Life Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Soil Phosphorus Concentration In Farm Restored And Reference Wetlands In Lake County, Il, Catherine L. Pease

DePaul Discoveries

The soil in the Midwest is fertile for agriculture use and therefore a lot of the wetlands have been turned into farmland. Wetlands can act as a sink for excess nutrients such as phosphorus. In part due to their value for nutrient storage, restoration of wetlands has become more frequent, including restoration of wetlands on former farmland. I am interested in phosphorus and the potential of wetlands to either store or release phosphorus. I compared differences in soil reactive phosphorus of restored and reference wetlands. This study compares Prairie Wolf Slough (PWS), a restored wetland, to two reference wetlands, both …

Decomposition Of Horse Manure (As A Surrogate For Human Feces) In Three Soil Media And The Implications Of Manure Leachate For The Germination Of Radish Seeds, Edwin J. Castaneda, Caitlin Vaughn

DePaul Discoveries

In this microcosm study we examined the decomposition of horse manure in three substrates: potting soil, wood mulch, and sand. Microcosms consisted of a sample of horse manure placed in a small leachable chamber, containing one of the three substrates. Mulch promoted the greatest mass loss. Leachate collected by irrigating each microcosm with distilled water was used to germinate radish seeds. Only the leachate from microcosms in which manure decomposed in potting soil promoted greater radish radicle growth compared to the controls in which no manure was placed. The implications of these results for the design of a soil-based decomposing …

Host-Parasite Relationships Between The Copepod Naobranchia Lizae And Its Host (Striped Mullet, Mugil Cephalus): A Description Of Morphological Development, Sara R. Teemer

DePaul Discoveries

The parasitic copepod, Naobranchia lizae, is often found within the gill arches of the striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, in the Charleston Harbor Estuarine System of South Carolina. The parasite is relatively common, but little is known about its early stages of development. In order to describe the developmental stages and pattern of morphological development, 221 female N. lizae that were collected between February 2002 and May 2003 were used. Using variation in morphological characters (maxilla, trunk), these parasites were assigned to developmental stages (juvenile, subadult, adult). A small number of the males (three ‘dwarf’ males) were also found …

The Correlation Between Basal Isoprene Emissions And Climate Of The Native Range Across Oak Species, Mary J. Babiez

DePaul Discoveries

Isoprene is a biogenic volatile organic compound that is emitted by various plant species and plays an important role in the chemistry of the atmosphere. When it reacts with pollutants in the air, such as nitrogen oxides, the precursor to ozone (O₃) is formed. In this experiment, we measured leaf emissions from 20 different oak species at the Morton Arboretum (Lisle, Illinois). The aim was to better understand differences in isoprene emissions across oak species. Since emissions have been found to protect leaves against brief periods of heat stress, we hypothesized that oaks native to areas with greater …

Understanding How Plant Diversity Impacts Wildlife Species Richness In Chicago Area Forested Greenspaces, Katie Kamba

DePaul Discoveries

Factors related to urbanization have altered the pre-settlement landscape of Chicago from native prairie and woodland, to one dominated by non-native plant species. This study examined how the plant community influences urban wildlife by investigating how vegetation structure (as measured by three indices) relates to the wildlife richness of 24 forested sites in the Chicago region. We found negative relationships between both Floristic Quality Index (FQI) and native plant diversity with wildlife richness. We propose that the generalist mammal species that were detected using the camera trap method do not require high quality forested habitat and seem to prefer lower …

U.S. Drought Monitor, July 12, 2016, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for July 12, 2016 (7/12/16) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

A Face Versus Non-Face Context Influences Amygdala Responses To Masked Fearful Eye Whites, M. Justin Kim, Kimberly M. Solomon, Maital Neta, F. Caroline Davis, Jonathan A. Oler, Emily C. Mazzulla, Paul J. Whalen

Dartmouth Scholarship

The structure of the mask stimulus is crucial in backward masking studies and we recently demonstrated such an effect when masking faces. Specifically, we showed that activity of the amygdala is increased to fearful facial expressions masked with neutral faces and decreased to fearful expressions masked with a pattern mask—but critically both masked conditions discriminated fearful expressions from happy expressions. Given this finding, we sought to test whether masked fearful eye whites would produce a similar profile of amygdala response in a face vs non-face context. During functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning sessions, 30 participants viewed fearful or happy eye …

