Digital Commons Network^™

Transport Of Chemical And Microbial Compounds From Known Wastewater Discharges: Potential For Use As Indicators Of Human Fecal Contamination, Susan Glassmeyer, Edward Furlong, Dana Kolpin, Jeffrey Cahill, Steven Zaugg, Stephen Werner, Michael Meyer, David Kryak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The quality of drinking and recreational water is currently (2005) determined using indicator bacteria. However, the culture tests used to analyze for these bacteria require a long time to complete and do not discriminate between human and animal fecal material sources. One complementary approach is to use chemicals found in human wastewater, which would have the advantages of (1) potentially shorter analysis times than the bacterial culture tests and (2) being selected for human-source specificity. At 10 locations, water samples were collected upstream and at two successive points downstream from a waste-waster treatment plant (WWTP); a treated effluent sample was …

West Nile Virus Infection In Farmed American Alligators (Alligator Mississippiensis) In Florida, Elliott R. Jacobson, Pamela E. Ginn, J. Mitchell Troutman, Lisa Farina, Lillian Stark, Kaci Klenk, Kristen L. Burkhalter, Nicholas Komar

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Serologic Evidence Of Exposure Of Wild Mammals To Flaviviruses In The Central And Eastern United States, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeffrey S. Hall, Robert G. Mclean, Nicole L. Marlenee, Barry J. Beaty, Justin Gansowski, Larry Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Serosurveys were conducted to obtain flavivirus and West Nile virus (WNV) seroprevalence data from mammals. Sera from 513 small- and medium-sized mammals collected during late summer and fall 2003 from Colorado, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were screened for flavivirus-specific antibodies. Sera samples containing antibody to flaviviruses were screened for WNV-specific antibodies by epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and confirmed with plaque reduction neutralization tests. Prevalence of WNV antibodies among study sites ranged from 0% to 42.8% among the mammal communities sampled. High prevalence rates for WNV were noted among raccoons (100%, with a very small sample size, N = …

Amphibian Research And Monitoring Initiative (Armi): A Successful Start To A National Program In The United States, Erin Muths, Robin E. Jung, Larissa L. Bailey, Michael J. Adams, P. Stephen Corn, C. Kenneth Dodd Jr., Gary M. Fellers, Walter J. Sadinski, Cecil R. Schwalbe, Susan C. Walls, Robert N. Fisher, Alisa L. Gallant, William A. Battaglin, D. Earl Green

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Most research to assess amphibian declines has focused on local-scale projects on one or a few species. The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is a national program in the United States mandated by congressional directive and implemented by the U.S. Department of the Interior (specifically the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS). Program goals are to monitor changes in populations of amphibians across U.S. Department of the Interior lands and to address research questions related to amphibian declines using a hierarchical framework of base-, mid- and apex-level monitoring sites. ARMI is currently monitoring 83 amphibian species (29% of species in the …

Standard Meteorological Measurements, Kenneth Hubbard, Steven E. Hollinger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Instruments that measure weather variables have been invented and tested since the time of Leonardo de Vinci. The earliest instruments were crude by today’s standards and required manual observation and notation of the weather variable of interest. In recent years, the miniaturization of circuits–sensors and the use of electronic processors have made it possible to collect ever-increasing numbers of observations on scales not previously considered.

In many agricultural applications, the primary portion of the atmosphere that is of interest is the lower planetary boundary layer, or that layer affected by the earth’s surface. Accurate measurement of weather variables in the …

Crystallization And Preliminary X-Ray Analysis Of Na-Asp-1, A Multi-Domain Pathogenesis-Related-1 Protein From The Human Hookworm Parasite Necator Americanus, Oluwatoyin A. Asojo, Alex Loukas, Mehmet Inan, Rick Barent, Jicai Huang, Brad Plantz, Amber Swanson, Mark Gouthro, Michael M. Meagher, Peter J. Hotez

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Human hookworm infection is a major cause of anemia and malnutrition in the developing world. In an effort to control hookworm infection, the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative has identified candidate vaccine antigens from the infective larval stage (L3) of the parasite, including a family of pathogenesis-related-1 (PR-1) proteins known as the ancylostoma-secreted proteins (ASPs). The functions of the ASPs are unknown. In addition, it is unclear why some ASPs have one while others have multiple PR-1 domains. There are no known structures of a multi-domain ASP and in an effort to remedy this situation, recombinant Na-ASP-1 has been expressed, …

