Life Sciences Commons^™

Clarification Of The Systematics Of The Haploporoidea (Trematoda) With Descriptions Of New Genera And Species, Michael Jay Andres

Dissertations

The superfamily Haploporoidea Nicoll, 1914 comprises two families, the Atractotrematidae Yamaguti, 1939 and the Haploporidae Nicoll, 1914, and the subfamily Cadenatellinae Gibson et Bray, 1982. All members are parasites of the alimentary tract or gall bladder of marine, estuarine, and freshwater herbivorous fishes. Overstreet and Curran (2005a) provided a review of the Haploporidae and recognized four subfamilies, the Chalcinotrematinae Overstreet et Curran, 2005, Haploporinae Nicoll, 1914, Megasoleninae Manter, 1935, and Waretrematinae Srivastava, 1937. In a series of five publications, Blasco-Costa et al. (2009a-e) revised the Haploporinae and erected a fifth subfamily, the Forticulcitinae Blasco-Costa, Balbuena, Kostadinova, et Olson, 2009. The …

Forest Farming Ramps, Jim Chamberlain, Dana Beegle, Katie Lajeunesse Connette

Agroforestry Notes (USDA-NAC)

The spring ephemeral, Allium tricoccum Ait. (called ramps in the south and wild leeks in more northern areas), is native to the forests of eastern North America. Ramps can be found growing in patches in rich, moist, deciduous forests in eastern North America. They begin to emerge when the soil temperatures increase after snow melt, which usually occurs in late March and early April, depending on geographic location. Young plants send up smooth, broad leaves that die back as the shrub and tree canopy closes, reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the ramps. Patches of ramps often can be …

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Thermal Stress And Predation Risk Trigger Distinct Transcriptomic Responses In The Intertidal Snail Nucella Lapillus, Nathaniel D. Chu, Luke P. Miller, Stefan T. Kaluziak, Geoffrey C. Trussell, Steven V. Vollmer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Thermal stress and predation risk have profound effects on rocky shore organisms, triggering changes in their feeding behaviour, morphology and metabolism. Studies of thermal stress have shown that underpinning such changes in several intertidal species are specific shifts in gene and protein expression (e.g. upregulation of heat-shock proteins). But relatively few studies have examined genetic responses to predation risk. Here, we use next-generation RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to examine the transcriptomic (mRNA) response of the snail Nucella lapillus to thermal stress and predation risk. We found that like other intertidal species, N. lapillus displays a pronounced genetic response to thermal stress …

Climate Change Enhances The Negative Effects Of Predation Risk On An Intermediate Consumer, Luke P. Miller, Catherine M. Matassa, Geoffrey C. Trussell

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Predators are a major source of stress in natural systems because their prey must balance the benefits of feeding with the risk of being eaten. Although this 'fear' of being eaten often drives the organization and dynamics of many natural systems, we know little about how such risk effects will be altered by climate change. Here, we examined the interactive consequences of predator avoidance and projected climate warming in a three-level rocky intertidal food chain. We found that both predation risk and increased air and sea temperatures suppressed the foraging of prey in the middle trophic level, suggesting that warming …

The Relationship Between Tort Reform And Medical Utilization, Kevin T. Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

NTRODUCTION: The hidden cost of defensive medicine has been cited by policymakers as a significant driving force in the increase of our nation's health-care costs. If this hypothesis is correct, one would expect that states with higher levels of tort reform will have a decrease in Medicare utilization and that medical utilization will decrease after tort reform is enacted.

METHODS: State-level reimbursement data for years 1999 to 2010 (the last year available) was obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Medical tort rankings for the 50 states were obtained from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and correlated with state …

Meiotic Checkpoint Activation Promotes Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome Substrate Specificity And Ume6/Sin3/Rpd3-Independent Reduction In Emg Expression, Rebecca Lewandowski

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Complex differentiation pathways, such as yeast meiosis and sporulation, are initiated in response to cell type and external stimuli and are driven by changes in tightly regulated and temporally expressed transcriptional programs. These programs are monitored by checkpoint mechanisms that couple meiotic progression to transcriptional activity to ensure each stage is successfully completed prior to progression into the next phase. This work investigated transcriptional regulation controlling meiotic progression when cells sense an insult to genetic integrity. These studies revealed that the early meiotic gene (EMG) repressor Ume6p is degraded during meiotic checkpoint activation triggered by the deoxyribonucleotide reductase inhibitor and …

