Life Sciences Commons^™

The Art And Artistic Legacy Of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Perhaps some Nebraska birders will not immediately recognize the name Louis Agassiz Fuertes, as he died almost 80 years ago. Yet he influenced the art of bird painting as much as did John James Audubon, and provided wonderful artwork for many major state bird reference books. He also personally tutored George Miksch Sutton, the Nebraska-born artist and biologist who provided the NOU with its Burrowing Owl logo, and who contributed greatly to American ornithology, especially that of the southern Great Plains.

It is interesting that, like John James Audubon, Roger Tory Peterson, and George Miksch Sutton, we would never think …

Lincoln Fall Field Days

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2006 NOU Fall Field Days were held in and around Lincoln on Sept. 15-17. Our evening meals and programs took place at the Howard Johnson's Motel on Cornhusker Highway,

Our Friday evening speaker was Dr. Paul Johnsgard, who spoke about the Birding Trails website being developed by a committee of the All Bird Consortium, On Saturday afternoon, NOU Librarian Mary Lou Pritchard gave a tour of the current exhibit of her late husband Bud Pritchard's artwork at the Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall. Saturday evening Dan Kim spoke on the Whooping Crane Trust activities along the Platte River …

The 2006 Nebraska Nest Report, Wayne Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

The drought that began in 1999 continued over most of Nebraska this year, with 7 of the past 8 years receiving lower than normal rainfall. More normal rains fell in April and early May, especially in the central and east, before stopping for most of the summer. Most of the Panhandle and southwest were declared drought disaster areas by early summer, setting the stage in late July for the worst fire season in memory in the Pine Ridge area of the northern Panhandle (Fowler, 2007). Ultimately, 83 of 93 counties were declared part of the drought disaster area. Low water …

Tadaridanema Delicatus (Schwartz, 1927) N. Gen., N. Comb. (Trichostrongylina: Molineidae) Parasite Of Molossidae Bats, Jorge Falcon-Ordaz, Carmen Guzman-Cornejo, Luis Garcia-Prieto, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

On the basis of the revision of the type material of Anoplostrongylus delicatus Schwartz, 1927, and new specimens collected from Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana (Saussure, 1860) in 4 arid localities from Mexico, we describe a new genus (Tadaridanema n. gen.), to which A. delicatus is transferred (as Tadaridanema delicatus (Schwartz, 1927) n. gen., n. comb.). This new genus differs from all other genera included in noplostrongylinae by having ray 2 larger than ray 3. In addition, T. delicatus can be differentiated from the type species of Anoplostrongylus (Anoplostrongylus paradoxus (Travassos, 1918)) because it possess vestibular branches equal in length, cephalic inflation …

Identification Of A Putative Operon Involved In Fructooligosaccharide Utilization By Lactobacillus Paracasei, Yong Jun Goh, Andrew K. Benson, Vicki Schlegel, Jong-Hwa Lee, Robert W. Hutkins

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The growth and activity of some Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains are stimulated by the presence of nondigestible fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which are selectively fermented by specific intestinal bacteria. Consumption of FOS, therefore, enriches for those bacteria that possess metabolic pathways necessary for FOS metabolism. In this study, a DNA microarray consisting of 7,680 random genomic library fragments of Lactobacillus paracasei 1195 was used to examine genes involved in the utilization of FOS in this organism. Differential expression profiles between cells grown on FOS and those grown on glucose provided a basis for identifying genes specifically induced by FOS. Several of the …

Prebiotic Galactooligosaccharides Reduce Adherence Of Enteropathogenic Escherichia Coli To Tissue Culture Cells, Kari Schoaf, George L. Mulvey, Glen D. Armstrong, Robert W. Hutkins

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Prebiotic oligosaccharides are thought to provide beneficial effects in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals by stimulating growth of selected members of the intestinal microflora. Another means by which prebiotic oligosaccharides may confer health benefits is via their antiadhesive activity. Specifically, these oligosaccharides may directly inhibit infections by enteric pathogens due to their ability to act as structural mimics of the pathogen binding sites that coat the surface of gastrointestinal epithelial cells. In this study, the ability of commercial prebiotics to inhibit attachment of microcolony-forming enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) was investigated. The adherence of EPEC strain E2348/69 on HEp-2 …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Morphological Changes In Specific Laminae Of The Olfactory Bulb Of Adult Zebrafish Following Peripheral Sensory Deafferentation, Travis L. Devlin

