Life Sciences Commons^™

Interagency Management Action Plan (I-Map) For Quagga Mussels, David Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger

Public Lands Institute Publications

Following the discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead, a variety of agencies, including National Park Service (NPS) Lake Mead National Recreational Area (LMNRA), Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS), Clean Water Coalition (CWC), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have set up monitoring programs to evaluate and gain information to help minimize the impacts or potential impacts of quagga mussels to their facilities and lake ecology. Current monitoring activities and anticipated environmental impacts are depicted in Figures 1 and 2. While the agencies have worked closely and …

Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha (Tnf-Α) Enhances Functional Thermal And Chemical Responses Of Trp Cation Channels In Human Synoviocytes, Mikhail Y. Kochukov, Terry A. Mcnearney, Huaizhi Yin, Liping Zhang, Fei Ma, Larissa Ponomareva, Sarah Abshire, Karin N. Westlund

Physiology Faculty Publications

Background: We have shown functional expression of several TRP channels on human synovial cells, proposing significance in known calcium dependent proliferative and secretory responses in joint inflammation. The present study further characterizes synoviocyte TRP expression and activation responses to thermal and osmotic stimuli after pre-treatment with proinflammatory mediator tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α, EC50 1.3221 x 10^-10 g/L).

Results: Fluorescent imaging of Fura-2 loaded human SW982 synoviocytes reveals immediate and delayed cytosolic calcium oscillations elicited by (1) TRPV1 agonists capsaicin and resiniferatoxin (20-40% of cells), (2) moderate and noxious temperature change, and (3) osmotic stress TRPV4 activation (11.5% of …

Reversed-Phase Hplc Determination Of Alliin In Diverse Varieties Of Fresh Garlic And Commercial Garlic Products., Aaron Kwaku Apawu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alliin is a predominant flavor precursor in garlic cloves. It interacts with the enzyme alliinase when garlic cloves are crushed, cut, or chewed to produce allicin, an unstable thiosulfinate that is the main biologically active component of fresh crushed garlic. Biological functions and health benefits of garlic include reduction of cancer risk in humans, improving immune system, and anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, and anti-hypertensive activities. The quality of fresh garlic and garlic products is usually related to its alliin content and allicin release potential. This research presents a simple, rapid, and precise HPLC method for alliin determination. It involves the use of …

Mapping The Dorsal Skin Pigmentation Patterns Of Two Sympatric Populations Of Ambystomatid Salamanders, Ambystoma Opacum And A. Maculatum From Northeast Tennessee., Lok Raj Pokhrel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Because of growing concern of habitat fragmentation and its adverse effects on salamander communities in Appalachian region, sympatric populations of ambystomatid salamanders A. opacum and A. maculatum were studied in Northeast Tennessee to address a number of questions: i) the extent of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in both species, ii) what traits influence the dorsal skin pigmentation and how, iii) whether gender differences in developmental stability occur, and iv) the extent of phenotypic variation within each species. The findings of this study revealed SSD in both species of salamanders. The most parsimonious statistical model was developed that explained the influence …

Amphibian Habitat Usage Of Two Restored Bogs In Shady Valley, Johnson County, Tennessee., Amy P. Lucas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adjacent terrestrial habitat surrounding wetlands are critical for the survival and success of many species that use them. The primary purpose of this study was to determine amphibian movement from adjacent habitats into Orchard Bog, a restored bog located in Shady Valley, Johnson County, Tennessee. In addition, a secondary bog, Quarry Bog, was also studied determining baseline presence/absence data

A total of 16 species from six families were observed throughout the study sites. Seven species of anurans, Bufonidae, Hylidae, and Ranidae and nine species of caudates in the families Plethodontidae, Ambystomatidae and Salamandridae were identified. Fourteen of the 16 species …

Comparison Of Artificial Flavors In Commercial Products And Actual Natural Flavor Via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy Data., Randi Jasmine Sluss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this research project, real natural strawberries bought from different local sources were profiled by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GCMS). These profiles were then used as a reference to compare GCMS profiles of commercial artificial strawberry flavor products such as strawberry flavored Cool Splashers™, Gatorade®, and Aquacal® flavored water. The chromatograms obtained were patterned using simple visual observations, scatter plot designs, Mann-Whitney U Test, and correlation coefficients. The artificially flavored commercial products tend to have simpler chromatograms. The Burger King® milkshake, Gatorade®, and Hi-C® are the most similar to that of the natural strawberry flavor. Their correlation coefficients are 0.972, 0.870, …

