Life Sciences Commons^™

Lower Prairie Creek Project, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Information on the Prairie Creek fish hatchery from 1927 through 1936. This report includes details on fish species and population numbers, as well as information on the landowners and the construction of the hatchery.

Ros Regulation Of Axonal Mitochondrial Transport, Pin-Chao Liao

Open Access Dissertations

Mitochondria perform critical functions including aerobic ATP production and calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis, but are also a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. To maintain cellular function and survival in neurons, mitochondria are transported along axons, and accumulate in regions with high demand for their functions. Oxidative stress and abnormal mitochondrial axonal transport are associated with neurodegenerative disorders. However, we know little about the connection between these two. Using primaryDrosophila neuronal cell culture and the third instar larval nervous system as in vitro and in vivo models, respectively, we studied mitochondrial transport under oxidative stress conditions. In vitro …

Hydromagnetic Peristaltic Transportation With Porous Medium Through An Asymmetric Vertical Tapered Channel And Joule Heating, S. R. Kumar

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

The present paper deals with a theoretical investigation of the hydromagnetic peristaltic transportation with porous medium through coaxial asymmetric vertical tapered channel and joule heating which has been studied under the assumption of long wavelength approximations. Exact analytical expressions of axial velocity, volume flow rate, pressure gradient, temperature and heat transfer coefficient at both walls were calculated. The effects of various emerging parameters, Hartmann number, Non-uniform parameter, Prandtl number, Heat generator parameter, Brinkman number, Porous parameter are discussed through the use of graphs. We notice from the figures that the temperature of the fluid increases in the entire vertical tapered …

Sagestep News, Winter 2016, No. 29, Sagestep

Newsletters

Seasonal newsletter of SageSTEP.

Freeze Tolerance Of Cyphoderris Monstrosa (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae), Jantina Toxopeus, Jacqueline Lebenzon, Alexander H. Mckinnon, Brent J. Sinclair

Biology Publications

The great grig, Cyphoderris monstrosa Uhler (Orthoptera: Prophalangopsidae), is a large (20-30 mm, >1 g), nocturnal ensiferan that in habits montane coniferous forests in northwestern North America. C. monstrosa overwinters as a late-instar nymph, but its cold tolerance strategy has not previously been reported. We collected nymphs from near Kamloops, British Columbia, in late spring to determine their cold tolerance strategy. C. monstrosa nymphs were active at low temperatures until they froze at -4.6 ± 0.3 °C. The nymphs survived internal ice formation (i.e. are freeze tolerant), had a lethal temperature between -9 and -12 °C, and could survive for …

Dissecting Salt Tolerance In Soybean By Profiling Differential Physiological Responses Under Salt Stress, Jade Amber Newsome

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Saline soils are common worldwide and limit the yield potential of many crops. Plants respond in a variety of ways to the stress imposed by saline soils. Plants under salt stress must first sense their surroundings and transmit a signal alerting the rest of the plant to the saline conditions. Salt tolerance in soybeans is typically defined by exclusion of chloride ions from foliar tissues. Though differences in ion uptake among soybean genotypes is well documented, the key mechanisms employed by tolerant cultivars to cope with salt stress on the whole-plant level are still largely unknown. Objectives of the current …

The Etiology, Virulence, And Phylogenetics Of The Celery Anthracnose Pathogen, Colletotrichum Fioriniae (= C. Acutatum Sensu Lato), Jason Alexander Pavel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An anthracnose disease of celery, caused by Colletotrichum acutatum sensu lato, has been reported in the U.S. A phylogenetic analysis was conducted on a collection of isolates from celery and non-celery hosts to evaluate their taxonomic position within Colletotrichum acutatum sensu lato. Both celery and non-celery isolates were evaluated for pathogenicity on celery and for vegetative compatibility. Culture filtrates from celery and non-celery isolates were evaluated for their ability to reproduce the unusual leaf curl type symptoms. A total of 18 celery isolates were evaluated for their taxonomic placement based on analysis of the glutamine synthetase intron sequence. All isolates …

