Plant secondary products, which include the flavonoids, have a variety of roles in plant systems. Their roles include UV protection, antifeedant activity, pollinator attraction, stress response, and many others. Flavonoids also have effects on human physiology. Glucosylation is an important modification of many flavonoids and other plant secondary products. In grapefruit, glucosylation is important in the synthesis of the bitter compound naringin. Glucosyltransferases catalyze glucosylation reactions. Putative plant secondary product glucosyltransferases may be identified by the loosely conserved “PSPG box” amino acid sequence, and eleven have been isolated to date in Citrus paradisi. With current knowledge, however, biochemical characterization is the only way to determine with certainty the function of these enzymes. The hypothesis tested here is that PGT11 is a plant secondary product glucosyltransferase. To investigate the hypothesis, recombinant PGT11 (rPGT11) was expressed in yeast using the pPICZ A vector, and the enzyme was screened for glucosylation activity with flavonoid substrates of the flavanone, flavone, flavonol, and isoflavone subclasses. No significant activity was detected with any of the substrates screened; however, the tests should be repeated for verification. Flavonoids of other subclasses, phenolic acids, and other phenolics could be tested as well.

Viviparity (live birth) and placentation have evolved in more than 100 lineages of squamate reptiles. However, highly placentotrophic species in which embryos receive the majority of nutrients for development via maternal transport across a placenta are rare. Pseudemoia pagenstecheri is a viviparous Australian scincid lizard with extensive placental transfer of nutrients. For example, 90% of neonate calcium is received via placental transfer. This species has a regionally differentiated chorioallantoic placenta distinguished by an elliptical-shaped region, the placentome. The placentome is characterized by hypertrophied uterine and embryonic epithelial cells supported by dense vascular networks. The remainder of the chorioallantoic placenta is also highly vascularized but epithelia are thin. A yolk sac placenta with hypertrophied epithelia is located in the abembryonic hemisphere of the egg. We used immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting to test the hypothesis that the placenta has regional functional specializations for calcium transport. Calcium uptake by extraembryonic membranes of squamates is correlated with expression of the intracellular calcium binding protein, calbindin-D28K. Immunohistochemistry was used to localize calbindin-D28K expressing cells. Immunoblotting for calbindin-D28K and the plasma membrane calcium ATPase (PMCA, an additional marker for active calcium transport) was used to assess changes in protein expression levels through development. We found support for our hypothesis because calbindin-D28K was expressed in the embryonic epithelium of the yolk sac placenta and in the chorionic epithelium of the placentome, but not in the remainder of the chorioallantoic placenta. In addition, calbindin-D28K was expressed the chorioallantoic membrane in all embryonic stages studied, which encompassed both early and late development. Immunoblotting data show that calbindin-D28K expression was detectable at low levels in early stages of development and increased significantly prior to birth, when embryonic calcium demand peaks. Expression of PMCA also increases significantly throughout development, though less dramatically. Expression of calbindin-D28K and PMCA protein by the chorioallantoic placenta parallels the accrual of calcium in the embryo. These data suggest that placental calcium secretion occurs over an extended interval of gestation, with increasing activity as embryonic demand escalates in late development. In conclusion, our results support our original hypothesis that regional structural differentiation in the placenta reflects functional specializations for calcium transport to the embryo during development.

Although the AIDS epidemic in America began approximately three decades ago, much remains to be learned about the epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in rural America. This study compared profiles of HIV patients at the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Mountain Home, TN to those seen at a university-based community HIV care clinic (COM) in Johnson City, TN.

This study investigated the effects of stress on the onset of chemically-induced diabetes mellitus in mice. Sixty male ICR mice were randomly divided into 6 groups of 10 mice. A factorial arrangement of 2 factors (streptozotocin (STZ) and stress) was used to produce 6 treatments. Three levels of STZ (0, 25 and 50 mg/kg bodyweight) and 2 levels of stress (stress and no-stress) were used. Stressed groups were exposed to restraint stress 6 hours daily for 18 days. Mice bodyweight, feed consumption and blood glucose levels were recorded regularly during the study period. At the end of the study period, all mice were euthanized and blood was collected and centrifuged to obtain serum for a corticosterone assay. The highest corticosterone levels occurred in the stressed mice that received the highest dose of STZ. There was no difference in corticosterone levels of the 0 STZ stress and no-stress groups. STZ was the significant factor in corticosterone level. The no-stress mice receiving the highest level of STZ showed the greatest increase in glucose levels, while the overall glucose levels of the other groups remained relatively constant. The findings suggest that restraint stress may delay the onset of chemically-induced diabetes mellitus in mice.

