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Random Genetic Drift And Selective Pressures Shaping The Blattabacterium Genome, Austin Alleman, Kate L. Hertweck, Srini Kambhampati

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Estimates suggest that at least half of all extant insect genera harbor obligate bacterial mutualists. Whereas an endosymbiotic relationship imparts many benefits upon host and symbiont alike, the intracellular lifestyle has profound effects on the bacterial genome. The obligate endosymbiont genome is a product of opposing forces: genes important to host survival are maintained through physiological constraint, contrasted by the fixation of deleterious mutations and genome erosion through random genetic drift. The obligate cockroach endosymbiont, Blattabacterium – providing nutritional augmentation to its host in the form of amino acid synthesis – displays radical genome alterations when compared to its most …

Women With A Cause: Art, Representation, And Feminist Progress In Eighteenth-Century France, Darby Marie Leahy

Master's Theses

Throughout the eighteenth century the Age of Enlightenment transformed public discourse across Western Europe. In France, the salons of Paris became the primary institutions of Enlightenment thought. Hosted by women, the salons possessed a unique atmosphere in which men and women were regarded as intellectual equals. My thesis focuses on the role the female hostesses, salonnières, had in initiating French movements for gender equality that continued with great momentum throughout the French Revolution. By using popular artwork, literature, and memoirs I show how the efforts of French women to achieve gender equality helped give early rise to feminism.

An Assessment Of The Greatest Impacts On Distribution Uniformity For Drip And Micro Irrigation, Brooke Ashley Worden

Master's Theses

Using the Cal Poly Irrigation Training and Research Centers (ITRC) drip/micro evaluation program, global, or system, DU_lq is computed by combining the component DU_lq values of: pressure variation, uneven spacing between emitters, unequal drainage and “other” causes. “Other” causes include plugging, wear and manufacturing coefficient. The program also computes what percentage of the non-uniformity is due to each component. Burt (2004) showed that over 95% of the non-uniformity is due to “Other” causes and pressure differences. This thesis looks at what specifically in those components is driving the non-uniformity by analyzing various equipment and field practices and their …

Moderate Heat Application Enhances The Efficacy Of Nanosecond Pulse Stimulation For The Treatment Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Chelsea M. Edelblute, Sigi Guo, Embo Yang, Chunqi Jiang, Karl Schoenbach, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Nanosecond pulse stimulation as a tumor ablation therapy has been studied for the treatment of various carcinomas in animal models and has shown a significant survival benefit. In the current study, we found that moderate heating at 43°C for 2 minutes significantly enhanced in vitro nanosecond pulse stimulation-induced cell death of KLN205 murine squamous cell carcinoma cells by 2.43-fold at 600 V and by 2.32-fold at 900 V, as evidenced by propidium iodide uptake. Furthermore, the ablation zone in KLN205 cells placed in a 3-dimensional cell-culture model and pulsed at a voltage of 900 V at 43°C was 3 times …

Transgene-Assisted Genetic Screen Identifies Rsd-6 And Novel Genes As Key Components Of Antiviral Rna Interference In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Tianyun Long, Fei Meng, Rui Lu

Faculty Publications

© 2018 American Society for Microbiology. RNA interference (RNAi) is a widespread antiviral mechanism triggered by virus-produced double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). In Caenorhabditis elegans, antiviral RNAi involves a RIG-I-like RNA helicase, termed DRH-1 (dicer related RNA helicase 1), that is not required for classical RNAi triggered by artificial dsRNA. Currently, whether antiviral RNAi in C. elegans involves novel factors that are dispensable for classical RNAi remains an open question. To address this question, we designed and carried out a genetic screen that aims to identify novel genes involved in worm antiviral RNAi. By introducing extra copies of known antiviral RNAi genes …

Gene Regulation By Redox-Sensitive Burkholderia Thailandensis Ohrr And Its Role In Bacterial Killing Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Anuja Pande, Todd C. Veale, Anne Grove

Faculty Publications

© 2018 American Society for Microbiology. Fatty acid hydroperoxides are involved in host-pathogen interactions. In both plants and mammals, polyunsaturated fatty acids are liberated during infection and enzymatically oxidized to the corresponding toxic hydroperoxides during the defensive oxidative burst that is designed to thwart the infection. The bacterial transcription factor OhrR (organic hydroperoxide reductase regulator) is oxidized by organic hydroperoxides, as a result of which the ohr gene encoding organic hydroperoxide reductase is induced. This enzyme converts the hydroperoxides to less toxic alcohols. We show here that OhrR from Burkholderia thailandensis represses expression of ohr. Gene expression is induced by …

