Digital Commons Network^™

Conserved Sequences Of Sperm-Activating Peptide And Its Receptor Throughout Evolution, Despite Speciation In The Sea Star Asterias Amurensis And Closely Related Species, Mia Nakachi, Motonori Hoshi, Midori Matsumoto, Hideaki Moriyama

Hideaki Moriyama Publications

The asteroidal sperm-activating peptides (asterosaps) from the egg jelly bind to their sperm receptor, a membrane-bound guanylate cyclase, on the tail to activate sperm in sea stars. Asterosaps are produced as single peptides and then cleaved into shorter peptides. Sperm activation is followed by the acrosome reaction, which is subfamily specific. In order to investigate the molecular details of the asterosap-receptor interaction, corresponding cDNAs have been cloned, sequenced and analysed from the Asteriinae subfamily including Asterias amurensis, A. rubens, A. jorbesi and Aphelasterias japonica, as well as Distolasterias nipon from the Coscinasteriinae subfamily. Averages of 29% and 86% identity …

Artwork In Government, Humboldt State University

Art and Music

Bibliography of a display of government documents from Humboldt State University, California.

Influence Of Corn Hybrid, Kernel Traits, And Growing Location On Digestibility, Flint W. Harrelson, Galen E. Erickson, Terry J. Klopfenstein, David S. Jackson, Wayne A. Fithian

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

One hundred thirty-two commercially available corn hybrids, grown in 2 field replications within three locations, were evaluated for effects of corn hybrid, kernel traits and growing location on digestibility. A significant hybrid by location interaction was observed for most kernel traits. There is potential to select hybrids for DM digestibility, but digestibility shows no consistent relationship with other kernel traits.

Sampling Wet Distillers Grains Plus Solubles To Determine Nutrient Variability, Crystal D. Buckner, Sarah J. Vanness, Galen E. Erickson, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Joshua R. Benton

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Dry matter, protein, fat, phosphorus, and sulfur were measured on 100 wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) samples per ethanol plant (6 plants total) with 10 samples/day, 5 consecutive days, and 2 separate months (periods). Coefficients of variation were 1.5% to 4.5% for DM within plant. Fat in WDGS averaged 11.8% and ranged from 10.7% to 13.1% across plants, with ranges of 2 to 5 percentage units within plant. Coefficients of variation were 5% to 8% and as great as 36% within plant for sulfur. The variation in protein and phosphorus were minimal.

Cutting Edge: Langerin/Cd207 Receptor On Dendritic Cells Mediates Efficient Antigen Presentation On Mhc I And Ii Products In Vivo, Juliana Idoyaga, Cheolho Cheong, Koji Suda

Publications

The targeted delivery of Ags to dendritic cell (DCs) in vivo greatly improves the efficiency of Ag presentation to T cells and allows an analysis of receptor function. To evaluate the function of Langerin/CD207, a receptor expressed by subsets of DCs that frequently coexpress the DEC205/CD205 receptor, we genetically introduced OVA into the C terminus of anti-receptor Ab H chains. Taking advantage of the new L31 mAb to the extracellular domain of mouse Langerin, we find that the hybrid Ab targets appropriate DC subsets in draining lymph nodes and spleen. OVA is then presented efficiently to CD8⁺ and CD4 …

Cd80+Cd205+ Splenic Dendritic Cells Are Specialized To Induce Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells, Sayuri Yamazaki, Diana Dudziak, Gordon Heidkamp

Publications

Foxp3⁺CD25⁺CD4⁺ regulatory T cells (Treg) mediate immunological self-tolerance and suppress immune responses. A subset of dendritic cells (DCs) in the intestine is specialized to induce Treg in a TGF-β- and retinoic acid-dependent manner to allow for oral tolerance. In this study we compare two major DC subsets from mouse spleen. We find that CD8⁺ DEC-205/CD205⁺ DCs, but not the major fraction of CD8^- DC inhibitory receptor-2 (DCIR2)⁺ DCs, induce functional Foxp3⁺ Treg from Foxp3^- precursors in the presence of low doses of Ag but without added TGF-β. CD8 ^{+ …}

The Role Of Gdf-3 In Patterning The Early Embryo, Ariel Levine

Student Theses and Dissertations

The central aim of modern embryology is the resolution of the signaling pathways and transcriptional networks that direct embryonic development. After a century of rich experimental embryology, more recent molecular analyses of embryogenesis have revealed that communication between cells drives some of the most important events of development, including cell fate determination, growth, and morphogenesis. Among signaling factors, the TGF-β superfamily regulates all of these phenomena, and is the focus of this work. Despite significant progress in understanding the role of individual TGF-β ligands, their ultimate integration as a pathway is not fully understood and several ligands remain unexplored. In …

Conditional Protein Alleles And Regulation Of Bacterial Transcription: A Thesis In Two Acts, Edmund Ching Schwartz

