Life Sciences Commons^™

Technical Assessment Of Natural Resource Management Threats And Options In The Northern Agricultural Region Of Western Australia, Lorinda Hunt, G Patterson, Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (Wa)

Resource management technical reports

Analysis of the risk of soil, land and water degradation within the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia. Natural resource issues discussed include: acid groundwater, acid sulfate soils, climate change, dryland salinity, flooding, herbicide resistance, non-wetting (water repellence), nutrient loss and eutrophication, remnant vegetation decline, soil acidity, soil fertility decline, soil structure decline, subsurface compaction, waterlogging, wind erosion and soil contamination.

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 9 - Enhancing The Emergency Disease Response Capability Of The Western Australian Department Of Fisheries And Industry Bodies Associated With Freshwater Crayfish. Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram: Frdc Project No. 2003/671, Frances Stephens, Brian Jones, Iain East, Karina Scott, Simon Bennison

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

CRAYFISH PLAGUE IS A MAJOR DISEASE AFFECTING FRESHWATER CRAYFISH IN SOME AREAS OF THE WORLD. THE DISEASE HAS NEVER BEEN REPORTED IN AUSTRALIA. THE SIMULATION EXERCISE THAT WAS UNDERTAKEN AS PART OF THIS PROJECT WAS A RESPONSE TO A FICTITIOUS OUTBREAK OF CRAYFISH PLAGUE.

Funding for this project was provided to enable an exercise simulating an outbreak of crayfish plague to be conducted in Western Australia. Crayfish plague is a fungal disease (Aphanomyces astaci) that has devastated some freshwater crayfish populations in Europe but has never been recorded in Australia. The exercise was planned arounda fictitious outbreak of crayfish plague …

Development Of A Novel Chloramphenicol Resistance Expression Plasmid Used For Genetic Complementation Of A Flig Deletion Mutant In Treponema Denticola, Linda L. Slivienski-Gebhardt, Jacques Izard, William A. Samsonoff, Ronald J. Limberger

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

A new expression plasmid containing the fla operon promoter and a staphylococcal chloramphenicol resistance gene, was constructed to help assess the role of fliG in Treponema denticola motility. Deletion of fliG resulted in a nonmotile mutant with a markedly decreased number of flagellar filaments. Wild-type fliG genes from T. denticola and from Treponema pallidum were cloned into this expression plasmid. In both cases, the gene restored the ability of the mutant to gyrate its cell ends and enabled colony spreading in agarose. This shuttle plasmid enables high-level expression of genes in T. denticola and possesses an efficient selectable …

Condylar Remodeling After Distraction Osteogenesis And Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy, Robert Barker Hoffman

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The present pilot study is a histological evaluation of mandibular condyles taken from minipigs that underwent either traditional mandibular advancement (bilateral sagittal split osteotomy), or a distraction osteogenesis procedure to advance the mandible. One pig received a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy with an immediate mandibular advancement of 14 mm, while another pig underwent distraction osteogenesis consisting of a gradual advancement of 2 mm per day to advance the mandible the same distance. The control animal received no surgery.

In the present study, the mandibular condyles of the three pigs (2 control, 2 bilateral sagittal split osteotomy, and 2 distraction osteogenesis) …

Impact Of Antibiotic Usage On Resistance In Microorganisms; Urinary Tract Infections With E-Coli As A Case In Point, N Sabir, Erum Khan, L Sheikh, Rumina Hasan

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objectives:
In this study, we sought to establish a correlation between consumption of flouoroquinolones in our hospital and the emergence of ofloxacin resistant strains of E. coli in the urinary specimens. Data of all urinary samples, received at Aga Khan University Hospital between January 1995 and December 2002, was retrieved and analyzed. Specimens yielding E-coli as an isolate were included in this study.
Methods:
E. coli Isolates showing >103 colonies were identified using standard microbiological techniques. Antibiotic susceptibility of E. coli was tested using Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Antimicrobial usage data, obtained through hospital Pharmacy as unit utilized per …

Levels Of Intravenous Enterococcus Faecalis That Cause Heart Colonization, Louis Zane Stromberg

