Digital Commons Network^™

Hsv-1 Latent Rabbits Shed Viral Dna Into Their Saliva, James M. Hill, Nicole M. Nolan, Harris E. Mcferrin, Christian Clement, Timothy P. Foster, William P. Halford, Konstantin G. Kousoulas, Walter J. Lukiw, Hilary W. Thompson, Ethan M. Stern, Partha S. Bhattacharjee

Faculty Publications

Background: Rabbits latent with HSV-1 strain McKrae spontaneously shed infectious virus and viral DNA into their tears and develop recurrent herpetic-specific corneal lesions. The rabbit eye model has been used for many years to assess acute ocular infections and pathogenesis, antiviral efficacy, as well as latency, reactivation, and recurrent eye diseases. This study used real-time PCR to quantify HSV-1 DNA in the saliva and tears of rabbits latent with HSV-1 McKrae. Methods. New Zealand white rabbits used were latent with HSV-1 strain McKrae and had no ocular or oral pathology. Scarified corneas were topically inoculated with HSV-1. Eye swabs and …

Reply To Boehm And Carragher: Multiple Lines Of Evidence Link Deep-Water Coral Damage To Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Helen K. White, Pen Yuan Hsing, Walter Cho, Timothy M. Shank, Erik E. Cordes, Andrea M. Quattrini, Robert K. Nelson, Richard Camilli, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Christopher R. German, James M. Brooks, Harry H. Roberts, William Shedd, Christopher M. Reddy, Charles R. Fisher

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Designing Autonomous Robot Missions With Performance Guarantees, Damian M. Lyons, Ronald Arkin, Prem Nirmal, Shu Jiang

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the need and methods required to construct an integrated software verification and mission specification system for use in robotic missions intended for counter-weapons of mass destruction (c-WMD) operations, as part of a 3-year effort for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The overall system architecture is described. The principal tool for verification is a process algebra, PARS, based on port automata theory. PARS is introduced, emphasizing its ability to represent probabilistic programs and uncertain and dynamic environments, followed by the analysis of mission properties for an example robotic mission.

Long-Term Survival Of Anoxia Despite Rapid Atp Decline In Embryos Of The Annual Killifish Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Jason E. Podrabsky, Michael A. Menze, Steven C. Hand

Faculty Publications

Embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus can survive for months in the complete absence of oxygen. Survival of anoxia is associated with entry into a state of metabolic dormancy known as diapause. However, extreme tolerance of anoxia is retained for several days of post-diapause development. Rates of heat dissipation in diapause II and 4 days post-diapause II embryos were measured under aerobic conditions and during the transition into anoxia. Phosphorylated adenylate compounds were quantified in embryos during entry into anoxia and after 12hr of aerobic recovery. Rates of heat dissipation were not affected by exposure to anoxia in diapause …

Cytokinesis-Based Constraints On Polarized Cell Growth In Fission Yeast, K. Adam Bohnert, Kathleen L. Gould

Faculty Publications

The rod-shaped fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which undergoes cycles of monopolar-to-bipolar tip growth, is an attractive organism for studying cell-cycle regulation of polarity establishment. While previous research has described factors mediating this process from interphase cell tips, we found that division site signaling also impacts the re-establishment of bipolar cell growth in the ensuing cell cycle. Complete loss or targeted disruption of the non-essential cytokinesis protein Fic1 at the division site, but not at interphase cell tips, resulted in many cells failing to grow at new ends created by cell division. This appeared due to faulty disassembly and abnormal persistence …

Ultraconserved Elements Anchor Thousands Of Genetic Markers Spanning Multiple Evolutionary Timescales, Brant C. Faircloth, John E. Mccormack, Nicholas G. Crawford, Michael G. Harvey, Robb T. Brumfield, Travis C. Glenn

Faculty Publications

Although massively parallel sequencing has facilitated large-scale DNA sequencing, comparisons among distantly related species rely upon small portions of the genome that are easily aligned. Methods are needed to efficiently obtain comparable DNA fragments prior to massively parallel sequencing, particularly for biologists working with non-model organisms. We introduce a new class of molecular marker, anchored by ultraconserved genomic elements (UCEs), that universally enable target enrichment and sequencing of thousands of orthologous loci across species separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Our analyses here focus on use of UCE markers in Amniota because UCEs and phylogenetic relationships are …

