Life Sciences Commons^™

Cranberry Fruit Rot Fungicide Scenarios, Erika Saalau Rojas, Peter Oudemans

Cranberry Station Fact Sheets

No abstract provided.

Avoiding Herbicide-Resistant Weeds In Cranberries, Jed Colquhoun, Jack Perry, Hilary A Sandler, Kim Patten

Cranberry Station Fact Sheets

No abstract provided.

Poverty Grass, Hilary Sandler

Cranberry Station Fact Sheets

No abstract provided.

Syllabus: Introduction To Permaculture, Lisa Depiano

Sustainability Education Resources

The Permaculture Design Course is a three-credit course that offers students a foundation in permaculture history, ethics, principles, design process, and practical applications. The framework behind the theory and practice of permaculture is rooted in the observation of natural systems. By observing key ecological relationships, we can mimic and apply these beneficial relationships in the design of systems that serve humans while helping to restore the natural world. This course trains students as critical thinkers, observers, and analysts of the world(s) around them, and then goes on to provide students with the tools needed to design for inspired and positive …

Syllabus: Sustainable Living: Solutions For The 21st Century, Lena Fletcher

Sustainability Education Resources

In this innovative interdisciplinary course you will work with your peers to research and understand how sustainability in different contexts presents solutions to many problems facing modern society. You will work in teams to investigate, evaluate, communicate, and reflect on the multifaceted challenges associated with natural resource use, food systems, energy, transportation, waste, the built environment, water quality, and climate change. You will also research case studies, debate controversies, assess political and cultural contexts, investigate technological advances, and identify gaps in scientific knowledge. Using these resources, you and your peers will be tasked with developing your own sustainable solutions for …

Syllabus: Sustainable Living: Solutions For The 21st Century, Laurie Simmons

Sustainability Education Resources

Your generation has been handed an opportunity: the opportunity to change the story of our culture from one of blind consumption to one of conscious ecological living. As individuals, as a society and as a species, we are facing challenges related to sustainability including economic stability, social justice, resource depletion and waste management, biodiversity preservation, climate adaptation and food and agricultural resilience. In this interdisciplinary course you will learn how to seize this opportunity by working with your peers to research and understand how sustainability in different contexts presents solutions to many of these challenges facing modern society. “Sustainable Living” …

Gelatin Diffusion Experiment, Jennifer Welborn

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

In this activity, nanotech participants will:

- See how food dyes and gelatin are used to model the delivery of nanoscale medicines to cells in the human body - Measure diffusion distances of 3 different colors of food dye by: Eye, photo image on a computer, ADI software (Analyzing Digital Images) Some useful websites:

• http://www.echalk.co.uk/Science/biologyContent.htm Life Processes and Cells
• http://workbench.concord.org/database/activities/321.html Molecular Workbench Database. Diffusion, osmosis, ...

Powers Of Ten: From Meters To Nanometers And Beyond, Rob Snyder

Nanotechnology Teacher Summer Institutes

The goal of this activity is to guide students toward an understanding of nanoscale dimensions by:

• Making a number of measurements using meter sticks, magnifiers, microscopes and spectrometers so students can make observations and generate their own data.

• Using scientific notation to compare the measurements they have made with the dimensions of very small structures

2015 Update Mtg: Irrigation And Frost Managment, Peter Jeranyama, Jesica Sack, Faith Ndlovu, Chelsea Hedderig

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Nitrogen Movement In Cranberry Floodwaters, Carolyn J. Demoranville, Rachel Jakuba, Christopher Neill, Casey Kennedy, Nick Alverson

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Fruit Rot Management, Erika Saalau Rojas

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Weed Research Update, Katherine Ghantous, Hilary A. Sandler

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

Improved Weed Management In Massachusetts Cranberry, 2015, Hilary A. Sandler, Katherine Ghantous

Cranberry Station Research Reports and Surveys

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Resistance Management Education And Experience Of Educators And Growers In The Northeast, Hilary A. Sandler, Laura Mcdermott, Katherine Ghantous, Dahlia Medeiros

Cranberry Station Research Reports and Surveys

No abstract provided.

