Digital Commons Network^™

Host–Symbiont Stability And Fast Evolutionary Rates In An Ant–Bacterium Association: Cospeciation Of Camponotus Species And Their Endosymbionts, Candidatus Blochmannia, Patrick H. Degnan, Adam B. Lazarus, Chad D. Brock, Jennifer J. Wernegreen

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Bacterial endosymbionts are widespread across several insect orders and are involved in interactions ranging from obligate mutualism to reproductive parasitism. Candidatus Blochmannia gen. nov. (Blochmannia) is an obligate bacterial associate of Camponotus and related ant genera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The occurrence of Blochmannia in all Camponotus species sampled from field populations and its maternal transmission to host offspring suggest that this bacterium is engaged in a long-term, stable association with its ant hosts. However, evidence for cospeciation in this system is equivocal because previous phylogenetic studies were based on limited gene sampling, lacked statistical analysis of congruence, and have …

Do Harvest Refuges Buffer Kangaroos Against Evolutionary Responses To Selective Harvesting?, Brigitte Tenhumberg, Andrew J. Tyre, Anthony R. Pople, Hugh P. Possingham

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

There is a wealth of literature documenting a directional change of body size in heavily harvested populations. Most of this work concentrates on aquatic systems, but terrestrial populations are equally at risk. This paper explores the capacity of harvest refuges to counteract potential effects of size-selective harvesting on the allele frequency of populations. We constructed a stochastic, individual-based model parameterized with data on red kangaroos. Because we do not know which part of individual growth would change in the course of natural selection, we explored the effects of two alternative models of individual growth in which alleles affect either the …

High Phosphate (Up To 600 Mm) Induces Pseudohyphal Development In Five Wild Type Candida Albicans, Jacob M. Hornby, Raluca Dumitru, Kenneth Nickerson

Kenneth Nickerson Papers

A method is described for the formation of nearly 100% pseudohyphae populations of wild-type Candida albicans A72. The method employs fungal growth at 37 °C (ca. 5×10⁶ cells/ml) in a glucose–proline–N-acetyl-glucosamine medium supplemented with up to 600 mM phosphate (KH₂PO₄/K₂HPO₄ 1:1) at pH 6.5. Four other strains of C. albicans (MEN, 10261, SG5314 and CAI-4) also formed pseudohyphae under these conditions, although the phosphate response profiles differed in the concentration required for each strain to form pseudohyphae.

Cancer-Related Anemia, Hikmat N. Abdel-Razeq

Saudi Medical Journal

Anemia is the most common hematological abnormality in cancer patients, unfortunately, it is often under-recognized and under-treated. The pathogenesis of cancer anemia is complex and most of the time multifactorial; involving factors related to the tumor itself or its therapy. While anemia can present in a wide range of symptoms, involving almost every organ, it is believed that it contributes much to cancer-related fatigue, one of the most common symptoms in cancer patients. In addition, there is increasing evidence to suggest that anemia is an independent factor adversely affecting tumor response and patient survival. While blood transfusion was the only …

Enterococcal Bacteremia In A Teaching Hospital, Fawzia E. Al-Otaibi, Abdelmageed M. Kambal, Rubana A. Baabbad

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To study enterococcal blood stream infection including the different species isolated, their antibiotic resistance associated risk factors and outcome of treatment. METHODS: A retrospective and prospective study was carried out over a 12 month period between June 2001 and May 2002 in King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Sixty episodes of enterococcal bacteremia with clinical significance detected in adults and neonates were included. Statistical analysis of the epidemiological characteristic, etiologic risk factors and mortality were determined. RESULTS: Fifty-four (90%) of the episodes were hospital acquired. Fifty-five percent of patients were elderly males and 20% were neonates. …

Thrombocytopenia Responding To Red Blood Cell Transfusion, Ahmed A. Mubarak, Abdalla Awidi, Kakil I. Rasul, Ussama Al-Homsi

Saudi Medical Journal

Three patients with severe symptomatic iron deficiency anemia and thrombocytopenia had a significant rise in platelet count a few days following packed red blood cell transfusion. Pre-transfusion platelet count of patient one was 17 x 109/L, 22 x 109/L in patient 2 and 29 x 109/L in patient 3. On the 6th day post transfusion, the platelet count rose to 166 x 109/L in patient one, 830 x 109/L in patient 2 and 136 x 109/L in patient 3. The possible mechanisms behind such an unreported observation are discussed.

