Life Sciences Commons^™

Naceb Luncheon, John Owens

John Owens: Speeches and Appearances

I hope you all had the opportunity to see the first issue of University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension’s Connect newsletter. It contains a quote that strikes me as so powerful that I can’t imagine there is a single extension-specialist or educator in this state who wouldn’t walk around with a big grin on their faces because of this wonderful comment.

The Clone Wars: The Growing Debate Over Federal Cloning Legislation, John Garvish

Duke Law & Technology Review

As readers of science fiction are well aware, the term "clone" refers to asexually produced offspring, that is, offspring produced by a process of cell-division which does not begin with the union of two sex cells. A clone is the genetic twin of the cell donor. Propagation of plants by this method is, of course, commonplace, but mammalian reproduction in this fashion would indeed be a revolutionary accomplishment, with profound and disturbing implications.

Meeting Minutes, June 16th, 2001, National Smokejumper Association Board Of Directors

National Smokejumper Association Meeting Minutes

Agenda: Board of Directors Elected; Term Completed; Treasurer's Report; Membership Report; Merchandise Report; Magazine Report; Other Museum-Related Actions; NSA Website; Relational Database; Digitizing NSA Records; Yearbook report; Trails Project; Investment Fund; Commercial Purposes; Video Report; Planning Chairman; NEW BUSINESS; Election of new officers; Reunion 2004; Teleconferencing; Award Certificates; Next Meetings; Magazine Deadline; Missoula Visitor's Center; Adjourn;

Molecular Diversity, Structure And Domestication Of Grasses, Edward S. Buckler Iv, Jeffry M. Thornsberry, Stephen Kresovich

Faculty Publications

Over the last 10,000 years, crop domestication has been the single most important human cultural development. Grasses are prominent among these crops, and provide the vast majority of the world's food. Similar traits have been selected during the domestication and breeding of these critically important grasses, and since they share a similar complement of genes, the same set of genes may have been selected. Even though the process of domestication occurred over the same 5000 to 10,000 year period, the domesticated grasses have major differences in genome structure, diversity, and life history. Molecular investigations of grass domestication have succeeded in …

Phemeranthus Rugospermus (Holz.) Kiger, John E. Ebinger

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Vitis Vulpina L., John E. Ebinger

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Cannabis Sativa L., John E. Ebinger

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Properties Of The Water Column And Bottom Derived From Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (Aviris) Data, Zhongping Lee, Kendall L. Carder, Robert F. Chen, Thomas G. Peacock

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Using Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data as an example, we show in this study that the properties of the water column and bottom of a large, shallow area can be adequately retrieved using a model-driven optimization technique. The simultaneously derived properties include bottom depth, bottom albedo, and water absorption and backscattering coefficients, which in turn could be used to derive concentrations of chlorophyll, dissolved organic matter, and suspended sediments in the water column. The derived bottom depths were compared with a bathymetry chart and a boat survey and were found to agree very well. Also, the derived bottom …

Saharan Dust And Florida Red Tides: The Cyanophyte Connection, John J. Walsh, Karen A. Steidinger

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Prediction of the consequences of harmful algal blooms for humans and other vertebrates is constrained by an inadequate understanding of the factors that promote their initiation. A simple exponential growth model of net production is used for analysis of four time series at different sampling intervals over similar to 40 years of red tide strandings, associated fish kills, and concomitant dust loadings on the West Florida shelf. at least large summer blooms of a toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium breve appear to be primed regularly by an aeolian supply of nutrients. Wet deposition of Saharan mineral aerosols may alleviate iron limitation of …

Shape Imprinting Due To Variable Disulfide Bonds In Polyacrylamide Gels, Andrew B. Greytak, Alexander Y. Grosberg, Toyoichi Tanaka

