UM Women's Swimming Team, 1990

Back Row: head coach Jim Richardson, Karen Sinclair, Molly Hegarty, Minoo Gupta, Lisa Anderson, Kathy Winkel, Kathy Deibler, Julie Geyer, Martha Wenzel, Whitney Scherer, Jennifer Zakrajsek, Claudia Vieira, trainer Rex Thompson

Middle Row: diving coach Dick Kimball, Julie Schnorberger, Jenny Sutton, Sharon Columbo, Caren Henry, Missy McCracken, Mindy Gehrs, Sandy Smith, Margie Stoll, Chrissi Rawak, Katherine Creighton, Lisa Cribari, asst. coach Pete Hickman

Front Row: asst. coach Kara McGrath, Paula Columbo, Ann Colloton, Amy Honig, Laura Rollins, Jennifer Eck, Stefanie Liebner, Gwen DeMaat, Michele Swix, Jennifer Love,mngr. Ann a Martens

UM Women's Swimming Team, 1991

Back Row: head coach Jim Richardson, Karen Sinclair, Judy Barto, Chrissi Rawak, Missy McCracken, Mindy Gehrs, Tara Higgins, Kathy Winkel, Kathy Deibler, Vallery Hyduk, Jennifer Zakrajsek, Kathleen Hegarty, Karen Barnes, Cinnamon Woods, grad. asst. Ann Colloton, asst. coach Pete Hickman, grad asst. Anna Martens

Middle Row: asst. coach Margo Mahoney, Lisa Cribari, Julie Schnorberger, Jenny Sutton, Lisa Anderson, Kate Girard, Amy Bohnert, Nicole Williamson, Ann Louise Francis, Sandy Smith, Stephanie Munson, Martha Wenzel, diving coach Dick Kimball

Front Row: Molly Hegarty, Heather Ross, Margie Stoll, Julie Greyer, Whitney Scherer, Minoo Gupta, Michelle Swix, Jennifer Love, Claudia Vieira, Caren Henry

UM Women's Swimming Team, 1992

Front Row: Amy Bohnert, Claudia Vieira, Katherine Creighton, Julie Greyer, Jennifer Love, Michelle Swix, Lisa Cribari, Lisa Anderson, Nicole Williamson, Missy McCracken, Mindy Gehrs

Middle Row: diving coach Dick Kimball, asst. coach Margo Mahoney, Jennifer Almeida, Alecia Humphrey, Karen Sinclair, Stephanie Munson, Karen Barnes, Judy Barto, Vallery Hyduk, Kate Girard, Kirsten Silvester, Martha Wenzel, Cinnamon Woods,

Back Row: head coach Jim Richardson, Kim Hart, Erin O'Connor, Karen Todd, Tara Higgins, Jennifer Zakrasjek, An Louise Francis, Jennifer Abell, Melissa McLean, Jenny Sutton, Melissa Harris, Kathleen Hegarty, Katherine Zarse, Lara Hooiveld, asst. coach Sam Jalet

Phylogeographic reconstruction of a bacterial species with high levels of lateral gene transfer

Background Phylogeographic reconstruction of some bacterial populations is hindered by low diversity coupled with high levels of lateral gene transfer. A comparison of recombination levels and diversity at seven housekeeping genes for eleven bacterial species, most of which are commonly cited as having high levels of lateral gene transfer shows that the relative contributions of homologous recombination versus mutation for Burkholderia pseudomallei is over two times higher than for Streptococcus pneumoniae and is thus the highest value yet reported in bacteria. Despite the potential for homologous recombination to increase diversity, B. pseudomallei exhibits a relative lack of diversity at these loci. In these situations, whole genome genotyping of orthologous shared single nucleotide polymorphism loci, discovered using next generation sequencing technologies, can provide very large data sets capable of estimating core phylogenetic relationships. We compared and searched 43 whole genome sequences of B. pseudomallei and its closest relatives for single nucleotide polymorphisms in orthologous shared regions to use in phylogenetic reconstruction. Results Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of >14,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms yielded completely resolved trees for these 43 strains with high levels of statistical support. These results enable a better understanding of a separate analysis of population differentiation among >1,700 B. pseudomallei isolates as defined by sequence data from seven housekeeping genes. We analyzed this larger data set for population structure and allele sharing that can be attributed to lateral gene transfer. Our results suggest that despite an almost panmictic population, we can detect two distinct populations of B. pseudomallei that conform to biogeographic patterns found in many plant and animal species. That is, separation along Wallace's Line, a biogeographic boundary between Southeast Asia and Australia. Conclusion We describe an Australian origin for B. pseudomallei, characterized by a single introduction event into Southeast Asia during a recent glacial period, and variable levels of lateral gene transfer within populations. These patterns provide insights into mechanisms of genetic diversification in B. pseudomallei and its closest relatives, and provide a framework for integrating the traditionally separate fields of population genetics and phylogenetics for other bacterial species with high levels of lateral gene transfer.

Star formation in giant extragalactic H II regions

Star formation properties in Giant Extragalactic H II Regions (GEHRs) are investigated using optical photometry and evolutionary population synthesis models. Photometric data in $BVR$ bands and in the emission line of H-alpha are obtained by CCD imaging at Vainu Bappu Observatory, Kavalur. Aperture photometry is performed for 180 GEHRs in galaxies NGC 1365, 1566, 2366, 2903, 2997, 3351, 4303, 4449, 4656 and 5253. Thirty six of these GEHRs having published spectroscopic data are studied for star formation properties. The population synthesis model is constructed based on Maeder's stellar evolutionary and Kurucz stellar atmosphere models, to synthesize observational quantities of embedded clusters in GEHRs. The observed H-alpha luminosity is a measure of the number of massive stars while the contribution to BVR bands is from intermediate mass (5-15 solar mass) stars when the cluster is young and from evolving supergiants when the cluster is old (age >/= 6~Myr). Differential reddening between gas and embedded stars is essential to constrain the dereddened cluster colors within the range of youngest clusters. Obscuring dust closely associated with gas, which is distributed in filaments and clumps, as in the case of 30 Doradus, is the most likely configuration giving rise to net reduction of extinction towards stars. The fraction of the stellar photons escaping the nebula unattenuated is estimated to be 50%. GEHRs are rarely found to be simple systems containing stars from single generation. In the present sample such regions in addition to being older than 3~Myr, have their Lyman continuum luminosity reduced by as much as 60%, compared to the observed $B$ band luminosity for a normal IMF. The missing ionizing photons may be escaping the nebula, leading to the ionization of extra-H II region ionized medium. Co-existence of young (age