Digital Commons Network^™

Studies On The Formation Of Dna-Cationic Lipid Composite Films And Dna Hybridization In The Composites, Murali Sastry, Vidya Ramakrishnan, Mrunalini Pattarkine, Krishna N. Ganesh

Faculty Works

The formation of composite films of double-stranded DNA and cationic lipid molecules (octadecylamine, ODA) and the hybridization of complementary single-stranded DNA molecules in such composite films are demonstrated. The immobilization of DNA is accomplished by simple immersion of a thermally evaporated ODA film in the DNA solution at close to physiological pH. The entrapment of the DNA molecules in the cationic lipid film is dominated by attractive electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged phosphate backbone of the DNA molecules and the protonated amine molecules in the thermally evaporated film and has been quantified using quartz crystal microgravimetry (QCM). Fluorescence studies …

Winter Vertebrate Browsing Of Birch: Effects On The Use Of Leaf Litter Leachates By Stream Microorganisms, Jeffrey L. Estensen

Biological Sciences

Winter browsing of birch leads to chemical changes in leaves of the following growing season, potentially generating differences in the quality of leachates derived from leaf litter and in leachate use by stream microorganisms. The effects of moose browsing were tested on leachates from leaves collected from browsed and unbrowsed trees and inoculated with microbial communities. Respiration and bacterial abundance were used to assess qualitative differences in leachates. Microbes cultured in leachates derived from leaves of browsed trees had significantly higher rates of oxygen uptake. There were no significant differences in bacterial abundance between treatments. The basis for the qualitative …

Geometry And Kinematics Of The Yakataga Anticline, Icy Bay, Alaska, Michael Scott Broadwell

Geosciences

The Yakataga incline is a well-exposed asymmetrical fold with a ramp tip beneath the forelimb. Uncomformities in the backlimb and forelimb indicate that both limbs rotated during fold growth. The stratigraphic character and evidence for deformation before full lithification suggest non-parallel folding by distributed strain rather than flexural slip. These characteristics of the natural fold do not fit existing models for thrust-related folds and I suggest two models for the Yakataga anticline's growth: 1) the fold formed as a non-parallel detachment fold modified by fault-propagation folding in the forelimb; and 2) the fold formed as a rotating-limb fault-propagation fold. The …

The Three-Dimensional Structure Of The Summit Magma Complex At Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, From Travel Time Cdi Tomography, Aaron David Pearson

Geosciences

Methods of seismic tomography have been applied to Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii several times to determine the structure of the magma conduit system. The shallow summit chambers are the least defined part of the magma system. A dense seismic array ... was deployed over the summit in January, 1996 and February, 1997. P- and S- phase travel times of 271 earthquakes recorded at these stations were inverted with a new tomography algorithm developed by Clippard (1998) to highlight small, anomalous regions. A large (26.2 km³) low P-phase velocity anomaly (9% perturbation) was imaged beneath the summit caldera implying a body of …

Paleoenvironmental Changes At Treeline: A 6,500 Year Long Pollen And Stable Isotope Record, Melanie Rohr

Geosciences

Combined pollen, macrofossil and stable-isotope records from two lakes in the sub-alpine zone of the north-central Alaska Range indicate significant changes in vegetation and lake productivity during the past 6̃750 ¹⁴C yrs BP. These changes are associated with neoglacial cooling and climate variations during the Little Ice-Age (LIA). Highest spruce densities occurred during a period from 5,000 ¹⁴C yrs BP and 2,500 ¹⁴C yrs BP and coincided with the onset of cooler and moister climate. The shifts in climate, which resulted in increased effective moisture levels in Central Alaska, possibly shifted the competitive balance towards spruce and against tundra taxa. …

Measurement Of Dijet Production In Neutral Current Deep Inelastic Scattering At High Q2 And Determination Of ΑS, J. Breitweg, S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, D. Krakauer, S. Magill, B. Musgrave, A. Pellegrino, J. Repond, R. Stanek, R. Yoshida, Margarita C. K. Mattingly, P. Antonioli, G. Bari, M. Basile, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, G. Cara Romeo, L. Cifarelli, F. Cindolo, A. Contin, M. Corradi, S. De Pasquale, P. Giusti, G. Iacobucci, G. Levi, A. Margotti, T. Massam, R. Nania, F. Palmonari

Faculty Publications

Dijet production has been studied in neutral current deep inelastic e+p scattering for 470 < Q2 < 20000 GeV2 with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 38.4 pb-1. Dijet differential cross sections are presented in a kinematic region where both theoretical and experimental uncertainties are small. Next-to-leading-order (NLO) QCD calculations describe the measured differential cross sections well. A QCD analysis of the measured dijet fraction as a function of Q2 allows both a precise determination of αs(Mz) and a test of the energy-scale dependence of the strong coupling constant. A detailed analysis provides an improved estimate of the uncertainties of the NLO QCD cross sections arising from the paxton distribution functions of the proton. The value of αs(Mz), as determined from the QCD fit, is αs (MZ) = 0.1166 ± 0.0019(stat.)+0.0024-0.0044 (exp.) +0.00570.0044(th.). © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V.

