Digital Commons Network^™

Genetic Ancestry Modeling And Performance Association In The Alaskan Sled Dog, Heather Jay Huson

Biological Sciences

Alaskan sled dogs present us with the unique opportunity to study the development of a population of dogs produced from the selective breeding of high performance athletes. I establish that sled dogs are a genetically distinct population of dogs that segregate into two sub-groups based on their racing style of "sprint" or short distance and "distance" or long distance. The practice of interbreeding Alaskan sled dogs with various purebred dogs over the past century has allowed us to investigate the impact of these domestic breeds on the sled dog genome and their potential contribution to athletic performance. Here, I establish …

Genetic And Phenotypic Divergence Within And Between Cinnamon Teal (Anas Cyanoptera) And Blue-Winged Teal (A. Discors), Robert E. Wilson

Biological Sciences

Spatial heterogeneity in selection pressures can lead to extensive morphological variation and differences at functional genes between populations across a species' range without corresponding genetic variation at neutral loci. Divergent selection among populations may thus lead to intraspecific variation and in many cases speciation. Phenotypic and genetic structure within and between Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) and the closely related Blue-winged Teal (A. discors) was assessed using body size measurements and neutral genetic markers in conjunction with a functional locus, hemoglobin. Cinnamon Teal are composed of five subspecies corresponding to distinct ecogeographic regions in North and South America. Subspecies and geographic …

Winter Range Studies Of The Western Arctic Caribou Herd, Northwest Alaska, Kyle Joly

Biological Sciences

Climate change is likely to bring a myriad of interrelated changes to the Arctic. One change is warmer and drier conditions that could increase the prevalence of wildfire in northwest Alaska. Wildfires destroy terricolous lichens that Western Arctic Herd caribou (Rangifer tarandus ) rely on during winter; taking decades to recover. My goals were to assess the recent (1950--2007) fire regime within the herd's range, identify characteristics of habitat selected by overwintering caribou, and determine the potential impacts of climate change on the fire regime and caribou winter range. I used a combination of existing data and information collected at …

Contaminant Exposure And Associated Biological Responses In Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, Katrina K. Knott

Biological Sciences

Concentrations of mercury (Hg) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were examined in polar bear (Ursus marititnus) to assess variations among sex and age cohorts, and evaluate possible adverse impacts of combined toxicant exposures. Biomarkers of selenium (Se) status (whole blood and serum Se concentrations, glutathione peroxidase activity), and thyroid status (total and free concentrations of thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine) were examined in Southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) polar bears. Both Hg and PCBs tended to be greater in female than in male polar bears and likely related to the type and proportion of marine-based prey in their overall diet. Significant positive relationships between …

Alaska University Transportation Center 2011 Annual Report, University Of Alaska Fairbanks

AIDC Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Diet And Disease: Subsistence Change And Tuberculosis Among The Pawnee, Omaha And Winnebago In The Nineteenth Century, Owen J. O'Reilly

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The mid- to late nineteenth century was the beginning of the reservation era for most Native Americans, ushering in a series of unprecedented changes that affected the cultural traditions and physical health of groups across the United States. For the Pawnee, Omaha and Winnebago in Nebraska, changes in subsistence patterns not only destroyed traditions but influenced the spread of disease and malnutrition. Government rations, consisting largely of wheat flour, beef, bacon, pork, sugar and coffee, were a drastic departure from the traditional diet of lean bison meat, corn, beans, squash and wild food and those who depended on these rations …

Nucleic Acid Ratios As An Index Of Growth And Nutritional Ecology In Pacific Cod (Gadus Macrocephalus), Walleye Pollock (Theragra Chalcogramma), And Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasii ), Ashwin Sreenivasan

Fisheries

Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) are among the most ecologically and commercially important species in the North Pacific Ocean. In spite of their importance, little is known about larval and juvenile growth strategies in these fish. Since larval and juvenile fish growth may determine future growth, possibly affecting recruitment success, assessments of growth strategies might improve predictive growth models. Nucleic acid ratios (RNA/DNA) can have applications as a sensitive growth index in larval and juvenile Pacific cod, walleye pollock, and Pacific herring, and can potentially be used to determine growth responses and …

