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University Reporter - Vol. 08, No. 10 - June 2004, University Of Massachusetts Boston

1996-2009, University Reporter

No abstract provided.

A Biochemical Study Of Mucus Lysomzyme, Proteins And Plasma Thyroxine Of Atlanctic Salmon (Salmo Salar) During Smoltification, Maresa Fagan

Masters

Atlantic salmon prepare to migrate from fresh water to sea water during a phase of great physiological change known as smoltification. In the context of stock enhancement programmes and the conservation of Atlantic salmon stocks, the release of smolts from freshwater to sea is of major significance. Accordingly, this study set out to monitor some of the physiological and biochemical changes, which allow the Atlantic salmon to migrate from freshwater to seawater. Our research focused on skin mucus as a possible candidate for the development of a non invasive test and sought to elucidate biochemical or significant protein changes in …

Ascertaining The Importance Of Neurons To Develop Better Brain-Machine Interfaces, Justin C. Sanchez, Jose M. Carmena, Mikhail A. Lebedev, Miguel A.L. Nicolelis, John G. Harris, Jose C. Principe

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the design of brain-machine interface (BMI) algorithms, the activity of hundreds of chronically recorded neurons is used to reconstruct a variety of kinematic variables. A significant problem introduced with the use of neural ensemble inputs for model building is the explosion in the number of free parameters. Large models not only affect model generalization but also put a computational burden on computing an optimal solution especially when the goal is to implement the BMI in low-power, portable hardware. In this paper, three methods are presented to quantitatively rate the importance of neurons in neural to motor mapping, using single …

Addressing Staff Concerns In Changing Times: Supporting The Institution's Greatest Asset, Erika Linke

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

The strategic plan at Carnegie Mellon University highlights the important contributions that staff members make to the organization. Concomitantly the university encourages the growth of a diverse campus community and stresses the important of developing a culture of respect. The university libraries have embraced these two threads – recognizing the important contributions made by staff and the desirability of a diverse work force. This paper discusses the importance of these two threads and highlights the various steps taken to acknowledge staff contributions and to create a culture of respect.

Reading Rodski: User Surveys Revisited, Grace Saw, Nicole Clark

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

No abstract provided.

Curad Silver Bandages, Joseph A. Woelfel

School of Pharmacy Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Greenpeace V. National Marine Fisheries Service: Steller Sea Lions And Commercial Fisheries In The North Pacific, Jerry Mcbeath

Alaska Law Review

No abstract provided.

Where Does Ap(E)L Fit In Higher Education?, Anne Murphy

Journal Articles

On an EU policy level the paper acknowledges the impact on thinking about AP(E)L as a result of the agreement of common European principles for validation of non-formal and in-formal learning in 2004 at the Dublin Conference during Ireland’s presidency of the EU (note 1).This conference also addressed the possible areas of agreement across vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) on contiguous issues such as a common European Qualification Framework, common arrangements for credit transfer and common arrangements for quality assurance. Additionally, the paper is written contemporaneously with the introduction of such mechanisms as the Europass, European …

Judges' Bench Memorandum: Sixteenth Annual Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, Kirstin Etela

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Best Brief For Intervenor United States: Sixteenth Annual Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, Douglas Chartier, Richard Lee, Erica Tennyson

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cross-Resistance Of Cry1ab-Selected Ostrinia Nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) To Bacillus Thuringiensis Δ -Endotoxins, Herbert A.A. Siqueria, Daniel J. Moellenbeck, Terrence A. Spencer, Blair D. Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Corn plants expressing the toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) have proven to be effective in controlling lepidopteran pests such as the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Several Bt toxins are being tested and incorporated into crop genomes, although tests for cross-resistance among different toxins have been limited by a lack of resistant colonies. Four different colonies of O. nubilalis selected with full-length Cry1Ab incorporated into artificial diet developed significant levels of resistance (2.0- to 10-fold) within 10 generations. Additionally, selection with Cry1Ab resulted in decreased susceptibility to a number of other toxins to which the selected colonies …

Exposure Time Of Oral Rabies Vaccine Baits Relative Tobaiting Density And Raccoon Population Density , Bradley F. Blackwell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) baiting programs for control of raccoon (Procyorl lotor) rabies in the USA have been conducted or are in progress in eight states east of the Mississippi River. However, data specific to the relationship between raccoon population density and the minimum density of baits necessary to significantly elevate rabies im~nunitya re few. We used the 22-km2 US National Aerorlautics and Space Administration Plum Brook Station (PBS) in Erie County, Ohio, USA, to evaluate the period of exposure for placebo vaccine baits placed at a density of 75 baits/km2 relative to raccoon population density. Our objectives were to …

