Life Sciences Commons^™

Nebline, September 2002

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Food Safety at the Workplace: September is National Food Safety Education Month^SM
Test Your Refrigerator Food Safety Savvy Quiz
Storing Sweet Potatoes
Low Water Use Flowers for Your Landscape
2002 September/October Garden Calendar
Fall Rose Show
Horticulture information center
Protect Yourself from West Nile Virus by Controlling Mosquitoes
Recycle Used Oil!
Fall Cleaning?
Head Lice Videotape in English, Spanish and Arabic!
Basic Information about the 2002 Farm Bill
Wait to Use Fall Forage
Fall is a Good Time to Control Problem Weeds
Latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map
Organic Production
Let Popcorn Mature on the Stalk
Drying Gourds
Raising Ducks …

Comparing Clustering Algorithms For Use With Genomic And Proteomic Data, Rebecca A. Olson

Theses and Dissertations

The Human Genome Project and related projects have resulted in the development of a number of new experimental and analytic tools for use in genomic and proteomic research. In the area of toxicogenomics, researchers are concerned with how genes react to exposure to certain chemicals. The United States Air Force is interested in the effect of exposure to mission-essential chemicals. Although military personnel may come into contact with chemicals such as hydrazine, risk assessment is usually very limited. On the genomic level, risk assessment is a multi-stop and multi-disciplinary process. The process begins with an experiment that exposes cells to …

Validation Of A Finite-Element Stored Grain Ecosystem Model, Michael D. Montross, Dirk E. Maier, Kamyar Haghighi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

An axisymmetric finite–element model was validated with respect to predicting the heat, mass, and momentum transfer that occurred in upright corrugated–steel storage bins due to conduction, diffusion, and natural convection using realistic boundary conditions. Hourly weather data that included hourly total solar radiation, wind speed, ambient temperature, and relative humidity were used to model the corn temperature and moisture content during storage with no aeration, and with ambient and chilled aeration. Periods of aeration were simulated assuming a uniform airflow rate through the grain mass. Sixteen bins with a capacity of 11.7 t each and instrumented with temperature cables were …

Evolution And Dynamics Of Tropical River Plumes In The Great Barrier Reef: An Integrated Remote Sensing And In Situ Study, D.M. Burrage, M.L. Heron, J.M. Hacker, T.C. Stieglitz, C.R. Steinberg, A. Prytz

Faculty Publications

[1] The short-lived but intense discharge of freshwater from tropical rivers into the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Lagoon and the associated salinity reductions are a critical consideration in marine research and management of the ecologically sensitive GBR World Heritage Area. Salinity provides a unique tracer that gives clues to the origin of river-borne contaminants and allows the influences of storm-induced resuspension and river discharge on turbidity to be clearly distinguished. We describe a field investigation of the evolution and dynamics of the Herbert River plume in the central GBR. Its primary goals were to use an airborne salinity mapper and …

Defective Cd19-Dependent Signaling In B-1a And B-1b B Lymphocyte Subpopulations., Goutam Sen, Hsin-Jung Wu, Gabriel Bikah, Chandrasekar Venkataraman, Darrell A Robertson, E Charles Snow, Subbarao Bondada

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Peritoneal and pleural cavities in mice and humans contain a unique population of B-lymphocytes called B-1 cells that are defective in B cell antigen receptor (BCR) signaling but have an increased propensity to produce autoantibodies. Several molecules such as Btk, Vav, and CD19 known to be important for BCR signaling have been shown to be critical for the development of B-1 cells from undefined precursors. Here we demonstrate that B-1 cell unresponsiveness to BCR cross-linking is in part due to defective signaling through CD19, a molecule known to modulate signaling thresholds in B cells. The defective CD19 signaling is manifested …

Pineywoods Native Plant Center, Sept 2002, Sfa Gardens, Stephen F. Austin State University

SFA Gardens Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Eye Suppression, A Novel Function Of Teashirt, Requires Wingless Signaling, Amit Singh, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Y. Henry Sun

Biology Faculty Publications

Teashirt (tsh) encodes a Drosophila zinc-finger protein. Misexpression of tsh has been shown to induce ectopic eye formation in the antenna. We report that tsh can suppress eye development. This novel function of tsh is due to the induction of homothorax (hth), a known repressor of eye development, and requires Wingless (WG) signaling. Interestingly, tsh has different functions in the dorsal and ventral eye, suppressing eye development close to the ventral margin, while promoting eye development near the dorsal margin. It affects both growth of eye disc and retinal cell differentiation.

