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Interactive Effects Of Tissue Temperature And Hydration State On Tendon Mechanical Properties Using A Chicken Drumstick Model, Makayla Maso, Kiara Maso, Mikayla Hulvey

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This study focused on the effects of temperature and hydration on tendon extensibility. Four experimental groups were tested using chicken leg tendons tested ex vivo: cold and dehydrated, cold and hydrated, warm and dehydrated, and warm and hydrated. Each treatment group was pulled with an increasing load and measured. It was hypothesized that the warm and hydrated test group would extend the furthest. This was based on studies citing increased bodily flexibility with increasing body temperature as well as stiffness at lower temperatures. Combining temperature and hydration state allowed for not only individual effects of variables to be tested but …

Malt1 Protease Inhibition Restrains Glioblastoma Progression By Reversing Tumor-Associated Macrophage-Dependent Immunosuppression In Mice, Juliana Hofstätter Azambuja, Saigopalakrishna Yerneni, Lisa Maurer, Hannah Crentsil, Gabriela Debom, Linda Klei, Mei Smyers, Chaim Sneiderman, Kristina Schwab, Rajesh Acharya, Aivi Nguyen, Josie Emery, John Little, Jeffrey Meridew, Yijen Lin Wu, Prasanna Ekambaram, Dong Hu, Pete Gough, John Bertin, Ari Melnick, Gary Kohanbash, Riyue Bao, Peter Lucas, Linda Mcallister-Lucas

College of Life Sciences Faculty Papers

MALT1 protease is an intracellular signaling molecule that promotes tumor progression via cancer cell-intrinsic and cancer cell-extrinsic mechanisms. MALT1 has been mostly studied in lymphocytes, and little is known about its role in tumor-associated macrophages. We show that MALT1 is expressed in glioblastoma (GBM)-associated macrophages. Mechanistically, GBM tumor cells induce a MALT1-NF-κB signaling axis in macrophages, leading to enhanced macrophage migration and polarization toward an immunosuppressive ('M2-like') phenotype. Inactivation of MALT1 protease promotes transcriptional reprogramming that reduces migration and restores a macrophage anti-tumor 'M1-like' phenotype. Preclinical in vivo analysis shows that MALT1 inhibitor treatment results in immuno-reactivity of GBM-associated macrophages …

Adaptive Phishing Url Detection Using Hybrid Fuzzy C-Means Clustering And Xgboost, Muntadher Mohammed Kareem, Rawaa I. Farhan

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Phishing attacks continue to evolve in sophistication, rendering static detection methods increasingly ineffective. Existing URL-based approaches suffer from limited adaptability to emerging phishing patterns, mislabeled training data, and insufficient validation protocols. This paper proposes a hybrid phishing URL detection system that integrates Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering with XGBoost classification, enhanced by a novel Micro Adaptive Feature Extractor (MAFE). The system employs a multi-stage pipeline: feature engineering generating 36 statistical and interaction features, MAFE producing 15 adaptive features through class-aware dynamic weighting, micro-pattern detection, and entropy analysis, and FCM with K=2 clusters providing soft membership features to XGBoost. A two-pass confidence-based …

Comparative Analysis Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Implications For Active Learning And Assessment At Various Curricular Levels Of Stem And Health Sciences In Developed Versus Underprivileged Countries, Vinay Munlapudi, Santanu De

FDLA Journal

Today’s all-pervasive emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of its role in education, especially for occupational disciplines in health sciences and STEM. AI has reshaped student learning and instructors’ navigation of the evolving, post coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) global academic landscape. This study aimed at encapsulating evidence-based AI implications for student-centered, active learning and assessment at various curricular levels of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and health sciences education in developed versus underprivileged or less developed countries. An extensive, scoping review of 65 recent, scholarly publications was conducted over six months through diverse search engines (PubMed, Google …

Disability-Related Educational Content In Nutrition And Dietetic Programs: An Exploratory Study, Wendy Medunick, Allison Gomes, Joachim Sackey, Laura Byham-Gray, Jane Ziegler

Journal of Dietetic Education

Background: Health disparities experienced by people with disabilities (PWD) are partly attributed to inadequate knowledge, training, confidence and competence regarding disabilities among health professionals. While registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) are key members of the healthcare team, it is unclear how pre-professional nutrition and dietetics (ND) programs prepare future RDNs to care for PWD. This study examined the status of disability-related education within ND programs in the United States. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed to 570 directors of accredited ND programs. The survey, which adapted questions from a previously validated instrument and published studies, included questions assessing disability-related …

