Life Sciences Commons^™

Modelling C3 Photosynthesis From The Choroplast To The Ecosystem, Andy Vanloocke, Carl J. Bernacchi, Justin E. Bagley, Shawn P. Serbin, Ursula M. Ruiz-Vera, David M. Rosenthal

Andy VanLoocke

Multifactorial Analysis Of Mortality Of Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera Glycines Ichinohe) Populations In Soybean And In Soybean Fields Annually Rotated To Corn In Nebraska, Oscar Perez-Hernandez

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN; Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) is the most economically important pathogen of soybean in the U.S. The effect of annual corn rotation, soil properties, weather, and agronomic factors on SCN population densities was quantified in 45 fields in Nebraska over three years. SCN population densities (eggs/100 cm³ of soil) in each field were determined before (Pi) and after (Pf) annual corn rotation. Average SCN population density reduction was 50.62%. Multivariate analysis was used to describe the relationship of soil texture (% of sand, silt, and clay), Pi, and Pf. Two principal components explained 92% of the …

Abiotic And Biotic Factors Affecting The Japanese Beetle In Arkansas, Bryan Mathew Petty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Japanese beetles are a relatively new pest to Arkansas. During my Ph.D. research I investigated the pathogens and environmental factors influencing Japanese beetle populations in the state. The prevalence of various pathogens and parasitoids attacking Popillia japonica were recorded annually from wild populations. Of specific interest was the microsporidian pathogen Ovavesicula popilliae, which I introduced as a biological control agent in the state. Details of the relationship between this pathogen and the Japanese beetle were investigated, including dose response, host range, and spore production. Additionally, annual abundance of the beetle in the region was recorded and tracked over the course …

Modeling Usa Stream Temperatures For Stream Biodiversity And Climate Change Assessments, Ryan A. Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stream temperature in one of the most biologically important aspects of water quality, but we lack temperature information for the vast majority of streams within the USA. Stream temperature can be influenced by several types of landscape and waterway alteration including upstream urbanization, agriculture, and reservoir releases. Stream temperatures are also expected to be affected by climate change over the next
century. We need to know how stream temperatures vary naturally, how they are influenced by human activity, and how they will respond to climate changes to effectively manage stream ecosystems. I used data from several thousand streams within the …

Synthesis, Modeling, And Characterization Of Conducting Polymers, Geoffrey M. Spinks, Lianbin Zhao, Weihua Li, Yanzhe Wu, Dezhi Zhou, Gordon G. Wallace

Gordon Wallace

This paper presents synthesis and characterization of polypyrrole based conducting polymers in terms of electronic and mechanical disciplines. Using the electrochemical polymerization approach, conducting polymer samples with different dimensions (length, width, and thickness) was fabricated. For each sample, both sinusoidal and step excitations were used to study its mechanical and electrical properties. An equivalent electric circuit based on constant phase element (CPE) is proposed to model such responses. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) method was used to identify the relationship between the dimensions of conducting polymers and model elements parameters.

Systematic Ichthyofaunal Surveys In Urban And Non-Urban Watersheds, Eugene G. Maurakis, David V. Grimes, Amanda Schutt, Suzy Short

Virginia Journal of Science

Objectives were to model fish species richness relative to natural and anthropogenic variables in Quantico Creek, a forested undisturbed stream environment, and Cameron Run, a highly disturbed urban stream environment in the lower Piedmont-Fall Line region of the Potomac River watershed. Species richness in all stream orders (e.g. avg. range=2.5-9.65 in 1st-3rd orders) of Quantico Creek were significantly higher than those (e.g. avg. range=2.1- 7.6 in 1st -4th orders) of Cameron Run. Fish species richness in Quantico Creek watershed can be modeled by eight factors: season, stream order, elevation, river km, stream width and depth, watershed size, and percent of …

Modeling Thinning In East Texas Loblolly And Slash Pine Plantations, Dean W. Coble

Faculty Publications

A new thinning model was proposed for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and slash pine (P. elliottii Engelm.) plantations in east Texas. The new model follows the index of suppression methodology introduced by Pienaar (1979). It was implemented in a new whole stand growth model for loblolly and slash pine plantations in east Texas (Coble 2009). The new thinning model performed similarly to existing Pienaar-type models for east Texas and the Southeastern United States across a range of site quality. The predicted basal area development consistently approached the unthinned counterpart, which is consistent with results from other studies. The new …

Physicochemical And Rheological Characteristics Of Alcohol Free Probiotic Boza Produced Using Lactobacillus Casei Shirota: Estimation Of Apparent Viscosity Of Boza Using Non-Linear Modeling Techniques, İsmet Öztürk, Safa Karaman, Fati̇h Törnük, Osman Sağdiç

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The effects of fermentation with 2 different starter culture mixtures composed of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on some physicochemical, microbiological, sensorial, and rheological characteristics of boza, a traditional fermented Turkish beverage, during storage for 10 days at 8 ^°C were investigated. Lb. casei Shirota adapted in boza well and provided the boza with a probiotic property. At the beginning of storage, the Lb. casei Shirota count of boza was 6.83 log cfu mL^{-1}, while total LAB counts were 8.01 and 8.11 log cfu mL-1 for S1 and S2 samples, respectively. A decrease in pH values was observed when the counts …

Assignment Of Measurable Costs And Benefits To Wildlife Conservation Projects, S. A. Shwiff, A. M. Anderson, R. Cullen, P. C. L. White, S. S. Shwiff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Success of wildlife conservation projects is determined by a suite of biological and economic factors. Donor and public understanding of the economic factors is becoming increasingly central to the longevity of funding for conservation efforts. Unlike typical economic evaluation, many costs and benefits related to conservation efforts are realised in nonmonetary terms. We identify the types of benefits and costs that arise from conservation projects and examine several well developed techniques that economists use to convert benefits and costs into monetary values so they may be compared in a common metric. Costs are typically more readily identifiable than benefits, with …

Mathematical And Computer-Based Models For Optimizing Microwave Heating Processes Of Frozen Oysters, Jie Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Consumers with full-time jobs prefer microwavable-frozen-meals for convenience when lack time to cook. Microwaves do not require a medium for heat transfer and provide quick heating even in low thermal conductivity foods, which does not occur in conventional heating. The main problem in utilizing microwave-heating for cooking is the non-uniform temperature distribution in foods which may result in insufficient lethality of microorganisms in some part. This non-uniformity can be due to a number of factors including composition and geometry of food. The objectives of this study were to develop a mathematical-model based on Maxwell¡¯s equations for predicting the temperature distribution …