Increasing Access For Economically Disadvantaged Students: The Nsf/Csem & S-Stem Programs At Louisiana State University, Zakiya S. Wilson, Sitharama S. Iyengar, Su Seng Pang, Isiah M. Warner, Candace A. Luces

Faculty Publications

Increasing college degree attainment for students from disadvantaged backgrounds is a prominent component of numerous state and federal legislation focused on higher education. In 1999, the National Science Foundation (NSF) instituted the "Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships" (CSEMS) program; this initiative was designed to provide greater access and support to academically talented students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Originally intended to provide financial support to lower income students, this NSF program also advocated that additional professional development and advising would be strategies to increase undergraduate persistence to graduation. This innovative program for economically disadvantaged students was extended in 2004 to …

Polar Opposites: Fine-Tuning Cytokinesis Through Sin Asymmetry, Alyssa E. Johnson, Dannel Mccollum, Kathleen L. Gould

Faculty Publications

Mitotic exit and cell division must be spatially and temporally integrated to facilitate equal division of genetic material between daughter cells. In the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a spindle pole body (SPB) localized signaling cascade termed the septation initiation network (SIN) couples mitotic exit with cytokinesis. The SIN is controlled at many levels to ensure that cytokinesis is executed once per cell cycle and only after cells segregate their DNA. An interesting facet of the SIN is that its activity is asymmetric on the two SPBs during anaphase; however, how and why the SIN is asymmetric has remained elusive. Many …

Mexican Rice Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Injury To Corn Greater Than To Sorghum And Sugarcane Under Field Conditions, Allan T. Showler, Blake E. Wilson, Thomas E. Reagan

Faculty Publications

The Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loflini (Dyar) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is the key pest of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) in Texas; it can attack several grassy crop and noncrop host plants and has spread into Louisiana. Through small-plot, commercial field, and pheromone trap experiments, this study demonstrates that the pest uses corn, Zea mays L., more than sugarcane and sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, but when corn is harvested in late summer, injury to nearby sugarcane strongly increases during the next ≈2 mo to harvest. Corn was more infested than sugarcane and sorghum in commercial fields regardless of whether sampling occurred on …

Evaluation Of Corn Hybrids Expressing Cry1f, Cry1a.105, Cry2ab2, Cry34ab1/Cry35ab1, And Cry3bb1 Against Southern United States Insect Pests, M. W. Siebert, S. P. Nolting, W. Hendrix, S. Dhavala, C. Craig, B. R. Leonard, S. D. Stewart, J. All, F. R. Musser, G. D. Buntin, L. Samuel

Faculty Publications

Studies were conducted across the southern United States to characterize the efficacy of multiple Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) events in a field corn, Zea mays L., hybrid for control of common lepidopteran and coleopteran pests. Cry1F protein in event TC1507 and Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2 proteins in event MON 89034 were evaluated against pests infesting corn on above-ground plant tissue including foliage, stalks, and ears. Cry34Ab1/Cry35Ab1 proteins in event DAS-59122-7 and Cry3Bb1 in event MON 88017 were evaluated against the larvae of Mexican corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera zeae Krysan and Smith, which occur below-ground. Field corn hybrids containing Cry1F, Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2, …

Evaluation Of Three Bait Materials And Their Food Transfer Efficiency In Formosan Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), Cai Wang, Gregg Henderson

Faculty Publications

The consumption and food transfer efficiency of two commercially used termite bait materials, southern yellow pine wood and cardboard, and one potential bait material, maize (Zeamays L.) cob, were evaluated for use against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in the laboratory. In the no-choice test, the consumption of wood and cob was similar and significantly more than cardboard. Tunneling under the food sources was similar. In the two-choice test, the consumption was cob > wood, wood > cardboard, cob = cardboard, and tunneling under these choices was cob = wood, wood = cardboard, cob > cardboard. In the three-choice …

Lifetime Of Combustion-Generated Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals On Zn(Ii)O And Other Transition Metal Oxides, Eric Vejerano, Slawo Lomnicki, Barry Dellinger

Faculty Publications

Previous studies indicated that Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals (EPFRs) are formed in the post-flame, cool zone of combustion. They result from the chemisorption of gas-phase products of incomplete combustion (particularly hydroxyl- and chlorine-substituted aromatics) on Cu(ii)O, Fe(iii) 2O3, and Ni(ii)O domains of particulate matter (fly ash or soot particles). This study reports our detailed laboratory investigation on the lifetime of EPFRs on Zn(ii)O/silica surface. Similarly, as in the case of other transition metals, chemisorption of the adsorbate on the Zn(ii)O surface and subsequent transfer of electron from the adsorbate to the metal forms a surface-bound EPFR and a reduced metal …

