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Natural Polyploidization Within Tetraploid And Hexaploid Populations Of The Desert Shrub Atriplex Confertifolia, Stewart C. Sanderson

Western North American Naturalist

Shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia) is a wind-pollinated dioecious shrub of western North America with an unusual development of apparently autoploid races, showing all even ploidy levels from 2x to 12x (base x = 9). Of these, tetraploid races are the most frequently encountered, with octoploids the next most common, and hexaploids being much less common. In this study, the occurrence of neopolyploid individuals within tetraploid and hexaploid populations of shadscale was examined at natural sites in order to investigate the pathways by which octoploids may be formed and to find a possible explanation for the predominance of octoploids over …

Distribution Records And Comments On Fleas In Southwestern South Dakota, Omer R. Larson, Steven G. Platt, Zannita Fast Horse, Thomas R. Rainwater, Stanlee M. Miller

Western North American Naturalist

From October 2003 through April 2006, we collected 565 fleas incidental to a distribution survey of mammals in southwestern South Dakota. Sixty-one specimens, representing 18 species of mammals, possessed 20 species of fleas. The geographic distributions of these flea species revealed 8 new records for the Black Hills and its adjacent grasslands. Four species—Megarthroglossus divisus, Stenoponia americana, Odontopsyllus dentatus, and Amaradix euphorbi—constitute new records for South Dakota, thus increasing the state’s known flea fauna to 42 species. Hunters, trappers, and field biologists should be aware that serosurveillance during the 1990s revealed the presence of sylvatic plague and tularemia …

First Record Of Multiple Paternity In The Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus Idahoensis): Evidence From Analysis Of 16 Microsatellite Loci, Wilfredo Falcón, Caren S. Goldberg, Lisette P. Waits, Wendy A. Estes-Zumpf, Janet L. Rachlow

Western North American Naturalist

Although promiscuity is believed to be common among leporids, little is known about the mating system of free-ranging pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis). We used 16 polymorphic microsatellite markers and DNA extracted from tissue samples of 10 rabbits from 2 litters collected in east central Idaho to evaluate paternity. We incorporated maternal genotypes for better resolution and employed an exclusion approach to detect multiple paternity. Our results demonstrated multiple paternity at 6 of the 16 loci tested for each litter. These findings support the expectation that pygmy rabbits have a promiscuous mating system. It has been proposed that multiple …

‘En Pathos’, John Remo

Theses

`en pathos ` A Greek term that translates to ` in passion ` . The human figure is a timeless and classic subject that has always bestirred feelings of passion in the hearts of both artist and viewer. It can easily take a lifetime's artistic endeavors to master just a tiny aspect of the figure's potential. More important than the literal realm of the figure, there also lies a subjective realm, a place where my work is created and lives.....a place `between'. In trying to capture the essence of the human figure, each artistic medium offers its own unique visual …

08-11-2011 Saturday's Starting Block And Project Blue Events Open To All Swosu Students, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

THE BARK ARCHIVE 2011

The News Student Orientation Office at SWOSU wants to invite students to several events that the office hosting during Dawg Days on the Weatherford campus.

Coca And Conservation: Cultivation, Eradication, And Trafficking In The Amazon Borderlands, David S. Salisbury, C. Fagan

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

The cultivation and traffic of coca, Erythrolxylum coca, and coca derivatives remain understudied threats to the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Currently the crop is transforming land use and livelihoods in the ecologically and culturally rich borderlands of Amazonian Peru. The isolated nature of this region characterized by indigenous populations (both settled and uncontacted), conservation units, resource concessions, and a lack of state presence provides fertile ground for the boom and bust cycle of coca production and facilitates the international transport of the product to neighboring Brazil. This paper explores the social and environmental impacts of coca production, eradication, and …

