Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessing The Spatial Variability Of Soil Physical Properties Under A Corn Field In Kentucky, Usa, Sai Neela Kesumala

Scholars Week

Analyzing soil physical properties is crucial for advancing sustainable and precision agricultural practices in today's world. Sustainable agriculture emphasizes responsible resource utilization and preservation. Precision agriculture utilizes technology, data, and targeted decision-making to optimize resource usage and minimize environmental impacts. Assessing soil property variability aids in efficient input application, irrigation adjustment, nutrient runoff reduction, and fertilizer management. This approach prioritizes soil conservation, boosts sustainability, and supports long-term agricultural productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of specific soil physical properties across the four border rows, central corn field area, and sod area. Seventy-two soil samples were collected from …

Adaptive Plasticity Of Coloration In Response To Environmental Change, Karissa Coffield

Scholars Week

When rapid environmental changes occur, different selective forces can create phenotypic trade-offs in which a trait can provide fitness benefits or costs under different environmental conditions. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to environmental change, and previous research has revealed that some species will plastically respond to variation in temperature and ultra-violet radiation (UVR) by altering their coloration. Divergent selection on coloration may change with elevation and climate induced shifts in temperature because high temperatures are likely to result in lighter color morphs but as elevation increases, UVR exposure increases leading to the prediction that darker color morphs will be more common. …

Leaf Area Index And Light Interception In African Violets (Streptocarpus Sect. Saintpaulia), Chintakunta Keerthi Reddy, Venkat Sai Chatla

Scholars Week

LEAF AREA INDEX AND LIGHT INTERCEPTION IN AFRICAN VIOLETS

(Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia)

ABSTRACT Chintakunta Keerthi Reddy, Venkat Sai Chatla Hutson School of Agriculture Mentor: Dr. Megan Taylor

African violets are a genus of six flowering plants from tropical eastern Africa, commonly known as Saintpaulias. They can thrive indoors in low light conditions and bloom all year round. They require less light than other blooming plants and can bloom during regular daylight hours in the US and Canada if given proper exposure. Several light intensities were used for the African violet (Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia) experiment, which showed a significant variation in …

Effects Of Salinity, Alkalinity, And Acidity On Crop Growth And Development On Pea (Pisum Sativum), Laxmi Prasanna Shakamudi, Rasagna Chamakura, Vineela Bathula

Scholars Week

Effects of salinity, alkalinity, and acidity on crop growth and development

on pea (Pisum sativum)

Authors: Laxmi Prasanna Shakamudi, Rasagna Chamakura, Vineela Bathula

Mentor: Dr. Megan Taylor

Hutson school of agriculture, Murray state university

Pea (Pisum sativum) is one of the vegetables that belong to the Fabaceae family, is a pulse crop that has been widely used and cultivated in all parts of the world. As with many crops pea plants also experience abiotic stresses that affect the plant’s growth, development, and productivity. Abiotic stresses that affect crop growth and development include soil salinity, alkalinity, and …

Effects Of Planting Depth Of Soybean (Glycine Max) On Growth And Development, Hannah Dejournett, Mallory White, Mason Welden

Scholars Week

Effects of Planting Depth of Soybean (Glycine max) on Growth and Development

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray, KY

Mentor: Dr. Megan Taylor

Hannah DeJournett, Mallory White, Mason Welden

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of soybean (Glycine max) seed placement on growth and development. Several abiotic and biotic factors influence germination and emergence, planting depth is no exception. Planting depth is a management practice that can be controlled at the time of planting, making it an ideal candidate for experimentation. To determine the effect of planting depth on soybeans, soybeans were established at different depths. Previous …

Effect Of Seed Storage On Germination Of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.), Corn (Zea Mays), And Soybean (Glycine Max), Sangam Dangal, Disha Ande, Harshaditya Bijapuri

Scholars Week

Effect of Seed Storage on Germination of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Corn (Zea mays), and Soybean (Glycine max)

