Digital Commons Network^™

A-State Offering Students Courses On Marine Mammals, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Arkansas State University Students Prepare Manatee Exhibit, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Nobody’S Dolphins, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Measuring Knowledge Of Natural Selection: A Comparison Of The C.I.N.S., An Open-Response Instrument, And An Oral Interview, Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Growing recognition of the central importance of fostering an in-depth understanding of natural selection has, surprisingly, failed to stimulate work on the development and rigorous evaluation of instruments that measure knowledge of it. We used three different methodological tools, the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS), a modified version of Bishop and Anderson's (Bishop and Anderson [1990] Journal of Research in Science Teaching 27: 415-427) open-response test that we call the Open Response Instrument (ORI), and an oral interview derived from both instruments, to measure biology majors' understanding of and alternative conceptions about natural selection. We explored how these instruments …

‘Never Forget Syphilis’: Public Health, Modernity And Gender In The Discourse Of Previsión Social During The Trujillato, Melissa Madera

Publications and Research

This is an introduction to the study of public health during the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina (1930-1961). The essay shows how the dictatorship sought to advance the regime's agenda of patriarchal modernity making women responsible for the health of the nation. The essay extensively cites issues of the periodical publication Previsión Social.

Retinal Tissue Engineering Using Mouse Retinal Progenitor Cells And A Novel Biodegradable, Thin-Film Poly(E-Caprolactone) Nanowire Scaffold, Stephen Redenti, Sarah Tao, Jing Yang, Ping Gu, Henry Klassen, Sunita Saigal, Tejal Desai, Michael J. Young

Publications and Research

Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) can be combined with nanostructured polymer scaffolds to generate compos- ite grafts in culture. One strategy for repair of diseased retinal tissue involves implantation of composite grafts of this type in the subretinal space. In the present study, mouse retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) were cultured on laminin- coated novel nanowire poly(e-caprolactone)(PCL) scaf- folds, and the survival, differentiation, and migration of these cells into the retina of C57bl/6 and rhodospsin −/−mouse retinal explants and transplant recipients were analyzed. RPCs were cultured on smooth PCL and both short (2.5μm) and long (27μ m) nanowire PCL scaffolds. Scaffolds with …

Science Fiction And Postmemory Han In Contemporary Korean American Literature, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

In this essay, Seo-Young Chu explores representations of a specifically Korean American type of postmemory that she calls "postmemory han."

Asu Researchers Investigate Subterranean Fishes Of China, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A-State Biology Department Sees New Library Dedicated, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Piranhas’ Arrival In Arkansas Possible, But Not Probable, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Crustaceans, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Manatee, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Whaling, E.C. M. Parsons, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Shelly Kannada, Naomi A. Rose

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Biological Collections Get International Certification, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Book Slated On Biologists’ Adventures, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Joy Trauth

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Asu Students Study Unusual Cause Of Sea Otter’S Death, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Kaylynne Glover

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

A-State Students Research Species In Mammoth Cave, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Use Of Palm Trees As A Sleeping Site By Hamadryas Baboons In Ethiopia, Amy Schreier, Larissa Swedell

Publications and Research

Hamadryas baboons sleep on cliffs throughout their range, and this can be attributed to the safety cliffs provide against predators in the absence of tall trees. In this paper, we report the first documented occurrence of hamadryas baboons sleeping in doum palm trees rather than on cliffs. Data derive from a study of hamadryas baboons at the Filoha site in lowland Ethiopia. During all-day follows, data were collected on travel patterns, band activity, and location. Variation in the baboons’ home range was characterized using vegetation transects. We discovered that one band in this population, Band 3, occasionally slept in doum …

Composition And Seasonality Of Diet In Wild Hamadryas Baboons: Preliminary Findings From Filoha, Larissa Swedell, Getenet Hailemeskel, Amy Schreier

Publications and Research

Here we report the first year-round quantitative data on dietary composition and seasonality in wild hamadryas baboons. Study subjects were adult male members of Band 3 at the Filoha field site in central lowland Ethiopia. Data collection consisted of 10-minute focal samples during all-day follows 4-6 days per month over the course of one year. The two largest contributors to the diet were Hyphaene thebaica and Acacia senegal, and these were the only plant species found in the diet during every month of the year. Other relatively major contributors to the diet, such as Cyperus grandibulbosus, Seddera bagshawei, …

Fetal Positions: Unraveling The Influence Of Religion On Premarital Pregnancy Resolution, Amy Adamczyk, Jacob Felson

Publications and Research

This study illustrates the ways religiosity and denominational affiliation influence the probability that a young woman will have an abortion.