Faculty Publications

Through the use of variable disulfide crosslinkers, we have created polyacrylamide gels whose shape can be altered after polymerization. N,N'-bisacryloylcystamine is incorporated as a crosslinker, along with a smaller amount of a permanent crosslinker. After polymerization, the disulfide bonds are cleaved into thiols through reduction. By reoxidizing the thiols with the gel held in a new macroscopic shape, a new set of disulfide bonds is formed, and the gel is forced to adopt the new shape. Retension of the new shape improves with greater distortion from the original shape, as well as with increased concentration of variable …

Chloropigment Distribution And Transport On The Inner Shelf Off Duck, North Carolina, Eurico J. D'Sa, Steven E. Lohrenz, James H. Churchill, Vernon L. Asper, John L. Largier, Albert J. Williams Iii

Faculty Publications

The distribution and movement of chloropigments (chlorophylls and associated degradation products) in the bottom boundary layer near Duck, North Carolina, were examined during July and August 1994. Time series of chloropigment fluorescence, current velocity, and surface wave properties were acquired from instruments mounted on a bottom tripod set at 20 m depth. These data were combined with moored current meter measurements, meteorological data, and shipboard surveys in a comparative assessment of physical processes and chloropigment distribution over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Two dominant scales of chloropigment variation were observed. On numerous occasions, small-scale (order m) structure …

Evolution Of A Scientific Meeting: Eighty Annual Meetings Of The American Society Of Mammalogists, 1919-2000, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The American Society of Mammalogists has held 80 annual meetings between 1919 and 2000. These meetings have been held in 32 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Mexico. At least 86 people have served as the chair or co-chair of the Local Committee planning the meetings. The number of technical presentations has grown from a low of 17 in 1921 to 340 in 1994. Symposia were an early feature of annual meetings but did not become a regular feature until 1971. Poster presentations were introduced in 1979 and reached a high of 195 posters at the 1994 annual …

Isolated Spinach Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxgenase Large Subunit Ε N-Methyltransferase And Method Of Inactivating Ribulose-1,5-Bishosphatase Ε N-Methyltransferase Activity, Robert L. Houtz

Horticulture Faculty Patents

The gene sequence for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) large subunit (LS)^εN-methyltansferase (protein methylase III or Rubisco LSMT) from a plant which has a des(methyl) lysyl residue in the LS is disclosed. In addition, the full-length cDNA clones for Rubisco LSMT are disclosed. Transgenic plants and methods of producing same which have the Rubisco LSMT gene inserted into the DNA are also provided. Further, methods of inactivating the enzymatic activity of Rubisco LSMT are also disclosed.

Effect Of Cooling Rate On Nucleation Behavior Of Milk Fat-Sunflower Oil Blends, Silvana Martini, M. L. Herrera, R. W. Hartel

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

The effect of cooling rate on the crystallization behavior of mixes of high-melting milk fat fraction (HMF) and sunflower oil (SFO) was studied by following nucleation with laser-polarized turbidimetry. The initial crystals were photographed, and their thermal and polymorphic behaviors, as well as chemical composition, were investigated by calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and capillary gas chromatography. Activation energies of nucleation were calculated using the Fisher−Turnbull equation. Despite small differences in Mettler dropping points for different ratios of SFO to HMF, induction times were significantly different between samples and were shorter at a slow cooling rate for the same supercooling. Rapidly cooled …

Different Regulatory Mechanisms Modulate The Expression Of A Dinoflagellate Iron-Superoxide Dismutase, O. Keith Okamoto, Deborah L. Robertson, Thomas F. Fagan, J. Woodland Hastings, Pio Colepicolo

Biology

Regulation of antioxidant enzymes is critical to control the levels of reactive oxygen species in cell compartments highly susceptible to oxidative stress. In this work, we studied the regulation of a chloroplastic iron superoxide dismutase (Fe-SOD) from Lingulodinium polyedrum (formerly Gonyaulax polyedra) under different physiological conditions. A cDNA-encoding Fe-SOD was isolated from this dinoflagellate, showing high sequence similarity to cyanobacterial, algal, and plant Fe-SODs. Under standard growth conditions, on a 12:12-h light-dark cycle, Lingulodinium polyedrum Fe-SOD exhibited a daily rhythm of activity and cellular abundance with the maximum occurring during the middle of the light phase. Northern analyses showed that …

Lincoln Downtown Rotary Club, John Owens

John Owens: Speeches and Appearances

Good afternoon, and thank you for inviting me to be here with you today. One of the things I'm enjoying most in my new position as University of Nebraska Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Harlan Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources is meeting the people who live in this state, in urban and rural areas, from Scottsbluff to Omaha, from Lincoln to Curtis, and at any number of towns - north, south, east, west - in between.

