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Articles 1681 - 1710 of 2465

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Exploring Data Mining Techniques For Tree Species Classification Using Co-Registered Lidar And Hyperspectral Data, Julia K. Marrs May 2016

Exploring Data Mining Techniques For Tree Species Classification Using Co-Registered Lidar And Hyperspectral Data, Julia K. Marrs

Theses and Dissertations

NASA Goddard’s LiDAR, Hyperspectral, and Thermal imager provides co-registered remote sensing data on experimental forests. Data mining methods were used to achieve a final tree species classification accuracy of 68% using a combined LiDAR and hyperspectral dataset, and show promise for addressing deforestation and carbon sequestration on a species-specific level.


Ménage À Trois In The Atlantic Brief Squid (Lolliguncula Brevis): Prior Presence Affects Mate Choice, Rachel A. Schlessinger May 2016

Ménage À Trois In The Atlantic Brief Squid (Lolliguncula Brevis): Prior Presence Affects Mate Choice, Rachel A. Schlessinger

Theses and Dissertations

Lolliguncula brevis given prior presence experienced a significantly greater number of contacts with opposite sex squid than rivals. Males given prior presence also spent significantly more time in proximity to females than rivals. This suggests that for both female and male Atlantic brief squid, having prior presence influences mating behavior.


A Case Study: Observations Of Behaviors & Vocalizations In A Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) During Quarantine, Alexandra L. Dilley May 2016

A Case Study: Observations Of Behaviors & Vocalizations In A Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) During Quarantine, Alexandra L. Dilley

Theses and Dissertations

Bozie, an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), was relocated from the Baton Rouge Zoo to Smithsonian’s National Zoo. During a requisite 29-day quarantine period, I recorded Bozie’s stress-related behaviors and the vocalizations she produced when she was alone and with her keepers in free and protected contact.


Investigating The Nest Sanitation Hypothesis In A Rejecter Species: Is Sanitation A Proximate Link, Pre-Adaptation, Or By-Product Of Egg Ejection?, Alec B. Luro May 2016

Investigating The Nest Sanitation Hypothesis In A Rejecter Species: Is Sanitation A Proximate Link, Pre-Adaptation, Or By-Product Of Egg Ejection?, Alec B. Luro

Theses and Dissertations

Nest sanitation, a behavior similar in motor pattern to egg ejection, has been proposed repeatedly as a potential pre-adaptation to foreign egg ejection in avian brood parasites hosts. We found no support for the sanitation hypothesis--therefore we suggest egg ejection may have evolved independently of sanitation.


Antioxidant And Hepatoprotective Effects Of Procyanidins Fromwild Grape (Vitis Amurensis) Seeds In Ethanol-Induced Cells And Rats, Min Ji Bak, Van-Long Truong, Se-Yeon Ko, Xuan Ngan Giang Nguyen, Pajaree Ingkasupart, Mira Jun, Jin Young Shin, Woo-Sik Jeong May 2016

Antioxidant And Hepatoprotective Effects Of Procyanidins Fromwild Grape (Vitis Amurensis) Seeds In Ethanol-Induced Cells And Rats, Min Ji Bak, Van-Long Truong, Se-Yeon Ko, Xuan Ngan Giang Nguyen, Pajaree Ingkasupart, Mira Jun, Jin Young Shin, Woo-Sik Jeong

Publications and Research

In the present study, we characterized the antioxidant and hepatoprotective mechanisms underlying of wild grape seed procyanidins (WGP) against oxidative stress damage in ethanol-treated HepG2 cell and Sprague-Dawley (SD)-rat models. In HepG2 cells, WGP not only diminished the ethanol (EtOH, 100 mM)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) expression, but also renovated both the activity and expression of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase. Additionally, to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of WGP, rats were orally administered 10 or 50 mg/kg WGP once daily for seven days prior to the single oral administration of …


