Digital Commons Network^™

A Look Into Frugivorous Interactions With Psychotria And Palicourea In Barro Colorado Island, Panama, Madison Smart, Gerald Schneider, Elsa Jos

Student Research Symposium

Importance of Seed Dispersal

• Seed dispersal is a vital ecological process that influences plant population dynamics and ecosystem structure.
• Half of all seed-bearing plants rely on frugivorous animals to disperse their seeds to new locations, promoting plant recruitment

Investigating The Oxytocin System Of The Brain In The Molecular Basis Of Self-Control, Kenzie Wachtel

Student Research Symposium

• Oxytocin (OXT) is a neuropeptide involved in social behaviors such as pair-bonding, maternal behavior, and attachment¹. At the core of these social bonds is reward. OXT has many interactions with neural reward circuits to produce the pleasurable effects of social contact².

Internship As An In-Vivo Technician At The Institute For Antiviral Research, Ashlynn Clark

Student Research Symposium

The Institute for Antiviral Research (IAR), located at Utah State University, specializes in evaluating antiviral agents and vaccines against a wide array of human pathogenic viruses, such as influenza, enterovirus, West Nile virus, yellow fever, zika virus, polio, and SARS-CoV-2, utilizing in vivo and in vitro models.

Creating A Stat2 Knock-Out Rat With Crispr/Cas9 Using I-Gonad, Isabella Dejesus, Yanan Liu, Don Joo, Nathan Merrill

Student Research Symposium

The STAT2 gene encodes a protein called Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 2. This protein is a part of the STAT family of transcription factors, which are involved in mediating cellular responses to various cytokines and growth factors, particularly those related to the immune response. Here, we established a successful procedure for creating a STAT2 knock-out (KO) Rat that can be used for more accurate disease testing of serious human ailments such as Lupus, Polio, Herpes, RSV, and even cancer.

Protective Efficacy Of A Yellow Fever Virus Rna- Based Vaccine In A Hamster Model, Abby Sherman

Student Research Symposium

• Yellow Fever virus (YFV) remains a concern as of 2023, 34 countries in Africa and 13 countries in South America are endemic, with a case fatality rate of 11% shown in preliminary data.^[3]

Identifying Compensatory Mutations In The Envelope Protein Of Japanese Encephalitis Virus That Restore Neurovirulence, Nathan Taylor, Jiyoun Kim

Student Research Symposium

• Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) is a positive sense, single stranded Enveloped virus

Distributor-Specific Variability In Balb/C Mouse Mortality Following Sars-Cov-2-Ma10 Infection, Taylor Kerr

Student Research Symposium

In recent years SARS-COV-2 has become a rapidly expanding area of research. To model human infections, this virus was adapted to mice enabling valuable insight into these processes.² Mice are often an effective research model due to their low cost, short reproduction time, and ability to adapt to a wide variety of viruses. Research into these immunological responses is crucial in developing vaccines, treatments, and furthering our understanding of this virus' behavior.¹ However, genetic variability in mouse models may be confounding previous and on-going research.

Effects Of C-Section Birth On Vasopressin 1a Receptors In The Prairie Vole Brain, Caleb Hart

Student Research Symposium

The goal of this study was to understand how the brain might change depending on the birth experience: a vaginal birth or a cesarean section. C-sections have been associated with an increased risk of obesity and other behavioral and metabolic health conditions that are related to the function of hypothalamic hormones in the brain¹. Vasopressin is one neuropeptide hormone that is produced in the hypothalamus and influences a variety of metabolic functions and behaviors, including water balance and social pair bonding². This study used prairie voles to assess the effect of birth experience on the brain …

Seasonal And Sex-Based Variation In Coyote Responses To Social Olfactory Stimuli, Giuliana Carneiro

Student Research Symposium

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are socially complex, often forming strong pair bonds that can persist across multiple breeding seasons³. Scent marking, particularly urine marking, is a key form of communication used to establish territory, convey reproductive status, and maintain social hierarchies¹. This behavior is influenced by factors such as sex and season, and is central to understanding their social dynamics⁴. This preliminary study is part of a broader investigation into coyote behavior, specifically examining how these factors affect responses to olfactory stimuli from familiar and unfamiliar individuals².

