Digital Commons Network^™

Soft-Sediment Recruitment Dynamics Of Early Blue Crab Stages In Mississippi Sound, Chet F. Rakocinski, Harriet M. Perry, Michael A. Abney, Kristen M. Larsen

Faculty Publications

In order to understand the recruitment dynamics of early blue crabs, it is necessary to sample quantitatively across early stages and habitats at appropriate spatio-temporal scales. Few studies of early blue crab recruitment have considered the potential role of soft-sediment habitat or directly related megalopal supply to local densities of early stages. During a 7-wk peak recruitment period, fluctuations in early stages of blue crabs from settlement collectors were significantly cross-correlated between two sites separated by 7.5 km, showing connectivity on this large spatial scale. Moreover, numbers of megalopae from settlement collectors were directly correlated with densities of early juveniles …

What The Universe Means To People Like Me, David D. Allred

Faculty Publications

When I picked up David's paper to read it, I had a pencil in my hand. Years of reading my students' and my own papers made it natural to edit as I read. However, I heard in my mind the voice of my mother advising me to put the pencil down. This wasn't time to edit but to hear and understand. Still, I kept the pencil in my hand for the first few pages and made a few notes before I put it down and just read. I could hear David's voice speaking the words I read. It was good …

Fuel Characteristics Of Processed, High-Fiber Sugarcane, Scott Q. Turn, Charles M. Kinoshita, Lee A. Jakeway, Bryan M. Jenkins, Larry Lin Baxter 8507091, Ben C. Wu, Linda G. Blevins

Faculty Publications

A study of treatment methods to improve the fuel characteristics of sugarcane variety B52298 was conducted. Two parent materials, whole cane (WC) and stripped cane (SC), were included in the study. The whole cane material was subjected to three treatments: (1) no treatment, WC-U; (2) a single milling, WC-M; and (3) an initial milling followed by leaching and a secondary milling, WC-MLM. Treatments (1) through (3) are in order of increasing severity. The stripped cane material was subjected to treatment (3) and designated as SC-MLM. Regardless of parent material, milling produced moisture contents of ∼50% wet basis and fiber bulk …

Carboxylate Groups On The Manganese-Stabilizing Protein Are Required For Efficient Binding Of The 24 Kda Extrinsic Protein To Photosystem Ii, Terry M. Bricker, Laurie K. Frankel

Faculty Publications

The effects of the modification of carboxylate groups on the manganese-stabilizing protein on the binding of the 24 kDa extrinsic protein to Photosystem II were investigated. Carboxylate groups on the manganese-stabilizing protein were modified with glycine methyl ester in a reaction facilitated by 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide. The manganese-stabilizing protein which was modified while associated with NaCl-washed membranes could bind to calcium chloride-washed PS II membranes and reconstitute oxygen evolution in a manner similar to that observed for unmodified manganese-stabilizing protein (Frankel, L,K, Cruz, J. C. and Bricker, T. M. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 14271-14278), However, PS II membranes reconstituted with this modified protein …

Salt Dependence Of Dna Binding By Thermus Aquaticus And Escherichia Coli Dna Polymerases, Kausiki Datta, Vince J. Licata

Faculty Publications

DNA binding properties of the Type 1 DNA polymerases from Thermus aquaticus (Taq, Klentaq) and Escherichia coli (Klenow) have been examined as a function of [KCl] and [MgCl2]. Full-length Taq and its Klentaq "large fragment" behave similarly in all assays. The two different species of polymerases bind DNA with submicromolar affinities in very different salt concentration ranges. Consequently, at similar [KCl] the binding of Klenow is ∼3 kcal/mol (150×) tighter than that of Taq/Klentaq to the same DNA. Linkage analysis reveals a net release of 2-3 ions upon DNA binding of Taq/Klentaq and 4-5 ions upon binding of Klenow. DNA …