Fraction-Seq: An Integrated Experimental And Computational Workflow For Determining The Localization And Abundance Of Small Non-Coding Rnas In Subcellular Compartments, Siddhartha Shah, Tess Cherlin, Yi Jing, Stepan Nersisyan, Benjamin E. Leiby, Isidore Rigoutsos

Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers

Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) have garnered considerable attention in recent years, following accumulating evidence of their critical roles in many cellular processes. Among sncRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs) and their isoforms (isomiRs), tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs), rRNA-derived fragments (rRFs), and Y RNA-derived fragments (yRFs) account for more than 95% of all sncRNAs found in cells. Despite their critical regulatory roles, most sncRNAs remain uncharacterized because their functionalization is a lengthy and challenging undertaking. Knowing an sncRNA's abundance helps prioritize among the various choices, while knowing where it localizes in the cell greatly limits the number and identity of its potential targets and helps …

Contributions Of Arginine And Nitrosative Stress To Huntington’S Disease Progression, Ian D. Gaudet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Neuroinflammation is a well-established component of Huntington's disease (HD) pathogenesis, yet the intricate molecular mechanisms that govern this process remain a topic of ongoing research and debate. This dissertation elucidates a novel pathway linking arginine metabolism and nitrosative stress to core HD pathology. We found that the arginine transporter SLC7A2 is selectively upregulated in various HD cellular models and patient samples. Our findings reveal that this upregulation drives an overactive inflammatory response, leading to abnormally high inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction and subsequent nitric oxide (NO) production, which causes excessive protein nitrosylation and an increase in mitochondrial fragmentation.

To …

Understanding The Impact Of Environmental Change On Shorebird Abundance And Distribution Across The Intermountain West Over The Past 30 Years, Sharon Montecino

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Shorebirds have declined worldwide over the past century, mainly due to wetland loss and degradation. Wetlands are sites that are temporarily or permanently flooded and provide critical habitat for shorebirds, especially in arid and semi-arid regions such as the Intermountain West. However, climate change and human water use threaten these wetlands, and how these threats may affect shorebirds in this region remains poorly understood. In the early 1990s, shorebird counts at over 160 wetlands across the Intermountain West provided a broad assessment of shorebird populations in the region. These counts remained the only large-scale surveys until 2022, when the Intermountain …

Secure Agricultural Futures: Re-Defining And -Imagining Agricultural Water Landscapes In The Us West, Britta L. Schumacher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Aridity is swiftly becoming the US West’s new normal. As agricultural communities adjust to persistent growing-season scarcity, they find their livelihoods under increasing threat. This points to the urgency of finding paths toward more secure water futures. A piece of this future puzzle includes water (re-)distribution – taking excess from one place and delivering it to another in need. To begin thinking about (re-)distribution, this dissertation engages with three mixed-methods and multiscale studies. The first study pairs county-level data across the 11 westernmost US states with survey data collected from individual producers in Utah to assess past and current trends …

Agronomic And Economic Evaluation Of Alternative Forage Crops Under Irrigation Technologies And Deficit Irrigation, Shikha Sharma

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Water is becoming more limited in the western United States, including Utah, so farmers need forage crops that can produce well while using less irrigation water. This study examined how different forage crops respond to reduced irrigation and different irrigation application methods, and whether some crops can provide better economic returns under limited water conditions.

Field studies were conducted at three Utah locations, Cedar City, Logan, and Vernal, from 2020 to 2024. The alternative forage crops included teff, sorghum-sudangrass (sudex), and forage rye. For economic comparison, conventional forage crops included alfalfa, corn, and three-way small grains. Four to five irrigation …

A Comparison Of Survival, Growth, And Stress Resilience In Three Different Lineages Of The Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea Gigas) Farmed On The California Central Coast, Victoria F. Hanshaw

Master's Theses

Aquaculture of Pacific oysters on the US West Coast is routinely impacted by seasonal unexplained mortality events. To better understand these large-scale mortality events in oyster aquaculture, shellfish growers and scientists in California have partnered together to conduct comparative, multi-estuary farm trials of discrete Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) lineages. In this thesis we investigate how the more recently imported Midori lineage performs compared to the historically used Miyagi lineage, as well as a Hybrid (Midori x Miyagi) lineage. As part of a 7-month long field study from April-November of 2024 in Morro Bay and Tomales Bay, California, we evaluated …

Asm And A Culture Of Sharing, Caring, And Fun In Education, David J. Westenberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

One doesn't always equate a professional scientific society with sharing, caring, and fun, but in this age of public distrust, public engagement with science and active student learning are ways to regain trust. ASM holds a leadership position in promoting and recognizing the value of education in the future of our profession and is there to support your educational journey. From K12 outreach and public engagement, to professional development, to presenting and publishing scholarship of teaching and learning, ASM has been at the forefront of biology education. Under the leadership of visionary directors such as Amy Chang and now Irene …

