Digital Commons Network^™

Volume 02, Joseph A. Mann, Kathryn J. Greenly, Scott E. Jenkins, Andrew E. Puckette, Daniel M. Honey, Jeffery P. Ravenhorst, Jamie Elizabeth Mesrobian, Thomas Scott, Jay Crowell, Sarah Spangenberg, Amy S. Eason, Kenny Wolfe, Liz Hale, Rachel Bouchard, Will Semonco, Carley York, Ryan Higgenbothom, Adrienne Heinbaugh, Melissa Dorton, Madeline Hunter, June Ashmore, Clark Barkley, Jay Haley

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross

Mike's Nite: New Jazz for an Old Instrument by Joseph A. Mann

Investigation of the use of Cucumis Sativus for Remediation Of Chromium from Contaminated Environmental Matrices: An Interdisciplinary Instrumental Analysis Project by Kathryn J. Greenly, Scott E. Jenkins, and Andrew E. Puckette

Development of GC-MS and Chemometric Methods for the Analysis of Accelerants in Arson Cases by Scott Jenkins

Building and Measuring Scalable Computing Systems by Daniel M. Honey and Jeffery P. Ravenhorst

Nomini Hall: A Case Study in the Use of Archival Resources as Guides for Excavation at An Archaeological Site by …

Mangrove-Exported Nutrient Incorporation By Sessile Coral Reef Invertebrates, Elise F. Granek, Jana E. Compton, Donald L. Phillips

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal mangrove forests were historically considered as a source of organic matter (OM) for adjacent marine systems due to high net primary production; yet recent research suggesting little uptake through the food web because of low nutritional quality, challenges the concept of trophic linkage between mangrove forests and coral reefs. To examine the importance of mangrove forests to coral reef nutrient availability, we examined sessile reef-forming invertebrate consumers including hard corals, sponges, a bivalve mollusc, polychaete annelid and tunicate, and potential sources of OM (decaying mangrove leaves, microalgae, macroalgae, and seagrass) in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Using stable isotope analyses …

Session 2c, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Western Kentucky Deep Saline Reservoir CO₂ Storage Test, David Williams and J. Richard Bowersox, Kentucky Geological Survey, UK
• Western Kentucky Deep Saline Reservoir CO₂ Storage Test: Preliminary Environmental Assessments and Monitoring, E. Glynn Beck, Thomas Parris, and David Williams, Kentucky Geological Survey, UK
• Arsenite Oxidation by a Chemostat Culture of Thiomonas Arsenivorans Strain B6, Aniruddha Dastidar and Yi-Tin Wang, Dept Civil Engineering, UK
• Biological Control of Manganese in Water Supplies – A New Mn(II)-Oxidizing Bacteria Isolate, Michael Snyder and Y.T. Wang, Dept Civil Engineering, UK

Assessment Of Methylthioadenosine/S-Adenosylhomocysteine Nucleosidases Of Borrelia Burgdorferi As Targets For Novel Antimicrobials Using A Novel High-Throughput Method, Kenneth Cornell, Shekerah Primus, Jorge A. Martinez, Nikhat Parveen

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the USA with the highest number of cases (27444 patients) reported by CDC in the year 2007, representing an unprecedented 37% increase from the previous year. The haematogenous spread of Borrelia burgdorferi to various tissues results in multisystemic disease affecting the heart, joints, skin, musculoskeletal and nervous system of the patients.

Objectives: Although Lyme disease can be effectively treated with doxycycline, amoxicillin and cefuroxime axetil, discovery of novel drugs will benefit the patients intolerant to these drugs and potentially those suffering from chronic Lyme disease that is refractory to these …

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2008, Nathan A. Slaton

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts also be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts.

Development Of Microbial And Enzymatic Fuel Cells For Bio-Inspired Power Sources, Fatih Dogan, Shelley Minteer

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This report is based on some of the revolutionary concepts described in the Road Map on Bioinspired Power Systems within the AFRLRW Campus Challenge II. Development of biofuel cell concepts integrated with fuel regeneration and energy storage capabilities are proposed to create a compact and self-sustaining power system. The first part of this work identified a sediment based microbial fuel cell that could power small electronics and maintain electrical activity over long periods of time. AFRLRW does not feel that this work adequately addresses the original scope nor does it provide a basis on which to continue work. The second …

