Digital Commons Network^™

Antihypertensive Treatment Differentially Affects Vascular Sphingolipid Biology In Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats, Léon J. A. Spijkers, Ben J. A. Janssen, Jelly Nelissen, Merlijn J. P. M. T. Meens, Dayanjan Wijesinghe, Charles E. Chalfant, Jo G. R. De Mey, Astrid E. Alewijnse, Stephan L. M. Peters

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

We have previously shown that essential hypertension in humans and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), is associated with increased levels of ceramide and marked alterations in sphingolipid biology. Pharmacological elevation of ceramide in isolated carotid arteries of SHR leads to vasoconstriction via a calcium-independent phospholipase A2, cyclooxygenase-1 and thromboxane synthase-dependent release of thromboxane A2. This phenomenon is almost absent in vessels from normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Here we investigated whether lowering of blood pressure can reverse elevated ceramide levels and reduce ceramide-mediated contractions in SHR.

Methods and Findings

For this purpose SHR were treated for 4 weeks with the angiotensin …

Crystal Structure Of Thrombin In Complex With S-Variegin: Insights Of A Novel Mechanism Of Inhibition And Design Of Tunable Thrombin Inhibitors, Cho Yeow Koh, Sundramurthy Kumar, Maria Kazimirova, Patricia A. Nuttall, Uvaraj P. Radhakrishnan, Seongcheol Kim, Pudur Jagadeeswaran, Takayuki Imamura, Jun Mizuguchi, Sadaaki Iwanaga, Kunchithapadam Swaminathan, R. Manjunathan Kini

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

The inhibition of thrombin is one of the important treatments of pathological blood clot formation. Variegin, isolated from the tropical bont tick, is a novel molecule exhibiting a unique ‘two-modes’ inhibitory property on thrombin active site (competitive before cleavage, noncompetitive after cleavage). For the better understanding of its function, we have determined the crystal structure of the human α-thrombin:synthetic-variegin complex at 2.4 Å resolution. The structure reveals a new mechanism of thrombin inhibition by disrupting the charge relay system. Based on the structure, we have designed 17 variegin variants, differing in potency, kinetics and mechanism of inhibition. The most active …

Hypertension Is Associated With Marked Alterations In Sphingolipid Biology: A Potential Role For Ceramide, Leon J. A. Spijkers, Rob F. P. Van Den Akker, Ben J. A. Janssen, Jacques J. Debets, Jo G. R. De Mey, Erik S. G. Stroes, Bart-Jan H. Van Den Bom, Dayanjan Wijesinghe, Charles E. Chalfant, Luke Macaleese, Gert B. Eijkel, Ron M. A. Heeren, Astrid E. Alewijnse, Stephan L. M. Peters

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications

Background

Hypertension is, amongst others, characterized by endothelial dysfunction and vascular remodeling. As sphingolipids have been implicated in both the regulation of vascular contractility and growth, we investigated whether sphingolipid biology is altered in hypertension and whether this is reflected in altered vascular function.

Methods and Findings

In isolated carotid arteries from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, shifting the ceramide/S1P ratio towards ceramide dominance by administration of a sphingosine kinase inhibitor (dimethylsphingosine) or exogenous application of sphingomyelinase, induced marked endothelium-dependent contractions in SHR vessels (DMS: 1.4±0.4 and SMase: 2.1±0.1 mN/mm; n = 10), that were virtually …

Behavior And Development Of Red-Eyed Treefrogs During Metamorphosis [Poster], Robin Greene, Clay Noss, Tobias Lanberg, James R. Vonesh, Karen Warkentin

Biology Presentations

Anuran metamorphosis is an extreme transformation from tadpole to frog that involves tremendous morphological and behavioral change. During this transition (Gosner stages 42-46), metamorphs are exposed to both aquatic and terrestrial selective pressures (e.g., predators, desiccation). Their behavior may be crucial for survival, but it is not well studied. Our goal was to describe morphological and behavioral patterns during metamorphosis in red-eyed treefrogs, Agalychnis callidryas. We first quantified development through metamorphosis by measuring and staging 25 wild-caught individuals every 8 h. We then conducted field behavioral observations of 37 metamorphs, at various developmental stages, that had emerged from a …

