Life Sciences Commons^™

Non-Enzymatic Roles Of Human Rad51 At Stalled Replication Forks, Jennifer M. Mason, Yuen-Ling Chan, Ralph W. Weichselbaum, Douglas K. Bishop

Publications

The central recombination enzyme RAD51 has been implicated in replication fork processing and restart in response to replication stress. Here, we use a separation-of-function allele of RAD51 that retains DNA binding, but not D-loop activity, to reveal mechanistic aspects of RAD51’s roles in the response to replication stress. Here, we find that cells lacking RAD51’s enzymatic activity protect replication forks from MRE11-dependent degradation, as expected from previous studies. Unexpectedly, we find that RAD51’s strand exchange activity is not required to convert stalled forks to a form that can be degraded by DNA2. Such conversion was shown previously to require replication …

Thermal Cues Drive Plasticity Of Desiccation Resistance In Montane Salamanders With Implications For Climate Change, Eric A. Riddell, Emma Y. Roback, Christina E. Wells, Kelly R. Zamudio, Michael W. Sears

Publications

Organisms rely upon external cues to avoid detrimental conditions during environmental change. Rapid water loss, or desiccation, is a universal threat for terrestrial plants and animals, especially under climate change, but the cues that facilitate plastic responses to avoid desiccation are unclear. We integrate acclimation experiments with gene expression analyses to identify the cues that regulate resistance to water loss at the physiological and regulatory level in a montane salamander (Plethodon metcalfi). Here we show that temperature is an important cue for developing a desiccation-resistant phenotype and might act as a reliable cue for organisms across the globe. …

On-The-Road Testing Of The Effects Of Driver’S Experience, Gender, Speed, And Road Grade On Car Emissions, Abdelhaleem I. Khader, Randy S. Martin

Publications

On-road vehicles have become a dominant source of air pollution and energy consumption in many parts of the world. As a result, estimating the amount of pollution from these vehicles and analyzing the factors affecting their emission is necessary to understand and manage ambient air quality. Traditionally, automobile emissions have been measured with dynamometer tests using representative driving cycles. A review of the related literature shows that there is a lack of real life, on-the-road testing of automobile emissions. Moreover, a few previous studies have directly discussed the impact of driver variability on emissions from the vehicles. This research analyzes …

Mice Exposed To Combined Chronic Low-Dose Irradiation And Modeled Microgravity Develop Long-Term Neurological Sequelae, Amber M. Paul, Eliah G. Overbey, William A. Da Silveira, Candice G.T. Tahimic, Sigrid S. Reinsch, Nathaniel Szewczyk, Seta Stanbouly, Charles Wang, Jonathan M. Galazka, Xiao Wen Mao

Publications

Spaceflight poses many challenges for humans. Ground-based analogs typically focus on single parameters of spaceflight and their associated acute effects. This study assesses the long-term transcriptional effects following single and combination spaceflight analog conditions using the mouse model: simulated microgravity via hindlimb unloading (HLU) and/or low-dose γ-ray irradiation (LDR) for 21 days, followed by 4 months of readaptation. Changes in gene expression and epigenetic modifications in brain samples during readaptation were analyzed by whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (RNA-seq) and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS). The results showed minimal gene expression and cytosine methylation alterations at 4 months readaptation within single …

Expanding Beyond Carnivores To Improve Livestock Protection And Conservation, Shari L. Rodriguez, Christie Sampson

Publications

Promoting human–wildlife coexistence is critical to the long-term conservation of many wild animal species that come into conflict with humans. Loss of livestock to carnivore species (e.g., lions, tigers, wolves) is a well-documented occurrence and the focus of mitigation strategies around the world. One area that has received little research is the impact of noncarnivores on livestock. Both African and Asian elephant species are known to cause livestock injuries and deaths. Livestock owners within elephant ranges perceive elephants as a risk to their livestock, which may reduce their tolerance towards elephants and jeopardize conservation efforts in the area. Though feral …

Evaluation And Enhancement Of Carbon Sequestration Potential Of Existing Vegetation Along Roadsides, Vikram Kapoor, Jeffrey Hutchinson, Samer Dessouky

Publications

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the vegetative composition and carbon sequestration potential of vegetation along a major roadway in Texas. Soil and vegetation were evaluated along IH-35 within Bexar County for composition and carbon content. Three 20 m transects were placed at each site and percent vegetative cover was estimated and above ground plant biomass, and soil was collected from three 0.25 m2 subplots along each transect. Plant and soil samples were analyzed for carbon content. Two non-native grasses, bermudagrass and King Ranch bluestem, were the dominant cover at all sites accounting for > 90% coverage at several …

Bird Hazard Mitigation Training For Part 141 General Aviation Pilots: An Experimental Study, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Richard O. Fanjoy Phd, Thomas Q. Carney

Publications

From 1990 through 2018 ==> 209,950 wildlife strikes in the U.S.,

Approximately 95% of those incidents involved birds;

Seventy aircraft destroyed as a result of wildlife strikes!