Disability And “Late Style” In Music, Joseph N. Straus

Publications and Research

“Late style” is a longstanding aesthetic category in all the arts. Late-style music is presumed to have certain internal qualities (such as fragmentation, intimacy, nostalgia, or concision) and to be associated with certain external factors (such as the age of the composer, his or her proximity to and foreknowledge of death, lateness within a historical period, or a sense of authorial belatedness with respect to significant predecessors). Upon closer inspection, it appears that many of these external factors are unreliably correlated with a musical style that might be described as late. Late style is often better correlated with the bodily …

New Strategy For The Search Of Natural Biologically Active Substances., Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Ilya Raskin

Publications and Research

The modern pharmaceutics actively screens an immense diversity of substances occurring in plants and other natural resources in the search for new effective medicinal agents. The Global Institute for Bioexploration (GIBEX) established by joint efforts of Rutgers University and the University of Illinois (United States) represents the organizational core of international scientific community whose activity is directed towards the search and development of new medicinal preparations from natural raw materials. The basis of GIBEX activity is the transfer of modern screening technologies to countries and geographical regions characterized by remarkable biodiversity. The GIBEX goals are to encourage the search for …

Distorted Maternal Mental Representations And Atypical Behavior In A Clinical Sample Of Violence-Exposed Mothers And Their Toddlers, Daniel S. Schector, Susan W. Coates, Tammy Kaminer, Tammy Coots, Charles H. Zeanah, Mark Davies, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Randall D. Marshall, Michael R. Liebowitz, Kimberly A. Trabka, Jaime E. Mccaw, Michael M. Myers

Publications and Research

Objective: To determine whether maternal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reflective functioning (RF), and/or quality of mental representations of her child predicts maternal behavior within a referred sample of mothers exposed to interpersonal violence and their children (aged 8–50 months). Method: A total of 41 dyads completed 2 videotaped visits including measures of maternal mentalrepresentations and behavior. Results: Negative and distorted maternal mental representations predicted atypical behavior (Cohen’s d > 1.0). Although maternal PTSD and RF impacted mental representations, no significant relationships were found between PTSD, RF, and overall atypical caregiving behavior. Severity of maternal PTSD …

Identification Of A Novel Conserved Mixed-Isoform B56 Regulatory Subunit And Spatiotemporal Regulation Of Protein Phosphatase 2a During Xenopus Laevis Development, Sungmin Baek, Joni M. Seeling

Publications and Research

Background Wnt signaling is a key regulator of development and tumorigenesis. Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), which consists of a catalytic C, a structural A, and a regulatory B subunit, plays diverse roles in Wnt signaling through its B56 subunits. B56 is a multigene family encoding for proteins with a conserved core domain and divergent amino- and carboxy-termini. Ectopic B56α and B56γ reduce β-catenin abundance and B56α reduces Wnt-dependent transcription, suggesting that B56α and B56γ inhibit Wnt signaling. In contrast, B56ε is required for Wnt signaling. Knowledge of where and when B56 subunits are expressed during Xenopus development will aid in …

The 2006 Nescent Phyloinformatics Hackathon: A Field Report, Hilmar Lapp, Sendu Bala, James P. Balhoff, Amy Bouck, Naohisa Goto, Mark Holder, Richard Holland, Alisha Holloway, Toshiaki Katayama, Paul O. Lewis, Aaron J. Mackey, Brian I. Osborne, William H. Piel, Sergei L. Kosakovsky Pond, Art F.Y. Poon, Wei-Gang Qiu, Jason E. Stajich, Arlin Stoltzfus, Tobias Thierer, Albert J. Vilella

