Biology Commons^™

Ga And Gby Require Distinct Src-Dependent Pathways To Activate Rap1 And Ras, John M. Schmitt, Philip J. S. Stork

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

No abstract provided.

Activation Of Central Melanocortin Pathways By Fenfluramlne, Lora K. Heisler, Michael A. Cowley, Laurence H. Tecott, Wei Fan, Malcolm J. Low, James L. Smart, Marcelo Rubinstein, Jeffrey B. Tatro, Jacob N. Marcus, Henne Holstege, Charlotte E. Lee, Roger D. Cone, Joel K. Elmquist

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

D-fenfluramine (d-FEN) was once widely prescribed and was among the most effective weight loss drugs, but was withdrawn from clinical use because of reports of cardiac complications in a subset of patients. Discerning the neurobiology underlying the anorexic action of d-FEN may facilitate the development of new drugs to prevent and treat obesity. Through a combination of functional neuroanatomy, feeding, and electrophysiology studies in rodents, we show that d-FEN-induced anorexia requires activation of central nervous system melanocortin pathways. These results provide a mechanistic explanation of d-FEN's anorexic actions and indicate that drugs targeting these downstream melanocortin pathways may prove to …

A Complex, Cross-Taxon, Chemical Releaser Of Antipredator Behavior In Amphibians, Dale M. Madison, Aaron M. Sullivan, John C. Maerz, James H. Mcdarby, Jason R. Rohr

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Prey species show diverse antipredator responses to chemical cues signaling predation threat. Among terrestrial vertebrates, the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, is an important species in the study of these chemical defenses. During the day and early evening, this species avoids rinses from garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis, independent of snake diet, but late at night, avoids only those rinses from garter snakes that have recently eaten P. cinereus. We tested whether the selective, late-night response requires the ingestion or injury of salamanders. In three experiments, we tested P. cinereus for their responses to separate or combined rinses from salamanders (undisturbed, distressed, …

Sex Differences And Seasonal Trade-Offs In Response To Injured And Non-Injured Conspecifics In Red-Spotted Newts, Notophthalmus Viridescens, Jason R. Rohr, Dale M. Madison, Aaron M. Sullivan

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Injured prey often release alarm chemicals that induce antipredator behaviors in conspecifics. Injured or killed prey most likely release a wide array of chemicals in addition to alarm substances, such as sexual pheromones, which could enhance or compromise antipredator responses. Thus, damage-release cues provide an excellent opportunity to examine the influence of seasonally fluctuating sexual pheromones on antipredator behaviors. We used a series of laboratory and field experiments and meta-analysis to examine seasonal changes and sex differences in the response of red-spot-ted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, to the odor of non-injured conspecifics and conspecific tissue extracts, the latter of which presumably …

The Ontogeny Of Chemically-Mediated Antipredator Behaviours In Newts (Notophthalmus Viridescens): Responses To Injured And Non-Injured Conspecifics, Aaron M. Sullivan, Jason R. Rohr, Dale M. Madison

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Responses to alarm chemicals from injured prey may influence predation risk and foraging success of receivers and senders, while learning can influence the strength of these responses. Thus, it is important to know when in ontogeny prey produce and detect alarm substances and how learning shapes their response, but surprisingly little is known about either of these topics. We assessed when in the life of red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, alarm chemicals are produced and detected by comparing adult versus eft (terrestrial juveniles) and larval responses to rinses and tissue extracts from individuals in each life-history stage. To evaluate the influence …

The Number One Childhood Cancer: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-- Its Treatment Protocol, Vanessa Cosby-Wambaugh

Whittier Scholars Program

Mary Jones, age 7, has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Prior to this decade, the chances of her reachering her 17th birthday would have been nonexistent. But, with the advent of various modern treatments, doctors would have been able to increase the survival rates of children affected with cancer. Now the survival rate is around 80%. As hopeful as these treatments are, the medical world is still unable to determine why children are affected with cancer and what is going on. The most common pediatric cancer is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I am interested in two things about this psrticular …