In this study, coyote …

Latency To Approach Social Olfactory Stimuli In Female Coyotes: Pairmate Vs Sibling, Jenny Malm, Caroline Long

Student Research Symposium

• Scent marking is a common form of communication among mammals, including coyotes¹.

Qualitative Assessment Of Coyote Olfactory Behavior In Response To Urine Stimuli, Sophie Isom, Caroline Long

Student Research Symposium

• The coyote (Canis latrans) marks territorial boundaries with scent cues.¹

Mdpk Cell Lines Can Be Used For In Vitro Antiviral Testing With Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5n1), Jada L. Westover

Student Research Symposium

• Outbreak in agricultural poultry starting in 2022
• In March 2024 first confirmed case in Dairy Cattle
• Tested drugs T705, Oseltamivir, Baloxivir, Ribavirin, EIDD-2947, and EIDD-2749 on three different cell lines
• Goal: See if MDBK cell lines could be used for in vitro studies

Gastric Survivability Of Streptomyces Narbonensis, Laramie Johnson, Laurel Hilterbrand, Ephraim Mohr, Eliza Lewis

Student Research Symposium

Human sciences and medicine have continually been advancing, and taken off in the last few centuries. This has included the development of many new medicines, antibiotics, and disinfectants. Antibiotics have to be able to survive and perform its duty within the human body, despite the changes in pH that occur naturally within the body in response to stimuli (Cotter, 2003). If a bacteria is unable to adapt to the pH environment of the human body in which it is placed, it will not be able to survive and continue to reproduce. The bacteria may be able to adapt via membrane …

Peribacillus Simplex Does Not Exhibit Antimicrobial Properties Against Staphylococcus, Dallin Thomas, Jordan Wheeler, Natalie Yoho

Student Research Symposium

Antibiotics are powerful drugs that combat previously fatal diseases. These miracle drugs have saved countless lives, but have the tendency to be misused. They are used incorrectly to treat patients who don't need them, and given to animals for non therapeutic use. Antibiotics are also known to pollute soils and groundwater all around the world (3). As antibiotics are found more readily in the environment, they encourage evolution, recombination, and dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria (5). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (6) antibiotic resistance kills at least 1.27 million people worldwide for diseases that used to …

Molecular Subtyping Of Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy, Michal Elovitz, Elaine Gee, Nathaniel Delaney-Busch, Alison Moe, Mitsu Reddy, Arkady Khodursky, Johnny La, Ilma Abbas, Kay Mekaru, Hunter Collins, Farooq Siddiqui, Rory Nolan, Rupsa Boelig, Daniel Kiefer, Pamela Simmons, George Saade, Antonio Saad, Ebony Carter, Thomas Mcelrath, Stephen Quake, Mark Depristo, Carrie Haverty, Manfred Lee, Eugeni Namsaraev, Vincenzo Berghella, Ai-Ris Collier, Antonia Frolova, Esther Park-Hwang, Luis Pacheco, Elizabeth Sutton, Maneesh Jain, Kara Rood, William A Grobman, Joseph Biggio, Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, Arun Jeyabalan, Morten Rasmussen

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), including preeclampsia, affect 1 in 6 pregnancies, are major contributors to maternal morbidity and mortality, yet lack precision medicine strategies. Analyzing transcriptomic data from a prospectively-collected diverse cohort (n = 9102), this study reveals distinct RNA subtypes in maternal blood, reclassifying clinical HDP phenotypes like early/late-onset preeclampsia. The placental gene PAPPA2 strongly predicts the most severe forms of preeclampsia in individuals without pre-existing high risk factors, months before symptoms, and its overexpression correlates with earlier delivery in a dose-dependent manner. Further, molecular subtypes characterized by immune genes are upregulated in less severe forms of HDP. …

