Life Sciences Commons^™

A Novel Consortium Of Lactobacillus Rhamnosus And Streptococcus Thermophilus For Increased Access To Functional Fermented Foods, Remco Kort, Nieke Westerik, L. Mariela Serrano, François P. Douillard, Willi Gottstein, Ivan M. Mukisa, Coosje J. Tuijn, Lisa Basten, Bert Hafkamp, Wilco C. Meijer, Bas Teusink, Willem M. Vos, Gregor Reid, Wilbert Sybesma

Microbiology & Immunology Publications

Background: The lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is the most studied probiotic bacterium with proven health benefits upon oral intake, including the alleviation of diarrhea. The mission of the Yoba for Life foundation is to provide impoverished communities in Africa increased access to Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG under the name Lactobacillus rhamnosus yoba 2012, world's first generic probiotic strain. We have been able to overcome the strain's limitations to grow in food matrices like milk, by formulating a dried starter consortium with Streptococcus thermophilus that enables the propagation of both strains in milk and other food matrices. The affordable seed …

Feeding Ecology Of The Invasive Lionfish (Pterois Spp.) And Comparison With Two Native Species: Schoolmaster Lutjanus Apodus (Walbaum, 1792) And Graysby Cephalopholis Cruentata (Lacepède, 1802), Jesse J. Secord

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Predator satiation and prey-size preference were determined for locally caught lionfish, schoolmaster, and graysby, all co-occurring predatory fishes in the Florida coral reef ecosystem. Individuals were evaluated by exposing them to wild-caught killifish over a gradient of four size classes (20 mm to 60 mm, in 10 mm increments). Preference trials extended over a 2 hr time period and were filmed to determine the order in which each prey item was consumed. Satiation was evaluated by exposing the predators to an equal number of excess prey items for 24 hrs and evaluating consumed prey weight. Lionfish and schoolmaster showed a …

Faunal Composition And Distribution Of Pelagic Larval And Juvenile Flatfishes (Teleostei: Pleuronectiformes) In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Connectivity Between Coastal And Oceanic Epipelagic Ecosystems, Lacey Malarky

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Pleuronectiformes (flatfishes) occur throughout the global oceans, and have high ecological and commercial importance in some areas. Though much is known regarding life history, abundance, and distribution for the benthic adult stage of flatfish species, much less is known about the pelagic larval phases of flatfishes in the open ocean. Taxonomic uncertainty and limited sampling in the oceanic Gulf of Mexico contribute to data gaps with respect to the distribution of early life history stage of flatfishes in this region. Knowledge of the faunal composition, abundance and distribution of larval flatfishes, such as members of Bothus, which have extended …

Fungi On White-Nose Infected Bats (Myotis Spp.) In Eastern Canada Show No Decline In Diversity Associated With Pseudogymnoascus Destructans (Ascomycota: Pseudeurotiaceae), Karen J. Vanderwolf, David Malloch, Donald F. Mcalpine

International Journal of Speleology

The introduction of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) to North America has stimulated research on the poorly known mycology of caves. It is possible that the introduction of Pd reduces the diversity of fungi associated with bats hibernating in caves. To test this hypothesis we examined the fungal assemblages associated with hibernating bats (Myotis spp.) pre- and post- white-nose syndrome (WNS) infection in eastern Canada using culture-dependent methods. We found the mean number of fungal taxa isolated from bats/hibernaculum was not significantly different between pre-infection (29.6 ± 6.1SD) and post-infection with WNS (32.4 ± 4.3). Although …

Assessment Of Genetic Diversity And Hybridization For The Endangered Conasauga Logperch (Percina Jenkinsi), Gregory R. Moyer, Anna L. George, Patrick L. Rakes, J.R. Shute, Ashantye' S. Williams

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The Conasauga logperch, Percina jenkinsi is one of the rarest darters in North America afforded protection under the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, little is known about potential threats to the genetic diversity of this species, a narrow endemic. Loss of genetic diversity, spawning of closely related individuals, and hybridization with closely related congeners have been known to increase the rate of extinction for threatened or endangered taxa. We evaluated these risks by estimating and comparing levels of genetic diversity between P. jenkinsi and P. kathae (a closely related, morphologically similar, and more abundant congener) using twelve microsatellite loci. Specifically, we …

Smokejumper Obituary: Cramer, James L. (Cave Junction 1958), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Extensive Dieback In Malosma Laurina In Coastal Exposures Of The Santa Monica Mountains Associated With Unprecedented Drought In California, Gina S. Gilderman, Kaitlyn E. Sauer, Gabriella N. Palmeri