Association Mapping Of Seed Weight, Protein, And Sucrose Content; And Kinetics Of Edamame Under Infrared Treatment, Laura Melissa Lara Santisteban

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Edamame is a specialty large-seeded soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) harvested at an immature stage (R6) that has become the second largest consumed soyfood. Although United States is the largest soybean producer, majority of edamame is imported from Asia, highlighting the importance of developing new edamame varieties. Association mapping (AM) provides an alternative to bi-parental linkage mapping method to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) adding higher resolution and broader germplasm information. Seed weight, sucrose, and protein are quantitative traits of value when selecting edamame lines. However molecular mechanisms controlling each of these traits are still inconclusive and have not been …

Avs Corner, December 2016, Peyton Voirin, Leslie Ward, Kim Hill, Johanna Johnson, Annie Kate Herlong

AVS Corner

No abstract provided.

Xpert Mtb/Rif Assay Shows Faster Clearance Of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Dna With Higher Levels Of Rifapentine Exposure., A Jayakumar, R M Savic, C K Everett, Debra Benator, D Alland, C M Heilig, M Weiner, S O Friedrich, N A Martinson, A Kerrigan, C Zamudio, S V Goldberg, W C Whitworth, J L Davis, P Nahid

Medicine Faculty Publications

The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is both sensitive and specific as a diagnostic test. Xpert also reports quantitative output in cycle threshold (CT) values, which may provide a dynamic measure of sputum bacillary burden when used longitudinally. We evaluated the relationship between Xpert CT trajectory and drug exposure during tuberculosis (TB) treatment to assess the potential utility of Xpert CT for treatment monitoring. We obtained serial sputum samples from patients with smear-positive pulmonary TB who were consecutively enrolled at 10 international clinical trial sites participating in study 29X, a CDC-sponsored Tuberculosis Trials Consortium study evaluating the tolerability, safety, and antimicrobial activity …

Strategies For Enriching Variant Coverage In Candidate Disease Loci On A Multiethnic Genotyping Array, Stephanie Bien, Genevieve L. Wojcik, Niha Zubair, Christopher Gignoux, Alicia R. Martin, Lisa W. Martin, Page Study Investigators

Medicine Faculty Publications

Investigating genetic architecture of complex traits in ancestrally diverse populations is imperative to understand the etiology of disease. However, the current paucity of genetic research in people of African and Latin American ancestry, Hispanic and indigenous peoples in the United States is likely to exacerbate existing health disparities for many common diseases. The Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology, Phase II (PAGE II), Study was initiated in 2013 by the National Human Genome Research Institute to expand our understanding of complex trait loci in ethnically diverse and well characterized study populations. To meet this goal, the Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array (MEGA) …

Pertussis-Associated Pneumonia In Infants And Children From Low- And Middle-Income Countries Participating In The Perch Study., Breanna Barger-Kamate, Maria Deloria Knoll, E Wangeci Kagucia, Christine Prosperi, Henry C Baggett, Daniel E. Park, +31 Additional Authors

Epidemiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND:  Few data exist describing pertussis epidemiology among infants and children in low- and middle-income countries to guide preventive strategies.

METHODS:  Children 1-59 months of age hospitalized with World Health Organization-defined severe or very severe pneumonia in 7 African and Asian countries and similarly aged community controls were enrolled in the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health study. They underwent a standardized clinical evaluation and provided nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs and induced sputum (cases only) for Bordetella pertussis polymerase chain reaction. Risk factors and pertussis-associated clinical findings were identified.

