Life Sciences Commons^™

Rare, Endangered, And Threatened Grasses Of The Conterminous United States, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Useful Plants – Ethnobotanical Studies: A Bibliography, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Medical Plants - General References, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

The Earth's Grass Flora: A Numerical Conspectus (A Comparison Of Seventeen Summaries), James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Microbial Quality In Household Water Tanks In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Munawwar Ali Khan, Asma Mohammad Abdulrahman Ahmad Almadani

All Works

© 2017 Korean Society of Environmental Engineers. Provision of safe, accessible, and good water quality in the community is an important step towards reducing various waterborne illnesses. However, improving the quality of water should include spreading awareness to the public regarding the importance of cleaning their household water tanks. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbial quality of water of household water tanks in Dubai. The water samples from household water tanks were collected from forty houses, and a questionnaire was given to the residents to determine the history of the water tanks. The membrane filtration technique …

Trash Removal Methods For Improved Mechanical Emptying Of Pit Latrines Using A Screw Auger., Tracey Sisco, Tate Rogers, Walt Beckwith, Willy Chipeta, Rochelle Holm, Christopher A. Buckley, Francis L. De Los Reyes

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Trash in pit latrines is one of the largest challenges facing pit emptying technologies, including the powered auger (the Excrevator), developed for improved emptying in lower- and lower-middle income countries. This study focused on two trash removal methods in conjunction with pit emptying by the Excrevator: (1) simultaneous removal of trash with sludge and (2) manual trash removal prior to sludge removal. Simultaneous removal was tested by adding to the inlet of the Excrevator system two cutting heads designed to reduce the size of trash particles before entering the pipe and auger. Laboratory testing indicated that the auger will not …

Ticks Elicit Variable Fibrinogenolytic Activities Upon Feeding On Hosts With Different Immune Backgrounds, Ashish Vora, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Durland Fish, Daniel E. Sonenshine, John D. Catravas, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks secrete several anti-hemostatic factors in their saliva to suppress the host innate and acquired immune defenses against infestations. Using Ixodes scapularis ticks and age-matched mice purchased from two independent commercial vendors with two different immune backgrounds as a model, we show that ticks fed on immunodeficient animals demonstrate decreased fibrinogenolytic activity in comparison to ticks fed on immunocompetent animals. Reduced levels of D-dimer (fibrin degradation product) were evident in ticks fed on immunodeficient animals in comparison to ticks fed on immunocompetent animals. Increased engorgement weights were noted for ticks fed on immunodeficient animals in comparison to ticks fed on …

Characterization And Analysis Of Real-Time Capillary Convective Pcr Toward Commercialization, Xianbo Qiu, Shiyin Zhang, Lanju Mei, Di Wu, Ke Li, Shengxiang Ge, Xiangzhong Ye, Ningshao Xia, Michael G. Mauk

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Almost all the reported capillary convective polymerase chain reaction (CCPCR) systems to date are still limited to research use stemming from unresolved issues related to repeatability, reliability, convenience, and sensitivity. To move CCPCR technology forward toward commercialization, a couple of critical strategies and innovations are discussed here. First, single- and dual-end heating strategies are analyzed and compared between each other. Especially, different solutions for dual-end heating are proposed and discussed, and the heat transfer and fluid flow inside the capillary tube with an optimized dual-end heating strategy are analyzed and modeled. Second, real-time CCPCR is implemented with light-emitting diode and …

The Role Of Estrogen In Mouse Gastric Stem Cell Homeostasis, Aysha Mohamed Yusuf Alkaabi

Theses

To maintain cellular homeostasis, the epithelial lining of the stomach wall continuously fluctuates between cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. A key player in this process is the gastric stem cell (GSC). GSCs are located in the isthmus region of the corpus gastric gland and have the potential to proliferate and differentiate. Although several pathways have been identified to regulate stem cell role in several body tissues, little is known about controlling GSC homeostasis. This project aims to study the role of estrogen (E2) in GSC homeostasis using the well-established mouse gastric epithelial progenitor (mGEP) cell line. Our data showed that …

The Role Of Language In Anatomy And Physiology Instruction, Angela M. Chapman, Hsuying C. Ward, Ashwini Tiwari, Amy Weimer, Jaime B. Duran, Federico R. Guerra, Robert Paul Sale

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Research indicates that student learning of science, student attitudes toward science, and their motivation to learn science and pursue science-related careers is related to classroom instruction. This study examined anatomy and physiology (A&P) classes in a south Texas high school where 97 percent of students are Hispanic bilingual learners. Classes were assigned to control or treatment groups, with the treatment group receiving instruction designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of anatomy vocabulary related to brain structures by making connections to these words in everyday life as well as to their understanding of Spanish. Main effects between group and …

