Digital Commons Network^™

Agronomic Practices For Climate-Resilient Okra Production In Agroecological Systems: A Review, Samuel Mathu Ndungu, Lokeshwar Kesamreddy, Mathieu A.T. Ayenan, Stephen Othim, Siyabusa Mkuhlani, Yu Hsiang Liu, Amha Besufkad, Wubetu Bihon Legesse, Eric C. Legba, Judith Honfoga, Lukas Pawera

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Okra is increasingly recognized as a climate-resilient crop within diversified agroecological systems; however, an integrated synthesis of its biophysical, agronomic, and socioeconomic dimensions is lacking. This review consolidates the current knowledge on okra physiology, production ecology, and value chains, with a focus on climate resilience under heat, drought, salinity, pest, and disease pressures. Evidence across regions demonstrates that agroecological practices such as crop diversification, mulching, conservation tillage, integrated pest management, and the use of organic and biological inputs consistently improve soil health, stabilize yields under climatic stress, and reduce dependence on external inputs, although with trade-offs in labor demand and …

Effects Of “Zero Sugar” Energy Drinks On Microbial Proliferation In Relation To The Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Madison Hines

Honors Theses

Energy drinks have rapidly increased in popularity and availability in recent years. With the rise of high-caffeine beverages, complications due to caffeine consumption have become more common in younger populations. The aim of this study was to use controlled laboratory methods to determine the effect of energy drinks on a variety of organisms commonly found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The diverse and dynamic nature of microbes in the gut makes conditions of the GI tract difficult to replicate in a laboratory setting. As an alternative, isolates of bacteria commonly found as normal flora in the GI tract were plated …

Developing A Range Prediction For The Imperiled Florida Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex Badius) Using Species Distribution Modeling, Noah Williamson

Honors Theses

The Florida Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex badius) was once widespread and commonplace throughout the sandhills of the Southeastern United States, providing key ecosystem services, such as seed dispersal and soil aeration. Over recent decades, however, Florida Harvester Ant populations have declined in some areas. Current literature postulates that Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA), and the insecticides used to manage them, as well as further human encroachment onto their habitat, all likely contributed to Florida Harvester Ant population declines. Thus, to better protect these organisms, pursue data-driven conservation efforts, and guide management practices, more information about their nest site selection, as well …

Enhancing Urban Garden Capacity By Linking Biodiversity And Ecosystem Function, Mary T. Nguyen, Carleen Rauh, Shelby Gresch, Charlotte Correiro, Heidi Elmendorf, Adriane Fugh-Berman, Gina Wimp, Alexandra L. Decandia

Virginia Journal of Science

Urban agriculture broadly describes food and plant cultivation in metropolitan areas. While biodiversity is thought to support ecosystem health and resilience, the relationship between above-ground and below-ground diversity has been understudied in urban green spaces. This study examines plant, animal, bacterial, and fungal diversity across three distinct urban habitats: a turf lawn, a forb garden, and a farming space. Using bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS2 sequencing, soil nutrient analyses, and surveys of vegetation and wildlife, we connect diverse philosophies in urban agriculture to their role in advancing community diversity and ecosystem function. We found that different urban gardens support …

Abundance Of Microplastics In The Water And Stream Fish Of Big Walnut Creek, David J. Hartman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Microplastics are a major threat to both ecosystem and human health. In this study, I investigated the abundance of microplastics at five sites along Big Walnut Creek, Ohio including sites upstream, downstream, and within urban development. Samples were taken from the stream surface water and fish at each site. Microplastics were detected in the surface water and fish at all five sites with a total of 383 microplastic particles found in the 157 fish collected for this study. The mean concentration for all sites was 80.8 particles/m3 in the surface water and 2.4 particles per fish. Microplastics were almost entirely …

The Importance Of Body Size And Spatial Scale In Modeling Winter Bird Distributions, Carissa M. Mobley

Student Publications

Birds’ annual cycles include biologically linked breeding and non-breeding seasons, yet most research and bird atlases focus exclusively on the breeding season. There have been very few winter bird atlas projects in North America, and none have been published for the northeastern United States. Short daylight hours and harsh weather limit winter survey coverage, making species distribution models (SDMs) essential for addressing spatial gaps.