Risk Of Morbid Obesity With Pregnancy, Ezzeldin A. Khorshid, Tarek A. Elbeheidy, Aly M. Quinaibi

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Ecological Effects Of Transgenic Crops And The Escape Of Transgenes Into Wild Populations, Diana Pilson, Holly R. Prendeville

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ecological risks associated with the release of transgenic crops include nontarget effects of the crop and the escape of transgenes into wild populations. Nontarget effects can be of two sorts: (a) unintended negative effects on species that do not reduce yield and (b) greater persistence of the crop in feral populations. Conventional agricultural methods, such as herbicide and pesticide application, have large and well- documented nontarget effects. To the extent that transgenes have more specific target effects, transgenic crops may have fewer nontarget effects. The escape of transgenes into wild populations, via hybridization and introgression, could …

Characterization Of The Aspergillus Parasiticus Δ12-Desaturase Gene: A Role For Lipid Metabolism In The Aspergillus–Seed Interaction, Richard A. Wilson, Ana M. Calvo, Perng-Kuang Chang, Nancy P. Keller

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

In the mycotoxigenic oilseed pathogens Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus and the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, unsaturated fatty acids and their derivatives act as important developmental signals that affect asexual conidiospore, sexual ascospore and/or sclerotial development. To dissect the relationship between lipid metabolism and fungal development, an A. parasiticus Δ¹²-desaturase mutant that was unable to convert oleic acid to linoleic acid and was thus impaired in polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis was generated. The Δ¹²-desaturase mutant demonstrates delayed spore germination, a twofold reduction in growth, a reduced level of conidiation and complete loss of sclerotial …

Two Δ9-Stearic Acid Desaturases Are Required For Aspergillus Nidulans Growth And Development, Richard A. Wilson, Perng-Kuang Chang, Agnieszka Dobrzyn, James B. Ntambi, Robert Zarnowski, Nancy P. Keller

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

Unsaturated fatty acids are important constituents of all cell membranes and are required for normal growth. In the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, unsaturated fatty acids and their derivatives also influence asexual (conidial) and sexual (ascospore) sporulation processes. To investigate the relationship between fatty acid metabolism and fungal development, we disrupted the A. nidulans sdeA and sdeB genes, both encoding Δ9-stearic acid desaturases responsible for the conversion of palmitic acid (16:0) and stearic acid (18:0) to palmitoleic acid (16:1) and oleic acid (18:1). The effects of sdeA deletion on development were profound, such that growth, conidial and ascospore production were …

A Consensus Protocol For The Determination Of The Threshold Doses For Allergenic Foods: How Much Is Too Much?, S. L. Taylor, S. L. Hefle, C. Bindslev-Jensen, F. M. Atkins, C. Andre, C. Bruijnzeel-Koomen, A. W. Burks, R. K. Bush, M. Ebisawa, P. A. Eigenmann, A. Host, Jonathan O. B. Hourihane, E. Isolauri, D. J. Hill, A. Knulst, G. Lack, H. A. Sampson, D. A. Moneret-Vautrin, F. Rance, P. A. Vadas, J. W. Yunginger, R. S. Zeiger, J. W. Salminen, C. Madsen, P. Abbott

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background:While the ingestion of small amounts of an offending food can elicit adverse reactions in individuals with IgE-mediated food allergies, little information is known regarding these threshold doses for specific allergenic foods. While low-dose challenge trials have been conducted on an appreciable number of allergic individuals, a variety of different clinical protocols were used making the estimation of the threshold dose very difficult.

Objective: A roundtable conference was convened to develop a consensus clinical protocol for low-dose challenge trials for the estimation of threshold doses for specific allergenic foods.

Methods: In May 2002, 20 clinical allergists and other interested parties …

Thermal Characteristics Of Wild And Captive Micronesian Kingfisher Nesting Habitats, Dylan C. Kesler, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

To provide information for managing the captive population of endangered Guam Micronesian kingfishers (Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina), four biologically relevant thermal metrics were compared among captive facilities on the United States mainland and habitats used by wild Micronesian kingfishers on the island of Pohnpei (H. c. reichenbachii), Federated States of Micronesia. Additionally, aviaries where kingfishers laid eggs were compared to those in which birds did not attempt to breed. Compared to aviaries, habitats used by wild Pohnpei kingfishers had 3.2°C higher daily maximum and minimum temperatures and the proportion of time when temperatures were in the birds’ …

2004 Nebraska Grazing Conference, John Owens

John Owens: Speeches and Appearances

It is both my privilege and pleasure to have the opportunity this morning to welcome you to the 2004 Nebraska Grazing Conference. I am sure you are looking forward to the next two days of great topics and excellent speakers. This is the fourth year this conference has brought people together to hear, to discuss, to exchange a wide variety of ideas. Reading through the list of conference sponsors and supporters, I think how fortunate we are in Nebraska to forge and foster such productive partnerships for the good of our state.