Takagi–Sugeno Fuzzy Modeling Of Skin Permeability, Deepak R. Keshwani, David D. Jones, Rhonda M. Brand

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The skin is a major exposure route for many potentially toxic chemicals. It is, therefore, important to be able to predict the permeability of compounds through skin under a variety of conditions. Available skin permeability databases are often limited in scope and not conducive to developing effective models. This sparseness and ambiguity of available data prompted the use of fuzzy set theory to model and predict skin permeability. Using a previously published database containing 140 compounds, a rule-based Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model is shown to predict skin permeability of compounds using octanol-water partition coefficient, molecular weight, and temperature as inputs. Model …

Evaluation Of Toxic Agent Effects On Lung Cells By Fiber Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy, Pierre Lucas, David Lee Coq, Christophe Juncker, Jayne Collier, Dianne E. Boesewetter, Catherine Boussard-Pledel, Bruno Bureau, Mark R. Riley

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Biochemical changes in living cells are detected using a fiber probe system composed of a single chalcogenide fiber acting as both the sensor and transmission line for infrared optical signals. The signal is collected via evanescent wave absorption along the tapered sensing zone of the fiber. We spectroscopically monitored the effects of the surfactant Triton X-lOO, which serves as a toxic agent simulant on a transformed human lung carcinoma type II epithelial cell line (A549). We observe spectral changes between 2800-3000 cm-1 in four absorptions bands, which are assigned to hydrocarbon vibrations of methylene and methyl groups in membrane lipids. …

Ph-Dependent Substrate Preference Of Pig Heart Lipoamide Dehydrogenase Varies With Oligomeric State: Response To Mitochondrial Matrix Acidification, Natalia L. Klyachko, Valentina A. Shchedrina, Alexander V. Efimov, Sergey V. Kazakov, Irina G. Gazaryan, Bruce S. Kristal, Abraham M. Brown

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Cycling of intracellular pH has recently been shown to play a critical role in ischemia-reperfusion injury. Ischemia-reperfusion also leads to mitochondrial matrix acidification and dysfunction. However, the mechanism by which matrix acidification contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and the resultant cellular injury has not been elucidated. We observe pH-dependent equilibria between monomeric, dimeric, and a previously undescribed tetrameric form of pig heart lipoamide dehydrogenase (LADH), a mitochondrial matrix enzyme. Dynamic light scattering studies of native LADH in aqueous solution indicate that lowering pH favors a shift in average molecular mass from higher oligomeric states to monomer. Sedimentation velocity of …

Phylogenetic Engineering At An Interface Between Large And Small Subunits Imparts Land-Plant Kinetic Properties To Algal Rubisco, Robert J. Spreitzer, Srinivasa R. Peddi, Sriram Satagopan

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of photosynthetic CO₂ fixation and, thus, limits agricultural productivity. However, Rubisco enzymes from different species have different catalytic constants. If the structural basis for such differences were known, a rationale could be developed for genetically engineering an improved enzyme. Residues at the bottom of the large-subunit α/β-barrel active site of Rubisco from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (methyl-Cys-256, Lys-258, and Ile-265) were previously changed through directed mutagenesis and chloroplast transformation to residues characteristic of land-plant Rubisco (Phe-256, Arg-258, and Val-265). The resultant enzyme has decreases in carboxylation efficiency and CO₂/O …

Roles For Nutrients In Epigenetic Events, Anna M. Oommen, Jacob B. Griffin, Gautam Sarath, Janos Zempleni

Gautam Sarath Publications

The field of epigenetics is the study of modifications of DNA and DNA-binding proteins that alter the structure of chromatin without altering the nucleotide sequence of DNA; some of these modifications may be associated with heritable changes in gene function. Nutrients play essential roles in the following epigenetic events. First, folate participates in the generation of S-adenosylmethionine, which acts as a methyl donor in the methylation of cytosines in DNA; methylation of cytosines is associated with gene silencing. Second, covalent attachment of biotin to histones (DNA-binding proteins) plays a role in gene silencing and in the cellular response to DNA …

Terrestrial Behavior Of Ateles Spp., Christina J. Campbell, Filippo Aureli, Colin A. Chapman, Gabriel Ramos-Fernández, Kim Matthews, Sabrina E. Russo, Scott Suarez, Laura Vick

