Life Sciences Commons^™

Transport Of Galectin-3 Between The Nucleus And Cytoplasm. I. Conditions And Signals For Nuclear Import, Peter J. Davidson, Su Yin Li, Andrew G. Lohse, Rianna Vandergaast

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Galectin-3, a factor involved in the splicing of pre-mRNA, shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. We have engineered a vector that expresses the fusion protein containing the following: (a) green fluorescent protein as a reporter of localization, (b) bacterial maltose-binding protein to increase the size of the reporter polypeptide, and (c) galectin-3, whose sequence we wished to dissect in search of amino acid residues vital for nuclear localization. In mouse 3T3 fibroblasts transfected with this expression construct, the full-length galectin-3 (residues 1-263) fusion protein was localized predominantly in the nucleus. Mutants of this construct, containing truncations of the galectin-3 …

Ecological Fitting As A Determinant Of The Community Structure Of Platyhelminth Parasites Of Anurans, Daniel R. Brooks, Virginia León-Règagnon, Deborah Mclennan, Derek Zelmer

Faculty Publications

Host–parasite associations are assumed to be ecologically specialized, tightly coevolved systems driven by mutual modification in which host switching is a rare phenomenon. Ecological fitting, however, increases the probability of host switching, creating incongruences between host and parasite phylogenies, when (1) specialization on a particular host resource is a shared characteristic of distantly related parasites, and (2) the resource being tracked by the parasite is widespread among many host species. We investigated the effect of ecological fitting on structuring the platyhelminth communities of anurans from a temperate forest and grassland in the United States and tropical dry and wet forests …

Acculturation And Breast Density In Foreign-Born, U.S. Chinese Women, Marilyn Tseng, Celia Byrne, Kathryn A. Evers, W. Thomas London, Mary B. Daly

Kinesiology and Public Health

The role of acculturation in the breast cancer risk increase among U.S. Chinese women is unclear. We examined the association between acculturation and breast density in a sample of foreign-born, U.S. Chinese women and examined factors that may explain such an association. Between January 2002 and May 2003, 212 Chinese women were recruited from Philadelphia region screening programs. Cranial-caudal mammographic images were classified into one of four categories ranging from ‘‘entirely fatty’’ to ‘‘extremely dense.’’ Questionnaires assessed information on sociodemographic, cultural, reproductive, and lifestyle factors. An index of acculturation was created based on self-reported English proficiency and within-and cross-ethnicity social …

Louisiana Agriculture Summer, 2006, Lsu Agcenter

Louisiana Agriculture

No abstract provided.

Aintegumenta Contributes To Organ Polarity And Regulates Growth Of Lateral Organs In Combination With Yabby Genes, Staci Nole-Wilson, Beth A. Krizek

Faculty Publications

Lateral organs in flowering plants display polarity along their adaxial-abaxial axis with distinct cell types forming at different positions along this axis. Members of three classes of transcription factors in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana; the Class III homeodomain/leucine zipper [HD-ZIP] proteins, KANADI proteins, and YABBY proteins) are expressed in either the adaxial or abaxial domain of organ primordia where they confer these respective identities. Little is known about the factors that act upstream of these polarity-determining genes to regulate their expression. We have investigated the relationship between AINTEGUMENTA (ANT), a gene that promotes initiation and growth of lateral …

Using Literature And Innovative Assessments To Ignite Interest And Cultivate Critical Thinking Skills In An Undergraduate Neuroscience Course, Eileen Lynd-Balta

Biology Faculty/Staff Publications

Science education reform initiatives emphasize 1) the value of concepts over facts; 2) the benefits of open-ended, inquiry-based problem-solving rather than protocols leading to a single correct answer; and 3) the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to teaching that is not confined by departmental boundaries. Neuroscientists should be at the forefront of this movement by the very nature of the discipline we study. Neuroscience is a relatively new field that integrates diverse subjects (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, molecular biology, computer science, and psychology) and experimental advances are constantly changing and expanding our understanding of brain function. How can we convey this …