Circular Rna Identified From Peg3 And Igf2r, Bambarendage P.U. Perera, Subash Ghimire, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

Copyright: © 2018 Perera et al. Circular RNA is a newly discovered class of non-coding RNA generated through the back-splicing of linear pre-mRNA. In the current study, we characterized two circular RNAs that had been identified through NGS-based 5'RACE experiments. According to the results, the Peg3 locus contains a 214-nucleotide-long circular RNA, circPeg3, that is detected in low abundance from the neonatal brain, lung and ovary. In contrast, the Igf2r locus contains a group of highly abundant circular RNAs, circIgf2r, showing multiple forms with various exon combinations. In both cases, the expression patterns of circPeg3 and circIgf2r among individual tissues …

4c-Seq Characterization Of Drosophila Beaf Binding Regions Provides Evidence For Highly Variable Long-Distance Interactions Between Active Chromatin, Shraddha Shrestha, Dong Ha Oh, J. Keller Mckowen, Maheshi Dassanayake, Craig M. Hart

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Shrestha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Chromatin organization is crucial for nuclear functions such as gene regulation, DNA replication and DNA repair. Insulator binding proteins, such as the Drosophila Boundary Element-Associated Factor (BEAF), are involved in chromatin organization. To further understand the role of BEAF, we detected cis-and trans-interaction partners of four BEAF binding regions (viewpoints) using 4C (circular chromosome conformation capture) and analyzed their association with …

Relief Of The Dma1-Mediated Checkpoint Requires Dma1 Autoubiquitination And Dynamic Localization, Christine M. Jones, Jun Song Chen, Alyssa E. Johnson, Zachary C. Elmore, Sierra N. Cullati, Janel R. Beckley, Kathleen L. Gould

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Jones, Chen, et al. Chromosome segregation and cell division are coupled to prevent aneuploidy and cell death. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the septation initiation network (SIN) promotes cytokinesis, but upon mitotic checkpoint activation, the SIN is actively inhibited to prevent cytokinesis from occurring before chromosomes have safely segregated. SIN inhibition during the mitotic checkpoint is mediated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Dma1. Dma1 binds to the CK1-phosphorylated SIN scaffold protein Sid4 at the spindle pole body (SPB), and ubiquitinates it. Sid4 ubiquitination antagonizes the SPB localization of the Polo-like kinase Plo1, the major SIN activator, so …

Adipose Tissue Dysfunction Occurs Independently Of Obesity In Adipocyte-Specific Oncostatin Receptor Knockout Mice, Jacqueline M. Stephens, Jennifer L. Bailey, Hardy Hang, Victoria Rittell, Marilyn A. Dietrich, Randall L. Mynatt, Carrie M. Elks

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Obesity Society Objective: This study examined the phenotypic effects of adipocyte-specific oncostatin M receptor (OSMR) loss in chow-fed mice. Methods: Chow-fed adipocyte-specific OSMR knockout (FKO) mice and littermate OSMRfl/fl controls were studied. Tissue weights, insulin sensitivity, adipokine production, and stromal cell immunophenotypes were assessed in epididymal fat (eWAT); serum adipokine production was also assessed. In vitro, adipocytes were treated with oncostatin M, and adipokine gene expression was assessed. Results: Body weights, fasting blood glucose levels, and eWAT weights did not differ between genotypes. However, the eWAT of OSMRFKO mice was modestly less responsive to insulin stimulation than …

Proximity Ligation Assay To Study Protein-Protein Interactions Of Proteins On Two Different Cells, Rushikesh Sable, Nithya Jambunathan, Sitanshu Singh, Sandeep Pallerla, Konstantin G. Kousoulas, Seetharama Jois

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Future Science. All rights reserved. Protein-protein interactions (PPI) by homo-, hetero- or oligo-merization in the cellular environment regulate cellular processes. PPI can be inhibited by antibodies, small molecules or peptides, and this inhibition has therapeutic value. A recently developed method, the proximity ligation assay (PLA), provides detection of PPI in the cellular environment. However, most applications using this assay are for proteins expressed in the same cell. We employ PLA for the first time to study PPI of cell surface proteins on two different cells. Inhibition of PPI using a peptide inhibitor is also quantified using this assay; …

The Well’S Run Dry: Considering Water As A Fundamental Right Using An Interdisciplinary Approach, Matthew J. Mckissick

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Building Quality Research Evidence In Homoeopathy, Raj Manchanda

Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy

No abstract provided.

