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2017

South Dakota State University

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Articles 91 - 120 of 132

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Encouraging Organic Agriculture: The Effects Of Conversion Subsidies, Sarah Adams Inkoom Jan 2017

Encouraging Organic Agriculture: The Effects Of Conversion Subsidies, Sarah Adams Inkoom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the importance of conversional subsidies in accounting for an increase in organic acreage in the 12 North-Central States in the United States. Monthly time series data that spans from January 2002 to December 2014 was used in the analysis. Empirical evidence suggests that increase in organic acreage is due in part to the availability of conversion subsidies. Without government assistance, most small-scale farmers are not sufficiently motivated to switch to organic production due to the high initial costs involved in transitioning. Further, increased institutional support could facilitate organic adoption and its absence is detrimental to increasing the …

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The Synthetic Biology Of N2-Fixing Cyanobacteria For Photosynthetic Terpenoid Production, Charles T. Halfmann Jan 2017

The Synthetic Biology Of N2-Fixing Cyanobacteria For Photosynthetic Terpenoid Production, Charles T. Halfmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last few decades, concerns over global climate change, energy security, and environmental pollution have been rising. To overcome these challenges, the concept of “-nth generation” biofuels has emerged as a strategy to convert solar radiation into fuels and bulk industrial chemicals for societal use, while decreasing our consumption of nonrenewable energy sources. Nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria hold a distinct advantage in biofuel production over plants, given their ability to convert sunlight, air (CO2 and N2), and mineralized water to energy-dense carbon molecules, as well as fix atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia for metabolism. Engineered cyanobacteria with …

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Evaluation Of Supplementing Brewer's Yeast To Lactating Dairy Cows, Taylor Christine Aubrey Jan 2017

Evaluation Of Supplementing Brewer's Yeast To Lactating Dairy Cows, Taylor Christine Aubrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Probiotics have been used as effective, natural feed additives in the dairy industry to improve animal health and performance. Yeast product supplementation can be beneficial in the diet of lactating dairy cows by increasing feed efficiency, alleviating disease, and improving production performance under heat stress. Objectives of this study were to evaluate supplementing a concentrated brewer’s yeast in the ration of a lactating dairy cow by assessing milk yield and composition, blood metabolites, rumen fermentation, and feed intake and efficiency. We hypothesized that diets containing a concentrated brewer’s yeast supplement would increase milk and component yields, benefit rumen fermentation, and …

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A Comparison Of Land Use And Land Cover In Public Lands Of The Northwestern Great Plains And High Plains Ecoregions And The Implications For Grassland Birds, Dawn L. Siemonsma Jan 2017

A Comparison Of Land Use And Land Cover In Public Lands Of The Northwestern Great Plains And High Plains Ecoregions And The Implications For Grassland Birds, Dawn L. Siemonsma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Loss and degradation of grassland habitat are driving forces that contribute to widespread declines of grassland birds in the United States. Many studies have evaluated habitat needs for the conservation of grassland birds, but the relative contribution of public lands in representing and maintaining avian biodiversity remains poorly understood. Having a better understanding of the role that publicly managed grasslands play in the conservation of grassland bird habitat is important for assessing the value of the investment the American public makes in these lands. Therefore, I investigated spatial relations among variations in amounts and distributions of publicly owned and managed …

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Effects Of A Large-Scale Habitat Enhancement Project On Largemouth Bass Behavior, Feeding, And Growth In Grand Lake, Texas, Chance Kirkeeng Jan 2017

Effects Of A Large-Scale Habitat Enhancement Project On Largemouth Bass Behavior, Feeding, And Growth In Grand Lake, Texas, Chance Kirkeeng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The quality of habitat, or the environment suitable for an organism to survive and reproduce, is often described by the type of features present and the quantity and condition of such features. Habitats in many ecosystems are declining and the loss of important habitats likely affects the success of organisms reliant upon those features. Habitats in reservoir ecosystems are especially at risk because of aging processes that are degrading reservoir habitats at faster rates than habitats in other ecosystems. Habitat enhancement projects are one tool used to combat the effects of aging reservoirs but the benefits of these management actions …

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The Effects Of A Blend Of Essential Oils On Rumen Efficiency Of Lactating Dairy Cows, Kali Linville Jan 2017

The Effects Of A Blend Of Essential Oils On Rumen Efficiency Of Lactating Dairy Cows, Kali Linville