Lpe Center News, July 2006

Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center: Newsletters

In this issue:

• Introducing the LPE Learning Center

• LPE Webcast Series to Begin September 2006

• EPA Ag Center is “First Stop” for Compliance Information

• In Memory

Nebline, July 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Regularly Test Private Well Drinking Water for Safety
Approved Water Testing Laboratories
Nebraska Forest Service Expert Discovers Pine Wilt Treatment
Easier Gardening
Odorous House Ant
Chiggers Not a Health Concern, But Can Make Outdoor Activities Uncomfortable
Ants in the Lawn
Bats Under Porches, Patios
Prepare to Plant Alfalfa in August
Pesticide Container Recycling Program
Apply Manure Before Seeding Alfalfa
UNL Researcher Needs Alfalfa Fields With Pocket Gophers
Planting Vegetables for Fall
Methods of Drying Flowers
Measuring Distance
Caring for Animals When Gone
Spider Mites Common Problem on Trees, Other Plants
$tretch Your Food Dollar with Fruits and Vegetables
Red, White …

Validity Of Western Bean Cutworm Growing Degree Day Model In Iowa, Bryon Van Ballegooyen

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Objective The goal of this project was to determine the validity of the western bean cutworm, Richia albicosta (Noctuidae), growing degree day (GDD) model developed at the University of Nebraska with western bean cutworm flight and weather data collected in Iowa. The completed project will show if the current GDD model holds up when compared with data collected in Iowa from 2003 to 2005. The project will also show if more data needs to be collected and analyzed to further test the current GDD model.

Outcomes The outcomes of the project show that the previously developed GDD model for western …

Querying Formal Contexts With Answer Set Programs, Pascal Hitzler, Markus Krotzsch

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Recent studies showed how a seamless integration of formal concept analysis (FCA), logic of domains, and answer set programming (ASP) can be achieved. Based on these results for combining hierarchical knowledge with classical rule-based formalisms, we introduce an expressive common-sense query language for formal contexts. Although this approach is conceptually based on order-theoretic paradigms, we show how it can be implemented on top of standard ASP systems. Advanced features, such as default negation and disjunctive rules, thus become practically available for processing contextual data.

Geospatial Ontology Development And Semantic Analytics, I. Budak Arpinar, Cartic Ramakrishnan, Molly Azami, Amit P. Sheth, E. Lynn Usery, Mei-Po Kwan

Kno.e.sis Publications

Geospatial ontology development and semantic knowledge discovery addresses the need for modeling, analyzing and visualizing multimodal information, and is unique in offering integrated analytics that encompasses spatial, temporal and thematic dimensions of information and knowledge. The comprehensive ability to provide integrated analysis from multiple forms of information and use of explicit knowledge make this approach unique. This also involves specification of spatiotemporal thematic ontologies and populating such ontologies with high quality knowledge. Such ontologies form the basis for defining the meaning of important relations terms, such as near or surrounded by, and enable computation of spatiotemporal thematic proximity measures we …

Stress Responses In Tropical Sparrows: Comparing Tropical And Temperate Zonotrichia, Haruka Wada, Ignacio T. Moore, Creagh W. Breuner, John C. Wingfield

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Seasonal modulation of the adrenocortical response appears to be ubiquitous in mid- to high- latitude vertebrates but has not been investigated in tropical vertebrates. Previous studies demonstrate that temperate passerines show seasonality in corticosterone secretion and corticosteroid binding globulin capacities. We examined seasonal and sex differences in the stress response in an equatorial population of Zonotrichia capensis, the only Zonotrichia that breeds in the tropics, and compared the results with those of northern Zonotrichia. Seasonal differences in tropical Zonotrichia would presumably be independent of photoperiod and thus directly related to such activities as reproduction and feather molt. In addition, we …

