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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Simple, Compact Source For Low-Temperature Air Plasmas, D. Sheehan, J. Lawson, M. Sosa, Richard Long Oct 2012

Simple, Compact Source For Low-Temperature Air Plasmas, D. Sheehan, J. Lawson, M. Sosa, Richard Long

Richard A. Long

A simple, compact source of low-temperature, spatially and temporally uniform air plasma using a Telsa induction coil driver is described. The low-power ionization discharge plasma is localized (2 cm X 0.5 cm X 0.1 cm) and essentially free of arc channels. A Teflon coated rolling cylindrical electrode and dielectric coated ground plate are essential to the source’s operation and allow flat test samples to be readily exposed to the plasma. The plasma is a copious source of ozone and nitrogen oxides. Its effects on various microbes are discussed.


Individual Cell Growth Rates Of Marine Bacteria, Measured By Bromodeoxyuridine Incorporation, Koji Hamasaki, Richard A. Long, Farooq Azam Oct 2012

Individual Cell Growth Rates Of Marine Bacteria, Measured By Bromodeoxyuridine Incorporation, Koji Hamasaki, Richard A. Long, Farooq Azam

Richard A. Long

We tested the application of 5-bromo-2’-deoxyuridine (BrdU), a thymidine analogue that becomes incorporated into DNA during growth, to measure growth rates of individual marine bacteria cells. Immunocytochemical detection of BrdU incorporation into bacterial DNA has the potential for single-cell-based growth measurement. Optimized procedure for immunocytochemistry was applicable to 14 marine heterotrophic bacterial isolates belonging to g-proteobacteria, α-proteobacteria, Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) group and Gram-positive bacteria. The relationship between cell-specific fluorescence intensity and specific growth rate was linearly correlated among CFB group isolates, which indicated a potential of the method for quantitative measurement. Analysis of the detection limit indicated …


Coupling Between Bacterioplankton Species Composition, Population Dynamics, And Organic Matter Degradation, Jarone Pinhassi, Farooq Azam, Johanna Hemphälä, Richard A. Long, Josefina Martinez, Ulla Li Zweifel, Åke Hagström Oct 2012

Coupling Between Bacterioplankton Species Composition, Population Dynamics, And Organic Matter Degradation, Jarone Pinhassi, Farooq Azam, Johanna Hemphälä, Richard A. Long, Josefina Martinez, Ulla Li Zweifel, Åke Hagström

Richard A. Long

To study the effect of substrate addition on short term bacterial population dynamics and species composition in seawater mesocosms were maintained with water collected off Scripps Pier (La Jolla, California USA) Protein enrichment (BSA) triggered a dynamic response from the microbial food web, whereas enrichment with starch had no effect. In the protein enriched mesocosm the number of both nucleoid-containing cells and metabolically active cells increased by 3.0 X 105 cells ml-1 from Day 1 to Day 4 In the same time period the density of a set of 31 phylogenetically different bacteria (α- and g-Proteobactena as well as Flexibacter-Cytophaga-Bacteroides) …


Abundant Protein-Containing Particles In The Sea, Richard A. Long, Farooq Azam Oct 2012

Abundant Protein-Containing Particles In The Sea, Richard A. Long, Farooq Azam

Richard A. Long

The interaction of bacteria with particulate organic matter has implications for organic matter cycling and bacterial ecology in the ocean. Until recently, the focus has been on 'classical' particles visible by unaided eye (marine snow) or light microscopy. Recent discoveries of several new types of abundant particles, from sub-micrometer to sub-marine snow, are changing our ideas of the physical and chemical nature of the particle field with which pelagic bacteria interact. Previous workers have discovered polysaccharide-containing (Alcian Blue stainable) transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) ranging from 3 to 100s of micrometers. Looking for additional components of the sub-marine snow particle field, …


Teaching Stress Physiology Using Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Michael Cooper, Shree Dhawale, Ahmed Mustafa Apr 2012

Teaching Stress Physiology Using Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Michael Cooper, Shree Dhawale, Ahmed Mustafa

Ahmed Mustafa Dr.

A straightforward and inexpensive laboratory experiment is presented that investigates the physiological stress response of zebrafish after a 5 °C increase in water temperature. This experiment is designed for an undergraduate physiology lab and allows students to learn the scientific method and relevant laboratory techniques without causing significant stress to animals. An additional experimental design and a set of additional questions for lab report are also included.


A Unified View Of Base Excision Repair, Karen Almeida, Robert Sobol Apr 2012

A Unified View Of Base Excision Repair, Karen Almeida, Robert Sobol

Karen H Almeida

Base excision repair (BER) proteins act upon a significantly broad spectrum of DNA lesions that result from endogenous and exogenous sources. Multiple sub-pathways of BER (short-path or longpatch) and newly designated DNA repair pathways (e.g., SSBR and NIR) that utilize BER proteins complicate any comprehensive understanding of BER and its role in genome maintenance, chemotherapeutic response, neurodegeneration, cancer or aging. Herein, we propose a unified model of BER, comprised of three functional processes: Lesion Recognition/Strand Scission, Gap Tailoring and DNA Synthesis/Ligation, each represented by one or more multiprotein complexes and coordinated via the XRCC1/DNA Ligase III and PARP1 scaffold proteins. …


Interaction Of Fish Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Paralogs (Ahr1 And Ahr2) With The Retinoblastoma Protein, Rebeka Merson, Sibel Karchner, Mark Hahn Apr 2012

Interaction Of Fish Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Paralogs (Ahr1 And Ahr2) With The Retinoblastoma Protein, Rebeka Merson, Sibel Karchner, Mark Hahn

Rebeka Rand Merson

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) mediates the toxic effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin (TCDD) and related compounds. In some mammalian cell lines, TCDD induces G1 cell cycle arrest, which depends on an interaction between the AHR and the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (RB). Mammals possess one AHR, whereas fishes possess two or more AHR paralogs that differ in the domains important for AHR-RB interactions in mammals. To test the hypothesis that fish AHR paralogs differ in their ability to interact with RB, we cloned RB cDNA from Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, and studied the interactions of killifish RB protein with killifish AHR1 and …


Sharks Of The Devonian, Andrew Blitman Dec 2011

Sharks Of The Devonian, Andrew Blitman

Andrew Blitman

No abstract provided.