13 bird strikes 32 ==> fatalities;

• 244 wildlife strikes ==> 319 people injured!
• 224 bird strikes ==>299 people injured!

General aviation community;

• 97% of the strikes occurred below 3,500 feet AGL;
• There were 22,775 wildlife strikes ==> 26% caused damage to the aircraft!

Wildlife Hazard Management: An Analysis Of Wildlife Strikes Data From The Five Busiest Airports In Brasil: 2011-2018, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Julius Keller, Carlos F. G. Schonhardt

Publications

Brasil ==> the largest country in Latin America - 8.514.876 Km²;

Booming aviation industry;

• From 2008 through 2017 ==>7.1% per year;
• 104 million passengers in 2018;
• International destinations – 21.8 million (~20%);
• U.S. - 4.4 million passengers;
• Argentina – 3.8 million passengers;
• Portugal & Chile – 1.7 million passengers;
• Brazilian Airlines – 38.3%.

Domestic Passengers 200 million in 2030; International Passengers 55 million in 2030.

Folian-Cv1 Is A Member Of A Highly Acidic Phosphoprotein Class Derived From The Foliated Layer Of The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Shell And Identified In Hemocytes And Mantle, Mary Beth Johnston, A. P. Wheeler, Elizabeth P. Falwell, Meg E. Staton, Christopher A. Saski, Andrew S. Mount

Publications

The proteins derived from the foliated shell layer of the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, are unusually acidic and highly phosphorylated. Here we report the identification of a gene encoding a member of this class of phosphoproteins that we collectively refer to as folian. Using an in silico approach, a virtual probe was constructed from an N-terminal sequence (DEADAGD) determined for a 48 kDa folian phosphoprotein and used to screen an oyster EST databank. A sequence that matched the N-terminus of the 48 kDa protein was found and used to identify the full-length gene from a C. virginica BAC library. The …

Reduced Gravity Contributes To Neutrophil To Lymphocyte Ratio Shifting And Promotion Of The Oxidative Stress Response, Amber M. Paul, Siddhita D. Mhatre, Egle Cekanaviciute, Ann-Sofie Schreurs, Candice G.T. Tahimic, Ruth K. Globus, Brian Crucian, Sharmila Bhattacharya

Publications

Spaceflight can cause immune system dysfunction, such as elevated white blood cells (WBC) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), along with unchanged or reduced lymphocyte counts. A high PMN to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can acts as a poor prognosis in cancer and a biomarker for subclinical inflammation however, the NLR has not been identified as a predictor of astronaut health during spaceflight. CBC data collected on board the International Space Station (ISS) was repurposed to determine the granulocyte to lymphocyte ratio (GLR) in humans and the NLR in rodents. The results displayed a progressive increase in GLR and NLR during spaceflight and …

Rising Rural Body-Mass Index Is The Main Driver Of The Global Obesity Epidemic In Adults, Con Burns, Tara Coppinger, Janette Walton, Et Al

Publications

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities1,2. This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity3,4,5,6. Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to …

Seed Rain Along A Gradient Of Degradation In Caribbean Dry Forest: Effects Of Dispersal Limitation On The Trajectory Of Forest Recovery, Brett T. Wolfe, Raúl Macchiavelli, Skip Van Bloem

Publications

Questions

Tropical dry forests that experience severe disturbances (e.g., fires) often remain degraded for long time periods, during which non-native grasses and trees dominate. One barrier to native tree regeneration in degraded areas may be seed dispersal limitation. To better understand how dispersal limitation influences recovery from degradation, we tested whether the mode and rates of seed dispersal differed in degraded sites dominated either by the exotic tree Leucaena leucocephala or open areas dominated by introduced pasture grasses. We also tested whether L. leucocephala stands facilitate the recruitment of native trees by increasing their seed input compared to open grass …

Effects Of Altered Gravity On The Central Nervous System Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Amber M. Paul, Siddhita Mhatre, Janani Iyer, Jhony A. Zavaleta, Ravikumar Hosamani