Longitudinal Changes In The Motor Learning- Related Brain Activation Response In Presymptomatic Huntington's Disease, Florian Holtbernd, Chris C. Tang, Andrew Feigin, Vijay Dhawan, Maria Felice Ghilardi, Jane S. Paulsen, Mark Guttman, David Eldelberg May 2016

Longitudinal Changes In The Motor Learning- Related Brain Activation Response In Presymptomatic Huntington's Disease, Florian Holtbernd, Chris C. Tang, Andrew Feigin, Vijay Dhawan, Maria Felice Ghilardi, Jane S. Paulsen, Mark Guttman, David Eldelberg

Publications and Research

Neurocognitive decline, including deficits in motor learning, occurs in the presymptomatic phase of Huntington’s disease (HD) and precedes the onset of motor symptoms. Findings from recent neuroimaging studies have linked these deficits to alterations in fronto-striatal and fronto-parietal brain networks. However, little is known about the temporal dynamics of these networks when subjects approach phenoconversion. Here, 10 subjects with presymptomatic HD were scanned with 15O-labeled water at baseline and again 1.5 years later while performing a motor sequence learning task and a kinematically matched control task. Spatial covariance analysis was utilized to characterize patterns of change in learningrelated neural activation …


Review: Living In Obscurity: Danté Fenolio – Life In The Dark., Aldemaro Romero Jr. May 2016

Review: Living In Obscurity: Danté Fenolio – Life In The Dark., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The reduction and/or disappearance of phenotypic features is a biological phenomenon that has intrigued humans ever since prehistoric times. The earliest known anthropological representation of a creature showing the loss of phenotypic features dates back to ca. 22,000 YBP (Upper Paleolithic). It is a carved drawing of a wingless cave cricket, Troglophilus sp., on a bison (Bison bonasus) bone found in the Grotte des Trois Frères (Three Brothers Cave) in the central Pyrénées, France. Since then, we have witnessed how the study of organisms living in lightless environments went through a number of scientific historical periods. First was the age …


A Revisited Phylogeography Of Nautilus Pompilius, Lauren E. Vandepas, Frederick D. Dooley, Gregory J. Barord, Billie J. Swalla, Peter D. Ward May 2016

A Revisited Phylogeography Of Nautilus Pompilius, Lauren E. Vandepas, Frederick D. Dooley, Gregory J. Barord, Billie J. Swalla, Peter D. Ward

Publications and Research

The cephalopod genus Nautilus is considered a “living fossil” with a contested number of extant and extinct species, and a benthic lifestyle that limits movement of animals between isolated seamounts and landmasses in the Indo-Pacific. Nautiluses are fished for their shells, most heavily in the Philippines, and these fisheries have little monitoring or regulation. Here, we evaluate the hypothesis that multiple species of Nautilus (e.g., N. belauensis, N. repertus and N. stenomphalus) are in fact one species with a diverse phenotypic and geologic range. Using mitochondrial markers, we show that nautiluses from the Philippines, eastern Australia (Great Barrier Reef), Vanuatu, …


Alterations In Gray Matter Volume Due To Unilateral Hearing Loss, Xingchao Wang, Pengfei Xu, Peng Li, Zhenmin Wang, Fu Zhao, Zhixian Gao, Lei Xu, Yue-Jia Luo, Jin Fan, Pinan Liu May 2016

Alterations In Gray Matter Volume Due To Unilateral Hearing Loss, Xingchao Wang, Pengfei Xu, Peng Li, Zhenmin Wang, Fu Zhao, Zhixian Gao, Lei Xu, Yue-Jia Luo, Jin Fan, Pinan Liu

Publications and Research

Although extensive research on neural plasticity resulting from hearing deprivation has been conducted, the direct influence of compromised audition on the auditory cortex and the potential impact of long durations of incomplete sensory stimulation on the adult cortex are still not fully understood. In this study, using voxel-based morphometry, we evaluated gray matter (GM) volume changes that may be associated with reduced hearing ability and the duration of hearing impairment in 42 unilateral hearing loss (UHL) patients with acoustic neuromas compared to 24 normal controls. We found significant GM volume increases in the somatosensory and motor systems and GM volume …


