Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Amaranth’S Color Palette: Linking Phenotype, Plant Adaptation, And Human Health, Sarah Redman, Chance Riggins Ph.D.

PRECS student projects

Amaranthus is a genus containing species that are highly desirable, yet underutilized crops and species that are highly despised pernicious agricultural weeds.

• Cultivated species are primarily grown as nutritious pseudograins, colorful ornamentals, or leafy greens and are recognized for tolerance to heat, drought, and salinity.
• Weedy amaranths possess similar adaptive traits, in addition to evolved resistance to numerous herbicides, and pose severe challenges to global agriculture.
• Plant pigments (i.e., betalains, carotenoids) are central to understanding this impressive diversity of phenotypes and adaptive traits.

Zoo Education Efficacy In The Context Of The Modern-Day Zoo: A Study Of Aza-Accredited Zoos And Education Models, Taylor L. Ruscitti

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Zoos have become a built-in component of society and play many roles. One of the roles includes being facilitators of education. Education serves to increase the positive public perception of zoos and works to continue to gain funds and support for a zoo’s overall purpose. Through a literature review and analysis, this thesis explores the modern-day context of zoos and analyzes how education can drive the zoo’s mission. The focus will be on Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) accredited zoos. While many other facilities that house an array of animals, AZA …

Drivers And Barriers Of The Transition To Regenerative Agriculture Within The Eu’S Common Agricultural Policy Reform: Comparative Analysis With The Us Farm Bill, Samantha Gish

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the wake of multiple crises, such as climate change and international conflict, there is increased urgency to ensure a stable food system. Additionally, changing priorities of citizens have fostered the desire for sustainable production of food. One innovative method of food production is regenerative agriculture and in this practice the main goals are to increase system resilience, improve soil and sequester carbon. This is done through practices such as no tilling, cover and intercropping, and incorporation of livestock into crop fields. Although great in theory, these practices go against traditional agricultural practices and therefore the policy currently in place …

Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs In Coral Reefs: A Global Analysis, Megan E. Keene

Student Publications

Coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots that provide humans with extractive ecosystem services like fisheries and non-extractive services like tourism. Though no studies have examined these trade-offs among these services at a global scale, there are now large, open datasets that make this possible. Using these datasets, we asked whether spatial protection and the level of protection (World Database on Protected Areas) impacted coral reef tourism value (Atlas of Ocean Wealth). We also examined whether proximity to regions of high fishing effort, defined as the top 25th percentile of the average annual effort from Global Fishing Watch, impacted tourism values. Since …

A Mixed Methods Case Study: Effects Of Instructors’ Beliefs On Incorporation Of Sustainability Curriculum At A Midwestern University, Anna Oetting

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The degree to which sustainability is taught is often varied and inconsistent across colleges, departments, and higher education institutions. However, educating students and future generations regarding the different pillars of sustainability, including economic, social, and environmental topics, is increasing in importance and urgency. A mixed methods case study utilized surveys and interviews to investigate why instructors incorporate sustainability, what impacts course incorporation of sustainability, and barriers that instructors face. This study found that instructors’ beliefs regarding the importance of sustainability relate to the extent to which sustainability is incorporated into their curriculum. Topics of sustainability incorporated into a class are …

Studies Toward Provenance Determination For Indigo Dyes, Erin Kibby

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Species of indigo-producing plants have been used to color textiles for thousands of years all over the globe. Natural indigo-producing species have historically been harvested in regions of Asia, North Africa, and North and South America. This study is an exploration of methods that can be used to determine the provenance (origin) of the indigo dye in a textile through the extraction and isolation of indigoids, flavonoids, and other compounds from the natural dyestuff. There is no accepted method of extracting flavonoids from indigo-dyed textiles specifically, and there is little investigation of the regionally different species. If a method is …

Associations Among Plant-Based Dietary Indexes, The Dietary Inflammatory Index, And Inflammatory Potential In Female College Students In Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study, Ghadeer S. Aljuraiban, Rachel Gibson, Leenah Al-Freeh, Sara Al-Musharaf, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., James R. Hébert, Linda M. Oude, Queenie Chan