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

While previous studies have shown that presence of bacteria in systemic circulation can cause infective endocarditis, there is no information on the specific amount of bacteria necessary to cause this condition. The purpose of this study was to establish the minimum level of circulating bacteria that will cause colonization of damaged heart valves in rats. Fifty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and their heart valves were damaged using an established protocol. A clinical isolate of Enterococcus faecalis was transformed with a plasmid bearing the luxF and Chloramphenicol cassettes to label the bacteria with the light-emitting protein. After four weeks, the rats …

Genesis: The Evolution Of Biology, Michael Dietrich

Dartmouth Scholarship

Review of Genesis: The Evolution of Biology by Jan Sapp, 2003.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 36, No.3 September 2004

The Prairie Naturalist

OVERLAND MOVEMENTS AND HABITAT USE OF MALLARD BROODS DEPARTING OVERWATER NESTING STRUCTURES ▪ J. D. Stafford, L. D. Flake, and P. W. Mammenga

NEST SITE CHARACTERISTICS OF EASTERN WILD TURKEY IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ R. D. Shields and L. D. Flake

WHITE-TAILED DEER INFECTEUWITH STAPHYLOCOCCUS HYICUS IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ T. J. Zimmerman, J. A. Jenks, and A. E. Pillatzki

CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS TYPE A IN A FREE-RANGING FAWN? ▪ T. J. Brinkman, J. A. Jenks, C. S. DePerno, and B. S. Haroldson

BUFFLEHEAD BREEDING ACTIVITY IN SOUTH-CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ▪ G. A. Knutsen and J. C. King

POTENTIAL MULTIPLE …

Zebra Mussels Affect Benthic Predator Foraging Success, Mark Beekey, D. J. Mccabe, I. E. Marsden

Biology Faculty Publications

The introduction of zebra mussels (Dreissena spp.) to North America has resulted in dramatic changes to the complexity of benthic habitats. Changes in habitat complexity may have profound effects on predator-prey interactions in aquatic communities. Increased habitat complexity may affect prey and predator dynamics by reducing encounter rates and foraging success. Zebra mussels form thick contiguous colonies on both hard and soft substrates. While the colonization of substrata by zebra mussels has generally resulted in an increase in both the abundance and diversity of benthic invertebrate communities, it is not well known how these changes affect the foraging efficiencies of …

Multiple Kh Domains Of Poly C Binding Protein Are Required For Its Trans-Activation On The Proximal Promoter Of The Mu-Opioid Receptor Gene, Adnan K. Malik

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The mu-opioid receptor (MOR) has been shown to mediate morphine induced analgesia, addiction, and tolerance. The expression of the major product of the MOR (MOR-1) gene has been found to be driven by two promoters, a distal promoter and a proximal promoter. The proximal promoter region has been shown in previous studies to be the major promoter for the regulation of MOR gene transcription in the adult mouse brain and embryonic development. Recent studies have shown that single-stranded DNA binding proteins (such as Poly C Binding Protein) are involved in transcriptional regulation of mouse MOR gene. Poly C binding protein …

Birds Of Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center - 1999-2004, Kevin Poague

Nebraska Bird Review

In the summer of 1998, Audubon Nebraska, a state office of the National Audubon Society, purchased the 610-acre O'Brien Ranch located three miles south of Denton, Nebraska. The site, now called Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center (SCPAC), will be devoted to prairie education and restoration. The Center's size expanded to 626 acres in 2000 when the Wachiska Audubon Society bought an adjacent 16-acre property on the northwest comer of the section.

Historically, most of the ranch was never farmed, probably because of its hills and the large number of glacial boulders present in the soil. It is one of the …

Where Should Buffers Go? Modeling Riparian Habitat Connectivity In Northeast Kansas, Gary Bentrup, Todd Kellerman

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Through many funding programs, riparian buffers are being created on agricultural lands to address significant water quality problems. Society and landowners are demanding many other environmental and social services (e.g., wildlife habitat and income diversification) from this practice. Resource planners therefore need to design riparian buffer systems in the right places to provide multiple services. However, scientific guidance for this is lacking. We developed a geographic information system (GIS)-based assessment method for quickly identifying where buffers can be established to restore connectivity of riparian areas for the benefit of terrestrial wildlife. An area in northeastern Kansas was selected to evaluate …