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of SS a blend of commercially available essential oils (EO) on rumen microbial efficiency and kinetics, and consequently, effects on production parameters of dairy cows fed a low-starch diet and in vitro analysis of varying doses of SS on ruminal fermentation at different stages of lactation. The study consisted of two experiments, the in vivo Experiment 1, was conducted on a commercial robotic dairy in southwest Minnesota outfitted with two Lely Astronaut A4robotic milking units (Goter’s Clay & Dairy Equipment of MN, INC., Pipestone, MN). One hundred-seven Holstein cows were …

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Effect Of Ultrasonication On Biofilm Forming Ability Of Common Dairy Sporeformers, Taghreed Almalki Jan 2017

Effect Of Ultrasonication On Biofilm Forming Ability Of Common Dairy Sporeformers, Taghreed Almalki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sporeformers are common dairy contaminants, which are of a great concern to the dairy industry. Quality of dairy products is affected by these sporeformers such as Bacillus species, which are a significant cause of spoilage of dairy products. Thermal processes such as pasteurization have been used to inactivate pathogens, but some of the sporeformers and their endospores are resistant to such heat treatments. Beside thermal treatments, various new approaches are being developed to improve the quality of dairy products. Amongst these, ultrasonication is a promising non-thermal technique for the inactivation of thermoduric sporeformers and their endospores. Current study was carried …

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Native Species For Biomass Production And Roadside Habitat In South Dakota, Jacob Foley Jan 2017

Native Species For Biomass Production And Roadside Habitat In South Dakota, Jacob Foley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Native grasses and forbs are being considered for planting along South Dakota roadsides to create a favorable habitat for wildlife while also allowing landowners a source of forage and biomass production. South Dakota is host to 54,900 hectares (145,000 acres) of right-of-way that are managed by the South Dakota Department of Transportation. Approximately 80% of the roadsides are used by landowners for hay production. Species diversity and potential biomass yield were determined for the current roadside vegetation along four transects (SD Highways 14, 34 and 50) and SD I- 29 between White, SD and Elk Point, SD. Smooth bromegrass (Bromus …

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Identification Of Candidate Cellulose Utilizing Bacteria From The Rumen Of Beef Cattle, Using Bacterial Community Profiling And Metagenomics, Lee Opdahl Jan 2017

Identification Of Candidate Cellulose Utilizing Bacteria From The Rumen Of Beef Cattle, Using Bacterial Community Profiling And Metagenomics, Lee Opdahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The ruminal microbiome allows ruminant animals to convert cellulosic biomass into food products. A majority of ruminal microorganisms remain uncharacterized due, in part, to the complexity of ruminal microbial communities. In order to gain further insight, selection-based batch culturing from bovine rumen fluid, in combination with metagenomics, was used to identify and characterize previously uncharacterized rumen bacteria capable of metabolizing cellulose, which was supplemented as a purified substrate. 16S rRNA-based population analysis was used to identify rumen bacteria enriched within 14 days of culturing. As a result of 4 independent experiments, seven different candidate cellulose-utilizing species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) …

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Improving Survey Methodology To Monitor Rare Grassland Birds In South Dakota, Kassondra Hendricks Jan 2017

Improving Survey Methodology To Monitor Rare Grassland Birds In South Dakota, Kassondra Hendricks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data for grassland bird species has shown the most rapid population decline of any other bird group. Current roadside survey techniques, however, may fall short of providing accurate numbers of rare grassland bird species such as chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii), and Baird’s sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii). Trends resulting from roadside data for grassland birds are oftentimes determined to be statistically insignificant because many grassland bird species occur on too few routes, occur in low numbers per route, and show high annual fluctuations in number. It is possible roadside surveys …

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Development And Application Of A Fish-Based Index Of Biotic Integrity For Lakes In Eastern South Dakota, Daniel T. Nelson Jan 2017

Development And Application Of A Fish-Based Index Of Biotic Integrity For Lakes In Eastern South Dakota, Daniel T. Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was developed to summarize the impact of watershed and water quality degradation to biotic communities and help to provide a more complete picture of water quality changes that are not captured in traditional physical and chemical measurements. In 2014, nearly 15% of South Dakota lakes did not meet their designated beneficial uses based on water quality measures but the impacts to the fish communities are unknown. The goal of this study was to develop a fish-based IBI for eastern South Dakota lakes by addressing three specific objectives:
1) Determine whether an IBI could be …

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Dissecting The Histone-Binding Mechanism Of A Phd Finger Subtype, Daniel Boamah Jan 2017

