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GABAᴀ Receptors in Rat Whisker Barrel Cortex: Effects of Sensory Deprivation (open access)

GABAᴀ Receptors in Rat Whisker Barrel Cortex: Effects of Sensory Deprivation

The GABAergic system in adult sensory cortex is affected by sensory deprivation, but little is known about how this predominant inhibitory system is affected during ontogeny. The present study investigates developmental effects of whisker trimming on GABAa receptors in rat barrel cortex. Rats trimmed for 6 wk beginning at birth and adulthood showed similar decreases in [3H]muscimol binding in deprived relative to non-deprived barrels, suggesting absence of a critical period.
Date: August 1995
Creator: Salazar, Eduardo, 1962-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Copper on Immune Responses of Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides (open access)

Effects of Copper on Immune Responses of Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides

Copper exposures of 400 μg/L for 5,10 and 15 days resulted in no significant differences in antibody titers of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides injected with Aeromonas hydrophila compared to control-injected bass. Twenty days of exposure did significantly increase titers. The control group had significantly lower antibody titers than either control-injected or copper-exposed.
Date: August 1994
Creator: Connell, Patrice M. (Patrice Michelle)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Upper and Lower Temperature Tolerances of Three Freshwater Game-Fish Species Exposed to Cycling Temperatures (open access)

Upper and Lower Temperature Tolerances of Three Freshwater Game-Fish Species Exposed to Cycling Temperatures

A total of 670 critical thermal maxima (CTMax) and minima (CTMin) were determined for three freshwater fishes acclimated to three constant temperatures and a diel regimen cycling between the lowest and highest acclimation temperatures. In all species temperature tolerance was directly related to acclimation temperature and slopes relating these variables indicate that acclimation temperature has a greater influence on tolerance of low rather than high temperatures. CTMax and CTMin values generated following exposure to 32 days of oscillating temperatures indicate that in general, fishes had temperature tolerance acclimation states consistent with the average temperature and not either the highest or lowest temperature of the diel cycle.
Date: August 1995
Creator: Currie, Rebecca J. (Rebecca Jean)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Heat Shock Proteins in Ascaris suum (open access)

Heat Shock Proteins in Ascaris suum

Ascaris suum were exposed to a number of stressors, including heavy metals and both high (40°C) and low (18°C) temperatures. The 70kD and 90kD heat shock proteins (HSPs) in the different A. suum tissues were analyzed by Western blot and quantitated by Macintosh Image Program.
Date: August 1995
Creator: Chao, Sheng-Hao
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Influence of a Return of Native Grasslands upon the Ecology and Distribution of Small Rodents in Big Bend National Park (open access)

The Influence of a Return of Native Grasslands upon the Ecology and Distribution of Small Rodents in Big Bend National Park

In the southwestern United States there is a delicate balance between the existing grasslands and the rodent fauna. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the influence of secondary succession of native grasslands upon the ecology and distribution of small rodents. Two methods of determining the rodent species were plot quadrates and trap lines using Sherman live traps.
Date: August 1971
Creator: Baccus, John T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Site Directed Mutagenesis of β-Ketoadipate Succinyl-Coenzyme A Transferase II from Acinetobacter Calcoaceticus (open access)

Site Directed Mutagenesis of β-Ketoadipate Succinyl-Coenzyme A Transferase II from Acinetobacter Calcoaceticus

The role of specific amino acid residues in β-ketoadipate succinyl-coenzyme A transferase II from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus was investigated. A 1412 base pair BamiHI-EcoRI fragment carrying the catIJ genes was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and inserted into pUCl9 to generate the plasmid pCATEl9. Escherichia coli DH5α (pCATEl9) carrying only the catlJ genes expressed 3-fold higher enzyme activity than the parent strain. Two mutants were constructed by site directed mutagenesis so that glutamate was replaced by a glutamine at positions Gln155 and Gln193 in the ß subunit of the primary amino acid sequence of the CoA transferase. Both mutants produced transferase that was catalytically active suggesting that Glu155 and Glu193 do not participate directly in catalysis.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Sheng, Mei
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor α3 mRNA in Rat Visual System After Monocular Deprivation (open access)

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor α3 mRNA in Rat Visual System After Monocular Deprivation

