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Apiculture Adaptations In A Shifting World: The Beekeeper’S Experience Across The Globe, Katherine Lloyd

Capstone Collection

Existing research suggests that changes in climate, such as rainfall and temperature shifts, will threaten bees’ main food sources and cause detrimental impacts on apiculture globally. Despite this, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there is little available by way of research relating to how beekeepers themselves experience these increased pressures to their practices. This research project investigated the experiences of beekeepers in the United States, Malawi, and Cameroon. Surveys of US beekeepers, and interviews with Malawian and Cameroonian beekeepers were coded for emergent themes and surveys were analyzed via descriptive statistics. Major differences in challenges reported by beekeepers …

Measuring Palatability As A Linear Combination Of Nutrient Levels In Food Items, Jeffrey S. Young

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

It well known that palatability and nutritional quality of foods and/or diets are viewed as being in tension with one another. While there exist multiple measures of healthiness, there are no such measures for tastiness. This gap limits the degree to which researchers can investigate this tension and its implications for dietary behavior and hence public health and nutrition policy. The scope of future work concerning the dietary behavior of Americans would expand greatly if researchers better understood consumers’ willingness to eat certain foods, which matters as much as recommending those foods for them to eat in the first place. …

A Life Cycle Assessment Of Hospital Food Waste: A Model For Large Scale Commercial Impact Reduction, Demeri E. Amodeo, Christie Klimas

DePaul Discoveries

Current commercial landfill diversion techniques typically focus on recycling, but this method can be environmentally costly when compared scenarios involving the implementation of composting or waste reduction within large facilites. A life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to provide better information on the environmental impact of different landfill diversion strategies. In this LCA, the impacts of individiual products were quantified in terms of global warming potential, which provides comparable impact categories for analysis. This study gathered information from previous literature about plant-based and omnivorous diets to simulate what the possible impact would be for a city, like Chicago, to …

Determining The Novel Pathogen Neodothiora Populina As The Causal Agent Of The Aspen Running Canker Disease In Alaska, Loretta M. Winton, Gerard C. Adams, Roger W. Ruess

Aspen Bibliography

Neodothiora populina Crous, G.C. Adams & Winton was determined to be a new pathogen of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) growing in Alaska, based on completion of Koch’s Postulates in replicated forest and growth chamber inoculation trials. The pathogen is responsible for severe damage and widespread rapid mortality of sapling to mature aspen (≥ 80 years) in the boreal forests of interior Alaska, due to large diffuse annual (1–2 years) cankers. Isolation of the pathogen was challenging, and identification based on cultural characters was difficult. Fruiting bodies were not found on wild diseased trees, but erumpent pycnidia were found …

Creaciones En La Cocina Curriculum, Celina Wille

All Current Publications

Este currículo es una interpretación al español y adaptación cultural basado en su mayoría en la publicación titulada CREATE FAMILY MEALS* de Food Sense del Programa de Extensión de la Universidad Estatal de Utah (USU).

Impact Of Cover Crop Monocultures And Mixtures On Organic Carbon Contents Of Soil Aggregates, Daphne Topps, Imam Ul Khabir, Hagir Abdelmagid, Todd Jackson, Javed Iqbal, Boakai K. Robertson, Zahida Hassan Pervaiz, Muhammad Saleem

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crops are considered an integral component of agroecosystems because of their positive impacts on biotic and abiotic indicators of soil health. At present, we know little about the impact of cover crop types and diversity on the organic carbon (OC) contents of different soil aggregate-size classes. In this study, we investigated the effect of cover plant diversity on OC contents of different soil aggregates, such as macro- (<2000–500 µm), meso- (<500–250 µm), and micro-aggregates (<250 µm). Our experiment included a total of 12 experimental treatments in triplicate; six different monoculture treatments such as chickling vetch (Vicia villosa), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), field peas (Pisum sativum), oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus), and mighty mustard (Brassica juncea), and their three- and six-species mixture treatments, including one unplanted control treatment. We performed this experiment usingdeep pots that contained soil collected from a corn-soybean rotation field. At vegetative maturity of cover plants (about 70 days), we took soil samples, and the soil aggregate-size classes were separated by the dry sieving. We hypothesized that cover crop type and diversity will improve OC contents of different soil aggregate-size classes. We found that cover plant species richness weakly positively increased OC contents of soil macro-aggregates (p = 0.056), whereas other aggregate-size classes did not respond to cover crop diversity gradient. Similarly, the OC contents of macroaggregates varied significantly (p = 0.013) under cover crop treatments, though neither monoculture nor mixture treatments showed significantly higher OC contents than the control treatment in this short-term experiment. Interestingly, the inclusion of hairy vetch and oilseed radish increased and decreased the OC contents of macro- and micro-aggregates, respectively. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between shoot biomass and OC contents of macroaggregates. Overall, our results suggest that species-rich rather than -poor communities may improve OC contents of soil macroaggregates, which constitute a major portion of soil systems, and are also considered as important indicators of soil functions.