Dissecting The Histone-Binding Mechanism Of A Phd Finger Subtype, Daniel Boamah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disordered tails of histones are critical information retrieval hub and thus, aberrations in the flow of information through these hubs are associated with a number of pathological consequences in human. Mechanism for retrieval of information from these hubs is achieved by protein-protein interaction, i.e. proteins dock onto histone tails to initiate chromatin signaling. Eukaryotes have a number of small peptide binding domains that have evolved to specifically interact with histone tails, and these domains called histone readers as they read the information encoded on histone tails. Plant homeodomain (hereafter PHD) finger, a binucleated zinc finger, family is one such histone …

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Invertebrate Prey Selectivity Of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Western South Dakota Prairie Streams, Erin D. Peterson Jan 2017

Invertebrate Prey Selectivity Of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Western South Dakota Prairie Streams, Erin D. Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Benthic invertebrates are an important resource for aquatic consumers and should be considered in management of sportfish populations as a factor influencing fishery health. Our study seeks to draw a relationship between invertebrate prey availability and the Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus fishery of western South Dakota through diet analysis, but invertebrate surveys in the area have not focused on invertebrates as a prey source. Our objectives were to characterize patterns in availability of the invertebrate prey base in five major river basins, and to evaluate the effects of availability on Channel Catfish prey selectivity and condition. Invertebrates were collected at …

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Identification Of Cdks As Novel Targets Of Aspirin And Its Metabolites: A Potential Role In Cancer Prevention, Rakesh Dachineni Jan 2017

Identification Of Cdks As Novel Targets Of Aspirin And Its Metabolites: A Potential Role In Cancer Prevention, Rakesh Dachineni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background:
The pursuit of drugs that inhibit cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) has been an intense area of research for more than 15 years. Till date, although multiple CDK inhibitors have been identified and few are undergoing clinical trials, only two synthetic drugs have been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment of cancer. These two drugs are mainly used for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in combination with other drugs; however they have toxicity associated with their use and extends patients life not more than 24 months. Therefore, there is an urgent need for …

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Biofilm Formation By Common Dairy Sporeformers On Native And Modified Stainless Steel Surfaces, Shivali Jindal Jan 2017

Biofilm Formation By Common Dairy Sporeformers On Native And Modified Stainless Steel Surfaces, Shivali Jindal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aerobic sporeformers can be traced in a variety of dairy products such as milk powders, evaporated milk, and canned products, which demonstrates their capability of resisting high temperature treatments such as pasteurization and Ultra high temperatures. These bacilli also actively attach to the stainless steel surfaces, consequently resulting in the formation of biofilms. Product quality as well as its safety is undesirably affected by the growth of these sporeforming bacteria. Therefore, creating an ideal environment for the processing of dairy products is a critical challenge for the dairy industry. Hence, the objective of this research was to analyze various surface …

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Senecavirus A: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis And Infection Dynamics, Lok Raj Joshi Jan 2017

Senecavirus A: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis And Infection Dynamics, Lok Raj Joshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Senecavirus A (SVA) is a positive sense single-stranded virus that belongs to the genus Senecavirus within the family Picornaviridae. Senecavirus has been present in US swine population since 1988. However, there have been only a few reports of SVA associated with disease in last two decades. In late 2014 early 2015, a sudden increase in the number of cases of Senecavirus A associated with vesicular disease was observed in Brazil, the US and China. Affected pigs presented vesicles on snout, coronary band, and dewclaw. Additionaly, increased neonatal mortality has been reported in the field. Many aspects of SVA epidemiology, …

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Lysine Bioavailability Of Two Lipid Coated Lysine Products After Exposure To Silages With Different Acidity, Jessica N. Reiners Jan 2017

Lysine Bioavailability Of Two Lipid Coated Lysine Products After Exposure To Silages With Different Acidity, Jessica N. Reiners