The Meowplex: A New Dna Test Using Tetranucleotide Str Markers For The Domestic Cat, John M. Butler, Victor A. David, Stephen J. O'Brien, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond

Biology Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Reduced Reproductive Effort In Male Field Crickets Infested With Parasitoid Fly Larvae, Gita R. Kolluru, Marlene Zuk, Mark A. Chappell

Biological Sciences

Some populations of the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus are parasitized by the phonotactic fly Ormia ochracea. Flies locate crickets by their song and deposit larvae onto them. The larvae develop inside the cricket for 1 week before killing the host upon emergence. The reproductive compensation hypothesis predicts that parasitized crickets should increase their reproductive effort during the initial stages of infestation to offset the loss of fitness resulting from their shortened life span. An alternative hypothesis predicts that parasitized crickets will decrease reproduction, either because they are unable to reproduce or because selection acting on the parasitoid favors decreased …

Microbial Cellulose Utilization: Fundamentals And Biotechnology, Lee R. Lynd, Paul J. Weimer, Willem H. Van Zyl, Isak S. Pretorius

Dartmouth Scholarship

Fundamental features of microbial cellulose utilization are examined at successively higher levels of aggregation encompassing the structure and composition of cellulosic biomass, taxonomic diversity, cellulase enzyme systems, molecular biology of cellulase enzymes, physiology of cellulolytic microorganisms, ecological aspects of cellulase-degrading communities, and rate-limiting factors in nature. The methodological basis for studying microbial cellulose utilization is considered relative to quantification of cells and enzymes in the presence of solid substrates as well as apparatus and analysis for cellulose-grown continuous cultures. Quantitative description of cellulose hydrolysis is addressed with respect to adsorption of cellulase enzymes, rates of enzymatic hydrolysis, bioenergetics of microbial …

Cauliflowers In Western Australia - An Industry Plan, Paul Mattingley

Agriculture reports

The Western Australian cauliflower industry is largely centered around the south-west of the State which, with its cool winter climate and medium to heavy loam soils is well suited to year round cauliflower production and accounts for 77% of State’s output. The Shire of Manjimup alone accounts for about 60% of the State’s cauliflower production. The second most significant region is the Swan Coastal Plain which has lighter soils, and a warmer climate. The Swan Coastal Plain is also suitable for year round production.

Market analysis indicates that West Australian cauliflower, whilst appearing more expensive than produce from the Eastern …

Control Of Witchweed Striga Hermonthica By Intercropping With Desmodium Spp., And The Mechanism Defined As Allelopathic, Zeyaur R. Khan, Ahmed Hassanali, William Overholt, Tsanuo M. Khamis, Antony M. Hooper, John A. Pickett, Lester J. Wadhams, Christine M. Woodcock

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

During investigations into the control of insect damage to maize crops in subsistence farming in Kenya, which involved intercropping with repellent plants, the fodder legumes silverleaf (Desmodium uncinatum) and greenleaf (D. intortum) were also found to reduce dramatically the infestation of maize by parasitic witchweeds such as Striga hermonthica. This effect was confirmed by further field testing and shown to be significantly greater than that observed with other legumes, e.g., cowpea, as were the concomitant yield increases. The mechanism was investigated, and although soil shading and addition of nitrogen fertilizer showed some benefits against S. hermonthica infestation, a putative allelopathic …

Relationship Between Secondary Metabolism And Fungal Development, Ana M. Calvo, Richard A. Wilson, Jin Woo Bok, Nancy P. Keller

Fungal Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

Details findings related to the relationship between secondary metabolism and fungal development.

Hermit Warbler In Knox County: First Accepted Record For Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2002 Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Record Committee has reviewed the following record and accepted it as a Class III. This Knox County sighting constitutes the first confirmed record of Hermit Warbler in Nebraska.

On 15 May, 2002, while birding with Ben Brogie, we stopped at an isolated planting of mixed hardwoods and Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) on a high hill 5.5 miles north (Road 530) of Creighton. We noticed several birds moving among the branches along the roadside and upon "spishing" for just a few seconds we attracted a female Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina) and …

Riparian Vegetation Of The Lower Rio Grande, Robert I. Lonard, Frank W. Judd

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The riparian vegetation of the lower reach of the Rio Grande was studied at 7 locations using 3 line intercepts at each location. There were no trees at the mouth of the river and the vegetation was similar to that found along the Laguna Madre shore of barrier islands. Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) was the dominant tree near the coast and in the western section of the river near Falcon Dam. Sugar hackberry (Celtis laevigata) was the dominant tree species at all other sites except at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, where cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia) and anacua (Ehretia anacua) were …

Investigating The Mechanism Of Acoustically Activated Uptake Of Drugs From Pluronic Micelles, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Christopher M. Runyan, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

Background

This paper examines the mechanism of ultrasonic enhanced drug delivery from Pluronic micelles. In previous publications by our group, fluorescently labeled Pluronic was shown to penetrate HL-60 cells with and without the action of ultrasound, while drug uptake was increased with the application of ultrasound.

Methods

In this study, the amount of uptake of two fluorescent probes, Lysosensor Green (a pH-sensitive probe) and Cell Tracker Orange CMTMR (a pH-independent probe), was measured in HL-60 and HeLa cells.

Results

The results of our experiments show that the increase in drug accumulation in the cells as a result of ultrasonication is …

Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House, John Owens

John Owens: Speeches and Appearances

What a tremendous gift “Pete” and Abbie Gudmundsen gave to the University, to the people who live throughout their beloved Sandhills, and to the entire State of Nebraska when they donated their 12,817 acre ranch, the Rafter C, to the University of Nebraska Foundation in 1978. And what tremendous work our faculty and staff have accomplished here over the past 20 years. UNL faculty and staff research and educational efforts have truly made this ranch the “Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory.”