Comparative Genomics Of The Pathogenic Ciliate Ichthyophthirius Multifiliis, Its Free-Living Relatives And A Host Species Provide Insights Into Adoption Of A Parasitic Lifestyle And Prospects For Disease Control, Robert S. Coyne, Linda Hannick, Dhanasekaran Shanmugam, Jessica B. Hostetler, Daniel Brami, Vinita S. Joardar, Justin Johnson, Diana Radune, Irtisha Singh, Jonathan H. Badger, Ujjwal Kumar, Milton Saier, Yufeng Wang, Hong Cai, Jianying Gu, Michael W. Mather, Akhil B. Vaidya, David E. Wilkes, Vidyalakshmi Rajagopalan, David J. Asai, Chad G. Pearson, Robert C. Findly, Harry W. Dickerson, Martin Wu, Cindy Martens, Yves Van De Peer, David S. Roos, Donna M. Cassidy-Hanley, Theodore G. Clark

Publications and Research

Background

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, commonly known as Ich, is a highly pathogenic ciliate responsible for 'white spot', a disease causing significant economic losses to the global aquaculture industry. Options for disease control are extremely limited, and Ich's obligate parasitic lifestyle makes experimental studies challenging. Unlike most well-studied protozoan parasites, Ich belongs to a phylum composed primarily of free-living members. Indeed, it is closely related to the model organism Tetrahymena thermophila. Genomic studies represent a promising strategy to reduce the impact of this disease and to understand the evolutionary transition to parasitism.

Results

We report the sequencing, assembly and annotation …

Semiotics, Habitus And Music In The Transmission Of Tibetan Culture In Toronto, John Robertson

Masters Theses

This ethnographic study explores the role of music in cultural transmission in the Tibetan community of Toronto, Canada. Beginning with an integration of Peircian semiotics, Bourdieu's habitus and musical semiosis, I then identify certain non-Tibetan cultural elements being encountered by those in the Toronto community which are potentially creating cognitive structures foreign to those which have their generative principles in pre-exile Tibetan past, and the ways in which Tibetans are transmitting (to varying degrees) cognitive schemata which identify these non-Tibetan elements and protect against their appropriation. After exploring elements which are not Tibetan, I turn to those which are: a …

Cyclical, Edna Madera

Theses

The works presented here are portraits of my Mother meditating for motherhood between religious faith and will power, the creation of which, became a personal means of coping with her death. Catholic rosaries and knitted baby booties are depicted as I explore feminine identity within the context of fertility and the social views that condition it. Material explorations include, rusted steel, body fluid, and animal tissue.

Serum- And Glucocorticoid-Induced Kinase 3 In Recycling Endosomes Mediates Acute Activation Of Na+/H+ Exchanger Nhe3 By Glucocorticoids, Peijian He, Sei-Jung Lee, Songbai Lin, Ursula Seidler, Florian Lang, Geza Fejes-Toth, Aniko Naray-Fejes-Toth, C. Chris Yun

Dartmouth Scholarship

Na(+)/H(+) exchanger 3 (NHE3) is the major Na(+) transporter in the intestine. Serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase (SGK) 1 interacts with NHE regulatory factor 2 (NHERF2) and mediates activation of NHE3 by dexamethasone (Dex) in cultured epithelial cells. In this study, we compared short-term regulation of NHE3 by Dex in SGK1-null and NHERF2-null mice. In comparison to wild-type mice, loss of SGK1 or NHERF2 significantly attenuated regulation of NHE3 by Dex but did not completely obliterate the effect. We show that transfection of SGK2 or SGK3 in PS120 cells resulted in robust activation of NHE3 by Dex. However, unlike SGK1 or …

Can Small Do What Big Does – Only Better? (An Update), Jan King

Small Satellite Conference

In one form or another, small satellites have now been around for fifty years. Serious efforts to commercialize small satellite technology have commenced far more recently. Plans to commercialize small satellite systems started somewhat earlier, however such initiatives did not result in hardware being flown until the early 1990s. At this point, satellite entrepreneurs and engineers have had nearly 20 years to perfect their business plans and system designs. How have they done? Have the businesses that depended upon this technology been profitable? Have the satellite systems been successful in meeting their long and short term requirements? Have they done …

Letters To The Editor

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

We welcome all letters to the editor and encourage authors to reply. Input from residents and faculty on ideas presented in the Journal create an arena for discussion and dialogue that is the ultimate purpose of this undertaking.