Tandem Duplicate Expression Patterns Are Conserved Between Maize Haplotypes Of The Α-Zein Gene Family, Preston Hurst, James C. Schnable, David R. Holding

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Tandem duplication gives rise to copy number variation and subsequent functional novelty among genes as well as diversity between individuals in a species. Functional novelty can result from either divergence in coding sequence or divergence in patterns of gene transcriptional regulation. Here, we investigate conservation and divergence of both gene sequence and gene regulation between the copies of the α-zein gene family in maize inbreds B73 and W22. We used RNA-seq data generated from developing, self-pollinated kernels at three developmental stages timed to coincide with early and peak zein expression. The reference genome annotations for B73 and W22 were modified …

Weight Status Perceptions And Food Choice, Christopher R. Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

Does your weight status—whether your height and weight put you into the normal weight, overweight, or obese category—predict your food choices, or even the types of food you’ll pay attention to when making a choice? What about the weight status you perceive yourself to be? These are important questions because the percentage of the population that is overweight or obese in the U.S.—and world-wide—has been increasing for decades despite a wide range of efforts aimed at slowing/reversing its growth. In the U.S., over 70 percent of the population is overweight or obese. High body weight has numerous consequences for individuals …

Kikuyu (Cenchrus Clandestinus) For Dryland Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Kikuyu (Cenchrus clandestinus) is a subtropical, perennial C4 grass that is widely used as a pasture and turf.

It has some salinity tolerance, and moderate waterlogging tolerance. Kikuyu is commonly established from seed and can also be grown from vegetative plantings, unlike marine couch, saltwater couch and Distichlis (vegetative only).

We recommend that any dryland salinity management is part of a whole farm, and preferably a whole catchment, water management plan.

Alfanet: A Database Of Alfalfa-Bacterial Stem Blight Protein–Protein Interactions Revealing The Molecular Features Of The Disease-Causing Bacteria, Raghav Kataria, Rakesh Kaundal

Plants, Soils and Climate Student Research

Alfalfa has emerged as one of the most important forage crops, owing to its wide adaptation and high biomass production worldwide. In the last decade, the emergence of bacterial stem blight (caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae ALF3) in alfalfa has caused around 50% yield losses in the United States. Studies are being conducted to decipher the roles of the key genes and pathways regulating the disease, but due to the sparse knowledge about the infection mechanisms of Pseudomonas, the development of resistant cultivars is hampered. The database alfaNET is an attempt to assist researchers by providing comprehensive Pseudomonas proteome …

Yield And Economic Performance Of Crop Rotation Systems In South Dakota, Hanxiao Feng, Tong Wang, Shannon L. Osborne, Sandeep Kumar

Economics Faculty Publications

Crop yield and economic profitability, both highly dependent on local crop management, soil characteristics, and weather conditions, are among the most influential factors to consider when considering a cropping system. The objective of this study was to compare the economic returns of three different 4-yr diverse crop rotations with that of a 2-yr traditional crop rotation in eastern South Dakota. The rotations included were (a) corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–pea (Pisum sativum L.) (CSSwP), (b) corn–pea–winter wheat–soybean (CPWwS), (c) corn–oat (Avena sativa L.)–winter wheat–soybean (COWwS), and (d) corn–soybean …

Long-Term Crop Rotation Diversification Enhances Maize Drought Resistance Through Soil Organic Matter, Leah L.R. Renwick, William Deen, Lucas Silva, Matthew E. Gilbert, Toby Maxwell, Timothy M. Bowles, Amélie C.M. Gaudin

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change adaptation requires building agricultural system resilience to warmer, drier climates. Increasing temporal plant diversity through crop rotation diversification increases yields of some crops under drought, but its potential to enhance crop drought resistance and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a drought manipulation experiment using rainout shelters embedded within a 36-year crop rotation diversity and no-till experiment in a temperate climate and measured a suite of soil and crop developmental and eco-physiological traits in the field and laboratory. We show that diversifying maize-soybean rotations with small grain cereals and cover crops mitigated maize water stress at the …

