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Ua66/5/1 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Agriculture Student Organizations, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Agriculture student organizations including:

• Block & Bridle Club
• Cherry Country Life Club
• WKU Equestrian Team

Analysis Of The Clear Plaque Phenotype Of The Bacteriophage Hk75, Phani Chandrika Kunapuli

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The growth of bacteriophage HK75 is inhibited by specific mutations in the zinc binding domain of the host RNA polymerase beta prime subunit. It shares this rare property with bacteriophage HK022 and other phages that use RNA mediated antitermination to promote early gene expression. Recent genomic analysis of HK75 and HK022 has confirmed the relatedness of these two phages and place HK75 in the lambdoid family of bacteriophages. Lambdoid phages are temperate and can adopt a lytic or lysogenic lifestyle upon infection of a suitable host. However, HK75 only forms clear plaques and thus appears to be defective in its …

The Genomic Sequence And Annotation Of Bacteriophage Hk239, Alice Ann Wright

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and they are the most numerous biological entities on Earth. Temperate phage can adopt two different lifestyles. In the lytic lifestyle, a phage injects its genome into the host and a controlled developmental program ensues. The phage DNA is replicated, phage genes are expressed and new viral particles are assembled. Ultimately, the host cell lyses and the phage particles are released into the environment. In the lysogenic lifestyle, a phage integrates its genome into the host chromosome, creating a prophage. The cell containing the prophage is known as a lysogen. Most prophage genes are …

Cloning Of A Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Marker Into A Rna Interference Construct To Test Whether The Photoreceptor Chlamyrhodopsin Is Involved In Circadian Clock Resetting, Shravya Reddy Maddi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular eukaryotic green alga, serves as a model organism to study the circadian clock in plants and animals. Rhodopsins are blue/green-light photoreceptors also found in C. reinhardtii. Chlamyrhodopsin (COP), the most abundant eyespot protein, was reported to have no role in the phototactic and photophobic responses in C. reinhardtii. Its function is yet unknown.
In the present study, we hypothesized that the function of COP is to mediate entrainment of the circadian clock by light. In order to test this hypothesis, a C. reinhardtii selection marker conferring resistance to the antibiotic paromomycin was cloned …

Farmers' Markets In Kentucky: A Geospatial, Statistical, And Cultural Analysis, Elizabeth Ann Schmitz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

To assess what factors are driving the exponential growth of farmers’ markets in Kentucky, geospatial and statistical analysis of a database of 121 farmers’ markets was conducted. A statewide survey of market leaders and a case study of a single farmers’ market both identified reasons for growing support of farmers’ markets in Kentucky.

Market distribution, vendor levels, and gross sales were mapped against a backdrop of county urban classification, median household income, and education levels. Kruskal-Wallace analysis was used to identify if Kentucky’s rural, micropolitan, and metropolitan markets differ significantly in terms of their age, number of vendors, and market …

Appearance Based Stage Recognition Of Drosophila Embryos, Gopi Chand Nutakki

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stages in Drosophila development denote the time after fertilization at which certain specific events occur in the developmental cycle. Stage information of a host embryo, as well as spatial information of a gene expression region is indispensable input for the discovery of the pattern of gene-gene interaction. Manual labeling of stages is becoming a bottleneck under the circumstance of high throughput embryo images. Automatic recognition based on the appearances of embryos is becoming a more desirable scheme. This problem, however, is very challenging due to severe variations of illumination and gene expressions. In this research thesis, we propose an appearance …

Effects Of A Simulated Tennis Match On Lymphocyte Subset Measurements, Holly Kell

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research has shown that maximal exercise has a significant effect on cells of the immune system. Specifically, lymphocyte count increases during exercise and decreases to a value lower than baseline following an acute exhaustive bout of exercise. The overall lymphocyte response is well characterized, however, the ability of exercise to affect lymphocyte subfractions is unknown to our knowledge. The purpose of this study was to assess and evaluate the affects of a simulated tennis match across two sessions on lymphocyte subsets.

