The Ursinus Weekly, April 16, 1934

Noted theologian to speak here • Happy Felton agrees to furnish music for colorful junior promenade on April 27 • Joint Y pageant to be presented • Junior advisory council to present Polly Pomeroy • Tau Kappa Alpha to hold initiation of new members • Dale Gramley talks at Weekly staff banquet • I.R.C. hears address on Hitlerism by Dr. N. W. Rubin • Dr. J. C. Funk lectures on medical care of cancer • New Y cabinets installed at candlelight service • Program of songs and poems presented by French Club • Liquid air demonstration given in science building • Women debaters lose to Cedar Crest on NIRA • Pres. Omwake resumes tasks • Elect members to WSGA • Band to be given awards • Rev. W. A. Kratz to speak at annual Brotherhood banquet • Knudsen and Hunter to head Demas and Zeta Chi frats • Music Club to meet • Reviews of modern novels are given by English Club • Baseball team set for opening fray on Wednesday • Derr Hall takes lead in dorm baseball circuit • Seniors or sophs favored to win inter-class meet • GIrls\u27 varsity basketball team to banquet tonight • Glee Club gives programshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/2019/thumbnail.jp

The Ursinus Weekly, May 21, 1934

E. Covert elected council president • Penn State host to school heads • College chorus to present pageant • T.K.A. initiates new members at banquet • Physical ed. group presents exhibition • Open scholarship prospects invited to visit at college • Student council to present sport dance Friday evening • Foreigners speak at tea sponsored by the YWCA • Boswell and Willauer vie in debate on economic tendencies of New Deal • Y handbook to commemorate Dean W. A. Kline for service • Frosh choose Quay as head • Dr. Calvin D. Yost speaks to faculty men at banquet • Musicians elect Frey head at final meeting of year • Leo Kohl discusses plans for next year with YM • Final Lantern to appear during first week in June • Representatives appointed to student activities body • Movie-sound system to be purchased by the college • Frosh girls present program at YW big-little sister party • Phi Alpha Psi sorority has senior farewell picnic • Math group to hold picnic • Prof. Sibbald gives talk at French Club meeting • Public speaking class to banquet for final exam • Tau Sigma Gamma has party • Sorority elects officers • Chemists to elect officers • Albright wins pennant by downing grizzlies • Current bear nine to meet former stars on alumni day • Athletic conference holds spring meeting • Drexel wins track meet as bears fail on field • Racqueteers beat St. Joe\u27s for second win of year • Ursinus coeds lose to Swarthmore tennis team • Tennis team loses close match to Wildcat netters • Inter-dorm league begins second half of schedule • Johnson plans for trophies in dormitory sports program • Foundation makes survey of books on religious subjects • Zeta Chi holds spring stag • Library gets books as gifts from various organizationshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/2024/thumbnail.jp

The effect of oil sands process-affected water and model naphthenic acids on photosynthesis and growth in Emiliania huxleyi and Chlorella vulgaris

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are among the most toxic organic pollutants present in oil sands process waters (OSPW) and enter marine and freshwater environments through natural and anthropogenic sources. We investigated the effects of the acid extractable organic (AEO) fraction of OSPW and individual surrogate NAs, on maximum photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) (FV/FM) and cell growth in Emiliania huxleyi and Chlorella vulgaris as representative marine and freshwater phytoplankton. Whilst FV/FM in E. huxleyi and C. vulgaris was not inhibited by AEO, exposure to two surrogate NAs: (4'-n-butylphenyl)-4-butanoic acid (n-BPBA) and (4'-tert-butylphenyl)-4-butanoic acid (tert-BPBA), caused complete inhibition of FV/FM in E. huxleyi (≥10 mg L-1 n-BPBA; ≥50 mg L-1 tert-BPBA) but not in C. vulgaris. Growth rates and cell abundances in E. huxleyi were also reduced when exposed to ≥10 mg L-1 n- and tert-BPBA; however, higher concentrations of n- and tert-BPBA (100 mg L-1) were required to reduce cell growth in C. vulgaris. AEO at ≥10 mg L-1 stimulated E. huxleyi growth rate (p ≤ 0.002), yet had no apparent effect on C. vulgaris. In conclusion, E. huxleyi was generally more sensitive to NAs than C. vulgaris. This report provides a better understanding of the physiological responses of phytoplankton to NAs which will enable improved monitoring of NA pollution in aquatic ecosystems in the future