Margaret Keenan Harrais: A Biography In Four Voices, Sarah Doetschman

Interdisciplinary Studies

Narrative strategies available to biography are explored through the life of Margaret Keenan Harrais---teacher, educational administrator, judge, and activist. Biography is a particular endeavor requiring flexible inquiry and creative presentation. Margaret is viewed through multiple lenses that explore personhood, encourage readers' introspection, and imply the importance of the individual in history. The four voices indicated in the title of this dissertation are editorial, analytical, sparsely Romantic, and expository. This biography aims to complicate readers' notions of what it means to be a person in relation to other people by focusing closely on selected episodes in Margaret's career; analyzing their historical, …

Seabird Habitat Use And Zooplankton Abundance And Biomass In Relation To Water Mass Properties In The Northern Gulf Of Alaska, Leandra De Sousa

Marine Biology

Understanding of biological and physical mechanisms that control the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) ecosystem is of major importance to predicting the responses of bird and zooplankton communities to environmental changes in this region. I investigated seasonal (March-October) changes in seabird abundance in relation to changes in zooplankton biomass and water mass properties from 1998 to 2003. Oceanodroma furcata and Fratercula cirrhata were most abundant during the peak of the zooplankton production season (May-August). Overall abundance of seabirds did not follow seasonal changes in zooplankton biomass. Seabird abundance was low in the study area when compared to other regions in the …

Endocrine And Immune Profiles Of Immature Pinnipeds, Mandy Jean Keogh

Marine Biology

There is increasing interest in assessing the health of individuals and populations of pinnipeds found in the North Pacific, primarily due to population declines leading to conservation concerns. This study assessed the "health" of animals by quantifying hormones associated with fat mass (leptin), lipid and water metabolism (cortisol and aldosterone), and growth and metabolism (thyroxine and triiodothyronine) as well as circulating total and differential leukocyte counts and in vitro proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Body mass and condition are influenced by an individual's disease and nutritional state. Glucocorticoids are known to affect the immune system and may be …

The Influence Of Habitat Complexity, Prey Quality, And Predator Avoidance On Sea Otter Resource Selection In Alaska, Nathan Lord Stewart

Marine Biology

The differential selection of habitat by animals is one of the fundamental relationships that enable species to coexist. Habitat selection may be among various discrete categories (e.g., mudflat, boulder field, or meadow) or among a continuous array of characteristics such as vegetation percent cover, benthic substrate size, substrate rugosity, distance to prey resources, or distance to suitable escape terrain from predation. Sea otters are particularly suitable for resource selection studies because they are capable of selecting a wide variety habitat types in response to prey availability, competition, and predation. In Alaska, sea otters associate with a range of habitats types …

Oral Presentation: Depictions Of Sexuality And Gender Construction In Japanese Manga And Anime, Sarah Huerta

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

This presentation will explore research into gender and sexuality in anime and manga as compared to popular U.S. displays of gender and sexuality using a brief historical and cultural contextual background on manga and anime. I will discuss a comparison between U.S. and Japanese gender and sexual depictions in anime/manga and popular American media. Lastly, I discuss the potential for anime and manga in exploring gender and sexuality in U.S. studies, as well as my current, ongoing research with individuals in anime/manga groups

Oral Presentation: Students And Free Enterprise, Jami Vallesteros

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

UNLV SIFE is part of an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. Participating students form teams on their university campuses and apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. In addition to the community aspect of the program, SIFE’s leadership and career initiatives create meaningful opportunities for learning and exchange among the participants as well as the placement of students …

Should Primates Have Legal Rights?, Hannah Barten, Zhimin Chen

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

A primate having legal rights is a controversial topic these days. Many other countries around the world support the idea of great apes having legal rights, because we for one are one of the five great primates. Others do not support this trending topic as much as others. These types of people believe that great apes such as chimpanzees are superb testing animals for medical purposes, because of the fact that they are closely related to mankind. Organizations such as Great Ape Protection, work towards protecting the rights of these great apes since they cannot speak for themselves. In many …

Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Michael Phan, Jeniene Hassan

