There is a possibility to eradicate infectious diseases with antibiotics. However, new infectious diseases are continually being identified and some known pathogens are again becoming a threat because of antibiotic resistance. Amphibians mostly live i . . .

Purpose of the Study: The endangered Sonoma County population of the California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, undergoes migrations between breeding pools and upland dry-season refugia. Orientation in this species during breeding migration . . .

The blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila) is a federally and state-listed endangered species, endemic to the San Joaquin Valley, Carrizo and Elkhorn Plains, and Cuyama Valley of central California. Habitat degradation has had a profound impact on . . .

The Tipton kangaroo rat (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), is an endangered subspecies of the San Joaquin Valley kangaroo rat, found in the Tulare basin of the San Joaquin Valley. Dipodomys n. nitratoides and the larger Heermann’s kangaroo rat (Dipo . . .

Rhus ovata is an evergreen shrub species that is common to low elevations in southern California. This species is subdioecious, i.e. some individuals are functionally females and produce fruit while others are functionally male and produce flowers wit . . .

Opuntia basilaris Engelm. & Bigelow var. treleasei (J.M. Coult.) Toumey (OBT), commonly known as Bakersfield cactus, is endemic to parts of Kern County, California. O. b. var. treleasei is one of four varieties of Opuntia basilaris and is state and fe . . .

The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of genetic divergence among populations of Vaejovis confusus in the southern San Joaquin Valley and across the state of California. Although there has been considerable research to measure genetic . . .

The phorid fly genus Apocephalus is the largest assemblage of ant-parasitizing Phoridae. Apocephalus is currently organized into two subgenera: A. (Apocephalus) and A. (Mesophora). The species of A. (Mesophora) attack a wide variety of non-ant hosts i . . .

With over 1,300 known species, the genus Megaselia Rondani is the largest phorid genus, largely the result of high cryptic diversity and a past tendency for researchers to lump species into the genus that defied convenient classification. For many of . . .

The Giant Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ingens) is a federally and state-listed endangered species, endemic to the San Joaquin Valley, Carrizo and Elkhorn Plains, and the Cuyama Valley. Populations of the endangered Giant Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ingens) hav . . .

Non-native grass invasion is a major concern for land management and native plant conservation. In the southern San Joaquin Valley of California, human-disturbed environments that are heavily invaded by non-native grasses often contain some native ann . . .

Examination of fish skeletal remains from archaeological sites serves both archaeological and biological interests. For archaeologists, it can establish the role of fish consumption in a people’s diet, provide clues to their fishing technology and ove . . .

Ecological interactions can vary in strength depending on environmental conditions. The outcomes of these interactions are often dependent on the abiotic environment, but can also depend on the presence of other biotic species, including mutualists, . . .

Transporting water efficiently is one of the chief functions of plant vascular systems. Highly efficient transport is generally beneficial; however, tradeoffs arise because vascular systems have multiple functional roles that interact with one another . . .

Purpose of the Study: The Russian River watershed stretches across a significant portion of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, covering 1,485 square miles, and is home to not only humans, but countless fish and wildlife species as well. The Russian River . . .

Paralabrax clathratus, commonly known as the kelp bass, is an important sportfish to the Southern California angler, ranking among the top sportfish on commercial passenger fishing vessels since the 1950's. They commonly occur in a patchy distribution . . .

Clusterin is a multi-functional protein that was initially isolated from ram testis. It was first identified for its ability to promote aggregation of cells, hence the name clusterin (Fritz et al., 1983). Subsequent research has identified clusterin i . . .

Cell surface properties play an important role in embryonic morphogenesis and in malignant invasion. Cell surface sugar chains extend away from the cell membrane and are believed to be involved in cellular migration and adhesiveness. Some of these sug . . .

Ammonia, glutamate, or glutamine can be utilized as sole source of nitrogen by Sporosarcina ureae. The growth rate is proportional to the concentration of ammonia up to a set value of 0.6 div./h at 84 mM, but concentration independent for glutamate at . . .

Many studies have examined the effects of free lectins such as Concanavalin-A (Con-A) on sea urchin development and suggested that lectin binding ligands play a role in embryonic cellular interactions. In this study, the effects of immobilized Con-A o . . .