RESULTS:  Bordetella pertussis was detected in 53 of 4200 (1.3%) cases …

Residual Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization On Soil Nitrogen Pools And Corn Growth, Meghan E. Moser

Open Access Theses

Given the dynamic nature of soil nitrogen (N), inorganic N fertilization to corn (Zea mays L.) has potential to alter N pool balance by creating an accumulation or depletion of soil N. Current corn N recommendations in the common corn-soybean rotation of Indiana strive to find the best N rate that maximizes producer profit. Increasing our understanding of soil N will inform producers if they should adjust fertilizer rates for corn to influence maintenance of organic N and Carbon. Our objective was to determine residual N effects from fertilized corn in a corn-soybean rotation by measuring (1) soil N …

Origins And Maintenance Of Diversity In A Vertebrate Parthenogen, Alex Scott Hall

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Clonal lineages are expected to experience a decline in fitness over time due to their inability to decouple deleterious and beneficial alleles. Individually, however, asexual populations pass twice as much of their DNA per generation as sexual lineages. This balancing act between Muller's Ratchet and the lack of the two-fold cost of sex in asexuals brings significant scientific intrigue to instances of asexual populations. Among vertebrates, squamates (and mainly lizards) are uniquely capable of true parthenogenesis whereby females reproduce without males. These lineages are always hybrid, as is the case with parthenogenetic Aspidoscelis lizards (Teiidae). In particular, the checkered whiptail …

Insights Into The Genomic And Metabolic Adaptations Of Termite Associated Verrucomicrobia Strains Using Functional And Comparative Genomics, Malini Sharadkumar Kotak

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The symbiotic gut organisms of termites play an important role in lignocellulose digestion and other related metabolic processes. Previous studies on Diplosphaera colitermitum TAV2, a Verrucomicrobium isolated from the hindgut of Reticulitermes flavipes, revealed its microaerophilic nature and involvement in important ecophysiological processes in the termite gut. In the present study, a detailed account of genomic sequences of 3 additional strains is provided, and the genomes of all 5 TAV strains isolated so far are compared, to gain a comprehensive understanding of these organisms. Our comparative genomic study shows that these strains represent two distinct species, and despite significant number …

Brain Transcriptional Profiles Of Male Alternative Reproductive Tactics And Females In Bluegill Sunfish, Charlyn Partridge

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) are one of the classic systems for studying male alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) in teleost fishes. In this species, there are two distinct life histories: parental and cuckolder, encompassing three reproductive tactics, parental, satellite, and sneaker. The parental life history is fixed, whereas individuals who enter the cuckolder life history transition from sneaker to satellite tactic as they grow. For this study, we used RNAseq to characterize the brain transcriptome of the three male tactics and females during spawning to identify gene ontology (GO) categories and potential candidate genes associated with each tactic. We …

The Impact Of Environmental Parameters On Microcystin Production In Dialysis Bag Experiments, Liqiang Xie, Richard Rediske, Nadia Gillett, James O'Keefe, Brian Scull, Qingju Xue

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

It is important to understand what environmental parameters may regulate microcystin (MC) production and congener type. To determine if environmental conditions in two hydraulically connected lakes can influence MC production and congener ratios, we incubated dialysis bags containing phytoplankton from mesotrophic/eutrophic Muskegon Lake into hypereutrophic Bear Lake (Michigan, USA) and vice versa. Strong cyanobacteria growth was observed in all dialysis bags with Bear Lake phytoplankton in July and August. Phytoplankton communities were dominated by Aphanizomenon aphanizomenoides, Microcystis wesenbergii, Limnothrix redekei. MC concentrations were correlated with M. wesenbergii and A. aphanizomenoides biovolume. MC concentrations in bags incubated in the Muskegon …

Annual Forage Cropping-Systems For Midwestern Ruminant Livestock Production, John Ernest Mcmillan

Open Access Dissertations

Annual forage cropping systems are a vital aspect of livestock forage production. One area where this production system can be enhanced is the integration of novel annual forages into conventional cropping systems. Two separate projects were conducted to investigate alternative forage options in annual forage production. In the first discussed research trial, two sets of crops were sown following soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain harvest, at two nitrogen application rates 56 and 112 kg ha-1 . The first set of crops were C4 summer annuals seeded within two weeks of wheat grain harvest and included, brown …