Faculty Publications

Background Saudi Arabian diets are transitioning to more Western dietary patterns that have been associated with higher levels of inflammation. Emerging evidence suggests plant-based diets are related to lower levels of inflammation; however, the definition of plant-based diets varies. Objective The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which an overall Plant-Based Diet Index (PDI), Healthy-PDI (hPDI), and Unhealthy-PDI (uPDI) vs Energy-Adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index correlate with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level. Design This was a cross-sectional study carried out at King Saud University. Data on dietary intake, anthropometrics, and hs-CRP were collected. Participants/setting Female students aged …

2022 Research Day Program, Lincoln Memorial University

Research Day

This program contains abstracts and presentation summaries from LMU's 2022 Annual Research Day conference.

Quantitative Multidimensional Stress Assessment From Facial Videos, Lin He

Dissertations (1934 -)

Stress has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of an individual and is a growing concern for society, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facial video-based stress evaluation from non-invasive cameras has proven to be a significantly more efficient method to evaluate stress in comparison to approaches that use questionnaires or wearable sensors. Plenty of classification models have been built for stress detection. However, most do not consider individual differences. Also, the results for such models are limited by a uni-dimensional definition of stress levels lacking a comprehensive quantitative definition of stress. The dissertation focuses on building a …

Trophic Relationships Between Tadpoles And Other Aquatic Organisms In Sub-Tropical Ponds, Kira Cates

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Quantitative Study Of Orchids And Their Proximate Environments Over An Elevational Gradient On The Northern Slope Of Montagne D’Ambre, Hazel Schrader

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research investigated change in orchid populations and their proximate environments on the Northern slope of Montagne d’Ambre, a subhumid forest in Northern Madagascar. Orchid density, way of life (epiphyte or terrestrial), phenology, and associations were recorded over 100m elevation gradients and between forest types (primary, secondary, dry, and humid forests at the same altitude). Additionally, orchid preferences for certain heights in the forest and DBH of host trees were analyzed. The establishment of 50X20m plots in 100m elevation gradients combined with ground survey yielded significant results demonstrating change along with elevation as well as forest types. Orchid density increased …

Predicting Lower Body Soft Tissue Injuries In American Football With Gps Data, Nicholas Tice

Theses and Dissertations

It is of utmost importance to sports organizations that they keep their players as healthy as possible and contributing to the success of the team. Advancements in technology and investments by sports clubs have allowed researchers to better understand the role of load management in high-level athletes to mitigate injury risk. Through GPS tracking data provided by a collaborating Division I American college football team, we seek to predict lower body soft tissue injuries in future training sessions and reduce the number of potentially avoidable injuries within the organization. The difficulty of analyzing the injury data set is that the …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 3 - April - June 2022, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Reflections from IGHD’s Associate Faculty
• Key Publications
• Webinars and Dialogues
• Celebration
• Collaborate With U

Assessing The Effectiveness Of An Egg Intervention In The Nutritional And Food Security Status Of Infants And Toddlers From Rural Honduras, Aishat Adewoye, Mario Keko, Luke Roberson, Dziyana Nazaruk, Gisela Ramos, Laura Manship, Haresh Rochani, Asli Aslan, Ana M. Palacios

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploratory Analysis Of The Associations Between Neonicotinoids And Measures Of Adiposity Among Us Adults: Nhanes 2015–2016, Amruta M. Godbole, Sheniz Moonie, Courtney Coughenour, Cai Zhang, Aimin Chen, Ann M. Vuong

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Background: Toxicology studies suggest that neonicotinoids may be associated with adiposity development via thyroid hormone disruption and increased oxidative stress. Prior epidemiological studies report mixed results for the association between neonicotinoids and adiposity measures.

Objective: To examine the association between detectable concentrations of parent neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, acetamiprid, clothianidin) and neonicotinoid metabolites (5-hydroxy-imidacloprid, N-desmethyl-acetamiprid) with adiposity measures among US adults, and whether sex modifies the associations for neonicotinoid metabolites with adiposity.