Crop Updates 2009 - Farming Systems, Derk Bakker, Grey Poulish, Steve Lacy, Svetlana Micic, Peter Mangano, Tony Dore, Alan Lord, Vivien Vanstone, Helen Hunter, Sean Kelly, W. K. Anderson, Gary Lang, David Mccarthy, Ruhi Ferdowsian, Ian Rose, Andrew Van Burgel, David Ferris, Rob Grima, Natalie Hogg, John Davis, Jarrad Martin, Pippa Michael, Robert Belford, Kawsar P. Salam, Roy Murray-Prior, David Bowran, Moin U. Salam, Tim Scanlon, Len Wade, Megan Ryan, Megan Abrahams, Chad Reynolds, Caroline Peek, Dennis Van Gool, Kari-Lee Falconer, Daniel Gardiner, Geoff Anderson, Siva Sivapalan, Tim Mcclelland, James Hunt, Zvi Hochman, Bill Long, Dean Holzworth, Anthony Whitbread, Stephen Van Rees, Peter Devoil, Yvette Oliver, Michael Robertson, Peter Stone

Crop Updates

This session covers nineteen papers from different authors:

Decision support technology

1. The use of high resolution imagery in broad acre cropping, Derk Bakker and Grey Poulish, Department of Agriculture and Food

2. Spraywise decisions – online spray applicatiors planning tool, Steve Lacy, Nufarm Australia Ltd

3. Testing for redlegged earthmite resistance in Western Australia, Svetlana Micic, Peter Mangano, Tony Dore and Alan Lord, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Screening cereal, canola and pasture cultivars for Root Lesion Nematode (Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Helen Hunter and Sean Kelly,Department of Agriculture and Food

Farming Systems Research

5. …

Crop Updates 2009 - Genetically Modified Crops, Nutrition, Soils, & Others, Wallace Cowling, Art Diggle, Caroline Peek, Frank D'Emden, Fiona Evans, Bob French, Rob Grima, Sam Harburg, Abul Hashem, John Holmes, Jeromy Lemon, Peter Newman, Janet Paterson, Steve Penny, Peter Portman, Mark Slatter, Angus Maclennan, Andrew Wells, Bill Bowden, Wayne Pluske, Wen Chen, Geoff Anderson, Ross Brennan, Richard Bell, Hannah Rigby, Deborah Pritchard, David Collins, Katrina Walton, David Allen, Nancy Penney, Michael Robertson, Roger Lawes, Stephen Davies, Chris Gazey, Breanne Best, David Gartner, Quenten Knight, Joel Andrew, Ryan Pearce, F. C. Hoyle, A. Bennett, Rick Llewellyn, Ken Flower, Julian Krieg, Owen Catto, Cindy Parsons

Crop Updates

This session covers fifteen papers from different authors:

1. Performance of Canola Breeders Roundup Ready^® canola hybrid CHYB-166 in 2008, Wallace Cowling, Canola Breeders Western Australia Pty Ltd

2. The implications of GM glyphosate resistant lupin, Art Diggle, Caroline Peek, Frank D’Emden, Fiona Evans, Bob French, Rob Grima, Sam Harburg, Abul Hashem,, John Holmes, Jeremy Lemon, Peter Newman, Janet Paterson, Steve Penny,Department of Agriculture and Food, Peter Portmann, Agriconnect

3. Nufarm Roundup Ready® Canola Systems Trials— 2008 Mark Slatter, Research and Development …

39th Annual Wku Student Research Conference, Student Research Council, Western Kentucky University

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

No abstract provided.

Alfalfa As A Grazing Crop, Bill Payne

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Planning a “Forage Sequence” implies that a stockman provides nutritious and palatable forage crops for grazing for as many days of the year possible. Cool season perennial grasses and legumes give Kentucky forage growers an competitive advantage over those in many other states. That advantage declines during the heat of our summers, however. Providing a solution to our “Summer Slump” is a challenge to stockmen throughout the South. This “Summer Slump” is the result of low yield of cool season forages during the heat and drier conditions of July, August and September. Another factor hindering livestock gains is the fescue …

Alfalfa Hay For Horses: Myths Vs. Reality, Laurie Lawrence

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

How Much Hay Does A Horse Need?

A horse owner once described their Quarter Horse gelding as “a hole in the stall that I throw hay into”! This description is certainly accurate… a 1200 lb gelding used for light recreational riding will consume about 700 lbs of hay per month during the winter in Kentucky. If the horse is kept in a place with minimal pasture, yearly hay consumption will be about 4 tons. Restricting hay intake can lead to digestive disturbances and behavior problems, so it is recommended that most horses be allowed access to 1.5 – 2.0 lbs …

Vegetation, Environmental Characteristics, And Their Relationships: Variation Within The Annually Flooded Riparian Zones Of The John Day River Basin, Oregon, Samuel J. Hartsfield

Dissertations and Theses

I hypothesized that vegetation and physical environmental characteristics would differ between the upper and lower extents of the annually flooded riparian zone on the John Day River, and that relationships between species and environmental variables would display differences between these two zones. Vegetation, environmental variables, and relationships between them were assessed for the entire annually flooded riparian zone, and for the proposed upper and lower zones. Data were collected from 60 one-square-meter quadrats: 30 in each the upper and lower zones. Sites were randomly selected and located so that flood duration was roughly equal at all sites within each zone. …