P2x7r-Panx1 Complex Impairs Bone Mechanosignaling Under High Glucose Levels Associated With Type-1 Diabetes, Zeynep Seref-Ferlengez, Stephanie Maung, Mitchell B. Schaffler, David C. Spray, Sylvia O. Suadicani, Mia M. Thi May 2016

P2x7r-Panx1 Complex Impairs Bone Mechanosignaling Under High Glucose Levels Associated With Type-1 Diabetes, Zeynep Seref-Ferlengez, Stephanie Maung, Mitchell B. Schaffler, David C. Spray, Sylvia O. Suadicani, Mia M. Thi

Publications and Research

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) causes a range of skeletal problems, including reduced bone density and increased risk for bone fractures. However, mechanisms underlying skeletal complications in diabetes are still not well understood.We hypothesize that high glucose levels in T1D alters expression and function of purinergic receptors (P2Rs) and pannexin 1 (Panx1) channels, and thereby impairs ATP signaling that is essential for proper bone response to mechanical loading and maintenance of skeletal integrity. We first established a key role for P2X7 receptor-Panx1 in osteocyte mechanosignaling by showing that these proteins are co-expressed to provide a major pathway for flow-induced ATP release. …


Soluble Rage Treatment Delays Progression Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis In Sod1 Mice, Judyta K. Juranek, Gurdip K. Daffu, Matthew S. Geddis, Huilin Li, Rosa Rosario, Benjamin J. Kaplan, Lauren Kelly, Ann Marie Schmidt May 2016

Soluble Rage Treatment Delays Progression Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis In Sod1 Mice, Judyta K. Juranek, Gurdip K. Daffu, Matthew S. Geddis, Huilin Li, Rosa Rosario, Benjamin J. Kaplan, Lauren Kelly, Ann Marie Schmidt

Publications and Research

The etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal motor neuron disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness and spasticity, remains largely unknown. Approximately 5–10% of cases are familial, and of those, 15–20% are associated with mutations in the gene encoding Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Mutations of the SOD1 gene interrupt cellular homeostasis and contribute to cellular toxicity evoked by the presence of altered SOD1, along with other toxic species, such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs trigger activation of their chief cell surface receptor, RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products), and induce RAGE-dependent cellular stress and inflammation in …


Innervation Of Gill Lateral Cells In The Bivalve Mollusc Crassostrea Virginica Affects Cellular Membrane Potential And Cilia Activity, Edward J. Catapane, Michael Nelson, Trevon Adams, Margaret A. Carroll May 2016

Innervation Of Gill Lateral Cells In The Bivalve Mollusc Crassostrea Virginica Affects Cellular Membrane Potential And Cilia Activity, Edward J. Catapane, Michael Nelson, Trevon Adams, Margaret A. Carroll

Publications and Research

Gill lateral cells of Crassostrea virginica are innervated by the branchial nerve, which contains serotonergic and dopaminergic fibers that regulate cilia beating rate. Terminal release of serotonin or dopamine results in an increase or decrease, respectively, of cilia beating rate in lateral gill cells. In this study we used the voltage sensitive fluorescent probe DiBAC4(3) to quantify changes in gill lateral cell membrane potential in response to electrical stimulation of the branchial nerve or to applications of serotonin and dopamine, and correlate these changes to cilia beating rates. Application of serotonin to gill lateral cells caused prolonged membrane depolarization, similar …


The Influence Of Religion On Science: The Case Of The Idea Of Predestination In Biospeleology., Aldemaro Romero Jr. Apr 2016