Species Richness, Latitude, And Scale-Sensitivity, S. Kathleen Lyons, Michael R. Willig

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The latitudinal gradient of species richness is well documented for a variety of taxa in both terrestrial and aquatic environs. Moreover, a number of recent attempts to assess the effects of scale on the relationship have concluded that the latitudinal pattern is scale-invariant. Nonetheless, the power of those approaches is predicated on precise knowledge of the forms of the latitudinal gradient, the area relationship, and their interaction. We used a model developed by J. Pastor, A. Downing, and H. E. Erickson for assessing the effects of scale on the productivity–diversity gradient to avoid such complications. More specifically, for 253 sets …

Stability Of Mrna In The Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus Solfataricus, Elisabetta Bini, Vidula Dikshit, Kristi Dirksen, Melissa Drozda, Paul H. Blum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Archaea-like bacteria are prokaryotes but, in contrast, use eukaryotic-like systems for key aspects of DNA, RNA, and protein metabolism. mRNA is typically unstable in bacteria and stable in eukaryotes, but little information is available about mRNA half-lives in archaea. Because archaea are generally insensitive to antibiotics, examination of mRNA stability in the hyperthermophile, Sulfolobus solfataricus, required the identification of transcription inhibitors for half-life determinations. An improved lacS promoter-dependent in vitro transcription system was used to assess inhibitor action. Efficient inhibitors were distinguished as blocking both lacSp transcription in vitro and the incorporation of ³H-uracil into bulk RNA in …

Phylogenetic Analysis And Review Of Panacea And Batesia Butterflies (Nymphalidae), Ryan I. Hill, Carla M. Penz, P. J. Devries

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

Phylogenetic analysis of 53 morphological characte rs for five species of Panacea and Batesia hypochlora supports the separation of the two genera and showed that the monotypic genus Batesia is basal to Panacea. Male genitalia were Ilniform within Panacea and characters inir)f)llative for phylogeny reconstruction were restricted to wing coloration. Illustrations of adults and genitalia, a brief diagnosis, and distributions are provided le)r each species.

Ultrastructure Of The Reproductive System Of The Black Swamp Snake (Seminatrix Pygaea). Part Iii. The Sexual Segment Of The Male Kidney., David M. Sever

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

In mature male snakes and lizards, a distal portion of the nephron is hypertrophied in relation to its appearance in females and immature males. This sexual segment of the male kidney apparently provides seminal fluid that is mixed with sperm and released into the female cloaca during copulation. In this article, we provide the first study at the ultrastructural level of seasonal variation in the sexual segment of the kidney of a squamate, the natricine snake Seminatrix pygaea. Previous workers have indicated that the sexual segment is secretory only when the testes are spermatogenically active. The sexual segment of the …

Population Maintenance Of The Scyphozoan Cyanea Sp. Settled Planulae And The Distribution Of Medusae In The Niantic River, Connecticut, Usa, Sean Colin, Patricia Krener

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Scyphozoan jellyfish are seasonally conspicuous in coastal waters, but relatively little is known about the factors that control their distribution and population dynamics.Cyanea sp is a seasonally abundant medusa in the Niantic River, Connecticut, U.S. and appears to maintain a population entirely within the estuary. To better understand the factors controlling their occurrence, we examined the temporal and spatial distribution of settled scyphistomae in relation to that of the medusae. Planula settlement patterns mirrored the presence of mature female medusae. The planulae settled primarily near the bottom. After settlement, planulacysts and polyps on the settlement plates were out competed …

A Baseline Assessment Of Furbearers On The Upper Coastal Plain Of Virginia, A. Scott Bellows, Joseph C. Mitchell