Publications

A comprehensive understanding of the effects of spaceflight and altered gravity on human physiology is necessary for continued human space exploration and long-term space habitation. Spaceflight includes multiple factors such as microgravity, hyper gravity, ionizing radiation, physiological stress, and disrupted circadian rhythms and these have been shown to contribute to pathophysiological responses that target immunity, bone and muscle integrity, cardiovascular and nervous systems. In terrestrial conditions, some of these factors can lead to cancer and neuroimmunological disorders. In this study, we used a well-established spaceflight model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, to assess spaceflight-associated changes in the nervous system. We hypothesize that …

Cape Elizabeth Culvert And Habitat Assessment Study, Steve Harding, Jake Aman, Matthew Craig, Robert Malley, Maureen O'Meara

Publications

Executive Summary:

In early 2017, Jake Aman, representing the Wells National Estuary Research Reserve (WNERR), met with the Cape Elizabeth Public Works Director and Town Planner to talk about culverts. Jake shared aerial photos of culverts located in the Spurwink Marsh where scouring of adjacent habitat areas was evident. He inquired if the town was considering any culvert replacements, in which case WNERR and The Nature Conservancy might be able to partner with the town to promote a habitat sensitive replacement. The outcome of the meeting was a jointly sponsored assessment of major town culverts, including those located in the …

Long Reach Lane At Long Marsh, Harpswell, 2018 Post-Project Monitoring Report; Year 5 Of 5, Matthew Craig

Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merr.] Genotypes For Yield, Water Use Efficiency, And Root Traits, Harrison Gregory Fried, Sruthi Narayanan, Benjamin Fallen

Publications

Drought stress has been identified as the major environmental factor limiting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield worldwide. Current breeding efforts in soybean largely focus on identifying genotypes with high seed yield and drought tolerance. Water use efficiency (WUE) that results in greater yield per unit rainfall is an important parameter in determining crop yields in many production systems, and is often related with crop drought tolerance. Even though roots are major plant organs that perceive and respond to drought stress, their utility in improving soybean yield and WUE under different environmental and management conditions are largely unclear. The …

Biotechnological Application In Aquaculture And Its Sustainability Constraints, Olaganathan Rajee, Tang Kar Mun Alicia

Publications

The valuable nutritional and biochemical properties have made fisheries products one of the most vital high-quality protein sources for human consumption. Aquaculture has become the great alternative to substitute wild catches when the yield from fishing are no longer sufficient to sustain the massive food demand of the human population which is constantly burgeoning. However, aquaculture requires multidisciplinary approaches with holistic and environmental-friendly management measures to ensure its long term success and sustainability. Biotechnological applications have enhanced the effectiveness and cost-efficiencies of aquaculture by augmenting the productivity of aquaculture to meet global needs. Despite the benefits, the biotechnological application in …

Evaluating Myopic Loss Aversion Of Forestland Owners, Mustapha Alhassan, Marzieh Motallebi

Publications

Attracting forestland owners to participate in carbon markets can be challenging for several reasons including offset price volatility, legislative uncertainties, high costs of offset project development, long contract lengths, and landowners’ risk preferences. In this article, we elicit risk preferences and investigate Myopic Loss Aversion (MLA) of forestland owners using an economic experiment. The economic experiment is a betting game and we find that forestland owners exhibit MLA because they bet higher when returns from their investments are evaluated less frequently. Our results provide valuable information for developing carbon market protocols, especially in setting optimal evaluation periods of forest carbon …

Key Habitat Features Facilitate The Presence Of Barred Owls In Developed Landscapes, Marion A. Clement, Kyle Barrett, Robert F. Baldwin

Publications

As urbanization continues to transform landscapes, it is imperative to find ways to conserve biodiversity within fragmented habitats. Forest interior dwelling birds are particularly vulnerable to development pressures because they require large tracts of forest to support their life cycles. Although Barred Owls (Strix varia) are frequently described as an obligate mature forest species, they have been found in urbanized landscapes. To determine if certain habitat characteristics, such as mature trees, facilitate the presence of Barred Owls in developed regions, we modeled Barred Owl occupancy probability along a development gradient in the Piedmont region of the southeastern United …

Sibling Sex, But Not Androgens, Shapes Phenotypes In Perinatal Common Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus), Brett M. Frye, Lisa G. Rapaport, Michael W. Sears, Talia Melber, Suzette D. Tardif