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) are well known for their highly arboreal lifestyle, spending much of their time in the highest levels of the canopy and rarely venturing to the ground. To investigate terrestriality by Ateles and to illuminate the conditions under which spider monkeys venture to the ground, we analyzed ad libitum data from 5 study sites, covering 2 species and 5 subspecies. Three of the sites are in Central/North America: Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama (Ateles geoffroyi panamensis), Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica (A. g. frontatus), and Punta Laguna, Mexico (A. g. yucatanensis). The 2 remaining sites are …

Insulin Signaling Is Necessary For Vitellogenesis In Drosophila Melanogaster Independent Of The Roles Of Juvenile Hormone And Ecdysteroids: Female Sterility Of The Chico1 Insulin Signaling Mutation Is Autonomous To The Ovary, David S. Richard, Robert Rybczynski, Thomas G. Wilson, Yue Wang, Marta L. Wayne, You Zhou, Linda Partridge, Lawrence G. Harshman

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

It has been suggested that insulin signaling mutations of Drosophila melanogaster are sterile and long-lived because of juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroid deficiency. However, female sterility of an insulin/IGF-like signaling mutant (chico¹) of D. melanogaster is not mediated by downstream systemic signaling in terms of major alterations in JH or ecdysteroid levels. chico¹ is a null mutation in the insulin substrate protein (CHICO) gene of D. melanogaster. Homozygous chico1 females are sterile and their oocytes do not mature beyond the last previtellogenic stage. Homozygous chico1 females exhibit approximately wild-type rates of JH biosynthesis, ovarian release …

Quantitative Trait Loci For Lipid Content In Drosophila Melanogaster, Mei-Hui Wang, Lawrence G. Harshman, Sergey V. Nuzhdin

Lawrence G. Harshman Publications

Recombinant inbred lines derived from a natural population were used to investigate natural genetic variation for lipid abundance, protein abundance, and weight of Drosophila melanogaster. Females were heavier and contained more lipid and soluble protein than males. Lipid and protein abundance were genetically correlated with female weight, but male weight was not correlated with lipid or protein. Lipid and protein abundance were genetically correlated in males but not in females. Quan-titative trait loci (QTLs) for weight and protein abundance were predominantly on the X chromo-some, whereas QTLs for lipid abundance were found on the second and third chromosomes. QTLs …

Potential Roles Of Follicular Dendritic Cell–Associated Osteopontin In Lymphoid Follicle Pathology And Repair And In B Cell Regulation In Hiv-1 And Siv Infection, Qingsheng Li, Jeffrey D. Lifson, Lijie Duan, Timothy Schacker, Cavan Reilly, John V. Carlis, Jacob D. Estes, Ashley T. Haase

Qingsheng Li Publications

Osteopontin is a multifunctional protein with known roles in bone remodeling, wound healing, and normal and pathological immune responses. We showed in microarray studies that osteopontin gene expression is increased in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)–infected lymphatic tissues after treatment, and we undertook mapping experiments to study osteopontin’s possible functions in this context. We discovered species-specific colocalization of osteopontin with the follicular dendritic cell (FDC) network in lymphatic tissues in HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus infections, and we found that changes in FDC-associated osteopontin covary with changes in lymphoid follicles during acute and late stages of infection and in …

Ll.M, In Taxation 2005 Course Listing Announcement, New York Law School

NYLS Bulletins and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Imposed Constraints On The Smith-Waterman Alignment Algorithm For Enhanced Modeling Of A Single-Molecule Dna Sequencer, Patrick G. Humphrey, Gregory R. Bashford

Biomedical Imaging and Biosignal Analysis Laboratory

An effort has been underway to develop a system for de novo sequencing of single DNA molecules with very long reads. The system operates by optically detecting the passage of fluorescently tagged DNA bases through a detection zone. A successful system would be revolutionary with respect to speed, read length, cost and minimized laboratory infrastructure. An important part of system development is modeling of the detection process. In particular, predicting the expected error from a set of sequencing parameters is helpful in system design. This paper describes variations on the Smith-Waterman algorithm for subsequence alignment used in a single-molecule detection …

Development And Pathogenesis Of Parelaphostrongylus Odocoilei (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae) In Experimentally Infected Thinhorn Sheep (Ovis Dalli), Emily J. Jenkins, Eric P. Hoberg, L. Polley