Selecting Improved Lotus Nodulating Rhizobia To Expedite The Development Of New Forage Species, John Gregory Howieson, Ross Andrew Ballard, Ronald J. Yates, Nigel Charman

Grain and Other Field Crops Research Articles

Aims

In the past decades the increasing focus by Australian pasture development programs on the genus Lotus has seen the evaluation of many species previously untested in Australia. In field trials, nodulation failure was commonplace. This work was undertaken to select effective symbionts for Lotus to ensure further agronomic evaluation of the genus was not compromised. The symbiotic needs of Lotus ornithopodioides were a particular focus of the studies.

Methods

Glasshouse experiments were undertaken to evaluate symbiotic relationships between 15 Lotus spp and 23 strains of nodulating Mesorhizobium loti. This was followed by evaluation of elite rhizobial strains for …

Severe 2010 Cold-Water Event Caused Unprecedented Mortality To Corals Of The Florida Reef Tract And Reversed Previous Survivorship Patterns, Diego Lirman, Stephanie Schopmeyer, Derek Manzello, Lewis J. Gramer, William F. Precht, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Kenneth Banks, Brian Barnes, Erich Bartels, Amanda Bourque, James Byrne, Scott Donahue, Janice Duquesnel, Louis Fisher, David S. Gilliam, James C. Hendee, Meaghan E. Johnson, Kerry Maxwell, Erin Mcdevitt, Jamie Monty, Digna Rueda, Rob Ruzicka, Sara Thanner

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background

Coral reefs are facing increasing pressure from natural and anthropogenic stressors that have already caused significant worldwide declines. In January 2010, coral reefs of Florida, United States, were impacted by an extreme cold-water anomaly that exposed corals to temperatures well below their reported thresholds (16°C), causing rapid coral mortality unprecedented in spatial extent and severity.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Reef surveys were conducted from Martin County to the Lower Florida Keys within weeks of the anomaly. The impacts recorded were catastrophic and exceeded those of any previous disturbances in the region. Coral mortality patterns were directly correlated to in-situ and satellite-derived …

The Efficacy Of Social Communication Intervention In Improving Emotion Inferencing For School-Aged Children With Language Impairment, Matthew Keith Frank

Theses and Dissertations

Children with language impairment (LI) have demonstrated several language problems, including receptive and expressive deficits. A growing body of research has further demonstrated emotion understanding and, more specifically, emotion inferencing deficits that negatively affect the ability of this population to use language successfully in social interactions. Consequently, the present study examines social communication intervention focused on improving emotion inferencing for children with a diagnosis of LI or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as similar social communication deficits are occasionally seen in children with these diagnoses. Study participants were identified from the caseload of a practicing certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) and qualified …

Targeted Over-Expression Of Glutamate Transporter 1 (Glt-1) Reduces Ischemic Brain Injury In A Rat Model Of Stroke, Brandon K. Harvey, Mikko Airavaara, Jason Michael Hinzman, Emily M. Wires, Matthew J. Chiocco, Douglas B. Howard, Hui Shen, Greg A. Gerhardt, Barry J. Hoffer, Yun Wang

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Following the onset of an ischemic brain injury, the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate is released. The excitotoxic effects of glutamate are a major contributor to the pathogenesis of a stroke. The aim of this study was to examine if overexpression of a glutamate transporter (GLT-1) reduces ischemic brain injury in a rat model of stroke. We generated an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector expressing the rat GLT-1 cDNA (AAV-GLT1). Functional expression of AAV-GLT1 was confirmed by increased glutamate clearance rate in non-stroke rat brain as measured by in vivo amperometry. AAV-GLT1 was injected into future cortical region of infarction 3 weeks prior …