Understanding The Impact Of Covid-19 On Agriculture And Food Supply Chains: System Dynamics Modeling For The Resilience Of Smallholder Farmers, Busra Atamer Balkan, Andreas Nicolaidis Lindqvist, Kelechi Odoemena, Robert Lamb, Monique Ann Tiongco, Stueti Gupta, Arpitha Peteru, Hector Manuel Menendez Iii

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

COVID-19 has caused severe agriculture and food supply chain disruptions; significantly affecting smallholder farmers who supply most of the world’s food; specifically their changes in vulnerability; resilience; and food loss and waste. Therefore; the objective of this study was to understand the complex causal and feedback relationships for this system by developing a dynamic hypothesis and causal loop diagrams utilizing the System Dynamics methodology. Results provide a roadmap for dialogue and a framework for case-specific model development and help to guide policy decisions for smallholder farmers’ survival during health crises.

The Determinants Of Food Insecurity In The United States: A State Level Analysis, Zhuoya Li

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of food insecurity at the state level with the goal of providing policy guidance to reduce the prevalence of food insecurity in the United States. Data for the study was collected from various governmental and non-governmental sources. Linear regression models and sensitivity analyses were conducted. The study found that increase in household income is likely to significantly reduce the prevalence of food insecurity and very low food security. While poverty alleviation is more important than level of education for food insecure households, level of education is more important than poverty …

Nebline, August 2021

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

The Myths & Facts of Head Lice

Coping with Picky Eating

Recipes of the Month

6 Common Composting Questions

Garden Guide: Things to do this Month

Tips for a Fun and Educational Day at the Fair

Kissing Bugs in Nebraska

Lancaster County Super Fair, July 29-Aug. 7, 2021

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award

4-H Teen Council Invites New Members

4-H Gold Tournament Fundraiser, Oct. 3

4-H’ers Test Family and Consumer Science Skills at Life Challenge

4-H Clover College: 48 Workshops of Hands-on Learning!

4-H’ers Test Their Knowledge of Animals and Decision-Making Skills at PASE

4-H District Horse Results

4-H Announcements …

Studies On Milling And Baking Quality And In Vitro Protein Digestibility Of Historical And Modern Wheats, Sujun Liu

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is considerable controversy among the public and the scientific community about whether modern wheats are harmful for human health and responsible for the increase of Celiac disease compared with historical varieties. Therefore, the milling and baking quality, protein digestibility, and protein composition of historical and modern wheats adapted to the Great Plains of the US were evaluated in this thesis. One objective of this thesis was to determine how end-use quality of wheat changed with wheat cultivar release year. Kernel physical characteristics, milling yield, whole-wheat flour quality, flour protein content, mixing quality and baking quality of 23 hard winter …

Development Of High Value Oil Traits Using The Model Oilseed Crop Camelina Sativa, Evan Updike

Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Plant oils are an important source of food, fuel, and feed in our society today. The oil found in the seeds of plants is composed almost entirely of triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules, which consist of three fatty acids esterified to a glycerol backbone. As crude oil supplies decline, vegetable oils are gaining traction as a renewable substitute to petroleum-based materials in fuels, lubricants, and specialty oleochemicals. However, as it currently stands vegetable oils do not possess the properties necessary to fill the void of a petroleum free world.

To address this problem, plant biotechnologists have done extensive work on genetic engineering …

The Role Of Fatty Acids In Ruminant Diets And Novel Feed Ingredients High In Omega-3 Fatty Acids Fed In Feedlot Diets, Mitchell M. Norman

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A finishing study evaluated the performance, carcass characteristics and fatty acid profiles of steers fed four inclusions of a novel feedstuff Green Grass. Green Grass is a product comprised of sesame meal, giant kelp, cassava, and sorghum containing high concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids. No differences were observed in initial BW, final BW, BW gain, HCW, LM area, 12^th rib fat depth, calculated YG, or liver abscess %. Dry matter intake linearly increased as Green Grass inclusion increased in the diet. Steers fed Green Grass had lower G:F than control cattle, and steers fed 30% Green Grass had a …

Estimation Of Breed Effects And Genetic Parameters For Age At Slaughter And Days To Finish In A Multibreed Beef Cattle Population, Lindsay Rae Upperman

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cattle efficiency during the finishing phase is a crucial factor in determining profit in the beef cattle industry. Economically relevant traits associated with efficient production include age at slaughter (AAS) and days to finish (DtF). Selection to reduce the number of days an animal takes to reach a finish endpoint would ultimately reduce production costs, increase net profits, and result in a more sustainable production system. However, most harvested animals are from commercial herds, necessitating the use of indicator traits from seedstock animals for selection. Potential indicator traits include ultrasound measurements that could be genetically correlated to DtF traits. The …