Virginia Journal of Science

We assessed the status of furbearing mammals on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia during the 1998-1999 trapping season with the cooperation of local licensed trappers. Our analyses were based on 345 captures representing of 10 mammal species, ranging from one bobcat (Lynx rufus) to 157 beavers (Castor canadensis). Mean number of captures per 100 trap nights was 17.0. Captures varied from 11.9 to 17.9 per 100 trap nights for conibear traps and 9.7 to 18.3 per 100 trap nights for leg-hold traps. External measurements of six species were similar to those reported for other populations …

Effects Of Melatonin On Hemolymph Glucose And Lactate Concentrations In The Fiddler Crab, Uca Pugilator, Kathryn M. Dalton

Honors Theses

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is an indolamine hormone produced by the pineal gland that works to regulate sleep/wake cycles and activity rhythms. The effects of melatonin in metabolism are far from understood. Melatonin was injected into the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator, to investigate the effects of melatonin on hemolymph glucose and lactate levels. Following injection at t=O, hemolymph samples were collected at t=O.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 5.0 hours. Melatonin caused a decrease in the stress response to injection and also caused delayed hyperglycemia. Melatonin-injected crabs also retained the glucose and lactate rhythymicity when compared to saline-injected crabs. Glucose and lactate rhythms followed …

Latitudinal Differentiation In The Effects Of The Toxic Dinoflagellate Alexandrium Spp. On The Feeding And Reproduction Of Populations Of The Copepod Acartia Hudsonica, Sean Colin, Hans G. Dam

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Blooms of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium spp. increase in their frequency, toxicity and historical presence with increasing latitude from New Jersey (USA) to the Gaspé peninsula (Canada). Biogeographic variation in these blooms results in differential exposure of geographically separate copepod populations to toxic Alexandrium. We hypothesize that the ability of copepods to feed and reproduce on toxic Alexandrium should be higher in copepods from regions that are frequently exposed to toxic Alexandrium blooms. We tested this hypothesis with factorial common environment experiments in which female adults of the copepod Acartia hudsonica from five separate populations ranging from New Jersey to …

Reproduction In West Virginia Populations Of The Southern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea Cirrigera), Timothy R. Brophy, Thomas K. Pauley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We describe reproduction in West Virginia populations of the southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) and provide insights into the behavioral ecology of this wide-ranging urodele. The first signs of reproduction are evident well before the arrival of Spring. Sexually mature adults inhabit the cold, rocky streams of southwestern West Virginia in early February. Females arc known by the presence of large oocytes visible through the body wall and males by their extremely swollen heads. Breeding occurs in the stream during late March and is marked by the presence of gravid females with sperm caps in their posterior cloacae. Eggs are …

"A New Genus And New Species Of Freshwater Crab From Socotra Island, Yemen" , Neil Cumberlidge, Wolfgang Wranik

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Induction Of Myocarditis And Valvuluitis In Lewis Rats By Different Epitopes Of Cardiac Myosin And Its Implications In Rheumatic Carditis, Jeffrey E. Galvin, Mark E. Hemric, Stanley D. Konsanke, Stephen M. Factor, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine W. Cunningham

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Immune responses against cardiac myosin and group A streptococcal M protein have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease. Although cardiac myosin is known to produce myocarditis in susceptible animals, it has never been investigated for its role in production of valvular heart disease, the most serious sequelae of group A streptococcal infection in acute rheumatic fever. In our study, cardiac myosin induced valvulitis in the Lewis rat, and epitopes responsible for production of valvulitis were located in the rod region. Human and rat cardiac myosins induced severe myocarditis in the Lewis rats as expected. A purified S2 …

Genmapp, A New Tool For Viewing And Analyzing Microarray Data On Biological Pathways, Kam D. Dahlquist

Biology Faculty Works

Describes the computer program Gene Microarray Pathway Profiler (GenMAPP). Tool for viewing and analyzing gene expression data as biological pathways; Evaluation of the gene expression data without prior knowledge of gene function; Representation of biological pathways in a MAPP format.

