Digital Commons Network^™

Anaerobic Respiration Of Escherichia Coli In The Mouse Intestine, Shari A. Jones, Terri Gibson, Rosalie C. Maltby, Fatema Z. Chowdhury, Valley Stewart, Paul S. Cohen, Tyrrell Conway

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

The intestine is inhabited by a large microbial community consisting primarily of anaerobes and, to a lesser extent, facultative anaerobes, such as Escherichia coli, which we have shown requires aerobic respiration to compete successfully in the mouse intestine (S. A. Jones et al., Infect. Immun. 75:4891-4899, 2007). If facultative anaerobes efficiently lower oxygen availability in the intestine, then their sustained growth must also depend on anaerobic metabolism. In support of this idea, mutants lacking nitrate reductase or fumarate reductase have extreme colonization defects. Here, we further explore the role of anaerobic respiration in colonization using the streptomycin-treated mouse model. We …

Genotype And Phenotypes Of An Intestine-Adapted Escherichia Coli K-12 Mutant Selected By Animal Passage For Superior Colonization, Andrew J. Fabich, Mary P. Leatham, Joe E. Grissom, Graham Wiley, Hongshing Lai, Fares Najar, Bruce A. Roe, Paul S. Cohen, Tyrrell Conway

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

We previously isolated a spontaneous mutant of Escherichia coli K-12, strain MG1655, following passage through the streptomycin-treated mouse intestine, that has colonization traits superior to the wild-type parent strain (M. P. Leatham et al., Infect. Immun. 73:8039–8049, 2005). This intestine-adapted strain (E. coli MG1655*) grew faster on several different carbon sources than the wild type and was nonmotile due to deletion of the flhD gene. We now report the results of several high-throughput genomic analysis approaches to further characterize E. coli MG1655*. Whole-genome pyrosequencing did not reveal any changes on its genome, aside from the deletion at the flhDC …

Yeast Dynamin Implicated In Endocytic Scission And The Disassembly Of Endocytic Components, Daobing Wang, Jeff Sletto, Brandon Tenay, Kyoungtae Kim

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

The yeast dynamin-related GTPase Vps1 has been implicated in a range of cellular functions including vacuolar protein sorting, protein trafficking, organization of peroxisome, and endocytosis.1-2 Vps1 is present at endocytic sites and may be directly involved in endocytic vesicle invagination through its membrane-tubulating activity. Here, evidence supporting the functional link between Vps1 and the yeast amphiphysin Rvs167 in vesicle invagination is discussed. Though the disassembly of endocytic factors from pinched-off endocytic vesicles appears to be tightly regulated in a spatiotemporal manner, we are far from having complete understanding of the underlying mechanism. In this study, we provide evidence that Vps1 …

Strategies Of Muslim Family Law Reform, Kristen Stilt, Swathi Gandhavadi

Faculty Working Papers

Family law in Muslim-majority countries has undergone tremendous change over the past century, and this process continues today with intensity and controversy. In general, this change has been considered one of "reform," defined loosely as the adoption of national laws to modify the rules of Islamic law (fiqh) that had been applicable and predominant in the particular country in an effort to improve the rights of women and children. In most Muslim-majority contexts, however, the rules of fiqh remain particularly (and in some jurisdictions uniquely) relevant in the area of family law, and the reform process is usually presented as …

Why Jack Balkin Is Disgusting, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin didn't win friends when he announced that (1) he is now a constitutional originalist and (2) the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the right to abortion. His claim to membership in the originalist club brought forth a small army of eager bouncers, who were sure that originalism couldn't possibly defend the paradigmatic departure from the Constitution's original meaning.

Balkin has indeed posed a radical challenge to the vision of law that drives the originalists – more radical than he is willing to admit. His theory is in such deep tension with a commonly …

Doma, Romer, And Rationality, Andrew Koppelman

Faculty Working Papers

It has been objected by many that the Defense of Marriage Act lacks a rational basis because it reflects a bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group. The increasing success of the argument, which has persuaded three federal judges, reveals the hidden normative premises of rational basis analysis, at least whenever that analysis is used to invalidate a statute. Since 1996, when DOMA was passed by overwhelming margins in both houses of Congress, the country's attitudes toward gay people have evolved rapidly, to the point where this kind of mindless lashing out at gays looks a lot less attractive. …

Of Spatial And Mindset Change: An Interview With Tay Kheng Soon, Lien Centre For Social Innovation

Social Space

Amidst the gloom of the growing environmental crisis and unmet social needs, one man refuses to admit defeat. After 50 years advocating in civil society and the architectural space, Tay Kheng Soon has come up with yet another ground-breaking idea—Rubanisation—which re-imagines the city and countryside as a single organic whole. Social Space catches up with the social space maverick in his eco-office in the tranquil setting of a wooded area off Dairy Farm Road.