The effects of the microgravity of spaceflight are largely unexplored with regard to biological tissues. One particular area of interest is the possible effects microgravity could have on the production of mucins. To determine the possible effects of microgravity on mucin production in the urinary bladder, we examined the transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder from female mice that were flown on the space shuttle Endeavour for 12 days in August, 2007. The flight tissue was compared to tissues from two control groups of animals, ground control and baseline. This study utilized three sets of female mice, with each set consisting of 12 animals. The three sets were designated as Flight, Ground Control, and Baseline. The flight animals were flown in the Commercial Biomedical Testing Module-2 (CBMT-2) which was housed in the shuttle’s mid-deck locker area. Ground control animals were also housed in CBTM-2 units which were kept in environmentally controlled rooms at the Space Life Sciences Lab at Kennedy Space Center. Baseline animals were also housed at the Space Life Sciences Lab but were housed in standard rodent cages with ambient temperature and humidity, with a 12/12 light dark cycle. Bladder tissue was paraffin embedded, sectioned, mounted, and histologically stained using an Alcian Blue Periodic Acid Schiff staining procedure. The bladder tissue from the three treatment groups is being qualitatively analyzed for mucin thickness and types of mucins produced. To date the study indicates that the mucin layer of the Flight tissue is thinner than that of the Baseline or Ground Control tissue, but only significantly thinner than the Baseline tissue.

The method of training for long distance running has been to build up to the actual run distance and to keep similar volume. Although this is great for cardio it neglects the strength aspect of running. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to examine leg strength and compare it to running endurance (VO2) among male recreational runners, in order to determine any relationship. Methods: The subjects will be tested primarily on two pieces of equipment. The isometric mid-thigh clean pull apparatus which is used to measure a subject’s leg strength. The VO2 max machine will be used to determine a subject’s maximum oxygen consumption. BMI will be calculated to correlate it with time to exhaustion. The results of this study, when compared, will show how strength relates to endurance of runners. The subject’s characteristics and subject data were expressed in averages and standard deviations. Pearson Correlations were performed comparing the strength in relation to endurance (VO2) for total test duration. The Pearson Correlations were further broken into three stages that every subject finished. Stage 2, 3, and 4 were then analyzed to find relationships among strength and endurance among those stages. Finally, standard correlations will be done on subject data averages to find the relationship to time of exhaustion. Results: The average age of the 12 subjects that participated was 37.17 years with a standard deviation of 7.50 years. The average BMI (kg/m2) was 25.55 with a standard deviation of 3.13. The average time to exhaustion was 2 minutes and 03 seconds with a standard deviation of 4 minutes and 56 seconds. The strength in relation to endurance for total test duration is as followed. The strength IPF had a large positive correlation of 0.72 with max absolute VO2. The characteristic IPFkg had a large positive correlation of 0.60 with max relative VO2. The strength characteristics in relation to endurance characteristics that are broken up into the upper stages, which were completed by everyone, are as followed. In 2nd stage the subjects walked 2.5 mph with a 12% incline that lasted from the 3 to 6 minute marker. The IPF had a large positive correlation of 0.54 with absolute VO2 in this stage. The IPFkg on the other hand had a very small negative correlation of -0.03.During stage 3 the subjects walked 3.4mph with 14% incline that lasted from 6 to 9 minute marker. The IPF had a moderate positive correlation of 0.45 in relation to absolute VO2. The strength characteristic of IPFkg had a small negative correlation of -0.19 in relation to relative VO2kg. During stage 4 the subjects reached a jog at 3.4 mph with a 16% incline that lasted from the 9 to 12 minute marker. There was a large positive correlation of 0.65 when comparing IPF to absolute VO2. A small positive correlation was found among the subjects when comparing IPFkg to relative VO2kg. Body mass index (BMI) had a perfect negative correlation of-1.00 when correlated with time to exhaustion. Conclusion: Strength and Body Mass Index (BMI) has an effect on running endurance at walking speeds. This improvement during walking speeds is important because not every runner will be operating at maximal intensity during longer runners. The runner may actually be at a walk or slow jog which is a sub-maximal intensity, or sub-VO2.