Mouse Ribonuclease Iii. Cdna Structure, Expression Analysis, And Chromosomal Location, Kristine R. Fortin, Rhonda H. Nicholson, Allen W. Nicholson

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Members of the ribonuclease III superfamily of double-stranded(ds)-RNA-specific endoribonucleases participate in diverse RNA maturation and decay pathways in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. A human RNase III orthologue has been implicated in ribosomal RNA maturation. To better understand the structure and mechanism of mammalian RNase III and its involvement in RNA metabolism we determined the cDNA structure, chromosomal location, and expression patterns of mouse RNase III.

Results

The predicted mouse RNase III polypeptide contains 1373 amino acids (~160 kDa). The polypeptide exhibits a single C-terminal dsRNA-binding motif (dsRBM), tandem catalytic domains, a proline-rich region (PRR) and an RS domain. …

Spinal Cord Of Lamprey, James T. Buchanan

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Glass Capillary Tube Feeding: A Method For Infecting Nymphal Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) With The Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia Burgdorferi, Anne H. Broadwater, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Wayne L. Hynes, Shane Ceraul, Aravinda M. De Silva

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We evaluated an artificial capillary feeding method to infect nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Say) ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Thirty to 70% of the nymphs were infected after feeding for 2.5 h from glass capillary tubes filled with a solution of spirochetes. Capillary infection was stable and persisted in the nymphs for at least 10 d after feeding. Capillary feeding also maintained natural vector competence patterns because I. scapularis ticks acquired infection unlike Dermacentor variablis (Say), which did not become infected. Capillary infected I. scapularis nymphs were capable of transmitting the infection to naive mice …

Single-Base-Pair Discrimination Of Terminal Mismatches By Using Oligonucleotide Microarrays And Neural Network Analyses, Hidetoshi Urakawa, Peter A. Noble, Said El Fantroussi, John J. Kelly, David A. Stahl

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The effects of single-base-pair near-terminal and terminal mismatches on the dissociation temperature (T(d)) and signal intensity of short DNA duplexes were determined by using oligonucleotide microarrays and neural network (NN) analyses. Two perfect-match probes and 29 probes having a single-base-pair mismatch at positions 1 to 5 from the 5' terminus of the probe were designed to target one of two short sequences representing 16S rRNA. Nonequilibrium dissociation rates (i.e., melting profiles) of all probe-target duplexes were determined simultaneously. Analysis of variance revealed that position of the mismatch, type of mismatch, and formamide concentration significantly affected the T(d) and signal intensity. …

Functional Morphology And Developmental Biology Of Zebrafish: Reciprocal Illumination From An Unlikely Couple, L. Patricia Hernández, Michael J.F. Barresi, Stephen H. Devoto

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Functional morphology has benefited greatly from the input of techniques and thinking from other disciplines. This has been especially productive in situations where each discipline has made significant contributions to a particular research topic. A combination of methodologies from functional morphology and developmental biology has allowed us to characterize feeding mechanics of first-feeding larval zebrafish (Danio rerio). Contrary to kinematic patterns commonly seen in adult teleosts, larval zebrafish showed no lateral abduction during the expansive phase of a suction-feeding event. Instead, dorsoventral expansion of the buccal chamber, more typical of patterns seen in primitive fishes, characterized the expansive phase. Moreover, …

Dipyridamole Reduces Oxidative Stress In Human Coronary Artery Endothelial And Hela Cell Models, Matthew E. Giangrante

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Functional Requirement Of Aquaporin-5 In Plasma Membranes Of Sweat Glands, Lene N. Nejsum, Tae-Hwan Kwon, Uffe B. Jensen, Ornella Fumagalli, Jørgen Frøkiaer, Carissa M. Krane, Anil G. Menon, Landon S. King, Peter C. Agre, Søren Nielsen