Distribution Of Kaposi Sarcoma–Associated Herpesvirus/Human Herpesvirus 8 In Maternal Saliva And Breast Milk In Zambia: Implications For Transmission, Brad P. Brayfield, Chipepo Kankasa, John T. West, Jubra Muyanga, Ganapati Bhat, Winslow Klaskala, Charles D. Mitchell, Charles Wood

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Background. The seroprevalence of Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) in sub-Saharan Africa suggests that multiple routes of transmission exist. In the present study,we examined 2 possible routes of mother-to-child transmission, through breast milk and saliva, during the first 6 months after delivery. Methods. The prevalence of HHV-8 DNA in the breast-milk cells (n=75), milk supernatant (n=56), colostrum (n=2), and saliva cells (n=65) of HHV-8–seropositive mothers who recently gave birth was examined. Polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed for the detection of HHV-8 in cross-sectional samples isolated at 2, 4, and 6 months after delivery.

Results. None of the …

Ileocolitis Associated With Anaerobiospirillum In Cats, H. E. V. De Cock, S. L. Marks, B. A. Stacy, T. S. Zabka, J. Burkitt, G. Lu, David J. Steffen, Gerald E. Duhamel

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ileocolitis associated with spiral bacteria identified as an Anaerobiospirillum sp. was found in six cats. Two cats had acute onset of gastrointestinal signs characterized by vomiting and diarrhea in one cat and vomiting in another cat, one cat had chronic diarrhea that was refractory to medical therapy; one cat had acute onset of anorexia and lethargy, and two cats had clinical signs that were not related to the gastrointestinal tract. The presence of an Anaerobiospirillum sp. was demonstrated on the basis of ultrastructural morphology of spiral bacteria associated with intestinal lesions and PCR amplification of a genus-specific 16S rRNA gene …

Hydrogen Peroxide Mediates Plant Root Cell Response To Nutrient Deprivation, Ryoung Shin, Daniel P. Schachtman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Potassium (K⁺) is an essential nutrient required by plants in large quantities, but changes in soil concentrations may limit K⁺ acquisition by roots. It is not known how plant root cells sense or signal the changes that occur after the onset of K⁺ deficiency. Changes in the kinetics of Rb uptake in Arabidopsis roots occur within 6 h after K⁺ deprivation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ethylene increased when the plants were deprived of K⁺. ROS accumulated in a discrete region of roots that has been shown to be active in K^{+ …}

Network Consequences Due To Oligopolists And Oligopsonists In The Hog Industry, Pollution From Hog Production, And The Failure To Regulate Ecological Criteria, F. Gregory Hayden

College of Business: Faculty Publications

Humans have been in a symbiotic relationship with hogs since the time humans became a species. That relationship evolved into a set of transactional (as defined by instrumentalists) processes beginning with the hunter-gatherer tribes. The network of relationships has continued to become more numerous, intense, and complex. Hogs have served in social systems with humans as societal symbols for prowess for numerous groups (with wild boars, for example, on coats of arms in Europe), as religious symbols (both positive and negative), as a source of human disease in the hog-chicken-human cycle for generating flu in Asia, and, more recently, as …

Exotic Weed Invasion Increases The Susceptibility Of Native Plants To Attack By A Biocontrol Herbivore, Tatyana A. Rand, Svata M. Louda

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Landscape change has great, yet infrequently measured, potential to influence the susceptibility of natural systems to invasive species impacts. We quantified attack by an invasive biological control weevil (Rhinocyllus conicus) on native thistles in relation to two types of landscape change: agricultural intensification and invasion by an exotic thistle, Carduus nutans, the original target of biological control. Weevil egg load was measured on native thistles in three landscape types: (1) agriculture dominated, (2) grassland dominated with exotic thistles, and, (3) grassland dominated without exotic thistles. We found no difference in egg load on native thistles within grassland …

Genome Scans Of Dna Variability In Humans Reveal Evidence For Selective Sweeps Outside Of Africa, Jay F. Storz, Bret A. Payseur, Michael W. Nachman