<i>amoA</i> Gene Abundances and Nitrification Potential Rates Suggest that Benthic Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria and Not Archaea Dominate N Cycling in the Colne Estuary, United Kingdom

ABSTRACT Nitrification, mediated by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), is important in global nitrogen cycling. In estuaries where gradients of salinity and ammonia concentrations occur, there may be differential selections for ammonia-oxidizer populations. The aim of this study was to examine the activity, abundance, and diversity of AOA and AOB in surface oxic sediments of a highly nutrified estuary that exhibits gradients of salinity and ammonium. AOB and AOA communities were investigated by measuring ammonia monooxygenase ( amoA ) gene abundance and nitrification potentials both spatially and temporally. Nitrification potentials differed along the estuary and over time, with the greatest nitrification potentials occurring mid-estuary (8.2 μmol N grams dry weight [gdw] −1 day −1 in June, increasing to 37.4 μmol N gdw −1 day −1 in January). At the estuary head, the nitrification potential was 4.3 μmol N gdw −1 day −1 in June, increasing to 11.7 μmol N gdw −1 day −1 in January. At the estuary head and mouth, nitrification potentials fluctuated throughout the year. AOB amoA gene abundances were significantly greater (by 100-fold) than those of AOA both spatially and temporally. Nitrosomonas spp. were detected along the estuary by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) band sequence analysis. In conclusion, AOB dominated over AOA in the estuarine sediments, with the ratio of AOB/AOA amoA gene abundance increasing from the upper (freshwater) to lower (marine) regions of the Colne estuary. These findings suggest that in this nutrified estuary, AOB (possibly Nitrosomonas spp.) were of major significance in nitrification. </jats:p

Oceanography of the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean Across the Oligocene-Miocene Transition

The functioning of the Pacific Ocean—the world's largest ocean—during a warmer-than-present paleoclimate state remains underexplored. We present planktonic and benthic foraminiferal stable oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and carbon (δ¹³C) isotope records from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1334 that span the Oligocene-Miocene Transition (OMT) interval, from 24.15 to 21.95 million years ago (Ma). We reconstruct (sub-)surface and deep-water conditions and provide better constraints on the physical and chemical oceanography of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean (EEP). Positive trends in planktonic and benthic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O values, mark a largely uniform imprint of increased land-ice volume/global cooling on surface- and deep-waters. We document a delayed planktonic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O increase across the OMT as well as an increase in the amplitude variability of planktonic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O values on eccentricity timescales during the early Miocene. We interpret this as an enhanced glacioeustatic sea-level control on Atlantic-Pacific salinity exchange through the Central American Seaway (CAS) or as the onset of more variable surface currents and oceanic fronts in the EEP. Positive trends in planktonic and benthic foraminiferal δ¹³C values characterize the whole-ocean depletion in 12C linked to organic carbon burial during the Oligocene-Miocene carbon maximum (CM-OM). However, this depletion is more pronounced in the planktonic foraminiferal δ¹³C record, especially during ∼400 Kyr eccentricity minima, reflecting an increase in nutrient upwelling and the efficacy of the biological carbon pump (BCP) when global temperatures decreased across the OMT and during the early Miocene. Our study highlights the dynamic behavior of the EEP in a warmer-than-present unipolar icehouse state

Scallop swimming kinematics and muscle performance: modelling the effects of "within-animal" variation in temperature sensitivity

Escape behaviour was investigated in Queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) acclimated to 5, 10 or 15 degrees C and tested at their acclimation temperature. Scallops are active molluscs, able to escape from predators by jet-propelled swimming using a striated muscle working in opposition to an elastic hinge ligament. The first cycle of the escape response was recorded using high-speed video ( 250 Hz) and whole-animal velocity and acceleration determined. Muscle shortening velocity, force and power output were calculated using measurements of valve movement and jet area, and a simple biomechanical model. The average shortening speed of the adductor muscle had a Q(10) of 2.04, significantly reducing the duration of the jetting phase of the cycle with increased temperature. Muscle lengthening velocity and the overall duration of the clap cycle were changed little over the range 5 - 15 degrees C, as these parameters were controlled by the relatively temperature-insensitive, hinge ligament. Improvements in the average power output of the adductor muscle over the first clap cycle ( 222 vs. 139 W kg(-1) wet mass at 15 and 5 degrees C respectively) were not translated into proportional increases in overall swimming velocity, which was only 32% higher at 15 degrees C ( 0.37m s(-1)) than 5 degrees C (0.28 m s(-1))