Masters Theses

Permanent removal of the olfactory organ in adult zebrafish has been shown to result in a significant reduction in the total volume of the ipsilateral olfactory bulb. The overall objective of the current project was to investigate the hypothesis that contact between the axons of the olfactory sensory neurons and the olfactory bulb is necessary for the maintenance of the normal post-synaptic organization of the olfactory bulb by quantifying the morphological changes that take place within specific laminae of the olfactory bulb following peripheral deafferentation. Complete, unilateral ablation of the olfactory organ resulted in permanent deafferentation of the ipsilateral olfactory …

The Pulmonary Effects Of Intravenous Adenosine In Asthmatic Subjects, Nausherwan K. Burki, Mahmud Alam, Lu-Yuan Lee

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: We have shown that intravenous adenosine in normal subjects does not cause bronchospasm, but causes dyspnea, most likely by an effect on vagal C fibers in the lungs [Burki et al. J Appl Physiol 2005; 98:180-5]. Since airways inflammation and bronchial hyperreactivity are features of asthma, it is possible that intravenous adenosine may be associated with an increased intensity of dyspnea, and may cause bronchospasm, as noted anecdotally in previous reports.

METHODS: We compared the effects of placebo and 10 mg intravenous adenosine, in 6 normal and 6 asthmatic subjects.

RESULTS: Placebo injection had no significant (p > 0.05) effect …

The Influence Of Membrane Lipid Order On Cell Shape And Microvesiculation In Human Erythrocytes, Laurie Jackson Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Exposure of human erythrocytes to elevated intracellular calcium causes alterations in cell shape and stimulates shedding of the cell membrane in the form of microvesicles. We hypothesized that both the shape transition and microvesiculation are influenced by microscopic membrane physical properties such as lipid order. To test this hypothesis, membrane properties were manipulated by varying the experimental temperature, membrane cholesterol content, and the internal ionic environment. Changes in membrane order were assessed using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy with an environment-sensitive probe, laurdan. Our observations led us to the following conclusions: 1) the modest temperature dependence of membrane structure observed with laurdan …

Interview With Laurel Macdonald-Bonnell, Macdonald Environmental, 2006 (Audio), Laurel Macdonald-Bonnell

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Laurel McDonald by Chloe Collins at MacDonald Environmental Planning on November 29th, 2006.

The interview index is available for download.

Factors Influencing Off-Flavor In Beef, Jennie Marie James Hodgen

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Projects were conducted to increase knowledge of liver-like off-flavor origins in muscles from the beef chuck and round. Effects of cooking rate and holding time on off-flavor of various steaks from ten carcasses were determined. Off-flavor from these muscles was lowest when the steaks were cooked slowly (on a 149°C grill versus a 249°C grill) and when held for one hour prior to evaluation. The M. infraspinatus had the least off-flavor, and the M. vastus intermedius had the most intense off-flavor. These data suggest a carcass with one off-flavored muscle is likely to have other off-flavored muscles in the chuck …

Semiparametric Regression Of Multi-Dimensional Genetic Pathway Data: Least Squares Kernel Machines And Linear Mixed Models, Dawei Liu, Xihong Lin, Debashis Ghosh

Harvard University Biostatistics Working Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Interview With Brian Croak, Croak Creations, 2006 (Audio), Brian Croak

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Brian Croak by Chloe Collins on November 28th, 2006.

The interview index is available for download.