Analysis Of Platelet Activating Factor In The Gravid Reproductive Tracts Of Swine, William E. Plummer

Animal Science

No abstract provided.

Cropwatch No. 2002-20, Aug. 23, 2002, Lisa Brown Jasa

Crop Watch (1994–2005)

Wheat issue

Inside

Field updates ......................... 182

Management tips ................... 182

Planting dates ........................ 183

Weed control in wheat ........... 184

Variety results on-line ............ 185

Grasshopper threat ................ 186

Hopper control funds ............. 186

Hard white wheat incentives .. 187

Sorghum tour ......................... 187

Liming alfalfa .......................... 188

Preparing the seedbed and adjusting the planter ... 189

Testing for nitrogen ............... 190

Verbena Bracteata Lag. & Rodr., Tad M. Zebryk

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Viola Lanceolata L. Var. Lanceolata, Tad M. Zebryk

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Verbena Urticifolia L., Gordon C. Tucker

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Verbena Hastata L., Tad M. Zebryk

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Vitis Aestivalis F.Michx., Gordon C. Tucker

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Vitis Vulpina L., Gordon C. Tucker

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Endangered And Threatened Wildlife And Plants: Designation Of Critical Habitat For The Topeka Shiner, Proposed Rule

Endangered Species Bulletin

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, propose designation of critical habitat pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, for the Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka). This proposal is made in response to a court settlement in Biodiversity Legal Foundation et al. v. Ralph Morganweck et al. C00–D–1180, committing the Service to submit for publication in the Federal Register a proposal to withdraw the existing ‘‘not prudent’’ critical habitat determination together with a new proposed critical habitat determination for the Topeka shiner by August 13, 2002. We are proposing to designate as critical habitat a …

Cosolvent-Induced Transformation Of A Death Domain Tertiary Structure, Tsan Xiao, Kevin H. Gardner, Stephen R. Sprang

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The death domain (DD) of the protein kinase Pelle adopts a six-helix bundle fold in the crystal structure of the complex with its dimerization partner, Tube-DD. However, in crystals obtained from a solution of 45% 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol (MPD), the C-terminal half of Pelle-DD folds into a single helix, and the N-terminal half of the molecule is disordered. The helical segment forms an antiparallel dimer with the corresponding helix of a symmetry-related molecule, and together they form extensive lattice interactions similar in number, composition, and buried surface to those in the six-helix bundle of the native fold. Secondary structure analysis by heteronuclear …

Nitrogen And Dry Matter Distribution By Culm And Leaf Position At Two Stages Of Vegetative Growth In Winter Wheat, Wally Wilhelm, G. S. Mcmaster, Dorothy M. Harrell

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Knowledge of N and assimilate partitioning in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) improves management efficacy and crop model development. Our purpose was to describe N and dry matter distribution during vegetative growth of blades, sheaths, and internodes on four culms. Winter wheat grown at the Colorado State University Horticultural Farm was sampled at Haun Stage 5 and jointing. Samples were dried, weighed, and analyzed for N. As the canopy developed and older tissue contributed more of total tissue, N concentration decreased although N mass and dry weight increased. Dry matter and N mass decreased from MC to T1 and T2 …

Discovering Lactic Acid Bacteria By Genomics, Todd Klaenhammer, Eric Altermann, Fabrizio Arigoni, Alexander Bolotin, Fred Breidt, Jeffrey Broadbent, Raul Cano, Stephane Chaillou, Josef Deutscher, Mike Gasson, Maarten Van De Gutche, Jean Guzzo, Axel Hartke, Trevor Hawkins, Pascal Hols, Robert W. Hutkins, Michiel Kleerebezem, Jan Kok, Oscar Kuipers, Mark Lubbers, Emanuelle Maguin, Larry Mckay, David Mills, Arjen Nauta, Ross Overbeek, Herman Pel, David Pridmore, Milton Saier, Douwe Van Sinderen, Alexei Sorokin, James Steele, Daniel O'Sullivan, Willem De Vos, Bart Weimer, Monique Zagorec, Roland Seizen

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

This review summarizes a collection of lactic acid bacteria that are now undergoing genomic sequencing and analysis. Summaries are presented on twenty different species, with each overview discussing the organisms fundamental and practical significance, environmental habitat, and its role in fermentation, bioprocessing, or probiotics. For those projects where genome sequence data were available by March 2002, summaries include a listing of key statistics and interesting genomic features. These efforts will revolutionize our molecular view of Gram-positive bacteria, as up to 15 genomes from the low GC content lactic acid bacteria are expected to be available in the public domain by …

Ua1b1/7 Groundbreaking For Complex For Engineering & Biological Sciences, Wku Office Of Event Planning

WKU Administration Documents

Program for the Complex for Engineering & Biological Science groundbreaking ceremony.