The TonB-ExbB-ExbD complex is essential for the siderophore mediated acquisition of iron by Gram negative bacteria. The system provides energy from the proton motive force to the outer membrane in order for the iron siderophore complex to enter into the cell. The main protein involved in energy transduction, TonB, has been extensively studied in the species Escherichia Coli. It has been determined that the protein consists of 239 amino acids. In comparison, however, the TonB of Rhizobium leguminosarum consists of 457 amino acids with the same conserved regions. What is in question, therefore, is how the additional amino acids effect the structure of the C-terminal region of the protein and how such information can give insight into the way in which the proton motive force functions to provide energy to the outer membrane receptor. The protein regions of R. leguminosarum TonB chosen for study were 120 and 248 amino acids from the C-terminal end. Genomic DNA was isolated, primers were designed for each fragment, and polymerase chain reactions were performed. After appropriate restriction enzyme digestion, each DNA fragment was ligated into the plasmid pET-17b and then transformed into Escherichia Coli BL21 (DE3). Successful transformation of the 120 amino acid fragment was followed by expression via IPTG induction & extraction of protein. Afterwards, a T7-tag affinity column was attempted to collect the protein for analysis; however, a sufficient amount of protein was not eluted. The procedure will be repeated for obtaining sufficient protein for crystallization or NMR spectrometric analysis.

Le sens symbolique du corps, autour de 1900, change : son inscription sociale collective et sa valeur pour l’individu se transforment. On assiste dans les premières décennies du vingtième siècle à l’érosion d’un monde d’hier devant les audaces de pionniers réformateurs de la vie et des avant-gardes artistiques (danseurs, chorégraphes, metteurs en scène), qui repoussent les limites de ce que peut un corps – non seulement les normes de la morale, du bienséant, mais aussi l’inédit, lié à la possibilité de techniques nouvelles. Comment, dès lors, se traduit l’évolution du sens du corps ? A quoi ressemble le corps moderne par rapport à celui du dix-neuvième siècle – dans les façons d’être, mais aussi les façons d’être affecté et de s’exprimer ? Quelle incidence, enfin, a le changement de sens du corps sur la façon de concevoir le rapport à son propre corps comme à celui d’autrui ? Deux tendances sous-tendent le principe de malléabilité dans le bouleversement des formes de vie et des stratégies d’individuation de la société moderne, par-delà leurs disparités : la première correspond à une transposition de la pensée fonctionnaliste et de la fétichisation capitaliste de l’objet sur le corps, alors que la seconde cherche, au contraire, à ressaisir le corps sous l’aspect de la vie organique pour articuler matière et esprit dans une perspective vitaliste, davantage unitaire. Notre enquête suit le développement de ces deux tendances pour montrer comment elles s’articulent dans les deux sphères sociale et esthétique jusque dans l’entre deux-guerres. / Around 1900 the symbolic meaning of the body around 1900 changes : its collective social meaning, as well as its individual value, evolve. During the first decades of the 20th century, the world of yesterday erodes while daring reformers of life and avant-garde artists (dancers, choreographers, stage directors) try to push the limits of what a body can – not only the moral norms, of the decorous, but also the unprecedented of new possibilities brought by new technologies. What does this evolution of the meaning of the body result into? What does the modern body look like, as opposed to the 19th century – in the ways of being, of feeling and expressing oneself? How does that change affect the way of perceiving the body, the other’s and mine? Two tendencies underlie the principle of malleability in this upheaval of the forms of life and of the strategies of individualization within modern society, beyond their disparities: on the one hand, a transposition of the functionalist thought and fetish for the object induced by capitalism onto the body; on the other, an opposite tendency to take hold of the body as an organic living form, as an attempt to articulate matter and spirit in a more unitary and vitalist perspective. We will follow the development of both these tendencies and show how they develop within the social and aesthetic spheres until the end of the interwar period.

The clover leaf weevil, Hypera punctata (Fabr.), is a foreign pest introduced from Europe into New York, which first became noticeable in 1881. The insect has rapidly spread westward reaching Utah at least by 1912. Since this time several outbreaks have occured. In 1927 the injury to alfalfa, Medicago sativa, was severe in limited areas in Hooper, Weber County, and in 1927 and 1928 the infestation was very pronounced in certain parts of Salt Lake City.

Soil samples were screened for organisms which decompose tartaric acid as an energy source. Several microorganisms were isolated which were capable of metabolizing tartaric acid. The organism which grew best was identified as Aspergillus ficuum and used in this study. This organism, when grown in tartrate medium, resulted in a decrease in optical rotation and density of the culture medium. The pH of the culture filtrate increased with a concurrent increase in mycelial weight. Analysis of culture filtrates by gas chromatography indicate that the first intermediate compound detected in tartrate decomposition by A. ficuum is glycolic acid. The terminal metabolite is oxalic acid and there are undoubtedly others in the pathway, but they were not detectable by the methods employed. While working with the organism A. ficuum, it was found that the organism frequently failed to sporulate on various culture media. Sporulation was found to he related to the oxygen concentration to which the organism was exposed. It was found that A. ficuum could sporulate in 5% oxygen hut not in a 3% oxygen atmosphere.