Spatial And Hydrologic Effects Of Climate Change And Urbanization On Freshwater Fish Communities In North Georgia Watersheds, Mayuko Mizutani

Master's Theses

Urbanization and climate change are altering streamflow and land cover across the southeastern United States, threatening freshwater biodiversity in rivers already burdened by impoundments and habitat loss. I investigated how changes in streamflow and land cover might affect fish community biodiversity in the Etowah River watershed of North Georgia. By combining a dataset of fish collections from 1999 through 2019 with contemporaneous land use and daily streamflow, I was able to model fish community responses to urbanization and climate-driven hydrologic changes and then forecast fish community structure under multiple CMIP6 global climate models and greenhouse gas emissions scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and …

Aegic Blogposts - Grain Supply Chains, Ross Kingwell, Peter Elliott

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

Aegic Blogposts - Grain Pricing, Ross Kingwell, Peter Elliott, Chris Carter

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

Aegic Blogposts - Grain Demand In Key Regions And Countries, Ross Kingwell, Sean Cowman, Peter Elliott, Chris Carter

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

Aegic Blogposts - Grain Demand Overview, Ross Kingwell, Paul Meibusch, Jorge E. Mayer, Richard Williams, Peter Elliott, Chris Carter

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

Aegic Blogposts - Grain Demand: Health And Environmental Issues, Ross Kingwell, Nicholas Thorsager, Chris Carter

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

Aegic Blogposts - Grain Industry Productivity, Ross Kingwell

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was an independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2012 by the Western Australian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Its core mission was to increase the value and international competitiveness of Australia’s multibillion-dollar export grains industry. AEGIC ceased operation at the end of 2025.

Early in its history between 20 to 30 staff from the former Western Australian Department of Agriculture were seconded to AEGIC. Following the formation of DPIRD, AEGIC continued to receive substantial annual funding support from DPIRD.

This publication is a legacy document containing collated AEGIC blog posts …

Thermal Conversion Of Cotton Gin Byproducts Into Liquid Fuels And High-Value Chemicals, Emmanuel Asare

Mechanical Engineering Theses

In this study, we performed fast pyrolysis, catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP), and catalytic hydropyrolysis (CHP) of cotton gin byproducts (CGB) to investigate their conversion into hydrocarbon-rich liquid fuels and high-value aromatic chemicals. Five CGB fractions (CC1, CC2, SM, TM, and FCGB) were collected from different stages of cotton ginning operation and characterized by proximate, ultimate, and higher heating value (HHV) analysis. The feedstocks contained 41.5 44.8 wt.% carbon, 54.2–58.5 wt.% volatile matter, 6.0–15 wt.% ash, and higher heating values of 15.2–16.8 MJ kg⁻¹. All pyrolysis experiments were performed using a Pyroprobe 5200 coupled with GC-MS/FID, while catalyst loading, hydrogen pressure, …

Evaluating The Responses Of Organic Corn Systems To Interseeded Cover Crops, Seeding Rate, And Tillage, Luvina B. Madrid

All Dissertations

Cover crop interseeding offers a potential strategy to increase plant diversity and make better use of above- and belowground resource niches within organic corn production systems. Interseeded cover crops can support agroecosystem sustainability through aboveground biomass production as well as belowground processes mediated by roots, including soil structural improvement, nutrient cycling, biological activity, and carbon storage. However, the success of interseeding depends on selecting cover crop species and management practices that provide these benefits without competing with the crop for water, nutrients, and light. Research studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of interseeded cover crop species, seeding rate, and …

Integrated Soil-Water Processes And Irrigation Management For Agricultural Water Optimization In Semi-Arid Regions, Tejinder Singh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Water is one of the most important resources for agriculture in the western United States. In semi-arid regions, farmers depend on irrigation to grow crops, but water supplies are becoming less reliable because of drought, declining snowpack, groundwater depletion, and increasing competition for limited water. Improving agricultural water use is therefore not simply about applying less water. It also requires understanding where water goes after it enters a field, how long it remains available to crops, and how farmers can use that information to make better irrigation decisions. This dissertation follows water through irrigated agricultural systems to better understand how …

Understanding And Predicting Precipitation Characteristics In The United States Through Machine Learning, Numerical Modeling And Measurements, Cody Luther Ratterman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Precipitation is one of the most important yet uncertain variables in the climate system. It varies dramatically in terms of timing, accumulation, rate, and phase, depending on location, season, circulation patterns, and atmospheric conditions. Precipitation forecasts, especially snowfall, are essential to supporting drought mitigation and water management in the Intermountain West. Because rainfall and snowfall lead to opposite effects on snowpack, accurately partitioning rain and snow is important to estimate snowpack levels, winter recreation, mountain ecosystems and runoff. The research findings in this dissertation have advanced the understanding and prediction of precipitation and snowpack in the U.S. by addressing the …