Publications and Research

In December, 2006, a group of 26 software developers from some of the most widely used life science programming toolkits and phylogenetic software projects converged on Durham, North Carolina, for a Phyloinformatics Hackathon, an intense five-day collaborative software coding event sponsored by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent). The goal was to help researchers to integrate multiple phylogenetic software tools into automated workflows. Participants addressed deficiencies in interoperability between programs by implementing “glue code” and improving support for phylogenetic data exchange standards (particularly NEXUS) across the toolkits. The work was guided by use-cases compiled in advance by both developers and …

A Quantitative Synthesis Of The Medicinal Ethnobotany Of The Malinké Of Mali And The Asháninka Of Peru, With A New Theoretical Framework, Nathaniel Bletter

Publications and Research

Background: Although ethnomedically and taxonomically guided searches for new medicinal plants can improve the percentage of plants found containing active compounds when compared to random sampling, ethnobotany has fulfilled little of its promise in the last few decades to deliver a bounty of new, laboratory-proven medicinal plants and compounds. It is quite difficult to test, isolate, and elucidate the structure and mechanism of compounds from the plethora of new medicinal plant uses described each year with limited laboratory time and resources and the high cost of clinical trials of new drug candidates.

Methods: A new quantitative theoretical framework of mathematical …

Cell Death In Health And Disease, Richard A. Lockshin, Zahra Zakeri

Publications and Research

Cell death is clearly an important factor in development, homeostasis, pathology and in aging, but medical efforts based on controlling cell death have not become major aspects of medicine. There are several reasons why hopes have been slow to be fulfilled, and they present indications for new directions in research. Most effort has focused on the machinery of cell death, or the proximate effectors of apoptosis and their closely associated and interacting proteins. But cells have many options other than apoptosis. These include autophagy, necrosis, atrophy and stepwise or other alternate means of self-disassembly. The response of a cell to …

Contrasting Infection Strategies In Generalist And Specialist Wasp Parasitoids Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Todd A. Schlenke, Jorge Morales, Shubha Govind, Andrew G. Clark

Publications and Research

Although host–parasitoid interactions are becoming well characterized at the organismal and cellular levels, much remains to be understood of the molecular bases for the host immune response and the parasitoids’ ability to defeat this immune response. Leptopilina boulardi and L. heterotoma, two closely related, highly infectious natural parasitoids of Drosophila melanogaster, appear to use very different infection strategies at the cellular level. Here, we further characterize cellular level differences in the infection characteristics of these two wasp species using newly derived, virulent inbred strains, and then use whole genome microarrays to compare the transcriptional response of Drosophila to each. While …

Deafness Mutation Mining Using Regular Expression Based Pattern Matching, Christopher M. Frenz

Publications and Research

Background: While keyword based queries of databases such as Pubmed are frequently of great utility, the ability to use regular expressions in place of a keyword can often improve the results output by such databases. Regular expressions can allow for the identification of element types that cannot be readily specified by a single keyword and can allow for different words with similar character sequences to be distinguished.

Results: A Perl based utility was developed to allow the use of regular expressions in Pubmed searches, thereby improving the accuracy of the searches.

Conclusion: This utility was then utilized to create a …

A Mutation In Mrh2 Kinesin Enhances The Root Hair Tip Growth Defect Caused By Constitutively Activated Rop2 Small Gtpase In Arabidopsis, Guohua Yang, Peng Gao, Hua Zhang, Shanjin Huang, Zhi-Liang Zheng

Publications and Research

Root hair tip growth provides a unique model system for the study of plant cell polarity. Transgenic plants expressing constitutively active (CA) forms of ROP (Rho-of-plants) GTPases have been shown to cause the disruption of root hair polarity likely as a result of the alteration of actin filaments (AF) and microtubules (MT) organization. Towards understanding the mechanism by which ROP controls the cytoskeletal organization during root hair tip growth, we have screened for CA-rop2 suppressors or enhancers using CA1-1, a transgenic line that expresses CA-rop2 and shows only mild disruption of tip growth. Here, we report the characterization of a …