Importance of Myxomycetes in Biological Research and Teaching

Myxomycetes, the true slime molds, are highlighted in research and teaching that emphasizes various stages of the life cycle as experimental models. Past and current phylogenetic classifications of Myxomycetes on the tree of life are presented. Life cycle stages are illustrated, described, and discussed. Simple laboratory demonstrations and experiments are described that include spore germination, spore release, and moist chamber cultures utilizing organic matter from various microhabitats. Novel compounds isolated from fruiting bodies and plasmodia of 22 myxomycete species are tabulated, some of which exhibit biological activity that function as antibiotics, antimicrobials, and are cytotoxic to cancer cells. Aeroallergens include myxomycete spores, especially Fuligo septica. The plasmodial stage of Physarum polycephalum has been used as a model research system to study responses to gravity in outer space, solve the shortest pathway through a maze exhibiting “primitive intelligence,” develop a biologically controlled robot, discover what controls synchronous nuclear division, and the development of a new drug Polycefin that shows promise in the treatment of breast and brain cancerous tumors. Life span and senescence experiments showed that aging and longevity were under nuclear control. Environmental ground pollution may be remediated by myxomycete fruiting bodies and plasmodia of Fuligo septica that hyper-accumulate and concentrate highly toxic levels of zinc several thousand fold greater than site vegetation and lesser significant amounts of barium, cadmium, iron, manganese, and strontium. Tree canopy research has shown that aerial pollution results in the decrease of myxomycete species richness at higher elevations for Abies fraseri in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At lower elevations and locations in the United States of America living Juniperus virginiana tree canopies have the highest species richness (54). Myxomycetes that occur mostly on the bark surface of living trees, shrubs, woody vines, prairie and desert plants fall into five pH groups: low pH (3.5– 4.5), mid-range pH (4.6–6.0) and pH (6.1–7.5), high pH values (7.6–10.0), and a broad spectrum of pH (3.5–7.5). When more environmental parameters are better known myxomycetes may one day serve as the basis for evaluating the impact of pollutants on living trees

Importance of Myxomycetes in Biological Research and Teaching

Myxomycetes, the true slime molds, are highlighted in research and teaching that emphasizes various stages of the life cycle as experimental models. Past and current phylogenetic classifications of Myxomycetes on the tree of life are presented. Life cycle stages are illustrated, described, and discussed. Simple laboratory demonstrations and experiments are described that include spore germination, spore release, and moist chamber cultures utilizing organic matter from various microhabitats. Novel compounds isolated from fruiting bodies and plasmodia of 22 myxomycete species are tabulated, some of which exhibit biological activity that function as antibiotics, antimicrobials, and are cytotoxic to cancer cells. Aeroallergens include myxomycete spores, especially Fuligo septica. The plasmodial stage of Physarum polycephalum has been used as a model research system to study responses to gravity in outer space, solve the shortest pathway through a maze exhibiting “primitive intelligence,” develop a biologically controlled robot, discover what controls synchronous nuclear division, and the development of a new drug Polycefin that shows promise in the treatment of breast and brain cancerous tumors. Life span and senescence experiments showed that aging and longevity were under nuclear control. Environmental ground pollution may be remediated by myxomycete fruiting bodies and plasmodia of Fuligo septica that hyper-accumulate and concentrate highly toxic levels of zinc several thousand fold greater than site vegetation and lesser significant amounts of barium, cadmium, iron, manganese, and strontium. Tree canopy research has shown that aerial pollution results in the decrease of myxomycete species richness at higher elevations for Abies fraseri in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At lower elevations and locations in the United States of America living Juniperus virginiana tree canopies have the highest species richness (54). Myxomycetes that occur mostly on the bark surface of living trees, shrubs, woody vines, prairie and desert plants fall into five pH groups: low pH (3.5– 4.5), mid-range pH (4.6–6.0) and pH (6.1–7.5), high pH values (7.6–10.0), and a broad spectrum of pH (3.5–7.5). When more environmental parameters are better known myxomycetes may one day serve as the basis for evaluating the impact of pollutants on living trees