Assessing The Impact Of Organic Versus Conventional Agricultural Management On Soil Hydraulic Properties In A Long-Term Experiment, Abdelrahman Alfahham, Matthew T. Amato, Emmanuel Omondi, Daniel Giménez, Alain F. Plante

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Investigating the effects of various agricultural management systems on soil hydraulic properties in long-term field experiments allows farmers to evaluate their efficacy in mitigating the effects of droughts and floods, which are expected to intensify in the coming decades. This study's main objective was to quantify soil structural and hydraulic properties in plots under organic manure, organic leguminous, and conventional agricultural management and related tillage practices at Rodale Institute's Farming Systems Trial. Soil cores were collected at depths of 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm and analyzed for soil water retention, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), soil organic C (SOC), bulk density, …

Effect Of The High Pressure Jet Mill Treatment On The Stability Of Oat Pulp, Huang Su-Jun, Wang Yue-Ru, Deng Li-Ping, Luo Shun-Jing, Liu Cheng-Mei

Food and Machinery

Objective: To study the effect and mechanism of the high-pressure jet mill on the stability of oat pulp, and to provide a theoretical reference for the processing of whole grain beverages. Methods: The oat pulp was processed with different pressures and high-pressure jet mills, and the morphology, instability index, particle size, and rheological properties of the storage period (30 d) were compared. Moreover the microscopic morphology (optical microscope, laser confocal scanning microscope), scanning electron microscope), soluble component content (soluble solids, soluble protein, soluble dietary fiber) were analyzed. Results: The high-pressure jet mill treatment gradually reduced the particle size, instability index, …

Study On The Components And Distribution Of Betalain Pigments In Different Species Of Pitaya Fruit, Yang Xin-Feng, Wang Pan, Guo Xiao-Jie, Yang Lei, Li Qiong

Food and Machinery

Objective： To reveal the compositions of betalains (BLs) from pitaya fruit and their distribution in different parts. Methods: Three types of pitaya fruits, red peel-red flesh (RR), red peel-white flesh (RW), and yellow peel-white flesh (YW), were selected. The screening and confirmation of BLs were performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC QTOF-MS/MS). Results: A total of 19 components were identified, including betanin, phyllocactin, indicaxanthin, etc. Most components (14) were identified from the peel part of RR fruit, and secondly, 12 components from the flesh part of RR fruit and nine components from the peel part of RW fruit. Conclusion: …

Comprehensive Quality Evaluation And Analysis Of Nutrition Components Of Various Flaxseed, Wang Li-Yan, Wang Xin-Miao, Jing Rui-Yong, Guo Yong-Xia

Food and Machinery

Objective： To study the difference of comprehensive nutrition quality, different flaxseed varieties were investigated. Methods: 12 flaxseed varieties from 6 producing areas were used as research objects, eight nutrition components, including alpha-linolenic acid, were used evaluation index, 12 flaxseed varieties were evaluated by subordinate function methods and principal component analysis classified by clustering methodology. Results: Three principal components were extracted from 8 indexes by principal component analysis, and their cumulative contribution rate reaches 87.608%, reflecting better the comprehensive information of 12 flaxseed varieties. Crude protein, total amino acid, iron, and alpha-linolenic acid contents can be a comprehensive evaluation index of …

Design And Experiment Of Penaeus Vannamei Freezing Point And Low Temperature Heat Pump Drying Control System Based On Fuzzy Control, Wang Guo-Jie, Mu Gang, Huo Jin, Zhang Qian, Zhang Guo-Chen

Food and Machinery

Objective: In order to meet the refined requirements of temperature during the drying process of Penaeus vannamei freezing point and low temperature heat pump. Methods: A heat pump drying control system based on Siemens S7-300 PLC was designed. The system adopted a fuzzy control strategy. And a fuzzy controller with “two-dimensional input and one-dimensional output” was designed using the fuzzy logic toolbox of Matlab. According to the drying process of prawns, a data collection program and an execution program were designed to control the temperature of the drying oven. And the drying process was monitored and managed through the human-machine …

Study On The Process Of Superheated Steam Stabilization Of Wheat Germs, Zhang Nan, Ge Xin-Hui, Shi Lin, Cheng Yong-Qiang, Zhang Xiu-Qing