Methods: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015–2016 data was utilized to estimate covariate-adjusted associations between detectable neonicotinoids and fat mass index (FMI), lean mass index (LMI), waist …

Development Of Enhanced Algae Strains And Sustainable Cultivation Processes For Production Of Algal Lipids For Biofuels And Bioproducts, Enlin Lo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The establishment of an algae industry is crucial for addressing global biofuel and bioproduct demand that meets the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) worldwide. Photosynthetic microalgae are excellent sources for food, fiber, fuel, feed, and fertilizer, which are the 5Fs of the SDG. However, at present, algae-based materials are not cost-competitive or sufficiently sustainable. Improved productivity, lower cultivation cost, and reduced use of resources are required to transition from lab to industry, necessitating the development of superior strains that have high productivity and can tolerate environmental stress, such as temperature and salinity, so they can be cultivated at large scale outdoors …

Thinking Creatively About Functional Diversity And Functional Traits (Bef), Shahid Naeem

Sustainability Seminar Series

Understanding the impacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functions and services represents a major focus of contemporary environmental biology, but its progress hinges on advances in the study of functional diversity. Traditional approaches to functional diversity, however, have centered on taking virtually any measure of an organism’s biology, or an organism’s functional traits (OFTs), often assuming that variation in OFTs among species reflects ecological and evolutionary tradeoffs. Contemporary issues, however, require more creative approaches to the quantification and analysis of OFTs. Here, I present results from four of our group’s research that illustrate the value of more creative approaches to …

Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Deficiency (Ssadhd): Qualitative Needs Assessment For Patients With A Rare Neurological Disorder, Cassandra Bovee, Kayla Woodring

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Soil And Foliar Application Of Fulvic Acid On Yield Parameters Of Organically Grown Bell Peppers (Capsicum Annuum L.) Under Open-Field Conditions In Tennessee, Pinkky Kanabar, Dilip Nandwani

Student Research

Due to increased demand for healthier fresh produce by consumers, growers are seeking for environmental friendlier techniques to improve sustainability and profitability in organic vegetable production. The use of fulvic acid biostimulant coupled with different mode of application can contribute to enhanced plant growth and high-quality yield. A field experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the organic farm of Tennessee State University in summer 2021. The influence of foliar and soil application of fulvic acid biostimulant on yield of organically grown bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) was investigated. Transplants were raised from organic …

Geothermal Development In Kenya: Gender Based Socio-Cultural And Socio-Economic Implications, Faye N. Ricker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic case study that analyzes the gendered socio-cultural and socio-economic implications for a community that was displaced in order to develop a geothermal energy system in Kenya. The implications are rendered particularly interesting because the displaced community is also one of the communities served by the geothermal power grid. The analysis employs a composite framework of Feminist Political Ecology and the Political Ecology of Climate Change Mitigation. This work explores gendered perceptions and control of energy, livelihood activities, place attachment, and the cultural/spiritual significance of geothermal energy.

Geothermal energy is a potentially promising source of low-carbon …

An Internet Of Medical Things (Iomt) Approach For Remote Assessment Of Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Ruchitha Chinthala

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Internet-of-Medical-Things (IoMT) allows for a smart healthcare system to remotely monitor and assess patient’s progress at home. Head and neck cancers (HNC) are treated with various treatment options which are associated with significant side effects, mainly shoulder dysfunction, and trismus (spasm of jaw muscles). However, measurement of patient’s progress, and side effects while undergoing treatment, is limited to evaluation received based on scheduled appointments. Development of strategies to enhance monitoring during follow-up period is needed for earlier identification of problems such as trismus and shoulder dysfunction. In this interdisciplinary research, for the first time, we develop an IoMT enabling application, …

Television Viewing Time And All-Cause Mortality: Interactions With Bmi, Physical Activity, Smoking, And Dietary Factors, Christopher T. Swain, Julie K. Bassett, Allison M. Hodge, David W. Dunstan, Neville Owen, Yi Yang, Harindra Jayasekara, James R. Hébert Scd, Nitin Shivappa Mbbs, Mph, Ph.D., Robert J. Macinnis, Roger L. Milne, Dallas R. English, Brigid M. Lynch