The Cost Of Hatching Early: Vulnerability And Exposure To Predators [Poster], M. S. Palmer, B. Willink, T. Landberg, James R. Vonesh, K. M. Warkentin

Biology Presentations

Arboreal red-eyed treefrog embryos can hatch prematurely in response to egg predators. Induced early hatchlings face aquatic predators when less developed and for longer than do later hatchlings; both factors may alter survival through the high-risk early larval period. Prior work focused on developmental effects of induced hatching. In 24 h trials, less developed hatchlings were more vulnerable to three aquatic predators (shrimp, fish, water bugs) but had similar or better survival than full-term hatchlings with libellulid and aeschnid dragonfly nymphs. However, it is unknown how developmental effects and duration of exposure to predators combine to create the net effect …

Habitat Use And Population Densities Of Rain Forest Chameleons In The East Usambara Mountains Of Tanzania [Poster], Philip Shirk, David A. Patrick, James R. Vonesh, Kim Howell

Biology Presentations

Conclusions:

• Chamaeleo dilepis and Ri. brevicaudatus are absent from forest at this elevation (852-1103m), while K. matschiei, K. vosseleri, K. tenuis, and R. spinosus are relatively scarce in the forest. Trioceros deremensis and R. temporalis are common, but density varies greatly.
• The endemic and scarce K. matschiei and K. vosseleri may be of concern given their scarcity in forest habitat. Density estimates in other habitat types are needed to determine status.
• For accurate density estimates, it is important to consider seasonal variation in density and animals too high to be observed in surveys.

Tadpole Density Changes The Relationship Of Red-Eyed Treefrog Morphology And Jumping Performance [Poster], Julie Charbonnier, T. Landberg

Biology Presentations

As organisms develop, increased body size is often accompanied by shape changes that alter the morphology–performance relationship. Animals with different growth histories may also have different shapes at similar body sizes. To investigate how larval growth history affects the morphology–performance relationship, we raised red-eyed treefrog tadpoles (Agalychnis callidryas) at three densities (5, 25 and 50 tadpoles per 400 L tank) and measured jump distance during metamorphosis. We predicted that tadpoles grown at low density would metamorphose into larger frogs with relatively longer legs than those grown at higher densities. We also expected low density frogs to jump further …

Effects Of Hatching Timing On Red-Eyed Treefrog Tadpoles: Relative Vulnerability Varies Among Predators But Not With Hatchling Age-Structure, Growth Varies With The Presence Of More Vulnerable Tadpoles [Poster], B. Willink, T. Landberg, James R. Vonesh, K. M. Warkentin

Biology Presentations

In Gamboa, Panama, undisturbed red-eyed treefrog embryos typically hatch at age 6 days, but they can hatch as early as 4 days if attacked by egg predators. Early hatchlings are less developed and more vulnerable to predatory shrimp and fish. Here we assess the effect of hatching timing on risk of predation by three common insects, with different foraging styles, that prey on red-eyed treefrog larvae. Further, we examine whether the consequences of hatching early vary with the presence of later-hatched tadpoles. We induced hatching at 4 and 6 days and exposed tadpoles to giant water bugs or aeshnid or …

An Intermediate In The Evolution Of Superfast Sonic Muscles., Hin-Kiu Mok, Eric Parmentier, Kuo-Hsun Chiu, Michael L. Fine

Biology Publications

Background

Intermediate forms in the evolution of new adaptations such as transitions from water to land and the evolution of flight are often poorly understood. Similarly, the evolution of superfast sonic muscles in fishes, often considered the fastest muscles in vertebrates, has been a mystery because slow bladder movement does not generate sound. Slow muscles that stretch the swimbladder and then produce sound during recoil have recently been discovered in ophidiiform fishes. Here we describe the disturbance call (produced when fish are held) and sonic mechanism in an unrelated perciform pearl perch (Glaucosomatidae) that represents an intermediate condition in the …

A Prairie Rendezvous, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Winter 2011), Grand Prairie Friends

Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Metabolic Restructuring During Energy-Limited States: Insights From Artemia Franciscana Embryos And Other Animals, Steven C. Hand, Michael A. Menze, Apu Borcar, Yuvraj Patil, Joseph A. Covi, Julie A. Reynolds, Mehmet Toner