Biology Faculty Publications

The distribution and function of aquaporins (AQPs) have not previously been defined in sweat glands. In this study, AQP1, AQP3, and AQP5 mRNA were demonstrated in rat paw by reverse transcription (RT)–PCR, but AQP2 and AQP4 were not. AQP1, AQP3, and AQP5 protein were confirmed in these tissues by immunoblotting. AQP1 was identified in capillary endothelial cells by immunohistochemical labeling, but not in sweat glands or epidermis. Abundant AQP3 expression was seen in basal levels of epidermis, but not in sweat glands. AQP2 and AQP4 were not observed in either skin or sweat glands. Immunohistochemical labeling revealed abundant AQP5 in …

Habitat Use Of Urban Bats In Springfield, Missouri, Sarah Jane Robertson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

During the summers of 1998-2000, the Anabat II bat detector system was placed in a mosaic of habitats within Springfield, Missouri and surrounding rural areas in southern Missouri to compare the activity indices of nine bat species between urban and rural environments. A total of 1,876 echolocation call sequences was recorded, identified to species and analyzed; 1,066 were from 42 Springfield sites, and 810 were from 22 rural locations. For all species combined, urban bat activity tended to be higher than rural activity, but those differences were only significant at the reading taken 3 hours after sunset. Eptesicus fuscus activity …

A Survey Of The Mammals Of The Archie Carr And Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuges, Joseph S. Weidlich

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This summarizes a study conducted on the Archie Carr (ACNWR) and Pelican Island (PINWR) National Wildlife Refuges located on the barrier island complex of southern Brevard and northern Indian River counties, Florida. Major objectives of this study were designed to 1) survey the mammals of the ACNWR and PINWR, 2) perform a small mammal population demographic study in coastal scrub and maritime hammock habitats, and 3) document a population monitoring project of Peromyscus po/ionotus niveiventris in northern Indian River County at Treasure Shores Park, within ACNWR Segment 4. A total of7,279 trap nights was compiled during the survey portion …

Cold Acclimation Strategy Is Highly Variable Among The Sunfishes (Centrarchidae), Deidra R. Tschantz, Elizabeth L. Crockett, Peter H. Niewiarowski, Richard L. Londraville

Biology Faculty Research

We tested the hypothesis that the physiological strategy for acclimating to low body temperature is similar among closely related fish. Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), black crappie (Pomonix nigromaculatus), and white crappie (Pomonix annularis), all members of the family Centrarchidae, were acclimated to 5degrees and 25degreesC. Morphometric variables (total mass, total length, organ masses) and enzyme activities (hexokinase; lactate dehydrogenase; and cytochrome oxidase in heart, liver, and muscle) were measured in 5degreesC- and 25degreesC- acclimated fish at 5degrees and 25degreesC assay temperatures. Each species displayed a distinct physiological response to cold acclimation that …

A Note On Cascade Climbing Of Migrating Goby And Shrimp Postlarvae In Two Maui Streams, M. Eric Benbow, Leslie Luchar Orzetti, Mollie D. Mcintosh, Albert J. Burky

Biology Faculty Publications

In this study, we documented cascade climbing rates of 133 and 230 postlarvae of Lentipes concolor (O‘opu alamo‘o) and Atyoida bisulcata (Opae kahaole), respectively, from two streams on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Climbing measurements and observations were made of postlarvae at the water-substrate interface in cascade habitats of constricted water flow. Both species were observed to move in short bursts of forward progression within or above the pulsing water-substrate interface. Goby postlarval climbing rates ranged from 0.04 – 1.50 cm s–1 and were slower than shrimp rates which ranged from 0.30 – 3.06 cm s–1. The high variability is …

A Field Study Of The Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) In The Potholes Reservoir Area, Washington, Heather Maranda Simmons

All Master's Theses

Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) were studied in the Potholes Reservoir area in eastern Washington, which is a unique and dynamic system of ponds. The filling and drying cycles of the reservoir cause seasonal fluctuation on pond depth. My goal was to find frogs and document their use of these ponds. I conducted surveys of R. pipiens from April - September 2002.

I caught 178 R. pipiens adults and subadults throughout my field season, gathering weight and length data. I found two groups of egg masses in April, and noted their size, location and point of attachment. Findings were similar …