Differential Expression Of Genes During Diapause In The Flesh Fly, Sarcophaga Crassipalpis., Puja Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to identify genes that are differentially regulated during diapause when compared with nondiapausing pupae in Sarcophaga crassipalpis. The results of a Suppression Subtractive Hybridization procedure was used to indentify genes that are differentially regulated in both diapause and nondiapausing states while suppressing genes that are common to both states. Randomly picked colonies from both subtractive libraries were isolated and the inserts sequenced. The sequences were analyzed using the bioinformatics tools NCBI, BlastX, Clustal W, etc. Out of 384 clones, 59 genes were found to be upregulated during diapause and 37 genes were found …

A Practical Comparison Between Traditional Periodization And Daily-Undulated Weight Training Among Collegiate Track And Field Athletes., Keith Ballard Painter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, comparisons of "periodized" strength training methods have become a focus of sport science. Daily undulating periodization (DUP), using daily alterations in repetitions, has been developed and touted as a superior method of training. The purpose of this study is to compare traditional periodization (TRA) to DUP in Division I track and field athletes. Thirty-one athletes were assigned to either a TRA or the DUP group training programs based on sex, year, and event. Training lasted 10 weeks. There were 4 testing sessions focusing on strength characteristics. Although, trends favored the TRA group for strength and rate of force development, …

Ion Channel Modulation By Photocaged Dioctanoyl Pip2, Junghoon Ha

Theses and Dissertations

Phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2) directly regulates electrophysiological activity in a diverse family of ion channels whether the effect is stimulatory or inhibitory. Much has been unveiled about the apparent affinity and modulatory function of PIP2 using a chemically modified dioctanoyl PIP2 (diC8), a membrane delimited cytosolic co-factor in inside-out macropatch experiments. Yet, the scarcity of molecular tools that permit fine external control in whole-cell systems has precluded future studies from probing the physiological role of PIP2 in cells in the presence of a fully intact cytoplasm. Here we introduce light as an external control for PIP2 through photocaging of diC8, and …

Along The Oregon Pinot Trail, William "Rusty" Gaffney

William “Rusty” Gaffney (Prince of Pinot) Collection

Rusty Gaffney writes about Oregon's Willamette Valley and its Pinot Noir in this article from his "Prince of Pinot" blog, volume 7, issue 23. A brief overview of how Pinot Noir clones came to the Willamette Valley and the the French winemakers who moved to the region in the 1980s follows. Gaffney also compares and contrasts Oregon Pinot Noir with French Burgundy.

Artificial Intelligence – Ii: Network Path Optimization Using Ga Approach, Madiha Sarfraz, Shaleeza Sohail, Younus Javed, Almas Anjum

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

In this paper, we present a variation of Genetic Algorithm (GA) for finding the Optimized shortest path of the network. The algorithm finds the optimal path based on the bandwidth and utilization of the network. The main distinguishing element of this work is the use of ldquo2-point over 1-point crossoverrdquo. The population comprises of all chromosomes (feasible and infeasible). Moreover, it is of variable length, so that the algorithm can perform efficiently in all scenarios. Rankbased selection is used for cross-over operation. Therefore, the best chromosomes crossover and give the most suitable offsprings. If the resulting offsprings are least fitted, …

Artificial Intelligence – Ii: Retinal Image Blood Vessel Segmentation, M. Usman Akram, Anam Tariq, Shoab A. Khan

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

The appearance and structure of blood vessels in retinal images play an important role in diagnosis of eye diseases. This paper proposes a method for segmentation of blood vessels in color retinal images. We present a method that uses 2-D Gabor wavelet to enhance the vascular pattern. We locate and segment the blood vessels using adaptive thresholding. The technique is tested on publicly available DRIVE database of manually labeled images which has been established to facilitate comparative studies on segmentation of blood vessels in retinal images. The proposed method achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.963 …

Artificial Intelligence – I: Dna Innovate: Visualizing Dna Sequences, M. Shahzad, Nazish Alia, Sadaf Mahmood

International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies

Exploring DNA sequences is really important in the context of bioinformatics, as it maintains every function of our body - being the building block. Bioinformaticians have unfolded numerous features of this sequence and it is probable that still there are more features to discover within DNA sequence. To get the desired information from DNA sequence quickly, depends largely on its presentation. It is desirable to investigate the sequence in visual or textual form, as needed. In this paper, we put forward a software tool which can be helpful in exploring DNA features and observing it in different representations (simultaneously or …