Jay F. Storz Publications

The last 50,000–150,000 years of human history have been characterized by rapid demographic expansions and the colonization of novel environments outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Mass migrations outside the ancestral species range likely entailed many new selection pressures, suggesting that genetic adaptation to local environmental conditions may have been more prevalent in colonizing populations outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Here we report a test of this hypothesis using genome-wide patterns of DNA polymorphism. We conducted a multilocus scan of microsatellite variability to identify regions of the human genome that may have been subject to continent-specific hitchhiking events. Using published polymorphism data for …

Drug-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis, Mohammed H. Daba, Kamal E. El-Tahir, Mohammed N. Al-Arifi, Othman A. Gubara

Saudi Medical Journal

Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by the accumulation of excessive connective tissue in the lungs. Its causes include chronic administration of some drugs for example bleomycin, cyclophosphamide, amiodarone, procainamide, penicillamine, gold and nitrofurantoin; exposure to certain environmental factors such as gases, asbestos and silica and bacterial or fungal infections. Some systemic diseases also predispose to the disease for example rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. The disease is associated with release of oxygen radicals and some mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha TNF-alpha, transforming growth factor-beta TGF-beta, PDGF, IGF-I, ET-I and interleukins 1, 4, 8 and 13. The symptoms of the …

Sex Hormones, Personality Characters And Professional Status Among Saudi Females, Laila Y. Al-Ayadhi

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between male and female sex hormones (testosterone, estradiol and progesterone), personality characters and professional status was studied. METHODS: The study was conducted in Riyadh City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between September 2003 and May 2003. The participants completed a questionnaire consisting of personal information regarding age, profession, educational level and medical history. Then the participant went through an adjective checklist. Hormones were determined from blood samples provided by the participant. RESULTS: The result indicated that the higher the professional levels, the higher was the testosterone concentrations, but not estradiol or estrogen concentration. Furthermore, females with higher testosterone …

Dna Amplification Fingerprinting Using 10 X Polymerase Chain Reaction Buffer With Ammonium Sulfate For Human Identification, Aysun Baransel, Hikmet E. Dulger, Mehmet Tokdemir

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - based DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF) or randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is based on a strategy using a single arbitrary oligonucleotide primer to generate anonymous amplification of genomic DNA. On this basic strategy, in this study, we aimed to test individual differences and usefulness of 2 basic primers (59-CGCGCCGG-39 and 59-TGCCGAGCTG-39) and examined whether there is a positive effect on results of 10 x PCR buffer with ammonium sulfate. METHODS: A new approach in DNA fingerprinting, 10 x PCR buffer with ammonium sulfate, is presented in the study. Primers with single 8 and …

Pattern Of Skin Cancer In Southwestern Saudi Arabia, Jaudah A. Al-Maghrabi, Abdulhameed S. Al-Ghamdi, Howaida A. Elhakeem

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: Skin cancer is a common malignant neoplasm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and it is the most common malignant neoplasm in Al-Baha area. This study was performed to determine the pattern of skin cancers seen at King Fahad Hospital, Al-Baha, KSA. METHODS: Histologically diagnosed skin cancers, seen between 1990 and 2003, were reviewed and analyzed according to age, gender, race and site of distribution. RESULTS: Of a total of 193 patients, there were 79 (41%) cases of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), 56 (29%) cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 34 (18%) cases of Kaposi9s sarcoma. Malignant …

Evidence That Hsp90 Is Involved In The Altered Interactions Of Acanthamoeba Castellanii Variants With Bacteria, Ling Yan, Ronald Cerny, Jeffrey D. Cirillo

Ronald Cerny Publications

There are many similarities between the interactions of environmental protozoa with pathogenic bacterial species and those observed in mammalian macrophages. Since single-celled protozoa predate mammalian hosts, it is likely that interactions in environmental biofilms have selected for many of the bacterial virulence mechanisms responsible for human disease. In order to better understand bacterial-phagocyte interactions, we developed a selection for Acanthamoeba castellanii variants that are more resistant to killing by bacterial pathogens. We identified four amoebal clones that display decreased phagocytosis of bacteria but no difference in uptake of latex beads compared to wild-type amoebae. These amoebal variants display differences in …

Comments On The Gonotyl Of Proctocaecum Macroclemidis (Tkach And Snyder, 2003) N. Comb. (Digenea: Acanthostomidae: Acanthostominae), With A Key To The Genera Of Acanthostominae And New Phylogenetic Tree For Proctocaecum Baugh, 1957, Daniel R. Brooks