In situ hybridization was used to examine effects of monocular enucleation on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit cc3 mRNA in the rat dLGNand visual cortex. After 28 days postoperative, there were no significant differences in α3 mRNA density between the contralateral (deprived) and ipsilateral (non-deprived) sides. The lack of obvious effects of visual deprivation on α3 mRNA density suggests that other factors, possibly intrinsic to dLGNand visual cortex, govern the postnatal expression of α3 mRNA.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Taylor, James H. (James Harvey), 1970-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Underwater Optical Properties of Lake Texoma (Oklahoma-Texas) Using Secchi Disk, Submarine Photometer, and High-Resolution Spectroscopy (open access)

Underwater Optical Properties of Lake Texoma (Oklahoma-Texas) Using Secchi Disk, Submarine Photometer, and High-Resolution Spectroscopy

The underwater optical climate of Lake Texoma was measured at eleven fixed stations from August 1996 to August 1997. Secchi transparency and submarine photometry characterized seasonal and spatial values of secchi depth (SD), vertical attenuation coefficient (η''), and depth of euphotic zone (Zeu). Indices of Zeu:SD and η'' × SD were compared with universally applied values derived from inland and coastal waters. Turbidity explained 76% of the variation (p = 0.0001) of η'' among water quality parameters, including chlorophyll-α. Using a spectroradiometer, spectral signatures of chlorophyll-α and turbidity were located. Stations with low turbidity exhibited a distinct green reflectance peak around 590-610 nanometers, indicating presence of chlorophyll-α. Stations with high turbidity exhibited a reflectance peak shift towards the red spectrum, making it difficult to detect the chlorophyll signature. Derivative analysis of the reflectance signal at 590-610, and 720-780 nanometers allowed discrimination of this chlorophyll signature from those of turbidity (0.66 ≤ r^2 ≤ 0.99).
Date: August 1998
Creator: Rolbiecki, David A. (David Alan)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Gabergic Inhibition in Modulating Receptive Field Size of Cuneate Neurons (open access)

The Role of Gabergic Inhibition in Modulating Receptive Field Size of Cuneate Neurons

A blockade of GABAergic inhibition increases the receptive field(RF) size of most somatosensory cortex (SI) and some ventrobasal thalamus (VB) neurons. The results suggest RF size of cuneate neurons may be modulated through GABAa and GABAb receptors, independent of firing frequency.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Tennison, Cullen F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Life History and Secondary Production of Caenis latipennis Banks (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) in Honey Creek, Oklahoma (open access)

Life History and Secondary Production of Caenis latipennis Banks (Ephemeroptera: Caenidae) in Honey Creek, Oklahoma

A study of the life history and secondary production of Caenis latipennis, a caenid mayfly, was conducted on Honey Creek, OK. from August 1999 through September 2000. The first instar nymph was described. Nymphs were separated into five development classes. Laboratory egg and nymph development rates, emergence, fecundity, voltinism, and secondary production were analyzed. C. latipennis eggs and nymphs take 132 and 1709 degree days to develop. C. latipennis had an extended emergence with five peaks. Females emerged, molted, mated, and oviposited in an estimated 37 minutes. Mean fecundity was 888.4 ± 291.9 eggs per individual (range 239 -1576). C. latipennis exhibited a multivoltine life cycle with four overlapping generations. Secondary production was 6,052.57 mg/m2/yr.
Date: August 2001
Creator: Taylor, Jason M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Correlation of Humus with Water Content and Crop Rotation in San Saba and Denton Clays, Denton County, Texas (open access)

A Correlation of Humus with Water Content and Crop Rotation in San Saba and Denton Clays, Denton County, Texas

A study of the humus content and the water content of San Saba clay and Denton clay. Studies show that the physical properties of soil are conducive to moisture retention and the availability of moisture to plants.
Date: August 1939
Creator: Culwell, John Walton
System: The UNT Digital Library
Neuronal Network Analyses in vitro of Acute Individual and Combined Responses to Fluoxetine and Ethanol (open access)

Neuronal Network Analyses in vitro of Acute Individual and Combined Responses to Fluoxetine and Ethanol