Linking Scales In Stream Ecology, Winsor H. Lowe, Gene E. Likens, Mary E. Power

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The hierarchical structure of natural systems can be useful in designing ecological studies that are informative at multiple spatial scales. Although stream systems have long been recognized as having a hierarchical spatial structure, there is a need for more empirical research that exploits this structure to generate an understanding of population biology, community ecology, and species-ecosystem linkages across spatial scales. We review studies that link pattern and process across multiple scales of stream-habitat organization, highlighting the insight derived from this multiscale approach and the role that mechanistic hypotheses play in its successful application. We also describe afrontier in stream research …

Facilitation By Pinus Flexilis During Succession: A Hierarchy Of Mechanisms Benefits Other Plant Species, Dayna Baumeister, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Studies of facilitation have primarily been limited to single mechanisms, species, or environments. We examined interacting mechanisms governing the facilitative effects of Pinus flexilis on two later successional understory species, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Ribes cereum, in different microhabitats and seasons at the ecotone between the Rocky Mountain forests and Great Plains grasslands in Montana, USA. In field surveys, 69% of Pseudotsuga and 91% of Ribes were located beneath P. flexilis even though P. flexilis subcrowns accounted for a small proportion of available habitat. For three years, we monitored the survival of Pseudotsuga and Ribes seedlings experimentally planted beneath …

Estimating Detection Probablities Of River Birds Using Double Surveys, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Richard L. Hutto

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We describe a method for surveying birds in river habitats that allows for rapid assessment across broad spatial scales and estimation of detection probabilities. Our river survey approach incorporates a double-survey technique, whereby observers in two canoes simultaneously survey birds along a river reach. Data are in the form of a two-sample mark-recapture history, and covariates suspected of influencing detection probabilities can be included in the modeling process and evaluated using information-theoretic approaches. We provide an example using the method along the Madison and upper Missouri rivers in Montana. Overall, detection probabilities for each observer ranged from 57% to 89%, …

Development And Testing Of A Low-Cost Condensation Detection System, Michael D. Montross, George A. Duncan, Richard S. Gates

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A condensation sensing and control system was designed to detect condensation using a commercially available leaf wetness sensor (LWS). The leaf wetness sensor was a variable resistance grid-type that responded to moisture on the surface. A circuit was developed to compare the LWS voltage output to a user specified reference voltage, and operate a relay for possible switching of a humidity control device (for example a fan and/or heater). The condensation detection system operation was validated in an environmental chamber in the laboratory using a heat exchanger and water bath. Condensate was immediately detected when the plate was cooled below …

Writing On Water: Resources, Discourses, Reflections, Justin Scott-Coe, W. Scott Howard

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

We started this project in the shadow of the Great Tsunami of 2004, witnessed Katrina destroy New Orleans as submissions were coming in, and now publish during a record-breaking, nationwide—some say worldwide—heat wave. Is it any wonder the release of our journal issue on water appears as suspiciously timed as Al Gore's droning tome on global warming?

Reserve And Habitat Effects On The Distribution, Abundance And Feeding Ecology Of Goosefish, Lophius Americanus (Valenciennes 1837) In The Western Gulf Of Maine, Melissa Dawn Smith

All Theses And Dissertations

Over two-thirds of the world’s harvested fish stocks are considered to be either reduced or threatened because of overexploitation, which suggest that one of the central challenges facing coastal managers is the recovery and sustainable harvesting of these species. One promising fishery management strategy is the use of marine reserves, or conservation areas where fishing is prohibited, to rebuild depleted populations. In the Gulf of Maine (GoM), several closed areas have been established to restrict fishing activities such as gillnetting, scallop dredging, and mid-water and bottom trawling. These closures in the GoM not only protect diminished fish stocks, but also …

Exposure Of Nervous System Cells To Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs), Results In Alterations Of Neurotrophic Factor Expression, Gordon H. Gurley

Dissertations

Toxic insult by PCBs results in learning and memory deficits in humans. Alterations in expression of neurotrophic factors (NF) and/or their receptors have been linked to changes in learning and memory. How PCBs affect cognition is not known. We suggest that PCBs affect cognition by altering NF expression.