Can Low-Severity Fire Reverse Compositional Change In Montane Forests Of The Sierra Nevada, California, Usa?, Kendall M. L. Becker, James A. Lutz

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Throughout the Sierra Nevada, nearly a century of fire suppression has altered the tree species composition, forest structure, and fire regimes that were previously characteristic of montane forests. Species composition is fundamentally important because species differ in their tolerances to fire and environmental stressors, and these differences dictate future forest structure and influence fire regime attributes. In some lower montane stands, shade-tolerant, fire-sensitive species have driven a threefold increase in tree density that may intensify the risk of high-severity fire. In upper montane forests, which were historically characterized by longer fire return intervals, the effects of fire exclusion are both …

Tracing The Dawn Of The Elapidae Through The Molecular Systematics And Historical Biogeography Of Old World Coralsnakes, Utpal Smart

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Much debated since the early 20th century, the evolutionary history and origin of the clinically important family Elapidae is of enormous interest. A persistent lack of higher-level phylogenetic resolution however, has impeded a clear understanding of the biogeography of this charismatic group of snakes. The traditional limiting factor in studies on higher-level elapid relationships has been the availability of samples from Old World coralsnakes (genera Sinomicrurus and Calliophis). Usually small, shy and fossorial, these animals are amongst the rarest Oriental snakes and their sampling in molecular studies has been sparse. Herein, primarily using molecular data, I work out the systematic …

Phylogeography Of The American Green Treefrog Species Group, Paul Nathaniel Pasichnyk

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The southeastern United States is an important temperate biodiversity hotspot, housing a multitude of endemic species and multiple large rivers fragmenting their ranges. To determine if the Riverine Barriers Hypothesis explains population divergence in this region, this study utilizes of a combination of phylogeographic methods and ecological niche modeling to investigate the role of rivers in genetic dispersal. Intra-and interspecific phylogenies for the hylid treefrogs Dryophytes cinereus, D. gratiosus and D. squirellus were estimated using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences to identify relationships and genetic variation within these species and test for population structure, especially with respect to potential riverine …

Response Of Microbial Networks And Microbiomes To The Forest-To-Pasture Conversion In Amazon Soils, Md Abdul Wadad Khan

Biology Dissertations - Archive

The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest ecosystem in the world, and an extremely important region ecologically. Due to the growing human needs mainly for cattle ranching and cultivation, the rainforest has been in the process of clearing since 1970s losing an average of 25,000 km annually. This ecosystem conversion has a substantially adverse impact on biological diversities, in which the response of microbial diversity has not been studied until recently. Several studies showed that the conversion severely altered microbial diversities, with an increased alpha and decreased beta diversities. Given that microorganisms are closely associated with soil-associated functions, where …

Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamilies V, Member 1 (Trpv1) And M, Member 1 (Trpm1) Contribute To Neural Signaling In Mouse Retina., Jennifer Noel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The retina processes light information through parallel pathways in order to extract and encode the visual scene. Light information is transmitted to the brain through approximately 30 ganglion cells (GCs), the retinal output neurons. Trp channels modulate the responses of retinal neurons within specific pathways. The study of the expression and function of the majority of Trp channels in the retina is largely in its infancy. My dissertation first investigated the expression and function of the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) receptor/channel in the retina. TRPV1, the first cloned and most highly studied Trp channel in the peripheral nervous system, …

Spreading Speeds Along Shifting Resource Gradients In Reaction-Diffusion Models And Lattice Differential Equations., Jin Shang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A reaction-diffusion model and a lattice differential equation are introduced to describe the persistence and spread of a species along a shifting habitat gradient. The species is assumed to grow everywhere in space and its growth rate is assumed to be monotone and positive along the habitat region. We show that the persistence and spreading dynamics of a species are dependent on the speed of the shifting edge of the favorable habitat, c, as well as c^*(∞) and c^*(−∞), which are formulated in terms of the dispersal kernel and species growth rates in both directions. When …