Embryonic murine neuronal networks cultured on microelectrode arrays were used to quantify acute electrophysiological effects of fluoxetine and ethanol. Spontaneously active frontal cortex cultures showed highly repeatable, dose-dependent sensitivities to both compounds. Cultures began to respond to fluoxetine at 3 µM and were shut off at 10-16 µM. EC50s mean ± S.D. for spike and burst rates were 4.1 ± 1.5 µM and 4.5 ± 1.1 µM (n=14). The fluoxetine inhibition was reversible and without effect on action potential wave shapes. Ethanol showed initial inhibition at 20 mM, with spike and burst rate EC50s at 52.0 ± 17.4 mM and 56.0 ± 17.0 mM (n=15). Ethanol concentrations above 100 -140 mM led to cessation of activity. Although ethanol did not change the shape and amplitude of action potentials, unit specific effects were found. The combined application of ethanol and fluoxetine was additive. Ethanol did not potentiate the effect of fluoxetine.
Date: August 2002
Creator: Xia,Yun
System: The UNT Digital Library
Functional Neural Toxicity and Endocrine Responses in Mice Following Naphthalene Exposure (open access)

Functional Neural Toxicity and Endocrine Responses in Mice Following Naphthalene Exposure

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a well studied and diverse class of environmental toxicants. PAHs act via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), and studies have suggested that PAHs may elicit neurological and estrogenic effects. Doses of PAHs between 50 to 150 ppm may elicit neurotoxicity in rodent models. The present study investigated the effects of naphthalene on in vivo steroidogenesis in Swiss Webster male mice, and in vitro neural function of Balb-C/ICR mice frontal cortex neurons. These data suggest that naphthalene may not elicit steroidogenic effects at concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 25 mg/kg/day, following a 7 day subcutaneous dosing regime. In addition, naphthalene may cause functional toxicity of frontal cortex neurons at concentrations of 32 to 160 ppm naphthalene.
Date: August 2010
Creator: Colbert, Crystal
System: The UNT Digital Library
Molecular systematics of Baird's pocket gopher (Geomys breviceps) (open access)

Molecular systematics of Baird's pocket gopher (Geomys breviceps)

Baird's pocket gopher (Geomys breviceps) is found in eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, central and western Arkansas, and western Louisiana. The cytochrome-b gene was sequenced and analyzed for 16 pocket gophers from throughout the range of the species. Similar phylogenetic trees were obtained using maximum-parsimony, maximum-likelihood, neighbor-joining, and Bayesian analyses. Two major clades were formed with northern individuals belonging to clade I and southern individuals belonging to clade II. G. b. sagittalis was paraphyletic in relation to G. b. breviceps in all analyses. Based on inconsistencies between the taxonomic classification and systematic relationships within Baird's pocket gopher, a taxonomic restructuring appears warranted.
Date: August 2010
Creator: Bodine, Deanna Martinez
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Influence of in Vitro Gill and Liver Metabolism of Xenobiotics on Fish Bioconcentration (open access)

The Influence of in Vitro Gill and Liver Metabolism of Xenobiotics on Fish Bioconcentration

This dissertation examines the ability of in vitro biotransformation assays to provide an indication of metabolic potential. The potential for xenobiotic compounds to bioconcentrate in aquatic organisms is expressed through the bioconcentration factor (BCF). The metabolic loss of ibuprofen, norethindrone and propranolol was measured using rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) gill and liver S9 fractions, microsomes and cell suspensions. Metabolic transformation rates (kM) were extrapolated from in vitro intrinsic clearance of parent compound (CLm) and integrated into a refined BCF model. In general, CLm of test compounds was greater in liver S9 fractions and hepatocytes. However, the influence of hepatic metabolism on kM and BCF was limited by hepatic blood flow (20-25%) compared to gill blood flow (~100%). A significant difference was noted between BCF solely based on KOW and BCF including kM. These studies indicate that the inclusion of kM in BCF models can bring predicted bioconcentration estimates closer to in vivo values. Primary cell suspensions are preferred over subcellular fractions as cell suspensions possess both phase I and phase II enzyme activity. Further study was conducted on ibuprofen biotransformation pathways. As fish do not contain the same cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C homologs known to …
Date: August 2010
Creator: Gomez, Cristi Frasier
System: The UNT Digital Library
Methylglyoxal Effects on Cell Division of Scenedesmus quadricauda (Scenedesmaceae) (open access)

Methylglyoxal Effects on Cell Division of Scenedesmus quadricauda (Scenedesmaceae)