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Many life history stages of animals that experience environmental insults enter developmental arrested states that are characterized by reduced cellular proliferation, with or without a concurrent reduction in overall metabolism. In the case of the most profound metabolic arrest reported in invertebrates, i.e., anaerobic quiescence in Artemia franciscana embryos, acidification of the intracellular milieu is a major factor governing catabolic and anabolic downregulation. Release of ion gradients from intracellular compartments is the source for approximately 50% of the proton equivalents needed for the 1.5 unit acidification that is observed. Recovery from the metabolic arrest requires re-sequestration of the protons with …

Lenition, Naomi Gurevich

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Tetradium Daniellii, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Tetradium daniellii has a natural range in forests and open slopes of Korea and northern China (Dirr 1998, Zhang 2011).

Terrestrial Macrofungi Of Illinois Old-Growth Prairie Groves, Scott J. Meiners, Andrew Methven, Vincent P. Hustad

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

ABSTRACT.—Macrofungi from two old-growth prairie grove remnants in the Midwestern United States (Brownfield and Trelease Woods. Champaign Co., IL ) were surveyed over two summer and fall fruiting periods. Communities of Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes and Myxomycètes were sampled and compared using multivariate statistical analyses. Standard estimations of species richness were calculated for comparison with other studies of fungal diversity. Environmental factors (rainfall, humidity, air temperature and soil temperature at 10 cm depth) as well as leaf litter composition, and woody plant communities were surveyed to assess their impact on fungal communities. Fungal community structure was found to differ significandy both between …

Domain And Propositions Of Succession Theory, Steward Pickett, Scott J. Meiners, Mary L. Cadenasso

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Succession is perhaps the oldest of ecological concepts, having arisen when ecology was emerging as a self-conscious discipline (Mcintosh 1985). Yet it continues to address many fundamental issues in ecology, to support important applications, and to synthesize the insights and perspectives of other theories. Thus, it fulfills two functions key in assessing the utility of a contemporary ecological theory. First, it exhibits the attributes of a mature, welldeveloped, and intensively tested theory (Glenn-Lewin et al. 1992; Pickett and Cadenasso 2005). Second, it provides a linkage among theories and applications that have usually been considered separately (Walker et al. 2007). For …

Is The Lcp Superfund Site An Ecological Trap For Clapper Rails?, Karen F. Gaines, Jay W. Summers, James C. Cumbee Jr., Warren L. Stephens Jr., Gary L. Mills

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Rallus longirostris (Clapper Rail) is considered a good indicator species for toxicants because of its strong site fidelity and predictable diet of benthic organisms. High levels of the rare PCB Aroclor 1268 have been found in Clapper Rail adults, chicks, and eggs from the marshes associated with the Linden Chemical Plant (LCP) in Brunswick, GA. Recently, sampling and testing feathers has successfully been used as a non-lethal tool to trace exposure and assimilation of Aroclor 1268 in rails from the LCP site. This approach allows us to infer how and when these birds are exposed to contaminants in the marsh …

Aceraceae - Acer Griseum, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Family

Acer griseum was first brought to North America in 1907 by Ernest Henry Wilson in the form of two seedlings that were collected from Hubei Province in China. These two original plants remain at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and were the source of the first North American horticultural distribution of the plant in 1927 (Del Tredici 2007). It is a handsome plant with very showy bark and is becoming more popular and easier to obtain than it has been in the past.

Acer Griseum, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Acer griseum was first brought to North America in 1907 by Ernest Henry Wilson in the form of two seedlings that were collected from Hubei Province in China. These two original plants remain at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and were the source of the first North American horticultural distribution of the plant in 1927 (Del Tredici 2007). It is a handsome plant with very showy bark and is becoming more popular and easier to obtain than it has been in the past.

Carpinus Caroliniana, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Carpinus caroliniana has a native range from Texas, north to Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, throughout the rest of the eastern United States, including Ontario and Quebec, occurring in understories along waterways (USDA 2011, Dirr 1998).

Elliottia Racemosa, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Georgia plume has a limited range occurring on sandy soils in seventy discrete stands in Georgia along the Altamaha- Ogeechee- Savannah river system and one location in South Carolina (Tucker 2009).