Featured Research

Throughout coastal exposures of the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) there is a recent emergence of widespread dieback in Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina). M. laurina is a keystone species of chaparral that dominates the SMM. A significant trait of M. laurina is an extensive root system exceeding 12 m in depth. We hypothesized that M. laurina was weakened by unprecedented drought in California (2013-2015) and predisposed to fungal pathogens. An initial study conducted in the summer of 2015 revealed all stem samples taken from dieback adult M. laurina plants were infected with Botryosphaeria dothidea, while zero stem samples taken …

Restoration Handbook For Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystems With Emphasis On Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat—Part 2. Landscape Level Restoration Decisions, David A. Pyke, Steven T. Knick, Jeanne C. Chambers, Mike Pellant, Richard F. Miller, Jeffrey L. Beck, Paul S. Doescher, Eugene W. Schupp, Bruce A. Roundy, Mark W. Brunson, James D. Mclver

Reports

Sagebrush steppe ecosystems in the United States currently (2015) occur on only about one-half of their historical land area because of changes in land use, urban growth, and degradation of land, including invasions of non-native plants. The existence of many animal species depends on the existence of sagebrush steppe habitat. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a landscape-dependent bird that requires intact habitat and combinations of sagebrush and perennial grasses to exist. In addition, other sagebrush-obligate animals also have similar requirements and restoration of landscapes for greater sage-grouse also will benefit these animals. Once sagebrush lands are degraded, they may …

Root Hydraulic Conductance In Laurel Sumac Experiencing Severe Dieback In The Santa Monica Mountains, Natalie M. Aguirre, Avery N. Davis, Sarah B. Nelson

Featured Research

Malosma laurina (laurel sumac) is a dominant species in coastal chaparral ecosystems, extending its roots down to an average of 40 feet in rocky, sandy soils. The deep root systems of M. laurina provide structural support for the steep Santa Monica Mountains. The roots also allow M. laurina to draw from the deep water table, increasing its drought tolerance. M. laurina dieback is prevalent in coastal exposures of the Santa Monica Mountains presumably due to historic drought predisposing plant tissues to infection by the fungal pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea. In ecosystems that experience annual dry periods, a high hydraulic conductance …

Recent Dieback In A Keystone Chaparral Species Is Caused By A Fungal Pathogen, Botryosphaeria Dothidea, Frida Morales, Mariah Taylor

Featured Research

Due to the recent drought in Southern California, the abundance of a keystone species within the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) has been dwindling. This species, Malosma laurina, has an average root depth of 40 feet, so it has little difficulty tapping into the watershed. Recently, this species has undergone extensive dieback, which is potentially attributed to the unprecedented drought and the introduction of the fungus B. dothidea. While this fungi appears to be innocuous to M. laurina when the plant is healthy, it is more susceptible to invasion under water stress due to the dry heated conditions of …

The Effects Of Petroleum Pollutants On Sea Urchins Reproduction And Development, Kellie C. Pelikan

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Disturbances, such as mass pollution events, threaten the health of vulnerable ecosystems. Recent media attention has focused on the devastating mass oil spills, but daily petroleum input from recreational and commercial ship bilge release has been overlooked. The focus of this study was the effect of petroleum products found in bilge water on fertilization success and larval viability of two sea urchin species, Lytechinus variegatus and Eucidaris tribuloides. Unlike other pollutant studies that have focused on sperm characteristics and concentrations, I chose to examine how egg integrity was compromised by petroleum products. Scanning electron microscopy revealed eggs were degraded when …

Chronic Ethanol Exposure Enhances The Aggressiveness Of Breast Cancer: The Role Of P38Γ, Mei Xu, Siying Wang, Zhenhua Ren, Jacqueline A. Frank, Xiuwei H. Yang, Zhuo Zhang, Zun-Ji Ke, Xianglin Shi, Jia Luo

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Both epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that ethanol may enhance aggressiveness of breast cancer. We have previously demonstrated that short term exposure to ethanol (12–48 hours) increased migration/invasion in breast cancer cells overexpressing ErbB2, but not in breast cancer cells with low expression of ErbB2, such as MCF7, BT20 and T47D breast cancer cells. In this study, we showed that chronic ethanol exposure transformed breast cancer cells that were not responsive to short term ethanol treatment to a more aggressive phenotype. Chronic ethanol exposure (10 days - 2 months) at 100 (22 mM) or 200 mg/dl (44 mM) caused the …

Training A New Trick Using No-Reward Markers: Effects On Dogs’ Performance And Stress Behaviors, Naomi Rotenberg

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored using no-reward markers (NRMs). Dogs were taught a novel trick. In the IG group dogs’ errors were ignored; in the NRM group they elicited a tone. Performance and stress were evaluated. IG dogs reached higher levels of performance, with no difference in the frequency of stress behaviors.