Initial measurements such as age, height, weight, skinfold analysis, and heart rate were recorded for each player, as well …

Two-Phase Partitioning System Using Elvax 40w Polymer For The Biodegradation Of Aqueous Phenols, Amit Suresh Ghode

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A solid-liquid two phase partitioning system (TPPS) is a new technology platform for destroying toxic organic compounds. TPPS have traditionally been operated by using an immiscible organic phase which partitions organic compounds into the aqueous phase. TPPS using an immiscible organic phase suffers from several limitations such as the organic phase could be biodegradable and hence only certain compatible microbial strains could be used. This therefore, eliminates the desired use of mixed microbial populations for efficient degradation. A solid-liquid two phase partitioning system, in which solid polymeric beads replace liquid organic phase, appears to have benefits over the traditional liquid-liquid …

Development Of A Genetic Modification System In Clostridium Scatologenes Atcc 25775 For Generation Of Mutants, Prasanna Tamarapu Parthasarathy

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

3-Methyl indole (3-MI) is a malodorant in food and animal waste and Clostridium scatologenes ATCC 25775 is the model organism for the study of 3-MI production. 3-MI is an anaerobic degradation product of L-tryptophan and can cause pulmonary disorders and death in cattle and goats. To elucidate the 3-MI biosynthesis pathway and the underlying genes, it is necessary to develop a system to allow genetic modification in Clostridium scatologenes ATCC 25775. Bacteriophages and transposons are useful tools to achieve this goal. Isolation of Clostridium scatologenes ATCC 25775 bacteriophage was attempted by prophage induction and enrichments using environmental sources. To induce …

Caffeine Supplementation And Moderate Intensity Exercise Modulates The Cytotoxic Lymphocyte Subset (Cd+8) In Naive And Tolerant Individuals, Elizabeth Ann Fedor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of caffeine supplementation on caffeine tolerant and caffeine naïve individual’s lymphocyte counts, apoptosis and migration levels. In addition, effects of exercise on post-caffeine ingestion lymphocyte counts, apoptosis and migration levels were determined. It was hypothesized that caffeine would alter the immune system cell counts, but that exercise would be able to restore the immune system to homeostasis. Seventeen Western Kentucky University students were tested (males n=7, females n=10; n=7: caffeine tolerant= 200mg or more per day group, n=9: caffeine naïve= 50mg or less per day group). In this double-blind investigation, …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 86, No. 4), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Wku Scholar, Wku Office Of Sponsored Programs, Pamela Napier, Editor-In-Chief

WKU Scholar

No abstract provided.

Green County Agricultural And Mechanical Association - Greensburg, Kentucky (Mss 335), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 335. Treasurer’s book (1859-1860) and minute book (1859-1867) of the Green County Agricultural and Mechanical Association, Greensburg, Kentucky.

Particle Size On Respiratory Protection Provided By Two Types Of N95 Respirators On Agricultural Settings, Jacob Cho Kyungmin, M. Susan Jones, Gordon Jones, Roy Mckay, Sergey A. Grinshpun, Alok Swivedi, Rakesh Shukla, Umesh Singh, Tiina Reponen

Nursing Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to compare size-selective workplace protection factors (WPFs) of an N95 elastomeric respirator (ER) and an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) in agricultural environments. Twenty-five healthy farm workers ranging in age from 20 to 30 years voluntarily participated in the study. Altogether eight farms were included representing three different types: two horse farms, three pig barns, and three grain handling sites. Subjects wore the ER and FFR while performing their daily activities, such as spreading hay, feeding livestock, and shoveling. Aerosol concentrations in an optical particle size range of 0.7–10 µm were determined simultaneously inside …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 86, No. 3), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Age, Reproduction, Growth, Condition And Diet Of The Introduced Yellow Bass, Morone Mississippiensis, In Barren River Lake, Kentucky, Peter G. Zervas

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Introduction of fish species to North American drainages has occurred for over 100 years. Introduced fish species have been documented to have adverse effects on both the environment and native species of the drainage into which they have been introduced. To better understand the effects that introduced species may have on a particular drainage, it is essential to understand aspects of the introduced species’ life history. The objectives of the current study is to quantify the age, reproduction, growth, condition and diet of the yellow bass, Morone mississippiensis, in Barren River Lake, Kentucky. Monthly collections from three areas on …