We exposed cultured C6 rat glioblastoma cells (an astrocyte cell-line) to medium containing PCB (Aroclor 1254 (10ppm)). Control cells were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or regular medium. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to determine glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) concentrations in all samples. We also …

Coordinated Diabrotica Genetics Research: Accelerating Progress On An Urgent Insect Pest Problem, Thomas W. Sappington, Blair D. Siegfried, Thomas Guillemaud

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Diabrotica spp. (western, northern, and Mexican corn rootworms) represent the main pest complex of continuous field corn, Zea mays (L.), in North America. The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, also has become the main pest of continuous corn in Central and Southeastern Europe since its introduction near Belgrade 15–20 years ago, and it represents a major risk to Western Europe. It has already caused economic losses in Eastern Europe, and Western countries such as France have committed large expenditures for containment and/or eradication.

Rootworm larvae feed on corn roots, and damaged plants are more susceptible to drought and …

Effects Of Aphid (Homoptera) Abundance And Surrounding Vegetation On The Encounter Rate Of Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Chrysopidae (Neuroptera), And Nabidae (Hemiptera) In Alfalfa, James C. Kriz, Stephen D. Danielson, James R. Brandle, Erin E. Blankenship, Geoff M. Henebry

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Predaceous insect encounter rate was measured in 21 southeast Nebraska alfalfa fields through weekly sweep net sampling during 2002-03. The most frequently encountered predaceous insect families were Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Nabidae (Hemiptera), and Chrysopidae (Neuroptera). The study used multiple regression analysis to examine the effect of aphid abundance and the surrounding vegetative patch composition on predaceous insect abundance. In 2002, Hippodamia parenthesis Say was encountered more frequently in fields with lower aphid abundances, and Hippodamia convergens Guerin-Meneville, Coccinella septempunctata L., and Nabis americoferus Carayon were encountered more frequently in fields with higher aphid abundances. In 2003, Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer was encountered …

The Lift Pool Method For Isolation Of Cdna Clones From Lambda Phage Libraries, Janine M. Leblanc-Straceski, Pablo Sobrado, Sharon Betz, Julie Zerfas, Karen Morgan

Biology Faculty Publications

A PCR based strategy was developed to screen a Xenopus oocyte λgt10 cDNA library. The PCR-based lift pool (LP) method follows the same two tiered strategy as conventional screening of phage libraries by filter hybridization. Two rounds of plating, one at high density to detect the clone, and one at low density to purify the clone to homogeneity, are performed. In the first round, lysates from high density plates, termed plate pools (PP), serve as template for PCR. In the second round, phage particles adhering to plaque lifts of low density plates are washed off nitrocellulose filters to create LPs, …

Molecular Analysis Of The Effects Of Atrazine On Xenopus Laevis Frogs, Ronald Edward Celestine

Dissertations

Atrazine, the most commonly used herbicide in the U.S., has been implicated as one of the factors that may be causing the worldwide decline of amphibians. First, I examined effects of atrazine on laboratory raised Xenopus laevis tadpoles, treated from 5 days post fertilization to NF stage 65/66 with a concentrationof 25 ppb of atrazine. This study showed no significant difference in body weight, length and metamorphic rate.