Sequential Displacement Of Type Vi Secretion System Effector Genes Leads To Evolution Of Diverse Immunity Gene Arrays In Vibrio Cholerae, Paul C. Kirchberger, Daniel Unterweger, Daniele Provenzano, Stefan Pukatzki, Yan Boucher

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Type VI secretion systems (T6SS) enable bacteria to engage neighboring cells in contact-dependent competition. In Vibrio cholerae, three chromosomal clusters each encode a pair of effector and immunity genes downstream of those encoding the T6SS structural machinery for effector delivery. Different combinations of effector-immunity proteins lead to competition between strains of V. cholerae, which are thought to be protected only from the toxicity of their own effectors. Screening of all publically available V. cholerae genomes showed that numerous strains possess long arrays of orphan immunity genes encoded in the 3' region of their T6SS clusters. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that these …

Two Adjacent Phenylalanines In The Nmda Receptor Glun2a Subunit M3 Domain Interactively Regulate Alcohol Sensitivity And Ion Channel Gating, Hong Ren, Yulin Zhao, Man Wu, Donard S. Dwyer, Robert W. Peoples

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor is a key target of ethanol action in the central nervous system. Alcohol inhibition of NMDA receptor function involves small clusters of residues in the third and fourth membrane-associated (M) domains. Previous results from this laboratory have shown that two adjacent positions in the M3 domain, F636 and F637, can powerfully regulate alcohol sensitivity and ion channel gating. In this study, we report that these positions interact with one another in the regulation of both NMDA receptor gating and alcohol action. Using dual mutant cycle analysis, we detected interactions among various substitution mutants at these …

A Field Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Milorganite As A Repellent For Non-Venomous Rat Snakes (Elaphe Obsolete), George R. Gallagher, Mckenzie Weisser, Daryon Smith, Danielle Creamer

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Milorganite® as a repellent for rat snakes. Milorganite® is the bio solids by-product left from the activated sludge process from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District. During 3, 7-day release periods, 5-6 mature rat snakes were placed within a 0.1ha plastic fence enclosure intended to impede escape. The enclosure contained natural and artificial hides and water. Snakes were fitted with an externally attached radio transmitter with location of each snake determined 3 times per day by radio telemetry and visual confirmation. During the first 2, 7-day period, with no Milorganite® …

Cage Efficacy Study Of Sodium Nitrite Formulations For Rodent Control, Gary Witmer, Rachael Moulton, Celeste Samura

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Rodents cause extensive damage to human and natural resources around the world. Rodenticides are heavily relied upon to reduce rodent populations and damage. However, some rodenticides are becoming less effective while others are becoming more restricted in their use. Additionally, there are growing concerns about the non-target effects of rodenticides and the humaneness of some rodenticides. In this study, we tested some formulations containing sodium nitrite, a salt that can be toxic in high enough concentrations. One of our previous studies indicated an LD50 of about 246 mg/kg for various rodent species. It was also determined that rodents could eat …

Cage Efficacy Study Of An Experimental Rodenticide Using Wild-Caught House Mice, Gary Witmer, Rachael Moulton, Celeste Samura

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The availability and effectiveness of rodenticides in the US and elsewhere has been changing for various reasons. As a result, new rodenticide formulations and active ingredients are being investigated in the US and other countries. We conducted a cage efficacy study of a paste bait containing 4.4% alphachloralose. A commercial product of this nature is manufactured and used in parts of Europe. While the formulation we tested was effective (100%) in a no-choice trial with wild caught house mice, it was not effective in two-choice trials (≤ 35%). We surmise that palatability may be an issue as the mice consumed …

Novel Technique For Removing Beaver Dams Using A Portable Winch System, Jimmy D. Taylor, Mark Robb, William Hodges, Scott Baras

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Dams and associated impoundments created by American beaver (Castor canadensis) are viewed as positive or negative depending on stakeholder values, their levels of acceptance, and timing. When levels of flooding at beaver dams exceed acceptance levels, immediate actions are required to reduce damage and protect human safety. In Virginia, USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services (WS) often provides assistance to reduce flooding caused by beavers, especially where it affects transportation infrastructure. WS specialists choose from a variety of techniques to best address each unique situation. Until recently, moving damming material by hand or with binary explosives were the most common practices to provide immediate …

Applications Of Sensory Ecology For Wildlife Damage Management, Scott J. Werner, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Anna M. Mangan, Hailey E. Mclean