Carnivorous Lions And Herbivorous Asians: How The Recession Has Made A Case For Leadership In Asia, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

It may seem as if the worse is over. Those oversights and indiscretions which led to the global financial crisis have been exposed and dealt with – or have they? According to Andrew Sheng, renowned economist and distinguished speaker at SMU's Ngee Ann Kongsi Annual Lecture Series, the severity of the crisis is far more extensive than most people believe. Compounding the problem are systemic complexities brought on by "shadow banking", "moral hazards", and the carnivorous lions of Wall Street.

Human Papillomavirus Knowledge And Awareness Among North Carolina College Students, Aliza T. Alston

Theses

The objective of the present study is to ascertain overall knowledge, attitude and awareness of students at select North Carolina Universities about HPV, the HPV vaccine Gardasil and the connection between HPV and various cancers. Five hundred and two university students (NCAT, NCCU, ECU and UNCG), 303 females and 199 males, ages 18 or older (89.6% were between the ages of 18-22) participated in a cross-sectional study by completing a survey. Students at these universities were randomly selected based on their enrollment in introductory biology courses for non majors. Other students were chosen randomly by face to face contact in …

Bioaccumulation Of Microcystins By Freshwater Mussels In Mystic Lake And Middle Pond, Ma, Breanna Travers, Amanda Murby, James F. Haney

Center for Freshwater Biology

The UNH Center for Freshwater Biology investigated a possible relationship between a cyanobacteria bloom and a large-scale die-off of freshwater mussels in Mystic Lake and Middle Pond (Barnstable, MA). Four mussel species, Elliptio complanata (Eastern Elliptio), Pyganodon cataracta (Eastern Floater), Leptodea ochracea (Tidewater Mucket), and Lampsilis radiata (Eastern Lampmussel) (Nedeau, 2008), along with water samples, were collected from these lakes on August 9, 2010 (during bloom) and again on September 29 and October 8, 2010 (post-bloom). Hepatopancreas tissue, foot tissue, and water samples were tested for the cyanobacteria toxins, microcystins (MC), using ELISA techniques. MC concentrations in the hepatopancreas were …

2011 - 2012, Gardner-Webb University Academic Catalog, Gardner-Webb University

Undergraduate Academic Catalogs

2011 - 2012, Gardner-Webb University Academic Catalog. A. Frank Bonner, president.

Davidia Involucrata, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

The dove tree has a native distribution in the West Szechuan and West Hupeh regions of China (Dirr 1998).

Quercus Alba, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Quercus alba has a natural range from Texas, north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ontario, east throughout the rest of the United States, including Ontario and Quebec in Canada (USDA 2011).

Aceraceae - Acer Triflorum Komar, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Family

The three flowered maple is an attractive plant particularly for its exfoliating bark and vibrant fall foliage offering shades of orange, red, yellow, and purple that doesn’t get the horticultural attention that may be deserving of its ornamental character (Hill 2010).

Musa Basjoo, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

While often listed to be native to Japan, Musa basjoo, was actually introduced into Japan from China where the only wild populations remain in the Sichuan Province. The original Japanese account was of a cultivated specimen (Liu 2002).

Nyssa Sylvatica, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Nyssa sylvatica has a native range from Texas, north into Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and east throughout the rest of the United States, including Ontario in Canada (USDA 2011).

Magnolia Tripetala, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

In the wild, the umbrella magnolia is found in forests from Pennsylvania south to Georgia and west to Arkansas and Mississippi. It prefers moist soil along mountain streams and edges of swamps (Callaway 1994). As broad as its range, it is never common.

Metasequoia Glyptostroboides, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Dawn redwood has a limited native range consisting of a number of populations in the mixed forests of the western Hubei, eastern Sichuan, and southern Hunan Provinces of China. There are also single trees that exist outside its range that are evidence of a wider range that is suspected to have existed before settlement of these areas and subsequent harvesting of the trees for anthropogenic use (Williams 2005).

Acer Triflorum, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Acer triflorum has a native range in forests of Manchuria and south-central Korea (Dirr 1998, Jones 1999).

Magnolia Macrophylla, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

While never becoming a dominant tree, the bigleaf magnolia has a wide natural range in forests as far south as Georgia, west to Louisiana and Arkansas, north up to Ohio and Kentucky with it being most common in south central Mississippi. It prefers shady and moist areas along gorges (Callaway 1994).

Ostrya Virginiana, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Ostrya virginiana occurs on dry woodland slopes in its natural range from Crook County of northeastern most Wyoming, and east throughout nearly the rest of North America, with exception of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada (Dirr 1998, USDA 2011).