The sea urchin is the material of choice for studying many early developmental events. Methods to extend the viability of sea urchin gametes have not received much attention, but it is well known that the eggs are easily damaged by freezing (4). This . . .

Cell adhesion has been studied for almost a century beginning with H.V. Wilson's classic studies on sponge cell aggregation. Cell adhesion plays an important role in morphogenesis and malignancy, but its molecular basis is poorly understood. As the ce . . .

Iranian Jews constitute a growing minority in metropolitan cities around the United States. They are part of a close-knit community, with strong family and cultural values. Prevailing negative attitudes in the Iranian Jewish society towards disease an . . .

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the level of folic acid (FA) in human blood serum affects the number of fragile sites observed in cultured T-lymphocytes. Private practice patients (Internal Medicine) who evidenced no symptoms of sign . . .

The homocystinurias are a group of autosomal recessive disorders which are caused by various inborn errors of metabolism. Tnese disorders are characterized by high plasma and urinary ieveis of homocysteine and methionine, and low levels of cysteine. T . . .

Purpose of the Study: Long-lived iteroparous females may suppress reproduction during unfavorable conditions to maximize lifetime reproductive success. Capital breeders must accrue sufficient body reserves to support reproductive effort or they may ex . . .

Purpose of the Study: To understand male and female mate choice patterns affecting species and gender recognition via long distance chemical cues, this study examined the rough skin newt, Taricha granulosa, in both pond and creek habitats. Response to . . .

The perciform suborder Notothenioidae is comprised of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic fishes, several of which have lost their ability to rapidly upregulate major heat shock proteins (HSP’s) in response to thermal stress. In fact, some notothenioid spec . . .

Purpose of the study: Adipose tissue is essential to endotherms for thermal regulation and energy storage as well as functioning as an endocrine organ. Adipose derived hormones, or adipokines, regulate metabolism, energy expenditure, reproduction, and . . .

Purpose of the Study: California black oak, Quercus kelloggii, plays an important role in the lifeways of many indigenous tribes throughout California. Native peoples tend black oaks using Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to encourage the devel . . .

Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) live in a complex multilevel social system with the one-male-unit (OMU) at the core. OMUs consist of an adult alpha male with one or several adult females, their dependent offspring and sometimes a few follower male . . .

Purpose of the Study: Understanding impacts of invasive pathogens and wildfire on forests is a major challenge facing scientists, land managers, and policymakers. In this study, I used a long-term plot network in eastern Sonoma County to disentangle t . . .

All zoos grapple with challenges of keeping captive animals engaged in natural behaviors, especially for bears which prove to be among the more challenging species to keep stimulated. In captivity, a common indicator of poor welfare is the presence . . .

Worldwide, there are 65 million people that have epilepsy and approximately 200,000 additional individuals are diagnosed with epilepsy annually. There is no cure and currently available anticonvulsants, which are medications to treat seizures, are not . . .

This study involved Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, as the model organism to study the behavioral differences seen in flies overexpressing the human tau protein throughout their adult life span. The tau protein (MAPT – microtubule ass . . .

The Escherichia coli cAMP receptor protein (CRP) requires both DNA binding and RNA polymerase recruitment for its transcriptional activation function. The DNA recognition of CRP is performed by the F-helix (residues 180-185) and several F-helix resi . . .

Bacteria must be able to withstand a myriad of stresses from both their environment, and in the case of pathogens, from their host. Low molecular weight thiols serve as redox buffers to maintain a reducing environment in the cell and participate in va . . .

Discovered in 2004, tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are actin-based, bridge-like structures that allow the intercellular transport of cellular components, electrical signals, and pathogens. Thus, TNTs have been implicated in viral propagation, neurodegener . . .

Research on animal movement patterns and factors that influence these patterns is vital to conservation of endangered species. The California Red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is a threatened species native to California. Their rapid decline has been l . . .

A variety of models of cell adhesion have been proposed by previous investigators; each depended heavily on details of the biochemistry of cell surface sugars. In this study, Lytechinus pictus sea urchin embryos were used to study the molecular mechan . . .

