Digital Commons Network^™

Hierarchical Corannulene-Based Materials: Energy Transfer And Solid-State Photophysics, Allison M. Rice, W. Brett Fellows, Ekaterina A. Dolgopolova, Andrew B. Greytak, Aaron K. Vannucci, Mark D. Smith, Stavros G. Karakalos, Jeanette A. Krause, Stanislav M. Avdoshenko, Alexey A. Popov, Natalia B. Shustova Prof. Dr.

Faculty Publications

We report the first example of a donor–acceptor corannulene-containing hybrid material with rapid ligand-to-ligand energy transfer (ET). Additionally, we provide the first time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) data for any corannulene-based compounds in the solid state. Comprehensive analysis of PL data in combination with theoretical calculations of donor–acceptor exciton coupling was employed to estimate ET rate and efficiency in the prepared material. The ligand-to-ligand ET rate calculated using two models is comparable with that observed in fullerene-containing materials, which are generally considered for molecular electronics development. Thus, the presented studies not only demonstrate the possibility of merging the intrinsic properties of π-bowls, …

Status Spillovers, Brian P. Reschke, Pierre Azoulay, Toby E. Stuart

Faculty Publications

When an actor experiences a sudden gain in status—for example, when a scientist wins a Nobel Prize, or a film director wins an Oscar—what does this increase do to the fates of that actor’s many ‘neighbors’? Do they bask in the reflected glory of the prize recipient, and therefore gain with her? Or, does competition for attention ensue, attenuating the recognition neighbors otherwise would have received? We investigate these questions in science. Using expert-assigned article keywords, we identify papers that are topically related to publications of future appointees to the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). In difference-in-difference specifications we …

Amphiphilic Polypeptoids Serve As The Connective Glue To Transform Liposomes Into Multilamellar Structures With Closely Spaced Bilayers, Yueheng Zhang, Sunting Xuan, Olasehinde Owoseni, Marzhana Omarova, Xin Li, Michelle E. Saito, Jibao He, Gary L. Mcpherson, Srinivasa R. Raghavan, Donghui Zhang, Vijay T. John

Faculty Publications

© 2017 American Chemical Society. We report the ability of hydrophobically modified polypeptoids (HMPs), which are amphiphilic pseudopeptidic macromolecules, to connect across lipid bilayers and thus form layered structures on liposomes. The HMPs are obtained by attaching hydrophobic decyl groups at random points along the polypeptoid backbone. Although native polypeptoids (with no hydrophobes) have no effect on liposomal structure, the HMPs remodel the unilamellar liposomes into structures with comparable diameters but with multiple concentric bilayers. The transition from single-bilayer to multiple-bilayer structures is revealed by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). The spacing between bilayers is found …

Erratum To: Aquaculture Genomics, Genetics And Breeding In The United States: Current Status, Challenges, And Priorities For Future Research. [Bmc Genomics. 18, (2017), (191)] Doi: 10.1186/S12864-017-3557-1, Hisham Abdelrahman, Mohamed Elhady, Acacia Alcivar-Warren, Standish Allen, Rafet Al-Tobasei, Lisui Bao, Ben Beck, Harvey Blackburn, Brian Bosworth, John Buchanan, Jesse Chappell, William Daniels, Sheng Dong, Rex Dunham, Evan Durland, Ahmed Elaswad, Marta Gomez-Chiarri, Kamal Gosh, Ximing Guo, Perry Hackett, Terry Hanson, Dennis Hedgecock, Tiffany Howard, Leigh Holland, Molly Jackson, Yulin Jin, Karim Khalil, Thomas Kocher, Tim Leeds, Ning Li, Lauren Lindsey, Shikai Liu, Zhanjiang Liu

Faculty Publications

In the version of this article that was originally published [1] there was an error with the author name "Karim Khalil" as it was incorrectly put as "Karim Kahlil". The original article was corrected.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Well-Defined Pegylated Polypeptoids As Protein-Resistant Polymers, Sunting Xuan, Sudipta Gupta, Xin Li, Markus Bleuel, Gerald J. Schneider, Donghui Zhang