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to regenerate malfunctioning tissues and replace harmful cancer cells. Although it holds the potential to alleviate malicious disabilities and diseases, it raises ethical concerns due to the destruction of a fertilized human embryo. In certain religions (Catholics and Christians), embryonic stem cell research is detested due to the destruction of a human at its early stages of life (embryo). On the other hand, scientists believe that embryonic stem cells can “someday…used to treat human diseases.” (Hansen 879) This analysis on embryonic stem cell research will consider both the supporting and opposing side of …

Analysis Of Morris Water Maze Data With Bayesian Statistical Methods, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Anton Westveld, Jefferson Kinney

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Neuroscientists commonly use a Morris Water Maze to assess learning in rodents. In his kind of a maze, the subjects learn to swim toward a platform hidden in opaque water as they orient themselves according to the cues on the walls. This protocol presents a challenge to statistical analysis, because an artificial cut-off must be set for those experimental subjects that do not reach the platform so as they do not drown from exhaustion. This fact leads to the data being right censored. In our experimental data, which compares learning in rodents that have chemically induced symptoms of schizophrenia to …

Global Warming: At What Point Does Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Release Become Unethical?, Luke Good, Gladys Lopez

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

In recent decades, the concept of global warming has developed increasing concern among the scientific community and general public alike. What was initially dismissed as little more than unlikely has now become a severe warning for global climate crisis threatening not only our way of life but ultimate future existence on this planet? Global warming is defined as the steady mean increase in atmospheric temperature, the primary asserted cause thereof being increased emissions and inherent atmospheric concentrations of “greenhouse gases” – carbon dioxide in particular. These gases contribute to the greenhouse effect by trapping radiation (from the sun) in the …

Accumulation Of Polonium-210 In Different Species Of Fish In Lake Mead, Suraj Ghevarghese John, Shungmugam Nallaperumal, Vernon Hodge

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Discovered by Pierre Curie and Marie Skłodowska-Curie in 1898, polonium is a chemical element with an atomic number of 84. This rare naturally occurring radioactive element is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and forms in uranium ores. Polonium-210 is an naturally occurring radioactive element with a half-life of 138.376 days(1). This element is found in trace amounts in most organisms. Our research is focused on the accumulation of polonium-210 in fish that occupy in Lake Mead.

The sample species is chosen based on varying lake stratification (layers of the lake). This gives us a good idea of the difference …

The Effects Of Climate Change On Basic Animal Cell Functions, Michelle Fulbright, Andrew Andres

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Increasing global temperatures during the 21st century may have detrimental effects on basic cell functions within ectothermal animals. This project aims to systematically examine the effects of climate change on secretory cargo localization through the analysis of Rab Proteins found in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Rab Proteins play an essential role in vesicular transport within the cell and can be genetically manipulated to monitor the biological consequences of global warming.

Construction And Use Of A Direct Calorimeter To Estimate Energy Expenditure In Hibernators, Mark S. Burger, Frank Van Breukelen

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Metabolic rates have traditionally been estimated through indirect calorimetry (gas exchange or respirometry) due to its ease and availability. Oxygen consumption neglects the contributions of anaerobic metabolism, while direct calorimetry (heat production) estimates both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. Walsberg and Hoffman (2005) report anaerobic metabolism may be more important to small rodents than was previously thought. During the non-steady state of mammalian hibernation, we hypothesize that anaerobic processes may play an even greater role in fueling metabolism. To address this question, we constructed a very sensitive calorimeter that utilizes the Seebeck effect from a thermoelectric element (Peltier device). We describe …

Effect Of Temperature And Oxygen Levels On Lactate Production In Palaemonetes Pugio, Robin Schofield, Teresa Mika, Carl Reiber

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Oxygen delivery rates must keep pace with the increased metabolic rate observed in poikilothermic animals exposed to increased temperature if aerobic metabolism is to be maintained. Physical failure of the oxygen delivery system to meet these demands may be a mechanism of cardiac failure in crustaceans at temperature extremes. As part of the determination of the effect of temperature on the cardio-respiratory system, we are measuring whole animal lactate levels in grass shrimp acclimated to 20°C over temperature ranges in normoxic and hyperoxic conditions. Lactate levels are measured as an indicator of a switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism. Animals …

Stationary Phase Mutagenesis In Bacillus Subtilisis Independent Of Genome Replication, Mark Upchurch, Holly Martin, Eduardo Robleto