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Recently, the protostrongylid nematode Parelaphostrongylus odocoilei has been reported in a new host species, thinhorn sheep (Ovis dalli). For the first time, we completed the life cycle of P. odocoilei in three Stone’s sheep (O. dalli stonei) and two thinhorn hybrids (O. dalli stonei × O. dalli dalli), each infected with 200 third-stage larvae from slugs (Deroceras laeve). The prepatent period ranged from 68 days to 74 days, and shedding of first-stage larvae (L1) peaked at >10,000 L1 per gram of feces between 90 and 110 days postinfection. A total of 75, …

Cholesterol. How Low Should We Go?, Hassan Chamsi-Pasha

Saudi Medical Journal

The National Cholesterol Education Program NCEP has recently updated their Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III guidelines and called for more intensive cholesterol treatment, especially in patients at high risk for coronary heart disease CHD. The message from the updated report is that lower is better for high risk patients, with the NCEP expert panel calling for low-density lipoprotein LDL- cholesterol treatment targets of <100 mg/dL in patients at high risk for CHD. In very high risk patients, however, aggressively lowering LDL-cholesterol to <70 mg/dL is now a therapeutic option for clinicians. Very high risk individuals are those with cardiovascular disease plus diabetes, persistent cigarette smoking, poorly controlled hypertension, or multiple risk factors of the metabolic syndrome, and those who recently had a myocardial infarction MI. Despite the strong clinical evidence and widely publicized treatment guidelines, many hyperlipidemic patients receive inadequate lipid-lowering treatment or leave the hospital after having a MI without a statin. Intensive therapy should be considered for all patients admitted to the hospital for acute coronary syndrome. Achieving very low levels of LDL-cholesterol often requires high doses of a statin or a combination therapy. The coadministration of ezetimibe, a new cholesterol-absorption inhibitor, further reduced LDL-cholesterol by 23% compared with those patients who remained on statin therapy alone. Recent trials with statin therapy are discussed in this review.

Carcinoma Of Unknown Primary Site., Ali R. Hashim, Ahmed M. Al-Quryni

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To verify the spectrum of manifestations of carcinoma of unknown primary site, histopathological type and outcome, as well as to identify the prognostic factors for patient9s outcome and their survival rate. METHODS: From January 2001 to July 2002, in Basrah Teaching Hospital, Basrah, Iraq, 60 patients (27 males and 33 females), (mean age 58.8 ± 11.1 years) who had fulfilled the criteria for carcinoma of unknown primary site were studied. RESULTS: Forty-one patients were with one site of metastasis and 19 patients were with multiple site of metastasis. Liver was the most common site of metastasis (in single site …

Comparison Of Antibiotic Susceptibility Tests, Plasmid Profiles And Restriction Enzyme Analysis Of Plasmid Dna Of Methicillin Susceptible And Resistant-Staphylococcus Aureus Strains Isolated From Intensive Care Units., Mohammed A. Tayfour, Fatma N. Eris, Awadh R. Alanazi

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To differentiate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strains and detect the source of epidemic strains and prevent their access to patients. METHODS: All the procedures were carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty Hospital, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey from 1996-1998, and antibiotic susceptibility tests continued in the laboratory of King Fahad Hospital, Al-Baha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), from 2001-2004. A total of 81 S. aureus strains (71 MRSA, 10 MSSA) from Turkey were isolated from different sites of patients in Intensive Care Unit9s (ICU9s), evaluated by plasmid profile, Restriction …

In-Vitro Antimicrobial Activity Of Lawsonia Inermis Linn (Henna). A Pilot Study On The Omani Henna., Omar A. Habbal, Ali A. Al-Jabri, Abdulghaffar H. El-Hag, Zahra H. Al-Mahrooqi, Nasser A. Al-Hashmi

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the antimicrobial activity of henna9s fresh and dry leaves and seeds obtained from Oman. METHODS: This study was carried out at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman during the period January-June, 2004. Crude extracts of fresh and dry leaves and seeds were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against 3 standard bacterial strains namely: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Eleven different bacterial strains were obtained from patients attending the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. In addition, one Candida albicans (C. albicans) species was used for …

Biochemical Analysis Of Serum Pancreatic Amylase And Lipase Enzymes In Patients With Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus., Adib A. Aughsteen, Mustafa S. Abu-Umair, Sameer A. Mahmoud

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To examine the pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in patient with diabetes mellitus by estimating serum pancreatic amylase and lipase enzymes in healthy subjects and in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: The study was conducted on 20 normal healthy volunteers and 39 diabetic patients referred to Al-Isra Medical Laboratory, Amman, Jordan during the period from April - November 2003 after recording their age and gender. The age of onset of diabetes and the type of treatment were determined and the patients were categorized into type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for fasting …