Student Theses and Dissertations

The use of small molecule modulators of protein function (drugs) has gained in popularity due to the speed and precision with which they can work. Unfortunately, a small molecule with the required specificity and potency is not always available. We have developed two methods to generate small molecule sensitive protein alleles without the need to screen for a new drug. In the first, which we term conditional protein splicing (CPS), an intein is split into two inactive fragments which are activated by heterodimerization. By fragmenting the target protein and fusing the pieces to this split intein, we were able to …

A Structural And Biochemical Analysis Of The Drosophila Protein Period, Heather Anne King

Student Theses and Dissertations

Circadian clocks regulate changes in behavior and physiology that occur with a period of approximately 24 hours and are based on negative feedback loops. The molecular components of circadian clocks are conserved among animals, and a key element in all such clocks is the protein Period (PER), a circadian transcription inhibitor. The stable production, posttranslational modification, and nuclear translocation of PER all contribute to the timing of the clock. This work describes the synthesis and purification of various Drosophila PER fragments for biochemical and crystallographic analysis. Several stable PER fragments are identified, including one crystallizable fragment. The structure of the …

Dividing The Preplate: Characterization Of Neuronal Subpopulations In The Early Murine Cerebral Cortex, Hilleary Botts Osheroff

Student Theses and Dissertations

The preplate is a transient layer of the developing cerebral cortex which is comprised of the earliest generated cortical neurons. Preplate neurons are a heterogenous population of future Cajal-Retzius neurons and future subplate neurons, which are derived from multiple sources of progenitors. During the formation of the cortical layers, the preplate is split into an upper marginal zone and the lower subplate layer by the radial migration of projection neurons from the cortical ventricular zone. Cajal-Retzius and subplate neurons have important developmental functions in regulating radial migration and in pioneering corticofugal projections. The genetic mechanisms of preplate neuron specification are …

The Hu Syndrome: At The Intersection Of Cancer And Autoimmunity, Ilana J. Deluca

Student Theses and Dissertations

Paraneoplastic neurologic diseases (PNDs) arise when systemic malignancies express proteins normally restricted to neurons. Abnormal expression of a neuronal protein by tumor cells in the periphery results in an autoimmune response that then targets both the tumor and the nervous system. These diseases offer a unique opportunity to gain insight into the mechanisms behind both tumor immunity and neuronal autoimmunity. The Hu syndrome is an example of PND that affects patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Hu patients are diagnosed by the presence of antibodies in the blood that recognize the HuD antigen. HuD is normally restricted in expression …

Proteomic, Bioinformatic And Functional Characterization Of The Nuclear Pore Complex Of The African Trypanosome, Jeffrey Allen Degrasse

Student Theses and Dissertations

The eukaryotic genome, and its associated proteins, is intricately packaged and sequestered within the boundary of a double membrane, known as the nuclear envelope (NE). Transport across the NE is mediated by large protein assemblages known as nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). Yeast and vertebrate NPCs are comprised of about 30 proteins, termed nucleoporins (Nups), which are present in multiple copies. The origins and evolution of the nucleus and NPC are not yet clear, although it seems likely that the nucleus arose only once in eukaryotic evolution. To further our understanding of the evolution of the NPC, we characterized the NPC …

Wheat Invest. A Compelling Business Case For Investment In The Western Australian Wheat Industry, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Western Australia (WA) is an ideal location for wheat production. It has competitive advantages including:

• A proven track record in wheat production accounting for approximately 50 per cent of Australia's production. Based on a five year average from 2003/04 to 2007/08*, WA produces around 7.7 million tonnes of wheat per year.

• Over the past five years, the top 25 per cent of farmers averaged 10 per cent return on capital excluding changes in land value.

• Export focussed due to WA's small population. 90 per cent of WA's wheat is exported

• Abundant land at competitive prices and …

Role Of Aid And Microrna-155 In C-Myc-Igh Translocations, Yair Dorsett

Student Theses and Dissertations

Chromosome translocations between oncogenes and the immunoglobulin (Ig) region spanning the variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) genes (Ig V-JH region) are found in a number of mature B cell lymphomas in humans and mice. The breakpoints are frequently adjacent to the recombination signal sequences (RSSs) targeted by recombinase activating genes 1 and 2 (RAG1/2) during antigen receptor assembly in pre- B cells, suggesting that these translocations might be the result of aberrant V(D)J recombination. However, in mature B cells undergoing AID dependent somatic hypermutation (SHM), duplications or deletions that would necessitate a double strand break make up 6% …

Cracking The Odor Code: Molecular And Cellular Deconstruction Of The Olfactory Circuit Of Drosophila Larvae, Kenta Asahina