Addressing The Needs Of Classical Biological Control Programs, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Conclusions

Classical biological control has been among the most cost- effective and environmentally safe management tools for invasive species for many years, both nationally and internationally. Addressing the political, regulatory, and institutional challenges in the discovery, pre-release phase and post-release monitoring of a classical biological control program would greatly enhance the long-term potential for success. From this white paper, a number of recommendations were developed that we believe will significantly improve prioritization and effectiveness of classical biological control programs, including:

1. Develop transparent criteria to prioritize those invasive species for which classical biological control is the most cost-effective control option. …

Hepatitis C Virus Frameshift/Alternate Reading Frame Protein Suppresses Interferon Responses Mediated By Pattern Recognition Receptor Retinoic-Acid-Inducible Gene-I, Seung Bum Park, Scott Seronello, Wasima Mayer, David M. Ojcius

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) actively evades host interferon (IFN) responses but the mechanisms of how it does so are not completely understood. In this study, we present evidence for an HCV factor that contributes to the suppression of retinoic-acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I)-mediated IFN induction. Expression of frameshift/alternate reading frame protein (F/ARFP) from HCV -2/+1 frame in Huh7 hepatoma cells suppressed type I IFN responses stimulated by HCV RNA pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) and poly(IC). The suppression occurred independently of other HCV factors; and activation of interferon stimulated genes, TNFα, IFN-λ1, and IFN-λ2/3 was likewise suppressed by HCV F/ARFP. Point mutations in …

Conserved Expression Of Vertebrate Microvillar Gene Homologs In Choanocytes Of Freshwater Sponges, Jesús F. Peña, Alexandre Alié, Daniel J. Richter, Lingyu Wang, Noriko Funayama, Scott A. Nichols

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Background

The microvillus is a versatile organelle that serves important functions in disparate animal cell types. However, from a molecular perspective, the microvillus has been well studied in only a few, predominantly vertebrate, contexts. Little is known about how differences in microvillar structure contribute to differences in function, and how these differences evolved. We sequenced the transcriptome of the freshwater sponge, Ephydatia muelleri, and examined the expression of vertebrate microvillar gene homologs in choanocytes—the only microvilli-bearing cell type present in sponges. Sponges offer a distant phylogenetic comparison with vertebrates, and choanocytes are central to discussions about early animal evolution …

Pheromone Lure And Trap Color Affects Bycatch In Agricultural Landscapes Of Utah, Lori R. Spears, Chris Looney, Harold Ikerd, Jonathan B. Koch, Terry L. Griswold, James P. Strange, Ricardo A. Ramirez

Biology Faculty Publications

Aerial traps, using combinations of color and attractive lures, are a critical tool for detecting and managing insect pest populations. Yet, despite improvements in trap efficacy, collection of nontarget species (“bycatch”) plagues many insect pest surveys. Bycatch can influence survey effectiveness by reducing the available space for target species and increasing trap screening time, especially in areas where thousands of insects are captured as bycatch in a given season. Additionally, bycatch may negatively impact local nontarget insect populations, including beneficial predators and pollinators. Here, we tested the effect of pheromone lures on bycatch rates of Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Apoidea (Hymenoptera), and …

Sex Chromosome-Wide Transcriptional Suppression And Compensatory Cis-Regulatory Evolution Mediate Gene Expression In The Drosophila Male Germline, Emily L. Landeen, Christina A. Muirhead, Lori Wright, Colin D. Meiklejohn, Daven C. Presgraves

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes has repeatedly resulted in the evolution of sex chromosome-specific forms of regulation, including sex chromosome dosage compensation in the soma and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation in the germline. In the male germline of Drosophila melanogaster, a novel but poorly understood form of sex chromosome-specific transcriptional regulation occurs that is distinct from canonical sex chromosome dosage compensation or meiotic inactivation. Previous work shows that expression of reporter genes driven by testis-specific promoters is considerably lower—approximately 3-fold or more—for transgenes inserted into X chromosome versus autosome locations. Here we characterize this transcriptional suppression of X-linked …

