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The "View now" link directs to the finding aid only. Please email wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com or call 304-293-3536 for more information about accessing collection A&M 2346 Robert C. Spangler (1892-1974) Papers, 1912-1964. Correspondence, research notes, photographs, and other papers of a former Professor of Biology at West Virginia University (1914-1955). Includes some materials relating to Spangler's theory of sex determination and his famous debate in 1922 with William Jennings Bryan regarding the theory of evolution. Bryan had offered a $100.00 prize to any professor who could reconcile evolution with the Bible and Spangler took up the challenge.

The "View now" link directs to the finding aid only. Please email wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com or call 304-293-3536 for more information about accessing collection A&M 1848 Perry D. Strausbaugh (1886-1965) Papers, 1913-1964. Papers of P. D. Strausbaugh, former head of the Department of Botany, author of a biology textbook, and professor of Botany at WVU. Papers consist mainly of correspondence concerning the writing, compiling, editing, and revising a college biology text in cooperation with B. R. Weimar and Earl L. Core. Also included are letters concerning the investigation of plants for identification, the making of "Wild Flowers of the Alleghenies" and other moving pictures, and the signing of tackle Wilfred A. Jackson for a football scholarship. Correspondence with Earl L. Core includes reference to Core's expedition to South America (with pictures) as a U.S. Government researcher on quinine; reports of WVU developments and construction; and general professional matters. Other correspondent's include scientists, and a few statesmen including: A. B. Brooks, Charles A. Shull, William Crocker, Frank L. Bowman, W. F. Loehwing, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Encyclopedia Americana, Joseph Rosier, Jennings Randolph, M. M. Neely, Chapman Revercomb, H. M. Kilgore, B. S. Myer, and B. R. Weimer, Robert A. Armstrong, C.S. Boucher, W.P. Shortridge, Leonid Enari, A. J. Dadisman, Dudley S. DeGroot, Irvin Stewart, H. P. Sturm, George Smathers, Frank B. Trotter and Phil Conley. There are also manuscripts of articles, a draft of speeches, reports, and essays by Strausbaugh, grade and class books.

The "View now" link directs to the finding aid only. Please email wvrhcref@westvirginia.libanswers.com or call 304-293-3536 for more information about accessing collection A&M 1997 Perry D. Strausbaugh (1886-1965) Papers, 1920-1948. Four boxes of correspondence from 1920-1948. The correspondence covers the period from the appointment of Strausbaugh in 1923, as Chairman of the Department of Botany at WVU (later the Department of Biology) to 1948. The correspondence from 1920-1923 is Dr. Strausbaugh's personal correspondence while on the staff of the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio. Included are seven pages of typescript carbons containing comments on Elements of Biology by Strausbaugh and Weimer.

Intermediate iris containing 44 chromosomes have a low rate of fertility. This paper is an attempt to determine the reasons for this low fertility through a study of the chromosomal inhertiance of two intermediate iris that have been successfully hybridized. There are no literary records showing that the results of crossing two chromosome intermediate iris, so most of this paper is a report of lab work.

Psychological Mechanisms in learning Mathematical Concepts: Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist, did theoretical and experimental work based on the idea that there is an invariant hierarchy of responses by which everyone acquires mathematical concepts. Basically we tried to use the geometric symmetry concept as a vehicle for studying this process of concept acquisition using subjects ranging in age from three to 25. They were asked to reproduce a series of stimulus "pictures," simple geometric patterns, which could be used without major alteration for each age group. Symmetric responses were divided into four types which were set up into a hierarchy of transformations involved in making the response. This method proved to be a good indicator of the subjects' capabilities. Typical tests made with children involved the notions of equivalence and conservation of matter. The child might be asked which of the two numbers, was greater, for example; or whether under a change of shape a volume remains constant when it might appear to change. We found that subjects' use of the symmetry notion was largely unconscious and some regressed in response to a more complex task without realizing it. Instead of using length and width to get the area of a rectangle, for example, a child might line up and count the smaller squares within, a mode that had proved successful earlier--perceiving no regression and assuming he was doing it the "right" way. Every inferential replication we did proved Piaget to be correct and the concept of hierarchy was perhaps the major idea that came through most clearly. There is an invariant sequence of events -- stages of operations or levels of sophistication -- through which anyone must progress in order to learn Mathematics.

The investigation of renal hypertension has led to the enzyme renin. At present renin can only be properly assayed by bioassay with a live animal which as been fitted in some manner with a device for measuring blood pressure. One common method is the rat assay. This assay requires careful anaesthesia, skilled surgical preparation of the animal, and several hours in which to complete the procedure, Even so, the assay in the hands of the most practiced technician has a precision of only 5 to 15%. It was the purpose of this senior scholar project to study several possible chemical methods of assay.