Treatment Of Complicated And Uncomplicated Hypertension With Nifedipine In Palestine., Waleed M. Sweileh

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: It is generally agreed that short acting calcium channel blockers (CCB) as nifedipine are not safe as the reflex increase in sympathetic activity and thus, their use in hypertension (HTN) is questionable. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of utilization of short acting nifedipine in the treatment of complicated and uncomplicated HTN in one of the major districts in Palestine, Nablus. METHODS: The data for this study were collected from patient9s medical files. Data collection was made over a period of 6 months (April - October 2003) in Nablus, Palestine. The sample studied included 876 …

Functional Capacity In Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease., Deniz Inal-Ince, Sema Savci, Lutfi Coplu, Hulya Arikan

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the functional capacity in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy subjects. METHODS: The present study was conducted in the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Department of Chest Medicine, Medical School, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, from June 2002 to July 2003. Forty-five male patients with severe (23 moderately severe, 22 very severe) COPD and 45 healthy controls participated in the study. Pulmonary function tests and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) were performed. The Borg score and heart rate were measured before and after the test. External work of walking was calculated as the product …

Patient Preference For Providers' Gender At A Primary Health Care Setting In Alexandria, Egypt., Ashraf A. Zaghloul, Adel A. Youssef, Nagwa Y. El-Einein

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine patient9s gender preferences in choosing general practitioners and specialists for both general and specific health issues at primary health care centers in Alexandria, Egypt. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Smouha Health Center, Alexandria Governorate, Alexandria, Egypt. The study was conducted between the period January -- March 2004. A pre-designed questionnaire was used. The format included 3 main sections, namely, socio-demographic, beliefs towards provider9s gender, and providers9 preferences of patients. RESULTS: Both male and female patients preferred a male physician for consultation and clinical management of cases. The highest …

Abdominal Tuberculosis In Adolescents. Difficulties In Diagnosis., Mustafa Akcam, Reha Artan, Aygen Yilmaz, Hikmet Cig, Nazif H. Aksoy

Saudi Medical Journal

Since the nature of abdominal tuberculosis is mimicking a number of diseases, this may cause delayed diagnosis resulting in evident increased morbidity and mortality. Most of the time, serologic and bacteriologic tools are not enough. We report 3 adolescents with distinct presentations, one mimicking Crohn9s disease, one with hepatitis, and the last one with ascites. Terminal ileitis and mesenteric lymphadenitis were found in laparotomy of the first case mimicking Crohn disease. Granulomatous hepatitis was found in the liver biopsy of the second patient, and peritonitis was found by laparoscopy of the third patient. Tuberculosis could be diagnosed merely by histopathologic …

Successful Outcome After Evacuation Of Intracranial Hematoma Following Thrombolysis In Acute Myocardial Infarction., Bashir A. Wani, Helmi A. Dawood, Mohammed A. Khan

Saudi Medical Journal

Thrombolytic therapy is the modality of choice for the treatment of life threatening thrombosis in various vascular territories and nowadays, is used extensively in setting of acute myocardial infarction. There is, however, the omnipresent danger of serious bleeding inherently associated with the use of all thrombolytics which if it occurs in the brain, can lead to potentially serious neurological impairment and even death. In our report, we describe the successful surgical management of a streptokinase-induced intracranial hemorrhage. Timely neurosurgical intervention is advocated as the optimal approach for this particular side effect of thrombolytic agents.

An Unexpected Spontaneous Triplet Heterotopic Pregnancy., Mohammed I. Alsunaidi

Saudi Medical Journal

A heterotopic pregnancy is the coexistence of one or more ectopic pregnancies and a single or multiple eutopic pregnancies. This potentially fatal condition rarely occurs in spontaneous conception cycles. We report a case of spontaneous triplet heterotopic pregnancy in a multigravida with no known risk factors. Ultrasound imaging was the diagnostic tool used and left salpingectomy via laparotomy was performed in this case report.

A Randomized Comparison Of Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine And Combination Of Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine With Chloroquine In The Treatment Of Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria In Eastern Sudan., Muntasir T. Salah, Mamoun M. Mohammed, Yousif E. Himeidan, Elfatih M. Malik, Mustafa I. Elbashir, Ishag Adam

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.