Student Theses and Dissertations

The Drosophila larva offers a powerful model system to investigate the general principles by which the olfactory system processes behaviorally relevant sensory stimuli. The numerically reduced larval olfactory system relieves the formidable molecular and cellular complexity found in other organisms. This thesis presents a study in four parts that investigates molecular and neuronal mechanisms of larval odor coding. First, the larval odorant receptor (OR) repertoire was characterized. ORs define the olfactory receptive range of an animal. Each of the 21 larval olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) expresses one or rarely two ORs, along with the highly conserved olfactory co-receptor Or83b. Second, …

Discovery Of The First Endogenous Gain Of Function Mutation In Drosophila Ras1 As A Dominant Suppressor Of Apoptosis, Christopher Gafuik

Student Theses and Dissertations

The development of multicellular organisms requires a tight coordination of cell proliferation, cell differentiation and cell death in order to correctly specify cell fate and number. According to the trophic theory of survival, this is achieved in part by a competition between cells in a tissue for a limited number of extracellular survival factors. Cells that do not receive sufficient quantities of these survival cues engage a default cell death program and are thereby eliminated. This 'social control' of cell survival ensures the integrity of tissues by matching the correct number of different cell types to each other. Apoptosis is …

Dendritic Cell Regulation Of Peripheral Tolerance In Polyclonal T Cell Repertoires, Revati F. Masilamani

Student Theses and Dissertations

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal role in determining whether the outcome of the immune system's encounter with antigen will be immunity or tolerance. Using an antibody against the DEC-205 receptor, antigens have been delivered specifically to DCs in vivo. Under steady state conditions, such presentation of antigen leads to peripheral tolerance in transgenic T cells, either by deletion, anergy or the induction of regulatory T cells. We wanted to examine whether delivery of autoantigens to DCs using this approach, could be used to tolerize autoreactive polyclonal T cells, thereby preventing autoimmunity in mouse models. We succeeded in inducing tolerance …

Structural Analysis Of Cycle Inhibiting Factor From Pathogenic Escherichia Coli, Yun-Yuan Hsu

Student Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial pathogens have evolved a sophisticated arsenal of virulence factors to modulate host cell biology. Enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC) use a type III protein secretion system (T3SS) to inject microbial proteins into host cells. These translocated proteins possess a diverse array of biochemical activities, reprogramming eukaryotic cell biochemistry to serve the requirements of the pathogen. Examples of translocated effector proteins hijacking essential host functions such as cytoskeleton assembly, vesicular transport, and apoptosis are numerous (Galan and Wolf-Watz, 2006). However, until recently, less progress had been made with bacteria that also possess virulence mechanisms that target the …

A Novel Phosphorylation Site In The Telomeric Protein Trf2 Is Regulated By The Atr Kinase And Plays A Role In Relieving Replication Stress At The Telomere, Kristina Hoke

Student Theses and Dissertations

Phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase-like kinases (PIKKs) have a well documented function at yeast telomeres. Although several lines of evidence suggest that members of the PIKK family also play a role in vertebrate telomere biology, little is known about their specific functions. We report that the human shelterin component, TRF2, overexpressed in 293T cells, is phosphorylated on serine 368 (S368) in a caffeine and wortmannin sensitive manner. Phosphorylation is induced by hydroxyurea (HU) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation but not Ionizing Radiation (IR). Knockdown studies indicate that ATR is the primary kinase responsible for TRF2 S368 phosphorylation, while the mTOR kinase is implicated …

Bioluminescence-Based High Precision Bacterial Growth Rate Measurements And Their Potential Application In Quantifying Deleterious Effects Of High Mutation Rates, Sri Ram

Student Theses and Dissertations

The genomic mutation rate of wild-type Escherichia coli is 3E-3 per generation, a value that is shared by many DNA-based microbes and viruses. A majority of clinical isolates of E. coli also have a mutation rate that is close to the wild-type value. These findings raise the possibility that the observed mutation rate is constrained by some universal evolutionary forces. In many laboratory settings, however, strains with high mutation rate (mutator strains) have been shown to outcompete otherwise isogenic wildtype cells. These results have been explained by positing that mutators offer a short-term benefit in the form of increased probability …

Dendritic Cells In Normal And Inflamed Human Skin, Lisa C. Zaba

Student Theses and Dissertations

Psoriasis is a skin disease originally thought to be a primary keratinocyte differentiation and maturation disease. Several T cell targeted theraputics were found to reverse disease, and thus subsequent research has focussed on the adaptive immune system, particularly effector CD8+ T cells infiltrating the epidermis. Recent studies, however, show that inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are also effective therapeutics. Activated dendritic cells (DCs) produce large ammounts of TNF which acts in an autocrine loop to increase DC maturation. Thus, TNF inhibitors may inhibit DC maturation and downstream T cell activation. This thesis elucidates DC subsets present in normal human …