Sample Storage Method And Collection Time Effects On Horse Hair Cortisol Concentrations, Grace Robertson

Scholars Week

Serum cortisol concentration is the gold standard for evaluating stress in horses. However, it can be affected by circadian rhythms, environmental factors, and other excitatory events. Hair cortisol is less subject to these variables and is less invasive to collect, but there is a lack of published information on hair cortisol concentrations in horses. The objectives of this study were to examine 1) the impact of sample storage (Room temperature vs. Frozen) and 2) the effect of collection date (spring vs. fall), on cortisol concentration in equine hair. It was hypothesized that Frozen samples would yield higher concentrations than Room …

Economics Of Controlling Weeds Of Permanent Pasture, I Popay, N Barlow

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In general, inedible weeds of permanent pasture reduce pas­ture dry matter available to stock in direct proportion to their cover (Doyle et al., 1984). Translating the effects of weeds on pasture to reductions in animal production is difficult because (i) pasture value can range from zero to the cost of purchased feed (ii) weed effects and pasture value can vary seasonally and interact and (iii) reductions in pasture availability at one time affect later growth (Auld et al., 1987). There have been few direct measurements of effects of pasture weeds on animal pro­ductivity, because of the co.sts involved. However, simulation …

Variation In Hypericum Perforatum L. In Australia, M H. Campbell, C E. May, I A. Southwell, J D. Tomlinson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Australia Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort) is a major weed of pastures because it replaces useful vegetation, causes photosensitisation in grazing animals, depresses their central nervous system and renders them hypersensitive to tem­perature change and handling (Campbell and Delfosse, 1984). H. perforatum infested 188,000 ha in New South Wales (N.S.W.) in 1976, (Campbell, 1977) and 173,000 ha in Victoria in 1983 (Shepherd, 1983). Specimens of H. perforatum collected in 1929 in N.S.W., Victoria and South Australia were classed as the narrow leaved var. angustifolium De Candolle (Calvert, 1930, 1932) at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (B. Mathew, pers. …

The Potential For Pasture Seed Production In Yunnan Province, Southern China, Li Shuan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The objective of the seed production team has been to develop commercial seed production capabilities in the Yunnan Livestock and Pasture Development Project areas in Yunnan (Vaughan, 1987). It is mainly a mountainous area with altitudes ranging from 86 min the SE to 6,580 m in the NW. Since 1983, 523 cultivars or breeding materials of many trop­ical, transitional and temperate species have been introduced for evaluation at 13 sites in different ecological zones. About 90 cultivars show good adaption and produce high yields of dry matter.

A Comparison Of Rhizome And Seed Propagation Of Three Grasses Of Nei Mongol: Chinese Wildrye, Tender Pennisteum And Reedlike Foxtail, Na Sen, Lee Yan Qin, Su Xiao Lin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

China is making great efforts to re-vegetate and improve her rangelands. In Inner Mongolia, improvement and expansion of the rangeland base is necessary to meet the needs of a flourish­ing local livestock industry, and growing demand for livestock products (including draft animals) in China as a whole. But the harsh growing conditions in this cold, dry and windy steppe country make seedling establishment difficult, and propagation with seed is risky at best. Methods of grassland propagation that minimize this risk, reduce the rest period after planting, and result in a more productive range will aid the revegetation effort considerably, and …

Modification Of Stolon Growth, Development And Flowering By Plant Growth Regulators In White Clover (Trifolium Repens L.) Seed Crops, A H. Marshall, D H. Hides

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Within the EEC the need to develop low cost less intensive systems of animal production has led to an increase in the importance of legumes generally, and white clover in particu­lar. At present, annual white clover seed usage within the EEC is approximately 4,000 tonnes, however, the self sufficiency rate is expected to fall below 50 % by the end of the 1980s due prin­cipally to unpredictable seed yields which make it an unprofit­able crop for seed growers. The main component of seed yield in white clover is the number of ripe inflorescences at harvest (Zaleski, 1961) however, the proportion …