Application Of Machine Learning To Prediction Of Vegetation Health, Emily Burchfield, John J. Nay, Jonathan Gilligan

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This project applies machine learning techniques to remotely sensed imagery to train and validate predictive models of vegetation health in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. For both locations, we downloaded and processed eleven years of imagery from multiple MODIS datasets which were combined and transformed into two-dimensional matrices. We applied a gradient boosted machines model to the lagged dataset values to forecast future values of the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). The predictive power of raw spectral data MODIS products were compared across time periods and land use categories. Our models have significantly more predictive power on held-out datasets than a baseline. …

Smokejumper Obituary: Mcdevitt, Les (North Cascades 1948), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

Insects Have The Capacity For Subjective Experience, Colin Klein, Andrew B. Barron

Animal Sentience

To what degree are non-human animals conscious? We propose that the most meaningful way to approach this question is from the perspective of functional neurobiology. Here we focus on subjective experience, which is a basic awareness of the world without further reflection on that awareness. This is considered the most basic form of consciousness. Tellingly, this capacity is supported by the integrated midbrain and basal ganglia structures, which are among the oldest and most highly conserved brain systems in vertebrates. A reasonable inference is that the capacity for subjective experience is both widespread and evolutionarily old within the vertebrate lineage. …

Cellular Minichromosome Maintenance Complex Component 5 (Mcm5) Is Incorporated Into Hiv-1 Virions And Modulates Viral Replication In The Newly Infected Cells., Steven Santos, Yuri Obukhov, Sergei Nekhai, Tatiana Pushkarsky, Beda Brichacek, Michael Bukrinsky, Sergey Iordanskiy

Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine Faculty Publications

The post-entry events of HIV-1 infection occur within reverse transcription complexes derived from the viral cores entering the target cell. HIV-1 cores contain host proteins incorporated from virus-producing cells. In this report, we show that MCM5, a subunit of the hexameric minichromosome maintenance (MCM) DNA helicase complex, associates with Gag polyprotein and is incorporated into HIV-1 virions. The progeny virions depleted of MCM5 demonstrated reduced reverse transcription in newly infected cells, but integration and subsequent replication steps were not affected. Interestingly, increased packaging of MCM5 into the virions also led to reduced reverse transcription, but here viral replication was impaired. …

The Farm Newsletter, Usu Student Organic Farm

USU Student Organic Farm Newsletter

Many of you have noticed and probably identified the hanging garlic in the pick-up area at the farm. After garlic is harvested it needs to undergo the process of curing in which it hangs/lays in an area with good air circulation out of direct sunlight. This allows the garlic to dry out slightly, which has several effects. First it allows the garlic to be kept in storage without rotting or molding; it allows the bulb to pull the remaining energy from the leaves as they dry; and finally it, in my opinion, intensifies the garlic's flavor. This curing takes place …

Machine Learning Meta-Analysis Of Large Metagenomic Datasets: Tools And Biological Insight, Edoardo Pasolli, Duy Tin Truong, Faizan Malik, Levi Waldron, Nicola Segata

Publications and Research

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of the human associated microbiome provides a rich set of microbial features for prediction and biomarker discovery in the context of human diseases and health conditions. However, the use of such high-resolution microbial features presents new challenges, and validated computational tools for learning tasks are lacking. Moreover, classification rules have scarcely been validated in independent studies, posing questions about the generality and generalization of disease-predictive models across cohorts. In this paper, we comprehensively assess approaches to metagenomics-based prediction tasks and for quantitative assessment of the strength of potential microbiome-phenotype associations. We develop a computational framework for prediction …

A Life-History Perspective On The Demographic Drivers Of Structured Population Dynamics In Changing Environments, David N. Koons, David T. Iles, Michael Schaub, Hal Caswell