Current And Historical Aquatic Food Webs Of The Middle Rio Grande, Nm, Melanie S. Edwards

Biology ETDs

The Rio Grande has been identified as one of the most endangered rivers in the United States by American Rivers. Biologically, the consequences of the massive anthropogenic alterations of this river have been substantial. The overall aim of this study was to characterize the ecological implications of these alterations in the aquatic food web of the middle Rio Grande (MRG) of New Mexico. Our approach was to analyze the stable isotope composition of current food web components and of historical museum preserved fish specimens. After determining that we could use stable isotope analyses of historical museum preserved fish specimens (chapter …

Fgf4 And Wnt5a/Pcp Signaling Promote Limb Outgrowth By Polarizing Limb Mesenchyme, Keri Lynn Low

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms whereby fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) mediate outgrowth of the limb. Specifically, we examined the epistatic relationship between FGF and Wnt/Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in establishing cell polarity as a mechanism for outgrowth. By implanting beads into embryonic limbs and lateral plate mesoderm, we established that FGF activates Wnt5a in a gradient fashion. Once it was established that Wnt5a was expressed at the right time and place to turn on PCP signaling, we investigated the ability of Wnt5a to influence cell migration and/or cell polarity. Our analysis …

Smokejumper Obituary: Kittell, Ira J. "Ted" (Missoula 1949), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Agronomic And Quality Effects In Winter Wheat Of A Gene Conditioning Resistance To Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, L. A. Divis, R. A. Graybosch, C. J. Peterson, P. Stephen Baenziger, G. L. Hein, B. B. Beecher, T. J. Martin

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

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) is one of the most important diseases limiting winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in the western Great Plains of North America. There is no known effective WSMV resistance within the primary gene pool of wheat. However, a resistance gene (Wsm1) has been transferred to wheat from a perennial relative, intermediate wheat-grass [Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & DR Dewey]. Nebraska-adapted winter wheat lines carrying Wsm1 were used to characterize the effects of this alien introgression on agronomic and quality traits. Sister-lines from six breeding populations were evaluated under virus-free conditions, …

Linking Bacterioplankton Community Structures To Environmental State Variables And Phytoplankton Assemblages In Two South Carolina Salt Marsh Estuaries, Wes Johnson, Alan J. Lewitus, Madilyn Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Microorganisms are among the most important organisms to the ecology of salt marsh estuaries; however, fundamental questions regarding their distribution, environmental controls, and interactions with phytoplankton remain unanswered. We used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of bacterial rRNA genes and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of phytoplankton photopigments to characterize planktonic communities from the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto (ACE) Basin and North Inlet (NI) estuaries on the South Carolina coast, USA. Multivariate comparisons of the planktonic community profiles revealed that the 2 estuaries supported distinct bacterial communities. Furthermore, bacterial communities in both systems were partitioned into separate particle-associated (PA) and …

Survival Of Immature Anopheles Arabiensis (Diptera: Culicidae) In Aquatic Habitats In Mwea Rice Irrigation Scheme, Central Kenya, Joseph M. Mwangangi, Ephantus J. Muturi, Josephat Shililu, Simon M. Muriu, Benjamin Jacob, Ephantus W. Kabiru, Charles M. Mbogo, John Githure, Robert Novak

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: The survivorship and distribution of Anopheles arabiensis larvae and pupae was examined in a rice agroecosystem in Mwea Irrigation Scheme, central Kenya, from August 2005 to April 2006, prior to implementation of larval control programme. Methods: Horizontal life tables were constructed for immatures in semi-field condition. The time spent in the various immature stages was determined and survival established. Vertical life tables were obtained from five paddies sampled by standard dipping technique. Results: Pre-adult developmental time for An. arabiensis in the trays in the experimental set up in the screen house was 11.85 days from eclosion to emergence. The …

United States Patent Application Publication: Counter Selection Strategy For Gram-Negative Bacteria, Stephen K. Farrand, Paul E. Staswick, Thomas E. Clemente

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

A Gram-negative bacterium useful for genetically engineering plants is provided. The Gram-negative bacterium contains, as part of genome, an inducible regulatory sequence operatively linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a levansucrase. Alternatively, the Gram-negative bacterium comprises a recombinant nucleic acid construct containing an inducible regulatory sequence operatively linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a levansucrase. Also provided are recombinant nucleic acid constructs comprising an inducible regulatory sequence operatively coupled to a nucleotide sequence encoding a levansucrase and a method for transforming plants using the Gram-negative bacterium of the present invention.

