Factors Influencing Asexual Spore Formation by Ceratocystis ULMI

Stock cultures of a pure strain of C. ulmi were obtained from the Plant Science Department at South Dakota State University. The inoculum was maintained on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) in petri dishes. On this medium, the fungus produced a grayish white rather sparse and appressed mycelium. Conidia were produced in heads on branched conidiophores. Quite often some sectoring was observed on PDA. Cultures producing coremia, obtained on 2% American elm shavings (on dry weight basis) plus bacteriological agar (8 g/1), were also used as an inoculum source. As is shown, this medium produced coremia and very little vegetative mycelium. The zonate character of the growth of the fungus on every concentrated elm-water extract is in response to alternate light and dark periods. Aseptic methods were essential in this research. All inoculating was done in a White Roomette, of which the inside surfaces were washed down with 70% ethyl alcohol. Instruments were flamed with a bunsen burner periodically during inoculations. Media and petri dishes were autoclaved for 20 minutes at 15 psi. All cultures were grown under laboratory light conditions at 25°c for 14 days. Roster, Holden and Martin (1969), McMullen (1969) and Hubbes and Pomerleau (1969) hypothesized that C. ulmi produced coremia only if grown in contact with American elm tissue and that a coremia inducing factor (CIF) was present. To test this hypothesis further, in diameter, were placed in petri dishes containing PDA and the inoculum was placed directly on the disk. Wood disks of apple, plum, walnut, silver maple and green ash were also cultured in the same manner. Wood shavings were obtained from logs of American elm (20-J6 cm in diameter) with a jointer-planer. The shavings were then blended into still finer particles with a Waring blender. Several methods were devised to test the possibility of extracting a CIF from American elm which contributes in some way to the production of coremia

The Role of EU and NATO Conditionality on Developing Democracies: A Georgian Case Study

This thesis evaluates the effect of EU and NATO conditionality on institutional change in the Republic of Georgia. It hypothesizes that as developing democracies undergo prolonged accession processes with the EU and/or NATO, citizens are more likely to become disillusioned with the accession process. Disillusionment among citizens allows for the election anti-Western, non-democratic candidates and political parties to power, who, once elected, are able to institute non-democratic reforms that reverse institutional democratization. This thesis tests this theory using a mixed qualitative and qualitative analysis of Georgia, and draws parallels with the theory-building case of Turkey. Overall, the thesis finds preliminary support for the proposed theory in Georgian public opinion surveys, Georgian parliamentary party representation, and comparisons of institutional change in Georgia and Turkey

Exploring Slider vs. Categorical Response Formats in Web-Based Surveys

Web-based surveys have become a common mode of data collection for researchers in many fields, but there are many methodological questions that need to be answered. This article examines one such question—do the use of sliders to express numerical amounts and the use of the more traditional radio-button scales give the same, or different, measurements? First, we review the central debates surrounding the use of slider scales, including advantages and disadvantages. Second, we report findings from a controlled simple randomized design field experiment using a sample of business managers in Italy to compare the two response formats. Measures of topic sensitivity, topic interest, and likelihood of participation were obtained. No statistically significant differences were found between the response formats. The article concludes with suggestions for researchers who wish to use slider scales as a measurement device

Charity Shops and the Imagined Futures of Objects: How Second-Hand Markets Influence Disposal Decisions when Emptying a Parent’s House

This article explores the processes whereby things are donated, or not donated, to charity shops. I draw on in-depth interviews conducted with adults who have sorted through the houses of older family members who have moved into residential accommodation, and in some cases subsequently died. The affective qualities of objects and the informants’ responsibilities to be ‘good’ family members by ensuring ‘safe passage’ for their parents’ possessions worked to ensure that many objects did not enter the second hand market, but were preserved within the family or wider social networks. Competing instincts to be ‘responsible consumers’ by not keeping things unnecessarily, worked to ‘move things along’ into charity shops, where informants believed the objects could come to be valued and singularised by other people. By providing an imagined future where goods can continue to be useful and have the opportunity to extend their biographical life, I argue that charity shops and other second-hand markets can help people to dispose of objects which they do not want to keep, but which they find difficult to throw away

Effects of Inquiry-based Teaching on Attitudes, Self-efficacy, and Science Reasoning Abilities of Students in Introductory Biology Courses at a Rural, Open-enrollment Community Coll

Publications such as Beyond Bio 101, BIO 2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists/ and College Pathways to the Science Education Standards/ advocate science education reform in higher education institutions, including the use of student-centered pedagogies. While many studies about the effectiveness of such pedagogies have been conducted at universities and four-year colleges, few have been conducted at the community college level, where many students, including many would-be educators, choose to take their introductory science courses. This study investigated whether the same techniques used in universities to increase student attitudes, self-efficacy and science reasoning can also be effective at a small, rural community college. This study used pre and post-tests of student attitudes, self-efficacy and scientific reasoning to determine if inquiry-based learning positively affected each of these parameters. In wholly traditional classes, students' attitudes decreased, self-self-efficacy increased and scientific reasoning was unchanged. In classes with traditional lecture and inquiry labs, attitudes increased, self-efficacy increased and scientific reasoning was unchanged. Finally in a course designed with inquiry lecture and lab components, attitude did not change, self-efficacy increased, and scientific reasoning increased. This provides evidence that inquiry-based teaching can have a positive effect on community college students. It also provides evidence that using three different measures, allows for a more complete picture of the effects of inquiry-based teaching.Department of Zoolog

Efecto cicatrizante de la miel de Apis mellifera (abeja) en heridas superficiales en Mus músculus.

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo determinar el efecto cicatrizante de la miel de Apis mellifera (abeja) en heridas superficiales en Mus musculus. Para lo cual se utilizó la miel de Apis mellifera y 36 ratones albinos con 25 ± 5g, los que fueron distribuidos de manera aleatoria en 6 grupos de 6 ratones c/u, los que fueron depilados y se les realizó un corte de 1 cm2 en la región escapular 24 h antes de la experimentación, el grupo 1° recibió SSF 2 mL/Kg, 2° sangre de drago 100%, 3° clorelase y los grupos 4°, 5° y 6° recibieron miel de abeja al 25%, 50% y 100% respectivamente, utilizándose el método de resistencia a la tensión. El estudio fitoquímico de la miel de abeja identificó como principales metabolitos secundarios a los alcaloides, triterpenoides, glicósidos cardiotónicos, compuestos fenólicos, taninos y flavonoides. También se encontró que la miel de Apis mellifera pura presentó mayor efecto cicatrizante con un porcentaje de eficacia cicatrizante de 75.75%, en relación a los estándares farmacológicos sangre de grado 5% y clorelase 60%, cuyos porcentajes de eficacia fueron de 83.67% y 100% respectivamente. Se concluye que en condiciones experimentales la miel de Api mellifera presenta efecto cicatrizante en ratones.Tesi