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Current understanding of life-history evolution and how demographic parameters contribute to population dynamics across species is largely based on assumptions of either constant environments or stationary environmental variation. Meanwhile, species are faced with non-stationary environmental conditions (changing mean, variance, or both) created by climate and landscape change. To close the gap between contemporary reality and demographic theory, we develop a set of transient life table response experiments (LTREs) for decomposing realised population growth rates into contributions from specific vital rates and components of population structure. Using transient LTREs in a theoretical framework, we reveal that established concepts in population biology …

An Investigation Of The Major Wheat Weeds In Different Zones Of Dera Ismail Khan, Zahid Usman, Ejaz Ahmad Khan, Iqtidar Hussain, Anis Ali Shah, Kalim Ullah, Muhammad Sadiq

Journal of Bioresource Management

On account of huge yield losses, weed infestation is a serious threat in wheat crops throughout the country. A comprehensive survey to find out the major weeds in wheat in Dera Ismail Khan was carried out during the crop season of 2012-13. Wheat fields at seed farms of Rakhmanghan, RakhZandani, Rata Kulachi and adjacent farmer’s fields to each seed farm were investigated. Data was collected at the peak growth stage of weeds and the quadratic method was used to record relative density (RD), relative frequency (RF), relative crowding coefficient (RCC) and importance value index (IVI). The results revealed that the …

Antimalarial Exoerythrocytic Stage Drug Discovery And Resistance Studies, Lynn Dong Blake

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Malaria is a devastating global health issue that affects approximately 200 million people yearly and over half a million deaths are caused by this parasitic protozoan disease. Most commercially available drugs only target the blood stage form of the parasite, but the only way to ensure proper elimination is to treat the exoerythrocytic stages of the parasite development cycle. There is a demand for the discovery of new liver stage antimalarial compounds as there are only two current FDA approved drugs for the treatment of liver stage parasites, one of which fails to eliminate dormant forms and the other inducing …

Utilitarianism Generalized To Include Animals, Yew-Kwang Ng

Animal Sentience

In response to the seventeen commentaries to date on my target article on reducing animal suffering, I propose that the term “welfarism” (when used pejoratively by animal advocates) should be qualified as “anthropocentric welfarism” so as to leave “welfarism” simpliciter to be used in its generic sense of efforts to improve conditions for those who need it. Welfarism in this benign sense — even in its specific utilitarian form (maximizing the sum total of net welfare) with long-term future effects and effects on others (including animals) appropriately taken into account — should be unobjectionable (even if not considered sufficient by …

Spectroscopic Studies Of Anthracyclines: Structural Characterization And In Vitro Tracking, Zeineb Farhane, Hugh Byrne, Malgorzata Baranska

Articles

A broad spectroscopic characterization, using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared absorption as well as Raman scattering, of two commonly used anthracyclines antibiotics (DOX) daunorubicin (DNR), their epimers (EDOX, EDNR) and ten selected analogs is presented. The paper serves as a comprehensive spectral library of UV-vis, IR and Raman spectra of anthracyclines in the solid state and in solution. The particular advantage of Raman spectroscopy for the measurement and analysis of individual antibiotics is demonstrated. Raman spectroscopy can be used to monitor the in vitro uptake and distribution of the drug in cells, using both 488 nm and 785 nm …

Metal Mixtures Toxicity And Bioaccumulation In Tilapia Nilotica At 96-Hr Lc50 Exposure, Faiza Ambreen, Muhammad Javed

Journal of Bioresource Management

Laboratory tests were conducted on fingerlings of Tilapia nilotica to check the bioaccumulation patterns of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and cobalt (Co) during acute toxicity at constant water temperature, pH and total hardness. Metal mixtures viz. Lead + Cadmium, Cobalt-Lead and Cadmium-Cobalt were selected to assess the acute toxicity in terms of 96-hr LC50 along with bioaccumulation patterns in selected organs of Tilapia nilotica (skin, muscles and liver). Sensitivity of Tilapia nilotica in terms of 96-hr LC50 for all mixtures varied significantly. The 96-hr LC50 of binary metal mixtures agreed in that order: cadmium-cobalt > lead-cadmium > cobalt-lead with statistically significant differences …