Academic Abilities In Children And Adolescents With A History Of Autism Spectrum Disorders Who Have Achieved Optimal Outcomes, Eva Troyb

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Flow-Induced Responses Of Normal, Bowed, And Augmented Synthetic Vocal Fold Models, Preston Roylance Murray

Theses and Dissertations

The voice is the primary mode of communication for humans. Because the voice is so important, voice disorders tend to severely diminish quality of life. A better understanding of the physics of voice production can help to improve treatment of voice disorders. For this thesis research a self-oscillating synthetic vocal fold model was developed, compared with previous synthetic vocal fold models, and used to explore the physical effects of augmentation injections on vibration dynamics. The research was conducted in two stages. First, four vocal fold models were evaluated by quantifying onset pressure, frequency, maximum glottal gap, flow rate, and medial …

Smb-Interp: An N-Th Order Accurate, Distributed Interpolation Library, Stephen Mardson Mcquay

Theses and Dissertations

The research contained herein yielded an open source interpolation library implemented in and designed for use with the Python programming language. This library, named smbinterp, provides an interpolation to an arbitrary degree of accuracy. The library is parametric in that is can take input from the user to adjust the underlying interpolation mechanism. The characteristics and behavior of the library according to the adjustment of these parameters is presented herein, as well as the results of a mesh resolution study depicting the accuracy obtained by the library. The smbinterp library was designed with parallel computing environments in mind. The library …

Studies Of Food Thickeners In Nigeria For Contamination By Aflatoxigenic Forms Of Aspergillus And Their Detection By Pcr, G. I. Okwu, Premila Achar, Michael J. Ikenebomeh, S. Y. Sreenivasa

Faculty Articles

This paper reports the contamination of ready-to-use food thickeners, collected from the South-East geo-political zone in Nigeria, by aflatoxigenic form of Aspergillus species. A total of 150 samples from different open markets were observed for fungal contamination by using serial dilution-spread plate method. Although, Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium were the most frequently isolated fungi, Aspergillus species were found to be the most prevalent in all the samples. Furthermore, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus produced aflatoxin on yeast extract sucrose (YES) media incubated for 10 to 15 days at 27°C in a CO₂ incubator. Aspergillus niger showed no sign of …

Culturally Sensitive Document Design For An Eastern Asia Audience: Comprehension And Preference, Merridith Smith

Theses

An investigation into Eastern Asia audiences in China, Japan, and Korea determined how intercultural communication affects non-native readers' comprehension and perception of a document design. The study, an after-only experiment, used a small-sized sample from people who were In-Country Reviewers (ICRs) and knew of medical products in Eastern Asia and had knowledge in the area's local language. The subjects read an indigenously or non-indigenously designed document, and self-reported their comprehension and preferences for formatting style. Although the statistics showed no significant difference between the groups, on any variable tested (language, comprehension, and format), the qualitative data that were gathered can …

The Use Of Chloramines To Eradicate Quagga Mussel Larvae, Trea Lacroix, Kumud Acharya

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Quagga Mussels, Dressenia bugensis, are a growing problem in the western United States, particularly in their ability to infest underwater infrastructures and clog water intake pipes and screens of power and treatment plants. Chlorine has been found to be the most effective chemical to get rid of veligers (planktonic larval form of quagga mussels) in the pipes. However, chlorine leaves a residue called trihalomethane, which is a carcinogen at higher concentrations. The purpose of this project is to test the effectiveness of an alternate chemical, chloramines (chlorine and ammonia), which leaves behind little to no residual trihalomethane. Upon experimentation with …

Ubiquitylation Of Proteins In The Frozen Wood Frog, Alexa Khan, Michael Ulrich, Kenneth Storey, Frank Van Breukelen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) are able to withstand freezing. Respiratory and cardiac activity ceases when frozen. Homeostatic functions like protein synthesis and degradation presumably must also be compromised. We investigated the fate of ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis in the freeze-thaw cycle and how that might gives clues to wood frog survival. We performed western blots for ubiquitin conjugates