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three experiments were conducted to determine bioavailability of 2 lipid coated Lys products (EB and EC). In an initial experiment, Lys disassociation from 2 lipid coated Lys products was best described by a first-order kinetic model after incubation in alfalfa- or corn-silage at 2 different amounts of acidity. Greater amounts of Lys immediately disassociated from EC (15.7%) than EB (4.9%; P < 0.05). Lysine that initially disassociated in corn silage at low pH (0.5%) was less than corn silage at a more neutral pH (18.7%), whereas Lys that initially disassociated in alfalfa silage was not affected (P = 0.26) by pH. Lysine that slowly disassociated from lipid coated Lys differed by product (P = 0.01), and acidity (P < 0.01) affected amounts of Lys that slowly disassociated differently within alfalfa- or corn-silage (pH × silage = 0.02). Greater amounts of Lys disassociated from acidic corn silage (79%) than neutral corn silage (32%; P = 0.01). However, amounts of Lys that slowly disassociated from alfalfa silage was not impacted by acidity (P = 0.40). Additionally, amounts of Lys that did not disassociate (P < 0.04) within 24 h were greater (P < 0.04) when lipid coated Lys was mixed with neutral silages (44%) compared to acidic silages (21%). However, rate of Lys disassociation from lipid coated Lys products was not affected by acidity or exposure to alfalfa- or corn-silage (P = 0.21). In a second experiment, we measured in vitro ammonia release from EB and EC after mixing with alfalfa- or corn-silage at different amounts of acidity with or without monensin. Ammonia release from Lys increased (Quadratic < 0.01) with greater amounts of time; however, differences between in vitro cultures with added Lys and negative control were not detected until 36 h of incubation. By 36 h, all cultures containing added Lys were greater than the negative control. After 42 h of incubation, ammonia release from Lys was greatest from EC and when lipid and Lys-HCl in amounts identical to EB were provided to cultures; EB, Lys-HCl, and lipid and Lys in amounts identical to EC were intermediate. After 48 h of incubation, ammonia release from Lys in EB was greatest and Lys-HCl was least, but EC and amounts of lipid and Lys-HCl identical to either EB or EC were intermediate. Ammonia release from Lys were less from cultures containing monensin after 48 h of incubation. In experiment 3, 9 white-faced ewes (70.1 ± 5.2 kg BW; 5.3 ± 0.6 yr) were used to measure Lys bioavailability by a slope-ratio analysis from 2 lipid coated Lys products and Lys-HCl after mixing in corn silage. Plasma Lys concentrations increased (Linear < 0.01) in response to abomasal infusion of Lys, and bioavailability of EB, EC, and Lys- HCl were calculated to be 10.74%, 18.82%, and 11.87%, respectively. However, increases in plasma Lys from EB (Linear = 0.41) and Lys-HCl (Linear = 0.36) were not different from plasma Lys supported by diet alone, but the rate of increase in plasma Lys in response to EC tended (Linear = 0.15) to be greater than plasma Lys levels from diet. Evidently, manufacturing method among lipid coated Lys products as well as physical and chemical characteristics of diet can impact availability of Lys from lipid coated Lys products.

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Comprehensive Structural, Thermal And Toxicological Characterization Of 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Alkylbenzenesulfonate Ionic Liquids, Hiranmayee Kandala Jan 2017

Comprehensive Structural, Thermal And Toxicological Characterization Of 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Alkylbenzenesulfonate Ionic Liquids, Hiranmayee Kandala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Synthesis and characterization of 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium alkylbenzenesulfonate ionic liquids for extraction of lignin from prairie cord grass have been studied. The ionic liquids (ILs) 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium benzenesulfonate (EBS), 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium toluenesulfonate (ETS) and 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium xylenesulfonate (EXS) have been synthesized in this research. An extensive structural, physical, thermal and toxicological characterization has been performed to understand the behavior of these ionic liquids. The reaction yield for the synthesis of EBS, ETS, and EXS ionic liquids was determined to be 91.2 ± 1.5 %, 96.1 ± 0.7 %, 99.0 ± 0.5 % respectively. Spectral analysis using NMR and FTIR confirms the …

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Indexing Walleye Recruitment In Eastern South Dakota Natural Lakes, Todd M. Kaufman Jan 2017

Indexing Walleye Recruitment In Eastern South Dakota Natural Lakes, Todd M. Kaufman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Because of the popularity of Walleyes and the need for recurrent supplemental stockings, substantial resources are allocated to their management in eastern South Dakota. For nearly 20 years, fall night electrofishing has been used to monitor age-0 Walleye population parameters, and index future year-class strength in select waters but with limited evaluation. Additionally, knowledge of recruitment patterns and factors that influence those patterns were of interest. Thus, the objectives of this study were: 1) to determine the utility of fall electrofishing age-0 Walleyes to index future year-class strength; 2) to explore whether measures of fall age-0 body size or condition …

