Apple (Solanaceae) In Florida, J. Medal, N. Bustamante, E. Bredow, H. Pedrosa, W. Overholt, R. Díaz, J. Cuda

Faculty Publications

Multiple-choice and no-choice tests were conducted at the Florida Department of Agriculture quarantine facility to determine the host specificity of the South American flower bud weevil, Anthonomus tenebrosus Boheman, intended for biological control of the exotic weed tropical soda apple (TSA), Solanum viarum Dunal in Florida, USA. Ninety-one plant species in 21 families were included in multiple-choice feeding and oviposition experiments, including the target weed and the 6 major cultivated Solanaceae: bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), chili pepper (C. frutescens L.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), and potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Plant bouquets …

Evaluation Of Juvenile Hormone Analogues As Rodent Feed-Through Insecticides For Control Of Immature Phlebotomine Sandflies, T. M. Mascari, M. A. Mitchell, E. D. Rowton, L. D. Foil

Faculty Publications

The juvenile hormone analogues methoprene and pyriproxyfen were evaluated as rodent feed-through insecticides for control of immature stages of the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae). The development and survival of P. papatasi second-instar larvae fed faeces from Syrian hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus, that had been fed a diet containing methoprene (0, 9.788, 97.88 or 978.8 p.p.m.) or pyriproxyfen (0, 9.82, 98.2 or 982 p.p.m.) were evaluated. The faeces of methoprene-treated hamsters greatly reduced the percentage of larvae that pupated at all concentrations tested and prevented adult emergence at all but the lowest concentration (9.788 p.p.m.). Pyriproxyfen prevented both pupation and …

Assessing The Risk Of Second Malignancies After Modern Radiotherapy, Wayne D. Newhauser, Marco Durante

Faculty Publications

Recent advances in radiotherapy have enabled the use of different types of particles, such as protons and heavy ions, as well as refinements to the treatment of tumours with standard sources (photons). However, the risk of second cancers arising in long-term survivors continues to be a problem. The long-term risks from treatments such as particle therapy have not yet been determined and are unlikely to become apparent for many years. Therefore, there is a need to develop risk assessments based on our current knowledge of radiation-induced carcinogenesis. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Convection Enhanced Delivery Of Carboranylporphyrins For Neutron Capture Therapy Of Brain Tumors, Shinji Kawabata, Weilian Yang, Rolf F. Barth, Gong Wu, Tianyao Huo, Peter J. Binns, Kent J. Riley, Owendi Ongayi, Vijay Gottumukkala, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is based on the nuclear capture and fission reactions that occur when non-radioactive 10B is irradiated with low energy thermal neutrons to produce α-particles ( 10B[n,α]7Li). Carboranylporphyrins are a class of substituted porphyrins containing multiple carborane clusters. Three of these compounds, designated H2TBP, H2TCP, and H2DCP, have been evaluated in the present study. The goals were two-fold. First, to determine their biodistribution following intracerebral (i.c.) administration by short term (30 min) convection enhanced delivery (CED) or sustained delivery over 24 h by Alzet™ osmotic pumps to F98 glioma bearing rats. Second, to determine the efficacy …

Developing Resistance To Aflatoxin In Maize And Cottonseed, Jeffrey W. Cary, Kanniah Rajasekaran, Robert L. Brown, Meng Luo, Zhi Yuan Chen, Deepak Bhatnagar

Faculty Publications

At this time, no ''magic bullet'' for solving the aflatoxin contamination problem in maize and cottonseed has been identified, so several strategies must be utilized simultaneously to ensure a healthy crop, free of aflatoxins. The most widely explored strategy for the control of aflatoxin contamination is the development of preharvest host resistance. This is because A. flavus infects and produces aflatoxins in susceptible crops prior to harvest. In maize production, the host resistance strategy has gained prominence because of advances in the identification of natural resistance traits. However, native resistance in maize to aflatoxin contamination is polygenic and complex and, …

Combined Admixture Mapping And Association Analysis Identifies A Novel Blood Pressure Genetic Locus On 5p13: Contributions From The Care Consortium, Xiaofeng Zhu, J. H. Young, Ervin Fox, Brendan J. Keating, Nora Franceschini, Sunjung Kang, Bamidele Tayo, Adebowale Adeyemo, Yun V. Sun, Yali Li, Alanna Morrison, Christopher Newton-Cheh, Kiang Liu, Santhi K. Ganesh, Abdullah Kutlar, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Albert Dreisbach, Sharon Wyatt, Joseph Polak, Walter Palmas, Solomon Musani, Herman Taylor, Richard Fabsitz, Raymond R. Townsend, Daniel Dries, Joseph Glessner, Charleston W.K. Chiang, Thomas Mosley, Sharon Kardia, David Curb, Joel N. Hirschhorn, Charles Rotimi, Alexander Reiner