Expressed Emotion, Mental Health, and Functioning in Families of Children with and without Asthma

Introduction: Expressed emotion (EE), the affective attitudes and behaviors of one toward another, can affect caregivers’ behaviors toward their child. Research examining associations between EE and child/family outcomes is mixed; these associations may be affected by other influences such as the presence of a chronic disease or parent mental health. In this study of families living in an urban area, we examined associations between EE and child outcomes (anxiety/depressive symptoms) and family functioning, with parent anxiety as a covariate. We evaluated child asthma status as a moderator in these associations as the presence of a chronic illness may strengthen the association between EE and child/family outcomes. Methods: 96 children (mean±SD age=8.83±2.03 years, 48.9% female, 92.6% African American; 47 with asthma) and their parents (81.3% annual household income\u3c$25,000) completed an observational study including interviews and questionnaires. Measures included the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC), Children’s Depressive Symptoms Inventory (CDI), Self-Report Family Inventory (SFI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) coded for EE. To examine study aims, regression analyses were conducted using PROCESS macro version 3.1. Asthma status (yes/no) was examined as a moderator. Results: EE was associated with child anxiety symptoms, child depressive symptoms, and family functioning, controlling for parent anxiety symptoms (F(1,70) =6.74, p=.011; F(1,69) =7.803, p=.007; F(1,68) =8.637, p=.004). Asthma status did not moderate any of the associations. Conclusions: Results suggested that high levels of caregiver EE were associated with child mental health symptoms and family functioning, but asthma status did not moderate associations. It is possible that regardless of additional family demands related to asthma, EE is associated with child mental health and family functioning. Further examination into other systemic stressors that may moderate these associations is warranted, as well as the impact that minimizing parent anxiety might have on overall EE.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1075/thumbnail.jp

Prioritization Methodology for Chemical Replacement

This project serves to define an appropriate methodology for effective prioritization of efforts required to develop replacement technologies mandated by imposed and forecast legislation. The methodology used is a semiquantitative approach derived from quality function deployment techniques (QFD Matrix). This methodology aims to weigh the full environmental, cost, safety, reliability, and programmatic implications of replacement technology development to allow appropriate identification of viable candidates and programmatic alternatives. The results are being implemented as a guideline for consideration for current NASA propulsion systems

Three-Dimensionally Preserved Integument Reveals Hydrodynamic Adaptations in the Extinct Marine Lizard Ectenosaurus (Reptilia, Mosasauridae)

The physical properties of water and the environment it presents to its inhabitants provide stringent constraints and selection pressures affecting aquatic adaptation and evolution. Mosasaurs (a group of secondarily aquatic reptiles that occupied a broad array of predatory niches in the Cretaceous marine ecosystems about 98–65 million years ago) have traditionally been considered as anguilliform locomotors capable only of generating short bursts of speed during brief ambush pursuits. Here we report on an exceptionally preserved, long-snouted mosasaur (Ectenosaurus clidastoides) from the Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) part of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation in western Kansas, USA, that contains phosphatized remains of the integument displaying both depth and structure. The small, ovoid neck and/or anterior trunk scales exhibit a longitudinal central keel, and are obliquely arrayed into an alternating pattern where neighboring scales overlap one another. Supportive sculpturing in the form of two parallel, longitudinal ridges on the inner scale surface and a complex system of multiple, superimposed layers of straight, cross-woven helical fiber bundles in the underlying dermis, may have served to minimize surface deformation and frictional drag during locomotion. Additional parallel fiber bundles oriented at acute angles to the long axis of the animal presumably provided stiffness in the lateral plane. These features suggest that the anterior torso of Ectenosaurus was held somewhat rigid during swimming, thereby limiting propulsive movements to the posterior body and tail