I evaluated the optimal spatial scale for SDMs across bird species differing in body size and tested whether optimal scale varies with body mass. Using 16,967 eBird checklists collected during the first winter survey period (December …

Perceived Barriers To Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems: Evidence From A Nebraska Producer Survey, Omid Tarashtwal

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Integrated crop-livestock systems offer agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits, yet reintegration has been slow across the Northern Great Plains despite sustained interest. Existing research has documented barriers to transition conceptually, but quantitative evidence on which barriers producers perceive as most important and which producer and operation characteristics are associated with stronger barrier perceptions remains limited. This thesis addresses that gap using data from the 2023 Nebraska Agriculture Operator Survey.

The analysis focuses on 241 Nebraska producers, including 179 crop-only and 62 livestock-only operations. Seven models are estimated, combining ordered logit estimation for single-item barriers with linear regression for averaged barrier …

Global Epidemiology Of Cephalopina Titillator Infestation In Camels: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis (1980–2025), Temesgen Mohammed, Aboma Zewude, Tsegaye Shamebo, Layaly Hamdan, Atef Oreiby, Hazim O. Khalifa, Gobena Ameni, Bojan Gajic

All Works

Background – Cephalopina titillator (C. titillator) is the causative agent of camel nasopharyngeal myiasis and is widespread in camel-rearing regions worldwide, causing impaired health, reduced productivity, and economic losses. However, despite the veterinary importance of C. titillator, global epidemiological evidence remains limited and fragmented, and no comprehensive synthesis of prevalence data across camel-rearing regions has previously been conducted. The objective of this review was to estimate the global pooled prevalence of C. titillator infestation in camels. In addition, subgroup analyses were made to assess the effect of camel species, geographic region, and study period on the pooled prevalence of C. …

Enterotoxaemia In Goats: Prevalence, Etiology, Risk Factors, And Therapeutic Approaches: A Comprehensive Review, Muhammad Mohsen, Jam Kashif Zaman, Amjad Hussain Mirani, Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, Benazir Sahito

Journal of Bioresource Management

Enterotoxaemia remains one of the most severe and rapidly fatal diseases affecting goats, mainly caused by Clostridium perfringens types C and D. Despite widespread vaccination practices, the disease continues to produce significant health and economic losses, particularly in intensive and semi-intensive goat production systems. This review summarizes the current understanding of enterotoxaemia, focusing on its etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic approaches, and updated therapeutic and preventive strategies. C. perfringens overgrows in the intestinal lumen under favorable conditions such as sudden dietary changes, high-energy feeding, or stress-related microbial imbalance. The toxins produced especially epsilon and beta induce intestinal necrosis, vascular …

Status Of Soils In Protected Areas With Different Management Objectives In Lowland Rainforest, Southwest Nigeria, Bolanle Lisa Olajiire-Ajayi, Adeniyi Sulaiman Gbadegesin, Omotosho Ayodele Ogidan

Journal of Bioresource Management

Understanding soil properties is fundamental to sustaining the ecological integrity of protected forest ecosystems. This study examined the influence of two management categories; Strict Nature Reserve (SN) and Natural Park (NP) on soil physicochemical properties within the lowland rainforest of southwestern Nigeria. Fourteen composite soil samples, six from SN and eight from NP, were analyzed for texture, bulk density (BD), pH, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), exchangeable bases (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺), and cation exchange capacity (CEC); base saturation (BS) was also determined. Both management categories exhibited sandy loam to loamy sand textures, typical of gneissic …

Utah Altitude Adjustments For Home Canning, Margie Memmott, Ariel Petersen, Callahan Adams, Andrea Schmutz

All Current Publications

Knowing your altitude is critical for canning. Safe home food preservation depends on adjusting processing times and pressures for altitude. This fact sheet provides a county-by-county and town-by-town listing of elevations across Utah, paired with the boiling-water and pressure canner adjustments recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Center for Home Food Preservation. By referencing this resource, Extension educators, food preservation instructors, and home canners can quickly identify the correct processing adjustment for their location.

Environmental Inequities In Conservation Policies And Practices: A Brief Overview, Monyai Chavers

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Conservation science and practice mirror racist notions of colonialism, prolonging a cycle in which policies and programs disregard land access. Many conservation leaders operate from a culture of land exclusion, focusing on nature to generate wealth, deeming the number of individuals removed from the commons as progress. By the turn of the 21^st Century, government conservation policies compensated private actors and groups for voluntarily adopting market-based mechanisms aimed at land conservation. Despite the emergence of various conservation programs, the data show that White Americans primarily benefit from federal conservation payments. However, the fragmentation of Black land ownership allows the …

Key Elements Of Mission-Based Urban Agriculture In The United States Aimed At Addressing The Social Determinants Of Health, Jordan Losavio