Faculty Publications

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Well-defined polypeptoids bearing oligomeric ethylene glycol side chains (PNMe(OEt)nG, n = 1-3) with a controlled molecular weight (3.26-28.6 kg/mol) and narrow molecular weight distribution (polydispersity index, PDI = 1.03-1.10) have been synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of the corresponding N-carboxyanhydrides having oligomeric ethylene glycol side chains (Me(OEt)n-NCA, n = 1-3) using primary amine initiators. Kinetic studies of polymerization revealed a first-order dependence on the monomer concentration, consistent with living polymerization. The obtained PEGylated polypeptoids are highly hydrophilic with good water solubility (>200 mg/mL) and are amorphous, with a glass transition temperature in the -41.1 to …

Data-Driven Identification Of Potential Zika Virus Vectors, Michelle V. Evans, Tad Dallas, Barbara A. Han, Courtney C. Murdock, John M. Drake

Faculty Publications

Zika is an emerging virus whose rapid spread is of great public health concern. Knowledge about transmission remains incomplete, especially concerning potential transmission in geographic areas in which it has not yet been introduced. To identify unknown vectors of Zika, we developed a data-driven model linking vector species and the Zika virus via vector-virus trait combinations that confer a propensity toward associations in an ecological network connecting flaviviruses and their mosquito vectors. Our model predicts that thirty-five species may be able to transmit the virus, seven of which are found in the continental United States, including Culex quinquefasciatus and Cx. …

Synthesis And Spectroscopic Investigation Of A Series Of Push-Pull Boron Dipyrromethenes (Bodipys), Sunting Xuan, Ning Zhao, Xiangyi Ke, Zehua Zhou, Frank R. Fronczek, Karl M. Kadish, Kevin M. Smith, M. Graça H. Vicente

Faculty Publications

© 2017 American Chemical Society. A series of push-pull BODIPYs bearing multiple electron-donating and electron-acceptor groups were synthesized regioselectively from 2,3,5,6,8-pentachloro-BODIPY, and characterized by NMR spectroscopy, HRMS, and X-ray crystallography. The influence of the push-pull substituents on the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of BODIPYs was investigated. Bathochromic shifts were observed for both absorbance (up to 37 nm) and emission (up to 60 nm) in different solvents upon introduction of the push-pull moieties. DFT calculations, consistent with the spectroscopic and cyclic voltammetry studies, show decreased HOMO-LUMO energy gaps upon the installation of the push-pull moieties. BODIPY 7 bearing thienyl groups on …

Quantification Of Multiple Simultaneously Occurring Nitrogen Flows In The Euphotic Ocean, Min Nina Xu, Yanhua Wu, Li Wei Zheng, Zhenzhen Zheng, Huade Zhao, Edward A. Laws, Shuh Ji Kao

Faculty Publications

The general features of the N cycle in the sunlit region of the ocean are well known, but methodological difficulties have previously confounded simultaneous quantification of transformation rates among the many different forms of N, e.g., ammonium (NH4⁺), nitrite (NO2^-), nitrate (NO3^-), and particulate/dissolved organic nitrogen (PN/DON). However, recent advances in analytical methodology have made it possible to employ a convenient isotope labeling technique to quantify in situ fluxes among oft-measured nitrogen species within the euphotic zone. Addition of a single ¹⁵N-labeled NH4⁺ tracer and monitoring of the changes in the concentrations …

Vegetative Comunitiy Development Over 30 Years Within Pine Plantations On Reclaimed Mine Land In East Texas., Christy Christian, Brian P. Oswald, Hans M. Williams, Kenneth W. Farrish

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Nitric Oxide Promotes Gaba Release By Activating A Voltage-Independent Ca2+ Influx Pathway In Retinal Amacrine Cells, J. Wesley Maddox, Evanna Gleason