Plant Resources And Forage Seed Production In China, Dong Peihua

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

China is situated in the Eastern part of Asia ; from North to South it extends across the temperate and tropical zones. From East to West it has humid, semiarid, arid regions. There is no frost through the year in some part ofHainan Island, Yunnan, Guangdong and Taiwan provinces. Therefore plants grow the year round and there is a wide range of tropical species. The geographical and climatical differences resulted in rich grass resources. There are three hundred million hectares of natural pastures in Northern China, with more than 4000 plant species. These plants have different degrees of feeding value. …

Goat Tying Styles Impact On Performance Consistency With Rodeo Competitors In The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Ozark Region, Marie Baxley, C.A. Shea Porr, Thomas Powell

Honors College Theses

Goat tying is a rodeo event involving dismounting a horse, and flanking and tying three legs of a goat. Flanking is defined as picking a goat up and setting it on the ground on its side. Flank/gather (FG) is a style where riders scoop the legs with the right hand and then place them in the left. Catch the flank (CF), stuffing (ST), and funneling (FN) are other methods that involve the goats’ legs landing together so the right hand is not needed for gathering. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) if flanking method affects performance, and …

Daily Acute Intermittent Hypoxia Elicits Age & Sex-Dependent Changes In Molecules Regulating Phrenic Motor Plasticity, Jayakrishnan Nair, Alexandria Marciante, Carter Lurk, Mia Kelly, Maclain Capron, Gordon Mitchell

Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Papers

Acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) elicits a form of respiratory motor plasticity known as phrenic long-term facilitation (pLTF). Exposure to repetitive daily AIH (dAIH) enhances pLTF, a form of metaplasticity. Little is known concerning cellular mechanisms giving rise to dAIH-induced metaplasticity and the age-dependent sexual dimorphism of AIH associated pro-plasticity mRNA expression. To test if age, sex, and dAIH effects are associated with differential expression of molecules that regulate the Q- and S-pathways and their cross-talk interactions to phrenic motor facilitation, we analyzed key regulatory molecules in ventral spinal (C3-C5) homogenates from young (3-month) and middle-aged (12-month) male and female Sprague-Dawley …

Effect Of Heat Stress On Ileal Epithelial Barrier Integrity In Broilers Divergently Selected For High- And Low-Water Efficiency, Elizabeth S. Greene, Brooklee Roach, Maria Fernandez Cuadrado, Sara Orlowski, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Water scarcity and rising global temperatures are two of the greatest current and future threats to poultry sustainability. Therefore, selection for water efficiency (WE) and heat resilience are of vital importance. Additionally, intestinal integrity is of critical importance under challenging conditions to maintain nutrient absorption and therefore, growth and performance of broilers. Here, we examined the effect of chronic cyclic heat stress (HS) on the ileal expression profile of tight-junction, gap-junction, adherens, and desmosome genes in the fourth generation of divergently selected low (LWE)- and high water efficient (HWE)-chicken lines. LWE birds exhibited higher levels of gut permeability, regardless of …

Biochemical And Structural Insights Into The Yersinia Effector Yopm And Its Negative Regulation Of The Pyrin Inflammasome, Bethany Wairimu Mwaura

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Bacteria utilize sophisticated secretion systems to inject effectors into host cells in order to facilitate their survival and replication in the host. Some pathogenic species of Gram-negative bacteria use a conserved contact-dependent T3SS to inject a wide array of effectors. While the effectors diverge in their structures, functions and cell-localization, the T3SS is well conserved. Several effectors discussed in this thesis target key host inflammasome responses. The focus of this work is how the Yersinia effector YopM inhibits the pyrin inflammasome. During Yersinia infection, two effectors, YopE and YopT inadvertently activate the pyrin inflammasome while targeting RhoA to avoid phagocytosis. …