Phytochemistry And Chemosystematics Of Artemisia Arctica In Alaska, Chance W. Riggins

Chemistry and Biochemistry

Artemisia L. (Asteraceae - Anthemideae) is a large and taxonomically complex genus occurring widely throughout the northern hemisphere. Chemical investigations in this genus have mainly been stimulated by the economic and/or medicinal importance of many of its members. This chemical knowledge has also provided useful criteria for resolving systematic uncertainties within the genus. Alaskan Artemisia species are little known chemically despite their historic and contemporary medicinal use. Therefore, an investigation of the chemistry of Alaskan Artemisia arctica was initiated with the dual purpose of searching for structurally novel and/or biologically active compounds and contributing additional criteria for systematic studies of …

Spectator 2001-05-17, Editors Of The Spectator

The Spectator

No abstract provided.

Satellite Thermal Remote Sensing Of The Volcanoes Of Alaska And Kamchatka During 1994-1996, And The 1994 Eruption Of Kliuchevskoi Volcano, W. Christopher Wyatt

Geosciences

The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometers on the NOAA polar orbiting satellites were used to routinely observe the volcanoes of Alaska and Kamchatka from May 1994 to July 1996, as part of the monitoring effort of the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The largest eruption observed during this period occurred at Kliuchevskoi Volcano between September 8 and October 2, 1994. Radiative temperature measurements made during this eruption were used to develop quantitative methods for analyzing volcanic thermal anomalies. Several parameters, including maximum temperature, anomalous pixels, and total volcanic signal (TVS), were compared to viewing angle and date. A new quantity, TVS7, may …

Surface Response Of Wolverine Glacier, Southcentral Alaska, To Interannual And Decadal Variations In Climate, 1967-98, Ben W. Kennedy

Geosciences

This report summarizes thirty-two years (1967-98) of climate and surface observations on Wolverine Glacier by the U.S. Geologic Survey. The data document the long-term surface response of this temperate valley glacier to a decadal (1977-88) increase in winter precipitation and air temperature in the most extensively glaciated region of continental North America. Daily air temperature and precipitation were recorded at 990 m altitude from 1967 to 1998. Point mass balances were measured at three sites on the glacier from 1967-98. Surface altitude and surface velocities were measured at the same sites from 1978-98. Air photographs obtained during fall of 1950, …

Social Organization And Spatial Relationships In Coastal River Otters: Assessing Form And Function Of Social Groups, Sex-Biased Dispersal, And Gene Flow, Gail Marie Blundell

Biological Sciences

River otters (Lontra canadensis) inhabiting marine environments are top-level predators foraging in the nearshore ecosystem and recently have been recognized as indicators of environmental health. Otters were extirpated from much of their historic distribution because of exposure to pollution and urbanization, resulting in expansive reintroduction programs that continue today. Without an understanding of the influence of factors such as social structure, mating system, or sex-biased dispersal on genetic variation and gene flow among populations, effects of local extirpation and the potential for natural recolonization (i.e., the need for reintroductions) cannot be determined. The objective of this study was to assess …

Modeling Stand-Level Canopy Maintenance Respiration Of Black Spruce Ecosystems In Alaska: Implications For Spatial And Temporal Scaling, Xinxian Zhang

Biological Sciences

Canopy respiration represents an important part of the carbon budget of black spruce forests. In this study I scaled hourly models of foliar maintenance respiration (Rm) to estimate canopy Rm for individual stands, and investigated issues in scaling the models to estimate canopy Rm using mean monthly temperature data. I used data from several stands to develop hourly stand-specific and stand-independent models of canopy Rm. Analysis of stimulated canopy Rm indicated that stand-level controls over foliar N concentration should be considered in models that estimate canopy Rm of black spruce stands across the landscape. Uncertainty analyses indicated that the parameter …

Evaluation Of The Modes Of Transporting Gtl Products Through The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (Taps), Chinedu Franklyn Akwukwaegbu