Trophic Dynamic Interactions In A Temperate Karst River, Elizabeth Malloy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Surface streams in karst landscapes are often characterized by high nutrient levels due to incomplete filtration through series of innumerable, below-ground conduits. Seasonal growth of the filamentous alga, Cladophora, is typically associated with nutrient-rich waters. This research compared macroinvertebrate food web structure between riverine reaches with contrasting underlying karst topography, nutrient levels, and Cladophora cover during summer 2012 and autumn 2013. Recent work in these reaches found a high correlation between Cladophora cover and nutrient content, particularly nitrate. Four questions were addressed during this study: 1. Do longitudinal trends in algal and consumer δ13C values relate to decreased DIC availability …

Farming With An Amputation, Rhonda Miller Ph.D., Anne Reither

Archived Agriculture Publications

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Animal Research: A Survey Of Pediatric Health Care Workers, Ari Joffe, Meredith Bara, Natalie Anton, Nathan Nobis

Experimentation Collection

Introduction: Pediatric health care workers (HCW) often perform, promote, and advocate use of public funds for animal research (AR). We aim to determine whether HCW consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of AR convincing.

Design: After development and validation, an e-mail survey was sent to all pediatricians and pediatric intensive care unit nurses and respiratory therapists (RTs) affiliated with a Canadian University. We presented questions about demographics, support for AR, and common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses are reported using standard tabulations. Responses of pediatricians and nurses/RTs were …

Biomarkers Of Inflammation, Metabolism, And Oxidative Stress In Blood, Liver, And Milk Reveal A Better Immunometabolic Status In Peripartal Cows Supplemented With Smartamine M Or Metasmart, J. S. Osorio, E. Trevisi, P. Ji, J. K. Drackley, D. Luchini, G. Bertoni, J. J. Loor

Physiology Collection

The peripartal dairy cow experiences a state of reduced liver function coupled with increased inflammation and oxidative stress. This study evaluated the effect of supplementing basal diets with rumen-protected Met in the form of MetaSmart (MS) or Smartamine M (SM) (both from Adisseo Inc., Antony, France) during the peripartal period on blood and hepatic biomarkers of liver function, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Thirty-seven multiparous Holstein cows were fed the same basal diet from −50 to −21 d relative to expected calving [1.24 Mcal/kg of dry matter (DM); no Met supplementation]. From −21 d to calving, the cows received diets …

Pacific Plug & Liner Crop Shrinkage Evaluation, Jillian Balli

Horticulture and Crop Science

Crop Shrinkage has a major impact on a company’s bottom line. There are many ways to combat shrinkage. This report focuses on shrinkage reduction by adjusting buffer planting numbers to reflect the actual number of plants lost in production. Inaccurate buffer can cause the cost of production to be inaccurate as well. This report evaluates crop shrinkage of a greenhouse located in Watsonville, CA called Pacific Plug & Liner.

Root Stimulation Using Vermi-Products In Grape Vine Propagations, Katerina M. Flores

Wine and Viticulture

Vermi-products are byproducts produced from earthworms digesting and decomposing a natural material into another. Liquid teas or extracts of vermi-products are another form of leachate material found in the completed compost bin. These products are not high in essential plant macronutrients, have an average neutral pH (around 7.0), and are known for living microbial population. Grapevine propagations cut from the Trestle Vineyard at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo were used to observe root growth development using steer compost, vermicompost, and vermi-extract. Propagations used were dormant Pinot Noir clone 777. Compost subsamples tested 5%, 10%, 20%, and 40% by …

Let's Stop Worrying And Learn To Love Transparency: Food And Technology In The Information Age, Scarlettah Schaefer

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Food and technology have had a long and tempestuous relationship. Current methods of food production and processing in the industrialized world depend heavily on technological developments. However, all technologies are not created equal. Some can produce food that is safer, more sustainable, more nutritious, or longer lasting. Some can have the opposite effect: increasing opportunities for adulteration, increasing the difficulty in detecting food fraud, and contributing to both foreseeable and unforeseeable health or ecological costs. Increasingly sophisticated technologies often become less apparent to the average consumer. For example, consider irradiated meat or genetically modified foods as opposed to freezer storage …

Physiological Effects And Therapeutic Potential Of Proinsulin C-Peptide, Gina L.C. Yosten, Christine Maric-Bilkan, Patrizia Luppi, John Wahren

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Connecting Peptide, or C-peptide, is a product of the insulin prohormone, and is released with and in amounts equimolar to those of insulin. While it was once thought that C-peptide was biologically inert and had little biological significance beyond its role in the proper folding of insulin, it is now known that C-peptide binds specifically to the cell membranes of a variety of tissues and initiates specific intracellular signaling cascades that are pertussis toxin sensitive. Although it is now clear that C-peptide is a biologically active molecule, controversy still remains as to the physiological significance of the peptide. Interestingly, C-peptide …