Faculty Publications

Background Higher levels of time spent sitting (sedentary behavior) contribute to adverse health outcomes, including earlier death. This effect may be modified by other lifestyle factors. We examined the association of television viewing (TV), a common leisure-time sedentary behavior, with all-cause mortality, and whether this is modified by body mass index (BMI), physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, soft drink consumption, or diet-associated inflammation. Methods Using data from participants in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, flexible parametric survival models assessed the time-dependent association of self-reported TV time (three categories: < 2 h/day, 2-3 h/day, > 3 h/day) with all-cause mortality. Interaction terms were fitted to test whether …

Polyketides And Terpenes In Marine Microalgae: Ecological Roles And Mechanisms Of Biosynthesis, Yunxuan Xie, Mohammad Elsheikh

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Marine microalgae comprise a large number of polyketides and terpenes identified to date with highly diverse molecular scaffolds and the biological activities (Kalaitzis et al., 2010). These compounds play significant roles in marine food web and nutraceutical supplementation in marine animals. Compounds of this class are often synthesized by gene clusters with dedicated domains responsible for carbon chain extension and modification. The unique molecular structure of these compounds encourages people to investigate their biosynthetic mechanisms in-depth. In this review, we summarize relevant articles to unravel the shared mechanisms of these compounds to further understand the variety of domain organizations and …

Effects Of Dietary Lipid, L-Carnitine And L-Lysine Supplementation On The Growth Performance And Body Composition Of Epinephelus Lanceolatus Larvae, Jen-Hong Chu, Yu-Cong Hong, Angela Chien, Shyn-Shin Sheen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The effects of different combinations of dietary lipid, L-carnitine and L-lysine on the growth performance and fatty acid profiles of larval grouper Epinephalus lanceolatus were evaluated. Eight treatment diets were formulated based on a 2x2x2 factorial design, namely 5 and 14% dietary oil mixture (3:1 fish oil/soybean oil), 0 and 0.5% L-carnitine and 0 and 2.83% L-lysine. Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups of ten 0.08g E. lanceolatus larvae for 42 days. The grouper larvae fed with diets containing 14% lipid had significantly higher weight gain percentages than those fed with diets containing 5% lipid. The weight gain …

Using Fine-Scale Aquatic Habitat Data To Construct Dreissenid Sdms In The Laurentian Great Lakes, Grace C. Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by aquatic invasive species (AIS) has been the subject of investigation for decades, due to their dramatic alterations to the ecosystem and high economic costs. Two AIS with the largest impacts are dreissenid zebra and quagga mussels, and though these species have been studied extensively, questions remain about what factors control their distributions, and whether lake warming will alter these distributions. Species distribution models (SDMs) offer a powerful tool to examine the relationship between species presences and environmental variables, which are typically bioclimactic data. The creation of the Aquatic Habitat (AqHab) dataset containing …

Linking Soil Microbial Community Structure To Potential Carbon Mineralization: A Continental Scale Assessment Of Reduced Tillage, Elizabeth L. Rieke, Shannon B. Cappellazzi, Michael Cope, Daniel Liptzin, Gregory Mac Bean, Kelsey L.H. Greub, Charlotte E. Norris, Paul W. Tracy, Ezra Aberle, Amanda Ashworth, Oscar Bañuelos Tavarez, Andy I. Bary, Roland L. Baumhardt, Alberto Borbón Gracia, Daniel C. Brainard, Jameson R. Brennan, Dolores Briones Reyes, Darren Bruhjell, Cameron N. Carlyle, James J.W. Crawford, Cody F. Creech, Steve W. Culman, Bill Deen, Curtis J. Dell, Justin D. Derner, Thomas F. Ducey, Sjoerd W. Duiker, Miles F. Dyck, Benjamin H. Ellert, Avelino Espinosa Solorio, Steven J. Fonte, Simon Fonteyne, Ann-Marie Fortuna, Jamie L. Foster, Lisa M. Fultz, Audrey V. Gamble, Charles M. Geddes, Deirdre Griffin-Lahue, John H. Grove, Stephen K. Hamilton, Xiying Hao, Zachary D. Hayden, Nora Honsdorf, Julie A. Howe, James A. Ippolito, Gregg A. Johnson, Mark A. Kautz, Newell R. Kitchen, Sandeep Kumar, Kirsten S.M. Kurtz, Francis J. Larney, Katie L. Lewis, Matt Liebman, Antonio Lopez Ramirez, Stephen Machado, Bijesh Maharjan, Miguel Angel Martinez Gamiño, William E. May, Mitchel P. Mcclaran, Marshall D. Mcdaniel, Neville Millar, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Amber D. Moore, Philip A. Moore, Manuel Mora Gutiérrez, Kelly A. Nelson, Emmanuel C. Omondi, Shannon L. Osborne, Leodegario Osorio Alcalá, Philip Owens, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, Hanna J. Poffenbarger, Brenda Ponce Lira, Jennifer R. Reeve, Timothy M. Reinbott, Mark S. Reiter, Edwin L. Ritchey, Kraig L. Roozeboom, Yichao Rui, Amir Sadeghpour, Upendra M. Sainju, Gregg R. Sanford, William F. Schillinger, Robert R. Schindelbeck, Meagan E. Schipanski, Alan J. Schlegel, Kate M. Scow, Lucretia A. Sherrod, Amy L. Shober, Sudeep S. Sidhu, Ernesto Solís Moya, Mervin St Luce, Jeffrey S. Strock, Andrew E. Suyker, Virginia R. Sykes, Haiying Tao, Alberto Trujillo Campos, Laura L. Van Eerd, Nele Verhulst, Tony J. Vyn, Yutao Wang, Dexter B. Watts, Bryan B. William, David L. Wright, Tiequan Zhang, Cristine L.S. Morgan, C. Wayne Honeycutt