Exploring Zirconia As A Column Packing Material, Tushar Ghugare

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Zirconia is one of the most promising column packing materials for High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The perfect HPLC support material should be energetically homogenous, have a high surface area on which different chemical species can reversibly attach and be physically and chemically stable over a wide range of pH, temperature and solvent conditions. Most existing supports do not have all of these properties. This project is also focused on a proteomics study. Zirconia, hafnium oxide and titanium oxide which are some of the more promising materials currently available, can be used for the separation and analysis of phosphorylated proteins. …

Reestablishing Diversity In Our Hardwood Forests: A Transplant Study Of Five Spring-Flowering Herbs, Danielle Racke

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Herbaceous communities are critical to the functioning of forest ecosystems. They recycle nutrients, help prevent erosion, provide critical microhabitats and maintain biodiversity. In the eastern United States, most hardwood forests are growing on land once entirely cleared or used for some form of agriculture. Although some of these forests are nearly 150 years old, they still have depauperate native herbaceous communities when compared to remaining old-growth forests. This long-term depletion may result from dispersal limitation or environmental limitation.

I tested the hypothesis that dispersal was the primary factor contributing to the absence of five spring-flowering herbaceous species in four secondary …

Synthesis, Kinetic And Photocatalytic Studies Of Porphyrin-Ruthenium-Oxo Complexes, Yan Huang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Macrocyclic ligand-complexed transition metal-oxo intermediates are the active oxidizing species in a variety of important biological and catalytic oxidation reactions. Many transition metal catalysts have been designed to mimic the predominant oxidation catalysts in Nature, namely the cytochrome P450 enzymes. Ruthenium porphyrin complexes have been the center of the research and have successfully been utilized, as catalysts, in major oxidation reactions such as the hydroxylation of alkanes. This study focuses on kinetic and photocatalytic studies of oxidation reactions with wellcharacterized high-valent ruthenium-oxo porphyrin complexes.
The trans-dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrins have been among the best characterized metal-oxo intermediates and their involvement as …

Algal Biomass Accrual In Relation To Nutrient Availability Along A Longitudinal Gradient In The Upper Green River, Kentucky, Mary Douglas Penick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nutrient limitation in aquatic ecosystems results from a deficiency in nitrogen or phosphorus levels relative to cellular growth needs. Nutrient limitation of freshwater systems is a function of biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors include vascular and nonvascular plant community composition. Abiotic factors include underlying bedrock and land-use activities (e.g. agriculture, septic systems). Nutrient availability directly affects growth, productivity, and community structure of primary producers. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess the relationship between ambient algal biomass. and in-stream nutrient levels along the longitudinal course of a river through a transition from weak to well-developed underlying …

The Effects Of Growth Hormone In The Inner Ear Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) During Hair Cell Regeneration, Chia-Hui Lin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Although deafness is a universal problem, effective treatments have remained elusive. In order to develop potential treatments, an overall understanding of the cellular process of auditory hair cell regeneration, which occurs in fish but not mammals, must be established. A previous microarray analysis and qRT-PCR validation of noise-exposed zebrafish showed that growth hormone (GH) was significantly upregulated during the process of auditory hair cell regeneration. Thus, GH may play an important role during hair cell regeneration. However, cellular effects of exogenous GH in the zebrafish auditory hair cell regeneration have not been examined after noise exposure. To understand the effect …

Environment-Induced Phenotypic Plasticity In The Teeth Of Hatchery And Wild Largemouth Bass, Micropterus Floridanus, Tamilselvi Selvaraj

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Successful stock enhancement of hatchery-reared fish depends heavily on the release of individuals able to demonstrate strong survival skills. Overall survival of fishes is a reflection of a successful blend of physiology, anatomy, and behavior. With fishes being highly phenotypically plastic, the potential exists for all aspects of hatcheryreared fish to vary significantly from their wild counterparts while having potentially adverse effects on their survival after release. Previous analyses have demonstrated significant differences between the feeding behavior of hatchery-reared and wild caught largemouth bass (Micropterus floridanus) in the laboratory, as well as differences in the development of the …

Gibbs, Renee Dorothea, B. 1976 (Fa 521), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 521. Collection consists of material accumulated by Renee Dorothea Gibbs for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. Includes a recording, index, and photographs from an interview with James Larry Crawford about growing up in Cave City, Kentucky; Mammoth Cave and other caves in the area; and farming tobacco. Also includes photographs of dishes and baskets made by Willow Block.