Cedrus Libani, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Cedar of Lebanon had an extensive ancient range through Lebanon, Syria, and Southern Turkey. It now is greatly reduced and fragmented through economic exploitation for 5000 years, agricultural clearing, and war. Populations are found in the Taurus Mountains and Black Sea region of Turkey, the eastern side of Jabal an-Nusayriya in Syria, and the western mountain range in Lebanon (Khuri 2000).

Koelreuteria Paniculata, Janice Coons, Nancy Coutant, Wesley Whiteside

Plants by Genus Species

Koelreuteria paniculata is native to temperate regions in China, Korea and Japan and is typically found in dry valleys (Dosmann 2006).

Review Of Evelyn Fox Keller's The Mirage Of A Space Between Nature And Nurture, Steven J. Scher

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Trace Metals (Cu, Zn, Cd And Pb) In Juvenile Fish From Estuarine Nurseries Along The Portuguese Coast, Rita P. Vasconcelos, Patrick Reis-Santos, Anabela Maia, Miguel Ruano, Maria J. Costa, Henrique N. Cabral

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Organic and inorganic pollution can impact organisms directly and affect condition, growth and survival of juvenile fish which use estuaries as nurseries, and thereby affect marine adult populations quantitatively and qualitatively. Trace element contamination (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) in juveniles of commercial fish Solea solea, Solea senegalensis, Platichthys flesus, Diplodus vulgaris and Dicentrarchus labrax collected in putative nurseries of the main Portuguese estuaries (with diverse intensities and sources of anthropogenic pressures) was determined via atomic absorption spectrometry. Contamination was significantly different among species. Similar levels of contamination were found among estuaries, except for D. vulgaris. Cu and Zn concentrations ranged …

Benjamin Franklin, Booth Library

Booth Library Programs

Further information about this program can be found on the BENJAMIN FRANKLIN exhibit page.

Exhibit Dates
This exhibit was displayed at Booth Library January 12 - February 25, 2011

Seeds Of Compromise: A Proposal And Justification For The Partial Deregulation Of Genetically Modified Alfalfa And Sugar Beets, Whitney J. Waters

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

2011 Budget Document, Clemson University

Budget Documents

No abstract provided.

Angiosperm Phylogeny: 17 Genes, 640 Taxa, Douglas Soltis, Steven Smith, Nico Cellinese, Kenneth Wurdack, David Tank, Samuel Brockington, Nancy Refulio-Rodriguez, Jay Walker, Michael Moore, Barbara Carlsward, Charles Bell, Maribeth Latvis, Sunny Crawley, Chelsea Black, Diaga Diouf, Zhenxiang Xi, Catherine Rushworth, Matthew Gitzendanner, Kenneth Sytsma, Yin-Long Qiu, Khidir Hilu, Charles Davis, Michael Sanderson, Reed Beaman, Richard Olmstead, Walter Judd, Michael Donoghue, Pamela Soltis

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

• Premise of the study : Recent analyses employing up to fi ve genes have provided numerous insights into angiosperm phylogeny, but many relationships have remained unresolved or poorly supported. In the hope of improving our understanding of angiosperm phylogeny, we expanded sampling of taxa and genes beyond previous analyses. • Methods : We conducted two primary analyses based on 640 species representing 330 families. The fi rst included 25 260 aligned base pairs (bp) from 17 genes (representing all three plant genomes, i.e., nucleus, plastid, and mitochondrion). The second included 19 846 aligned bp from 13 genes (representing only …

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

Terrestrial Macrofungi Of Illinois Old-Growth Prairie Groves, Scott Meiners, Andrew Methven, Vincent Hustad

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

ABSTRACT.—Macrofungi from two old-growth prairie grove remnants in the Midwestern United States (Brownfield and Trelease Woods. Champaign Co., IL ) were surveyed over two summer and fall fruiting periods. Communities of Ascomycetes, Basidiomycetes and Myxomycètes were sampled and compared using multivariate statistical analyses. Standard estimations of species richness were calculated for comparison with other studies of fungal diversity. Environmental factors (rainfall, humidity, air temperature and soil temperature at 10 cm depth) as well as leaf litter composition, and woody plant communities were surveyed to assess their impact on fungal communities. Fungal community structure was found to differ significandy both between …