Applications of a low-speed centrifuge rotor designed to separate whole cells at very low g-forces in partially reoriented, shallow density gradients are presented. The particle separation chamber was fabricated using Lucite so that gradient behavior . . .

Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) have been recently discovered as an essential form of cell-cell communication in multicellular organisms. Although TNTs appear to be an important cell-cell signaling pathway, its mechanism of formation and functions are st . . .

Habitat fragmentation plays a major role in species extinction and the loss of biodiversity around the globe. When fragmentation occurs, the initial loss of overall habitat alone causes species extirpation. However, species that survive this initial l . . .

The susceptibility of ecosystems to the introduction of non-native species has increased drastically with the development of advanced transportation technologies. It is now quite common for organisms to be easily transported by humans across physiolog . . .

The purpose of this study is to compare the genetic distances of Mimetus hesperus and Theridion neomexicanum within and between the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Valley regions. To my best knowledge this is the first genetic study of M. hesperus. Moun . . .

In sea urchin eggs the hexose monophosphate shunt is the main glycolytic pathway before and after fertilization, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is the main regulatory enzyme of the pathway. Activity of the enzyme increases with fertiliza . . .

The Blainville's Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii) is endemic to California and ranges from northern California (Butte County), to the northwestern tip of Baja California in the southern part of its range, west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and . . .

In most temperate coniferous forests, the vast majority of vascular plant species richness can be found in the understory layer. While the large-scale conversion of forests to plantations has made it increasingly important to understand how understory . . .

Invasive plants threaten native biodiversity and ecosystem function. Non-native plants can out-compete native plants for resources, reducing population sizes. For rare species, this can increase the chances of extinction. Pentachaeta lyonii is an enda . . .

The growth in length and weight of immature fruit and seed of carob (Caratonia siliqua L.) was studied over a period of seven months. During the early periods of development, seed and fruit growth follow a parallel course; however, the seed continue t . . .

Quantifying the effects of bacterial communities and temperature on coral-associated endosymbionts adds to our understanding of coral health. Genetic variation in endosymbionts may increase the fitness of the holobiont - coral and associated microbes . . .

Bacterial second messenger, c-di-GMP, regulates important functions such as biofilm formation, motility, and virulence. C-di-GMP also has an immunostimulatory property, so can be used as a vaccine adjuvant. In this project, DgcZ (a diguanylate cycla . . .

Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy (HIBM) is a homozygous recessive disorder characterized by the M712T mutation. Humans who inherit this disorder develop skeletal muscle wasting, which is largely attributed to a sialic acid deficiency. In order to de . . .

The oceans have absorbed excess carbon dioxide (CO2) resulting from anthropogenic activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. As a result, seawater chemistry has shifted causing an increase in bicarbonate ions (HCO32-) and hydrog . . .

The electrophoresis of whole cellular DNA from the non-photosynthetic alga Polytomella parva revealed a distinct 3.7 kb band. This band of DNA was isolated from the agarose gel and used to construct a non-radioactive probe utilizing Photobiotin. Cellu . . .

Investigation into the acclimation patterns of Embryonic Limax flavus clearly suggests that heart rate, when measured over a period of time or throughout a temperature range) shows compensatory response patterns similar to those described for oxygen c . . .

Nostoc punctiforme is a filamentous cyanobacterium capable of multiple cellular differentiation from vegetative cells into akinetes, heterocysts and hormogonia. In order to control this differentiation, tight regulation of gene expression is required. . . .

Conidiation in N. crassa can be either induced or suppressed by altering the growth media. When grown in standing cultures, strain Lind+ forms about 105 conidia per ml of medium. This conidial production occurs during the second to fifth day. The leve . . .

The purpose of this investigation was to study the metabolism of three species of young and adult Peromyscus by means of oxygen consumption. Young Peromyscus were used to determine the timing of the onset of homeotherapy and to ascertain whether age o . . .

A variety of models of cell adhesion have been proposed by previous investigators; each depended heavily on details of the biochemistry of cell surface sugars. In this study, Lytechinus pictus sea urchin embryos were used to study the molecular mechan . . .

Cultures of a serine auxotroph of Neurospora crassa, ser (JBM 4-13), demonstrate a high frequency of spontaneous reversion to prototrophy. This study examines two questions: First, whether the phenomenon of spontaneous reversion occurs in all vegetati . . .