Experimentally Induced Root Mortality Increased Nitrous Oxide Emission From Tropical Forest Soils, Ruth K. Varner, Michael Keller, Jillan R. Robertson, Jadson D. Dias, Hudson Silva, Patrick M. Crill, Megan E. Mcgroddy, Whendee L. Silver

Faculty Publications

We conducted an experiment on sand and clay tropical forest soils to test the short‐term effect of root mortality on the soil‐atmosphere flux of nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide. We induced root mortality by isolating blocks of land to 1 m using trenching and root exclusion screening. Gas fluxes were measured weekly for ten weeks following the trenching treatment. For nitrous oxide there was a highly significant increase in soil‐atmosphere flux over the ten weeks following treatment for trenched plots compared to control plots. N2O flux averaged 37.5 and 18.5 ng N cm−2 h−1 from clay trenched …

Microalgal-Meiofaunal Trophic Relationships In Muddy Intertidal Estuarine Sediments, James L. Pinckney, Kevin R. Carman, S. Elizabeth Lumsden, Sabrina N. Hymel

Faculty Publications

The determination of the primary factors controlling carbon (C) transfer rates in situ are a basic requirement for developing a mechanistic view of the processes that regulate benthic microbial community structure and function. In many estuarine ecosystems, the base of the food web is dominated by microalgal production; however, information on the quantitative relationships and process rates of meiofaunal grazers and benthic microalgal (BMA) producers is limited to a few habitats and short temporal scales. The primary objective of this study was to examine the trophic interactions between meiofaunal grazers and BMA producers to determine if grazing is a primary …

Climatic Influences On Riverine Nitrate Flux: Implications For Coastal Marine Eutrophication And Hypoxia, Dubravko Justic, R. Eugene Turner, Nancy N. Rabalais

Faculty Publications

The average nitrate flux of the lower Mississippi River increased 3.3-fold between 1954–1967 and 1983–2000. During the same time period, the average nitrate concentration increased 2.3-fold while the average discharge increased 40%. Partitioning of the observed trend in nitrate flux among the two flux components, nitrate concentration and discharge, revealed that about 80% of the observed increase in flux could be explained by the increase in nitrate concentration. This indicates that a historical increase in the anthropogenic nutrient inputs has had a far greater impact on the lower Mississippi River nitrate flux than a change in climate. The influence of …

Structure Of The Proline Dehydrogenase Domain Of The Multifunctional Puta Flavoprotein, Yong Hwan Lee, Shorena Nadaraia, Dan Gu, Donald F. Becker, John J. Tanner

Faculty Publications

The PutA flavoprotein from Escherichia coli plays multiple roles in proline catabolism by functioning as a membrane-associated bi-functional enzyme and a transcriptional repressor of proline utilization genes. The human homolog of the PutA proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) domain is critical in p53-mediated apoptosis and schizophrenia. Here we report the crystal structure of a 669-residue truncated form of PutA that shows both PRODH and DNA-binding activities, representing the first structure of a PutA protein and a PRODH enzyme from any organism. The structure is a domain-swapped dimer with each subunit comprising three domains: a helical dimerization arm, a 120-residue domain containing a …

Stat5a Promotes Adipogenesis In Nonprecursor Cells And Associates With The Glucocorticoid Receptor During Adipocyte Differentiation, Z. Elizabeth Floyd, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

The differentiation of adipocytes is regulated by the activity of a variety of transcription factors, including peroxidase proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ and C/EBPα. Our current study demonstrates that ectopic expression of STAT5A, such as that of PPAR-γ and C/EBPα, promotes adipogenesis in two nonprecursor fibroblast cell lines. Using morphologic and biochemical criteria, we have demonstrated that STAT5A and the combination of STAT5A and STAT5B are sufficient to induce the expression of early and late adipogenic markers in BALB/c and NIH-3T3 cells. Yet, the ectopic expression of STAT5B alone does not induce the expression of adipocyte genes, but enhances the induction of …

