Digital Commons Network^™

Vivo: Simplifying Research Discovery In The Life Sciences, Jaron Porciello, Medha Devare, Jon Corson-Rikert

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Trends: Health Sciences And Biomedical Sciences Content, Ramune K. Kubilius

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Estimating Evolutionary Dynamics Of Cleavage Site Peptides Among H5ha Avian Influenza Employing Mathematical Information Theory Approaches, Sherry Dadgar

Theses

Estimating evolutionary conservation of cleavage site peptides among HA protein of all strains facilitates vaccine development against pandemic influenza. Conserved epitopes may be useful for diagnosis of animals infected with the influenza virus, and preventing their spread in other regions [ 1]. In the preliminary stage of this study, in silico analysis of hemagglutinin was applied to predict potential cleavage sites of each strain employing

SigCleave [2] and SignalP 3.0 server [3]. The second stage of the study focused on analyzing the structure of connecting peptides of hemagglutinin cleavage sites based on the availability of the existing experimental data. Our …

The Effects Of Intrinsic And Extrensic Factors On Floral Visitation Of Xanthosoma Undipes In Monteverde, Costa Rica, November 2008, Kirsten Martin

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Both intrinsic and extrinsic floral characteristics exert important influences on floral visitation. The average distance between flowering plants, the number of flowering plants, and the spadix temperature were assessed to determine the influence of these intrinsic and extrinsic floral factors on floral visitation in Xanthosoma undipes in Monteverde Costa Rica. Observations were made for seven nights in which the distances between all flowering plants, abundances of all morphospecies of arthropods present and spadix temperatures were taken. Both the number of plants in flower and the average distance between flowers did appear to have an affect on flower visitation among pollinators. …

Within-Crown Asynchrony Of Ficus Pertusa (Moraceae), November 2008, Hannah Lippe

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Well-supported theory says that populations of Ficus species reproduce asynchronously across populations and synchronously within individual trees. However, recent studies in the Monteverde area have found evidence for within-crown asynchrony for Ficus tuerckheimii, a large strangler fig, and hinted at within-crown asynchrony for Ficus pertusa, a small free-standing tree. I tested the prediction that fig tree populations are asynchronous and individuals are synchronous by looking at fifteen F. pertusa trees with fruits. I looked for microclimate effects on flowering synchrony as a result of uneven sun exposure within a crown. As predicted, the population was asynchronous, but 13 out of …

Presence Of Mucilage On Aerial Roots In Monteverde, Costa Rica, November 2008, Chase Kincaid

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Many hemiepiphytes produce aerial roots and some have mucilage on the growing tips of these roots. The purpose of this study was to determine if mucilage varies at different altitudes in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica. Mucilage may serve to protect the roots from the dry environments, or from altitudes more prone to fungal infections since it has both high water storing capacities and anti-fungal properties. Transects were run along different altitudes, and samples of plants’ mucilage were taken, measuring the weight and length of the mucilage. Monstera was the most common plant with mucilage found in the …

The Effect Of Hummingbird Feeders On The Pollen Loads And Diversity In Nectarivorous Bats (Glossophaginae) In A Tropical Cloud Forest, November 2008, Benjamin Juan Padilla

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Bats are some of the most important pollinators in tropical regions. I studied the effect of hummingbird feeders on pollen loads in nectarivorous bats in the Monteverde region. I mist netted bats at two locations Selvatura Hummingbird Garden (deemed high feeder density), and the Santa Elena Reserve (low feeder density). Pollen was removed from the bat’s back using clear scotch tape and placed directly onto microscope slides for examination. A Shannon-Weiner diversity index showed that there was a difference between the pollen diversities (Selvatura H’=5.47, Reserve H’= 4.63) although mean pollen diversity and overall pollen count were not different. These …

A Comparison Of Hemoparasite Loads Between Bats (F: Phyllostomidae) Of Different Feeding Guilds In San Luis, Costa Rica, November 2008, Rachael Zacks

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Bat hemoparasite studies have focused on bats as vectors for viruses that cause human diseases such as rabies, Ebola, and Henipavirus, while ectoparastite studies have looked at a broad range of ecological and abiotic factors that influence ectoparasite prevalence including age, sex, roosting ecology, and habitat. Yet diet had been largely ignored in both hemoparasite and ectoparasite studies. In this study, I looked at diet as a possible factor in hemoparasite load and also looked at the relationships between hemoparasites, health (with weight as a proxy), and ectoparasites. Four guilds were compared, sanguinivores, omnivores, frugivores, and nectarivores, with an overall …

Elevation, Habitat Structure And Monteverde Bird Communities, November 2008, Karl Fairchild