Engineering

Gas-to-liquids (GTL) conversion technology, where natural gas is chemically converted to transportable hydrocarbon liquid products, is an emerging technology that will undoubtedly reach commercialization within the next decade. Two GTL transportation modes, that could be used to exploit vast Alaska Natural Gas resources in the form of stable liquid through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), are evaluated either as single slugs (batches) or commingled (mixed) with Crude Oil. In this study, thee pertinent energy equations are solved for both batch and commingled flow modes. The solutions of these equations are analytically presented for determining among other parameters, the pressure gradient …

Observation And Analysis Of Whistler Mode Echoes Received By Rpi On Image At High Latitudes, Xiangdong Chen

Engineering

Whistler-mode wave-injection experiments with Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) on IMAGE offer an opportunity to observe the whistler-mode echoes. We have performed raytracing studies to investigate accessibility of whistler-mode waves injected from IMAGE to various regions of the magnetosphere and also to other satellites such as Akebono. RPI detected both discrete and diffuse whistler-mode echoes during our observing period (April 21 to August 28, 2000) when IMAGE was at a low altitude (1̃000-7000 km) and mid-to-high latitudes (>25 - 40S̊) near its perigee. We believe that the discrete echoes are the result of RPI signals reflected at the Earth-ionosphere boundary …

Uncertainty In Fish Location Using A Split Beam Sonar, Mark L. Ayers

Engineering

The enumeration of fish is of critical importance to the management of both commercial and sport fisheries in Alaska and worldwide. Current methods for riverine fish enumeration are inaccurate and unreliable. Improved fish counting accuracy in Alaskan rivers by acoustic methods is required. A split beam sonar system in the presence of noise is modeled. The sonar system including the received sonar pulse, receiver system, transducer beam pattern, propagation losses, and noise are modeled. An analysis of the effects of noise, pulse duration and sampling frequency on the uncertainty in fish location is presented. Signal to noise ratios less than …

Evaluation Of Wolf Density Estimation From Radiotelemetry Data, John W. Burch

Biological Sciences

Density estimation of wolves (Canis lupus) requires a count of individuals and an estimate of area those individuals inhabit. With radiomarked wolves, the count is straightforward but estimation of area is more difficult and often given inadequate attention. The population area, based on the mosaic of pack territories, is influenced by sampling intensity similar to individual home ranges. If sampling intensity is low, population area will be underestimated and wolf density will be inflated. Using data from studies in Denali National Park and Preserve, I investigated these relationships using Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate effects of radiolocation effort and number …

Dna Mismatch Repair At An Oncogenic Hotspot Correlated With Phase Of The Cell Cycle And Environmentally Relevant Concentrations Of The Arctic Pollutant P, P'-Dde, Josephine Simonetti

Biological Sciences

Part I: Mismatch repair in G₁ synchronized mammalian cells. Deficiencies in DNA mismatch repair have been found in hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC), as well as in sporadic cancers, illustrating the importance of this single repair system in maintaining genomic integrity. In bacteria, this repair system functions primarily, after DNA replication, in the correction of polymerase base insertion errors and in mammalian cells it was also assumed that the mismatch repair system functioned within a similar timeframe. However, DNA mismatches occur ubiquitously and their repair before DNA replication is of paramount importance for faithful genome copying. We investigated the activity …

Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Oxytropis Campestris And Oxytropis Arctica Complexes In Alaska Inferred From Non-Coding Nuclear Dna And Rapd Data, Janet Lynn Jorgensen

Biological Sciences

The taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of the Oxytropis arctica and Oxytropis campestris complexes in Alaska are poorly understood. Taxonomic disagreement has centered on which morphological characters are important in circumscribing these taxa. Several of these taxa are endemic to Alaska, including Oxytropis arctica var. barnebyana, which is currently of conservation concern. Internal transcribed spacer sequences and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers were employed to circumscribe these taxa. Both lines of evidence revealed one major dichotomy dividing northern populations from western populations. There is weak support for traditional taxonomies. Morphological characters used to separate these taxa do not assort to either …

Hepatitis B In Arctic Ground Squirrels (Spermophylus Parryi): Epidemiology And Population Biology, Philip John Joy

Biological Sciences

Using a mark-recapture design, an epidemiological investigation of Hepatitis B was performed on four colonies of Spermophylus parryi. Animals were trapped, marked and bled. Serum samples were screened for Hepatitis B markers. Program MARK was used to estimate survival rates. Prevalence rates ranged over 55% and 1999 rates were 10% higher than 1998. Vertical transmission of the virus was not observed and juveniles were unaffected by the mother's hepatitis status. Immigrants had lower prevalence rates than residents and incidence rates accelerated throughout the study. Survival was highest during the over-winter period and adult rates were lower in 1999. Recovered animals …