Heat Shock Protein 70 Protects Cells From Cell Cycle Arrest And Apoptosis Induced By Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Viral Protein R, Yuqi Zhao, Larisa Dubrovsky, Tatiana Iordanskaya, Mongzhong Chen, Dong Liang, Michael Bukrinsky, Sergey Iordanskiy

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Viral protein R (Vpr) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is an accessory protein that plays an important role in viral pathogenesis. This pathogenic activity of Vpr is related in part to its capacity to induce cell cycle G₂ arrest and apoptosis of target T cells. A screening for multicopy suppressors of these Vpr activities in fission yeast identified heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) as a suppressor of Vpr-induced cell cycle arrest. Hsp70 is a member of a family of molecular chaperones involved in innate immunity and protection from environmental stress. In this report, we demonstrate that HIV-1 …

Serum Lipids Of Physically Active Adults Consuming Omega-3 Fatty Acid–Enriched Eggs Or Conventional Eggs, Carrie A. Sindelar, Sarah B. Scheerger, Sheri L. Plugge, Kent M. Eskridge, Rosemary C. Wander, Nancy M. Lewis

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

This study was designed to compare the effects of the consumption of one omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)–enriched egg or one conventional egg on serum lipids in physically active adults. A total of 12 adults (mean age 33 ± 7 years, mean body mass index [BMI] 24 ± 3) were recruited, and dietary treatments were randomly assigned. After a 2-week lead-in period (baseline), participants received each 4-week treatment in a crossover arrangement with a 4-week washout period between treatments. Participants completed a 3-day food record at baseline and during each treatment period. Food records were analyzed for carbohydrates, protein, …

Response Of Brood-Parasitic Bronzed Cowbird To Playback Of The Song Of Audubon's Oriole, Steven G. Monk, Timothy Brush

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

ABSTRACT—In the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, Audubon’s orioles (Icterus graduacauda) have declined substantially in the past 50 y, probably due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and brood parasitism by bronzed cowbirds (Molothrus aeneus). Tape playback of the song of Audubon’s oriole, originally intended to better survey the oriole, also attracted bronzed cowbirds. Bronzed cowbirds flew silently into the nearest tree in 14.1% of 234 playbacks, whereas Audubon’s orioles responded vocally or flew toward the recorder in 15.8% of playbacks. Bronzed cowbirds might use vocalizations of Audubon’s oriole as a cue to find breeding pairs or nests of this …

Significance Analysis Of Time Course Microarray Experiments, John D. Storey, Wenzhong Xiao, Jeffrey T. Leek, Ronald G. Tompkins, Ron W. Davis

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Characterizing the genome-wide dynamic regulation of gene expression is important and will be of much interest in the future. However, there is currently no established method for identifying differentially expressed genes in a time course study. Here we propose a significance method for analyzing time course microarray studies that can be applied to the typical types of comparisons and sampling schemes. This method is applied to two studies on humans. In one study, genes are identified that show differential expression over time in response to in vivo endotoxin administration. Using our method 7409 genes are called significant at a 1% …

Identification And Characterization Of Phosphoseryl-Trna [Ser]Sec Kinase, Bradley A. Carlson, Xue-Ming Xu, Gregory V. Kryukov, Mahadev Rao, Marla J. Berry, Vadim N. Gladyshev, Dolph L. Hatfield

Vadim Gladyshev Publications

In 1970, a kinase activity that phosphorylated a minor species of seryl-tRNA to form phosphoseryl-tRNA was found in rooster liver [Maenpaa, P. H. & Bernfield, M. R. (1970) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 67, 688–695], and a minor seryl-tRNA that decoded the nonsense UGA was detected in bovine liver. The phosphoseryl-tRNA and the minor UGA-decoding seryl-tRNA were subsequently identified as selenocysteine (Sec) tRNA ^[Ser]Sec, but the kinase activity remained elusive. Herein, by using a comparative genomics approach that searched completely sequenced archaeal genomes for a kinase-like protein with a pattern of occurrence similar to that of components of Sec …

Woodland Amphibian Distribution In Parks And Greenspaces Of The Portland, Oregon Metropolitan Area: A Multiple Scale Investigation, Laura A. Roberts