Lingnan Gardeners Newsletter (No. 13) = 嶺南彩園通訊 (第13期), Lingnan Gardeners, Kwan Fong Cultural Research And Development Programme, Lingnan University

Lingnan Gardeners Newsletter 嶺南彩園通訊

Heavy Snow 大雪

Smokejumper Obituary: Brunk, James R. (Missoula 1945), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Smokejumper Obituary: Yergenson, Dallas (Mccall 1954), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Guide To The Mark Kronquist Collection, Linfield College Archives

Linfield Archives Finding Aids

This collection includes wine bottles, wine glasses, wine corks, and other memorabilia from the 1980s, as well as numerous books pertaining to the wine industry.

Prenatal Genetic Testing: An Overview Of History, Advancements, And Impacts On Health Care, Jessica Neumann

University Honors Program

The purpose of this research is to study prenatal genetic testing and the advancements that have been made since the human genome project has made the testing process simpler and less invasive. Prenatal genetic testing is a screen or a test that is performed in order to determine if an embryo or fetus has a certain disease or condition before its birth. A variety of different prenatal tests and screens have been studied to evaluate what genetic conditions are screened for and when. The scope of this paper focuses on the historical overview, advancements, patients, tests, and impacts related to …

The Importance Of Physicochemical Characteristics And Nonlinear Classifiers In Determining Hiv-1 Protease Specificity, Timmy Manning, Paul Walsh

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

This paper reviews recent research relating to the application of bioinformatics approaches to determining HIV-1 protease specificity, outlines outstanding issues, and presents a new approach to addressing these issues. Leading machine learning theory for the problem currently suggests that the direct encoding of the physicochemical properties of the amino acid substrates is not required for optimal performance. A number of amino acid encoding approaches which incorporate potentially relevant physicochemical properties of the substrate are identified, and are evaluated using a nonlinear task decomposition based neuroevolution algorithm. The results are evaluated, and compared against a recent benchmark set on a nonlinear …

Pthrp(12-48) A New Player In Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis, Charity Leah Washam

Theses and Dissertations

Bone metastasis is a common complication of breast cancer that significantly compromises patient survival due, in part, to the advanced stage of disease at time of detection. Early detection is key to patient survival, however, despite intense investigation in both the metastatic and early breast cancer setting there are currently no high performance biomarkers that can identify or predict the development of bone metastasis. In order to improve patient outcomes new diagnostic tools that can detect skeletal lesions in their earliest stages of development and/or identify patients at risk for developing bone metastases that may benefit from adjuvant anti-resorptive treatment …

Construction Of Class I Hla-Binding Peptidome, Heng Luo

Theses and Dissertations

The human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) can capture endogenous or exogenous peptides and set up a cascade which results in immune activation to fight a pathogen or sometimes to trigger autoimmune diseases or adverse drug reactions. Understanding HLA-peptide binding is essential for the development of vaccines and protein therapies, the identification of methods to prevent autoimmune diseases and the prediction of adverse drug reactions. Using an in silico approach we generated a 9-mer peptidome for Class I HLAs from the human proteome and harvested experimental HLA-peptide binding data from a variety of databases. Unfortunately, many peptides in the peptidome do not …

Applications Of Structure Based Drug Design To Generate High Affinity Anti-Methamphetamine Immunotherapy And To Identify Novel Inhibitors Of Lox-1 To Treat Atherosclerosis, Shraddha Thakkar

Theses and Dissertations

Computer-aided rational drug design is one of the most promising approaches for the development of effective drug therapies. This dissertation describes applications of rational structure-based techniques in two cases. In the first study, we enhanced the potency of a therapeutic antibody against methamphetamine. In the second study we identified potentially therapeutic molecules to treat atherosclerosis. Methamphetamine abuse is a serious health hazard and a single chain variable fragment (scFv) of a therapeutic anti-METH antibody has been developed at this University. Anti-METH immunotherapy blocks or reduces the rate of METH entry into the brain. In this research we introduced rationally designed …

Reactive Oxygen Species Homeostasis And Proline Catabolism, Lu Zhang

Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The role of proline metabolism in regulating cellular redox status was first proposed three decades ago. Proline catabolism was then later found to induce programmed cell death and cell apoptosis by regulating ROS signaling. Proline oxidation was also found to promote cell survival under oxidative stress. Proline catabolism-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) were suggested to be involved in both cases by serving as a regulatory signal. In this work, the sources of proline oxidation-induced ROS production were explored in both bacteria and animal cells. Proline oxidation-induced ROS was found to be shared by bacteria (Escherichia coli) and animals …

The 21st Century Graduate: Delivering A Tailored Approach To Social And Emotional Competency Training For Final Year Students To Enhance Graduate Attributes And Increase Employability, Ailish Jameson, Aiden Carthy, Colm Mcguinness, Fiona Mcsweeney