Effect Of Prebiotics On Lactobacillus Acidophilus Growth And Resulting Ph Changes In Skim Milk And A Model Peptone System, D. W. Olson, K. J. Aryana

Faculty Publications

The effect of Raftiline® GR, Raftiline® HP-Gel, and Raftilose® P95 prebiotics on growth curves of the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-K and resulting pH changes in skim milk and a model system consisting of 0.1% peptone was investigated. Skim milk (100mL) and 0.1% peptone (100mL) each containing either 1% or 3% Raftiline® GR, Raftiline® HP-Gel, or Raftilose® P95 prebiotics were autoclaved, cooled to 37°C, and inoculated with 0.132mL of L. acidophilus LA-K. Both the growth of L. acidophilus and the changes in pH were followed for 16h at 37°C. The growth was determined by measuring the optical density (turbidity) at 600nm. …

Distinct Retinohypothalamic Innervation Patterns Predict The Developmental Emergence Of Species-Typical Circadian Phase Preference In Nocturnal Norway Rats And Diurnal Nile Grass Rats, William D. Todd, Andrew J. Gall, Joshua A. Weiner, Mark S. Blumberg

Faculty Publications

How does the brain develop differently to support nocturnality in some mammals, but diurnality in others? To answer this question, one might look to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is entrained by light via the retinohypothalamic tract (RHT). However, because the SCN is more active during the day in all mammals studied thus far, it alone cannot determine circadian phase preference. In adult Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), which are nocturnal, the RHT also projects to the ventral subparaventricular zone (vSPVZ), an adjacent region that expresses an in-phase pattern of SCN-vSPVZ neuronal activity. In contrast, in adult Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis …

Historical Cedar Falls Since 2012 [Website], Thomas G. Connors

Faculty Publications

About the Project:

The Department of History at the University of Northern Iowa welcomes you to "Historical Cedar Falls". Here you will discover the history of Cedar Falls through maps and images, covering topics from architecture to religion and other categories. The Reading & Mapping the Historic Landscape course, under the instruction of Dr. Thomas Connors, created this website to provide stories about the people and events that built this city. The students have combined their passion for history with modern technology in an effort to share the rich history of Cedar Falls with you. We believe that there is …

Nutrient Depletion As A Proxy For Microbial Growth In Deepwater Horizon Subsurface Oil/Gas Plumes, Alan M. Shiller, Dongjoo Joung

Faculty Publications

The Deepwater Horizon accident resulted in a substantial uncontrolled hydrocarbon release to the northern Gulf of Mexico, much of which was entrained in deep submerged plumes. While bio-degradation of the hydrocarbons has been inferred from microbial biomass and genetics, the amount of conversion of oil and gas carbon to biomass remains uncertain having only been estimated in modeling studies. Here we examine correlated depletions of nitrate, phosphate and oxygen in the submerged plumes and conclude that a substantial portion of hydrocarbons in these plumes was converted to biomass (0.8-2 x 10(10) mol C). This contrasts with nutrient-limited surface waters where …

Transient Inhibition Of Cell Proliferation Does Not Compromise Self-Renewal Of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells, Ruoxing Wang, Yan-Lin Guo

Faculty Publications

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have unlimited capacity for self-renewal and can differentiate into various cell types when induced. They also have an unusual cell cycle control mechanism driven by constitutively active cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks). In mouse ESCs (mESCs). It is proposed that the rapid cell proliferation could be a necessary part of mechanisms that maintain mESC self-renewal and pluripotency, but this hypothesis is not in line with the finding in human ESCs (hESCs) that the length of the cell cycle is similar to differentiated cells. Therefore, whether rapid cell proliferation is essential for the maintenance of mESC state remains …

Modeling Photosynthesis Of Spartina Alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass) Impacted By The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Using Bayesian Inference, Wei Wu, Patrick D. Biber, Mark S. Peterson, Chongfeng Gong

Faculty Publications

To study the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on photosynthesis of coastal salt marsh plants in Mississippi, we developed a hierarchical Bayesian (HB) model based on field measurements collected from July 2010 to November 2011. We sampled three locations in Davis Bayou, Mississippi (30.375 degrees N, 88.790 degrees W) representative of a range of oil spill impacts. Measured photosynthesis was negative (respiration only) at the heavily oiled location in July 2010 only, and rates started to increase by August 2010. Photosynthesis at the medium oiling location was lower than at the control location in July 2010 and it …