Measures To Summarize And Compare The Predictive Capacity Of Markers, Wen Gu, Margaret Pepe

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

The predictive capacity of a marker in a population can be described using the population distribution of risk (Huang et al., 2007; Pepe et al., 2008a; Stern, 2008). Virtually all standard statistical summaries of predictability and discrimination can be derived from it (Gail and Pfeiffer, 2005). The goal of this paper is to develop methods for making inference about risk prediction markers using summary measures derived from the risk distribution. We describe some new clinically motivated summary measures and give new interpretations to some existing statistical measures. Methods for estimating these summary measures are described along with distribution theory that …

Indiana Wildlife Disease News, Volume 4, Issue 1 – February 2009

Indiana Wildlife Disease News

Inside this issue:
• Starvation and malnutrition in deer
• New test at ADDL can test for starvation and/or malnutrition in wildlife
• Avian Influenza symposium at the University of Georgia
• White-nose syndrome update
• WBII Information Node
• New Test at ADDL
• Int. Symposium on AI
• Steve Hooser Bio
• Upcoming Wildlife Disease Conf.
• NBII Information Node
• Midwest Wildlife Disease Update

Measuring The Effects Of Food Carbon Footprint Training On Consumer Knowledge, Transfer Intentions, And Environmental Self-Efficacy, Wayne Wakeland, Lindsay Sears, Kumar Venkat

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

The supply chains through which foods are produced, processed, and transported can have a significant impact on the environment in terms of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is emitted during each of these phases; however, little research has incorporated information about environmental impact into supply chain scenarios. Moreover, many consumers are unaware of how their food choices may impact the environment in this way. To fill these gaps, a tool called CarbonScope was developed to show consumers the CO2 emissions associated with different food types and food transportation scenarios. A short training was designed that walks participants through various food …

Improvements In Life Cycle Energy Efficiency And Greenhouse Gas Emissions Of Corn-Ethanol, Adam J. Liska, Haishun S. Yang, Virgil R. Bremer, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Daniel T. Walters, Galen Erickson, Kenneth G. Cassman

Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research: Publications

Abstract
Corn-ethanol production is expanding rapidly with the adoption of improved technologies to increase energy efficiency and profitability in crop production, ethanol conversion, and coproduct use. Life cycle assessment can evaluate the impact of these changes on environmental performance metrics. To this end, we analyzed the life cycles of corn-ethanol systems accounting for the majority of U.S. capacity to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy efficiencies on the basis of updated values for crop management and yields, biorefinery operation, and coproduct utilization. Direct-effect GHG emissions were estimated to be equivalent to a 48% to 59% reduction compared to gasoline, …

Gec1-Kappa Opioid Receptor Binding Involves Hydrophobic Interactions Gec1 Has Chaperone-Like Effect, Yong Chen, Chongguang Chen, Evangelia Kotsikorou, Diane L. Lynch, Patricia H. Reggio, Lee Yuan Liu-Chen

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

We demonstrated previously that the protein GEC1 (glandular epithelial cell 1) bound to the human κ opioid receptor (hKOPR) and promoted cell surface expression of the receptor by facilitating its trafficking along the secretory pathway. Here we showed that three hKOPR residues (Phe³⁴⁵, Pro³⁴⁶, and Met³⁵⁰) and seven GEC1 residues (Tyr⁴⁹, Val⁵¹, Leu⁵⁵, Thr⁵⁶, Val⁵⁷, Phe⁶⁰, and Ile⁶⁴) are indispensable for the interaction. Modeling studies revealed that the interaction was mediated via direct contacts between the kinked hydrophobic fragment in …

Quantitative Literacy On The Web Of Science, 2 – Mining The Health Numeracy Literature For Assessment Items, H L. Vacher, Todd Chavez

Numeracy

A topic search of the Web of Science (WoS) database using the term “numeracy” produced a bibliography of 293 articles, reviews and editorial commentaries (Oct 2008). The citation graph of the bibliography clearly identifies five benchmark papers (1995-2001), four of which developed numeracy assessment instruments. Starting with the 80 papers that cite these benchmarks, we identified a set of 25 papers (1995-2008) in which the medical research community reports the development and/or application of health-numeracy assessments. In all we found 10 assessment instruments from which we have compiled a total of 48 assessment items. There are both general and context-specific …

Nutrient Uptake And Mineralization During Leaf Decay In Streams – A Model Simulation, J. R. Webster, J. D. Newbold, Steven A. Thomas, P. J. Mulholland

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We developed a stoichiometrically explicit computer model to examine how heterotrophic uptake of nutrients and microbial mineralization occurring during the decay of leaves in streams may be important in modifying nutrient concentrations. The simulations showed that microbial uptake can substantially decrease stream nutrient concentrations during the initial phases of decomposition, while mineralization may produce increases in concentrations during later stages of decomposition. The simulations also showed that initial nutrient content of the leaves can affect the stream nutrient concentration dynamics and determine whether nitrogen or phosphorus is the limiting nutrient. Finally, the simulations suggest a net retention (uptake > mineralization) of …

