Sugar modification as a means to increase the biological performance of oligonucleotides

Modification of the ribose unit in DNA and RNA profoundly influences the self-rcognition and the biological properties of the nucleic acids. Conformational restriction of the ribose units, as in LNA and tricyclo-DNA, has been identified as a powerful tool to increase DNA and RNA affinity as well as biological stability and antisense properties. Apart from that sugar modified DNA analogues, as homo-DNA, have shown to be orthogonal base-pairing systems which by virtue of non-crosscommunicating with the natural nucleic acids open novel applications in biotechnology.

Erosive tooth wear - a multifactorial condition of growing concern and increasing knowledge

Dental erosion is often described solely as a surface phenomenon, unlike caries where it has been established that the destructive effects involve both the surface and the subsurface region. However, besides removal and softening of the surface, erosion may show dissolution of mineral underneath the surface. There is some evidence that the presence of this condition is growing steadily. Hence, erosive tooth wear is becoming increasingly significant in the management of the long-term health of the dentition. What is considered as an acceptable amount of wear is dependent on the anticipated lifespan of the dentition and, therefore, is different for deciduous compared to permanent teeth. However, erosive damage to the permanent teeth occurring in childhood may compromise the growing child's dentition for their entire lifetime and may require repeated and increasingly complex and expensive restoration. Therefore, it is important that diagnosis of the tooth wear process in children and adults is made early and adequate preventive measures are undertaken. These measures can only be initiated when the risk factors are known and interactions between them are present. A scheme is proposed which allows the possible risk factors and their relation to each other to be examined.

The effects of a changing climate on root respiration of woody plants in sugar maple forests and northern peatlands

Global climate change might significantly impact future ecosystems. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate potential changes in woody plant fine root respiration in response to a changing climate. In a sugar maple dominated northern hardwood forest, the soil was experimentally warmed (+4 °C) to determine if the tree roots could metabolically acclimate to warmer soil conditions. After one and a half years of soil warming, there was an indication of slight acclimation in the fine roots of sugar maple, helping the ecosystem avoid excessive C loss to the atmosphere. In a poor fen northern peatland in northern Michigan, the impacts of water level changes on woody plant fine root respiration were investigated. In areas of increased and also decreased water levels, there were increases in the CO2 efflux from ecosystem fine root respiration. These studies show the importance of investigating further the impacts climate change may have on C balance in northern ecosystems.

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS (LCAs) OF PYROLYSIS-BASED GASOLINE AND DIESEL FROM DIFFERENT REGIONAL FEEDSTOCKS: CORN STOVER, SWITCHGRASS, SUGAR CANE BAGASSE, WASTE WOOD, GUINEA GRASS, ALGAE, AND ALBIZIA

Renewable hydrocarbon biofuels are being investigated as possible alternatives to conventional liquid transportation fossil fuels like gasoline, kerosene (aviation fuel), and diesel. A diverse range of biomass feedstocks such as corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, switchgrass, waste wood, and algae, are being evaluated as candidates for pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading to produce drop-in hydrocarbon fuels. This research has developed preliminary life cycle assessments (LCA) for each feedstock-specific pathway and compared the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the hydrocarbon biofuels to current fossil fuels. As a comprehensive study, this analysis attempts to account for all of the GHG emissions associated with each feedstock pathway through the entire life cycle. Emissions from all stages including feedstock production, land use change, pyrolysis, stabilizing the pyrolysis oil for transport and storage, and upgrading the stabilized pyrolysis oil to a hydrocarbon fuel are included. In addition to GHG emissions, the energy requirements and water use have been evaluated over the entire life cycle. The goal of this research is to help understand the relative advantages and disadvantages of the feedstocks and the resultant hydrocarbon biofuels based on three environmental indicators; GHG emissions, energy demand, and water utilization. Results indicate that liquid hydrocarbon biofuels produced through this pyrolysis-based pathway can achieve greenhouse gas emission savings of greater than 50% compared to petroleum fuels, thus potentially qualifying these biofuels under the US EPA RFS2 program. GHG emissions from biofuels ranged from 10.7-74.3 g/MJ from biofuels derived from sugarcane bagasse and wild algae at the extremes of this range, respectively. The cumulative energy demand (CED) shows that energy in every biofuel process is primarily from renewable biomass and the remaining energy demand is mostly from fossil fuels. The CED for biofuel range from 1.25-3.25 MJ/MJ from biofuels derived from sugarcane bagasse to wild algae respectively, while the other feedstock-derived biofuels are around 2 MJ/MJ. Water utilization is primarily from cooling water use during the pyrolysis stage if irrigation is not used during the feedstock production stage. Water use ranges from 1.7 - 17.2 gallons of water per kg of biofuel from sugarcane bagasse to open pond algae, respectively.