Benefits And Barriers In Mining The Healthcare Industry Data, John Wang, Bin Zhou, Ruiliang Yan

Faculty Publications

The authors’ paper addresses the applications of data mining within the healthcare industry. Healthcare data are seen as one of the more rewarding and most difficult of all data to analyze. Proper data mining techniques provide the methodology and technology to transform the voluminous amounts of data into useful information for decision making. Data mining can be utilized to help find cures for existing diseases, uncovering patterns for genetic diseases and the causes of new diseases across the globe. By implementing data mining techniques the industry is finally gaining control over the inadequacy of readily available records. Data mining has …

Confronting Supreme Court Fact Finding, Allison Orr Larsen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Making Sex The Same: Ending The Unfair Treatment Of Males In Family Law, Myrisha S. Lewis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Oprm1 Gene Variation Influences Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Function In Response To A Variety Of Stressors In Rhesus Macaques, Melanie L. Schwandt, Stephen G. Lindell, James Dee Higley, Stephen J. Suomi, Markus Heilig, Christina S. Barr

Faculty Publications

The endogenous opioid system is involved in modulating a number of behavioral and physiological systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In humans, a functional variant in the OPRM1 gene (OPRM1 A118G) is associated with a number of outcomes, including attenuated HPA axis responses to stress. A nonsynonymous variant (OPRM1 C77G) in the rhesus macaque has been shown to have similar effects in vivo to the human variant. The current study investigated whether OPRM1 C77G influences HPA axis response to stress in rhesus macaques. We analyzed plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels measured in response to three different stressors: 1) …

Centromere Remodeling In Hoolock Leuconedys (Hylobatidae) By A New Transposable Element Unique To The Gibbons, Lucia Carbone, R. Alan Harris, Alan R. Mootnick, Aleksandar Milosavljevic, David I.K. Martin, Mariano Rocchi, Oronzo Capozzi, Nicoletta Archidiacono, Miriam K. Konkel, Jerilyn A. Walker, Mark A. Batzer, Pieter J. De Jong

Faculty Publications

Gibbons (Hylobatidae) shared a common ancestor with the other hominoids only 15-18 million years ago. Nevertheless, gibbons show very distinctive features that include heavily rearranged chromosomes. Previous observations indicate that this phenomenon may be linked to the attenuated epigenetic repression of transposable elements (TEs) in gibbon species. Here we describe the massive expansion of a repeat in almost all the centromeres of the eastern hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys). We discovered that this repeat is a new composite TE originating from the combination of portions of three other elements (L1ME5, AluSz6, and SVA-A) and thus named it LAVA. We determined that …

Pyrosequencing-Based Analysis Of The Microbiome Associated With The Horn Fly, Haematobia Irritans, Azhahianambi Palavesam, Felix D. Guerrero, Andrew M. Heekin, Ju Wang, Scot E. Dowd, Yan Sun, Lane D. Foil, Adalberto A. Pérez De León

Faculty Publications

The horn fly, Haematobia irritans, is one of the most economically important pests of cattle. Insecticides have been a major element of horn fly management programs. Growing concerns with insecticide resistance, insecticide residues on farm products, and non-availability of new generation insecticides, are serious issues for the livestock industry. Alternative horn fly control methods offer the promise to decrease the use of insecticides and reduce the amount of insecticide residues on livestock products and give an impetus to the organic livestock farming segment. The horn fly, an obligatory blood feeder, requires the help of microflora to supply additional nutrients and …

Genome-Wide Selection For Tropical Maize Root Traits Under Conditions Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Stress, Roberto Fritsche-Neto, Julio César Dovale, Éder Cristian Malta De Lanes, Marcos Deon Vilela De Resende, Glauco Viera Miranda

Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to verify the accuracy of the Genome-Wide Selection (GWS) method in tropical maize breeding for root traits under conditions of nitrogen and phosphorus stress. Forty-one single-crosses were evaluated in two experiments. The first experiment considered low nitrogen availability, and the second experiment considered low phosphorus availability. A randomized block design with two replicates was used. The lateral and axial root lengths were measured using WinRhizo software. The analysis of deviance was calculated using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (REML/BLUP) method. Eighty microsatellite markers were used to genotype the estimation population. The Random …