Dissertations and Theses

Loss of biodiversity due to habitat fragmentation is worldwide problem. With growing human populations and increasing urbanization, it is a necessity to conduct studies on wildlife occurring in urban areas. Currently there is a deficit of research investigating woodland amphibians in urban environments. My objectives were to describe amphibian species richness and abundance in the Portland, Oregon, Metropolitan region, and relate patterns of variation to variables at three increasingly large spatial scales: 1) local microenvironmental (i.e. amphibian/substrate interaction), (2) macrohabitat/patch (i.e. park or greenspace), and 3) landscape (surrounding parks and greenspaces). Environmental variables occurring within the three spatial scales were …

Working Trees For The 2002 Farm Bill

Working Trees (USDA-NAC)

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) has been hailed as the single most significant commitment toward conservation on private lands in the Nation's history. Landowners can benefit from a portfolio of voluntary services. The conservation provisions can assist farmers and ranchers in meeting environmental and production challenges on their land. This legislation modifies existing programs and creates some new programs. The 2002 Farm Bill provides many opportunitiesy to enhance the long-term quality of our environment and the conservation of our natural resources.

Agroforestry has come a long way in the United States in the last …

Chemical Genomics In Yeast, Charles Brenner

Dartmouth Scholarship

Four recent 'chemical genomic' studies, using genome-scale collections of yeast gene deletions, have presented complementary approaches to identifying gene-drug and pathway-drug interactions.Many drugs have unknown, controversial or multiple mechanisms of action. Four recent 'chemical genomic' studies, using genome-scale collections of yeast gene deletions that were either arrayed or barcoded, have presented complementary approaches to identifying gene-drug and pathway-drug interactions.

Oyster Reef Mapping In The Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire - 2003, Grizzle, R, Raymond E. Grizzle, Melissa Brodeur

PREP Reports & Publications

In New Hampshire, the locations, sizes, and shapes of the major oyster, Crassostrea virginica, reefs have been determined using a variety of techniques. The most recent survey occurred in 2001 when four (Nannie Island, Woodman Point, Adams Point, and Oyster River) of the six largest reefs were mapped using a combination of acoustic sounders, videography, and quadrat sampling. The present project required mapping the boundaries in order to determine the size of the remaining two major reefs in the Great Bay Estuary: Squamscott River and Piscataqua River. Underwater videography was used in the present study to determine the boundaries of …

Examining Multisystem Coordination In Response To Stressors In Early Childhood, Tiffany Phu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a set of two studies that investigate linkages between the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis and Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) in response to a stressor paradigm among young children experiencing low-income. Contextual/child factors that shape multisystem physiologic coordination were also examined. A novel application of structural equation modeling was used to model sample-by-sample linkages between salivary analytes that indexed HPA axis and SNS functioning (respectively, salivary cortisol and salivary alpha amylase [sAA]). The preschoolers in Study 1 showed linkages between salivary cortisol and sAA across a novel research visit at their childcare center that included a stressor paradigm. Child …

Restoration Of Aspen Woodland Invaded By Western Juniper: Applications Of Partial Cutting And Prescribed Fire, Jonathon D. Bates, Richard F. Miller

Aspen Bibliography

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis spp. occidentalis) woodlands are rapidly replacing quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands throughout the northern Great Basin. Aspen stands provide important habitat for many wildlife species and contain a high diversity of understory shrubs and herbaceous species. We studies two juniper removal treatments to restore aspen woodlands in Kiger Canyon on Steens Mountain, Oregon.

The Caenorhabditis Elegans F-Box Protein Sel-10 Promotes Female Development And May Target Fem-1 And Fem-3 For Degradation By The Proteasome, Sibylle Jager, Hillel T. Schwartz, H. Robert Horvitz, Barbara Conradt

Dartmouth Scholarship

The Caenorhabditis elegans F-box protein SEL-10 and its human homolog have been proposed to regulate LIN-12 Notch signaling by targeting for ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation LIN-12 Notch proteins and SEL-12 PS1 presenilins, the latter of which have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease. We found that sel-10 is the same gene as egl-41, which previously had been defined by gain-of-function mutations that semidominantly cause masculinization of the hermaphrodite soma. Our results demonstrate that mutations causing loss-of-function of sel-10 also have masculinizing activity, indicating that sel-10 functions to promote female development. Genetically, sel-10 acts upstream of the genes fem-1, fem-2, and fem-3 and …