Limited Functional Redundancy And Oscillation Of Cyclins In Multinucleated Ashbya Gossypii Fungal Cells, A. Katrin Hungerbuehler, Peter Philippsen, Amy S. Gladfelter

Dartmouth Scholarship

Cyclin protein behavior has not been systematically investigated in multinucleated cells with asynchronous mitoses. Cyclins are canonical oscillating cell cycle proteins, but it is unclear how fluctuating protein gradients can be established in multinucleated cells where nuclei in different stages of the division cycle share the cytoplasm. Previous work in A. gossypii, a filamentous fungus in which nuclei divide asynchronously in a common cytoplasm, demonstrated that one G1 and one B-type cyclin do not fluctuate in abundance across the division cycle. We have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of all G1 and B-type cyclins in A. gossypii to determine whether …

Kfgc Forage Spokesman Contest, Todd A. Clark, Farms, Inc., Robey Farms

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

New Options For Extending Grazing, Edward N. Ballard

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Feed costs represent the major cost in most livestock production systems. A recently completed analysis of 225 Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) Beef Cow Records on herds in Illinois and Iowa showed that feed cost was the overriding factor determining profitability, explaining over 57 percent of the herd-to-herd variation.

Dollars & Cents Of Intensive Grazing, Kenneth H. Burdine

Kentucky Grazing Conference

A rotational grazing system can generally be defined as the use of several pastures with one being grazed while the others are rested. On the contrary, conventional or continuous grazing systems allow livestock access to the entire pasture area and let them decide where, what, and how long to graze. In most cases, Kentucky pastures employing continuous grazing systems are too large for efficient management and forage utilization. In such instances, cattle overgraze more palatable forages and areas close to shade and water, while other sections of the pasture are underutilized. This leads to lower animal output per acre than …

Uk Horse Pasture Evaluation Program, Tom Keene, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Grazing Conference

The University of Kentucky is developing stronger ties with the state’s horse industry in the areas of research, extension and teaching. Many horse farms in the bluegrass region are interested in UK’s assistance with pasture evaluation. During the fall of 2005 a team from the UK Forage Extension Program (Ray Smith, Tom Keene, Jesse Morrison, Gabriel Roberts) conducted a pilot project to evaluate horse pastures on 14 central KY farms. One of the focuses of the pilot was the evaluation of pastures for percent tall fescue and the potential of fescue stands to cause fescue toxicity in pregnant broodmares. We …

Managing Pasture Growth And Quality With Grazing, S. Ray Smith

Kentucky Grazing Conference

One of the keys to profitable livestock production is to minimize the costs of producing a marketable animal or animal product. Feed costs are commonly 70-80 percent of the cost of growing or maintaining an animal. Pastures provide feed at a cost of .01-.02 cents/lb of TDN while hay costs .04-.06 cents/lb TDN. Improved pasture management offers the single greatest opportunity to lower production costs, assuming that animal genetics, health, marketing procedures, and other areas of management have been addressed. A primary goal of livestock producers should be to utilize grazed forage for as many months of the year as …

Everyday Cattle Graze Is Money Saved, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Grazing Conference

During one of my first visits to New Zealand over twenty years ago, I had the opportunity to visit many different dairy, beef, sheep and deer farms. While visiting a dairy farm, I remember the farmer telling me about his grazing program and their goal to “optimize grazing and minimize stored feed.” I remember him saying, “everyday grazed is money saved”. I admit, the reality of that statement didn’t truly sink in that day; but over the years, the truth of what he said has not only “sunk in” but has been reinforced by visits to other farms literally around …

Bermudagrass In Kentucky, David C. Ditsch

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Interest in bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers] is increasing in Kentucky as livestock producers continue their search for warm-season perennial forages capable of filling in the mid-summer growth slump we commonly experience with our traditional cool-season grasses. This is partially due to the recent availability of seeded bermudagrass varieties with improved winter hardiness thereby reducing establishment cost and increasing the odds of success.

Grazing Corn, Chad Lee

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Grazing is the cheapest form of feed for cattle. While perennial grasses and alfalfa are reliable components to a grazing system, another component could be corn.

Grazing corn is an option for a couple of situations: 1) as a bridge crop when pasture renovation is needed, and 2) as an insurance crop in an overall grazing system.

Forages On The Web, Scott Flynn

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.