Cell division of ggeneflesmus quadricauda (Turp.) Breb. (Scenedesmaceae) is enhanced by methylglyoxal, a general inhibitor of cell division, at threshold concentration in conjunction with treatment timing related to growth stage of batch cultures. At 0.5 mM methylglyoxal concentration, cell division was significantly enhanced in algae treated in the logarithmic phase. Specific growth rates of methylglyoxal-treated cultures were rapidly increased at the beginning of logarithmic phase. Cultures inoculated with high cell numbers were less sensitive, but still showed high specific growth rates in logarithmic phase. Cell division in cultures which had low cell numbers was inhibited by 0.5 mM methylglyoxal treatment. Both specific activity of Glyoxalase I and the ratio of Glyoxalase I to Glyoxalase II of methylgloxal-treated cultures were higher than those of controls (1.3 and 2.1- fold, respectively). Pyruvate concentration in treated cultures was increased after methylglyoxal treatment.
Date: August 1990
Creator: Rhie, Kitae
System: The UNT Digital Library
Life Histories Behavior and Space Partitioning in Selected Species of Western North American Plecoptera (open access)

Life Histories Behavior and Space Partitioning in Selected Species of Western North American Plecoptera

Five species of stoneflies (Zapada haysi, Plumiperla diversa, Taenionema pacificum, Isoperla petersoni, Arcynopteryx compacta) from the North Slope and Interior of Alaska were examined for seasonal patterns of emergence of adults and growth of nymphs. Generally growth was retarded during the winter in this region, and all species except I. petersoni completed growth prior to January. The life cycles of six stonefly species (Prostoia besametsa, Triznaka signata, Sweltsa coloradensis. Isoperla fulva, Skwala parallela, Claassenia sabulosa) are described from northern New Mexico. In this region growth was generally less retarded during the winter than in Alaska; P. besametsa completed all nymphal growth during late fall and winter. Drumming behavior of a Colorado population of Pteronarcella badia was described using an evolutionary framework to explain the maintenance of signal variation in this species. Laboratory experiments were used to explore the effect of intraspecific and interspecific interactions on spatial partitioning in P. badia and Claassenia sabulosa. P. badia exhibited clumping and distributed itself as the surface area of substrate in low densities; however, in the presence of C. sabulosa its distribution was random and different from available surface area. A field study was used to examine spatial partitioning by three New Mexico stonefly …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Hassage, Rodney Lynn, 1947-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Interactions between Carotid and Cardiopulmonary Baroreceptor Populations in Men with Varied Levels of Maximal Aerobic Power (open access)

Interactions between Carotid and Cardiopulmonary Baroreceptor Populations in Men with Varied Levels of Maximal Aerobic Power

Reductions in baroreflex responsiveness have been thought to increase the prevalence of orthostatic hypotension in endurance trained athletes. To test this hypothesis, cardiovascular responses to orthostatic stress, cardiopulmonary and carotid baroreflex responsiveness, and the effect of cardiopulmonary receptor deactivation on carotid baroreflex responses were examined in 24 men categorized by maximal aerobic power (V02max) into one of three groups: high fit (HF, V0-2max=67.0±1.9 ml•kg^-1•min^-1), moderately fit (MF, V0-2max=50.9±1.4 ml•kg^-1•min^-1), and low fit (LF, V0-2max=38.9±1.5 ml•kg^-1•min^-1). Orthostatic stress was induced using lower body negative pressure (LBNP) at -5, -10, -15, -20, -35, and -50 torr. Cardiopulmonary baroreflex responsiveness was assessed as the slope of the relationship between forearm vascular resistance (FVR, strain gauge plethysmography) and central venous pressure (CVP, dependent arm technigue) during LBNP<-35 torr. Carotid baroreflex responsiveness was assessed as the change in heart rate (HR, electrocardiography) or mean arterial pressure (MAP, radial artery catheter) elicited by 600 msec pulses of neck pressure and neck suction (NP/NS) from +40 to -70 torr. Pressures were applied using a lead collar wrapped about the subjects' necks during held expiration. Stimulus response data were fit to a logistic model and the parameters describing the curve were compared using two-factor ANOVA. The reductions CVP, …
Date: August 1989
Creator: Pawelczyk, James A. (James Anthony)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Neuropharmacological Characteristics of Tolerance for Cocaine Used as a Discriminative Stimulus (open access)

