Other Life Sciences Commons^™

What Makes An Animal Choose A Forage, Elizabeth A. Burritt, Frederick D. Provenza

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Consider the following scenarios: To cut the costs of ranching a researcher explores feeding cattle ammoniated straw in winter. Some of the cows maintain themselves on the diet while others lose weight, produce less milk and fail to conceive. A producer in Missouri plants a pasture rich in legumes and high in crude protein, yet his cattle prefer moldy hay and endophyte infected tall fescue to the legumes. Why do animals behave this way? Animals are thought to prefer foods that are palatable but what is palatability? We define palatability as the interrelationship between a food's flavor and postingestive feedback …

How Mothers Make Decisions For Feeding Young Children: A Grounded Theory Approach, Dana Rae Cox

Doctoral Dissertations

In this study a theory of how mothers make decisions about feeding their young children aged 3 to 5 years was developed using the grounded theory technique. In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 married mothers of children aged 3 to 5 to determine their mealtime practices and feelings about mealtimes. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory technique to build a theory from the data (interviews).

Analyses of mothers’ interviews indicated that mothers in this study formed expectations for 5 distinct stages of feeding decisions based on their experiences. The five stages …

Ultrasound And Microwave Assisted Extraction Of Soybean Oil, Haizhou Li

Masters Theses

Soybeans, one of the world’s leading cash crops, contain appropriately 20% lipid. Currently, soybean oil is the principal vegetable oil used in the U.S. and the world market, totaling 29% of the world vegetable oil production in 2001. Development of extraction technology that could increase oil yield would thus significantly enhance the profitability of the soybean industry and reduce processing costs significantly. It has been shown that both ultrasound-assisted and microwave-assisted extraction methods can enhance extraction of phytochemicals from plant sources while reducing processing time and solvent consumption. However, little is known about how ultrasound and microwave can affect the …

Molecular, Genetic, And Functional Analysis Of Ptr3p, A Novel Protein Involved In Amino Acid And Dipeptide Regulation Of Di/Tri-Peptide Transport System In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Vanny Narita

Doctoral Dissertations

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae utilizes nutrient sensor activity at the plasma membrane to regulate growth. Amino acids are sensed by the membrane protein Ssy1p, and a signal is transduced to the novel intracellular regulatory protein Ptr3p. This leads to an upregulation of the expression of amino acid permease genes and PTR2, the gene encoding the di/tri-peptide transporter Ptr2p. Using a reporter gene assay, this study found that various amino acids induced PTR2 expression to different levels. Peptide and amino acid induction required Ptr3p, while Ssy1p was required for amino acid induction, but not peptide induction. Ptr3p-mediated, amino acid/dipeptide-induced expression …

Development And Impact Of Geocoris Punctipes (Say) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) On Selected Pests Of Greenhouse Ornamentals, Nicole D. Pendleton

Masters Theses

The big-eyed bug, Geocoris punctipes (Say) (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), a generalist insect predator common in several agricultural systems, is explored as a biological control agent against pests of ornamentals in greenhouses. This research consists of three components: 1) Evaluation of development and survival of the predator (egg through adulthood) when reared on six diets, including greenhouse pests, a combination of greenhouse pests and plant material, and a meat-based artificial diet that has been developed for G.punctipes, 2) Assessment of predation rates of mass-reared big-eyed bugs by investigating the number of prey (three prey species common to greenhouse and ornamental crops) …

Pb1191-The Brown Recluse Spider, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Insects, Pests, Plant Diseases and Weeds

Few things cause as much fear and anxiety in people as the thought of poisonous spiders. Araneophobia, irrational fear of spiders, is widespread in the United States. The brown recluse spider is one of the feared poisonous spiders occurring in Tennessee. This spider is often visualized as an aggressive, bad-tempered monster, just waiting for an opportunity to ambush people. In reality, the brown recluse spider is a shy, retiring spider that does not attack people and usually only bites in response to being injured. Most reported bites occur when putting on old clothing in which the spider is hiding or …

Pb1193-The Black Widow Spider, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Insects, Pests, Plant Diseases and Weeds

Araneophobia, or an irrational fear of spiders, is common among people in the United States. Few other spiders are as apt to make people uncomfortable as is the black widow. Black widow spiders are very numerous in nearly all parts of the U.S., but cases of reported bites are rare. For the most part, black widows live peacefully in close proximity to humans with little contact. Although both male and female black widow spiders are highly venomous, according to our knowledge, no reports of bites from the males have been recorded.

Pb1303-Managing Pests Around The Home, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Insects, Pests, Plant Diseases and Weeds

Most household pests are insects and are commonly called “bugs.” Other organisms such as spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, ticks, sowbugs, pillbugs, mites, rats, mice, snakes, bats, squirrels, birds, molds and fungi may enter homes. In Tennessee, one or more of about 40 common pests are found in every home at one time or another. Even the most conscientious person cannot always avoid an occasional pest infestation.