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Impacts Of Landscape Position And Nitrogen Fertilizer On Soils, Carbon And Nitrogen Leaching, And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes From Switchgrass Production In South Dakota, Liming Lai Jan 2017

Impacts Of Landscape Position And Nitrogen Fertilizer On Soils, Carbon And Nitrogen Leaching, And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes From Switchgrass Production In South Dakota, Liming Lai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) production for biofuels has potential economic values. It can also improve soil properties and perform better under marginal lands than the other major biomass crops. However, little is known about its potential ecological impacts assessed in terms of soils, water, and air quality in the northern Great Plains region of United States of America. The objectives of this study were to (i) evaluate the impacts of nitrogen fertilization rate (N rate) and landscape position on soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), bulk density (ρb), and phosphorus (P) in switchgrass field; (ii) assess …

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Intranasal Immunization Of Pigs With Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Like Particles Plus 2’, 3’ –Cgamp Vaccigrade™ Adjuvant Exacerbates Viremia After Virus Challenge, Alexandria Marie Van Noort Jan 2017

Intranasal Immunization Of Pigs With Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Like Particles Plus 2’, 3’ –Cgamp Vaccigrade™ Adjuvant Exacerbates Viremia After Virus Challenge, Alexandria Marie Van Noort

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is an economically devastating virus that causes a persistent infection and spreads quickly. The virus causes abortions in sows and respiratory diseases in young piglets. Current PRRSV vaccines appear to provide limited cross-protection. A virus-like particles (VLPs) vaccine is made up of key PRRSV structural proteins, which could be cross protective among the different strains. We tested PRRSV VLPs as a vaccine candidate with a 2’, 3’-cGAMP VacciGradeTM adjuvant against pigs infected with PRRSV after intranasal immunization to evaluate the immune response and protective efficacy by the VLPs and adjuvant. The VLPs contain …

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Human Dimensions Of Habitat Loss In The Plains And Prairie Potholes Ecoregion, Lily A. Sweikert Jan 2017

Human Dimensions Of Habitat Loss In The Plains And Prairie Potholes Ecoregion, Lily A. Sweikert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Plains and Prairie Potholes Ecoregion (PPPE), is located in the north-central contiguous United States and is one of the most imperiled grassland regions in the world. Most of the region is privately owned and used for the production of agricultural commodities. In addition to its direct benefits to humanity, the PPPE provides multiple ecosystem services including, soil and water quality improvements, carbon sequestration, weather amelioration, and wildlife habitat. Recent increases in expansion of row crop agriculture concerns conservation practitioners about the long-term integrity of the PPPE. Conservation practitioners are looking to improve their private landowner conservation initiatives in the …

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Local And Systemic Actions Of Gnrh Relating To Estradiol And Associated Reproductive Parameters In Beef Cattle, Jerica J.J. Rich Jan 2017

Local And Systemic Actions Of Gnrh Relating To Estradiol And Associated Reproductive Parameters In Beef Cattle, Jerica J.J. Rich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In cattle, estradiol is responsible for modulating many mechanisms involved in successful reproduction. Specifically estradiol is the primary signal for the initiation of standing estrus (Allrich, 1994), and cattle expressing estrus prior to fixed time AI (FTAI) have been reported to have increased preovulatory estradiol concentrations (Perry and Perry, 2008) and increased pregnancy success compared to animals that did not exhibit estrus (Richardson et al., 2016). Gonadotropin releasing hormone, classically, stimulates estradiol production via the two-cell two-gonadotropin hypothesis (Fortune and Quirk, 1988), and GnRH administered systemically in small doses (5 μg) has been reported to elicit an LH pulse similar …

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Improvement Of Milling And Nutritional Quality Characteristics Of Oats Through Genomic Selection, Sudha Neupane Adhikari Jan 2017

Improvement Of Milling And Nutritional Quality Characteristics Of Oats Through Genomic Selection, Sudha Neupane Adhikari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oats can lower cholesterol, reduce risks of type-2 diabetes, and help prevent heart diseases when consumed daily. Therefore, it is important to evaluate and select breeding lines with desirable milling and nutritional quality traits. Genomic selection, which uses genotyping data to predict the breeding value of an individual, is a promising method to increase genetic gain by selecting for quality traits earlier in the line development process. In this study, we collected phenotypic data for three nutritional traits (protein, β- glucan, and fat content) and five milling quality traits (percent plumps, percent thins, percent plump groat, groat percent and thousand …

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A Demonstration Study Of Drainage Water Management In Eastern South Dakota, Ashik Sahani Jan 2017