Faculty Publications

© 2017 the American Physiological Society. Retinal amacrine cells express nitric oxide (NO) synthase and produce NO, making NO available to regulate the function of amacrine cells. Here we test the hypothesis that NO can alter the GABAergic synaptic output of amacrine cells. We investigate this using whole cell voltage clamp recordings and Ca2 imaging of cultured chick retinal amacrine cells. When recording from amacrine cells receiving synaptic input from other amacrine cells, we find that NO increases GABAergic spontaneous postsynaptic current (sPSC) frequency. This increase in sPSC frequency does not require the canonical NO receptor, soluble guan-ylate cyclase, or …

Groundcover Community Assembly In High-Diversity Pine Savannas: Seed Arrival And Fire-Generated Environmental Filtering, Kyle E. Harms, Paul R. Gagnon, Heather A. Passmore, Jonathan A. Myers, William J. Platt

Faculty Publications

© 2017 Harms et al. Environmental filtering-abiotic and biotic constraints on the demographic performance of individual organisms-is a widespread mechanism of selection in communities. A given individual is "filtered out" (i.e., selectively removed) when environmental conditions or disturbances like fires preclude its survival and reproduction. Although interactions between these filters and dispersal from the regional species pool are thought to determine much about species composition locally, there have been relatively few studies of dispersal × filtering interactions in species-rich communities and fewer still where fire is also a primary selective agent. We experimentally manipulated dispersal and filtering by fire (pre-fire …

Two New Pentaphylacaceae Species From Southern Central America, Daniel Santamaría-Aguilar, Laura P. Lagomarsino

Faculty Publications

© 2016, The New York Botanical Garden. We describe two new species of Pentaphylacaceae: Freziera monteverdensis from Costa Rica and Ternstroemia liesneriana from Panama. Line drawings, color images of living plants for one of the species, and discussions comparing the new species to their presumed closest relatives are provided.

Stat5-Interacting Proteins: A Synopsis Of Proteins That Regulate Stat5 Activity, Ashley A. Able, Jasmine A. Burrell, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (STATs) are key components of the JAK/STAT pathway. Of the seven STATs, STAT5A and STAT5B are of particular interest for their critical roles in cellular differentiation, adipogenesis, oncogenesis, and immune function. The interactions of STAT5A and STAT5B with cytokine/hormone receptors, nuclear receptors, transcriptional regulators, proto-oncogenes, kinases, and phosphatases all contribute to modulating STAT5 activity. Among these STAT5 interacting proteins, some serve as coactivators or corepressors to regulate STAT5 transcriptional activity and some proteins can interact with STAT5 to enhance or repress STAT5 signaling. In addition, …

Factors Affecting The Ovarian Response To A Combined Estradiol-Sulpiride Treatment In Seasonally Anovulatory Mares, Erin L. Oberhaus, Donald L. Thompson, Carolyn K. Pham

Faculty Publications

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Twenty-three seasonally anovulatory mares, housed at two separate farms, were treated with 50 mg of estradiol cypionate (ECP) and 3 g of sulpiride in January to study factors that contributed to success of the treatment (response = ovulation within 28 days). Every other day, blood samples and pretreatment secretagogue challenges were used to characterize prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH), insulin-like growth factor-I, leptin, and insulin concentrations. Ovaries of each mare were scanned via ultrasound regularly until detection of a 32–35 mm follicle, at which time the mare was artificially inseminated. Prolactin was stimulated in all treated mares …

Why The Short Face? Developmental Disintegration Of The Neurocranium Drives Convergent Evolution In Neotropical Electric Fishes, Kory M. Evans, Brandon Waltz, Victor Tagliacollo, Prosanta Chakrabarty, James S. Albert

Faculty Publications

© 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Convergent evolution is widely viewed as strong evidence for the influence of natural selection on the origin of phenotypic design. However, the emerging evo-devo synthesis has highlighted other processes that may bias and direct phenotypic evolution in the presence of environmental and genetic variation. Developmental biases on the production of phenotypic variation may channel the evolution of convergent forms by limiting the range of phenotypes produced during ontogeny. Here, we study the evolution and convergence of brachycephalic and dolichocephalic skull shapes among 133 species of Neotropical …