Publications

When offspring share a womb, interactions among fetuses can impart lasting impressions on phenotypic outcomes. Such intrauterine interactions often are mediated by sex steroids (estrogens and androgens) produced by the developing fetuses. In many mammals, intrauterine interactions between brothers and sisters lead to masculinization of females, which can induce fitness consequences. Many litter-bearing primates, though, seem to escape androgen-mediated litter effects, begging why? Here, we investigated how the sex composition (i.e., same- or mixed-sex) of litters influences perinatal outcomes in the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus), using a combination of physiological, morphological, and behavioural assays. We hypothesized that …

Phylogenetic Origins For Severe Acetaminophen Toxicity In Snake Species Compared To Other Vertebrate Taxa, Peter Van Den Hurk, Harold M.I. Kerkkamp

Publications

While it has been known for a while that some snake species are extremely sensitive to acetaminophen, the underlying mechanism for this toxicity has not been reported. To investigate if essential detoxification enzymes are missing in snake species that are responsible for biotransformation of acetaminophen in other vertebrate species, livers were collected from a variety of snake species, together with samples from alligator, snapping turtle, cat, rat, and cattle. Subcellular fractions were analyzed for enzymatic activities of phenol-type sulfotransferase and UDP‑glucuronosyltransferase, total glutathione S‑transferase, and N‑acetyltransferase. The results showed that none of the snake species, together …

Sibling Sex, But Not Androgens, Shapes Phenotypes In Perinatal Common Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus), Brett M. Frye, Lisa G. Rapaport, Talia Melber, Michael W. Sears, Suzette D. Tardif

Publications

When offspring share a womb, interactions among fetuses can impart lasting impressions on phenotypic outcomes. Such intrauterine interactions often are mediated by sex steroids (estrogens and androgens) produced by the developing fetuses. In many mammals, intrauterine interactions between brothers and sisters lead to masculinization of females, which can induce fitness consequences. Many litter-bearing primates, though, seem to escape androgen-mediated litter effects, begging why? Here, we investigated how the sex composition (i.e., same- or mixed-sex) of litters influences perinatal outcomes in the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus), using a combination of physiological, morphological, and behavioural assays. We hypothesized that …

Differential Expression Of Genes Related To Innate Immune Responses In Ex Vivo Spinal Cord And Cerebellar Slice Cultures Infected With West Nile Virus, Amber M. Paul, Parminder J.S. Vig, Deyin Lu, Ram Kuwar, Maria Lopez, Dobrivoje S. Stokic, A. Arturo Leis, Michael R. Garrett, Fengwei Bai

Publications

West Nile virus (WNV) infection results in a spectrum of neurological symptoms, ranging from a benign fever to severe WNV neuroinvasive disease with high mortality. Many who recover from WNV neuroinvasive infection present with long-term deficits, including weakness, fatigue, and cognitive problems. While neurons are a main target of WNV, other cell types, especially astrocytes, play an important role in promoting WNV-mediated central nervous system (CNS) damage. Conversely, it has been shown that cultured primary astrocytes secrete high levels of interferons (IFNs) immediately after WNV exposure to protect neighboring astrocytes, as well as neurons. However, how intrinsic responses to WNV …

Evidence For Divergent Patterns Of Local Selection Driving Venom Variation In Mojave Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Scutulatus), Jason L. Strickland, Cara F. Smith, Andrew J. Mason, Drew R. Schield, Miguel Borja, Gamaliel Castañeda-Gaytán, Carol L. Spencer, Lydia L. Smith, Ann Trápaga, Nassima M. Bouzid, Gustavo Campillo-García, Oscar A. Flores-Villela, Daniel Antonio-Rangel, Stephen P. Mackessy, Todd A. Castoe, Darin R. Rokyta, Christopher L. Parkinson

Publications

Snake venoms represent an enriched system for investigating the evolutionary processes that lead to complex and dynamic trophic adaptations. It has long been hypothesized that natural selection may drive geographic variation in venom composition, yet previous studies have lacked the population genetic context to examine these patterns. We leverage range-wide sampling of Mojave Rattlesnakes (Crotalus scutulatus) and use a combination of venom, morphological, phylogenetic, population genetic, and environmental data to characterize the striking dichotomy of neurotoxic (Type A) and hemorrhagic (Type B) venoms throughout the range of this species. We find that three of the four previously identified …

Variation In Regional And Landscape Effects On Occupancy Of Temperate Bats In The Southeastern U.S., Benjamin D. Neece, Susan C. Loeb, David S. Jachowski