The Influence Of Religion On Science: The Case Of The Idea Of Predestination In Biospeleology., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Evolution has always been considered a battleground between religion and science. Despite that perception, there are some indications that religious beliefs have in uenced and continue to in uence some current interpretations in evolutionary biology. To that end I present evidence on how pervasive the theological idea of predestination, which has been long discussed in the the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, has in uenced some of the elucidations of the nature of biological evolution. I will concentrate on the history of ideas about the evolution of cave organisms to epitomize the strong in uence of religion on some evolutionary …


Spatial Engineering Of Osteochondral Tissue Constructs Through Microfluidically Directed Differentiation Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Stephen M. Goldman, Gilda A. Barabino Apr 2016

Spatial Engineering Of Osteochondral Tissue Constructs Through Microfluidically Directed Differentiation Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Stephen M. Goldman, Gilda A. Barabino

Publications and Research

The development of tissue engineered osteochondral units has been slowed by a number of technical hurdles associated with recapitulating their heterogeneous nature ex vivo. Subsequently, numerous approaches with respect to cell sourcing, scaffolding composition, and culture media formulation have been pursued, which have led to high variability in outcomes and ultimately the lack of a consensus bioprocessing strategy. As such, the objective of this study was to standardize the design process by focusing on differentially supporting formation of cartilaginous and bony matrix by a single cell source in a spatially controlled manner within a single material system. A cell-polymer solution …


Epigenetic Profiles Signify Cell Fate Plasticity In Unipotent Spermatogonial Stem And Progenitor Cells, Ying Liu, Eugenia G. Giannopoulou, Duacheng Wen, Ilaria Falciatori, Oliver Elemento, C. David Allis, Shahin Rafii, Marco Seandel Apr 2016

Epigenetic Profiles Signify Cell Fate Plasticity In Unipotent Spermatogonial Stem And Progenitor Cells, Ying Liu, Eugenia G. Giannopoulou, Duacheng Wen, Ilaria Falciatori, Oliver Elemento, C. David Allis, Shahin Rafii, Marco Seandel

Publications and Research

Spermatogonial stem and progenitor cells (SSCs) generate adult male gametes. During in vitro expansion, these unipotent murine cells spontaneously convert to multipotent adult spermatogonial-derived stem cells (MASCs). Here we investigate this conversion process through integrative transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses. We find in SSCs that promoters essential to maintenance and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are enriched with histone H3-lysine4 and -lysine 27 trimethylations. These bivalent modifications are maintained at most somatic promoters after conversion, bestowing MASCs an ESC-like promoter chromatin. At enhancers, the core pluripotency circuitry is activated partially in SSCs and completely in MASCs, concomitant with loss of …


Molecular Self-Assembly Strategy For Generating Catalytic Hybrid Polypeptides, Yoshiaki Maeda, Justin Fang, Yasuhiro Ikezoe, Douglas H. Pike, Vikas Nanda, Hiroshi Matsui Apr 2016

Molecular Self-Assembly Strategy For Generating Catalytic Hybrid Polypeptides, Yoshiaki Maeda, Justin Fang, Yasuhiro Ikezoe, Douglas H. Pike, Vikas Nanda, Hiroshi Matsui

Publications and Research

Recently, catalytic peptides were introduced that mimicked protease activities and showed promising selectivity of products even in organic solvents where protease cannot perform well. However, their catalytic efficiency was extremely low compared to natural enzyme counterparts presumably due to the lack of stable tertiary fold. We hypothesized that assembling these peptides along with simple hydrophobic pockets, mimicking enzyme active sites, could enhance the catalytic activity. Here we fused the sequence of catalytic peptide CP4, capable of protease and esterase-like activities, into a short amyloidogenic peptide fragment of Aβ. When the fused CP4-Aβ construct assembled into antiparallel β- sheets and amyloid …


Biofluorescence In Catsharks (Scyliorhinidae): Fundamental Description And Relevance For Elasmobranch Visual Ecology, David F. Gruber, Ellis R. Loew, Dimitri D. Deheyn, Derya Akkaynak, Jean P. Gaffney, W. Leo Smith, Matthew P. Davis, Jennifer H. Stern, Vincent A. Pieribone, John S. Sparks Apr 2016

