Resource Mediated Competition of two South Texas Natives: _Acacia berlandieri_ and _Trichloris pluriflora_

*Background/Question/Methods* 
_Acacia berlandieri_, an early-successional C~3~ woody shrub legume, and _Trichloris pluriflora_, a late-successional/climax C~4~ mid-tall grass, reside in similar habitats and have both been documented in Texas for over 150 years. This study examines the resource mediated above and below ground competition within and between these species, which may illuminate some of the dynamics involved in the encroachment of woody shrub species into the former grasslands. These species, started from seed, were grown outdoors (5 replicates/treatment) using sandy clay loam soil in plastic lined 15×15 cm pots for 155 days and watered daily. Half of these pots received 12.5% Hoagland’s solution as a nutrient source. Growth measurements were taken 3 times, after a 72 day establishment period and prior to harvest. The plants were then harvested intact, dried at 60°C, and above and below ground dry mass for each individual plant was separated. The roots were ashed at 650°C and measurements were taken for the above and below ground biomass. 

*Results/Conclusions* 
The growth parameters of _Acacia berlandieri_, basal diameter, height, and number of leaves increased with density (P = 0.0024, P < 0.0001, and P < 0.0001), when grown in competition with _Trichloris pluriflora_, using the densities of 1/3, 2/2. 3/1, and 4/0 _Acacia/Trichloris_ plants/pot. None of these growth parameters for _A. berlandieri_ had an effect on the variables of density, nutrients or and their interaction (P > 0.0500), when grown alone with densities of 1, 2, and 4 plants/pot. The growth parameters of _T. pluriflora_, culms and height decreased with density (P = 0.0077 and P = 0.0006), when grown in competition with _A. berlandieri_, using densities of 1/3, 2/2. 3/1, and 4/0 _Trichloris/Acacia_ plants/pot. The culms, tillers, and height of _T. pluriflora_, when grown alone with densities of 1, 2, 4, and 8 plants/pot, decreased with density (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0312, and P < 0.0001). The measurement parameters of harvested _A. berlandieri_, above ground biomass and ash-free root biomass increased with density (P = 0.0463 and P = 0.0389), when grown in competition with _T. pluriflora_. The root biomass of harvested _A. berlandieri_, grown alone, decreased with the interaction of density and nutrients (P = 0.0068). The total plant dry mass, above ground biomass, root dry mass, and root dry mass of harvested _T. pluriflora_, grown in competition with _A. berlandieri_, decreased with density (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P = 0.0235, and P = 0.0145). These same measurement parameters of harvested _T. pluriflora_, grown alone, increased with density (P < 0.0001 for all four). The addition of nutrients had no effect on the growth or harvest of _A. berlandieri_ and _T. pluriflora_ for either intra- or interspecific competition. Instead, density appeared to be the driving force for the competition between and among these two species for both growth and harvest. Although woody shrub and grassland interactions should be mediated by resource availability, that was not the case in this study. Clearly, density is an important variable involved in the disappearance of the grasslands

Remotely triggered scaffolds for controlled release of pharmaceuticals

Fe3O4-Au hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) have shown increasing potential for biomedical applications such as image guided stimuli responsive drug delivery. Incorporation of the unique properties of HNPs into thermally responsive scaffolds holds great potential for future biomedical applications. Here we successfully fabricated smart scaffolds based on thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNiPAM). Nanoparticles providing localized trigger of heating when irradiated with a short laser burst were found to give rise to remote control of bulk polymer shrinkage. Gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using wet chemical precipitation methods followed by electrochemical coating. After subsequent functionalization of particles with allyl methyl sulfide, mercaptodecane, cysteamine and poly(ethylene glycol) thiol to enhance stability, detailed biological safety was determined using live/dead staining and cell membrane integrity studies through lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) quantification. The PEG coated HNPs did not show significant cytotoxic effect or adverse cellular response on exposure to 7F2 cells (p < 0.05) and were carried forward for scaffold incorporation. The pNiPAM-HNP composite scaffolds were investigated for their potential as thermally triggered systems using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. These studies show that incorporation of HNPs resulted in scaffold deformation after very short irradiation times (seconds) due to internal structural heating. Our data highlights the potential of these hybrid-scaffold constructs for exploitation in drug delivery, using methylene blue as a model drug being released during remote structural change of the scaffold

Ultrasound increases the aqueous extraction of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity from olive pomace

Olive pomace is a waste produced by the olive oil industry in massive quantities each year. Disposal of olive pomace is difficult due to high concentrations of phenolic compounds, which is an environmental concern. However, phenolic compounds have applications in the health industry. Therefore, extraction of phenolic compounds from olive pomace has the potential to remove an environmentally hazardous portion of pomace while creating an additional source of income for farmers and producers. Using advanced technologies including Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE), combined with water as an extraction solvent, has recently gained popularity. The present study outlines the optimal UAE conditions for the extraction of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity from olive pomace. Optimal conditions were developed using RSM for parameters power, time and sample-to-solvent ratio. Total phenolic compounds determined by Folin Ciocalteu method and total major bioactive compounds determined by HPLC as well as antioxidant capacity (DPPH and CUPRAC) were investigated. The optimal conditions for the extraction of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity were 2 g of dried pomace/100 mL of water at 250 W power for 75 min. UAE improved the extraction efficiency of water and yielded extracts with high levels of phenolic compounds and strong antioxidant activity

EVIDENCE FOR HEMISPHERIC DOMINANCE IN CHILDREN\u27S ARITHMETIC CALCULATION PERFORMANCE.

Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1975 .R712. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 36-09, Section: B, page: 4706. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1975

The olive biophenols oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol selectively reduce proliferation, influence the cell cycle, and induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells

Current chemotherapy drugs for pancreatic cancer only offer an increase in survival of up to six months. Additionally, they are highly toxic to normal tissues, drastically affecting the quality of life of patients. Therefore, the search for novel agents, which induce apoptosis in cancer cells while displaying limited toxicity towards normal cells, is paramount. The olive biophenols, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol, have displayed cytotoxicity towards cancer cells without affecting non-tumorigenic cells in cancers of the breast and prostate. However, their activity in pancreatic cancer has not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the anti-pancreatic cancer potential of oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol. Pancreatic cancer cells (MIA PaCa-2, BxPC-3, and CFPAC-1) and non-tumorigenic pancreas cells (HPDE) were treated with oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol to determine their effect on cell viability. Oleuropein displayed selective toxicity towards MIA PaCa-2 cells and hydroxytyrosol towards MIA PaCa-2 and HPDE cells. Subsequent analysis of Bcl-2 family proteins and caspase 3/7 activation determined that oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol induced apoptosis in MIA PaCa-2 cells, while oleuropein displayed a protective effect on HPDE cells. Gene expression analysis revealed putative mechanisms of action, which suggested that c-Jun and c-Fos are involved in oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol induced apoptosis of MIA PaCa-2 cells

The effects of dietary fish oil on hepatic high density and low density lipoprotein receptor activities in the rat

AbstractRats were fed either a standard ration diet or that diet supplemented with 8% by wt of a marine fish oil or safflower oil. After 10 days, plasma triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, hepatic cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis and hepatic low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor activity were significantly depressed while HDL receptor activity was significantly increased in rats fed fish oil. Fish oil-induced effects on cholesterol metabolism in the rat therefore include reciprocal changes in the activities of hepatic LDL and HDL receptors

Porous materials show superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic switching

Switching between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity in porous materials was predicted theoretically and demonstrated experimentally with the example of thermally induced contact angle change; tunability of this system was also demonstrated

Generalisation of prior information for rapid Bayesian time estimation

To enable effective interaction with the environment, the brain combines noisy sensory information with expectations based on prior experience. There is ample evidence showing that humans can learn statistical regularities in sensory input and exploit this knowledge to improve perceptual decisions and actions. However, fundamental questions remain regarding how priors are learned and how they generalise to different sensory and behavioural contexts. In principle, maintaining a large set of highly specific priors may be inefficient and restrict the speed at which expectations can be formed and updated in response to changes in the environment. On the other hand, priors formed by generalising across varying contexts may not be accurate. Here we exploit rapidly induced contextual biases in duration reproduction to reveal how these competing demands are resolved during the early stages of prior acquisition. We show that observers initially form a single prior by generalising across duration distributions coupled with distinct sensory signals. In contrast, they form multiple priors if distributions are coupled with distinct motor outputs. Together, our findings suggest that rapid prior acquisition is facilitated by generalisation across experiences of different sensory inputs, but organised according to how that sensory information is acted upon

From Gas Phase Observations to Solid State Reality: The Identification and Isolation of Trinuclear Salicylaldoximato Copper Complexes

Conditions have been identified in which phenolic aldoximes and ketoximes of the types used in commercial solvent extraction processes can be doubly deprotonated and generate polynuclear Cu complexes with lower extractant:Cu molar ratios than those found in commercial operations. Electrospray mass spectrometry has provided an insight into the solution speciation in extraction experiments and has identified conditions to allow isolation and characterization of polynuclear Cu-complexes. Elevation of pH is effective in enhancing the formation of trinuclear complexes containing planar {Cu3-&mu;3-O}4+ or {Cu3-&mu;3-OH}5+ units. DFT calculations suggest that such trinuclear complexes are more stable than other polynuclear species. Solid structures of complexes formed by a salicylaldoxime with a piperidino substituent ortho to the phenolic OH group (L9H2) contain two trinuclear units in a supramolecular assembly, {[Cu3OH(L9H)3(ClO4)](ClO4)} 2, formed by H-bonding between the central {Cu3-&mu;3-OH}5+ units and oxygen atoms in the ligands of an adjacent complex. Whilst the lower ligand:Cu molar ratios provide more efficient Cu-loading in solvent extraction processes, the requirement to raise the pH of the aqueous phase to achieve this will make it impractical in most commercial operations because extraction will be accompanied by the precipitation (as oxyhydroxides) of Fe(III) which is present in significant quantities in feed solutions generated by acid leaching of most Cu ores