Effects Of Small-Scale Dead Wood Additions On Beetles In Southeastern U.S. Pine Forests, Kier D. Klepzig, Michael L. Ferro, Michael D. Ulyshen, Matthew L. Gimmel, Jolie B. Mahfouz, Allan E. Tiarks, Chris E. Carlton

Faculty Publications

Pitfall traps were used to sample beetles (Coleoptera) in plots with or without inputs of dead loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) wood at four locations (Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas) on the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. The plots were established in 1998 and sampling took place in 1998, 1999, and 2002 (only 1998 for North Carolina). Overall, beetles were more species rich, abundant and diverse in dead wood addition plots than in reference plots. While these differences were greatest in 1998 and lessened thereafter, they were not found to be significant in 1998 due largely to …

Diversities In Virulence, Antifungal Activity, Pigmentation And Dna Fingerprint Among Strains Of Burkholderia Glumae, Hari S. Karki, Bishnu K. Shrestha, Jae Woo Han, Donald E. Groth, Inderjit K. Barphagha, Milton C. Rush, Rebecca A. Melanson, Beom Seok Kim, Jong Hyun Ham

Faculty Publications

Burkholderia glumae is the primary causal agent of bacterial panicle blight of rice. In this study, 11 naturally avirulent and nine virulent strains of B. glumae native to the southern United States were characterized in terms of virulence in rice and onion, toxofalvin production, antifungal activity, pigmentation and genomic structure. Virulence of B. glumae strains on rice panicles was highly correlated to virulence on onion bulb scales, suggesting that onion bulb can be a convenient alternative host system to efficiently determine the virulence of B. glumae strains. Production of toxoflavin, the phytotoxin that functions as a major virulence factor, was …

Atmospheric Organic Material And The Nutrients Nitrogen And Phosphorus It Carries To The Ocean, Maria Kanakidou, Robert A. Duce, Joseph M. Prospero, Alex R. Baker, Claudia R. Benitez-Nelson, Frank J. Dentener, Keith A. Hunter, Peter S. Liss, Natalie Mahowald, Gregory S. Okin, Manmohan Sarin, Kostas Tsigaridis, Mitsuo Uematsu, Lauren M. Zamora, Tong Zhu

Faculty Publications

[1] The global tropospheric budget of gaseous and particulate non‐methane organic matter (OM) is re‐examined to provide a holistic view of the role that OM plays in transporting the essential nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus to the ocean. A global 3‐dimensional chemistry‐transport model was used to construct the first global picture of atmospheric transport and deposition of the organic nitrogen (ON) and organic phosphorus (OP) that are associated with OM, focusing on the soluble fractions of these nutrients. Model simulations agree with observations within an order of magnitude. Depending on location, the observed water soluble ON fraction ranges from ∼3% to …

Mechanistic Insights Into Validoxylamine A 7'-Phosphate Synthesis By Vlde Using The Structure Of The Entire Product Complex, Michael C. Cavalier, Young Sun Yim, Shumpei Asamizu, David Neau, Khaled H. Almabruk, Taifo Mahmud, Yong Hwan Lee

Faculty Publications

The pseudo-glycosyltransferase VldE catalyzes non-glycosidic C-N coupling between an unsaturated cyclitol and a saturated aminocyclitol with the conservation of the stereochemical configuration of the substrates to form validoxylamine A 7′-phosphate, the biosynthetic precursor of the antibiotic validamycin A. To study the molecular basis of its mechanism, the three-dimensional structures of VldE from Streptomyces hygroscopicus subsp. limoneus was determined in apo form, in complex with GDP, in complex with GDP and validoxylamine A 7′-phosphate, and in complex with GDP and trehalose. The structure of VldE with the catalytic site in both an "open" and "closed" conformation is also described. With these …

Development Of Scn Connectivity And The Circadian Control Of Arousal: A Diminishing Role For Humoral Factors?, Andrew J. Gall, William D. Todd, Mark S. Blumberg

Faculty Publications

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is part of a wake-promoting circuit comprising the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) and locus coeruleus (LC). Although widely considered a "master clock," the SCN of adult rats is also sensitive to feedback regarding an animal's behavioral state. Interestingly, in rats at postnatal day (P)2, repeated arousing stimulation does not increase neural activation in the SCN, despite doing so in the LC and DMH. Here we show that, by P8, the SCN is activated by arousing stimulation and that selective destruction of LC terminals with DSP-4 blocks this activational effect. We next show that bidirectional projections among the …