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

One hypothesis for why “biodiversity begets biodiversity” when this pattern is observed in bird communities is that by increasing vegetative complexity finer niche partitioning is allowed for among bird species. Bird diversity has been shown to correlate positively with vegetation structure along a successional gradient. However, no such studies have been done in actively managed areas in the tropics. I used three 50 m fixed-radius point counts each in two pairs of study sites at different elevations to compare bird diversity in structurally simple and structurally complex pastures at two different elevations in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Within each pair, one …

Foxm1b Transcriptionally Regulates Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression And Promotes The Angiogenesis And Growth Of Glioma Cells, Yujian Zhang, Nu Zhang, Bingbing Dai, Mingguang Liu, Raymond Sawaya, Keping Xie, Suyun Huang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We previously found that FoxM1B is overexpressed in human glioblastomas and that forced FoxM1B expression in anaplastic astrocytoma cells leads to the formation of highly angiogenic glioblastoma in nude mice. However, the molecular mechanisms by which FoxM1B enhances glioma angiogenesis are currently unknown. In this study, we found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a direct transcriptional target of FoxM1B. FoxM1B overexpression increased VEGF expression, whereas blockade of FoxM1 expression suppressed VEGF expression in glioma cells. Transfection of FoxM1 into glioma cells directly activated the VEGF promoter, and inhibition of FoxM1 expression by FoxM1 siRNA suppressed VEGF promoter activation. …

Back Talk -- Academic Libraries In China, Anthony (Tony) W. Ferguson

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

If Rumors Were Horses, Katina Strauch

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Biz Of Acq -- Budget 101 Or Here We Go Again, Joe Badics

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Atg Interviews Bill Cohen, Katina Strauch

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Biz Of Acq -- Quick Tips For Media Selection And Acquisitions, Part Ii, Matt Bailey, Anita Grommesh, Vicki Burgess

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

People Profile: Kingsley Greene, Editor

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Charleston Conference Future Dates, Editor

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Full Page Ads, Editor

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

From The Reference Desk, Thomas Gilson

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Neuroimaging And Recovery Of Language In Aphasia, Cynthia K. Thompson, Dirk B. Den Ouden

Faculty Publications

The use of functional neuroimaging techniques has advanced what is known about the neural mechanisms used to support language processing in aphasia resulting from brain damage. This paper highlights recent findings derived from neuroimaging studies focused on neuroplasticity of language networks, the role of the left and right hemispheres in this process, and studies examining how treatment affects the neurobiology of recovery. We point out variability across studies as well as factors related to this variability, and we emphasize challenges that remain for research.

Hypouricemic And Antioxidant Activities Of Allium Cepa Lilliaceae And Quercetin In Normal And Hyperuricemic Rats, Fatemeh Haidari, Mohammad R. Rashidi, Mohammad R. Eshraghian, Soltan A. Mahboob, Majid M. Shahi, Seid A. Keshavarz

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hypouricemic and antioxidant effects of Allium cepa Lilliaceae (Allium cepa L.) and quercetin in normal and hyperuricemic rats. METHODS: The following study was conducted in the Department of Nutrition and Biochemistry, Tehran University of Medical Science, Iran, between May 2007 and March 2008. A total of 48 male Wistar rats (body weights: 180-200 g) were randomly divided into 8 equal groups including normal; normal + Allium cepa L. (5g/kg); normal + quercetin (5mg/kg); normal + allopurinol (5mg/kg); hyperuricemic; hyperuricemic + Allium cepa L. (5g/kg); hyperuricemic + quercetin (5mg/kg); hyperuricemic + allopurinol (5mg/kg) once a day for …

Murderous Madonna: Femininity, Violence, And The Myth Of Postpartum Mental Disorder In Cases Of Maternal Infanticide And Filicide, Heather Leigh Stangle

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Botanical Thread, Kaitlin Wilson-Bryant

Theses

My thesis is an exploration of my dual desires of creation/destruction and manipulation/transformation as realized through the remediation of botanical specimens gathered from my domestic environment and transformed into works of art. Each image questions and presents an understanding of the history of botanical representation, within Western art history, as symbols of nature and femininity and the domestic skill of needlework, a traditional skill learned by women as part of the feminine. I created a conceptual dialogue with those who preceded me, intrinsically linking the acts of sewing and botany as re-interpreted feminist acts. In this work, I attempt to …

Extracellular Matrix Protein Orientation By Adsorption On Self-Assembled Monolayers Controls Nonviral Gene Delivery, Beth A. Duensing, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

