The Response of Three Bacterial Populations to Pollution in a Stream

Abstract Practical methods for biomonitoring of natural systems are still under development. Bacteria are potentially useful indicators of water quality because of their species diversity and ability to rapidly respond to changing environmental conditions. In this study, bacterial populations from unpolluted and polluted stream sites in two watersheds were compared to determine their suitability for use as environmental indicators. Upper Three Runs Creek and Four Mile Creek headwaters have had little anthropogenic disturbance, as opposed to lower Four Mile Creek which received thermal, radioactive, and chemical perturbations. Chemical and physical measurements provided evidence that seepage from holding ponds polluted Four Mile Creek. Polluted sites did not have altered total bacterial numbers but had decreased numbers of colony-forming units. Abundances of three bacterial species, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Burkholderia cepacia, and Pseudomonas putida, were determined by colony hybridization with species-specific rDNA probes. Contribution of A. calcoaceticus to the assemblage was higher at polluted sites, which indicated either tolerance of polluted conditions or the ability to utilize compounds existing at these sites to reach larger populations. No differences in B. cepacia populations were detected, and differences in P. putida populations could not be attributed solely to disturbance. The pollution of Four Mile Creek induced differences in bacterial populations that could be monitored using the described approach. Received: 24 September 1996; Accepted: 20 December 1996     

Archaeological Investigations at the Budenbender Site,Tuttle Creek Reservoir,North-Central Kansas, 1957

Abstract

By means of a contract with the National Park Service, and additional support from the University, the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kansas conducted archaeological salvage investigations in the northern part of the Tuttle Creek Reservoir of north-central Kan5as in 1957. Excavations were conducted at five sites, of which the Budenbender site (14P04) proved most productive. The present report describes excavations at Budenbender, the discoveries made, and interprets the data from the excavations in terms of current archaeological interest and taxonomic usages. The single house completely excavated at Sudanbender is identified as a component of the Central Plains tradition, and is placed in the Smoky Hill regional variant of that tradition.     

The Elliott Site (14Ge303): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Initial work at the Elliott site, Geary County, Kansas, reveals three cultural components: Archaic (Munkers Creek?), Woodland, and Smoky Hill, spatially distributed over the site in five clusters. The Woodland cluster (14GE312) was tested and is reported here. The data suggest a tentative Schultz focus affiliation.     

Settlement Pattern Variability in Brush Creek Valley,Platte County,Missouri

Abstract

During the summer of 1971, a field party from the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Kansas conducted an intensive archaeological- ·survey along Brush Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River four miles west of Parkville, Missouri. Data collected during this survey provides a preliminary characterization of the local environmental setting and a comparativecontrastive statement on prehistoric settlement pattern variability from the Early Archaic to the Steed-Kisker phase.

Topographic, geological, and botanical features of importance in establishing the parameters of effective biophysical environments for prehistoric occupants are summarized, and four resource zones tentatively identified: an upland prairie zone, an oak-history forest zone, a river-bottom forest zone and the Missouri River itself. Although the time depth for these resource zones is unknown, their presence throughout the history of man’s presence is a possibility.

Aspects of the human occupation and utilization of Brush Creek valley, which began as early as 8000 B.C., are viewed as adaptations to the local environmental setting. During the Archaic period (8000 B.C.-A.D. 1), £rush Creek valley was apparently exploited by hunters and gatherers who established short-duration camps. A large and probably permanent village was established during the period of Kansas City Hopewell occupation (A.D. 1-500), although small, temporary, camps were also in evidence. The Late Woodland occupation (A.D. 500-1 000) is marked by small sites with little evidence of any long term occupation. The final occupation of the valley, by Steed-Kisker peoples (A.D. 1 000-1250), is characterized by a pattern of many small homesteads occupied by populations who made their living through a combination of hunting, gathering, and horticulture.     

Efficient Method of Cloning the Obligate Intracellular Bacterium Coxiella burnetii

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in a large lysosome-like parasitophorous vacuole (PV). Current methods of cloning C. burnetii are laborious and technically demanding. We have developed an alternative cloning method that involves excision of individual C. burnetii-laden PVs from infected cell monolayers by micromanipulation. To demonstrate the cloning utility and efficiency of this procedure, we coinfected Vero cells with isogenic variants of the Nine Mile strain of C. burnetii. Coinhabited PVs harboring Nine Mile phase II (NMII) and Nine Mile phase I (NMI) or Nine Mile crazy (NMC) were demonstrated by immunofluorescence. PVs were then randomly excised from cells coinfected with NMI and NMC by micromanipulation, and PVs harboring both strains were identified by PCR. Fresh Vero cells were subsequently infected with organisms from coinhabited PVs, and the PV excision and PCR screening process was repeated. Without exception, PVs obtained from second-round excisions contained clonal populations of either NMII or NMC, demonstrating that micromanipulation is an efficient and reproducible procedure for obtaining C. burnetii clones.     