Conference Papers

The Higher Education Authority recently reported an average drop-out rate of 16% for Irish third level students, which poses significant pedagogical and economic challenges across the educational sector and negatively impacts the Irish economy. With respect to tackling this issue, a considerable body of international research has identified a strong positive correlation between higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI) and increased levels of student engagement and academic attainment. A wealth of previous research has also shown that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of EI, for example, Job Outlook Survey, 2008, therefore, increasing students’ levels of EI is also …

Evaluation Of Genetic Gain For Dynamic Leaf Traits In Maize Using Field Spectroscopy, Jonathan Luetchens

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rapid introduction of cheap and precise genotyping technology has created a void between genotypes and phenotypes in maize breeding. While detailed genetic information is easily accessible, the data are lacking robust phenotypes to be used in mapping studies like genome-wide association. As a result, high-throughput phenotyping tools are necessary to rigorously characterize specific traits. In this study, agronomic traits and an active spectrometer system were used to monitor 36 era hybrids – popular commercial maize hybrids grown from 1936 to 2012 – to discover how various traits have changed over time. In conjunction with increased grain yield of 76 kg/ha …

Comparative Study Of The D-Values Of Salmonella Spp. And Enterococcus Faecium In Wheat Flour, Didier Dodier

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Low-moisture foods contaminated with Salmonella spp. have been implicated in several foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. The food industry has to incorporate preventive control in their process and validate thermal processes to assure food safety. The thermal destruction of Enterococcus faecium ATTC 8459 and Salmonella spp. was determined at 3 water activity levels (0.11, 0.18 and 0.33) at 80ºC, 85ºC and 90ºC. Aerobic plates counts petrifilms were used as non-selective medium for both bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae petrifilms were used as selective medium for Salmonella spp., and peptone water modified with sodium azide as a selective medium for Enterococcus faecium …

Genetic Parameters For Docility, Weaning Weight, Yearling Weight, And Intramuscular Fat Percentage In Hereford Cattle, J. A. Torres-Vázquez, Matthew L. Spangler

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Cattle behavior, including measures of docility, is important to beef cattle producers not only from a human safety perspective but also due to potential correlations to economically relevant traits. Field data from the American Hereford Association was used to estimate genetic parameters for chute score (CS; n = 25,037), weaning weight (WW; n = 24,908), yearling weight (YW; n = 23,978), and intramuscular fat percentage (IMF; n = 12,566). Single-trait and bivariate animal models were used to estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations. All models included fixed effects of sex and contemporary group, defined as herd–year–season, and direct genetic and residual …

Birding Nebraska’S Central Platte Valley And Rainwater Basin, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

Central Nebraska's Platte River and Rainwater Basin are primary stops in the migration patterns of numerous North American waterfowl, including sandhill and whooping cranes, sandpipers, geese, ducks, gulls, and shorebirds of many types. Upland species also abound there as well. The region's most eminent ornithologist provides birding and travel information for casual tourists and hard-core enthusiasts: locations, seasons, events, routes, accommodations, contacts, etc. A complete species list is also included. This birders' guide is as essential as your boots and binoculars.

The central Platte River Valley region, as defined by Brown & Johnsgard (2012) and adopted here, encompasses 12 south-central …

Inactivation Of Escherichia Coli O157:H7 And Shiga Toxin Producing E. Coli (Stec) Throughout Beef Summer Sausage Production And The Use Of High Pressure Processing As An Alternative Intervention To Thermal Processing, Eric L. Oliver

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and six additional serogroups of Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli (STEC-7) have been implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks related to fermented sausage products and are considered adulterants by the USDA-FSIS. The objective of this study was to evaluate high pressure processing (HPP) as an alternative to thermal treatment to reduce STEC-7 meeting the USDA-FSIS performance standards (5.0-log reduction). A rifampicin-resistant, non-pathogenic E. coli (surrogate) cocktail, was used in manufacturing testing. Sausages were fermented at ~42.2°C, slowly increased to 54.4°C internal temperature, cold showered, and chilled for 6 hours. Sampling occurred post-fermentation (PF; pH 5.0), internal temperature 48.9°C (I-48.9°C), …

Spatial And Dietary Overlap Creates Potential For Competition Between Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) And Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites Aurorubens), William T. Davis, J. Marcus Drymon, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Understanding the complex nature of direct and indirect species interactions is a critical precursor to successful resource management. In the northern Gulf of Mexico fisheries ecosystem, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) are two commercially harvested species within a larger reef fish complex. These two species share similar habitats and diets; however, little is known about how these species partition habitat and dietary resources. In this study we examined the extent of spatial and dietary overlap between red snapper and vermilion snapper, and experimentally compared their feeding behavior. Field data from multiple gear …