Motivated by the growing number of studies reporting inter-specific differences for the effects of OA on calcifying taxa, this study tested the hypothesis that taxonomically diverse calcifying cnidarians show differential responses to OA. Phylogenetic . . .

Metastatic breast cancers carry a 5-year survival prognosis of less than 20%. Thus, it is highly desirable to identify therapeutic strategies that specifically target both primary and metastatic tumors. It is generally accepted that epithelial-mesench . . .

The human gut is home to trillions of microbial cells whose functions are essential for normal human physiology. However, quantitative linkages between diet and gut microbiome composition are lacking, particularly in post-weaned, pre-pubescent childre . . .

The feeding behavior of five species of tellinaceans was studied in four locations in California, USA. The organisms were studied in areas where they occurred sympatrically with other tellinaceans and in other areas where no other tellinaceans were pr . . .

Recent studies suggest that species identity is of great importance in determining how herbivores structure coral reef communities. This study provides evidence that echinoid species differentially shape the community through unique feeding strategies . . .

Applications of a low-speed centrifuge rotor designed to separate whole cells at very low g-forces in partially reoriented, shallow density gradients are presented. The particle separation chamber was fabricated using Lucite so that gradient behavior . . .

Scleractinian abundance has declined over the last few decades on most coral reefs. This reduction in scleractinian cover is associated with multiple types of disturbances including outbreaks of predators and diseases, mass coral bleaching, storms and . . .

Phorid fly parasitoids of ants are capable of decapitating their host during development and have been used as attempted biological control agents for imported fire ants. Little is known about the interactions between the native Velvety Tree Ant host, . . .

The effects of the telomere, centromere, and centric heterochromatin on recombination were assessed using two paracentric inversions, scute-4 (sc4) and scute-8 (sc8) in both homozygous and heterozygous combination. The centromere effect was verified b . . .

Mitochondrial differentiation and development within Fucus sperm is characterized by a series of internal rearrangements and mass acquisitions relating to overall form and organelle disposition within the mature sperm cell. Moreover, it seems clear th . . .

Bone marrow transplantations for leukemia patients are currently limited because Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) ex vivo expansion is constrained. We investigated a cell surface marker, GPI80, which isolates for a purified population of human HSC in the . . .

The cranial osteology of the genus Uma is described in detail, interspecific variation is analyzed, and the natural selective forces which produced this variation are discussed. The variation is interpreted with respect to the phylogeny and biogeograp . . .

A cell line of Polytomella parva resistant to the metabolic inhibitor antimycin A was isolated. These cells are resistant at a concentration of 2 X 10-5M. Studies on the growth of this resistant cell line (designated P. parva 17-9AA) showed significan . . .

In the dimorphic aquatic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus, genes are transcribed immediately before their protein products are required. Groups of genes, or genetic modules, are temporally controlled by oscillating master regulators. Oscillation is dr . . .

Santa Catalina Island, twenty-two miles off the southern California coast, Has the site of a study on the ecology of feral house. cats (Felis domestica). Observation of behavior physical characteristics and capture sites were used to determine whether . . .

Background: In this study, we assessed the ability of human neural progenitor cells (hNPC) to repair and restore the function of dying neurons within the spastic Han-Wistar rat (sHW), the mutant variant of a normal Han-Wistar. The sHW rat suffers from . . .

In benthic associated fish species, the time an individual spends in the larval phase until settlement to a benthic substratum is a vulnerable and critical period determining survival. In many species, the length of this period can strongly influence . . .

The breeding biology of Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) on Santa Barbara Island is strongly influenced by the distribution and abundance of certain forms of cover, especially the shrub, Suaeda californica (seablite). Early in the breeding season, n . . .

In the spring, adult toads move several hundred meters from the surrounding hills to the breeding site in Seminole Lake to spawn, commonly swimming more than 80 m across the lake to the breeding congress. When artificially displaced from the breeding . . .

Sporosarcina ureae is an aerobic, motile, spore-forming Gram-positive cocci that was originally isolated in the early 20th century from soil enrichments with elevated levels of urea. The species is unique in that it is the only known spore-forming coc . . .