Fossilized eggs from the Pennsylvanian of Illinois

Nine siderite concretions from the Middle Pennsylvanian, Francis Creek Shale (Carbondale Formation, Desmoinesian Series, West‐phalian C‐D), in the Mazon Creek area, Will‐Kankakee Counties, Illinois, U.S.A. preserve clusters of impressions of small eggs. Differential staining of the matrix suggests that the eggs were originally spawn within gelatinous strings containing 1 or 2 rows of eggs. Unfortunately, these egg impressions lack the diagnostic features needed to identify the zoological taxon (taxa) from which they originated.     

Two Nebraska Culture Storage Pits from Doniphan County,Kansas

Abstract

The materials from two Nebraska culture storage pits located in Doniphan County, Kansas are described. Comparisons made with the pottery and stone artifacts from previously-described Nebraska culture sites show a considerable resemblance.     

Polyhedral Cores from Northeastern Kansas

Abstract

Basic data are offered on the presence of polyhedral cores from the surface of several sites in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, not heretofore reported.     

Inferring History From Crania: Biological Distance Comparisons Of Mill Creek And Early Middle Missouri Tradition Crania With Mandan And Arikara Population Samples

Abstract

Craniometric data are used to compare available human crania from Mill Creek and early Middle Missouri Tradition sites with a pooled Mandan sample and Coalescent Tradition samples from Crow Creek, Mobridge and Rygh(inferred proto-Arikara). Discriminant functions are computed for the reference samples, and test cases are classified according to their proximity to each population centroid. With one exception, early Middle Missouri Tradition site crania compare most favorably with Mandan. Mill Creek site specimens are unlike the Mandan, most closely resembling early Coalescent samples.     

Fristoe Burial Mounds from the Prairie Border Region of Southwestern Missouri

Abstract

Three burial tumuli in southwestern Missouri near the Kansas line, indanger of destruction, were excavated by the University of Missouri. These sites, the Alberti, Amity, and Clemons Mounds, are all interpreted as components of the Fristoe Burial Complex, a Woodland mortuary complex of the we stern Ozarks. The identification of these sites as components of this manifestation has extended the geographical range of the Fristoe Burial Complex to the eastern edge of the continuous prairies of extreme western Missouri and eastern Kansas.     

Resprouting of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Echinacea angustifolia</Emphasis> Augments Sustainability of Wild Medicinal Plant Populations

Resprouting of Echinacea angustifolia Augments Sustainability of Wild Medicinal Plant Populations. Overharvest of wild Echinacea species root has been a significant concern to the herbal industry. Harvesters of wild Echinacea angustifolia showed us that even after harvesting the top 15 to 20 cm of root, some plants resprout. We marked locations of harvested plants at sites in Kansas and Montana and reexamined them two years later to see if they resprouted from remaining root reserves. Approximately 50% of the roots resprouted at both Kansas and Montana sampling sites, despite droughty weather conditions in Montana. The length of root harvested significantly affected the ability of the plant to resprout. Those plants that were more shallowly harvested and had less root length removed were more likely to resprout. These data indicate that echinacea stands can recover over time from intensive harvest if periods of nonharvest occur. Our echinacea harvest study emphasizes that the entire biology of medicinal plants must be considered when evaluating their conservation status.     

A Local Sequence For Mill Creek Sites In The Little Sioux River Valley

Abstract

Mill Creek ceramics from northwest Iowa are used to derive a sequence of occupations for sites along the Little Sioux River and its tributaries. Previous typologies and attempts at seriation of sites are examined and tested. The methods employed in this study are evaluated, and the resulting seriation is cross-checked with stratigraphic evidence and a series of radiocarbon dates.     

An Analysis Of Four Survey Collections From Armstrong County,South Dakota 39Ar2 (No Heart Creek Site), 39Ar4, 39Ar5 And 39Ar 7

Abstract

The materials collected from four sites on the Little Bend of the Missouri River are described and analyzed. In the conclusion, these manifestations, referred to as the No Heart Creek complex, are compared to seven other sites along the river in north.-central South Dakota. The sites are related to the Le Compte Focus and are characterized by a distinetive settlement pattern.     

A Tentative Cultural Sequence for the Snyder Site,Kansas

Abstract

Prior to the past decade documentation for the Archaic period in Kansas has not been substantial. One reason evidence has been slow in emerging is the discovery that Archaic sites are often buried under several feet of overburden, maKing their detection difficult. The Snyder site (14BU9), north of ElDorado in Butler County, Kansas, is such a site. Four tentative phases are defined: Butler, Walnut, El Dorado, and Chelsea.     