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Human-wildlife conflicts typically involve fundamental processes associated with the feeding behavior and/or the spatial behavior of wildlife. Thus, most human-wildlife conflicts arise from wildlife consuming products and/or wildlife occupying places valued by humans. For mammals, taste is the most important sensory cue for selecting nutrients and avoiding toxins. Most birds use both flavor (i.e. taste, odor, texture) and visual cues for their food selection process. We previously learned that an ultraviolet visual cue can enhance the repellency of an anthraquinone-based repellent for blackbirds, starlings, Canada geese and wild turkeys. Although the ultraviolet cue is not itself aversive, novel repellent formulations …

Rapid Sounder Removal: A Russell County, Alabama Wild Pig Control Project, Michael Foster, Rod Pinkston

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Rapid Sounder Removal™ is a time sensitive strategy where emphasis is placed on efficient removal of every sounder expanding at least 1,012 ha within 30 days of operation. The mission is to quickly and efficiently remove 100% of each individual sounder, on multiple properties, in the shortest time possible. Several Integrated Wild Pig Control strategies can be implemented in unison to eliminate wild pig escapes, education, and reproduction from large tracts of land at one time. This concept should be applied by all adjacent landowners to remove entire feral pig populations from a county, water conservation district, or wildlife management …

Effects Of Smartphone Texting On The Visual Perception And Dynamic Walking Stability, Jongil Lim, Seung Ho Chang, Jihyun Lee, Kijeong Kim

Faculty Publications

Mobile phone use while walking can cause dual-task interference and increases safety risks by increasing attentional and cognitive demands. While the interference effect on cognitive function has been examined extensively, how perception of the environment and walking dynamics are affected by mobile phone use while walking is not well understood. The amount of visual information loss and its consequent impact on dynamic walking stability was examined in this study. Young adults (mean, 20.3 years) volunteered and walked on a treadmill while texting and attending to visual tasks simultaneously. Performance of visual task, field of regard loss, and margin of stability …

Marine Mammals In Asian Societies; Trends In Consumption, Bait, And Traditional Use, Lindsay Porter, Hong Yu Lai

Anthropogenics and Population Decline Collection

In Asia many marine mammal species are consumed as food or for other purposes. The prevalence of this exploitation appears to increase from west to east. An escalating use of marine mammals and the emergence of commercialization of a trade in marine mammals is supported by:

• Regular documentation of both open and covert trade;
• A shift in focus in some diminishing traditional hunts to other marine mammal species;
• A possible revival in some targeted hunts, which had previously ceased;
• The recent implication of some cultures, which have little history of marine mammal consumption previously, in targeted hunts; and
• The growing …

Deepwater Horizon Incident Oil Slick Morphology Determined From United States Geological Survey Oil Volume Product, May 17 2010, Shaojie Sun

C-IMAGE data

This dataset includes original oil volume product download from USGS, post processing file to remove noise and then classified to different oil thickness class file. All the afterward analysis and statistics are based on the classified oil thickness class file. Ascii files of oil slicks' area and length.

Effects Of Delayed Nsaid Administration After Experimental Eccentric Contraction Injury – A Cellular And Proteomics Study, Laura Bond

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Acute muscle injuries are exceedingly common and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely consumed to reduce the associated inflammation, swelling and pain that peak 1–2 days post-injury. While prophylactic use or early administration of NSAIDs has been shown to delay muscle regeneration and contribute to loss of muscle strength after healing, little is known about the effects of delayed NSAID use. Further, NSAID use following non-penetrating injury has been associated with increased risk and severity of infection, including that due to group A streptococcus, though the mechanisms remain to be elucidated. The present study investigated the effects of delayed …

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) Surface Oil Products For The Gulf Of Mexico, April - July 2010, Chuanmin Hu, Lian Feng

C-IMAGE data

This dataset contains the MODIS surface oil products (with thickness of >0 but 8um as thick) for all the golden days between April and July of 2010.