Second, I used DNA microarrays to examine mRNA expression levels of genes in atrazine treated and control Xenopus laevis tadpoles. I found significant changes in gene expression levels of 18 genes. These …

Can You Survive Without Supplements?, Winston J. Craig

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae-Based Molecular Tool Kit For Manipulation Of Genes From Gram-Negative Bacteria, Robert M. Q. Shanks, Nicky C. Caiazza, Shannon M. Hinsa, Christine M. Toutain, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

A tool kit of vectors was designed to manipulate and express genes from a wide range of gram-negative species by using in vivo recombination. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can use its native recombination proteins to combine several amplicons in a single transformation step with high efficiency. We show that this technology is particularly useful for vector design. Shuttle, suicide, and expression vectors useful in a diverse group of bacteria are described and utilized. This report describes the use of these vectors to mutate clpX and clpP of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and to explore their roles in biofilm formation and surface …

Bacillus Anthracis Virulent Plasmid Px02 Genes Found In Large Plasmids Of Two Other Bacillus Species, Vicki A. Luna, Debra S. King, K. Kealy Peak, Frank Reeves, Lea Heberlein-Larson, William Veguilla, L. Heller, Kathleen E. Duncan, Andrew C. Cannons, Philip Amuso, Jacqueline Cattani

Bioelectrics Publications

In order to cause the disease anthrax, Bacillus anthracis requires two plasmids, pX01 and pX02, which carry toxin and capsule genes, respectively, that are used as genetic targets in the laboratory detection of the bacterium. Clinical, forensic, and environmental samples that test positive by PCR protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for B. anthracis are considered to be potentially B. anthracis until confirmed by culture and a secondary battery of tests. We report the presence of 10 genes (acpA, capA, capB, capC, capR, capD, IS1627, ORF 48, ORF 61, and repA) and the sequence for the …

Where Has All The Leaf Litter Gone?...., Charlotte Buehler, Chad Byers, Summer Drake

Annual Student Research Poster Session

What Affects the Amount of Leaf Litter in a Forest?
Decomposition rates of leaf litter?
Abiotic soil conditions (pH, calcium content, other nutrients)?
Abundance of earthworms?
Abundance of millipedes?
Abundance of macroinvertebrates (beetles, crickets, spiders)?
Forest composition (maples, oaks, elms)?
Other abiotic factors (microclimate, microtopography, moisture)?
Leaf chemistry (tannin content, lability, recalcitrance)?
Other biotic factors (bacteria, fungi, mycorrhizae)?

Does A Specialist Parasitoid Adapt To Its Host On A New Host Plant?, A. Roßbach, B. Löhr, S. Vidal

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The host plant expansion of a diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (DBM) strain to snowpea (Pisum sativum L.) raised the question whether a specialist parasitoid Diadegma semiclausum (DS) could be conditioned to locate and parasitize its host on the new host plant. In a specialist parasitoid a behavioural change towards a plant outside the normal host plant range of its host due to developmental experience is not expected. The responsive behaviour, parasitism rates and fitness of three subsequent DS generations were investigated on the snowpea-strain of DBM. After three generations of DS on the pea 62.5% of females chose an …

Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase Protects Cardiomyocytes During Hyperoxia, Mervat Elsayed Ali

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Reactive oxygen species are implicated in tissue damage in many cardiovascular diseases. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that exposure to high inspired oxygen concentrations (100%) damages cardiac mitochondria and that a biogenic response is needed for cell survival. The study was done in mice with a transgene (TG) for extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) or with the EC-SOD gene knockout (KO). Adult EC-SOD mice and their wild type littermates and EC-SOD KO mice and their wild type littermates were exposed to 100% oxygen for 6 hours and for 72 hours, and the hearts were subsequently removed under …

Defensin Transcript Distribution In Tissues And Life Stages Of The Ixodid Ticks Amblyomma Americanum And Ixodes Scapularis, Stephanie M. Todd

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A number of bacterial, viral, and protozoan diseases are transmitted to humans via arthropods. Arthropods possess an innate immune system to destroy invading microorganisms. However, arthropods unable to rid their systems of pathogens function as disease vectors. The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, destroys invading Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, preventing transmission. In contrast, the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, which is unable to destroy acquired B. burgdorferi, successfully vectors the pathogen. The Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum, vectors a similar pathogen called Borrelia lonestari. The distribution of defensin, an antimicrobial peptide of the innate immune system, was examined in A. americanum and/. …