Methylation-Sensitive Binding Of Transcription Factor Yy1 To An Insulator Sequence Within The Paternally Expressed Imprinted Gene, Peg3, Joomyeong Kim, Angela Kollhoff, Anne Bergmann, Lisa Stubbs

Faculty Publications

The 5�-ends of two paternally expressed mouse genes, Peg3 and Usp29, are jointly associated with a CpG island that exhibits allele-specific methylation. Sequence comparison of the regions derived from human, mouse and cow revealed the presence of two evolutionarily conserved sequence motifs including one that is repeated multiple times within the first intron of Peg3 in all three mammals. DNA mobility shift and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChlP) assays clearly demonstrated that this motif is an in vivo binding site for the Gli-type transcription factor YY1. The YY1-binding site contains one CpG dinucleotide, and methylation of this CpG site abolishes the binding …

Transcriptional Initiation Under Conditions Of Anoxia-Induced Quiescence In Mitochondria From Artemia Franciscana Embryos, Brian D. Eads, Steven C. Hand

Faculty Publications

In response to anoxia, embryos of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana are able coordinately to downregulate metabolism to levels low enough to permit survival for several years at room temperature. In addition to dramatic decreases in free ATP levels and heat production, intracellular pH drops from 7.8 to 6.3 overnight. Use of isolated mitochondria to study transcriptional responses to anoxia offers several advantages: (1) the localized nature of transcript initiation, processing and degradation, all of which may be followed in organello; (2) the relatively simple cis- and trans-machinery involved and (3) the ability to provide relevant physiological treatments in vitro. …

Localization And Characterization Of Phenamil-Sensitive Na+ Influx In Isolated Rainbow Trout Gill Epithelial Cells, Scott D. Reid, G. S. Hawkings, F. Galvez, G. G. Goss

Faculty Publications

Percoll density-gradient separation, combined with peanut lectin agglutinin (PNA) binding and magnetic bead separation, was used to separate dispersed fish gill cells into sub-populations. Functional characterization of each of the sub-populations was performed to determine which displayed acid-activated phenamil- and bafilomycin-sensitive Na+ uptake. Analysis of the mechanism(s) of 22Na+ influx was performed in control and acid-activated (addition of 10 mmoll-1 proprionic acid) cells using a variety of Na+ transport inhibitors (ouabain, phenamil, HOE-694 and bumetanide) and a V-type ATPase inhibitor (bafilomycin). We found that cells migrating to a 1.03-1.05 g ml-1 Percoll interface [pavement cells (PVCs)] possessed the lowest rates …

A Meta-Analysis Of Genome-Wide Linkage Scans For Hypertension: The National Heart, Lung And Blood Institute Family Blood Pressure Program, Michael A. Province, Sharon L.R. Kardia, Koustubh Ranade, Dabeeru C. Rao, Bonnie A. Thiel, Richard S. Cooper, Neil Risch, Stephen T. Turner, David R. Cox, Steven C. Hunt, Alan B. Weder, Eric Boerwinkle

Faculty Publications

Background: Four multicenter Networks (GenNet, GENOA, HyperGEN, SAPPHIRe) form the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP), to search for hypertension/blood pressure (BP) genes. The networks used different family designs and targeted multiple ethnic groups, using standardized protocols and definitions. Linkage genome scans were done on samples within each network (N = 6245 relatives). Methods: The evidence was synthesized using meta-analysis. Results: Combining ethnic groups, no region reached LOD >2, but several small peaks were identified, including chromosome 2p where two other recent reports find hypertension linkage. Conclusions: No regions show uniformly large effects on BP/hypertension …

Race, Genes, And Health - New Wine In Old Bottles?, Richard S. Cooper

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Algal And Bacterial Extracellular Polymeric Secretions (Eps) By The Deposit-Feeding Brittlestar Amphipholis Gracillima (Echinodermata), D. L. Hoskins, S. E. Stancyk, Alan W. Decho