Disha Ande, Harshaditya Bijapuri, Sangam Dangal, Dr. Megan Taylor

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky

Disha.ande@gmail.com, Harshadityabijapuri@gmail.com, Sangamdangal121@gmail.com

Seed germination is an essential stage in the plant cycle for growth and development, resulting in the yield's quantity and quality. It is a complex process that is influenced by various biotic and abiotic factors. The storage of seeds leading up to planting is an essential management practice of crop production, as it directly …

Effects Of Soil Salinity, Alkaline Conditions And Acidity On Crop Growth And Development On Radish (Raphanus Sativus), Anvesh Kumar Dasarla, Chandan Prasanna Lakshmi Kumar Sunkavalli, Turki Alanazi

Scholars Week

Effects of soil salinity, alkaline conditions and acidity on crop growth and development on Radish (Raphanus sativus)

Authors:Anveesh Kumar Dasarla,ChandanPrasanna Lakshmi Kumar Sunkavalli,TurkiAlanazi.

Hutson School of Agriculture

Murray State University

Radish (Raphanus sativus) a member of the mustard family, it is a root veggie. This plant, which can be perennial root. The radish is a vegetable that was probably domesticated in Asia or the Mediterranean region. The veggie, which has few calories, is typically consumed raw, though the young leaves can be prepared similarly to spinach. There are numerous radish varieties, one of which is …

Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix Movements In The Lower Cumberland And Lower Tennessee River, Miranda Belanger

Scholars Week

Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix are an invasive species making up a large portion of the fish biomass in the lower portions of the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River. This species is expanding its range throughout the upper portions of these rivers, beginning with Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Silver Carp rarely spawn in Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, but they can enter these reservoirs through the lock chamber. Thus, the bottleneck created by lock chambers can be used to control expansion of invasive Silver Carp. Although Silver Carp movement patterns have been studied in other portions of the Tennessee …

Adaptive Plasticity Of Coloration In Response To Environmental Change, Karissa Coffield

Scholars Week

When rapid environmental changes occur, different selective forces can create phenotypic trade-offs in which a trait can provide fitness benefits or costs under different environmental conditions. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to environmental change, and previous research has revealed that some species will plastically respond to variation in temperature and ultra-violet radiation (UVR) by altering their coloration. Divergent selection on coloration may change with elevation and climate induced shifts in temperature because high temperatures are likely to result in lighter color morphs but as elevation increases, UVR exposure increases leading to the prediction that darker color morphs will be more common. …

Reactive Chlorine Species Reversibly Inhibit Dnab Protein Splicing In Mycobacteria, Daniel Wahl

Scholars Week

Intervening proteins, or inteins, are mobile genetic elements translated within host polypeptides and removed at the protein level by splicing. In protein splicing, a selfmediated reaction removes the intein, leaving only a peptide bond in place. While protein splicing can proceed in the absence of external co-factors, several natural examples of conditional protein splicing (CPS) have emerged. In CPS, the rate and accuracy of splicing is highly-dependent on environmental conditions. As activity of the intein-containing host protein is compromised prior to splicing, and inteins are highly abundant in the microbial world, CPS represents an emerging form of …

Soil Properties And Potassium Availability In Pullen Farm Murray, Kentucky, Ava Isaacs, Gracey Moffitt, Whitney Sides

Posters-at-the-Capitol

One of the most important factors regarding soil and plant health is nutrient availability and fertility. Of these two factors that were mentioned available potassium is a key component. With that being said we decided that it would be beneficial to see how potassium can be traced within the soil in various locations after fertilizer is applied. There were two parts to this experiment. Part one was taking soil core samples in order to obtain various soil properties such as soil organic matter, soil water holding capacity and bulk density and observe if these properties have any effect on the …

Seroprevalence And Titer Concentration Testing For Leptospirosis In Equine, Ashley Himmelsbaugh

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The most common best management practice used to combat diseases in horses is vaccination, which can decrease the incidence or severity of illness. However, the duration of immunity will vary for each vaccination and must be considered for revaccination purposes. Titer concentration, which evaluates antibodies in the blood, may be a helpful way of determining how long an animal has immunity to a disease. Leptospirosis, a zoonotic, bacterial disease, can result in uveitis, potentially leading to blindness, and abortion in mares. One serovar, Leptospirosis pomona (L. pomona), is associated with most cases of clinical disease in horses in North America. …