Omtvedt Innovation Awards Presented To Chris Calkins, Steven Jones, Rodger Johnson, And Sheila Scheideler, John Owens

John Owens: Speeches and Appearances

It's a great pleasure to welcome you to this very first recognition ceremony for the Omtvedt Innovation Awards. We are present here to honor innovation strengths of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and certainly the four faculty members receiving today's awards are greatly deserving of this recognition. Just hearing about their work is gratifying!

Muscular Fitness And All-Cause Mortality: Prospective Observations, Shannon J. Fitzgerald, Carolyn E. Barlow, James B. Kampert, James R. Morrow Jr., Allen W. Jackson, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Background: The beneficial effects of cardiorespiratory fitness on mortality are well known; however, the relation of muscular fitness, specifically muscular strength and endurance, to mortality risk has not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of the current study is to determine if a dose-response relation exists between muscular fitness and mortality after controlling for factors such as age and cardiorespiratory fitness.

Methods: The study included 9105 men and women, 20-82 years of age, in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study who have completed at least one medical examination at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX between 1981 and 1989. The exam included …

Index, Florida Public Health Oral History Project, Charlton E. Prather

Florida Public Health Oral History Project

This index provides a summary of each interview conducted by Dr. Charles "Skeeter" Prather for the Florida Public Health Oral History Project.

Elemental Uptake In Relation To Root Characteristics Of Tall Fescue, Glenn E. Shewmaker, Douglas A. Johnson, Henry F. Mayland, Scott A. Martin, Susie B. Hansen

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

HiMag, an accession of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), was selected for high magnesium (Mg) concentration in leaves to reduce grass tetany risk to ruminants. However, the mechanism for enhanced Mg uptake in HiMag leaves has not been determined. The objective was to investigate if increased Mg uptake in HiMag could be explained by differences in elemental distribution among plant parts, root characteristics, or organic acid concentrations compared to its parental cultivars, ‘‘Kentucky 31’’ (KY31) and ‘‘Missouri 96’’ (MO96). The study was conducted on a surface-irrigated calcareous Portneuf silt loam (coarse-silty, mixed, mesic, Durinodic Xeric Haplocalcid). Vegetation and soil …

Betaine Improves Growth, But Does Not Induce Whole Body Or Hepatic Palmitate Oxidation In Swine (Sus Scrofa Domestica), Diane Wray-Cahen, Ignacio Fernández-Fígares, Erkki Virtanen, Norman C. Steele, Thomas J. Caperna

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Dietary betaine may reduce carcass fat in growing pigs. We explored the effects of betaine on short-term growth and in vivo and in vitro fatty acid oxidation. Pigs were housed in metabolism crates and fed diets containing either 0% (control), 0.125% or 0.5% betaine at 80% of ad libitum energy intake. Fatty acid oxidation was measured during intravenous infusions of 1-¹³C-palmitate and in hepatocytes incubated in the presence or absence of betaine and carnitine. CO₂ and palmitate isotopic enrichments were determined by mass spectrometry. Pigs consuming 0.125% and 0.5% betaine for at least 9 days had growth …

Rubidium Chloride And Cesium Chloride Sprayed On Maize Plants And Evaluated For Marking Diatraea Grandiosella (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) In Mark–Recapture Dispersal Studies, Jawwad A. Qureshi, Lawrent L. Buschman, James E. Throne, Paul M. Whaley, Sonny B. Ramaswamy

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Experiments were undertaken to determine the potential for using rubidium chloride (RbCl) or cesium chloride (CsCl) to mark southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, for use in applied ecological studies. Maize, Zea mays L., plants were sprayed with aqueous solutions of RbCl or CsCl at rates of 100, 1000, or 10,000 µg/g and inoculated with D. grandiosella neonates. Rubidium and cesium were successfully absorbed and translocated in maize plants. There were only a few minor effects of the treatment on maize or on southwestern corn borers.Rb and Cs were detected in plants, but not in insects, by using Flame …

Case Study: Effects Of Delaying Implant And Programmed Rate Of Gain On Performance And Carcass Characteristics Of Yearling Beef Steers, G. Scaglia, L. W. Greene, F. T. Mccollum, N. A. Cole, T. H. Montgomery