‘Hearing The Country’: Reflexivity As An Intimate Journey Into Epistemological Liminalities, John Bradley

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Sessions Block 3

Defining The Role Of Nras In Melanoma Maintenance, Sravya T. Challa, Sheri L. Holmen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The incidence of melanoma has increased 600 percent over the last four decades; it is the most rapidly increasing malignancy among young people in the United States and is currently the leading cause of cancer death in women aged 25- 29. If detected early, the disease is easily treated; however, once the disease has metastasized it is largely refractory to conventional therapies and is associated with a high mortality rate. The development of cancer from a pre-malignant primary tumor to a metastatic cancer that develops at secondary sites is a multi-step process, thought to require many genetic and epigenetic events …

Effects Of Climate Change On The Viability Of The Devils Hole Pupfish, Matthew Heuton, Stanley D. Hillyard, Frank Van Breukelen

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Devils hole is an unusual, cavernous, aquifer-fed its ideal temperature range. spring in Death Valley National Park. It is the only home to a critically endangered species, Cyprinidon diabolis, a.k.a. The Devils Hole Pupfish. C. diabolis allows us a unique look at the impact of climate change on a species that has no gene flow and no possibility of escape from its current habitat. Climate change affects ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) tremendously since their body temperature is subject to changes in the temperature of their environment. In the case of C. diabolis, they are subject to high temperatures year round, around …

The Role Of An Abc Transporter As A Steroid Antagonist In Drosophila, Gregory King, Andrew Andres

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Drosophila melanogaster are holometabolous insects that have several distinct life stages including larvae and a winged adult. The larval stage is mainly a time of feeding and growth, while the adult stage is optimized for sexual reproduction and dissemination. The larval stage can itself be divided into three time periods, or instars: 1st (L1), 2nd (L2), and 3rd (L3) (Figure 1). Larval growth – both between instars and beyond – depends on specific signaling pathways controlled by a cholesterol derived steroid, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Although 20E is a systemic developmental signal, little is known about the molecular details of how different …

Evaluating Species Responses To Climate Change Using Ecological Niche Modeling And Genetic Data, Jeanette Perry

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The current and projected future warming trends together with degradation of habitats throughout much of the Great Basin and Columbian Plateau represent real threats to many species occupying these regions. If we can determine the impacts of past climatic changes on the distribution of species, we can obtain a better understanding of the future impacts of projected climatic trends on many species in these regions. My results with the Great Basin Pocket Mouse (Perognathus parvus) may be relevant to conservation ecologists and resource managers attempting to protect several Endangered Species Act candidates, such as the pygmy cottontail (Brachylagus idahoensis). I …

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program 2011, Nicholle Booker, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

On August 9, 2011 the UNLV College of Sciences will celebrate the accomplishments of undergraduate students participating in the Summer 2011 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and the Research Experience For Undergraduates (REU) Program.

The public is invited to attend, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Please join us to view student research posters. Student research topics include: biomedicine and human health, Nevada's fragile environment and ecosystems, climate change, stem cell research, microbiology, astrophysics, and many others.

Over 25 UNLV undergraduates and a cohort of 25 undergraduates selected from colleges and universities across the nation will mark the …

Best Practices To Promote Learning Through Web Conferencing: Resources, Tools And Teaching Methods, Paula Jones, Maryann Kolloff, Fred Kolloff

Instructional Development Center Faculty and Staff Research

Web Conferencing and synchronous learning have a specific place in online learning. In fact, Web Conferencing is recognized as a highly collaborative and social learning environment. Web Conferencing can support effect online pedagogy in a number of ways. First, Web conferencing provides tools that support communication between the student and the instructor enabling presence to be established and/or maintained throughout the course. Second, web conferencing provides a didactic communication between two or more users. This provides opportunities to interact and offer feedback on topics relevant to the course. Thirdly, web conferencing allows students to talk through issues or questions they …