Physicochemical Study Of The Homoeopathic Drug, Blatta Orientalis, Bibaswan Biswas, Shyaga Jhansi, Ramchander Potu, Satish Patel, M Nagaraju, Renu Arya, E Sundaram, A Khurana, Raj Manchanda

Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy

Introduction: Blatta orientalis or oriental cockroach, also known as water bug or black beetle, belongs to class insecta and family Blattidae. In Homoeopathy, medicine prepared from it is used in a number of ailments, especially in the treatment of asthma. Materials and Methods: The physicochemical study includes evaluation of different parameters, namely foreign matter, moisture content, total ash, water-soluble and acid-insoluble ash values, water and ethanol extracts of the raw drug. Physicochemical studies, namely organoleptic specifications, sediment, specific gravity determination, total solids, pH measurement, thin-layer chromatography (TLC), ultraviolet-visible spectra and alcohol content have also standardised and presented for both in-house …

Who’S Lurking In Your Lagoon? First Occurrence Of The Invasive Hydrozoan Moerisia Sp. (Cnidariahydrozoa) In New Jersey, Usa, Dena J. Restaino, Paul Bologna, John Gaynor, Gary A. Buchanan, Joseph J. Bilinski

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Coastal estuaries represent areas of high biological invasions by virtue of their economic importance as ports. We report on the first occurrence of the non-native hydrozoan Moerisia sp. in coastal New Jersey, USA. Through the use of artificial settling plates, several diminutive, unknown cnidarian polyps were isolated. Initial morphological assessment indicated that two of the unknown polyps were keyed to Moerisia. We then used universal cnidarian primers to amplify and sequence the 16S rDNA mitochondrial locus for molecular identification. Upon evaluation and editing of sequences, two of the unknown polyps were identified as belonging to a group of unresolved Moerisia …

Swosu Fact Book Fall 2018, Joel Harrel Kendall, Diane Fitzsimmons, Kayleigh Brown

Fact Books

The 27th annual Southwestern Oklahoma State University Fact Book provides a ready source of information to answer frequently asked questions about the University and its operations. The Fact Book is compiled annually by the Office of Institutional Research to assist the university with strategic planning, academic program reviews, grant writing, accreditation, and institutional information to help guide decision-making. The report is designed to help faculty, staff, administrators, and external stakeholders better understand the student body and university trends. The data analyzed for this report was collected from 2009 to 2018.

Unless otherwise noted, the information in the Fact Book is …

A Multidisciplinary Approach For Generating Globally Consistent Data On Mesophotic, Deep-Pelagic, And Bathyal Biological Communities, Lucy C. Woodall, Dominic A. Andradi-Brown, Andrew S. Brierley, Malcolm R. Clark, Douglas Connelly, Rob A. Hall, Kerry L. Howell, Veerle A. I. Huvenne, Katrin Linse, Rebecca E. Ross, Paul Snelgrove, Paris V. Stefanoudis, Tracey Sutton, Michelle Taylor, Thomas F. Thornton, Alex D. Rogers

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Approaches to measuring marine biological parameters remain almost as diverse as the researchers who measure them. However, understanding the patterns of diversity in ocean life over different temporal and geographic scales requires consistent data and information on the potential environmental drivers. As a group of marine scientists from different disciplines, we suggest a formalized, consistent framework of 20 biological, chemical, physical, and socioeconomic parameters that we consider the most important for describing environmental and biological variability. We call our proposed framework the General Ocean Survey and Sampling Iterative Protocol (GOSSIP). We hope that this framework will establish a consistent approach …

Variation Across Mitochondrial Gene Trees Provides Evidence For Systematic Error: How Much Gene Tree Variation Is Biological?, E J. Richards, J M. Brown, A J. Barley, R A. Chong, E J. Richards