Examination Of The Relevance Of Pi3k And Pten Pathway In Ustilago Maydis., Nathaniel Edward Dalton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ustilago maydis is a fungal pathogen that is an obligate parasite on Zea mays (Corn) in order to undergo and complete its sexual life cycle. The cells grow as a haploid form until they meet a compatible partner and undergo a dimorphic switch from a budding yeast-like cell type to a filamentous dikaryon. Infection of the host plant is characterized by leaf chlorosis, anthocyanin content, and formation of large galls that develop on the stem, leaves, cobs, and flowers. Many signaling cascades such as MAPK and PKA are involved in the regulation of the infection lifecycle. The Phosphatidylinosotiol 3 Kinase/ …

Effects Of Feeding Field Peas On Fresh Beef Quality, Hope Voegele

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of field peas during two phases of production (grazing and finishing) on fresh beef quality. A total of 232 crossbred steers and heifers were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments in a 3x2 factorial consisting of 3 pasture and 2 finishing supplementations. The pasture phase consisted of 1) no supplement, 2) field peas at 0.5% BW, or 3) dry-rolled corn supplement at 0.5% of BW. The finishing phase consisted of 1) field peas at 20% DM or 2) no field peas. During this two-year study, steers (year 1) …

Managing Corn Residue And Double Cropped Forages In Crop And Livestock Systems, Kristen M. Ulmer

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Integrating crop and livestock systems leads to opportunities to utilize land resources; however, crop producers focus on grain yields and ground cover, while livestock producers see opportunity to graze corn residue or annual forages. After wheat harvest or corn silage harvest, above ground forage production for brassica mixes and oats is greater than forage oats or oat production after high moisture corn harvest. Grazing steers on forage crops after grain harvest provides moderate gains. While annual forages provide good quality forages, corn residue grazing and utilization is still a cost-effective feedstuff for cattle producers. In the short term, grain yields …

Effects Of Feed Additives And Body Weight On Growth Performance And Carcass Characteristics Of Beef Finishing Cattle, Curtis J. Bittner

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A pooled-analysis of feedlot pens examined the effects of steer age (calf-fed, short yearling, long yearling) and initial body weight on feedlot growth performance. Feed efficiency decreased linearly as initial body weight increased for all age groups of steers.

Three feedlot experiments evaluated the effects of NEXT ENHANCE (EO) and monensin/tylosin (MT) on growth performance and carcass characteristics in beef finishing diets. In Exp. 1, there were no MT x EO interactions for finishing performance and carcass characteristics. Feeding MT resulted in a 3.9% improvement in G:F compared to steers fed no MT. Feed efficiency was not different between steers …

Effects Of Field Pea Usage In Growing And Finishing Diets For Beef Cattle, Hannah L. Greenwell

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The value of field peas (FP) as a feedstuff has not been thoroughly assessed and compared to other feeds, such as corn, to better establish an economic value. Field peas are characterized by a high CP content (23-26%), a large portion (80%) being rumen degradable protein (RDP), and containing almost a third less starch (31-40%) than corn. Three research trials were performed to better understand the value of FP as a grazing supplement, finishing diet component, and any effects on digestion. Experiment 1 assessed the value of FP as a grazing supplement compared to corn. Grazing was followed by a …

The Influence Of Diet And Oxidation On Calcium Retention Of The Mitochondria In Fresh Beef, Emery K. Wilkerson

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Distillers grains (DG) contribute to cattle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membrane instability by increasing poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in the SR membrane, possibly resulting in early postmortem calcium (Ca) leakage and improved tenderness. Mitochondria are relatively easy to isolate intact and provide the opportunity to study Ca in an SR model. The objective of this research was to determine the influence of diet and oxidation on Ca release from mitochondria. Cattle (n = 48) were fed a corn-based finishing diet with or without deoiled, dried DG (50% DM basis). Steaks from each strip loin were aged for 2, 8, …