Faculty Publications

Admixture mapping based on recently admixed populations is a powerful method to detect disease variants with substantial allele frequency differences in ancestral populations. We performed admixture mapping analysis for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), followed by trait-marker association analysis, in 6303 unrelated African-American participants of the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium. We identified five genomic regions (P < 0.001) harboring genetic variants contributing to inter-individual BP variation. In follow-up association analyses, correcting for all tests performed in this study, three loci were significantly associated with SBP and one significantly associated with DBP (P < 10-5). Further analyses suggested that six independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributed to the phenotypic variation observed in the admixture mapping analysis. These six SNPs were examined for replication in multiple, large, independent studies of African-Americans [Women's Health Initiative (WHI), Maywood, Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) and Howard University Family Study (HUFS)] as well as one native African sample (Nigerian study), with a total replication sample size of 11 882. Meta-analysis of the replication set identified a novel variant (rs7726475) on chromosome 5 between the SUB1 and NPR3 genes, as being associated with SBP and DBP (P < 0.0015 for both); in meta-analyses combining the CARe samples with the replication data, we observed P-values of 4.45 × 10-7 for SBP and 7.52 × 10-7 for DBP for rs7726475 that were significant after accounting for all the tests performed. Our study highlights that admixture mapping analysis can help identify genetic variants missed by genomewide association studies because of drastically reduced number of tests in the whole genome. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press.

Control Of Reflexive Saccades Following Hemispherectomy, Patricia A. Reuter-Lorenz, Troy M. Herter, Daniel Guitton

Faculty Publications

Individuals who have undergone hemispherectomy for treatment of intractable epilepsy offer a rare and valuable opportunity to examine the ability of a single cortical hemisphere to control oculomotor performance. We used peripheral auditory events to trigger saccades, thereby circumventing dense postsurgical hemianopia. In an antisaccade task, patients generated numerous unintended short-latency saccades toward contralesional auditory events, indicating pronounced limitations in the ability of a single hemicortex to exert normal inhibitory control over ipsilateral (i.e., contralesional) reflexive saccade generation. Despite reflexive errors, patients retained an ability to generate correct antisaccades in both directions. The prosaccade task revealed numerous contralesional express saccades, …

Byu Indoor Flight System Circa June 2011, John C. Macdonald, Robert Leishman

Faculty Publications

This report documents the state of our indoor flight platform as of June 2011, the time of its first flight without a human in the loop. The report is intended to give enough detail that someone might have a reasonable hope of replicating our work from scratch.

The Effects On Population Health Status Of Using Dedicated Property Taxes To Fund Local Public Health Agencies, Peggy A. Honoré, Xueyuan Wang

Faculty Publications

Background: In the United States, a dedicated property tax describes the legal authority given to a local jurisdiction to levy and collect a tax for a specific purpose. We investigated for an association of locally dedicated property taxes to fund local public health agencies and improved health status in the eight states designated as the Mississippi Delta Region.

Methods: We analyzed the difference in health outcomes of counties with and without a dedicated public health tax after adjusting for a set of control variables using regression models for county level data from 720 counties of the Mississippi Delta …

The Public Choice Problem In Corporate Law: Corporate Social Responsibility After Citizens United, David Yosifon

Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court held in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) that the First Amendment forbids Congress from restricting the political speech of corporations. While corporate theory did little to inform the Court’s thinking in Citizens United, this Article argues that the holding in Citizens United requires us to rethink corporate theory. The shareholder primacy norm in American corporate governance relies on the assumption that corporations can be restrained from influencing external governmental operations. We can enjoy the efficiencies generated by shareholder primacy in corporate governance, mainstream corporate theorists have long argued, because we can rely on external regulation …

Preimplantation Factor (Pif) Correlates With Early Mammalian Embryo Development-Bovine And Murine Models, Christopher W. Stamatkin, Roumen G. Roussev, Mike Stout, Victor Absalon-Medina, Sivakumar Ramu, Chelsi Goodman, Carolyn B. Coulam, Robert O. Gilbert, Robert A. Godke, Eytan R. Barnea