Numerical Analysis of Faunal Remains of the Little Bethlehem (41AU38) and Leonard K (41AU37) Sites

Abstract

The faunal analysis of the Aliens Creek Area sites presents an interesting analytical problem due to the temporal and spatial proximities. A numerical method was used with the aid of a computer to determine dietary preferences of the peoples who inhabited the sites.     

Antibodies Are Generated during Infection to Coxiella burnetii Macrophage Infectivity Potentiator Protein (Cb-Mip)

Antisera from rabbits immunized with formalin inactivated Coxiella burnetii isolates associated with either acute (Nine Mile, phase I or phase II) or chronic (Priscilla) Q fever showed reactivity to a C. burnetii macrophage infectivity potentiator protein (Cb-Mip) cloned in Escherichia coli. Further, antisera generated in BALB/c mice after infection with live Nine Mile phase I or Priscilla isolates also showed reactivity to Cb-Mip by immunoblot analysis. In addition, human serum from an individual with previous serological and clinical evidence of Q fever showed reactivity to Cb-Mip. This study indicates that Cb-Mip is immunogenic in both experimental and natural infections, and is the first report on the presence of antibodies to Mip/Mip-like proteins of intracellular bacteria in human sera. Cb-Mip may serve as a potential target antigen for developing recombinant vaccines or diagnostic assays for Q fever.     

Evaluation of a Recombinant 27-kDa Outer Membrane Protein of Coxiella burnetii as an Immunodiagnostic Reagent

The 27-kDa outer membrane protein from eight strains of Coxiella burnetii was expressed in the pET-21c protein expression system. Two fusion proteins with molecular masses of 30 and 32 kDa were evident in all eight of the recombinants by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. A protein having an approximate size of 30 kDa was purified from the Escherichia coli lysates by one-step affinity purification. The utility of the purified recombinant protein in ELISA was also evaluated by testing its reactivity with human sera and comparing this reactivity with that of Nine Mile phase II antigen. All of the 40 IF-positive serum samples were ELISA-positive for both the Nine Mile phase II and recombinant antigens, and negative serum controls were negative for both antigens. These results suggest that ELISA with the 27-kDa recombinant antigen is a sensitive and specific method for detecting anti-C. burnetii antibodies in human sera.     

A Late Woodland Burial from Platte County,Missouri

Abstract

A skeleton of a female discovered in a grave located on the west bank of Short Creek, Platte County, Missouri provides some of the first evidence for mortuary practices and human morphology for the Western Missouri-Eastern Kansas Late Woodland. The burial is a bundle type, with most of the bones placed in a central heap. Analysis of the distribution of the bones indicates that some soh tissue was still adhering to the skeleton at the time of the secondary burial. Bones of the right hand and foot and the vertebral column from cervical 7 to the coccyx are the only remains preserved in anatomical order. Many of the long bones appear to have been broken and there is also some evidence for burning and fleshing of the skeleton before final interment. Measurements of the cranial and post-cranial skeleton are given for comparison with future Late Woodland discoveries.     

Genetic variation in Batrachospermum helminthosum (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) among and within stream reaches using intersimple sequence repeat molecular markers

Intersimple sequence repeat molecular markers were utilized to investigate the genetic relationship among individual gametophyte thalli of the freshwater red alga Batrachospermum helminthosum among distant stream reaches and within a stream reach. Fifteen thalli per stream reach were sampled from 11 streams throughout the known distribution in eastern North America from three locations in Ohio, and one location in Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The pairwise φ_ST analysis showed significant genetic differences (P<0.05) among all streams. The partitioning of genetic variation was almost equal within and among streams (45% and 55%, respectively). Genetic variation among populations did not reflect geographic distance, suggesting that long distance dispersal may be important in the distribution of this alga. Fifty‐eight individuals from Five Mile Creek, Ohio, were investigated from three distinct segments of the stream (upstream, middle and downstream) to examine small‐scale genetic variation within a stream reach. A much higher proportion of genetic variation was observed within a stream segment (79%) than among the three segments (21%). Among these stream segments within Five Mile Creek, the individuals were variously related, with genetic similarity and spatial distance uncorrelated. A similar result was obtained among individuals within other stream reaches, suggesting that genetic structure within a stream reach may be more complex than just reproduction among closely located individuals.     

Physical Evidence on the Origin and Fate of the Panhandle Aspect People

Abstract

Comparison of the populations of four Panhandle Aspect sites (Alibates, Antelope Creek, Matthews Ranch, Footprint) using 28 non-metric traits of the skulls indicates generally close similarity among them, but the Panhandle groups show little similarity to Upper Republican. Antelope Creek and Matthews Ranch show some resemblance to the Fort Coffee skulls of the Fulton Aspect. The same two Panhandle site samples also resemble the Washita River people. Footpnnt is even more similar to Washita River.