An Examination Of Southeastern U.S. Satyrium (Lycaenidae: Theclinae), Part One: An Obscure New Subspecies Of Satyrium Edwardsii, Ronald R. Gatrelle

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Satyrium edwardsii meridionale is described as a new subspecies from Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. This scarce colony is the southeasternmost known population of this butterfly in the United States. It was discovered by the author (Ronald R. Gatrelle) in 1990 near Aiken State Park in Aiken County, South Carolina. This site is in South Carolina’s upper Coastal Plain in the southern part of the state adjacent to Georgia. It is known from only one male and one female at the type locality. Because it was known from only one pair, the author thought it best to wait until …

The Relationship Of Naming Errors To The Future Diagnosis Of Dementia In Optimally Healthy Young-Old And Oldest-Old Adults, Connie Marie Leasure

Dissertations and Theses

Thirty-nine expository discourse samples were elicited from optimally healthy young-old (65-75 years old) and old-old (85-100 years old) adults in 19990 as part of the longitudinal Oregon Brian Aging Study (OBAS). These samples were analyzed in this study for naming errors.

The purposes of this study were to determine if the ability to name is affected by age, and to determine if naming errors produced by optimally healthy adults correlated with a future diagnosis of dementia. This study attempted to answer the following questions: 1) which age group made the most naming? and 2) which cognitive status group made the …

Yield Response And N-Fertilizer Recovery Of Rainfed Wheat Growing In The Mediterranean Region, C. Kirda, James S. Schepers

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Yield response and isotopic N-fertilizer recovery of rainfed wheat were assessed as influenced by fertilizer rate and timing. A popular bread wheat cultivar, Seri 82, was planted in a 4-year experiment from 1994/1995 to 1997/1998. Urea fertilizer was applied at rates of 0-240 N ha^-1 in two split applications. Fertilizer-N recovery and residual N remaining in the soil after wheat harvest were measured using ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizers. The highest wheat grain yield ranged from 4.9 to 6.9 t ha^-1 with 240 kg N ha^-1 fertilizer. The 4-year results showed that wheat benefited least from the fertilizer applied …

Parthenocissus Quinquefolia (L.) Planch., John E. Ebinger

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Parthenocissus Quinquefolia (L.) Planch., John E. Ebinger

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Descriptions Of The Larvae Of Hoplopyga Singularis (Gory And Percheron) And Hologymnetis Cinerea (Gory And Percheron) With A Revised Key To The Larvae Of New World Gymnetini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), Estefanía Micó, W. Eugene Hall, Brett C. Ratcliffe

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

The larvae of two cetoniine scarab beetles, Hoplopyga singularis (Gory and Percheron) from Brazil and Hologymnetis cinerea (Gory and Percheron) from Mexico, are described. The latter is the first description of a larva in this genus. Both of these species are included in a revised key to the larvae of New World Gymnetini (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), which now includes ten species in eight genera.