Reactive Chlorine Species Reversibly Inhibit Dnab Protein Splicing In Mycobacteria, Daniel R. Wahl, Christopher W. Lennon

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Intervening proteins, or inteins, are mobile genetic elements that are translated within host polypeptides and removed at the protein level by splicing. In protein splicing, a self-mediated reaction removes the intein, leaving a peptide bond in place. While protein splicing can proceed in the absence of external cofactors, several examples of conditional protein splicing (CPS) have emerged. In CPS, the rate and accuracy of splicing are highly dependent on environmental conditions. Because the activity of the intein-containing host protein is compromised prior to splicing and inteins are highly abundant in the microbial world, CPS represents an emerging form of posttranslational …

Pharmacokinetics Of Cbd Supplementation In Horses: Single Dose Vs. Long-Term Feeding, Madilyn Adamchik

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Research about supplemental feeding of cannabidiol (CBD) to horses is still in its early stages, but owners are feeding CBD to relieve pain and calm behavioral issues. Cannabinoids work through the endocannabinoid system to modulate nervous and hormonal actions in the body. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of single dose versus long-term feeding of a pelleted CBD supplement. In Project 1, eighteen Quarter Horse geldings were given a single dose of 50 mg (n=6), 100 mg (n=6), or 250 mg (n=6) of pelleted CBD. Blood samples were collected before treatment (0 hrs), and at 0.5, …

Linking Soil Properties To Originally Wooded And Afforested Areas, Ashton A. Crowe, Matthew Laun

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Linking Soil Properties to Originally Wooded and Afforested Areas

Matthew Laun, Ashton Crowe

Mentor: I. P. Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture Murray State University, KY, USA

Abstract

Afforestation, adding an artificial forest to a piece of land that has been barren of trees for a significant amount of time, has some seriously huge impacts on the environment. These effects can be seen as an increase in the soil organic matter, a decrease in compaction, and enhancement of porosity. Therefore, the soil can support more diverse microbes and fungal communities leading to better micro and macro nutrient transfers between plants. This …

Economic Feasibility And Consumer Acceptance Of Strawberry Plants As An Additional Offering In Fall Mum Sales, Alyx Shultz, Eva Bogue, Anna Griggs, Allison Croslin

Posters-at-the-Capitol

As consumers become more health conscious and concerned with food production practices, increased market demand had developed for edible plants with ornamental properties. This action research examined the economic feasibility, production realities, and consumer acceptance of offering garden and alpine strawberries at fall mum sales. Each year $173 million in mums are sold in the United States. By offering potted strawberries for sale alongside mums, Kentucky producers may be able to mitigate their risk as well as generate additional on-farm revenue from a proven consumer base and market. Researchers grew 100 garden strawberries and 100 alpine strawberries and offered the …

Dual Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Cellulosic Materials: Thermal, Mechanical And Conductive Properties, Elizabeth Mcgrew, Kevin M. Miller Phd

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Cellulose, an inexpensive and renewable biomacromolecule, represents an intriguing synthetic foundation for new materials with task-specific properties. Here, we wish to report a synthetic route for functionalizing cellulose with a side chain containing two ionic liquid functional groups using azide-alkyne ‘click’ cyclization strategy, followed by quaternization of the two resulting heterocycles (1,2,3-triazole and imidazole). Through this functionalization strategy, the resulting cellulosic materials exhibited significant softening, with several glass transition (T_g) values observed below room temperature, indicating the amorphous nature of the materials, with the T_g dependent on both the length of the side chain and the …

Phase 1a Clinical Study For Q-Griffithsin Intranasal Spray For Prevention Of Coronavirus, Megan Bezold, Kenneth Palmer, Nobuyuki Matoba, Elizabeth Cash

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible virus that causes acute respiratory disease with possible long-term complications, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Griffithsin (GRFT; including the oxidation-resistant variant Q-GRFT used in this study) is an algal carbohydrate-binding protein exhibiting antiviral effects against many enveloped viruses, including all major variants of SARS- CoV-2 reported to date. Q-GRFT has been recombinantly manufactured in Nicotiana benthamiana plants, thoroughly purified, and formulated as an intranasal spray designed to be developed as a non-vaccine broad-spectrum prophylactic product for acute use. This is the first-in-human, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The …