Tuning Of The Active Hair Bundle, Omar Ahmad

Student Theses and Dissertations

The organs of the inner ear rely upon a population of several thousand sensory hair cells to amplify and transduce acoustic, seismic, and kinesthetic signals. Each hair cell detects mechanical disturbances by means of its hair bundle, a motile organelle consisting of actin-filled, villous projections (called stereocilia) endowed with assemblies (called adaptation motors) of mechano-sensitive ion channels and myosin molecules that power both spontaneous and evoked movements. Active hair-bundle motility serves two functions: it mechanically amplifies sensory stimuli; and it regulates their transduction into electrical signals that drive the hair-cell synapse. To characterize these two functions, we consider here a …

Cellular And Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Leptin's Metabolic Effects, Amandeep Singh

Student Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is rapidly increasing in prevalence, and has become one of the leading contributors to poor health in the world. Increased body weight by necessity must be a result of increased nutrient intake relative to total energy expenditure. While many have focused on the importance of caloric consumption in determining weight, it is increasingly clear that differences in energy expenditure, basal metabolic rates and/or adaptive thermogenesis are also important variables that contribute to human obesity. The experiments in this thesis start off by demonstrating that a significant portion of leptin-mediated weight loss is the result of an increase in energy …

Identification Of Loss Of Specific Fmrp-Rna Interactions As A Cause Of Fragile X Syndrome, Julie B. Zang

Student Theses and Dissertations

Fragile X Syndrome presents with a clinical picture of moderate to severe mental retardation and behavioral abnormalities including autistic features resulting from the loss of function of a RNA-binding protein, Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). This work is devoted to the understanding of functional roles of FMRP in normal neuronal development and in the pathogenesis of the Fragile X Syndrome. Particularly it focuses on the study of FMRP RNA binding properties, using both mouse models and biochemical analyses. The disease is usually caused by a triplet repeat expansion in the 5'UTR of the FMR1 gene leading to loss of …

Utah Adaptive Resources Management Greater Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups 2006-2007 Accomplishment Report., Terry A. Messmer, T. Black, Shandra Nicole Frey, S. Lupis, R. Hart

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Measurement Of Concentrations Of Faecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites In Free-Ranging African Elephants Within The Kruger National Park, J. J. Viljoen, A. Ganswindt, R. Palme, H. C. Reynecke, Johan T. Du Toit, W. R. Langbauer

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

During the past several years, non-invasive monitoring of steroid metabolites in faeces of elephants has become an increasingly popular technique to generate more information about the causal relationship between hormones and behaviour in both living elephant species. This is important knowledge which can be used to optimise local conservation and wildlife management by finding new strategies for better elephant population management and control. In this context, however, information about an actual involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during assumable stressful events is still limited, especially for wildlife populations. One difficulty in discovering such information is often the lack of reliable data …

Medicine@Yale November/December 2008 Volume 4, Issue 5, Yale School Of Medicine Office Of Communications

Medicine@Yale - development newsletter

Medicine@Yale : advancing biomedical science, education and health care was a print and online newsletter which published news about academics, research and philanthropy for alumni, donors, faculty, students and the general public. It was initially published 6 times a year and then changed to a quarterly schedule. The first issue came out June/Jul. 2005. The final issue was published in May/June 2022, vol. 17, issue 1. Published by Yale School of Medicine, Office of Communications.

Plaster Creek Watershed Management Plan, Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, & Huber, Inc.

Watershed Reports

The quality of Plaster Creek is influenced by many factors, such as human activities within the Plaster Creek Watershed (Watershed), physical and biological characteristics of the natural resources, and the management of those resources. This document provides an overview of these diverse aspects of the Watershed, including detailed information about the sources and causes of watershed pollution, recommendations needed to address impairments, and steps to implement the recommendations.

Diverse Persuasion(S): From Rhetoric To Representation (And Back Again To Rhetoric) In International Human Rights Interpretation, Craig Scott

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

This article proceeds from a way of thinking about legal-rights reasoning that is grounded in the rhetorical tradition. In light of questions of political legitimacy and personal ethics, a central premise of the article is that the rhetorical enterprise must situate itself within a paradigm of dialogic communication in which mutual persuasion is the orientation to argument and the quest for intersubjective validation of claimed premises, lines of argument, and conclusions is the purposive mode. The first step in the article is to move from a general conception of law as a field of rhetoric to an account of how …

The Rise And Fall Of Chinese Tax Incentives And Implications For International Tax Debates, Jinyan Li

Comparative Research in Law & Political Economy

China had no foreign direct investment (FDI) before 1979. Now, it is one of the world's largest recipients of FDI. China has been generous to a fault in granting tax incentives to foreign investors. As of January 1, 2008, however, these FDI-specific incentives are abolished or phased out. What explains the rise and fall? Were the tax incentives not effective in attracting FDI and promoting China's economic growth? What are the implications of the Chinese experience for international tax debates? This article examines these questions.