Se describen las larvas de dos cetoninos, Hoplopyga singularis (Gory and Percheron) de Brasil y de Hologymnetis cinerea (Gory and Percheron) de México, siendo esta última, la primera descripción larvaria para el género Hologymnetis. Se aporta una …

Breeding For End-Use Quality: Reflections On The Nebraska Experience, P. Stephen Baenziger, D. R. Shelton, M. J. Shipman, R. A. Graybosch

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Every cultivar released in Nebraska must have four characteristics: improved agronomic performance relative to existing cultivars, exceptional winterhardiness, resistance to Puccinia graminis (the causal agent of stem rust), and acceptable end-use quality. This paper will discuss our strategy for breeding cultivars with acceptable end-use quality. All experimental lines are derived from crosses with at least one or more parents with acceptable enduse quality. As soon as individual lines are identified (F₅) generation, microquality analyses are conducted and approximately 10% are discarded on the basis of poor end-use quality. In the F 6 and later generations, samples are composited …

Scott Coastal Plain A Strategy For A Sustainable Future, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

The Scott Coastal Plain has significant attributes that make it an area of State and regional significance for agricultural production. The climate, availability of good quality groundwater for irrigation, and large lot sizes provide opportunities for mechanised horticultural production which other parts of the State may not have.

An estimate of the area that could be used for each agricultural land use has been developed, at a broad study area level. The figures presented in this report show that diversified production combining tree plantation and/or irrigation (cropping or hay/silage) with grazing enterprises provides for potential increases in gross margins and …

G Protein Regulation Of Ion Channels And Abscisic Acid Signaling In Arabidopsis Guard Cells, Hemayet Ullah, Xi-Qing Wang, Alan Jones, Sarah Assmann

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) promotes plant water conservation by decreasing the apertures of stomatal pores in the epidermis through which water loss occurs. We found that Arabidopsis thaliana plants harboring transferred DNA insertional mutations in the sole prototypical heterotrimeric GTP-binding (G) protein alpha subunit gene, GPA1, lack both ABA inhibition of guard cell inward K(+) channels and pH-independent ABA activation of anion channels. Stomatal opening in gpa1 plants is insensitive to inhibition by ABA, and the rate of water loss from gpa1 mutants is greater than that from wild-type plants. Manipulation of G protein status in guard cells may …

Parasitism Patterns And The Size-Fecundity Relationship In The Acoustically Orienting Dipteran Parasitoid Ormia Ochracea, Gita R. Kolluru, Marlene Zuk

Biological Sciences

Female parasitoids are expected to distribute offspring among hosts in a manner that maximizes fitness. Several theoretical and empirical studies have focussed on clutch-size patterns in hymenopteran parasitoids. In contrast, dipteran parasitoids, which differ from hymenopterans in potentially important ways, have received little attention. The phonotactic tachinid fly Ormia ochracea has been intensively studied for its effects on host crickets, and has recently been the subject of studies of its own reproductive biology. This work suggests a negative relationship between clutch size and progeny fitness (consistent with hymenopterans), but no adjustment of clutch size to host size (different from hymenopterans). …

Summarizing Data Sets For Classification, Christopher W. Kinzig, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Gary B. Lamont, Robert E. Marmelstein

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper describes our approach and experiences with implementing a data mining system using genetic algorithms in C++. In contrast with earlier classification algorithms that tended to “tile” the data sets using some pre-specified “shapes”, the proposed system is based on Marmelstein’s work on determining natural boundaries for class homogeneous regions. These boundaries are further refined to construct a compact set of simple data mining rules for classification.

Book Review Of "Ecology And Conservation Of Grassland Birds Of The Western Hemisphere", Eric K. Bollinger

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This book review appeared in The Auk, Volume 118 No. 3 (July 2001).

Book Review Of "Ecology And Conservation Of Grassland Birds Of The Western Hemisphere", Eric Bollinger

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This book review appeared in The Auk, Volume 118 No. 3 (July 2001).

Mammalian Play: Training For The Unexpected, Marek Špinka, Ruth C. Newberry, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

In this review, we present a new conceptual framework for the study of play behavior, a hitherto puzzling array of seemingly purposeless and unrelated behavioral elements that are recognizable as play throughout the mammalian lineage. Our major new functional hypothesis is that play enables animals to develop flexible kinematic and emotional responses to unexpected events in which they experience a sudden loss of control. Specifically, we propose that play functions to increase the versatility of movements used to recover from sudden shock such as loss of balance and falling over, and to enhance the ability of animals to cope emotionally …