Minute Pirate Bug And Big-Eyed Bug Populations In Pyramided Bt Sweet Corn Bordered By Native Perennial And Pasture Border Rows, Hanna Waller, John D. Sedlacek, Karen L. Friley, Jenny Galvin, Anjana Duwal

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Sweet corn is an important vegetable crop grown in Kentucky. The major sweet corn ear pests are European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, and corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea. Ecological control measures have been introduced to manage these pests, reducing use of broad spectrum insecticides. Conservation biological control (CBC) is a component of these approaches. CBC manages pests in agroecosystems using habitat management to enhance populations of natural enemies that are already present in the system. Another important advancement is the cultivation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) sweet corn resistant to the Lepidopteran corn ear pests. This study used CBC of corn ear …

Cougars In The Eastern United States, Justina Raleva, Kenneth Rieche

Scholars Week

Since the 1900s, cougars have been extirpated from nearly everywhere except the western United States parks and wilderness areas. In recent years, cougars have been starting to spread their range outside of the Rocky Mountains, towards eastern states like Illinois, Missouri, and Louisiana. The purpose of this project is to conduct outreach and education through a brochure that would educate locals in Kentucky and Tennessee regarding cougar safety and conservation importance.

Retrieve, Race, Release, Karamello Young, Paige Mccord, Madison Morrison, Emily Fitzgerald

Scholars Week

Title: Retrieve, Race, Release

by: Paige McCord, Karamello Young, Madison Morrison, Emily Fitzgerald

Abstract: This poster represents a service-learning project that was done for our conservation biology class. Our main goal is to educate the public about the negative impacts of turtle derbies. We did this by using educational materials to raise awareness about turtle races and the impact of painting them with toxic substances before releasing them into a habitat that is not their natural one. We did not seek out to prohibit or stop the races as that would cause people to shut down and not listen as …

Evaluating Gizzard Shad Dorosoma Cepedianum Populations In Two Kentucky Reservoirs Recently Invaded With Silver Carp Hypopthalmichthys Molitrix, Nathan Klein

Scholars Week

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum are an ecologically important fish species found in many reservoirs throughout the southeastern United States such as Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. One current challenge that Gizzard Shad may face in these two reservoirs is competition with the invasive Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. However, quantifying the impacts of this competition may be difficult because of limited baseline population data for Gizzard Shad in these two reservoirs. The objective of this study is to describe size structure, condition, age, growth, mortality, and spawning potential of these two populations. Gizzard Shad were collected by boat electrofishing and …

Assessing The Influence Of Urban Greening On Urban Arthropods, Brendon Lawrence

Scholars Week

Green Heart is an urban greening experiment in Louisville, KY seeking to create new urban green spaces to ultimately increase air quality and improve human health. Changes in biodiversity in response to urban greening may influence human health via multiple hypothesized pathways including reducing harm (e.g. medicine provisioning), restoring capacities (e.g. reductions in stress), building capacities (e.g. increasing activity outdoors), and causing harm (e.g. zoonotic diseases). Arthropods are one component of diversity that may influence human health via each of these pathways. However, few studies have assessed the influence of Arthropod diversity on human health. Thus, the objective of our …

Breadth Of Vaccinated Cancer Patient Humoral Response To Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein And Rbd Variants, Julia Corman, Joey Breckenridge Jr., Adrienne M. Bushau-Sprinkle, Krystal T. Hamorsky, Joshua L. Fuqua

Posters-at-the-Capitol

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 of which several variants have emerged, such as the B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variant. The Receptor Binding Domain (RBD), located within the Spike protein is an immunogenic epitope for potent neutralizing antibodies. Current mRNA vaccines encode for the Spike protein, allowing the body to build antigen-specific antibodies. Assays measuring protective antibodies are essential to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and can be used as a platform for variant screening. RBD-foldon 2.2 is a novel antigen produced by fusing RBD with the trimerization domain Fibritin from Bacteriophage T4. Its amino acid sequence is based on the original …