Song Evolution, Speciation, And Vocal Learning In Passerine Birds, Nicholas A. Mason, Kevin J. Burns, Joseph A. Tobias, Santiago Claramunt, Nathalie Seddon, Elizabeth P. Derryberry

Faculty Publications

© 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution. Phenotypic divergence can promote reproductive isolation and speciation, suggesting a possible link between rates of phenotypic evolution and the tempo of speciation at multiple evolutionary scales. To date, most macroevolutionary studies of diversification have focused on morphological traits, whereas behavioral traits─including vocal signals─are rarely considered. Thus, although behavioral traits often mediate mate choice and gene flow, we have a limited understanding of how behavioral evolution contributes to diversification. Furthermore, the developmental mode by which behavioral traits are acquired may affect rates of behavioral evolution, although this …

Caenorhabditis Elegans Rig-I Homolog Mediates Antiviral Rna Interference Downstream Of Dicer-Dependent Biogenesis Of Viral Small Interfering Rnas, Stephanie R. Coffman, Jinfeng Lu, Xunyang Guo, Jing Zhong, Hongshan Jiang, Gina Broitman-Maduro, Wan Xiang Li, Rui Lu, Morris Maduro, Shou Wei Ding

Faculty Publications

© 2017 Coffman et al. Dicer enzymes process virus-specific double-stranded RNA (ds RNA) into small interfering RNAs (si RNAs) to initiate specific antiviral defense by related RNA interference (RNAi) pathways in plants, insects, nematodes, and mammals. Antiviral RNAi in Caenorhabditis elegans requires Dicer-related helicase 1 (DRH-1), not found in plants and insects but highly homologous to mammalian retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs), intracellular viral RNA sensors that trigger innate immunity against RNA virus infection. However, it remains unclear if DRH-1 acts analogously to initiate antiviral RNAi in C. elegans. Here, we performed a forward genetic screen to characterize …

Experimentally Reducing Corticosterone Mitigates Rapid Captivity Effects On Behavior, But Not Body Composition, In A Wild Bird, Christine R. Lattin, Anita V. Pechenenko, Richard E. Carson

Faculty Publications

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. Wild animals and captives display physiological and behavioral differences, and it has been hypothesized, but rarely tested, that these differences are caused by sustained elevation of the hormone corticosterone. We used repeated computed tomography (CT) imaging to examine body composition changes in breeding male and female wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus; n = 20) in response to two weeks of captivity, and assessed behavioral changes using video recordings. Half of the birds received the drug mitotane, which significantly decreased stress-induced corticosterone titers compared to controls. Based on the CT images, fat volumes increased, and pectoralis muscle …

Yeast Hmo1: Linker Histone Reinvented, Arvind Panday, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

© 2016 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved. Eukaryotic genomes are packaged in chromatin. The higher-order organization of nucleosome core particles is controlled by the association of the intervening linker DNA with either the linker histone H1 or high mobility group box (HMGB) proteins. While H1 is thought to stabilize the nucleosome by preventing DNA unwrapping, the DNA bending imposed by HMGB may propagate to the nucleosome to destabilize chromatin. For metazoan H1, chromatin compaction requires its lysine-rich C-terminal domain, a domain that is buried between globular domains in the previously characterized yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae linker histone Hho1p. Here, …

Relationship Of Neuropeptide Ff Receptors With Pubertal Maturation Of Gilts, Jennifer F. Thorson, Neely L. Heidorn, Vitaly Ryu, Krzysztof Czaja, Danny J. Nonneman, C. Richard Barb, Gary J. Hausman, Gary A. Rohrer, Ligia D. Prezotto, Richard B. Mccosh, Elane C. Wright, Brett R. White, Bradley A. Freking, William T. Oliver, Stanley M. Hileman, Clay A. Lents