Publications

Habitat loss, wind energy development, and the disease white-nose syndrome are major threats contributing to declines in bat populations in North America. In the southeastern US in particular, the recent arrival of white-nose syndrome and changes in landscape composition and configuration have driven shifts in bat species populations and distributions. Effective management strategies which address these large-scale, community-level threats require landscape-scale analyses. Our objective was to model the relationship between ecoregional and landscape factors and occupancy by all bat species in South Carolina, USA, during summer. We conducted acoustic surveys from mid-May through July 2015 and 2016 and evaluated temporally …

Water-Soluble Cranberry Extract Inhibits Vibrio Cholerae Biofilm Formation Possibly Through Modulating The Second Messenger 3’, 5’ - Cyclic Diguanylate Level, Daniel B. Pederson, Yuqing Dong, Levi B. Blue, Sara V. Smith, Min Cao

Publications

Quorum sensing (QS) and nucleotide-based second messengers are vital signaling systems that regulate bacterial physiology in response to changing environments. Disrupting bacterial signal transduction is a promising direction to combat infectious diseases, and QS and the second messengers are undoubtedly potential targets. In Vibrio cholerae, both QS and the second messenger 3’, 5’—cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) play a central role in controlling motility, motile-to-sessile life transition, and virulence. In this study, we found that water-soluble extract from the North American cranberry could significantly inhibit V. cholerae biofilm formation during the development/maturation stage by reducing the biofilm matrix production and …

Heat Shock Protein 40 And Immune Function In Altered Gravity, Amber M. Paul, Brooke D. Shepard, Sharmila Bhattacharya

Publications

In space, astronauts are more susceptible to pathogens, viral reactivation and immunosuppression, which poses limits to their health and the mission. Interestingly, during space flight, stress-inducible heat shock proteins (HSP) are robustly induced, and the overexpression of HSPs have been implicated in immune dysregulation, therefore HSPs may be critically involved in regulating immune homeostasis. HSP40/DNAJ1 plays a major role in proper protein translation and folding. Its loss of function has been implicated in susceptibility to microbial infection, while its overexpression has been implicated in autoimmunity, collectively suggesting its complicated, but necessary, role in maintaining immunological function. To determine the role …

Neutrophil To Lymphocyte Ratio: A Prognostic Indicator For Astronaut Health, Amber M. Paul, Siddhita D. Mhatre, Egle Cekanaviciute, Ann-Sofie Schreurs, Candice G.T. Tahimic, Ruth K. Globus, Brian Crucian, Sharmila Bhattacharya

Publications

Short-term and long-term spaceflight missions can cause immune system dysfunction in astronauts. Recent studies indicate elevated white blood cells (WBC) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) in astronaut blood, along with unchanged or reduced lymphocyte counts, and reduced T cell function, during short-(days) and long-(months) term spaceflight. A high PMN to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can acts as a strong predictor of poor prognosis in cancer, and as a biomarker for subclinical inflammation in humans and chronic stress in mouse models, however, the NLR has not yet been identified as a predictor of astronaut health during spaceflight. For this, complete blood cell count …

Stress-Induced Heat Shock Protein 40 And Immune Function In Altered Gravity, Amber M. Paul, Brooke D. Shepard, Sharmila Bhattacharya

Publications

In space, astronauts are more susceptible to pathogens, viral reactivation and immunosuppression, which poses limits to their health and the mission. Interestingly, during space flight, stress-inducible heat shock proteins (HSP) are robustly induced, and the overexpression of HSPs have been implicated in immune dysregulation, therefore HSPs may be critically involved in regulating immune homeostasis. HSP40/DNAJ1 plays a major role in proper protein translation and folding. Its loss of function has been implicated in susceptibility to microbial infection, while its overexpression has been implicated in autoimmunity, collectively suggesting its complicated, but necessary, role in maintaining immunological function. To determine the role …

Urban Agriculture And Small Farm Water Use: Case Studies And Trends From Cache Valley, Utah, Tyler Pratt, L. Niel Allen, David E. Rosenberg, Andrew A. Keller, Kelly Kopp

Publications

The landscape of water in Utah is changing due to population growth, conversion of agricultural land to urban development, and increasing awareness of water scarcity. At the same time, Utah is experiencing a growing number of urban and small farms, but knowledge of water use in this sector is limited. Better understanding of what occurs at the field level on urban and small farms can aid state water use estimates and conservation efforts, and assist farmers in moving towards wiser water management. For the 2015 growing season, we performed irrigation evaluations for 24 urban and small farms in Cache Valley, …