Evaluation of sugar maple dieback in the Upper Great Lakes region and development of a forest health youth education program

Acer saccharum Marsh., is one of the most valuable trees in the northern hardwood forests. Severe dieback was recently reported by area foresters in the western Upper Great Lakes Region. Sugar Maple has had a history of dieback over the last 100 years throughout its range and different variables have been identified as being the predisposing and inciting factors in different regions at different times. Some of the most common factors attributed to previous maple dieback episodes were insect defoliation outbreaks, inadequate precipitation, poor soils, atmospheric deposition, fungal pathogens, poor management, or a combination of these. The current sugar maple dieback was evaluated to determine the etiology, severity, and change in dieback on both industry and public lands. A network of 120 sugar maple health evaluation plots was established in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and eastern Minnesota and evaluated annually from 2009-2012. Mean sugar maple crown dieback between 2009-2012 was 12.4% (ranging from 0.8-75.5%) across the region. Overall, during the sampling period, mean dieback decreased by 5% but individual plots and trees continued to decline. Relationships were examined between sugar maple dieback and growth, habitat conditions, ownership, climate, soil, foliage nutrients, and the maple pathogen sapstreak. The only statistically significant factor was found to be a high level of forest floor impacts due to exotic earthworm activity. Sugar maple on soils with lower pH had less earthworm impacts, less dieback, and higher growth rates than those on soils more favorable to earthworms. Nutritional status of foliage and soil was correlated with dieback and growth suggesting perturbation of nutrient cycling may be predisposing or contributing to dieback. The previous winter's snowfall totals, length of stay on the ground, and number of days with freezing temperatures had a significant positive relationship to sugar maple growth rates. Sapstreak disease, Ceratocystis virescens, may be contributing to dieback in some stands but was not related to the amount of dieback in the region. The ultimate goal of this research is to help forest managers in the Great Lakes Region prevent, anticipate, reduce, and/or salvage stands with dieback and loss in the future. An improved understanding of the complex etiology associated with sugar maple dieback in the Upper Great Lakes Region is necessary to make appropriate silvicultural decisions. Forest Health education helps increase awareness and proactive forest management in the face of changing forest ecosystems. Lessons are included to assist educators in incorporating forest health into standard biological disciplines at the secondary school curricula.

Genome Sequence of Mycoplasma feriruminatoris sp. nov., a Fast-Growing Mycoplasma Species

Members of the “Mycoplasma mycoides cluster” represent important livestock pathogens worldwide. We report the genome sequence of Mycoplasma feriruminatoris sp. nov., the closest relative to the “Mycoplasma mycoides cluster” and the fastest-growing Mycoplasma species described to date.

Mycoplasma feriruminatoris sp. nov., a fast growing Mycoplasma species isolated from wild Caprinae

Five Mycoplasma strains from wild Caprinae were analyzed: four from Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) which died at the Berlin Zoo between 1993 and 1994, one from a Rocky Mountain goat collected in the USA prior to 1987. These five strains represented a population different from the populations belonging to the 'Mycoplasma mycoides cluster' as tested using multi locus sequence typing, Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene (rrs), genomic sequence based in silico as well as laboratory DNA-DNA hybridization, and the analysis of phenotypic traits in particular their exceptionally rapid growth all confirmed that they do not belong to any Mycoplasma species described to date. We therefore suggest these strains represent a novel species, for which we propose the name Mycoplasma feriruminatoris sp. nov. The type strain is G5847(T) (=DSM 26019(T)=NCTC 1362(T)).

Sugar concentration influences decision making in <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. workers during early-stage honey storage behaviour

Decision making in honeybees is based on in- formation which is acquired and processed in order to make choices between two or more al- ternatives. These choices lead to the expression of optimal behaviour strategies such as floral constancy. Optimal foraging strategies such as floral constancy improve a colony’s chances of survival, however to our knowledge, there has been no research on decision making based on optimal storage strategies. Here we show, using diagnostic radioentomology, that decision mak- ing in storer bees is influenced by nectar sugar concentrations and that, within 48 hours of col- lection, honeybees workers store carbohydrates in groups of cells with similar sugar concentra- tions in a nonrandom way. This behaviour, as evidenced by patchy spatial cell distributions, would help to hasten the ripening process by reducing the distance between cells of similar sugar concentrations. Thus, colonies which ex- hibit optimal storage strategies such as these would have an evolutionary advantage and im- prove colony survival expectations over less efficient colonies and it should be plausible to select colonies that exhibit these preferred traits.