Comparative Study On Two Methods For Sugar Detection In Jerusalem Artichoke, Zhang Xueying, Huang Zhongyi, Zhanh Fasheng, Shi Yan, Huang Jing

Food and Machinery

This paper compared the pros and cons, the operability of two methodology, by using the Fenlin reagent titration and the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid colorimetry, to determine the reducing sugar content and the total sugar content in the wild Jerusalem artichoke from Xiangxi. The RSD value is 2.00% by using Fenlin reagent titration and the precision is 8%~13%, while, the RSD value is 1.68% by using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid colorimetry and the precision is 2.5%~4.0%. It is concluded that the Fenlin reagent titration method is susceptible to the finish measurement etc factors, especially for samples with low sugar content, but is more suitable …

Texture Characteristic Analysis In Different Cultivars And Maturity Of Fig, Sun Rui, Sun Lei, Ma Jinhui, He Fatao, Ge Bangguo, Cao Jia

Food and Machinery

Three different parts of fig fruits were compared by texture analyzer. And the research was conducted about quality of fig fruits varying in maturity by pair T test and correlation analysis. The result showed that the firmness in the nearest parts of fig’s stalk was greater than that in middle and top parts, usually a hole called fruit being here, of fig fruits, and that there was no significant difference in rupture depth of fig fruits varying in maturity, as resilience and firmness reduced with increasing maturity. And it would be better to use Orphan immediately once harvested, the resilience, …

Development Of Quantitative Sensitive Immunochromatographic Assays For Detection Of Aflatoxin B1, Liu Jing, Wang Shuying, Liu Daofeng, Lai Weihua

Food and Machinery

The aim of this work was to establish a highly sensitive quantitative colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay with a test strip reader for the detection of aflatoxin B₁ using colloidal gold as label. When the labeling pH was 6.0, the concentration of antigen on T-line was 1.5 mg/mL, the concentration of antibody labeled on the colloidal gold was 4 μg/mL, and the dosage of gold-labeled antibody was 1.2 μL, the sensitivity of the assay was 5.7 ng/L. The results of accelerated aging experiment indicated that the strips shelf time was more than a year. It was proved that this method …

Preparation Of Nanocrystalline Cellulose From Food By-Products And Its Applications In Food Industry, Wang Yang, Zhao Guohua, Xiao Li, Zhou Siyuan

Food and Machinery

Nano cellulose material, as an environment-friendly material, has attracted much attention for applications in fields of material sciences, food, chemical engineering, and medicine due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) show a high aspect ratio, large surface-to-volume ratio, high crystallinity index, high tensile strength, and good thermal stability. Having reviewed the scientific literature on NCC during the last 5 years, aimed to provide an overview about morphology, crystallization, and stability properties of NCC as well as its major applications (as reinforcing agents for food packaging, as emulsion stabilizers and food ingredients). However, its future development and commercialization still …

Preparation And Properties Of Carboxymethyl Rice Starch By Semi-Dry Method, Wang Yongqiang, Liu Zhongyi, Yue Shuhang, Peng Li

Food and Machinery

Using rice starch and sodium chloroacetate as raw material, carboxymethyl starch (CMS) was obtained by semi-dry method. The influences of dosage of sodium chloroacetate and NaOH, reaction temperature and time of etherification, alkalinization temperature conditions on the substitution degree of product were investigated, and then the infrared spectrum and crystal style of the CMS were analyzed. The results showed that optimizing conditions of CMS by single factor experiment were starch and sodium chloroacetate of 11 in molar ratio, starch and sodium hydroxide of 11.25 in molar ratio, alkalinized at 35 ℃ for 1 h, and then etherified at 60 ℃ …

Finite Element Analysis On Mechanical Properties Of Sunflower Seed, Zhang Xin, Wang Bo, Zhang Lihua

Food and Machinery

In order to reduce the mechanical damage of sunflower seed during its harvest and storage, and provide the theoretical foundation for the design of related mechanical devices, was studied the mechanical properties of sunflower seed. According to the geometrical dimensions and the mechanical parameters, which obtained from the experiment, we established the physical model and the finite element calculation model of sunflower seed. By the method of finite element analysis, not only analyzed the failure modes of sunflower seed under different compression loads and compress methods, but also the regularity of distribution of its stress and strain. By comparing the …

The Synergistic Antioxidant Effect And Structure-Activity Relationship Of Six Flavonoids, Xiao Xingning, Xu Wenhui, Zuo Dan, Liao Xia, Ming Jian

Food and Machinery

In this study, the ABTS free radicals scavenging activity was as an indicator, the Chou-Talalay method was used to investigate the synergistic antioxidant effect and structure activity relationship of six kinds of small molecules with different structures. The results showed that the ABTS free radicals scavenging activity of the six kinds of flavonoids was in following order, i.e., 5,6,7-trihydroxy flavone > 6-hydroxyl flavone > 3,7-dihydroxy flavone > 5-hydroxy flavone > 3-hydroxy flavone > 7-hydroxyl flavone > ascorbic acid. Among them, 5,6,7-trihydroxy flavone, 6-hydroxy flavone and 3,7-dihydroxy flavone oxidation effect significantly, under different concentration and two flavonoid compounds on ABTS free radicals scavenging activity of the combined …