Test Data Sets for Evaluating Data Visualization Techniques

In this paper we take a step toward addressing a pressing general problem in the development of data visualization systems — how to measure their effectiveness. The step we take is to define a model for specifying the generation of test data that can be em-ployed for standardized and quantitative testing of a system’s per-formance. These test data sets, in conjunction with appropriate testing procedures, can provide a basis for certifying the effective-ness of a visualization system and for conducting comparative studies to steer system development

Heterologous expression screens in Nicotiana benthamiana identify a candidate effector of the wheat Yellow Rust Pathogen that associates with processing bodies

Rust fungal pathogens of wheat (Triticum spp.) affect crop yields worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the virulence of these pathogens remain elusive, due to the limited availability of suitable molecular genetic research tools. Notably, the inability to perform high-throughput analyses of candidate virulence proteins (also known as effectors) impairs progress. We previously established a pipeline for the fast-forward screens of rust fungal candidate effectors in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This pipeline involves selecting candidate effectors in silico and performing cell biology and protein-protein interaction assays in planta to gain insight into the putative functions of candidate effectors. In this study, we used this pipeline to identify and characterize sixteen candidate effectors from the wheat yellow rust fungal pathogen Puccinia striiformis f sp tritici. Nine candidate effectors targeted a specific plant subcellular compartment or protein complex, providing valuable information on their putative functions in plant cells. One candidate effector, PST02549, accumulated in processing bodies (P-bodies), protein complexes involved in mRNA decapping, degradation, and storage. PST02549 also associates with the P-body-resident ENHANCER OF mRNA DECAPPING PROTEIN 4 (EDC4) from N. benthamiana and wheat. We propose that P-bodies are a novel plant cell compartment targeted by pathogen effectors

Pathotyping the Zoonotic Pathogen Streptococcus suis: Novel Genetic Markers To Differentiate Invasive Disease-Associated Isolates from Non-Disease-Associated Isolates from England and Wales.

Streptococcus suis is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens of pigs, causing significant economic losses to the global swine industry. S. suis is also a very successful colonizer of mucosal surfaces, and commensal strains can be found in almost all pig populations worldwide, making detection of the S. suis species in asymptomatic carrier herds of little practical value in predicting the likelihood of future clinical relevance. The value of future molecular tools for surveillance and preventative health management lies in the detection of strains that genetically have increased potential to cause disease in presently healthy animals. Here we describe the use of genome-wide association studies to identify genetic markers associated with the observed clinical phenotypes (i) invasive disease and (ii) asymptomatic carriage on the palatine tonsils of pigs on UK farms. Subsequently, we designed a multiplex PCR to target three genetic markers that differentiated 115 S. suis isolates into disease-associated and non-disease-associated groups, that performed with a sensitivity of 0.91, a specificity of 0.79, a negative predictive value of 0.91, and a positive predictive value of 0.79 in comparison to observed clinical phenotypes. We describe evaluation of our pathotyping tool, using an out-of-sample collection of 50 previously uncharacterized S. suis isolates, in comparison to existing methods used to characterize and subtype S. suis isolates. In doing so, we show our pathotyping approach to be a competitive method to characterize S. suis isolates recovered from pigs on UK farms and one that can easily be updated to incorporate global strain collections.This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Knowledge Transfer Network CASE studentship co-funded by Zoetis (previously Pfizer Animal Health UK) and with significant contribution from BQP Ltd (Award Reference: BB/L502479/1). Funding bodies provided scholarship support but had no part in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript. AWT is supported by a BBSRC Longer and Larger (LoLa) grant (Award Reference: BB/G019274/1). LAW is supported by a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship funded by the Royal Society (Grant Number: DH140195) and a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship co-funded by the Royal Society and Wellcome Trust (Grant Number: 109385/Z/15/Z)