Food and Machinery

Objective： To improve the stability of wheat germs and prolong its storage period. Methods: The process conditions of superheated steam were optimized. During storage, the effects of superheated steam treatment on wheat germs color, lipase activity, and free fatty acid content during storage were analyzed. Results: The optimal conditions of superheated steam on wheat germs were 220 ℃ at Steam mode for 30 s. The superheated steam treatment could deactivate 82.74% lipase and 87.03% lipoxygenase. The 28-day accelerated storage experiment showed that the fatty acid content increase in wheat germs decreased by 47.86% compared with the control group. Conclusion: Superheated …

Effect Of Variable Temperature Drying On The Quality Of Black Tea, Xiang Xi, Li Shi, Xu Yang-Yang, Xiao Wen-Jun, Gong Zhi-Hua

Food and Machinery

Objective: In order to investigate the effects of variable temperature treatment on the quality of black tea in the drying process and provide the reference for the machining of the high quality of black tea, the fresh leaves with one bud and two leaves, which were withered. Methods: curled and fermented at the same level, belonging to the breed of “Bixiangzao” were picked as raw materials; the initial drying, the re-drying and the combinations in the process of drying were treated with different temperature and different periods of time. Results: Through the sensory evaluation of tea samples, the analysis of …

Hypoglycemic Effect Of Compound Almond Powder On Rats With Glucose And Lipid Metabolism Disorder, Sheng Qing-Hai, He Shuang-Ning, An Yan-Jun, He Ying, Pan Li-Na, Wang Jia-Qi

Food and Machinery

Objective： To evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of compound almond powder on glucose and lipid metabolism disorder rats. Methods: High-fat diet and dexamethasone were used to establish an insulin resistance rat model of glucose and lipid metabolism disorder. Regular diet was used as a negative control, and metformin was used as a positive control. Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, blood glucose and area under blood glucose curve after half an hour of glucose loading were measured, and blood lipid data were measured. Results: the fasting blood glucose of normal rats was not affected by compound almond powder (P＞0.05); After successful modeling, …

Study On Optimization Of Microwave Assisted Extraction Of Capsaicin By Water Oil Mixture And Its Application, Que Xiao-Feng, Fang Zhi-Cheng, Yu Yan, Si Wen-Hui, Xie En-Yao

Food and Machinery

Objective: Optimized the technology of capsaicin extraction from dried capsicum and studied the processing application in food. Methods: The dry pepper was pretreated by high-pressure water oil mixed phase extraction technology, which was used to extract capsaicin with microwave-assisted solvent method, and explore the application in food processing. Results: the pretreatment conditions were as follows: 20% moisture content of dry pepper powder, 150 ℃ temperature and 300 r/min rotating speed. Then microwave-assisted process conditions were as follows: the pretreated chili powder was pretreated for 120 s under the microwave power of 600 W, then 65% ethanol was added as the …

Determination Of Lignans In Qinghai Flaxseed And Its Antioxidant Activity, Chen Yun-Yun, Wang Jin-Ying, Wang Xing-Rui, Han Yu-Ze, Li Ying-Xia, Wang Shu-Zhen

Food and Machinery

Objective: It provides a basis for promoting the high-value utilization of flaxseed and its processing by-products in Qinghai. Methods: Using linseeds from different producing areas and varieties in Qinghai province as raw materials, and the content of lignan and its component-secoisolariciresinol diglucoside and secoisolariciresinol in 20 kinds of flaxseeds in Qinghai were determined by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, based on DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging ability to evaluate the antioxidant activity of these two lignans. Results: The content of lignans in flaxseeds from different producing areas and varieties in Qinghai Province was significantly different （P<0.05）, and the content ranges of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside and secoisolariciresinol were 7.53～23.33 mg/g, 0.85～2.55 mg/g, respectively. Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside and secoisolariciresinol have scavenging effects on DPPH and ABTS free radicals. There were significant differences in the antioxidant activity of lignans in 20 kinds of flaxseeds （P<0.05）. Conclusion: Linseeds from different producing areas and varieties in Qinghai Province have different lignan content, which has good antioxidant capacity.

Effect Of Pulsed Light On Bacterium Sterilization Of Beverage Bottle Cap, Chen Jin-Ding, Wang Yuan, Mao Li-Ke, Liu Jin-Fang, Gao Yan-Xiang

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study aimed to study the effect of pulsed light on sterilization of beverage bottle caps and to expand its application in PET aseptic filling. Methods: The effect of pulsed light (PL) on the sterilization of 38 mm and 28 mm beverage bottle caps was evaluated. The factors affecting sterilization efficiency included initial aerobic bacterial count, PL irradiation distance and pulse frequency. Results: The results showed that the sterilization efficiency was proportional to the initial aerobic bacterial count and flash time, while it was inversely proportional to PL irradiation distance. When the PL treatment was performed by 7 cm …