Faculty Publications

Like many deposit-feeding organisms, the burrowing brittlestar Amphipholis gracillima feeds on particulate organic matter in surface sediments. Microbial exopolymeric secretions (EPS) are carbohydrate-enriched polymers produced by microalgae and bacteria that bind aggregates and form dense biofilms near the sediment-water interface. EPS are assimilable by some benthic infauna and may be utilized as a significant carbon source. EPS are absorbed by some deposit-feeders, including a holothurian, and may be supplemental sources of nutrition. The burrowing brittlestar A. gracillima is a deposit-feeder that was used in a mass balance approach to model the incorporation of radiolabeled EPS by bottom feeders. Brittlestars were …

Efficient Incorporation Of Coa, Nad And Fad Into Rna By In Vitro Transcription, Faqing Huang

Faculty Publications

Protein enzymes frequently recruit small molecule coenzymes to perform a variety of biochemical reactions. While the catalytic activities of RNA have been expanding rapidly, a similar strategy for RNA to utilize coenzymes and to increase its functional capabilities has yet to be demonstrated. A general in vitro transcription procedure has been developed to efficiently prepare RNA with coenzymes CoA, NAD and FAD covalently attached to the 5' end. These adenosine-containing coenzymes initiate transcription under the T7 class II promoter by T7 RNA polymerase. In addition to the three coenzymes, other adenosine-containing molecules may be incorporated into the first nucleotide position …

Onset Of Major Depressive Disorder Among Adolescents, John P. Hoffmann, Scott A. Baldwin, Felicia G. Cerbone

Faculty Publications

Objectives: To examine the association between parental affective disorders and psychoactive substance use disor- ders and the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD) among adolescents and young adults and to determine whether this association is affected by stressful life events, family cohesion, self-esteem, or gender. Method: Prospective cohort study of 804 adolescents, aged 11–17 years, and their parents who were followed for seven consecutive years. The sam- ple was drawn from the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Parental diagnoses were based on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R administered during study screening stage. Diagnoses of MDD and age of onset were based …

The Regulation And Activation Of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Signaling Proteins In Adipocytes, Sanjin Zvonic, Peter Cornelius, William C. Stewart, Randall L. Mynatt, Jacqueline M. Stephens

Faculty Publications

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is primarily known for its roles as a lesion factor released by the ruptured glial cells that prevent neuronal degeneration. However, CNTF has also been shown to cause weight loss in a variety of rodent models of obesity/type II diabetes, whereas a modified form also causes weight loss in humans. CNTF administration can correct or improve hyperinsulinemia, hyperphagia, and hyperlipidemia associated with these models of obesity. In order to investigate the effects of CNTF on fat cells, we examined the expression of CNTF receptor complex proteins (LIFR, gp130, and CNTFRα) during adipocyte differentiation and the effects …

Abundance Of Amino Sugars And Peptidoglycan In Marine Particulate And Dissolved Organic Matter, Ronald Benner, Karl Kaiser

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Formation And Character Of An Ancient 19-M Ice Cover And Underlying Trapped Brine In An "Ice-Sealed" East Antarctic Lake, Peter T. Doran, Christian H. Fritsen, Christopher P. Mckay, John C. Priscu, Edward E. Adams

Faculty Publications

Lake Vida, one of the largest lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, was previously believed to be shallow (<10 >m) and frozen to its bed year-round. New ice-core analysis and temperature data show that beneath 19 m of ice is a water column composed of a NaCl brine with a salinity seven times that of seawater that remains liquid below - 10°C. The ice cover thickens at both its base and surface, sealing concentrated brine beneath. The ice cover is stabilized by a negative feedback between ice growth and the freezing-point depression of the brine. The ice cover …

Tissue-Specific Structure/Function Differentiation Of The Liver Isoform Of 6-Phosphofructo-2-Kinase/Fructose-2,6-Bisphosphatase, Yong Hwan Lee, Yang Li, Kosaku Uyeda, Charles A. Hasemann