Vestibular Neurons Link Motion Sickness, Behavioural Thermoregulation And Metabolic Balance In Mice, Longlong Tu, Xing Fang, Yongjie Yang, Meng Yu, Hailan Liu, Hesong Liu, Na Yin, Jonathan C Bean, Kristine M Conde, Mengjie Wang, Yongxiang Li, Olivia Z Ginnard, Qingzhuo Liu, Yuhan Shi, Junying Han, Yi Zhu, Makoto Fukuda, Qingchun Tong, Benjamin Arenkiel, Mingshan Xue, Yang He, Chunmei Wang, Yong Xu

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Motion sickness is associated with thermoregulation and metabolic control, but the underlying neural circuitry remains largely unknown. Here we show that neurons in the medial vestibular nuclei parvocellular part (MVePC) mediate the hypothermic responses induced by motion. Reactivation of motion-sensitive MVePC neurons recapitulates motion sickness in mice. We show that motion-activated neurons in the MVePC are glutamatergic (MVePCGlu), and that optogenetic stimulation of MVePCGlu neurons mimics motion-induced hypothermia by signalling to the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN). Acute inhibition of MVePC-LPBN circuitry abrogates motion-induced hypothermia. Finally, we show that chronic inhibition of MVePCGlu neurons prevents diet-induced obesity and improves glucose homeostasis …

Role And Key Species Of Freshwater Snails In Enhancing Plant Growth Performance Of Duckweeds (Spirodela Polyrhiza) In Rice Paddy Fields, Dwi Harya Yudistira, Fariz Ardiansyah Gunawan, Shahla Aurelia Arif, Satoru Sato

Jurnal Kultivasi

Freshwater snails are widely distributed in the rice field ecosystem. Freshwater snails’ feeding and metabolic activities can potentially increase the complexity of freshwater ecosystems, particularly through the nutrient cycle. Cipangopaludina chinensis, Physa acuta, and Semisulcospira libertina are commonly found in Japan's paddy field ecosystems. Spirodela polyrhiza is expected to support biodiversity, improve soil fertility, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in paddy field ecosystems, while providing food and shelter for the snails. In this study, we investigated the effects of these three snail species on the growth of Spirodela polyrhiza. The results showed that the presence of P. acuta or C. …

The Effect Of Weed Control Using Herbicide On Soil Bacteria, Growth, And Yield Of Sweet Corn, Lafi Na'imatul Bayyinah, Purwanto, Risqa Naila Khusna Syarifah, Rama Adi Pratama, Ida Widiyawati, Hendra

Jurnal Kultivasi

Weeds are managed by herbicides, but this can reduce the abundance of soil bacteria. This research aimed to determine the effect of active compounds of herbicides on weeds, the abundance of soil bacteria, growth and yield of sweet corn. The experiment was conducted from June to October 2023 in the fields and Laboratory of Agronomy and Horticulture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto. A randomized block design was used, consisting of eight treatments and four replications. The treatments included control (H0); weeding (H1); paraquat (H2); glyphosate (H3); paraquat, atrazine, mesotrione (H4); glyphosate, atrazine, mesotrione (H5); paraquat, atrazine, mesotrione, nicosulfuron (H6); and glyphosate, …

The Interaction Of Nitrogen And Potassium Nutrients In Increasing Growth, Yield, And Quality Of Sweet Corn Products, Risqa Naila Khusna Syarifah, Purwanto, Agus Sarjito, Hana Hanifa, Lafi Na'imatul Bayyinah

Jurnal Kultivasi

Fertilizer application is a strategy that can be used to increase sweet corn production and maintain environmental balance. This research aims (i) to determine the optimal dose of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers for sweet corn production; (ii) to study the agronomic and physiological responses of sweet corn plants at different nitrogen and potassium dose; and (iii) to determine the nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) nutrient uptake and efficiency by sweet corn at different fertilizer doses and their interactions on yield and yield quality. The research was conducted from March to November 2022 in the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. …