Biofluorescence In Catsharks (Scyliorhinidae): Fundamental Description And Relevance For Elasmobranch Visual Ecology, David F. Gruber, Ellis R. Loew, Dimitri D. Deheyn, Derya Akkaynak, Jean P. Gaffney, W. Leo Smith, Matthew P. Davis, Jennifer H. Stern, Vincent A. Pieribone, John S. Sparks

Publications and Research

Biofluorescence has recently been found to be widespread in marine fishes, including sharks. Catsharks, such as the Swell Shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum) from the eastern Pacific and the Chain Catshark (Scyliorhinus retifer) from the western Atlantic, are known to exhibit bright green fluorescence. We examined the spectral sensitivity and visual characteristics of these reclusive sharks, while also considering the fluorescent properties of their skin. Spectral absorbance of the photoreceptor cells in these sharks revealed the presence of a single visual pigment in each species. Cephaloscyllium ventriosum exhibited a maximum absorbance of 484 ± 3 nm and an absorbance range at half …


From Mollusks To Medicine: A Venomics Approach For The Discovery And Characterization Of Therapeutics From Terebridae Peptide Toxins, Aida Verdes, Prachi Anand, Juliette Gorson, Stephen Jannetti, Patrick Kelly, Abba Leffler, Danny Simpson, Girish Ramrattan, Mandë Holford Apr 2016

From Mollusks To Medicine: A Venomics Approach For The Discovery And Characterization Of Therapeutics From Terebridae Peptide Toxins, Aida Verdes, Prachi Anand, Juliette Gorson, Stephen Jannetti, Patrick Kelly, Abba Leffler, Danny Simpson, Girish Ramrattan, Mandë Holford

Publications and Research

Animal venoms comprise a diversity of peptide toxins that manipulate molecular targets such as ion channels and receptors, making venom peptides attractive candidates for the development of therapeutics to benefit human health. However, identifying bioactive venom peptides remains a significant challenge. In this review we describe our particular venomics strategy for the discovery, characterization, and optimization of Terebridae venom peptides, teretoxins. Our strategy reflects the scientific path from mollusks to medicine in an integrative sequential approach with the following steps: (1) delimitation of venomous Terebridae lineages through taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses; (2) identification and classification of putative teretoxins through omics …


Characterization Of The Ftsz C-Terminal Variable (Ctv) Region In Z-Ring Assembly And Interaction With The Z-Ring Stabilizer Zapd In E. Coli Cytokinesis, Kuo-Hsiang Huang, Aaron Mychack, Lukasz Tchorzewski, Anuradha Janakiraman Apr 2016

Characterization Of The Ftsz C-Terminal Variable (Ctv) Region In Z-Ring Assembly And Interaction With The Z-Ring Stabilizer Zapd In E. Coli Cytokinesis, Kuo-Hsiang Huang, Aaron Mychack, Lukasz Tchorzewski, Anuradha Janakiraman

Publications and Research

Polymerization of a ring-like cytoskeletal structure, the Z-ring, at midcell is a highly conserved feature in virtually all bacteria. The Z-ring is composed of short protofilaments of the tubulin homolog FtsZ, randomly arranged and held together through lateral interactions. In vitro, lateral associations between FtsZ protofilaments are stabilized by crowding agents, high concentrations of divalent cations, or in some cases, low pH. In vivo, the last 4–10 amino acid residues at the C-terminus of FtsZ (the C-terminal variable region, CTV) have been implicated in mediating lateral associations between FtsZ protofilaments through charge shielding. Multiple Z-ring associated proteins (Zaps), also promote …


Comparative Error-Free And Error-Prone Translesion Synthesis Of N2‑2′-Deoxyguanosine Adducts Formed By Mitomycin C And Its Metabolite, 2,7-Diaminomitosene, In Human Cells, Arindam Bose, Chaitra Surugihalli, Paritosh Pande, Elise Champeil, Ashis K. Basu Apr 2016