Faculty Publications

The use of large genomic data sets in phylogenetics has highlighted extensive topological variation across genes. Much of this discordance is assumed to result from biological processes. However, variation among gene trees can also be a consequence of systematic error driven by poor model fit, and the relative importance of biological vs. methodological factors in explaining gene tree variation is a major unresolved question. Using mitochondrial genomes to control for biological causes of gene tree variation, we estimate the extent of gene tree discordance driven by systematic error and employ posterior prediction to highlight the role of model fit in …

Variation Across Mitochondrial Gene Trees Provides Evidence For Systematic Error: How Much Gene Tree Variation Is Biological?, E J. Richards, J M. Brown, A J. Barley, R A. Chong, E J. Richards

Faculty Publications

The use of large genomic data sets in phylogenetics has highlighted extensive topological variation across genes. Much of this discordance is assumed to result from biological processes. However, variation among gene trees can also be a consequence of systematic error driven by poor model fit, and the relative importance of biological vs. methodological factors in explaining gene tree variation is a major unresolved question. Using mitochondrial genomes to control for biological causes of gene tree variation, we estimate the extent of gene tree discordance driven by systematic error and employ posterior prediction to highlight the role of model fit in …

Sustaining Stem Initiatives: The Challenge Of A Worthy Investment, Melissa B. Crawford, Tyrslai M. Williams, Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy, Linda Hooper-Bui, Megan Stone, Isiah M. Warner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of Extant Conifer Evolution From The Perspective Of The Fossil Record, Andrew B. Leslie, Jeremy Beaulieu, Garth Holman, Christopher S. Campbell, Wenbin Mei, Linda R. Raubeson, Sarah Mathews

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Botanical Society of America Premise of the Study: Conifers are an important living seed plant lineage with an extensive fossil record spanning more than 300 million years. The group therefore provides an excellent opportunity to explore congruence and conflict between dated molecular phylogenies and the fossil record. Methods: We surveyed the current state of knowledge in conifer phylogenetics to present a new time-calibrated molecular tree that samples ~90% of extant species diversity. We compared phylogenetic relationships and estimated divergence ages in this new phylogeny with the paleobotanical record, focusing on clades that are species-rich and well known from …

New Mouse Model Of Pulmonary Hypertension Induced By Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis, Dai Kimura, Jordy Saravia, Sridhar Jaligama, Isabella Mcnamara, Luan D. Vu, Ryan D. Sullivan, Salvatore Mancarella, Dahui You, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

© 2018 American Physiological Society. All rights reserved. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been observed in up to 75% of infants with moderate to severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in infants with congenital heart disease. The purpose of the present study was to establish a mouse model of PH secondary to RSV bronchiolitis that mimics the disease etiology as it occurs in infants. Neonatal mice were infected with RSV at 5 days of age and then reinfected 4 wk later. Serum-free medium was administered to age-matched mice as a control. Echocardiography and …

Dispersal Records Of The Sugarcane Aphid, Melanaphis Sacchari (Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), Through The Midwest Suction Trap Network, Doris Lagos-Kutz, David Voegtlin, Jeffrey Davis, Glen Hartman

Faculty Publications

Summary Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), the sugarcane aphid, is an invasive species in the United States. This species is a threat to crops of economic importance including sorghum and sugar cane. Therefore, monitoring dispersal of this pest is necessary to document its geographic expansion. Based on trap catches obtained from the Midwest Suction Trap Network during 2015 to 2017, sugarcane aphids arrived late in the growing season as far as northern Wisconsin. We will continue to monitor the dispersal of this aphid species through the Midwest Suction Trap Network in order to provide information to researchers, extension agents, and …

Mtor Complex 1 Implicated In Aphid/Buchnera Host/Symbiont Integration, Edward B. James, Honglin Feng, Alex C.C. Wilson

Faculty Publications

Obligate nutritional endosymbioses are arguably the most intimate of all interspecific associations. While many insect nutritional endosymbioses are well studied, a full picture of how two disparate organisms, a bacterial endosymbiont and a eukaryotic host, are integrated is still lacking. The mTOR pathway is known to integrate nutritional conditions with cell growth and survival in eukaryotes. Characterization and localization of amino acid transporters in aphids suggest the mTOR pathway as a point of integration between an aphid host and its amino acid-provisioning endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola. The mTOR pathway is unannotated in aphids and unstudied in any nutritional endosymbiosis. We annotated …