Faculty Publications

Background: PreImplantation Factor (PIF), a novel peptide secreted by viable embryos is essential for pregnancy: PIF modulates local immunity, promotes decidual pro-adhesion molecules and enhances trophoblast invasion. To determine the role of PIF in post-fertilization embryo development, we measured the peptide's concentration in the culture medium and tested endogenous PIF's potential trophic effects and direct interaction with the embryo.Methods: Determine PIF levels in culture medium of multiple mouse and single bovine embryos cultured up to the blastocyst stage using PIF-ELISA. Examine the inhibitory effects of anti-PIF-monoclonal antibody (mAb) added to medium on cultured mouse embryos development. Test FITC-PIF uptake by …

Fire Ant Decapitating Fly Cooperative Release Programs (1994-2008): Two Pseudacteon Species, P. Tricuspis And P. Curvatus, Rapidly Expand Across Imported Fire Ant Populations In The Southeastern United States, Anne Marie A. Callcott, Sanford D. Porter, Ronald D. Weeks, L. C. Fudd Graham, Seth J. Johnson, Lawrence E. Gilbert

Faculty Publications

Natural enemies of the imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren S. richteri Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and their hybrid, include a suite of more than 20 fire ant decapitating phorid flies from South America in the genus Pseudacteon. Over the past 12 years, many researchers and associates have cooperated in introducing several species as classical or self-sustaining biological control agents in the United States. As a result, two species of flies, Pseudacteon tricuspis Borgmeier and P. curvatus Borgmeier (Diptera: Phoridae), are well established across large areas of the southeastern United States. Whereas many researchers have published local and state information about …

Redesigning Introductory Biology: A Proposal, Eileen Gregory, Craig Lending, Amanda N. Orenstein, Jane P. Ellis

Faculty Publications

With the increasing complexity and expansion of the biological sciences, there has been a corresponding increase in content in the first-year introductory biology course sequence for majors. In general this has resulted in courses that introduce students to large amounts of material and leave little time for practicing investigative science or skill development. Based on our analysis of data compiled from 742 biology faculty at a variety of institutions across the United States, we verified that there is strong agreement on the content appropriate for introductory biology courses for majors. Therefore, we propose that faculty teaching these courses focus primarily …

Gp130 Cytokines Exert Differential Patterns Of Crosstalk In Adipocytes Both In Vitro And In Vivo, Ursula A. White, William C. Stewart, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

Glycoprotein 130 (Gp130) cytokines are involved in the regulation of numerous biological processes, including hematopoiesis, immune response, inflammation, cardiovascular action, and neuronal survival. These cytokines share gp130 as a common signal transducer in their receptor complex and typically activate signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3. Studies have shown that several gp130 cytokines have differential effects on both adipogenesis and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Yet, the complex interactions of these cytokines in adipose tissue have not been studied. Gp130 cytokines are differentially regulated in multiple tissues due to the presence of additional receptor components that are required for signaling, including …

Forage Conservation Efficiency And Lactation Response To Bahiagrass Conserved As Barn-Stored Hay, Outdoor-Stored Hay, Or Baleage, M. E. Mccormick, K. J. Han, V. R. Moreira, D. C. Blouin, S. Forbes

Faculty Publications

A study was conducted to determine the effect of conserving bahiagrass as outdoor-stored hay (OSH), barn-stored hay (BSH), or baleage (BAL) on storage losses and lactation performance by Holstein cows. For baleage production, bahiagrass forage was cut and allowed to dry for 20. h in windrows, baled (1.2×1.4. m), and individually wrapped with white stretch film. Forage cut on the same day was dried to hay stage, baled (1.2×1.6. m round bales), and stored either outdoors (OSH) or in an enclosed hay barn (BSH). Bales were core sampled and weighed at harvest and again following a 6-mo storage period. At …

On The Cutting Edge: Post-Translational Modifications In Cytokinesis, K. Adam Bohnert, Kathleen L. Gould

Faculty Publications

Cytokinesis represents the final stage in the cell cycle, in which two daughter cells, each with their complement of the duplicated genome, physically separate. At the core of this process sits highly conserved machinery responsible for specifying the plane of division, building a contractile apparatus and ultimately cleaving cells in two. Although the 'parts list' of contributing proteins has been well described, mechanisms by which these parts are spatially and temporally regulated are only beginning to be understood. With advancements in biochemical and proteomic analyses, recent work has uncovered multiple new roles for post-translational modifications in the regulation of cytokinesis. …

Metabolic Restructuring During Energy-Limited States: Insights From Artemia Franciscana Embryos And Other Animals, Steven C. Hand, Michael A. Menze, Apu Borcar, Yuvraj Patil, Joseph A. Covi, Julie A. Reynolds, Mehmet Toner