Comparative Error-Free And Error-Prone Translesion Synthesis Of N2‑2′-Deoxyguanosine Adducts Formed By Mitomycin C And Its Metabolite, 2,7-Diaminomitosene, In Human Cells, Arindam Bose, Chaitra Surugihalli, Paritosh Pande, Elise Champeil, Ashis K. Basu

Publications and Research

Mitomycin C (MC) is a cytotoxic and mutagenic antitumor agent that alkylates DNA upon reductive activation. 2,7-Diaminomitosene (2,7-DAM) is a major metabolite of MC in tumor cells, which also alkylates DNA. MC forms seven DNA adducts, including monoadducts and inter- and intrastrand cross-links, whereas 2,7-DAM forms two monoadducts. Herein, the biological effects of the dG-N2 adducts formed by MC and 2,7-DAM have been compared by constructing single-stranded plasmids containing these adducts and replicating them in human embryonic kidney 293T cells. Translesion synthesis (TLS) efficiencies of dG-N2-MC and dG-N2-2,7-DAM were 38 ± 3 and 27 …


Integrated Systems Biology Analysis Of Transcriptomes Reveals Candidate Genes For Acidity Control In Developing Fruits Of Sweet Orange (Citrus Sinensis L. Osbeck), Dingquang Huang, Yihong Zhao, Minghao Cao, Liang Qiao, Zhi-Liang Zheng Apr 2016

Integrated Systems Biology Analysis Of Transcriptomes Reveals Candidate Genes For Acidity Control In Developing Fruits Of Sweet Orange (Citrus Sinensis L. Osbeck), Dingquang Huang, Yihong Zhao, Minghao Cao, Liang Qiao, Zhi-Liang Zheng

Publications and Research

Organic acids, such as citrate and malate, are important contributors for the sensory traits of fleshy fruits. Although their biosynthesis has been illustrated, regulatory mechanisms of acid accumulation remain to be dissected. To provide transcriptional architecture and identify candidate genes for citrate accumulation in fruits, we have selected for transcriptome analysis four varieties of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) with varying fruit acidity, Succari (acidless), Bingtang (low acid), and Newhall and Xinhui (normal acid). Fruits of these varieties at 45 days post anthesis (DPA), which corresponds to Stage I (cell division), had similar acidity, but they displayed differential acid …


Effects Of Choline On Dna Methylation And Macronutrient Metabolic Gene Expression In In Vitro Models Of Hyperglycemia, Xinyin Jiang, Esther Greenwald, Chauntelle Jack-Roberts Apr 2016

Effects Of Choline On Dna Methylation And Macronutrient Metabolic Gene Expression In In Vitro Models Of Hyperglycemia, Xinyin Jiang, Esther Greenwald, Chauntelle Jack-Roberts

Publications and Research

Choline is an essential nutrient that plays an important role in lipid metabolism and DNA methylation. Studies in rodents suggest that choline may adversely affect glycemic control, yet studies in humans are lacking. Using the human hepatic and placental cells, HepG2 and BeWo, respectively, we examined the interaction between choline and glucose treatments. In HepG2 cells, choline supplementation (1 mM) increased global DNA methylation and DNA methyltransferase expression in both low-glucose (5 mM) and high-glucose (35 mM) conditions. Choline supplementation increased the expression of peroxisomal acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1 (ACOX1), which mediates fatty acid β-oxidation, especially in the high-glucose condition. …


Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis Of Site-Specific Isotopically Labeled Nucleotides For Use In Nmr Resonance Assignment, Dynamics And Structural Characterizations, Andrew P. Longhini, Regan M. Leblanc, Owen Becette, Carolina Salguero, Christoph H. Wunderlich, Bruce A. Johnson, Victoria M. D'Souza, T. Kwaku Dayie Apr 2016