Faculty Publications

Mechanisms governing the timing of puberty in pigs are poorly understood. A genome-wide association study for age at first estrus in pigs identified candidate genes including neuropeptide FF receptor 2 (NPFFR2), which is a putative receptor for RFamide-related peptides (RFRP). RFRP has been shown to negatively regulate secretion of reproductive hormones from hypothalamic and pituitary tissue of pigs in culture. Here, the porcine NPFFR2 gene was further screened and four potentially functional variants were identified to be associated with age at first estrus in pigs (1,288 gilts). The RFRP neurons in the porcine hypothalamus were localized in the paraventricular and …

Influence Of Varroa Mite (Varroa Destructor) Management Practices On Insecticide Sensitivity In The Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera), Frank D. Rinkevich, Robert G. Danka, Kristen B. Healy

Faculty Publications

Since Varroa mites may cause devastating losses of honey bees through direct feeding, transmitting diseases, and increasing pathogen susceptibility, chemical and mechanical practices commonly are used to reduce mite infestation. While miticide applications are typically the most consistent and efficacious Varroa mite management method, miticide-induced insecticide synergism in honey bees, and the evolution of resistance in Varroa mites are reasonable concerns. We treated colonies with the miticide amitraz (Apivar®), used IPM practices, or left some colonies untreated, and then measured the effect of different levels of mite infestations on the sensitivity of bees to phenothrin, amitraz, and clothianidin. Sensitivity to …

Dynamic Changes In Death Cues Modulate Risks And Rewards Of Corpse Management In A Social Insect, Qian Sun, Kenneth F. Haynes, Xuguo Zhou

Faculty Publications

In social insects, the efficiency of exploitation of resources and colony defence are mediated by chemical communication. In colonies dependent on nutritionally limited resources, corpses represent both a food resource and a risk of pathogens. Because this risk vs. reward changes with time after death, behavioural plasticity in the response to corpses would be advantageous. How social insects regulate this trade-off remains unknown. We conducted quantitative behavioural bioassay and chemical analysis to study corpse management in the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes. We hypothesized that R. flavipes responds differently towards corpses with prolonged post-mortem time, and this behavioural plasticity is …

Coordinated Dispersal And Pre-Isthmian Assembly Of The Central American Ichthyofauna, Victor A. Tagliacollo, Scott M. Duke-Sylvester, Wilfredo A. Matamoros, Prosanta Chakrabarty, James S. Albert

Faculty Publications

© The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. We document patterns of coordinated dispersal over evolutionary time frames in heroine cichlids and poeciliine live-bearers, the two most species-rich clades of freshwater fishes in the Caribbean basin. Observed dispersal rate (DO) values were estimated from time-calibrated molecular phylogenies in LAGRANGE+, a modified version of the ML-based parametric biogeographic program LAGRANGE. DO is measured in units of "wallaces" (wa) as the number of biogeographic range-expansion events per million years. DO estimates were generated on a dynamic paleogeographic landscape of five areas over three …

Niche Evolution And Diversification In A Neotropical Radiation Of Birds (Aves: Furnariidae), Glenn F. Seeholzer, Santiago Claramunt, Robb T. Brumfield

Faculty Publications

© 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution. Rapid diversification may be caused by ecological adaptive radiation via niche divergence. In this model, speciation is coupled with niche divergence and lineage diversification is predicted to be correlated with rates of niche evolution. Studies of the role of niche evolution in diversification have generally focused on ecomorphological diversification but climatic-niche evolution may also be important. We tested these alternatives using a phylogeny of 298 species of ovenbirds (Aves: Furnariidae). We found that within Furnariidae, variation in species richness and diversification rates of subclades were best …

What Is Physics? The Individual And The Universal, And Seeing Past The Noise, A. R.P. Rau