Growth And Biomass Accumulation Of Komatsuna Greens As Affected By Nutrient Solution Electrical Conductivity, Leah P. Malvar

Horticulture Undergraduate Honors Theses

The affects of different nutrient concentrations on komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis 'Komatsuna') grown in a nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic system were observed. Nutrient concentrations, measured by electrical conductivity (E.C.) in mS/cm, influenced plant height, leaf area, and plant fresh weight. The lowest measurements for each of these parameters were observed at the lowest E.C. of 1.0. mS/cm. As E.C. was increased from 1.0 to 1.2 mS/cm, measurements for shoot fresh weight and shoot height trended higher. Total leaf area increased as the E.C. was increased from 1.0 to 1.4 mS/cm, decreased as the E.C. was increased up to …

Interactions Of Exyra Ridingsii, Riding's Pitcherplant Looper Moth And Sarracenia Flava , The Yellow Pitcher Plant, Christine A Ricci

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

1. Exyra ridingsii is a host specific moth that spends its entire immature life cycle in the fire dependent Sarracenia flava pitcher plant. Sarracenia flava requires acidic, moist soil that undergoes frequent burns. 2. Habitat selection and the effects of fire as well as other habitat characteristics were examined for E. ridingsii during this study. 3. For this study, five sites in the Croatan National Forest were surveyed four times each year for two years. Only one site had no disturbances since 2009; the remaining four sites were evenly split with two having had burns occur in them and two …

Experimental Evolution: Prospects And Challenges, Frank Rosenzweig, Gavin Sherlock

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Experimental Microbial Evolution: History And Conceptual Underpinnings, Julian Adams, Frank Rosenzweig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We chronicle and dissect the history of the field of Experimental Microbial Evolution, beginning with work by Monod. Early research was largely carried out by microbiologists and biochemists, who used experimental evolutionary change as a tool to understand structure-function relationships. These studies attracted the interest of evolutionary biologists who recognized the power of the approach to address issues such as the tempo of adaptive change, the costs and benefits of sex, parallelism, and the role which contingency plays in the evolutionary process. In the 1980s and 1990s, an ever-expanding body of microbial, physiological and biochemical data, together with new technologies …

The Valley-Of-Death: Reciprocal Sign Epistasis Constrains Adaptive Trajectories In A Constant, Nutrient Limiting Environment, Kami E. Chiotti, Daniel J. Kvitek, Karen H. Schmidt, Gregory Koniges, Katja Schwartz, Elizabeth A. Donckels, Frank Rosenzweig, Gavin Sherlock

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The fitness landscape is a powerful metaphor for describing the relationship between genotype and phenotype for a population under selection. However, empirical data as to the topography of fitness landscapes are limited, owing to difficulties in measuring fitness for large numbers of genotypes under any condition. We previously reported a case of reciprocal sign epistasis (RSE), where two mutations individually increased yeast fitness in a glucose-limited environment, but reduced fitness when combined, suggesting the existence of two peaks on the fitness landscape. We sought to determine whether a ridge connected these peaks so that populations founded by one mutant could …

Cold Hardiness And Deacclimation Of Overwintering Papilio Zelicaon Pupae, Caroline M. Williams, Nicolai Annegret, Brent J. Sinclair, Laura V. Ferguson, Mark A. Bernards, Jessica J. Hellmann

Biology Publications

Seasonally-acquired cold tolerance can be reversed at warm temperatures, leaving temperate ectotherms vulnerable to cold snaps. However, deacclimation, and its underlying mechanisms, has not been well-explored in insects. Swallowtail butterflies are widely distributed but in some cases their range is limited by low temperature and their cold tolerance is seasonally acquired, implying that they experience mortality resulting from deacclimation. We investigated cold tolerance and hemolymph composition of Anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) pupae during overwintering in the laboratory, and after four days exposure to warm temperatures in spring. Overwintering pupae had supercooling points around − 20.5 °C and survived …

Sagestep News, Fall 2014, No. 25, Sagestep

Newsletters

Seasonal newsletter of SageSTEP.

