http://krex.ksu.edu/dspace The K-REx digital repository system captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. Search the Channel search http://krex.ksu.edu/dspace/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/2097/170 Title: Molecular characterization of digestive proteases of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L.<br/><br/>Authors: Prabhakar, Sheila<br/><br/>Abstract: Coleopteran insects compensate for dietary protease inhibitors by a number of mechanisms. To study this compensation response at the molecular level, the digestive proteases of Tenebrio molitor were studied. Biochemical studies of the pH optima and inhibitor sensitivity of proteases indicated the cysteine proteases were mostly in the anterior and serine proteases were in the posterior midgut of T. molitor larvae. Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) from T. molitor larval midgut cDNA libraries contained sequences encoding putative digestive proteases. Of a total of 1,528 cDNA sequences, 92 cDNAs encoded proteases, and 50 full-length cDNAs were grouped into serine, cysteine and metallo protease classes. Sequences tmt1a, tmt1b and tmt1c were identified as genes encoding isoforms of T. molitor trypsin, and tmc1a encoded T. molitor chymotrypsin. The general distribution cysteine protease transcripts in the anterior and serine protease transcripts in the posterior midgut, of T. molitor larvae, was in agreement with the biochemically-characterized compartmentalization of proteases. Expression analyses of selected transcripts demonstrated varied expression patterns across five developmental stages of T. molitor, with maximal expression of most protease transcripts in first instar larvae. Dietary serine and cysteine protease inhibitors fed in combination to early-instar T. molitor larvae caused a significant delay in larval growth in 21-day-old larvae. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis of RNA isolated from larvae fed different protease inhibitor treatments indicated that dietary inhibitors affected the expression of serine and cysteine proteases. Larvae fed soybean trypsin inhibitor, a serine protease inhibitor, compensated by the hyperproduction of proteases from the same class, as well as the upregulation of cysteine proteases. A cysteine protease inhibitor, E-64, caused a reduction in the hyperproduction of all proteases, and, in combination with the soybean trypsin inhibitor, lowered the compensation response of T. molitor larvae to negligible levels. These data suggest that T. molitor larvae are more sensitive to the effects of cysteine protease inhibitors, perhaps because these proteases are the first line of defense for larvae against plant protease inhibitor. The bioassay and molecular studies suggested that combinations of inhibitors that target both serine and cysteine proteases are needed to effectively control larval infestations of T. molitor. Fri, 09 Jun 2006 14:43:42 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2097/2180 Title: A novel Tenebrio molitor cadherin is a functional receptor for Bacillus thuringiensis cry3aa toxin<br/><br/>Authors: Fabrick, Jeff; Oppert, Chris; Lorenzen, Marce D.; Morris, Kaley; Oppert, Brenda; Jurat-Fuentes, Juan Luis<br/><br/>Abstract: Cry toxins produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are effective biological insecticides. Cadherin-like proteins have been reported as functional Cry1A toxin receptors in Lepidoptera. Here we present data that demonstrate a coleopteran cadherin is a functional Cry3Aa toxin receptor. The Cry3Aa receptor cadherin was cloned from Tenebrio molitor larval midgut mRNA, and the predicted protein, TmCad1, has domain structure and a putative toxin binding region similar to those in lepidopteran cadherin Bt receptors. A peptide containing the putative toxin binding region from TmCad1 (rTmCad1p) bound specifically to Cry3Aa and promoted the formation of Cry3Aa toxin oligomers, proposed to be mediators of toxicity in lepidopterans. Injection of TmCad1-specific dsRNA into T. molitor larvae resulted in knockdown of TmCad1 transcript and conferred resistance to Cry3Aa toxicity. These data demonstrate the functional role of TmCad1 as a Cry3Aa receptor in T. molitor and reveal similarities between the mode of action of Cry toxins in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:33:39 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2097/2171 Title: A QUALITATIVE STUDY INVESTIGATING THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN MARITAL INFIDELITY<br/><br/>Authors: Marchese Jeanfreau, Michelle<br/><br/>Abstract: This study used a qualitative approach as a means of exploring the decision-making process of women’s participation in marital infidelity. Due to the growing prevalence and negative effects of marital infidelity, it is important for both clinicians and researchers to understand its occurrence. Although there has been a significant amount of research on marital infidelity in recent years, there is not any significant research that looks at the process occurring in both the marital and extramarital relationships. This study focused on examining the process an individual goes through when making the decision to have an affair, particularly, how they were able to give themselves permission to have an affair. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four female participants who had participated in marital infidelity. The interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed using the transcendental phenomenological model (Moustakas, 1994). Four categories and 14 themes emerged, regarding the decision-making and permission-giving processes of women’s participation in marital infidelity. The women reported a lack of quality time spent with their husbands, as well as a lack of attention they received from their husbands. The women also discussed an inability to solve conflict within their marriage. The women reported developing relationships, outside of their marriage, either with ex-flames, old friends, or new friends, all of whom became their affair partner. The women reported the support of family and/or friends for the extramarital relationship, along with receiving positive attention from their affair partner. The women discussed the moral values as being a deterrent to marital infidelity, but did not perceive enough barriers or protective factors as preventing them from moving forward with the affair. Finally, the women described ways in which they were able to limit cognitive dissonance as a means of giving themselves permission to move forward with the affair. Clinical and research implications were discussed, as well as, the limitations of the current study. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:27:08 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2097/2170 Title: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF SELECTED COMMUNITYSTAKEHOLDER OPINIONS REGARDING POTENTIALLY CRITICAL FACTORS IN SCHOOL BOND REFERENDASUCCESS OR FAILURE IN KANSAS DURINGTHE YEARS 2004-2007<br/><br/>Authors: Kraus, Brian W.<br/><br/>Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze opinions of selected school district stakeholders regarding potentially critical factors in school bond referendum success and failure in Kansas during the years 2004-2007. Of the 72 eligible school districts, one district was randomly selected from each of six groups formed through a stratified random sampling process utilizing district enrollment (small, medium, large) and bond election result (successful, unsuccessful).Four purposefully selected respondents from each district participated in a mixed methods strategy of inquiry that included completing a 32-item written survey and participating in a personal interview. The survey served as the standardized data collection instrument. Survey data were used to augment and expand upon understanding of the bond referendum process gained from the personal interviews by examining respondents‟ perceptions of how important campaign strategies were, or would have been, in influencing election results. Frequency distributions were constructed in an attempt to identify relationships between variables identified as important to bond election success. Cross-tabulations and Pearson‟s chi-square were the statistical treatments chosen to further analyze the survey data.During the interviews, participants were asked a set of standard questions as well as questions unique to their role in the election process. The questions were designed to elicit in-depth responses about factors critical to the bond‟s success or failure and to gather useful advice for other districts preparing for a bond election. Interviews were used to discover new data, further develop existing data, and assist in organizing all data sources to construct a „story‟ describing bond election experiences in Kansas.The study findings indicate that unsuccessful districts utilize more campaign strategies and perceive them to be more important than successful districts, but that successful districts are more in tune with patrons. As each district is unique, it was found that strategies that were successful in one district might not be in another. Three factors found to be critical included: having unanimous school board support for the bond referendum, developing an on-going public relations strategy with patrons, and communicating the elements of a bond referendum to all patrons in simple, clear, and honest language Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:34:50 GMT