Chemo-Enzymatic Synthesis Of Site-Specific Isotopically Labeled Nucleotides For Use In Nmr Resonance Assignment, Dynamics And Structural Characterizations, Andrew P. Longhini, Regan M. Leblanc, Owen Becette, Carolina Salguero, Christoph H. Wunderlich, Bruce A. Johnson, Victoria M. D'Souza, T. Kwaku Dayie

Advanced Science Research Center

Stable isotope labeling is central to NMR studies of nucleic acids. Development of methods that incorporate labels at specific atomic positions within each nucleotide promises to expand the size range of RNAs that can be studied by NMR. Using recombinantly expressed enzymes and chemically synthesized ribose and nucleobase, we have developed an inexpensive, rapid chemo-enzymatic method to label ATP and GTP site specifically and in high yields of up to 90%. We incorporated these nucleotides into RNAs with sizes ranging from 27 to 59 nucleotides using in vitro transcription: A-Site (27 nt), the iron responsive elements (29 nt), a fluoride …


Discovery And Characterisation Of A Novel Toxin From Dendroaspis Angusticeps, Named Tx7335, That Activates The Potassium Channel Kcsa, Ivan O. Rivera-Torres, Tony B. Jin, Martine Cadene, Brian T. Chait, Sébastien F. Poget Apr 2016

Discovery And Characterisation Of A Novel Toxin From Dendroaspis Angusticeps, Named Tx7335, That Activates The Potassium Channel Kcsa, Ivan O. Rivera-Torres, Tony B. Jin, Martine Cadene, Brian T. Chait, Sébastien F. Poget

Publications and Research

Due to their central role in essential physiological processes, potassium channels are common targets for animal toxins. These toxins in turn are of great value as tools for studying channel function and as lead compounds for drug development. Here, we used a direct toxin pull-down assay with immobilised KcsA potassium channel to isolate a novel KcsA-binding toxin (called Tx7335) from eastern green mamba snake (Dendroaspis angusticeps) venom. Sequencing of the toxin by Edman degradation and mass spectrometry revealed a 63 amino acid residue peptide with 4 disulphide bonds that belongs to the three-finger toxin family, but with a unique modification …


Shakespeare's Blush, Or "The Animal" In Othello, Steven Swarbrick Apr 2016

Shakespeare's Blush, Or "The Animal" In Othello, Steven Swarbrick

Publications and Research

This essay examines how the rhetoric of animalization in Shakespeare’s Othello compels us to think early modern categories of race in connection with early modern discourses of “human” versus “animal.” Beginning with Shakespeare’s representation of Iago, I suggest that it is the potential for sameness conditioned by Iago’s counterfactual statement (“Were I the Moor, I would not by Iago”) that is most significant about his relation to Othello. From there I consider the overlap between the play’s representations of animality and black skin. Read in the context of Jacques Derrida’s reflections on animals, I consider the deconstructive value of linking …


Inquiry Into The Implementation Of Bush’S Executive Order 13211 And The Impact On Environmental And Public Health Regulation, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman, Gunwant Gill, Miriam Jovanovic Apr 2016

Inquiry Into The Implementation Of Bush’S Executive Order 13211 And The Impact On Environmental And Public Health Regulation, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman, Gunwant Gill, Miriam Jovanovic

Publications and Research

Executive Order 13211, promulgated in 2001, requires the federal government to consider the impact of federal action on energy independence as part of the George W. Bush’s National Energy Policy. This law review examines whether EO 13211 was used to curtail environmental protection and natural resource conservation. The article begins with a review of the procedure required of federal agencies under EO 13211 and its associated documents. The paper then examines case law and published federal rulemaking proceedings and examines how federal agencies apply tests to evaluate the potential energy effect. The study concludes that EO 13211 strikes a reasonable …