The Effect Of A Vegetation Buffer On Sound Levels, Madison Cicha

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Noise pollution is a growing concern in the environmental health community. Unlike other common exposures, such as air and water pollution, noise is uniquely difficult for an individual to protect themselves from. Studies have shown multiple adverse health outcomes resulting from exposure to noise pollution, including hearing impairment, negative social behavior and annoyance, sleep disturbance, along with a strong association between noise pollution and high cardiovascular risk. It is important, then, to look for solutions to this exposure. This study is designed to assess the effects of a tree barrier in reducing traffic noise. Noise monitoring was conducted at Saint …

Wastewater-Based Estimation Of Substances Discharged At The Rest Areas Along The State Highways In Kentucky, Katherine E. Gray, Eugene Shin, Tyler Whitt, Andrew Windhorst, Houston Hampton, Chris Delcher, Bikram Subedi

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The availability of licit and illicit stimulants and its adverse consequences on public health has emerged as a major drug threat to communities in the United States. Despite several drug-involved traffic incidents along the interstate highways, this report represents the first comprehensive and quantitative report of drugs discharged at the rest areas along the interstate highways. In this National Institute of Justice-funded study, the amount of several discharged drugs focusing on stimulants but also including opioids and prescription antipsychotics are being measured in raw wastewater collected from five rest areas and a truck servicing facility using a state-of-the-art mass …

Relationships Between Different Management Practices And Selected Soil Health Indicators, Erika Lambert, Jack Howard, Sammuel Tapp

Scholars Week

Relationships Between Different Management Practices and Selected Soil Health Indicators

Jack Howard, Erika Lambert, Samuel Tapp, Corey Hale, Mallorie Snider, Dr. Brian Parr, and Dr. Iin Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University

Abstract

Soil health is essential for growing crops productively. Healthy soils help to reduce erosion, improve nutrient cycling, and lower input cost. Understanding how crop rotations and tillage systems affect soil is key to preserving soil while also improving agricultural income and efficiency. This study was conducted in Calloway County, Kentucky to observe the effects of different management practices over nine sites of management on the …

The Impacts Of Land Management Practices On Soil Organic Carbon And Soil Physical Properties, Kinsey Hamby, Raelee Story, Dallas Patey

Scholars Week

The Impacts of Land Management Practices on Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Physical Properties

K. Hamby, R. Story, D. Patey, C. Hale, I. P. Handayani, B. Parr, and M. Snider

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University

ABSTRACT

To understand how to care for our soils, an understanding of soil physical properties must first be established. Soil organic carbon (SOC) refers to the carbon component of the organic compounds found in soil organic matter (SOM). SOC can be an indicator of soil structure, tilth, aeration, drainage, and stability. Soil pH is the measure of hydrogen ions suspended in a soil …

A Gud Toolbox: Implementation Of Giving-Up Densities With Mammals, Brandon Preston, Jordan Tandy, Kundil Patel, Karissa Coffield

Scholars Week

Giving-up densities are the density of food remaining within an artificial foraging patch over a specified time and are an indicator of how an organism perceives its environment. The GUD method is particularly useful to study the foraging behavior of an organism relative to predation risk and interactions with other environmental variables (e.g., cover, conspecifics, and food quantity and quality) to address larger ecological and evolutionary questions. The GUD methodology is commonly used with the mammalian taxonomic group due to their general size, detectability, and abundance in comparison to other taxa. However, development of protocols that maximize the potential for …

Adaptive Plasticity Of Coloration In Response To Environmental Change, Karissa Coffield

Scholars Week

When rapid environmental changes occur, different selective forces can create phenotypic trade-offs in which a trait can provide fitness benefits or costs under different environmental conditions. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to environmental change, and previous research has revealed that some species will plastically respond to variation in temperature and ultra-violet radiation (UVR) by altering their coloration. Divergent selection on coloration may change with elevation and climate induced shifts in temperature because high temperatures are likely to result in lighter color morphs but as elevation increases, UVR exposure increases leading to the prediction that darker color morphs will be more common. …