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The species recently described as Acanthostomum macroclemidis possesses the gonotyl in the form of a solid muscular pad uniquely diagnostic for species of Proctocaecum and is accordingly transferred to that genus. An artificial key to the 5 acanthostomine genera, as well as an updated phylogenetic hypothesis for the 10 known species of Proctocaecum, based on 11 characters and including 2 species described since the last phylogenetic analysis, are presented. The single most parsimonious phylogenetic tree with a consistency index of 87.5% suggests that Proctocaecum originated in Africa and spread to North America and South America before the breakup of …

Torquatoides Trogoni N. Sp. And Excisa Ramphastina N. Sp. (Nematoda: Habronematoidea: Habronematidae) In Birds From The Área De Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Luping Zhang, Daniel R. Brooks

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Two new species of habronematid nematodes are described in birds from the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Torquatoides trogoni n. sp., in Trogon massena, can be distinguished from T. torquata, T. bengalensis, and T. crotophaga in lacking lateral alae. Among species lacking lateral alae, the new species differs from T. balanocephala in having 14 versus 8-10 cephalic cuticular plaques, 21-22 versus 13-17 pairs of preanal papillae, and a beak-shaped versus U-shaped gubernaculum. The new species differs from T. singhi in body length, in having 21-22 versus 10 pairs of precloacal papillae, longer spicules, and larger eggs. …

Nhep Water Quality Funding Sources, Matt Craig

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) Management Plan, published in 2000, sets forth three goals related to estuarine water quality in the State’s coastal watershed, and twenty Water Quality Action Plans to implement these goals. The goals direct the NHEP to: 1) ensure that New Hampshire’s estuarine waters and tributaries will meet standards for pathogenic bacteria including fecal coliform, E. coli, and Enterocci; 2) ensure that New Hampshire’s estuarine waters, tributaries, sediments, and edible portions of fish, shellfish, other aquatic life, and wildlife will meet standards for priority contaminants such as metals, PCBs, PAHs, and oil and grease; and, 3) …

Assessment Of Surface Water Runoff And Groundwater Recharge Using Mathematical Models, Khaled Omer Mohamed Haroon

Theses

In arid and semi-arid regions, surface water resources are scarce and, in most cases, groundwater is the only natural resource of freshwater. Pumping of groundwater often exceeds natural recharge. Therefore, groundwater levels are declining and its quality is deteriorating. Sustainable management of groundwater is thus a key issue and requires implementation of appropriate technologies to augment groundwater resources. Artificial recharge augments the natural movement of surface water into the underground formations using some means of construction whereby surface water from streams or lakes is made to infiltrate into the ground.

The UAE is known by its arid conditions and limited …

Geochemical Studies To Assess Marine Oil Pollution Zakum Field, Abu Dhabi, Uae, Bakheet Saeed Al Katheeri

Theses

The present study aims at quantifying and assessing the organic and inorganic pollutants in the offshore sediments of the Zakum Field, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Twenty-six sampling stations were selected to cover the maximum area of the field. Sediments samples were subjected to a variety of analyses including mechanical analysis, Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) analysis, twenty congeners of Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) analysis, sixteen different Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) analysis and eight heavy metals analysis. For a comparison purpose six old marine seabed core samples which collected from Zakum Filed between 1966 and 1978 were analyzed …

Effecting Land-Use Changes Through Education And Implementation: Assessing The Effectiveness Of The Watershed Stewards Program, John M. Jemison Jr, Laura Wilson, Judith Graham

Journal of Extension

Over the past 7 years, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension (UMCE) has conducted the Watershed Stewards Program (WSP), a 20-hour lake education and implementation program. To assess program effectiveness, we studied whether our program significantly improved program participant knowledge level over non-participants through quantitative and qualitative measures. An objective, 15-question test was administered to program participants and other people living in these lake watersheds. Stewards scored significantly (23%) higher on the objective test than those who had not been involved in the program. Program participants qualitatively demonstrated much more involvement with lake governance, implementation efforts, and related activities.

The Case For Clumsiness, Michael Thompson, Marco Verweij

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Most climatologists agree that by burning fossil fuels and engaging in other forms of consumption and production we are increasing the amount of greenhouse gases that float around in the atmosphere. These gases, in trapping some of the sun’s heat, warm the earth and enable life. The trouble is, some predict, that if we continue to accumulate those gases, over the course of the new century the average temperature on earth will rise and local climates will change, with possibly catastrophic consequences. Will this indeed happen? If so, should we do something about it? And if yes, what and when? …