Diversity-Dependent Cladogenesis Throughout Western Mexico: Evolutionary Biogeography Of Rattlesnakes (Viperidae: Crotalinae: Crotalus And Sistrurus), Christopher Blair, Santiago Sánchez-Ramírez Apr 2016

Diversity-Dependent Cladogenesis Throughout Western Mexico: Evolutionary Biogeography Of Rattlesnakes (Viperidae: Crotalinae: Crotalus And Sistrurus), Christopher Blair, Santiago Sánchez-Ramírez

Publications and Research

Rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus) represent a radiation of approximately 42 species distributed throughout the New World from southern Canada to Argentina. Interest in this enigmatic group of snakes continues to accrue due, in part, to their ecomorphological diversity, contributions to global envenomations, and potential medicinal importance. Although the group has garnered substantial attention from systematists and evolutionary biologists for decades, little is still known regarding patterns of lineage diversification. In addition, few studies have statistically quantified broad-scale biogeographic patterns in rattlesnakes to ascertain how dispersal occurred throughout the New World, particularly among the different major biomes of the …


Polarity-Dependent Misperception Of Subjective Visual Vertical During And After Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs), Taiza E. G. Santos-Pontelli, Brunna P. Rimoli, Diandra B. Favoretto, Suleimy C. Mazin, Dennis Q. Truong, Joao P. Leite, Octavio M. Pontes-Neto, Suzanne R. Babyar, Michael Reding, Marom Bikson, Dylan J. Edwards Mar 2016

Polarity-Dependent Misperception Of Subjective Visual Vertical During And After Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs), Taiza E. G. Santos-Pontelli, Brunna P. Rimoli, Diandra B. Favoretto, Suleimy C. Mazin, Dennis Q. Truong, Joao P. Leite, Octavio M. Pontes-Neto, Suzanne R. Babyar, Michael Reding, Marom Bikson, Dylan J. Edwards

Publications and Research

Pathologic tilt of subjective visual vertical (SVV) frequently has adverse functional consequences for patients with stroke and vestibular disorders. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the supramarginal gyrus can produce a transitory tilt on SVV in healthy subjects. However, the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on SVV has never been systematically studied. We investigated whether bilateral tDCS over the temporal- parietal region could result in both online and offline SVV misperception in healthy subjects. In a randomized, sham-controlled, single-blind crossover pilot study, thirteen healthy subjects performed tests of SVV before, during and after the tDCS applied over the …


A Model Of Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, And Vaso-Vagal Responses Produced By Vestibulo-Sympathetic Activation, Theodore Raphan, Bernard Cohen, Yongqing Xiang, Sergei B. Yakushin Mar 2016

A Model Of Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, And Vaso-Vagal Responses Produced By Vestibulo-Sympathetic Activation, Theodore Raphan, Bernard Cohen, Yongqing Xiang, Sergei B. Yakushin

Publications and Research

Blood Pressure (BP), comprised of recurrent systoles and diastoles, is controlled by central mechanisms to maintain blood flow. Periodic behavior of BP was modeled to study how peak amplitudes and frequencies of the systoles are modulated by vestibular activation. The model was implemented as a relaxation oscillator, driven by a central signal related to Desired BP. Relaxation oscillations were maintained by a second order system comprising two integrators and a threshold element in the feedback loop. The output signal related to BP was generated as a nonlinear function of the derivative of the first state variable, which is a summation …


Review Paper: The Shape Of Phylogenetic Treespace, Katherine St. John Mar 2016

Review Paper: The Shape Of Phylogenetic Treespace, Katherine St. John

Publications and Research

Trees are a canonical structure for representing evolutionary histories. Many popular criteria used to infer optimal trees are computationally hard, and the number of possible tree shapes grows super-exponentially in the number of taxa. The underlying structure of the spaces of trees yields rich insights that can improve the search for optimal trees, both in accuracy and in running time, and the analysis and visualization of results. We review the past work on analyzing and comparing trees by their shape as well as recent work that incorporates trees with weighted branch lengths.