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2008 Year 6 Final Report, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

The Tbx20 Homologs Midline And H15 Specify Ventral Fate In The Drosophila Melanogaster Leg, Pia C. Svendson, Ann Formaz-Preston, Sandra M. Leal, William J. Brook

Faculty Publications

Regional fates in the developing limbs of Drosophila melanogaster are controlled by selector gene transcription factors. Ventral fate in the fly leg is specified by the expression of the ligand Wingless. We present evidence that midline and H15, members of the Tbx20 class of T-box transcription factors, are key mediators of the Wingless signal in the formation of the ventral region of the fly leg. midline and H15 are restricted to identical ventral domains of expression through activation by Wingless and repression by the dorsal signal Decapentaplegic. midline and H15 function redundantly and cell autonomously in the formation of …

Electromechanical Delay Of The Knee Flexor Muscles Is Impaired After Harvesting Hamstring Tendons For Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Stavros Ristanis, Elias Tsepis, Dimitrios Giotis, Nicholas Stergiou, Guiliano Cerulli, Anastasios D. Georgoulis

Journal Articles

Background

Changes in electromechanical delay during muscle activation are expected when there are substantial alterations in the structural properties of the musculotendinous tissue. In anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, specific tendons are being harvested for grafts. Thus, there is an associated scar tissue development at the tendon that may affect the corresponding electromechanical delay.

Purpose

This study was conducted to investigate whether harvesting of semitendinosus and gracilis tendons for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction will affect the electromechanical delay of the knee flexors.

Study Design

Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods

The authors evaluated 12 patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction …

Integration Of Irradiation With Cytoplasmic Incompatibility To Facilitate A Lymphatic Filariasis Vector Elimination Approach, Corey L. Brelsfoard, William St. Clair, Stephen L. Dobson

Entomology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Mass drug administration (MDA) is the emphasis of an ongoing global lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination program by the World Health Organization, in which the entire 'at risk' human population is treated annually with anti-filarial drugs. However, there is evidence that the MDA strategy may not be equally appropriate in all areas of LF transmission, leading to calls for the augmentation of MDA with anti-vector interventions. One potential augmentative intervention is the elimination of vectors via repeated inundative releases of male mosquitoes made cytoplasmically incompatible via an infection with Wolbachia bacteria. However, with a reduction in the vector population size, …

Vitis Riparia Var. Syrticola (Fernald & Wiegand) Fernald, Paul B. Marcum, Loy R. Phillippe

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Song Of The North Wind: A Story Of The Snow Goose, Paul A. Johnsgard, Paul Geraghty

Papers in Ornithology

As a boy in North Dakota, Paul Johnsgard measured his winters, not by conventional time units, but in the days it took for the snow geese to return from their wintering grounds to Lake Traverse. In early April, with hip boots, camera, and binoculars, he awaited the arrival of the first flocks from the Gulf of Mexico. Johnsgard was not alone in admiring the beauty and strength of the snow goose. For centuries this bird has signified the passing seasons to the Indians—its white feathers a symbol of the breath of life and a reminder of the roles the birds …

Diversity And Strain Specificity Of Plant Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes Revealed By The Draft Genome Of Ruminococcus Flavefaciens Fd-1, Margret E. Berg Miller, Dionysios A. Antonopoulos, Mark Brand, Albert Bari, Alvaro Hernandez, Jyothi Thimmapuram, Bryan A. White, Marco Rincon, Harry J. Flint, Bernard Henrissat, Pedro M. Coutinho

Cyber Center Publications

Ruminococcus flavefaciens is a predominant cellulolytic rumen bacterium, which forms a multi-enzyme cellulosome complex that could play an integral role in the ability of this bacterium to degrade plant cell wall polysaccharides. Identifying the major enzyme types involved in plant cell wall degradation is essential for gaining a better understanding of the cellulolytic capabilities of this organism as well as highlighting potential enzymes for application in improvement of livestock nutrition and for conversion of cellulosic biomass to liquid fuels.