A Demonstration Study Of Drainage Water Management In Eastern South Dakota, Ashik Sahani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Subsurface drainage is a common water management practice for improving crop production in poorly drained soils; however, the practice is associated with several environmental concerns such as nutrient losses to downstream surface waters. These environmental concerns from subsurface drainage have prompted interest in drainage water management strategies such as controlled drainage. This study assessed the agronomic and environmental impacts of drainage water management in eastern South Dakota by using two demonstration plots for controlled and conventional drainage. Drain flow, nitrate and dissolved phosphorous concentration in drain water, shallow groundwater, crop yield, residual soil nitrate, soil moisture and temperature, soil penetration …

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Effects Of Maternal Plane Of Nutrition On Early Embryo Development And Offspring Performance, Erin E. Beck Jan 2017

Effects Of Maternal Plane Of Nutrition On Early Embryo Development And Offspring Performance, Erin E. Beck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nutritional changes immediately after insemination can result in increased embryonic mortality, but the mechanisms that cause this increased mortality and the impact on the embryos that survive are not known. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of a nutritional change immediately following AI on calf performance, global DNA methylation, estrus expression and interval to estrus in heifers, peripheral metabolites, uterine luminal fluid metabolites, and day 6 embryo quality. In the first study (chapter 2) Angus-cross heifers (n = 142) were allotted into two developmental treatments: drylot or range. All heifers were fixed-time inseminated to a single sire …

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Soil Response To Cropping Sequences And Grazing Under Integrated Crop-Livestock System, Hanxiao Feng Jan 2017

Soil Response To Cropping Sequences And Grazing Under Integrated Crop-Livestock System, Hanxiao Feng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Integrated crop-livestock system (ICLS) is helpful in diversifying a farm for improving its long-term sustainability and economic benefits. In the United States, the ICLS has been increasing in recent years because of its economic and environmental benefits. However, the impacts of ICLS on soil quality is not well documented in North Dakota. The objective of our study is to assess the impacts of cropping sequences and cattle grazing on the selected soil properties in the crop diversity and livestock integration practice. This study site was established in 2010 at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, Dickinson, North Dakota. The study design …

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The Home Environment And Parenting Practices: Associations With Physical Activity And Sedentary Time In Preschool-Age Children, Emily C. Huber Jan 2017

The Home Environment And Parenting Practices: Associations With Physical Activity And Sedentary Time In Preschool-Age Children, Emily C. Huber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preschool-age children have the potential to be influenced by their physical home environment and their parents’ physical activity (PA) practices more than older children as preschool-age children are more reliant on parents for PA opportunities. Previous research with this focus has relied predominantly on various subjective assessments of child activity, often resulting in overestimation of PA and underestimation of sedentary time (ST). Collectively, this dissertation project explored the associations among home environment factors, parent PA practices, parent satisfaction of children’s body size and children’s PA and ST by utilizing objective measures of activity and the full range of PA intensities …

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Reassessing Survival, Movement, Resource Selection, And Sightability Of Pronghorn In Western South Dakota, Adam Kauth Jan 2017

Reassessing Survival, Movement, Resource Selection, And Sightability Of Pronghorn In Western South Dakota, Adam Kauth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Limited information exists on the survival, movements, resource selection, and densities of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) inhabiting sagebrush-steppe regions within the Dakotas. Primary objectives of this study were to develop a sightability model for aerial surveying and to document survival rates and movement patterns for pronghorn in western South Dakota. Secondary objectives were to estimate seasonal home ranges, daily movements, determine cause-specific mortality, and evaluate summer and winter resource use and selection. Additionally, we evaluated exposure of pronghorn to novel diseases including Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD), West Nile Virus (WNV), Blue Tongue Virus (BTV), Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV), Neospora, and …

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Using Gluten Index To Improve Spring Wheat Loaf Volume Prediction, Yaming Lu Jan 2017

Using Gluten Index To Improve Spring Wheat Loaf Volume Prediction, Yaming Lu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most widely cultivated crop in the world and contributes about 20% of the total dietary calories and proteins globally. Unique properties of doughs formed from wheat flour make it feasible to produce a range of food, including bread. Loaf volume is the most perceptible indicator for breadmaking quality. Selection in the early generations for loaf volume is difficult due to the requirement of the large volume of grains and due to the costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive evaluation process. Identification of simple and reliable predictive tests for loaf volume is highly desirable. This study …

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