Fourteen phenolic compounds and three related nonphenolic compounds were tested for their ability to inhibit GA 3 -induced growth of dwarf pea seedlings. Test concentrations of 10:1, 100:1, and 1000:1 (phenolic or related nonphenolic to GA3 ) by weigh . . .

Orthotrichum (Orthotrichaceae) is a species-rich genus of mosses in California. The last key to Californian Orthotrichaceae was produced in 2004 and included 35 species. Since that time, new discoveries have been made, and new identification tools are . . .

Flooding is a common natural disaster that causes severe crop and soil damage throughout the world. Studies on ethylene have proven that it is effective in improving the flood tolerance in plants. One of the vital enzymes that is involved in ethylene . . .

With more than 42,000 species currently described, spiders are one of the most diverse and abundant predators in terrestrial environments (Platnick 2011; Cardoso et al. 2011; Foelix 2011) and an integral part of well-functioning ecosystems (Uetz et al . . .

Urbanization subdivides natural landscapes creating isolated fragments separated by novel urban habitats. Species vary in their sensitivity to the process of urban fragmentation where some species can tolerate living in urban areas by exploiting resou . . .

In cultured mouse teratoma cells, actinomycin D has been shown to stimulate glutamine synthetase (GS) specific activity with a concomitant increase in intercellular adhesion. Cultured mouse teratoma cells were preincubated for 24 hours with 5 ug/ml ac . . .

Euphorbia terracina is an aggressive and invasive non-native plant that has recently become abundant in some parts of southern California. Its distribution has dramatically increased over the last eight years, with large populations scattered througho . . .

The combination of histochemical methods and electron microscopy provides useful technique for the ultrastructural localization of enzyme activities. Cells from log and stationary phase cultures of the flagellate polytomella agilis were fixed in gluta . . .

Due to elevations in atmospheric CO2 caused by anthropogenic activity, global temperatures are projected to increase 1.8 °C by 2100. The rate and magnitude of this thermal change will have negative impacts on tropical corals and significantly alter re . . .

Lectins, which are carbohydrate binding proteins, are used in the purification of glycan-containing molecules and in histochemical studies that have identified important cellular properties. Differences in cells with various carbohydrates on their sur . . .

Analysis of a number of morphological characteristics in the herbaceous genus Calandrinia H. B. K. (Portulacaceae) suggest that two natural groups of species exist, one in western North and South America and the Galapagos Islands, another in Australia . . .

Akinetes are spore-like cells resistant to desiccation and cold that differentiate from vegetative cells of the filamentous cyanobacterium N. punctiforme in response to phosphate or potassium limitation and low light. Previous microarray data has iden . . .

Adult Hyla cadaverina are found in the open in abundance along lower Trail Creek during spring and fall when temperatures are moderate. During winter, the animals seek shelter in crevices above the high water mark, thereby escaping flash floods. In su . . .

Seven California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi) were captured, introduced into a large, outdoor enclosure and observed over one year's time. In addition to observing social behavior, I conducted an experiment to determine the squirrels' resp . . .

Home range, homing and orientation in a population of Uta Stansburiana were studied over a period of thirteen months. I found the home range sizes (males 36.8 m2, females 30.7 m2 and juveniles 16.4 m2} to be smaller than those reported in previous stu . . .

Seedlings of five species of plants were grown in darkness or light for two weeks. Shoots were measured in length and exhaustively extracted. The total phenolic content was determined colorimetrically after addition of Folin-Denis reagent. In all spec . . .

In order to help learn about the possible role of carbohydrate – containing molecules in gastrulation in the model sea urchin embryo (Lytechinus pictus), 24 hr sea urchin embryos were incubated with 3 lectins (carbohydrate binding proteins) Triticum v . . .

To determine the distribution, relative densities and habitat associations of Gopherus agassizi in Nevada, a 5500 square mile study area was surveyed using 312 strip transects. Evidence of tortoises was found to the eastern, western, and southern boun . . .

Legionella pnuemophila is an intracellular pathogen that is phagocytized by macrophage of our immune system. The bacterium uses a Type IV secretion system to secrete proteins across the phagosome membrane into the cytosol. Secreted effector proteins b . . .