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Urban agriculture (UA) in the United States (U.S.) is increasingly positioned as a multi-domain strategy for addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), yet evidence is fragmented and often focused on participant outcomes rather than the organizational and environmental conditions that determine whether those benefits can be sustained, expanded, or maintained over time. This dissertation uses an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design to clarify (1) what SDOH outcomes are associated with UA in the peer-reviewed literature, (2) which internal and external factors leaders perceive as driving UA organizational success or failure, and (3) which factors predict comparative organizational functioning across a national …

Pull Factors Of College Selection: The Role Of Club Sports In Student Enrollment Decisions, Brett A. Anderson, Sean Seiler, Thomas Baker

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

The relationship between club sports in intercollegiate athletics and their influence on student recruitment and retention remains underexplored within the broader participatory sport ecosystem. Guided by push–pull models of college selection, this study examines whether the availability of club sports functions as a meaningful pull factor in students’ decisions to enroll in and remain at an institution. Survey data were collected from 151 current undergraduate and graduate club sport athletes across the United States. Exploratory factor analysis identified a distinct Club Sports factor, demonstrating strong construct validity and internal consistency. Multiple regression analyses revealed that club sport availability was a …

A Distributed Model For Undergraduate Education In Environmental Remote Sensing: Increased Student Interest In Science And Sense Of Science Identity And Belonging, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Monae Verbeke, Jeremy Forsythe, Joshua B. Fisher

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

"We present results from a new open-access course in satellite remote sensing of the environment that uses evidence-based, active learning pedagogy to train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists The course, called Observing Earth from Above, teaches students how to access, visualize, and communicate satellite remote sensing data from NASA’s ECOSTRESS instrument to address a variety of environmental challenges. The resources focus on follow-along tutorials for students and also include recorded lectures and interviews with remote sensing scientists."

The Nexus Between Perceived And Scientific Weather Patterns And Its Effects On Cereal Crop Production In Manyoni District, Tanzania, Fadhili Lufunyo Ngajilo, Helena Elias Myeya, Evarist Fundisha Swai

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study examines the nexus between perceived and scientific weather patterns, and its effects on cereal crop production in Manyoni District; and involved 157 participants. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a mixed methods research approach. The data were collected through a household survey, FGDs, in-depth interviews and documentary review methods for triangulation and complementarity purposes. The quantitative data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics with IBM SPSS (version 27) and Microsoft Excel Office (version 2007). The results indicate that smallholder farmers perceived that rainfall had been fluctuating with increasing trends, while temperature and wind had been …

Telemedicine As A Gateway To Early-Phase Oncology Trials: Lessons From 14,000 Patients And Future Directions For Global Access And Equity, Carlos Torrado, Clark R Andersen, Lei Kang, Amanda L Brink, Taiwo Adesoye, Hung Le, Clover J Patterson, Anna Poullard, Jessica A Osburn, Harold N Tan, Mohamed A Gouda, Sheena Charles, Gabriele E Urschel, Tin-Yun Tang, David S Hong, Stephane Champiat, Aung Naing, Apostolia M Tsimberidou, Ecaterina E Dumbrava, Sarina A Piha-Paul, Jordi Rodon, Timothy A Yap, Paula R Pohlmann, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Siqing Fu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Telemedicine expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its role in early-phase oncology trials remains uncertain. We evaluated its impact on recruitment, enrollment, equity, and access in a large phase I program.

Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients seen for first consultation in the MD Anderson Phase I Program (2016-2023). Recruitment (consent) and enrollment (treatment initiation) were compared by visit type, race/ethnicity, and geography across pre-pandemic (2016-2019), pandemic (2020-March 11, 2023), and post-public health emergency (PHE; March-December 2023) periods. A chart review of 400 patients validated findings.