Characterization Of A Novel Fungal-Specific Gene, Fug1, In Fusarium Verticillioides, John Byron Ridenour

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Filamentous fungi are responsible for numerous plant and animal diseases. The filamentous ascomycete Fusarium verticillioides is a globally important pathogen of maize, capable of causing severe yield reductions and economic losses. Also of substantial concern is the contamination of infected kernels with fumonisins, toxic secondary metabolites linked to toxicoses in humans and livestock. The number of sequenced fungal genomes is rapidly increasing. However, functional characterization of fungal genes has not progressed at a comparable rate. In pathogenic fungi, uncharacterized genes represent a source for novel virulence factors or anti-fungal targets. Therefore, to fully understand the genetic mechanisms underlying fungal pathogenesis, …

Microbial Community Shifts Caused By Changes In The Primary Oxidant At A Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Connie Marie Moloney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microbial communities resistant to common oxidants can cause concerns for water treatment plants (WTPs). If a bacterium is not fully oxidized during disinfection, these species can impede upon filtration processes or seed biofilms in the distribution system. In an effort to minimize disinfection by-products (DBP's) that result from the reaction of chlorine (Cl2) with natural organic matter, water treatment plants have the option to change their primary oxidant to chlorine dioxide (ClO2). The following study examines the change in microbial communities during the sedimentation process under differing oxidation regimes, specifically chlorine (Cl2) and ClO2 at the local water treatment plant …

Identification Of Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne Spp.) Of Arkansas Using Molecular Diagnostics, Churamani Khanal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are highly-adaptable, obligate plant parasites distributed worldwide. In addition, root-knot nematodes are an economically important genus of plant-parasitic nematodes. Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria, M. javanica, M. hapla and M. graminis have been reported from Arkansas during 1964 to 1994. Previous identifications were based primarily on morphological characters and host differentials. In this study, identification using molecular diagnostics methods was performed to identify Meloidogyne species present in Arkansas. A total of 106 soil and root samples from 36 of the 75 counties were collected and processed to obtain root-knot nematodes. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed …

Dissection Of Gray Leaf Spot Of Maize Through Functional Genomics, Robert Louis Hirsch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gray leaf spot, caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis, is a devastating disease of maize that reduces yields and increases management costs. C. zeae-maydis penetrates maize leaves through stomata, but the biological and molecular bases of this process are poorly understood. The goal of this research was to elucidate the biological parameters of stomatal infection in C. zeae-maydis, and to identify and characterize novel genetic pathways involved in stomatal sensing and pathogenesis. Histopathological observations of a GFP-expressing strain of C. zeae-maydis during infection of maize indicated that the fungus responded to host-derived stomatal cues during the infection process. C. zeae-maydis was observed …

Evaluation Of Medicago Truncatula Accessions For Triterpene Saponins And Their Potential Impacts On Plant Pests, Samantha Roberson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plants have developed numerous ways to protect themselves from microbes and insects, including producing secondary metabolites that negatively impact an invading pathogen or pest. Saponins are specialized metabolites found in many plant species and may play a role in protecting the plant. Though saponins are found in many plant species, triterpene saponins are found primarily in dicotyledons, including legumes. Medicago truncatula is a model system for studying legume biology and some accessions accumulate high concentrations of saponins. Accessions of M. truncatula known to have differing levels of saponins in both foliar and root tissues were tested for their suitability as …

The Phenotypic Effects And Transcript Response Of Salt Stress, The Impact Of Viral Infection On Salt Stress Symptoms, And The Effect Of Salt Stress On Soybean Virus Vector Activity In Soybean Varieties That Vary In Chloride Uptake, Alma Glenn Laney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the increase in saline soils worldwide, understanding the mechanisms for salt tolerance in plants is important to reduce yield loss due to salt stress. Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., genotypes differ in chloride uptake with genotypes that take up chloride into foliar tissues tending to be salt-sensitive whereas those that partially exclude chloride from the leaves are more salt-tolerant. Transcriptional and physiological responses were measured in two soybean cultivars, Clark and Manokin, which differ in chloride uptake in response to salt stress and in combination with Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and its aphid vector, Aphis glycines . The interaction …

Whole Exome Sequencing In Family Trios Reveals De Novo Mutations In Pura As A Cause Of Severe Neurodevelopmental Delay And Learning Disability, David Hunt, Richard J. Leventer, Cas Simons, Ryan J. Taft, Kathryn J. Swoboda, Mary Gawne-Cain, Alex C. Magee, Perter D. Turnpenny, Diana Baralle

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

Background De novo mutations are emerging as an important cause of neurocognitive impairment, and whole exome sequencing of case-parent trios is a powerful way of detecting them. Here, we report the findings in four such trios.

Methods The Deciphering Developmental Disorders study is using whole exome sequencing in family trios to investigate children with severe, sporadic, undiagnosed developmental delay. Three of our patients were ascertained from the first 1133 children to have been investigated through this large-scale study. Case 4 was a phenotypically isolated case recruited into an undiagnosed rare disorders sequencing study.

Results Protein-altering de novo mutations in PURA …

Review Of "The Pku Paradox: A Short History Of A Genetic Disease" By D. B. Paul And J. P. Brosco, John B. Jenkins

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.