Magnolia Virginiana, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Magnolia virginiana has a native range from Florida, north to Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, and south to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas in swamps (Callaway 1994).

Franklinia Alatamaha, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Noted botanists John and William Bartram were the first to come across Franklinia on October 1, 1765 along the Altamaha (formerly Alatamaha) River near Fort Barrington, Georgia (Fry 2000, Tredici 2005). It was last observed growing in nature in 1803, and has long been extinct in the wild.

Ginkgo Biloba, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Natural stands of Ginkgo biloba are all but eliminated from the wild with the exception of those occurring in mountains along the Yangtze River in China (Royer 2003).

Parrotia Persica, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Persian ironwood has a native range in moist forests of lowlands and low mountains in northern Iran (Binka 2003).

Succession, Scott J. Meiners, Steward Pickett

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Succession in a strict sense refers to the recovery and revegetation of an area following a disturbance such as the cessation of agriculture, the retreat of a glacier, or an intense forest fi re. Succession is a special case of vegetation dynamics, although many early ecologists referred to all vegetation change as succession. Succession includes a series of compositional and structural changes, often in a directional manner. The common occurrence of natural disturbances coupled with the extent of human activity on the planet makes succession one of the most ubiquitous ecological processes. Because invasion is a crucial feature of succession, …

Chemical Characterization And In Vitro Fermentation Of Brassica Straw Treated With The Aerobic Fungus, Trametes Versicolor, J. E. Ramirez-Bribiesca, Y. Wang, L. Jin, Thomas Canam, J. R. Town, A. Tsang, T. J. Dumonceaux, T. A. Mcallister

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Brassica napus straw (BNS) was either not treated or was treated with two strains of Trametes versicolor; 52J (wild type) or m4D (a cellobiose dehydrogenase-deficient mutant) with four treatments. Glucose was provided to encourage growth of the mutant strain. All treatments with T. versicolor decreased (P<0.05) neutral-detergent fibre and increased (P<0.05) protein and the concentration of lignin degradation products in straw. Ergosterol was highest (P<0.05) in straw treated with B-52J, suggesting it generated the most fungal biomass. Insoluble lignin was reduced (P<0.05) in straw treated with B-52J and B-m4D, but not with B-m4Dg. Mannose and xylose concentration were generally higher (P<0.05) in straw treated with fungi, whereas glucose and galactose were lower as compared with C-BNS. The four treatments above were subsequently assessed in rumen in vitro fermentations, along with BNS treated with 5 N NaOH. Concentrations of total volatile fatty acids after 24 and 48h were lower (P<0.05) in incubations that contained BNS treated with T. versicolor as compared with C-BNSor NaOH-treated BNS. Compared with C-BNS, in vitrodry matter disappearance and gas production were increased (P<0.05) by NaOH, but not by treatment with either strain of T. versicolor. Although treatment with T. versicolor did release more lignin degradation products, it did not appear to provide more degradable carbohydrate to in vitro rumen microbial populations, even when a mutant strain with compromised carbohydrate metabolism was utilized. Production of secondary compounds by the aerobic fungi may inhibit rumen microbial fermentation.

Hlyu Is A Positive Regulator Of Hemolysin Expression In Vibrio Anguillarum, Ling Li, Xiangyu Mou, David R. Nelson

Cell and Molecular Biology Faculty Publications

The two hemolysin gene clusters previously identified in Vibrio anguillarum, the vah1 cluster and the rtxACHBDE cluster, are responsible for the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of V. anguillarum in fish. In this study, we used degenerate PCR to identify a positive hemolysin regulatory gene, hlyU, from the unsequenced V. anguillarum genome. The hlyU gene of V. anguillarum encodes a 92-amino-acid protein and is highly homologous to other bacterial HlyU proteins. An hlyU mutant was constructed, which exhibited an ∼5-fold decrease in hemolytic activity on sheep blood agar with no statistically significant decrease in cytotoxicity of the wild-type strain. Complementation …

Rethinking Parental Incarceration, Sarah Abramowicz

Law Faculty Research Publications

Recent changes in sentencing law, in the wake of cases interpreting Blakely v. Washington and United States v. Booker, have raised the possibility that courts sentencing parents may take children's interests into account more extensively than had previously been permissible. Now is thus an opportune time to reevaluate the merits of considering children's interests when sentencing parents. This Article uses the perspective of family law to offer a new rationale for, and a new approach to, taking children's interests into account when sentencing their parents. It does so by bringing out the connection between the debate over parental incarceration and …

Diospyros Virginiana, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Diospyros virginiana has a native range from Nebraska, east through the Midwest to the East Coast into New York and Maryland, throughout the Southeast and down to Texas, including Utah and California (USDA 2011).