Results: Of 14,085 patients, 7,247 were evaluated post-pandemic, with 36% (n …

Long-Term Variability Of Air Quality And Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Rice Crop Burning In Punjab During 2012–2020, Harsimranjit Kaur Romana, Dericks Praise Shukla, Ramesh P. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Punjab, India's primary rice and wheat production hub, has witnessed rapid expansion of paddy cultivation over the past two decades, driven by minimum support price incentives, changes in government policies, alignment of sowing with the monsoon season and the adoption of high-yielding varieties. This transition has intensified groundwater extraction and shortened the fallow period between rabi and kharif crop seasons, reducing the window between rice harvesting and wheat sowing, leading to widespread open-field burning of rice residue and recurrent post-monsoon air-quality deterioration across the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Despite numerous short-term or single-pollutant assessments, a spatially resolved, multi-pollutant and multi-decadal evaluation linking …

Redesigning Online Graduate Orientation To Foster Academic Resilience And Prevent Underperformance, Stella Michael-Makri, David E. Rodriguez

Journal of Academic Underperformance

Graduate students in fully online programs often begin their academic journey without adequate preparation for the emotional, structural, and cultural challenges of graduate-level work. For students who are first-generation, racially marginalized, international, or returning to education after time away, this lack of scaffolding can lead to early disengagement, underperformance, or attrition. Orientation, often treated as a checklist of logistical tasks, represents a missed opportunity for meaningful academic intervention. This manuscript proposes a five-module conceptual model for online graduate orientation designed to proactively support online graduate students in the domains of emotional regulation and academic identity, time management and executive functioning, …

Waste-To-Energy Innovations And Advances In Hydrothermal Carbonization, Microwave, And Pyrolysis Processes: A Review, Ali Mohammed Saleh, Noah Mohammed Saleh, Mahmod A. Abdulqader, Hadi Hamdi Mahdi, Jafar Keighobadi, Omar K. Ahmed, Khalil Farhan Yassin, Azil Bahari Bin Alias, Omar Abed Habeeb, Ibrahim Awad Mohammed

AUIQ Complementary Biological System

The accelerating global generation of municipal solid waste, coupled with escalating energy demands, presents one of the most pressing sustainability challenges of the 21st century. Conventional waste disposal pathways, such as landfilling and incineration, exacerbate environmental degradation and resource loss. In response, thermochemical technologies—specifically hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), microwave-assisted processing, and pyrolysis—have emerged as promising strategies for waste valorization and renewable energy recovery. This review critically examines recent advancements in these technologies, emphasizing their roles in converting diverse waste streams into high-value energy carriers and carbon-rich materials. Comparative analysis reveals that HTC operates efficiently under subcritical water conditions, producing hydrochar with …

Seafood, Mercury, And Human Health In Coastal South Carolina: Findings From A Community-Based Study, Russell Fielding, Julia Saltzman, Rylee-Jade Bean, Jenna Monroe, Theodore R. Them Ii

Honors College Faculty Publications

Mercury (Hg), an environmental pollutant, can harm human health. Seafood consumption is a major way that people are exposed to Hg and the analysis of human hair is a standard method to measure Hg exposure. This community-based study identified demographic and dietary factors associated with elevated Hg concentrations and health outcomes of individuals with elevated Hg concentrations throughout two coastal South Carolina (SC) counties. We collected hair samples (n = 85) at local barbershops and salons; participants completed an online survey with questions on demographics, diet, and health histories; and we analyzed hair samples using a DMA-80. Between 4.9–8.4% of …

Assessing The Performance Of A 3d Printed Pennsylvania-Style Black Light Moth Trap, Christopher B. Brown, Eva S. Conley, Peter White

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Passive light traps have long been a popular method used for trapping moths and other night-flying insects. Recent changes in the availability of equipment necessitate the development of accessible and effective alternatives for insect monitoring. This study assesses the performance of a 3D-printed Pennsylvania-style black light moth trap compared to the formerly available commercial BioQuip trap and investigates the impact of funnel size on catch rates. Our 3D-printed trap was compared to the BioQuip trap over ten trap-nights in Central Michigan. Results indicate that commercial BioQuip traps consistently captured significantly more moths than the 3D-printed prototype. An additional experiment evaluating …

Geography Of Periodical Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) In Portions Of Northeast Illinois And Northwest Indiana, Carl A. Strang

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Brood XIII periodical cicadas (Magicicada Davis) in DuPage County, Illinois, emerged in 2024 in an area that extended as much as 10.6 km beyond the edge of the previous main emergence in 2007. The implied dispersal of gravid females is greater than has been reported elsewhere and may reflect adaptation to a historical landscape of scattered wooded islands within a matrix of prairie. A series of four-year-early emergences in northeast Illinois, first described in print in 1969 and subsequently occurring prior to each succeeding main emergence, was quantified for the first time in 2020. The largest densities of singing …

Cover Pages For Tgle Vol. 58 Nos. 3 & 4

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Cover pages for TGLE Vol. 58 Nos. 3 & 4

Plaster Creek Watershed Management Plan: Chloride Addendum, Plaster Creek Stewards

Watershed Reports

This addendum complements the 2008 Plaster Creek Watershed Management Plan (WMP), which tells the full story of the Plaster Creek Watershed’s current condition, impairments, and need for restoration. This addendum focuses on chloride, an emerging pollutant of concern in Michigan that was not addressed in Plaster Creek’s 2008 WMP. This addendum meets the nine elements required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a watershed management plan to be officially approved; as such, its content and layout are intended for a technical audience.