Dietary Patterns And Their Association With Hypertension Among Pakistani Urban Adults, Nilofer F. Safdar, Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, Lorraine Cordeiro, Tazeen H. Jafar, Nancy L. Cohen

Nutrition Department Faculty Publication Series

Hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases affecting more than 25% of adults worldwide. In Pakistan, 33% of the adult population suffers from hypertension. Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated the critical role of dietary patterns in the causation, prevention and management of hypertension. There’s a dearth of evidence from South Asia in this regard. The present study aimed to identify the association between dietary patterns and hypertension among 4304 low income urban adults who participated in the Control of Blood Pressure and Risk Attenuation (COBRA) study in Karachi, Pakistan. Dietary information was collected by a 33- item food …

Variable Effects Of Nicotine, Anabasine, And Their Interactions On Parasitized Bumble Bees, Lukas P. Thorburn, Lynn S. Adler, Rebecca E. Irwin

Biology Department Faculty Publication Series

Secondary metabolites in floral nectar have been shown to reduce parasite load in two common bumble bee species. Previous studies on the effects of nectar secondary metabolites on parasitizedbees have focused on single compounds in isolation; however, in nature, bees are simultaneously exposed to multiple compounds. We tested for interactions between the effects of two alkaloids found in the nectar of Nicotiana spp. plants, nicotine and anabasine, on parasite load and mortality in bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) infected with the intestinal parasite Crithidia bombi. Adult worker bees inoculated with C. bombi were fed nicotine and anabasine diet …

2015 Update Mtg: Processes Of P Loss In Cranberry Floods, Casey Kennedy

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Plant Pathology Update: New Diseases, Erika Saalau Rojas

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Weed Biology Affects Weed Management, Hilary A. Sandler, Katherine Ghantous

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Phosphorus Update 2015, Carolyn J. Demoranville

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Insect Outbreaks In Cranberry, Martha Sylvia

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Adjuvant Advice, Loveland, Gene Gangwish

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

2015 Update Mtg: Cranberry Pollination, Anne Averill

Cranberry Station Extension meetings

No abstract provided.

Pericyte Nf-Κb Activation Enhances Endothelial Cell Proliferation And Proangiogenic Cytokine Secretion In Vitro, Katherine E. Labarbera, Robert D. Hyldahl, Kevin S. O'Fallon, Priscilla M. Clarkson, Sarah Witkowski

Kinesiology Department Faculty Publication Series

Pericytes are skeletal muscle resident, multipotent stem cells that are localized to the microvasculature. In vivo, studies have shown that they respond to damage through activation of nuclear-factor kappa-B (NF-κB), but the downstream effects of NF-κB activation on endothelial cell proliferation and cell–cell signaling during repair remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine pericyte NF-κB activation in a model of skeletal muscle damage; and use genetic manipulation to study the effects of changes in pericyte NF-κB activation on endothelial cell proliferation and cytokine secretion. We utilized scratch injury to …

Testing Dose-Dependent Effects Of The Nectar Alkaloid Anabasine On Trypanosome Parasite Loads In Adult Bumble Bees, Winston E. Anthony, Evan C. Palmer-Young, Anne S. Leonard, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn S. Adler

Biology Department Faculty Publication Series

The impact of consuming biologically active compounds is often dose-dependent, where small quantities can be medicinal while larger doses are toxic. The consumption of plant secondary compounds can be toxic to herbivores in large doses, but can also improve survival in parasitized herbivores. In addition, recent studies have found that consuming nectar secondary compounds may decrease parasite loads in pollinators. However, the effect of compound dose on bee survival and parasite loads has not been assessed. To determine how secondary compound consumption affects survival and pathogen load in Bombus impatiens, we manipulated the presence of a common gut parasite, …

Robust Optimization Of Biological Protocols, Patrick Flaherty, Ronald W. Davis

Mathematics and Statistics Department Faculty Publication Series

When conducting high-throughput biological experiments, it is often necessary to develop a protocol that is both inexpensive and robust. Standard approaches are either not cost-effective or arrive at an optimized protocol that is sensitive to experimental variations. Here, we describe a novel approach that directly minimizes the cost of the protocol while ensuring the protocol is robust to experimental variation. Our approach uses a risk-averse conditional value-at-risk criterion in a robust parameter design framework. We demonstrate this approach on a polymerase chain reaction protocol and show that our improved protocol is less expensive than the standard protocol and more robust …

Hope In School Gardens: The Amherst School Gardens Project, Xochiquetzal F. Salazar

Student Showcase

The Amherst School Gardens Project connects UMass Amherst Stockbridge undergraduate students to Amherst Public Elementary Schools in order to facilitate shared learning in the outdoor classroom. Our mission is to provide elementary school level children with hands on gardening experience, empowering knowledge of their foods’ origins, lessons that correspond with the U.S. Department of Education’s “Common Core State Standards,” and a community that encompasses the varying citizens of Amherst. The environmental, social, and economic implications of this program are boundless. In essence, the project transforms inert grass lawns on Amherst elementary school sites into productive gardens contributing to the biodiversity …