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Stationary phase mutagenesis is defined as cellular mechanisms that produce genetic diversity in cells experiencing conditions of stress. These processes are associated with many biological phenomena, including those that produce the formation of cancers in animal cells and other degenerative diseases. Also, these mechanisms are associated with the accumulation of beneficial mutations in bacteria, but follow stochastic processes and are controlled by genetic factors. The current models explaining the generation of stress-induced mutations are predicated on the formation of DNA replication intermediates that are formed during the repair of damaged DNA or during DNA replication and transcription encounters. Here we …

Event Program, Carl Reiber, Nicholle Booker

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

UNLV Undergraduates from all departments, programs and colleges participated in a campus-wide symposium on April 16, 2011. Undergraduate posters from all disciplines and also oral presentations of research activities, readings and other creative endeavors were exhibited throughout the festival.

2011 Undergraduate Research Symposium Abstract Book, Academic Center For Enrichment

Undergraduate Research Symposium Abstract Books

Abstract book from the 2011 Eleventh Annual UMM Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) which celebrates student scholarly achievement and creative activities.

Myd88 Is Pivotal For Immune Recognition Of Citrobacter Koseri And Astrocyte Activation During Cns Infection., Shuliang Liu, Tammy Kielian

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Citrobacter koseri (C. koseri) is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause a highly aggressive form of neonatal meningitis, which often progresses to establish multi-focal brain abscesses. The roles of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its signaling adaptor MyD88 during CNS C. koseri infection have not yet been examined, which is important since recent evidence indicates that innate immune responses are tailored towards specific pathogen classes. Here TLR4 WT (C3H/FeJ) and TLR4 mutant (C3H/HeJ) mice as well as MyD88 KO animals were infected intracerebrally with live C. koseri, resulting in meningitis and ventriculitis with accompanying brain abscess formation. MyD88 KO mice …

Mustang Daily, April 15, 2011

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Agronomy & Horticulture Newsletter, April 15, 2011, Kathy Schindler

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Monthly Newsletters

Plant Sciences Hall Window Installation Begins April 25………..1

A Word From Your Office Professionals………..1

Please Welcome Our Newest Employee………..2

Congratulations! ………..2

Spring 2011 Seminar Schedule For Agronomy & Horticulture………..3

Brown Bag Sessions On Life Sciences Curriculum………..3

Mark Your Calendars………..3

Spring Semester Open Office Hours For Faculty, Staff, Or Students To Visit With Mark Lagrimini………..3

Seminar Dates And Times For Finalists For The Position Of Dean Of The Agricultural Research Division………..3

2011 Walking Tours Of The Maxwell Arboretum………..4

Annual Teaching Retreat………..4

New Short Course Offered This Summer In North Platte………..4

For Your Information………..5

Funding Announcements………..5

Phosphatidic Acid Binds And Stimulates Arabidopsis Sphingosine Kinases, Xuemin Wang, Liang Guo, Girish Mishra, Kyle Taylor

Biology Department Faculty Works

Phosphatidic acid (PA) and phytosphingosine-1-phosphate (phyto-S1P) have both been identified as lipid messengers mediating plant response to abscisic acid (ABA). To determine the relationship of these messengers, we investigated the direct interaction of PA with Arabidopsis sphingosine kinases (SPHKs) that phosphorylate phytosphingosine to generate phyto-S1P. Two unique SPHK cDNAs were cloned from the annotated At4g21540 locus of Arabidopsis, and the two transcripts are differentially expressed in Arabidopsis tissues. Both SPHKs are catalytically active, phosphorylating various longchain sphingoid bases (LCBs) and are associated with the tonoplast. They both interact with PA as demonstrated by lipid-filter binding, liposome binding, and surface plasmon …

V. 78, Issue 32, April 15, 2011

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

Business Magazine (2011)

Haworth College of Business News

• From the Dean’s Office • Features • Haworth Headlines • The changing face of Haworth • Successful leadership requires vision • Valuable Partnerships • From undecided to business professional • Student Showcase • WMU students sweep ITERA competition • Donors Make the Difference • Greenleaf offers educational opportunities to • boost diversity in the financial services field • Faculty Focus • Connecting with community • Alumni Alley • There’s a story here • Class Notes