B.R. Wells Arkansas Rice Research Studies 2025, J. Hardke, X. Sha, N. Bateman

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading rice producer in the United States. The state represents 45.2% of total U.S. rice production and 45.7% of the total acres planted to rice in 2025. Rice cultural practices vary across the state and across the U.S. However, these practices are also dynamic and continue to evolve in response to changing political, environmental, and economic times. This survey was initiated in 2002 to monitor and record changes in the way Arkansas rice producers approach their livelihood. The survey was conducted by polling county extension agents in each of the counties in Arkansas that produce rice. Questions …

Blue Crab Reproductive Output And Phenology In A Changing Climate, Blaise Rohan

Master's Theses

Globally, ecosystems are experiencing rising temperatures due to climate change, with potential consequences for reproductive investment and timing in many species. Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, support valuable commercial fisheries throughout the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and understanding variation in reproductive output has important management and conservation implications. This study examined two components of blue crab reproduction: (1) reproductive investment across populations spanning multiple latitudes (New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas), using a space-for-time substitution to assess the effects of varying thermal regimes on fecundity and egg quality, and (2) spawning phenology in North Carolina from …

Evaluating The Motivations Of Participants In Online Equine Extension Courses, Sarah Vos

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

Traditional program evaluations emphasize participant demographics, knowledge gain, behavior change, and program impact. However, evaluating participant motivation can provide addition insight into why participants enroll in extension programs and help explain participant engagement and persistence throughout a program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate participant motivation in two online equine extension courses and examine potential relationships between motivation, demographics, and course delivery method, and describe participant engagement in Virtual Horse Judging Camp (VHJC). This cross-sectional study utilized convenience sampling of participants in two online equine extension courses, Horse Adult Leader Training and Educational Resource (HALTER) and VHJC. The …

Fibrous Protein Biomaterials: Characterization Of Solitary Bee Silk And Cocoons, And Development Of Recombinant Hagfish And Bee Silk Materials, Oran Wasserman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation explores two complementary aspects of fibrous protein biomaterials: the characterization of understudied naturally occurring solitary bee silk and cocoons; and recombinant expression and biomaterial formation of recombinant hagfish intermediate filaments (rHIF) and a single Osmia lignaria Say (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) silk protein. Some solitary bee species, which make up about 75% of all bee species, spin silk to construct protective cocoons during development. Despite the importance of silk and cocoons to the solitary bees' life history, their properties remain largely unexplored. This dissertation presents a novel method for isolating and testing individual silk fibers without interfering with the development …

Integrating Space Use And Demography To Support Management Of An Endangered Alpine Ungulate, Danielle J. Berger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The places animals choose to live affect the food they find, the dangers they face, and the weather conditions they experience. These experiences influence whether individual animals survive and reproduce, which in turn affects the size and health of animal populations. Although scientists have long believed that animal movements play an important role in population trends, there has been limited real-world evidence showing this connection. Advances in GPS tracking technology now allow researchers to follow animals over long periods and better understand how movement influences survival. Using 20 years of GPS tracking data from the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep …

Eusocial Caste Specialization Under Abiotic And Biotic Stress In A Stingless Bee, Tetragonisca Angustula, Kristin M. Robinson

Dissertations

Eusocial insects rely on division of labor to achieve high colony efficiency and provide essential ecosystem services, but specialization may also constrain colony resilience when workers operate near their physiological or behavioral limits under abiotic and biotic stressors. How specialization mediates these responses remains poorly understood, particularly in stingless bees (Tribe: Meliponini). Using the agriculturally relevant stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula, which possesses a specialized soldier subcaste, I investigated how a high degree of worker specialization influences physiological tolerance and predator responses across worker subcastes.

In this dissertation, I quantified variation in thermal tolerance and desiccation resistance among worker subcastes …

Effects Of Photosynthetic Mode On Growth In Closely Related Tillandsia Species, Jeremy L. Read

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

To examine the effects of photosynthetic mode (C3 vs CAM) on plant productivity, subjects of the sister taxa Tillandsia confertiflora (a C3 species) and Tillandsia latifolia (a CAM species) were grown under controlled conditions via growth chamber over 30 weeks. These subjects were divided into non-stressed and drought stress groups. Subjects were compared for total biomass gained or lost over the time period as well as physiological stress measures and CAM activity. The primary conclusion is that usage of CAM does not show major differences or tradeoffs for overall productivity. Future work is needed to clarify if this holds true …