To date, most efforts to understand and improve the efficiency of nonviral gene delivery have focused on altering the physicochemical properties of delivery systems and developing new delivery strategies. The importance of the cellular microenvironment in achieving successful nonviral gene transfer has not been thoroughly examined, though proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) mediate cell adhesion and serve to regulate cellular behavior that may, in turn, dictate the cellular responsiveness to nonviral gene delivery. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols on gold were used to control adsorption of ECM molecules and thus control the architecture of the extracellular environment presented to …

An Inositolphosphorylceramide Synthase Is Involved In Regulation Of Plant Programmed Cell Death Associated With Defense In Arabidopsis, Wenming Wang, Xiaohua Yang, Samantha Tangchiaburana, Roland Ndeh, Jennifer E. Markham, Yoseph Tsegaye, Teresa M. Dunn, Guo-Liang Wang, Maria Bellizzi, James F. Parsons, Danielle Morrissey, Janis E. Bravo, Daniel V. Lynch, Shunyuan Xiao

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The Arabidopsis thaliana resistance gene RPW8 triggers the hypersensitive response (HR) to restrict powdery mildew infection via the salicylic acid–dependent signaling pathway. To further understand how RPW8 signaling is regulated, we have conducted a genetic screen to identify mutations enhancing RPW8-mediated HR-like cell death (designated erh). Here, we report the isolation and characterization of the Arabidopsis erh1 mutant, in which the At2g37940 locus is knocked out by a T-DNA insertion. Loss of function of ERH1 results in salicylic acid accumulation, enhanced transcription of RPW8 and RPW8-dependent spontaneous HR-like cell death in leaf tissues, and reduction in plant stature. …

Influence Of Cyclic Guanosine 3',5' Monophosphate Modulators On Muscle Contraction Of Rat Aortas, Samira A. Mahmoud

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: The study examined the influence of probenecid (Pn), sildenafil (Sd) and oxidiazoloquinoxalin (ODQ) on contraction of phenylephrine (PhE) stimulated rat aortas. METHODS: The study was performed at Peter Holtz Research Center of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, from 1st July to 30th September 2005. Thirty-five isolated rat aortas were stimulated with 10 uM PhE or preincubated for 30 minutes with 10 uM Pn, or 10 uM ODQ, or 50 uM Sd, and then incubated with 10 uM PhE in the presence or absence of the substances. The phosphorylated myosin light chain 20 was detected by …

Expression Of Survivin In Invasive Pituitary Adenoma, Yong-Chao Zhang, Jun Gao, Tao Xin, Zhi-Ming Zheng, Liang-Zhu Teng

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between survivin expression and invasiveness of pituitary adenoma. METHODS: A total of 66 patients, on whom trans sphenoidal surgery had been performed between July 2006 and March 2008, were enrolled in our study at the Department of Neurosurgery in Shandong Provincial Hospital and Jinan Central Hospital, Shandong, P. R. China. All patients were divided into the invasion group (n=39), and the non-invasion group (n=27) by assessment of preoperative MRI and intraoperative inspection. Survivin expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis of survivin expression between the 2 sample groups was accomplished using the chi-square test. RESULTS: …

Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil (Galley Proofs), Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, J. Filippini, Karl J. Reinhard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

Cardiorespiratory Fitness As A Predictor Of Fatal And Nonfatal Stroke In Asymptomatic Women And Men, Steven P. Hooker, Xuemei Sui, Natalie Colabianchi, John E. Vena, James N. Laditka, Michael J. Lamonte, Steven N. Blair

Faculty Publications

Background and Purpose - Prospective data on the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and stroke are largely limited to studies in men or do not separately examine risks for fatal and nonfatal stroke. This study examined the association between CRF and fatal and nonfatal stroke in a large cohort of asymptomatic women and men.

Methods - A total of 46,405 men and 15,282 women without known myocardial infarction or stroke at baseline completed a maximal treadmill exercise test between 1970 and 2001. CRF was grouped as quartiles of the sex-specific distribution of maximal metabolic equivalents achieved. Mortality follow-up was through …

Microgripper Force Feedback Integration Using Piezoresistive Cantilever Structure, Todd R. Simon

Theses

Force feedback is an important feature in most microgripper applications, but it is commonly overlooked. To successfully implement this feature, a cantilever structure has been designed and fabricated to integrate force feedback into a microhand gripper. The piezoresistive properties of doped polysilicon are used to transduce the mechanical stress of an object pressing against the cantilever sensor, resulting in a change in resistance or voltage capable of being monitored with external hardware. The force sensing structure was designed to have a fabrication process compatible with that of the microhand, allowing for their eventual integration. This fabrication process uses both bulk …