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Ninety-six steers (average BW = 335 ± 36 kg) were allotted in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors were 1) implant on d 1 or no implant and 2) ad libitum access to feed on d 1 or programmed-fed for a target BW gain of 1.4 kg/d during the first 62 d of the feeding period. On d 63, all steers were implanted with Revalor-S^® (Hoechst Roussel Vet, Overland Park, KS) and provided ad libitum access to feed until harvest. From d 63 to 116, ADG and gain efficiency (g gain/kg …

A Continuing Whimsical Search For The True Meaning Of The Term Products Liability Litigation., Charles E. Cantu

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Obesity Liability: A Super-Sized Problem Or A Small Fry In The Inevitable Development Of Product Liability?, Samuel J. Romero

Chapman Law Review

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Brine Shrimp (Artemia Sp.) Productivity At Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, Abu Dhabi (Uae), Shaikha Salem Obaid Al Dhaheri

Theses

Al Wathba Lake was created in 1982 by accidental discharge of over-capacity treated sewage water from Al Mafraq Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWT). The lake lies on the north side of the Abu Dhabi - Al Ain truck road, approximately 40 km Southeast of Abu Dhabi Island. In 1998, the lake and its surroundings were designated as protected area, the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve, and placed under the management of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA). The reserve covers an area of approximately 5 km², and the lake system covers an area of 1.5 km^{2 …}

Elites, Identity Politics, Guns, And The Manufacture Of Legal Rights, Calvin Massey

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Dietary Changes On Hepatic Homocysteine Metabolism In Young Broilers, Fauna M. Ganson, Padmakumar Pillai, Jason L. Emmert

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Information regarding the impact of sulfur amino acids (SAA) on hepatic homocysteine (Hcy) flux through the various metabolic pathways competing for Hcy in young broilers is lacking. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of varying levels of dietary methionine (Met), choline, and betaine on hepatic Hcy flux in young broiler chickens. A standard starter basal diet was fed to chicks until 8 d of age; 12 experimental diets were given from 8-22 d. The experimental basal diet contained deficient levels of Met and cysteine (Cys); supplemental Met (0, 0.08, 0.16, and 0.24%) was added to the basal diet …

Unlv College Of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter, Porter Troutman, Steven Grubaugh, Jian Wang, Randall L. Astramovich, Jennifer L. Fabbi, Kyle Higgins, Lori Navarrete, Jean Henry, Lisa Bendixen, Carli Kyles, Cecilia Maldonado-Daniels, R. R. Apache, Chizu Jaret, Karla V. Kingsley, Nancy Sileo

College of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter

A newsletter discussing a variety of topics dealing with multicultural topics and diversity in education.

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Jennifer Vaughan, Carol C. Harter, Richard Flaherty, Rebecca Mills

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Different Types Of Volatile Fatty Acids On The Bacterial Selection In Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal Systems, Jose Christiano Machado

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The impacts of different carbon sources, particularly VFAs, on EBPR's microbial population were investigated using T-RFLP and FISH. System performance and both general and specific microbial changes were investigated in SBR systems fed with acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, and glucose. Acetate and a mixture of acetate and propionate promoted the best P-removal. Butyrate and valerate lead the systems to fail in the long run. Glucose and propionate promoted poor EBPR, but the performance of the system fed with propionate improved with time. T-RFLP results indicated that short carbon chain VFAs, long carbon chain VFAs, and non-VFA favored different microbial populations …

Cavities On The Cob: Dental Health And The Agricultural Transition In Sonora, Mexico, James Thomas Watson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research uses a predictive model based on dental health to test the hypothesis that maize dependence gradually increased among human groups in the Sonoran Desert over the course of the Early Agricultural period (1500 B.C.--A.D. 200). The hypothesis is tested by recording a suite of ten dental observations that correlate with this fundamental change in subsistence on a sample of 246 prehistoric human skeletons dating to the Early Agricultural period recovered from La Playa (SON F:10:3), Sonora, Mexico. The sample is evenly distributed among demographic variables, burial treatments, and location within the site. Erosion of the burials, however, restricted …

Assessing The Nutritional Quality Of Boy Scouts Of America Camp Menus, Gregory Scott Ramin

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This case study focused on one Boy Scout Council to determine whether the type of foodservice personnel employed affects the nutritional quality of the menus. The study compared a contract foodservice management team to the members of the Council hired foodservice and administrative management team. The data were collected through a combination of written surveys, follow-up personal and telephone interviews, and nutritional analysis of the menus that the Foodservice Directors provided; Findings and conclusion. The hypothesis for this paper stated that the nutritional content of Boy Scout Camp menus from a selected Boy Scouts of America Council will vary according …