Jennifer L. Rose, Kim Williams, and Joseph C. Whittaker
Comparison of cranial characteristics, body measurements, and salivary amylase for differentiation between deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus)

Chapter: Beta Xi
Pikeville College

Two of the most common and ubiquitous small mammals in North America are the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and deer mouse (P. maniculatus). They are also frequently sympatric. The two species are morphologically nearly identical and are extremely difficult to distinguish in the field. Researchers have traditionally used body measurements for identification, but these tend to be regionally variable and have substantial overlap. Researchers conducting lethal sampling have also used skull characteristics for identification. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis of different allozymes of salivary amylase, by contrast, is a nonlethal technique that can be used to reliably differentiate between these two species. In this study, we acquired 97 mice that had been lethally sampled in an unrelated ectoparasite study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. We compared the traditional body measurements, cranial measurements, and results of cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Our goal was to assess the consistency of each identification method and compare them with one another for accuracy. The ability to accurately differentiate these species is crucial to better understand their distribution and ecology, and our data will help determine which of these methods provides the best identification for the effort involved.

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Authors(s): Rachel Koontz
Synthesis of Fluorescent Chemosensors for Metallic Ions

Chapter: Upsilon
Anderson University

Fluorescence occurs when a molecule absorbs a photon of light then emits another photon of a longer wavelength. Fluorescent chemosensors, known as fluoroionophores, can be designed and synthesized to detect environmentally and biologically significant ionic species, such as Hg2+ and Cu2+. Fluoroionophores consist of a fluorogenic unit, known as a fluorophore, and an ion recognition unit, known as an ionophore. The focus of research has been to synthesize fluoroionophores with two pyrene units linked by a polyether for the detection and quantification of metallic ions in solution. Pyrenes have been chosen as the fluorogenic units because of fluorescent properties and strong pi-pi orbital interaction when two pyrenes are brought within close proximity. A polyether linkage between two pyrenes is suitable because electron-donating oxygen atoms will coordinate with metallic cations. Coordination between metallic cations and oxygen atoms on the polyether linkage will induce a conformational change within the fluoroionophore, bringing the pyrene units into close proximity. The result is a detectable shift in emission wavelength. Variation in the length of the polyether will change the size of the ion-recognition cavity of the fluoroionophore, resulting in ion-specific fluorescent probes. The intensity of emitted light will be proportional to analyte concentration. A conceptual explanation of fluoroionophores, fluorescence, and excimer formation will be presented. Following will be a discussion of the attempted synthesis of the target molecule and corresponding spectral analysis.

Audio Podcast (mp3)

Aimee N Jackson, Michael T Henshaw
Colony Genetic Structure in the Polistine Social Wasp, Ropalidia excavata

Chapter: Beta
McKendree University

Within the genus Ropalidia there has been a shift from single, independent founding species to swarm founding wasps. Therefore, members within this genus are a model system for examining the transition from independent founding species to swarm founding species. In order to better understand the evolution of multiple queens we seek to characterize the colony genetic structure in Ropalidia. In this study, microsatellites were used to examine colony genetic structure and queen number within Ropalidia excavata. Fourteen nests were collected from the Kakamega Forest Reserve, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Within colony relatedness values ranged from 0.4624 to 0.9572. In 2 out of the 14 nests analyzed, a single queen was found to be contributing to production of brood, while multiple queens produced brood in the remaining 12 colonies. The largest number of queens contributing to brood on one nest was four. This suggests that Ropalidia excavata may also transition for single to multiple queens as previously seen in Ropalidia revolutionalis.

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Sarah Lantvit
C60 and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in Silica Gel Column Chromatography to Separate Albumin and Myoglobin

Chapter: Pi
Millikin University

In this research, the work of Moliner Martinez, et. al. was adapted to fit a simple separation on boric acid/sodium borate buffered silica gel. The stationary phase materials used were silica or silica/C60. The eluents were buffer or buffer and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or buffer and SLS with C60. Different stationary phase materials and different eluent combinations were examined. Separation was attempted for a myoglobin and albumin mixture; drops collected from the columns were spotted on tlc plates. Results from these tests found that the silica/C60 and SLS worked the best out of the combinations. The tests of each individual component leads us to believe that it is not the C60 or the SLS on its own that facilitates the separation of the myoglobin/albumin mixture, but the combination of the two.

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Alison Ashbrook, Stacy Smith, Michael Fried, and Rebecca Dutch
Transmembrane Interactions Of Paramyxovirus Fusion Proteins

Chapter: Rho
University of Indianapolis

Paramyxoviruses are a diverse group of negative-sense RNA viruses including well known viruses such as mumps, measles, the more recently discovered Henipaviruses and the human metapneumovirus. Paramyxoviruses contain transmembrane fusion (F) proteins which mediate fusion between viral and host cell membranes. The F protein is initially synthesized and held in the fusogenically inactive, metastable state (F0), which becomes active through cleavage by endogenous proteases. The conversion provides the energy necessary for viral-host membrane fusion in a "spring-loaded" type mechanism. It is hypothesized that interactions between the transmembrane domains help facilitate this conformational change. Analytical ultracentrifugation was used to determine the stoichiometric ratios and equilibrium constant of the oligomerization within the transmembrane domain of the protein. Centrifugation data of the wildtype and G508I mutant of the Hendra virus (HeV) F protein was analyzed using HeteroAnalysis software. Analysis suggests that most of the transmembrane domains trimerize, while a small portion of the transmembrane domains remain in its monomeric form. Furthermore, the fit of the A.U. data to the monomer-trimer model indicates little variation between the wildtype and mutant proteins, suggesting that the inactivity of the mutant must not be a result of any misfolding of the transmembrane domain in the HeV F protein.

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Kelly McNamara and Dr. Charles Smith
Migration of Styrene from Foam Cups

Chapter: Sigma
Our Lady of the Lake University

Polystyrene is a popular plastic used in foam containers and cups, as well as take-out containers, plastic food utensils, and plastic cups. Polystyrene is made from the polymerization of styrene, in which molecules of styrene are linked together to form a long chain. As a result of an incomplete polymerization reaction, some residual styrene is left in the final product. The migration of styrene monomer from polystyrene packaging into food has been experimentally observed as early as 1974. It has been argued that foam cups are subject to the leaching of the monomer into beverages, with prime factors being the temperature of the beverages and the composition of said beverages. This research studies the effects of common beverages of different composition and temperature on the migration of styrene using SPME headspace analysis.

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