Molecular And Morphological Perspectives On Post-Glacial Colonization Of Clethrionomys Rutilus And Clethrionomys Gapperi In Southeast Alaska, Amy Marie Runck

Biological Sciences

Pleistocene events had a significant impact on the geographic distributions of high latitude organisms. Recently deglaciated, Southeast Alaska has been colonized by two species of red-backed voles, clethrionomys rutilus and C. gapperi. With distinct biogeographic histories, post-glacial colonization of C. rutilus and C. gapperi into this region would have occurred by different routes. Variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, the MYH2 nuclear intron, and the post palatal bridge were assessed to examine phylogeographic patterns of these two species, and a proposed contact zone in southeast Alaska. Low, but consistent, levels of sequence divergence of the cytochrome b gene were …

Mustang Daily, May 16, 2001

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Miscellaneous Publication 009/2001 - Pistachios Western Australia An Income Producing Reforestation Opportunity For The Wheatbelt, Andrew Quinn

Horticulture published reports

Faced with a rising water-table, salt and acid land impacts, the Western Australian Wheatbelt requires significant changes to traditional farming system models.

Part of this drive towards improved sustainability is the need to re-plant substantial areas to tree belts or blocks. One of the limiting factors in the widescale adoption of on-farm tree planting is the narrow range of opportunities to generate income from these sites.

This report presents a model for the development of a Pistachio nut industry with production integrated into existing Wheatbelt farming systems. In addition to offering significant environmental benefits, the Pistachio tree offers the opportunity …

It's Happening At State: May 16, 2001

It's Happening at State

Provides summary information of news and events of interest to the faculty and staff of NDSU.

The Guardian, May 16, 2001, Wright State University Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

Twenty page issue of The Guardian, the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. The Guardian has been published regularly since March of 1965.

Ke Alaka'i, Vol. 65, No. 19 (2001-05-16), Brigham Young University Hawaii

Ke Alaka'i

No abstract provided.

University Of Montana Events Thursday, May 17, Through Thursday, May 24, 2001, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Efficient New Ribozyme Mimics: Direct Mapping Of Molecular Design Principles From Small Molecules To Macromolecular, Biomimetic Catalysts, William C. Putnam, Andrew T. Daniher, Bobby N. Trawick, James K. Bashkin

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

Dramatic improvements in ribozyme mimics have been achieved by employing the principles of small molecule catalysis to the design of macromolecular, biomimetic reagents. Ribozyme mimics derived from the ligand 2,9-dimethylphenanthroline (neocuproine) show at least 30-fold improvements in efficiency at sequence-specific RNA cleavage when compared with analogous o-phenanthroline- and terpyridine-derived reagents. The suppression of hydroxide-bridged dimers and the greater activation of coordinated water by Cu(II) neocuproine (compared with the o-phananthroline and terpyridine complexes) better allow Cu(II) to reach its catalytic potential as a biomimetic RNA cleavage agent. This work demonstrates the direct mapping of molecular design principles from small-molecule …

Controls On Floc Size In A Continental Shelf Bottom Boundary Layer, Paul S. Hill, George Voulgaris, John H. Trowbridge

Faculty Publications

Simultaneous in situ observations of floc size, waves, and currents in a continental shelf bottom boundary layer do not support generally accepted functional relationships between turbulence and floc size in the sea. In September and October 1996 and January 1997, two tripods were deployed in 70 m of water on the continental shelf south of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. On one a camera photographed particles in suspension 1.2 m above the bottom that had equivalent circular diameters larger than 250 um, and on the other, three horizontally displaced acoustic current meters measured flow velocity 0.35 m above the bottom. The …

Phonon Modes In Inas Quantum Dots, Shang-Fen Ren, G Qin, Deyu Lu

Faculty publications – Physics

Phonon modes in spherical InAs quantum dots (QDs) with up to 11 855 atoms (about 8.5 nm in diameter) are calculated by using a valence force field model, and all the vibration frequencies and vibration amplitudes of the QDs are calculated directly from the lattice-dynamic matrix. The projection operators of the irreducible representations of the group theory are employed to reduce the computational intensity, which further allows us to investigate the quantum confinement effect of phonon modes with different symmetries. It is found that the size effects of phonon modes depend on the symmetry of the modes. For zinc-blende structure, …

Literature Circles: A Case Study Of A Student With Reading Difficulties, Gregory E. Morris

Mathematical and Computing Sciences Masters

As a first year teacher of Language Arts for a 6th grade class, I have been concerned about providing opportunities for student-centered learning aligned with the school district's curriculum and the State Standards. The use of literature circles is one approach to language arts instruction mentioned in the school district's curriculum guide. This research will address how a student benefits from literature circle discussions.