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical …

Ruminant Livestock Production Systems And Imperatives For Sustainable Development, J. W. Smith

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Nutritional Sensitivity Per Morphological Component In Urochloa Hybrid Under Tropical Environments, Bernal-Flores Alvaro, E. A. Pizarro, Adrián R. Quero-Carrillo, Paulino Pérez-Rodríguez, Ramon Rodolfo Ruíz, Thiago Da Cruz Madeira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Camello^® (GP 3025) is a tolerant to drought Urochloa hybrid grass showing good forage production, early flowering with high regrowth rates. The objective was to define nutrient concentration changes by morphological component and, their differences for two tropical contrasting environments. Nutrient concentrations differences (P≤0.05) were observed among morphological components over time. In environments (Aw₁) the morphological components showed higher average protein content in comparison to that from hostile conditions (Aw₀); lamina (12.2% vs 10.4%), pseudostem (9.5% vs 6.6%) and sheath (9.8% vs 6.8%). Hostile environments (Aw0) promoted increases for FAD (47.9%, 46.9%, pseudostem …

Effect Of Nitrogen Fertilization On Central Tendency And Spatial Heterogeneity Of Soil Moisture, Ph And Dissolved Organic Carbon And Nitrogen In Two Bioenergy Croplands, Xuehan Wang, Siyang Jian, Lahiru Gamage, Jianwei Li

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Background

Soil moisture, pH, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen (DOC, DON) are important soil biogeochemical properties in switchgrass (SG) and gamagrass (GG) croplands. Yet their spatiotemporal patterns under nitrogen (N) fertilization have not been studied.

Aims

The objective of this study is to investigate the main and interactive effects of N fertilization and bioenergy crop type on central tendencies and spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON.

Methods

Based on a 3-year long fertilization experiment in Middle Tennessee, USA, 288 samples of top horizon soils (0–15 cm) under three fertilization treatments in SG and GG croplands were collected. …

Understanding Common Perceptions Of The Drylands, C. Bedelian, D. Pertaub, F. Ngarachu, C. Hesse, S. Krätli, J. Obando, C. Shisanya, J. Maraigua

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Drylands occupy over 40% of the earth’s surface and are home to more than 2 billion people. Drylands are key to the food and nutritional security of the planet and vital to the economies and livelihoods of dryland inhabitants. Yet, drylands are commonly perceived as unproductive, economically inefficient and marginal lands where small-scale farmers and pastoralists practice environmentally degrading activities. Driven by inadequate understanding and misconceptions of the drylands, policy-makers devise inappropriate policies and interventions. The BRECcIA project developed an online Drylands Perceptions Survey to understand the perceptions of researchers, practitioners and policy makers working in the drylands of Kenya, …