Faculty Publications

Many life history stages of animals that experience environmental insults enter developmental arrested states that are characterized by reduced cellular proliferation, with or without a concurrent reduction in overall metabolism. In the case of the most profound metabolic arrest reported in invertebrates, i.e., anaerobic quiescence in Artemia franciscana embryos, acidification of the intracellular milieu is a major factor governing catabolic and anabolic downregulation. Release of ions from intracellular compartments is the source for approximately 50% of the proton equivalents needed for the 1.5 unit acidification that is observed. Recovery from the metabolic arrest requires re-sequestration of the protons with a …

Elevated Corticosterone In Feathers Correlates With Corticosterone-Induced Decreased Feather Quality: A Validation Study, Christine R. Lattin, J. Michael Reed, David W. Desrochers, L. Michael Romero

Faculty Publications

The newly described technique of extracting corticosterone (CORT) from bird feathers may serve as a less invasive, more integrated measure of a bird's stress response. Previous work indicated that elevated plasma CORT resulted in poorer quality feathers during molt. We tested the hypothesis that a direct link exists between plasma and feather CORT concentrations. We experimentally increased plasma CORT concentrations using implants and found that the corresponding rise in CORT could be detected in feathers grown during implantation. Furthermore, CORT levels in two feathers grown at the same time from the same bird were very consistent. These results provide evidence …

Burkholderia Glumae: Next Major Pathogen Of Rice?, Jong Hyun Ham, Rebecca A. Melanson, Milton C. Rush

Faculty Publications

Burkholderia glumae causes bacterial panicle blight of rice, which is an increasingly important disease problem in global rice production. Toxoflavin and lipase are known to be major virulence factors of this pathogen, and their production is dependent on the TofI/TofR quorum-sensing system, which is mediated by N-octanoyl homoserine lactone. Flagellar biogenesis and a type III secretion system are also required for full virulence of B. glumae. Bacterial panicle blight is thought to be caused by seed-borne B. glumae; however, its disease cycle is not fully understood. In spite of its economic importance, neither effective control measures for bacterial panicle blight …

Template To Improve Glycemic Control Without Reducing Adiposity Or Dietary Fat, R. Krishnapuram, E. J. Dhurandhar, O. Dubuisson, H. Kirk-Ballard, S. Bajpeyi, N. Butte, M. S. Sothern, E. Larsen-Meyer, S. Chalew, B. Bennett, A. K. Gupta, F. L. Greenway, W. Johnson, M. Brashear, G. Reinhart, T. Rankinen, C. Bouchard, W. T. Cefalu, J. Ye, R. Javier, A. Zuberi, N. V. Dhurandhar

Faculty Publications

Drugs that improve chronic hyperglycemia independently of insulin signaling or reduction of adiposity or dietary fat intake may be highly desirable. Ad36, a human adenovirus, promotes glucose uptake in vitro independently of adiposity or proximal insulin signaling. We tested the ability of Ad36 to improve glycemic control in vivo and determined if the natural Ad36 infection in humans is associated with better glycemic control. C57BL/6J mice fed a chow diet or made diabetic with a high-fat (HF) diet were mock infected or infected with Ad36 or adenovirus Ad2 as a control for infection. Postinfection (pi), systemic glycemic control, hepatic lipid …

B Cell-Deficient Mice Display Markedly Enhanced Resistance To The Intracellular Bacterium Brucella Abortus, Radhika Goenka, Michelle A. Parent, Philip H. Elzer, Cynthia L. Baldwin

Faculty Publications

Background. Brucella species are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause lifelong infections in humans and livestock. Methods. Here we evaluated the contribution of B cells in control of murine brucellosis in the more susceptible BALB/c and the more resistant C57BL/6 mice by infecting B cell-deficient mice. Results. Strikingly, in the absence of B cells in both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, 99% and 99.5% of the infection found in wild type mice was cleared, respectively. This augmented clearance was not reversed in either strain by passive transfer of immune serum. In C57BL/6 mice, the clearance of infection coincided with an increase in …

Do Judicial Elections Facilitate Popular Constitutionalism; Can They?, Nicole Mansker, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

For Their Own Good: Moral Slavery 101--The Aristotelian Cantus Firmus, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

“Moral slavery” will sound curiously—even immorally—oxymoronic to most of us, and a “course” in Aristotle’s views on “moral slavery” will seem quaintly archaic or irrelevantly “academic.” We will be surprised to learn how much these ideas have influenced our culture and continue to influence our lives and politics.

A Current Bibliographic Resource For The Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Federal Wildlife Service

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.