Acer Spicatum Lam., P. Harwood

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Development Of Biocompatible Polymer Monoliths For The Analysis Of Proteins And Peptides, Yun Li

Theses and Dissertations

Biocompatibility is an important issue for the development of chromatographic stationary phases for the analysis of biomolecules (including proteins and peptides). A biocompatible stationary phase material is a material that resists nonspecific adsorption of biomolecules and does not interact with them in a way that would alter or destroy their structures or biochemical functions. The monolithic column format is a good alternative to typical spherical particle packed columns for capillary liquid chromatography of biomacromolecules. Several novel anion-exchange polymer monoliths for the analysis of proteins were synthesized for improved biocompatibility. Two novel polymeric monoliths were prepared in a single step by …

Manipulating Testosterone To Assess Links Between Behavior, Morphology, And Performance In The Brown Anole Anolis Sagrei, Robert M. Cox, Derek S. Stenquist, Justin P. Henningsen, Ryan Calsbeek

Dartmouth Scholarship

Survival and reproductive success are determined by the complex interplay between behavior, physiology, morphology, and performance. When optimal trait combinations along these various phenotypic axes differ between sexes or across seasons, regulatory mechanisms such as sex steroids can often facilitate sex‐specific and/or seasonal trait expression. In this study, we used surgical castration and replacement of exogenous testosterone in adult male brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) to simultaneously examine the effects of testosterone on a suite of morphological (dewlap area, body size), physiological (immune function), behavioral (dewlap, head bob, and push‐up displays), and performance (stamina, sprint speed, bite force) traits. …

Verbena Stricta Vent., William Mcclain

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Real-Time Virus Analysis Via Image Charge Detection Surface Induced Dissociation Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Seth T. Call

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports on the development of a novel mass spectrometer combining image charge detection with surface induced dissociation for real-time analysis of intact viruses. Protonated viruses produced using electrospray are accelerated and subsequently impact on a solid surface. Capsid peptides released during the impact are analyzed using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Image charge detection is used to measure the mass and charge states of structurally intact, electrosprayed viruses prior to impact. Since virus capsids are composed of loosely-bound proteins, collision of viruses with surfaces at moderate impact energies could release intact proteins. The masses and numbers of different protein types …

Biofuels: Cultivating Energy, Not Invasive Species, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Biofuels: Cultivating Energy, not Invasive Species, approved by ISAC on August 11, 2009

ISSUE

To provide alternatives to petroleum-based energy, the United States government has mandated a greater proportion of plant-based biofuels be integrated into its energy portfolio. However, certain plant species being proposed for biofuel production in the United States are invasive species or are likely to escape cultivation and become invasive. United States Executive Order (EO) 131121 defines invasive species as “alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” and states: “Each Federal agency whose actions …

Assessing Body Composition Of Children And Adolescents Using Dexa, Skinfolds, And Electrical Impedance, Angela Mooney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of four methods of estimating body composition in 331 participants (177 boys, 154 girls) between 12-17 years of age. Percent body fat (%BF) was assessed once on one day using DEXA and twice using the sum of two skinfold (SF) and three bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) devices: OMRON hand-to-hand BIA, TANITA 521 foot-to-foot BIA, and TANITA 300A foot-to-foot BIA. The same assessments were repeated on 79 of the participants on a second day. DEXA was used as the criterion method of estimating %BF. The agreement between the estimates …

Smokejumper Obituary: Miller, Gordon H. (Mccall 1944), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Design And Characterization Of A Human Exposure Chamber And Inversion Episodes In Salt Lake City, Utah In January/February Of 2009, Roman Yuri Kuprov

Theses and Dissertations

Research on health effects of particulate matter (PM) has been a very active area in the last two decades. One plausible mechanism by which exposure to PM affects human health includes modification of autonomic endothelium function. Decreased endothelium activity causes heightened risks of cardiovascular disease. A human exposure chamber designed to conduct experiments to quantify diminished function of endothelium from short term exposure to PM is described. The chamber consists of two stages for containment and pre-treatment of PM and exposure of human subjects. Concentrations of CO, CO2, NO, NO2, O3, and PM2.5, are monitored and controlled in the exposure …

Olfactory Attraction Of Egg Parasitoids To Virgin Females Of Noctuid Stemborers, Anani Yaovi Bruce, Fritz Schulthess, Jones Mueke, Paul André Calatayud

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

To locate hosts, egg parasitoids rely on infochemicals of the adult host stage, e.g. pheromones, rather than cues emitted by the inconspicuous egg themselves. Here, we show that three different egg parasitoid species the scelionids Telenomus busseolae Gahan and Telenomus isis Polaszek and the trichogrammatid Trichogramma bournieri Pintureau & Babault were attracted to both calling and non-calling females of the noctuids Busseola fusca (Fuller), Sesamia calamistis (Hampson) and Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre). In Y-tube olfactometer experiments this study revealed a preference of all three parasitoids for non-calling (general odors of virgin females) and calling moth (sex pheromone) over the control (clean …