Faculty Publications

Along with weaving together observations, experiments, and theoretical constructs into a coherent mesh of understanding of the world around us, physics over its past five centuries has continuously refined the base concepts on which the whole framework is built. In quantum physics, first in nonrelativistic mechanics and later in quantum field theories, even familiar concepts of position, momentum, wave, or particle, are derived constructs from the classical limit in which we live but not intrinsic to the underlying physics. Most crucially, the very idea of the individual, whether an object or an event, distinguished only in a mere label of …

Hemolysis As A Rapid Screening Technique For Assessing The Toxicity Of Native Surfactin And A Genetically Engineered Derivative, William J. Colonna, Mustafa E. Martı, John A. Nyman, Chris Green, Charles E. Glatz

Faculty Publications

If biosurfactants are to achieve their promise in environmental oil-spill remediation, their toxicity to marine life must be assessed. A killifish larvae assay is commonly used as a measure of toxicity but is difficult and nonlinear in response. Red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis has also been the basis for assays of some surfactant levels. Here we present a modified sheep RBC suspension assay and compare its response to that of the fish assay for surfactin and its genetically modified variant fatty-acyl-glutamate (FA-Glu). This is the first report of hemolytic activity as a property of FA-Glu. The method's potential for screening …

Is There A Difference Of Temperature Sensitivity Between Marine Phytoplankton And Heterotrophs?, Bingzhang Chen, Edward A. Laws

Faculty Publications

The temperature sensitivity of phytoplankton growth rates, parameterized as the activation energy (Ea) in the Boltzmann-Arrhenius equation, is critical to determining how global warming will affect marine ecosystems and the efficiency of the biological pump in the ocean. We applied both linear and nonlinear regression models to two laboratory temperature-growth experimental datasets to estimate the Ea of each taxon of phytoplankton and heterotrophic protists. We found that phytoplankton Ea and normalized growth rates depended strongly on community composition. Diatoms grew more rapidly and had lower Ea values, whereas cyanobacteria grew more slowly and had higher Ea values. The phytoplankton Ea …

Viability Of Premature Selection Of Pinus Taeda L. In Diameter Breast Height In Genetic Improvement Program, Rodrigo Toledo Coutinho, João Carlos Bespalhok Filho, Roberto Fritsche Neto, Caroline Frizzo

Faculty Publications

The superior genotypes selection of Pinus taeda L. using genetic field trials require many years, due to the rotation age of commercial plantations, which consumes a lot of financial resources. Regarding this, many researchers have put their efforts in evaluate the selection in early ages prior to the final age of rotation. The goals of this study are to estimate, at the early age of eight years and final rotation age of fifteen years, the genetic parameters and the predicted genetic gains between and within the progenies of Pinus taeda L. half-sib family, with experiments established in three distinct locations …

Student Outcomes From Participating In An International Stem Service-Learning Course, Kristy L. Daniel, Chandrani Mishra

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to measure student affective, behavior, and content (ABC) and global awareness outcomes after participating in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-based international service-learning (ISL) course and impacts on long-term retention in STEM fields. We compared experiences from 12 participants (undergraduate and graduate students) enrolled in a STEM-based ISL course with experiences from four students enrolled in the same course without the service-learning component. The ISL course involved classroom discussions on environmental topics and four local and ISL projects with community partners to contribute to conservation efforts. Data came from student responses on a …

Reliability Of Pulse Waveform Separation Analysis: Effects Of Posture And Fasting, Lee Stoner, Daniel Credeur, Simon Fryer, James Faulkner, Danielle Lambrick, Bathany Barone Gibbs

Faculty Publications

Objective: Oscillometric pulse wave analysis devices enable, with relative simplicity and objectivity, the measurement of central hemodynamic parameters. The important parameters are central blood pressures and indices of arterial wave reflection, including wave separation analysis (backward pressure component P_b and reflection magnitude). This study sought to determine whether the measurement precision (between-day reliability) of P_b and reflection magnitude: exceeds the criterion for acceptable reliability; and is affected by posture (supine, seated) and fasting state.

Methods: Twenty healthy adults (50% female, 27.9 years, 24.2 kg/m²) were tested on six different mornings: 3 days fasted, 3 …