College Of Natural Sciences 2025 Year-End Publication, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 2 Dean's Message 
Page 3 Department Highlights 
Page 4 One Day for State 
Page 5 Ice cores reveal volcanic eruptions in 13th century 
Page 5 How do our cells interpret stress 
Page 6-7 Faculty Excellence
Page 8 New chemical biology consortium will accelerate cancer research
Page 9 SDSU to combat crop disease, biofilms in new NSF-back project 
Page 9 Science as Art Competition 
Page 10-11 Student Excellence  
Page 12 SDSU researcher developing natural alternative to synthetic dyes
Page 12 Browning Retired
Page 13 Quantum technologies through NSF-backed project
Page 13 NASA Funds CNS Development of Model
Page 14 GGS …

Signatures Of The Anthropocene: Population Genomic Structure Detected In Pennsylvania Coyotes, Craig A. Marshall, Julia Halo, Kyle Van Why, Yeraldi Loera, Stavi R. Tennenbaum, Casey Burton, Ariana Di Landro, Dominic Dominguez, Daniel Duncan, Madison Machado, Catalina Posada, Stephen J. Gaughran, Madison Lichak, Kristin Brzeski, Elizabeth Heppenheimer, Bridgett Vonholdt

Michigan Tech Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) expanded across eastern North America in the last century and are ecological generalists capable of thriving across diverse habitats. Broad genetic surveillance has reported little spatial genetic patterning for this highly dispersive species. Here, we explore the genome-wide signatures of spatial patterns found in a 10-year study of 1199 coyotes from northeastern United States, with a temporal analysis of Pennsylvania coyotes. Despite their broad dispersal capability, we detected subtle but significant population structure, with two genetic clusters that have a weak clinal transition zone. This partitioning aligned qualitatively with patterns of human population density and activity. We …

A Revision Of The Psammophilic Genus Liobuthus Birula, 1898 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), With A Description Of Four New Species From Central Asia, Victor Fet, František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Matthew R. Graham

Euscorpius

The rare Central Asian psammophilic scorpion genus, Liobuthus Birula, 1898 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), is revised. Five species are delineated according to results from three species delimitation approaches using mitochondrial DNA. Results are supported by diagnostic morphology, including an assessment of the distinctive neobothriotaxy. The type species, L. kessleri Birula, 1898, is confirmed for Iran (northeast), Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (south). Four new species are described: L. atamuradovi sp. n. (Turkmenistan),  L. danovi sp. n. (Kazakhstan, northern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), L. shukurovi sp. n. (southwestern Tajikistan), and L. vachoni sp. n. (southern Kazakhstan), The unique additive neobothriotaxy (on both pedipalp femur and patella) …

Assessing Tree Species Diversity In Forests Using Combined Remote Sensing Data, Tufan Demi̇rel

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Tree species diversity (TSD) is a critical biological variable for ecosystem functioning and sustainable forest management.This study aimed to model TSD in forest ecosystems using spectral and texture metrics extracted from Sentinel-2, WorldView-3,and PlanetScope satellite imagery, and structural metrics derived from LiDAR data. Tree species data collected through field surveyswere used to calculate Shannon, Simpson, and species richness biodiversity indices. These biodiversity indicators were then related toexplanatory variables derived from remote sensing (RS) metrics. The Boruta algorithm was applied for variable selection and randomforest regression analysis was used for modeling. The results show that combining LiDAR and satellite data is …

An Examination Of Trends And Factors Influencing Teen Retention In 4-H Youth Development Program: A Case Study, Bethany R. Corona

LSU Master's Theses

Teen participation in 4-H has declined nationally in recent years, raising concerns about long-term program sustainability and youth engagement. Understanding the factors that influence teens’ decisions to remain involved in 4-H is critical for informing program design and delivery. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, this qualitative study explored teen perceptions of 4-H programming, youth voice, social influences, communication, and barriers to participation. Data were collected through two group interviews with teen 4-H members representing multiple parishes. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the constant comparative method through a three-phase coding process consisting of open, axial, …