Food Habits, Lifestyle Factors, And Risk Of Prostate Cancer In Central Argentina: A Case Control Study Involving Self-Motivated Health Behavior Modifications After Diagnosis, Winston J. Craig, Sandaly O. S. Pacheco, Fabio J. Pacheco, Gimena M. J. Zapata, Julieta M. E. Garcia, Carlos A. Previale, Hector E. Cura

Faculty Publications

Cancer is the second most important non-communicable disease worldwide and disproportionately impacts low- to middle-income countries. Diet in combination with other lifestyle habits seems to modify the risk for some cancers but little is known about South Americans. Food habits of Argentinean men pre- and post-diagnosis of prostate cancer (n = 326) were assessed along with other lifestyle factors. We studied whether any of the behaviors and risk factors for prostate cancer were found in men with other cancers (n = 394), compared with control subjects (n = 629). Before diagnosis, both cases reported a greater mean consumption of meats …

A Survey Of Weed Varieties In Samanabad, Lahore, Sadaf Nazir, Beenish Zia Butt, Anjum Navid

Journal of Bioresource Management

A weed is an herbaceous plant that grows as a wild plant, and is considered a hindrance in the growth of preferred vegetation or cumbering the ground, and has no value for beauty or use. However, some weeds have roles in medicine, ecology and many other fields. A survey was conducted in Lahore to observe the weed varieties present in the area of Samanabad. The present study was carried out in May and June 2014.The primary purpose of the study was to gain knowledge about the availability of the total number of species present in this area. We also assessed …

Bistorta Amplexicaulis: A Brief Insight To Its Ethnobotany, Salma Batool, Muhammad Sheeraz Ahmed

Journal of Bioresource Management

Bistorta amplexicaulis (D. Don) Greene is an herb that belongs to the Family Polygonaceae. Its local name in Pakistan is Rain and masloon (Saqib and Sultan, 2005) and in India it is Sarbguni (Sharma et al., 2004).

Status Of Basic Taxonomic Skills In Botanical Articles Related To Azad Jammu And Kashmir, Pakistan: A Review, Arshad Mahmood Khan, Rahmatullah Qureshi, Mirza Faisal Qaseem, Waseem Ahmad, Zafeer Saqib, Tariq Habib

Journal of Bioresource Management

The problems of synonymy, incorrect species author citation/abbreviation and spelling errors are hampering botanical research around the globe. This article was aimed to quantify the intensity and errors encountered in this regard in published botanical articles pertaining to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. To address this issue, 100 articles published in 1999-2015 were reviewed. A total of 5460 entries were processed carefully and 1350 species binomials (excluding repititions) were extracted that were linked with 1333 accepted binomials according to theplantlist.org. Out of these accepted species binomials, 1109 were communicated correctly, whereas the remaining 224 binomials were conveyed in the …

A Bayesian Inference Comparing Collegiate Female Cyclists To Elite Female Cyclists From A Meta-Analysis, Frank B. Wyatt, Mihir Dhimar, Yesha Shah

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 368-375, 2016. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological characteristics of competitive, collegiate female cyclists (CFC) to data of elite female cyclists (EFC) obtained from a meta-analytic review. Eleven (n=11) CFC volunteered as subjects. Subjects signed a university approved informed consent. Means and standard deviation (+ SD) were obtained from the following measurements: age (y), 22.5± 5.1; height (cm) 167.22 ± 6.2; body mass (kg) 63.78 ± 9.71; body fat (%) 22.9 ± 3.6. Subjects performed a maximal cycling ergometer test to volitional fatigue. Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max, mL*kg1*min.-1) …

Effects Of Static Stretching On Squat Performance In Division I Female Athletes, Clare F. Heisey, J. Derek Kingsley

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 359-367, 2016. Static stretching was once recognized as a method of preparation for physical activity that would inhibit performance and increase risk of injury. However, a growing body of research suggests that static stretching may not have an inhibitory effect. Regardless, the data have not examined gender differences or the fatigue index (FI) and flexibility effects of static stretching on the back squat over multiple sets. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between a static-stretch condition (SC) and control condition (CC) on flexibility and the FI of Division I …