Neuropharmacological Characteristics of Tolerance for Cocaine Used as a Discriminative Stimulus

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the phenomenon of tolerance to cocaine. Tolerance is operationally defined as a decreased drug effect due to prior history of drug administration. The animal model that was chosen to investigate tolerance to cocaine was the drug discrimination model, which is an animal analogue of human subjective drug effects. In the drug discrimination procedure, animals are trained to emit one behavior when injected with saline. In the present experiments, rats were trained to press one lever when injected with cocaine, 10 mg/kg, and a different lever when injected with saline for food reinforcement. Once rats are trained, they can accurately detect the cocaine stimulus greater than 95% of the time.
Date: August 1987
Creator: Wood, Douglas M. (Douglas Michael)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Factors Inhibiting Dissociation Of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Cells (open access)

Factors Inhibiting Dissociation Of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Cells

The initial studies reported in this dissertation were attempts to induce mutations in those genes which control dissociation in cells of Nei sseria gonorrhoeae. These studies led to an investigation of survival curves of cells grown in liquid media. Instead of survival curves reflecting the diploid nature of gonococci, multiple cell kinetics were observed. It was found that large clumps contained a predominance of cells of the T2 type and that when these clumps were dispersed by DNAase, it appeared that dissociation of T2 was inhibited. The notion of a mechanism of T2 to T4 dissociation being due to genetic transformation was disspelled by these data.
Date: August 1982
Creator: Gonzalez, Anthony H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Food and Growth of the Largemouthed Black Bass (Huro Salmoides) in North Texas (open access)

The Food and Growth of the Largemouthed Black Bass (Huro Salmoides) in North Texas

This thesis describes the growth and feeding habits of large mouth bass (Huro salmoides) as observed in North Texas.
Date: August 1939
Creator: Hill, Jackson F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Limnological Study of Lake Worth (open access)

A Limnological Study of Lake Worth

This thesis presents the results of a three year study devoted to discovering the life and phenomena found in Lake Worth near Fort Worth, Texas.
Date: August 1939
Creator: Johns, William Barnette
System: The UNT Digital Library
Multivariate Analyses of Amphibian and Reptilian Distribution in Texas (open access)

Multivariate Analyses of Amphibian and Reptilian Distribution in Texas

Presence-absence data for amphibians, chelonians, saurians, ophidians, and the terrestrial and aquatic ecological guilds of reptilians were analyzed using multivariate analyses. Geographically consistant distributional patterns were found for all faunal groupings. The correspondence between analyses of the different taxa and guilds was not perfect, but similarities were found. All analyses agreed on the presence of a distinctive region in east Texas. Most analyses also agreed on the presence of distinctive regions in south Texas, the Trans-Pecos, the Edwards Plateau, and north-west Texas. There is strong correspondence between interpretations of the analyses based on the amphibian, saurian, ophidian, and terrestrial reptilian distributions, and the biotic provinces produced by earlier, subjective analyses. The Edwards Plateau and a region on the western periphery of east Texas were found to be transitional between other, more faunally distinctive areas for most fauna! groups. Detailed examination of these regions suggested they are best described as clinal in nature. The environmental variables which were most effective in explaining patterns in the distribution of the various taxa and guilds were related to precipitation. However, variations in temperature and physiography were also important predictors of distribution for several of the groups. The distributions of soil and vegetation associations were …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Ward, Rocky
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Phytohormones on Scenedesmus quadricauda (open access)

Effects of Phytohormones on Scenedesmus quadricauda

The literature on the effects of phytohormone on algae is clouded with contradictory reports. Reports have been published which substantiate and deny the effects of phytohormones in enhancing the growth and developmental processes in algae. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the response, if any, of the phytohormones indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid A3 (GA) and kinetin on the physiology of the green alga, Scenedesmus quadricauda. Results obtained for the uptake of 14^C-IAA an(j l4C-kinetin by Scenedesmus strongly support the presumption that the alga does not absorb the hormones. The retention of the phytohormones by the alga is due to adsorption, and is independent of hormone concentration. Most of the label was adsorbed by the outer pectic layers of the cell wall.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Alam, Mohammad Ihtisham
System: The UNT Digital Library