Faculty Publications

The crystal structures of the human liver 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase in three different liganding states were determined and compared with those of the rat testis isozyme. A set of amino acid sequence heterogeneity from the two distinct genes encoding the two different tissue isozymes leads to both global and local conformational differences that may cause the differences in catalytic properties of the two isozymes. The sequence differences in a β-hairpin loop in the kinase domain causes a translational shift of several hydrophobic interactions in the dimeric contact region, and its propagation to the domains interface results in a 5° twist of the …

Breeding Biology Of An Interior Least Tern (Sterna Antillarum Athalassos) Colony In Childress County Of North Texas, Warren C. Conway, Loren M. Smith, James D. Ray

Faculty Publications

This study documented nest success, nest initiation chronology and nest site selection for interior least terns (Sterna antillarum athalassos) along the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River in Childress County, Texas during 1998. Terns experienced

a 65% nest success rate (Mayfield estimate 71 %) and clutch sizes ranged from 1 3 eggs (x = 2.25) for 20 nests. Seventy percent of all nests were initiated during the first 20 days of June, which coincided with the highest number of adult terns observed on the study site. All nests were found on gravel/sand bars in the river basin; 25% …

Toward A Lutheran "Delight In The Law Of The Lord": Church And State In The Context Of Civil Society, Gary M. Simpson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Environmental Sovereignty Discourse Of The Brazilian Amazon: National Politics And The Globalization Of Indigenous Resistance, Anne Marie Todd

Faculty Publications

This analysis explores the connection between globalization and national identity in cultural expressions of environmental sovereignty. Competing claims to resources in the Brazilian Amazon reflect changing notions of state authority and the role of indigenous citizens in protection of biodiversity. The debate between Brazilian state governments and the Yanomami Indians and seringueiros (Brazilian Rubber Tapper communities) illustrates the complex interaction of national identity and expressions of local culture in a global ecological context.

Symposium: Issues In Bioterrorism -Introduction, Jessica Wilen Berg

Faculty Publications

This issue of Health Matrix focuses on the legal issues involving bioterrorism.

Progress And Opportunities In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Health Communications, Laurie A. Drabble, J. Keatley, G. Marcelle

Faculty Publications

This article describes elements of effective health communication and highlights strategies that may best be adopted or adapted in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. Studies have documented the utility of multidimensional approaches to health communication from the macro level of interventions targeting entire populations to the micro level of communication between health care provider and consumer. Although evidence of health disparities in LGBT communities underscores the importance of population-specific interventions, health promotion campaigns rarely target these populations and health communication activities seldom account for the diversity of LGBT communities. Advances in health communication suggest promising direction …

Biodiversity And Biogeography Of The Islands Of The Kuril Archipelago [Abstract], Theodore W. Pietsch, Victor V. Bogatov, Kunio Amaoka, Yuri N. Zhuravlev, Vyacheslav Y. Barkalov, Sarah Gage, Hideki Takahashi, Arkady S. Lelej, Sergey Y. Storozhenko, Noboru Minakawa, Daniel J. Bennett, Trevor R. Anderson, Masahiro Ôhara, Larisa A. Prozorova, Yasuhiro Kuwahara, Sergey K. Kholin, Mamoru Yabe, Duane E. Stevenson, Erin L. Macdonald

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

To The Knowledge Of Trigonalyid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Trigonalyidae) Of Sakhalin, Daniel J. Bennett, Arkady S. Lelej

Faculty Publications

The northern border for the distribution of the Trigonalyidae on Sakhalin is moved northwards to 49° N. The genus Orthogonalys Schulz, 1905 and O. elongata (Teranishi, 1929) are new for Sakhalin fauna.

Blackspot Disease Of Roses [Abstract], Robert J. Wiggers, Josephine Taylor, J. A. Margoitta, S. G. Pandalai

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.