Production Of Live Young With Cryopreserved Sperm From The Endangered Livebearing Fish Redtail Splitfin (Xenotoca Eiseni, Rutter, 1896), Yue Liu, Harry Grier, Terrence R. Tiersch

Faculty Publications

Previous studies of sperm cryopreservation of livebearing fish have been limited to two genera within the family Poeciliidae. The goal of the present study was to investigate the feasibility to produce live young of livebearing goodeids (family Goodeidae) with cryopreserved sperm, using aquarium-trade populations of the endangered species Redtail Splitfin (Xenotoca eiseni, Rutter, 1896). Reproductive condition of females was evaluated by histological categorization of ovarian development. A total of 117 females were inseminated with cryopreserved sperm, 81 were inseminated with fresh sperm, 27 were mixed with males for natural breeding, and 30 were maintained without males or insemination. Histological images …

Isolation By Marine Barriers And Climate Explain Areas Of Endemism In An Island Rodent, Thomas C. Giarla, Sean P. Maher, Anang S. Achmadi, Meagan K. Moore, Mark T. Swanson, Kevin C. Rowe, Jacob A. Esselstyn

Faculty Publications

Aim: The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is home to thousands of endemic terrestrial animal species. Phylogeographical studies of some of these taxa revealed concordant distribution patterns (areas of endemism; AoEs), suggestive of a shared evolutionary or ecological mechanism driving divergence among various terrestrial taxa. Generally, AoEs have been attributed to Pleistocene marine incursions, geological fault zones and Sulawesi's history as an archipelago. We test, for the first time, the hypothesis that population divergences are associated with unsuitable climate spaces at the boundaries between these areas. Location: Sulawesi, Indonesia. Taxon: Maxomys musschenbroekii, a common murid rodent endemic to Sulawesi. Methods: We …

Ants Alter Molecular Characteristics Of Soil Organic Carbon Determined By Pyrolysis-Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, Zhongsheng Zhang, Zhuo Wei, Jim Jian Wang, Ran Xiao, Yili Meng, Haitao Wu, Xianguo Lyu

Faculty Publications

Colonization by ecosystem engineers, such as ants, have important but occasionally unnoticed roles in regulating soil carbon cycles. However, little information is available pertaining to ant effects on changing molecular features of soil organic matter. In this study, we characterized total soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen, water extractable organic carbon (WEOC) as well as molecular characteristics of humic acids (HAs) of ant mound soils (SoilAnt) and the surrounding soils (SoilCon) using pyrolysis-chromatography/mass (py-GC/MS). SOC, total nitrogen and WEOC contents of SoilAnt were significantly lower than those of SoilCon. SoilAnt samples had significant higher nitrogen containing compounds proportions in pyrolysis …

Investigation Of An Early Season River Flood Pulse: Carbon Cycling In A Subtropical Estuary, Benjamin J. Haywood, John R. White, Robert L. Cook

Faculty Publications

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. The January 2016 Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS) opening resulted in a large-scale Mississippi River (MR) flood discharge that qualitatively and quantitatively impacted the dissolved organic matter (DOM) cycling in the Lake Pontchartrain Estuary (LPE) located in Louisiana, USA. This early season flood event was a result of the delay of snow formation caused by warmer than normal watershed temperatures. During the diversion period and the subsequent weeks, the LPE water temperature remained lower than pre-flood water temperatures, suppressing carbon cycling. Following that period, the water temperature increased, leading to an increase in the rate of abiotic …

Labrad : Vol 44, Issue 2 - September 2018, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

LABRAD - Departments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Radiology Archives

• Inappropriate Requesting Of Glycated Haemoglobin (HBA1c) By Clinicians
• Fecal Calprotectin (S100a8/S100a9)
• Fecal Pancreatic Elastase: A Test for Pancreatic Insufficiency
• Radiology Pathology Correlation
• Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
• WHO Classification of Head and Neck Tumours: An Update
• Plasma Metanephrines in Diagnosis of Pheochromocytoma
• Megaloblastic Anemia
• Aplastic AnemiaTransfusion Associated Circulatory Overload (Taco): A Severe But Preventable Transfusion Reaction

Points Of Pride, September 2018, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg. Academic Affairs Office

Points of Pride, Scene & Herd, and E-News

The September 2018 issue of the newsletter, Points of Pride, with academic affairs news and accomplishments sent to faculty at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.