Chloroplast Dna Rearrangements In Campanulaceae: Phylogenetic Utility Of Highly Rearranged Genomes, Mary E. Cosner, Linda A. Raubeson, Robert K. Jansen

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Background

The Campanulaceae (the "hare bell" or "bellflower" family) is a derived angiosperm family comprised of about 600 species treated in 35 to 55 genera. Taxonomic treatments vary widely and little phylogenetic work has been done in the family. Gene order in the chloroplast genome usually varies little among vascular plants. However, chloroplast genomes of Campanulaceae represent an exception and phylogenetic analyses solely based on chloroplast rearrangement characters support a reasonably well-resolved tree.

Results

Chloroplast DNA physical maps were constructed for eighteen representatives of the family. So many gene order changes have occurred among the genomes that characterizing individual mutational …

The Effects Of Selenium On Estrogen-Regulated Gene Expression In Lncap Prostate Cancer Cells, Tory L. Parker

Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in American men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Supplementation with Se has reduced the incidence of prostate cancer and Se status is inversely correlated with prostate cancer risk. One molecular mechanism by which high Se concentrations may affect cancer risk is by catalyzing disulfide bond formation or otherwise complexing with reactive sulfhydryl groups in cellular proteins. The estrogen receptor (ER) contains cysteines in zinc (Zn) fingers that are susceptible to oxidation and internal disulfide formation, which can prevent DNA binding. We examined ER binding to its DNA response element …

Synaptic Transformations Underlying Highly Selective Auditory Representations Of Learned Birdsong, Melissa J. Coleman, Richard Mooney

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Stimulus-specific neuronal responses are a striking characteristic of several sensory systems, although the synaptic mechanisms underlying their generation are not well understood. The songbird nucleus HVC (used here as a proper name) contains projection neurons (PNs) that fire temporally sparse bursts of action potentials to playback of the bird's own song (BOS) but are essentially silent when presented with other acoustical stimuli. To understand how such remarkable stimulus specificity emerges, it is necessary to compare the auditory-evoked responsiveness of the afferents of HVC with synaptic responses in identified HVC neurons. We found that inactivating the interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium …

Fraxinus Nigra Pott, Loy R. Phillippe, John E. Ebinger, William Mcclain

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Sinusoidal Length Oscillation- And Receptor-Mediated Mrna Expression Of Myosin Isoforms And Α-Sm Actin In Airway Smooth Muscle, Melissa Wahl, Thomas J. Eddinger, Chi-Ming Hai

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

We tested the hypothesis that sinusoidal length oscillation and receptor activation interactively regulate the abundance of mRNA encoding α-smooth muscle (α-SM) actin and myosin isoforms in intact bovine tracheal smooth muscle. We found that sinusoidal length oscillation significantly downregulated abundance of mRNA encoding α-SM actin mRNA in unstimulated tissues but not in histamine- and carbachol-activated tissues. This observation suggests antagonistic interactions between mechanical stretch and receptor-mediated signal transduction in regulating the abundance of mRNA encoding α-SM actin in intact airway smooth muscle. This pattern of antagonistic interaction was also observed in cholinergic receptor activation experiments. Whereas carbachol significantly upregulated myosin …

Characterization Of A Catechol-Type Siderophore And The Detection Of A Possible Outer Membrane Receptor Protein From Rhizobium Leguminosarum Strain Iari 312., Brianne Lee Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many gram-negative bacteria produce and secrete siderophores under iron-deficient conditions. Siderophores are low molecular weight compounds (600-1500 Daltons), which chelate ferric iron with an extremely high affinity, and the complex is actively transported across the outer and inner membranes of gram-negative bacteria. There are two main classes of siderophores: catechol and hydroxamate. Catechol-type siderophores chelate ferric iron via hydroxyl groups, and hydroxamate-type siderophores chelate ferric iron via a carbonyl group with an adjacent nitrogen. Rhizobia fix atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically in leguminous plants using the iron-containing enzyme nitrogenase. To satisfy their iron requirements, many rhizobia are known to produce siderophores. Rhizobium …