It has been clearly demonstrated that the barbels of Ameiurus nebulosus regenerate completely following amputation. The current investigations involve experimentation dealing primarily with determination of the mechanisms by which regeneration occurs. However, prior to conducting a series of experiments designed to elucidate the processes which initiate regeneration, several preliminary investigations to determine normal barbel structure and regeneration were made. Brain dissection of an adult catfish confirmed that innervation of the barbels is by both the fifth and seventh cranial nerves, and not solely by the seventh cranial nerve as suggested by Olmstead (1920). Further information regarding normal barbel innervation and structure was obtained from an histological examination of longitudinal and cross sections. The barbel is supported by a central cartilaginous axis, which is surrounded by a perichondrium. Enclosing the perichondrium is a layer of looser connective tissue, containing nerve fibers concentrated chiefly dorsal and ventral to the cartilage, and an artery. Interspersed among the squamous and cuboidal epithelial cells which cover the barbel are numerous taste buds and pigment calls. Because taste buds of two distinct shapes were observed, the possibility that there may be two types of sensory buds in the barbel cannot be overlooked. One undoubtedly serves the function of teste, while the other may be used for touch. Observation of the histological details of normal regeneration indicates that the wounded stub of an amputated barbel is healed within one day by a layer of squamous epithelial cells. Despite rapid healing, elongation of the regenerate does not commence until a blastema is formed, apparently from migrating perichondrial cells which deplete the perichondrium proximal to the amputation level. As the blastema cells undergo rapid proximo-diatal proliferation and the epidermal cells continue mitotic divisions, the barbel enters a period of rapid elongation. At 20°C regeneration proceeds at a rate of 1.0-1.5 mm. per week until the original dimensions have been regained. Regeneration is inhibited by colder temperatures, and 1s totally halted at 12°C. Because nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue are not fully regenerated until the original length has been approximated, the regenerating barbel diameter is somewhat smaller than that of the original. To substantiate the conclusions drawn by histological observation of normal regenerating barbels, the barbels of many fish were subjected to abnormal treatments. The first treatment involved extirpation of the cartilaginous rod prior to amputation of the barbel in the affected region. The subsequent regeneration is abnormal and inhibited. In the absence of the cartilaginous rod and its surrounding perichondrium, no blastema forms and therefore little elongation occurs due to lack of physical pressure apparently exerted on the wound-healing epidermal and connective tissue cells by the proliferating and chondrifying blastema cells. Even without blastema formation, nerves, connective tissue, blood vessels, and epidermis, with its pigment cells and taste buds, regenerate. Sub-dermal and dermal connective tissue rapidly grow beneath the healed epidermis, but do not form a zone similar to, or part of, the blastema. Because the blastema does not develop without the presence of the cartilage and perichondrium, it appears that the blastema is derived primarily from perichondrial cells and to a limited extent from chondrocytes released from the severed cartilage. It further appears from observation of normally regenerating barbels that the blastema is initially derived from migrating rather than proliferating perichondrial cells. To determine if the blastem originates from migrating or dividing perichondrial cells, the fish were subjected to a second abnormal treatment. Regenerating barbels were injected with either mitomycin-C or aza-guanine to inhibit DNA synthesis, and thereby also to inhibit mitotic cell division. Although it was not possible to totally inhibit cell division without killing the fish, mitosis was significantly inhibited in many cases. Following antibiotic injection, the wound was healed as usual, but by an abnormally thin layer of epithelial cells. Although a few subdermal connective tissue cells penetrated between the cartilaginous tip and the wound epithelium, most of the cells were prevented from penetrating beneath the wound epithelium, and therefore accumulated proximal to the amputation point. Because the antibiotics apparently inhibited mitosis sufficiently to prevent formation of the space necessary to allow perichondrial cells to accumulate at the severed tip, the perichondrial cells also were sterically hindered from penetrating between the epidermis and the cartilage. However, unlike the case of the connective tissue cells where there was an abnormally large accumulation of cells immediately proximal to the level of amputation, there was no abnormal cell accumulation in the case of the perichondrial cells, indicating that they had not undergone even inhibited mitosis. It therefore appears that the perichondrial cells form the blastema by migration to the severed cartilaginous tip, rather than by proliferation. Further evidence in support of the hypothesis that the blastema is derived from migrating perichondrial cella was sought by a third treatment. Many fish were injected with various dosages of the vital dye trypan blue, which is specific for phagocytic cells. Intraventricular injection was unsuccessful because the fish died shortly after the injection, while intraperitoneal injection was also somewhat unsuccessful because only very small quantities of the dye reached even the base of the barbels, and almost none extended significantly into the barbels. Therefore, the destiny of the colored cells following amputation could not be traced because there were no colored cells as far distal as the excisions. Because it is felt that the basis for the trypan blue experiments is sound and that with improved injection technique, the experiment would be successful, the author intends to pursue the problem further. A fourth treatment, removal of barbel epidermis, was used to determine the origin of new epithelial cells. As an adaptive reaction to frequent natural abrasions in the epidermis, epidermal cells are capable of rapid proliferation, resulting in wound healing, by spreading over or into a wound area from its margins.

Incubation of bovine kidney homogenates with CdCl or ZnCl2 doubles their renin activity as measured by rat bioassay. It is suggested that the activation of renin by these divalent cations results from their interference with the renin inhibitor system described by Sen et al., (1968). Failure of the inhibitor to reassociate with renin upon removal of cadmium ions by EDTA supports their renin control model. It is suggested that either renin samples prepared directly from tissue without the use of acetone powder preparations contain little phospholipase A or cadmium inactivates phospholipase A. In the absence of active phospholipase A, conversion of preinhibitor to inhibitor does not occur and activation of renin develops as existing inhibitor is dissociated and inactivated.

This study was done with twenty C57BL/cJ mice, a high preference strain; and twenty BALB/cJ mice, a very low preference strain. The questions posed were whether a constant intake of twelve percent alcohol would produce cellular damage in the liver, kidney, adrenalin gland, and brain, and if this damage would be to a different extent in the two strains. Four mice in each strain were kept as water fed controls. All mice were fed a standard on a schedule of decreasing intervals over an eleven week period. Microscopic study of the tissues revealed a depletion of cytoplam in the cortex of the adrenal glands. Fat was beginning to gather in the liver cells. There were some binucleate liver cells. In both of these tissues the damage occurred sooner and more extensively in the BALB/6J mice than in the C57BL/cJ mice. The kidneys of the C57BL/cJ mice began to develop adipose tissue, while the BALB/6J mice showed no sign of it. In a general overview the brains showed no obvious signs of damage.