Scaling Of Feeding Performance In Panther Grouper, Cromileptes Altivelis, Candace R. Read

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Fishes demonstrate the greatest change throughout ontogeny in body size of all vertebrates, some becoming twelve times their original length. Panther groupers, Cromileptes altivelis, are no exception. This vast size change influences other aspects of their lives including their feeding behavior, the prey they consume, and the capabilities of the mechanisms they use to capture prey. The change in the feeding performance of the panther grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, was quantified through buccal pressure recordings and high-speed videography. From this data, we can deduce that the larger juvenile was able to generate greater negative pressure within the mouth. It appears that …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 86, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Yield And Quality Of Grafted Heirloom And Hybrid Tomatoes, Stephen T. Flomo

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) are one of the most popular vegetable crops grown for fresh market and processing in the U.S. Grafting involves the uniting of a shoot or bud scion with a rootstock to form a compound plant, mainly for managing soil-borne diseases and increasing crop yield. The objectives were to examine the effects of reciprocal and self grafts on tomato fruits, number of fruits, weight, and quality of the cultivars, ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Mister Stripey’, ‘Crista’, and ‘Maxifort’. Grafted seedlings were planted at WKU Farm on raised beds, protected with red or black plastic mulch under drip …

Effects Of Hydrologic Gradients On Woody Debris Breakdown And Macroinvertebrate Colonization In A Cumberland Plateau Watershed, Eastern Kentucky, U.S.A., Robin Rae Bernal

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research assessed the influence of hydrologic gradients on woody debris dynamics in a Cumberland Plateau watershed, eastern Kentucky, U.S.A. Although the breakdown of wood can be attributed to several different processes, including leaching, biological decay, fragmentation, and transport, the influence of differing flow regimes has been unstudied. The objectives of this study were to examine how stream channel type (temporary vs. perennial) affected wood processing dynamics (i.e., mass loss and macroinvertebrate colonization and standing stock patterns). Two questions were addressed: (1) do mass loss rates of wood differ across hydrological gradients in stream channels?, and (2) do macroinvertebrate colonization …

Molecular Analysis Of Trypanosoma Cruzi Isolates Obtained From Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) In Warren And Barren Counties Of Kentucky, Lipeng Bi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, infects a variety of wild mammals in the southern United States, but it has only recently been isolated from raccoons trapped in the state of Kentucky. The purpose of the present study was to use a molecular genotyping approach, followed by DNA sequencing to determine the genotypes (type I, or types IIa-IIe) of 15 of the Kentucky isolates. DNA samples were prepared from 15 T. cruzi- isolates using a Qiagen mini kit, and PCR amplification was performed using published primers for the 24S α rDNA sequence (D71 and D72), the …

Discrete Fractional Calculus And Its Applications To Tumor Growth, Sevgi Sengul

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Almost every theory of mathematics has its discrete counterpart that makes it conceptually easier to understand and practically easier to use in the modeling process of real world problems. For instance, one can take the "difference" of any function, from 1st order up to the n-th order with discrete calculus. However, it is also possible to extend this theory by means of discrete fractional calculus and make n- any real number such that the ½-th order difference is well defined. This thesis is comprised of five chapters that demonstrate some basic definitions and properties of discrete fractional calculus …

A Comparison Of The Singing Activity Of Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus Ludovicianus)) In Urban And Rural Settings, Shannon R. Trimboli

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As the earth’s landscape becomes increasingly urbanized, local wildlife must adapt to urban conditions or migrate to areas that are more rural. Urban wildlife face challenges such as direct loss of habitat, competition with non-native species, disturbance due to anthropogenic noise, and micro-climatic changes. Factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and noise affect the acoustical environment and may affect the ability of many animals, including birds, to communicate.

Understanding how urbanization affects birds’ singing behavior is critical because singing often plays a vital role in attracting mates and defending territories. In addition, as global climate change occurs it will become …