Nondestructive Estimation Of Anthocyanin Content In Grapevine Leaves, Mark R. Steele, Anatoly A. Gitelson, Donald C. Rundquist, Mark N. Merzlyak

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The anthocyanin (Anth) content in leaves provides valuable information about the physiological status of plants. Thus, there is a need for accurate, efficient, practical methodologies to estimate this biochemical parameter. Reflectance measurement is a means of quickly and nondestructively assessing leaf Anth content in situ. The objective of this study was to test the overall performance and accuracy of nondestructive techniques for estimating Anth content in grapevine leaves. Relationships were established between Anth content and four vegetation indices: NIR (near-infrared)/green, red/green, anthocyanin reflectance index (ARI, based on reflectances in bands within the green and the red-edge regions), and a modified …

Variability Of Anaerobic Animal Waste Lagoon Delta15N Source Signatures, Sadayappan Mariappan, Mary Exner Spalding, Glen E. Martin, Roy F. Spalding

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

High ammonium-N concentrations derived from animal wastes stored and partially treated in earthen anaerobic lagoons at confined feeding facilities can seep to groundwater. δ¹⁵N-NH₄⁺ values from +2.0 to +59.1‰ in 13 lagoons complicate identification of lagoon seepage as well as land-applied lagoon effluent in ground and surface waters. The spectrum of δ¹⁵N values requires site-specific isotope characterization of the potential source. Feed and fresh manure and urine δ¹⁵N values indicate that most N isotopic fractionation occurs after excretion. Lagoon management clearly affects enrichment. δ¹⁵N-total Kjeldahl N (TKN) and δ^{15 …}

2009 Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover Monitoring, Research, Management, And Outreach Report For The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This document reports on our monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities during the past 12 months (2009). We prepared it to inform our partners, cooperating agencies, funding sources, and other interested parties of our activities and to provide a preliminary summary of our results.

The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University of Nebraska–School of Natural Resources, and the Nongame Bird Program (NBP), based at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) work cooperatively on Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover monitoring, research, management, and education-outreach activities. While the proximate focus of our work is the Lower …

Effect Of Dlk1 And Rtl1 But Not Meg3 Or Meg8 On Muscle Gene Expression In Callipyge Lambs, Jolena N. Fleming-Waddell, Gayla R. Olbricht, Tasia M. Taxis, Jason D. White, Tony Vuocolo, Bruce A. Craig, Ross L. Tellam, Mike K. Neary, Noelle E. Cockett, Christopher A. Bidwell

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Callipyge sheep exhibit extreme postnatal muscle hypertrophy in the loin and hindquarters as a result of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the imprinted DLK1-DIO3 domain on ovine chromosome 18. The callipyge SNP up-regulates the expression of surrounding transcripts when inherited in cis without altering their allele-specific imprinting status. The callipyge phenotype exhibits polar overdominant inheritance since only paternal heterozygous animals have muscle hypertrophy. Two studies were conducted profiling gene expression in lamb muscles to determine the down-stream effects of over-expression of paternal allele-specific DLK1 and RTL1 as well as maternal allele-specific MEG3, RTL1AS and MEG8, using Affymetrix bovine expression …

The Transsulfuration Pathway Significantly Contributes To Glutathione Biosynthesis In Human Mammary Epithelial Cells, Andrea Del Pilar Belalcazar Maya

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Cellular methylation and antioxidant metabolism are linked by the transsulfuration pathway, which converts the methionine cycle intermediate homocysteine to cysteine, a precursor for glutathione biosynthesis, principally in hepatic cells. In mammals, the transsulfuration pathway has been identified in liver, kidney, pancreas and brain. To determine whether the pathway exists in mammary cells human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) and normal mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) were labeled with ³⁵S-methionine for 24 hours following pre-treatment with a vehicle control, the cysteine biosynthesis inhibitor propargylglycine (PPG) or the gammaglutamyl cysteine synthesis inhibitor buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). Cell lysates were prepared and reacted with glutathione-S-transferase …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …

N- And C-Terminal Domains In Human Holocarboxylase Synthetase Participate In Substrate Recognition, Yousef I. Hassan, Hideaki Moriyama, Lars J. Olsen, Xin Bi, Janos Zempleni

Hideaki Moriyama Publications

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) catalyzes the binding of the vitamin biotin to carboxylases and histones. Carboxylases mediate essential steps in macronutrient metabolism. For example, propionyl- CoA carboxylase (PCC) catalyzes the carboxylation of propionyl-CoA in the metabolism of oddchain fatty acids. HCS comprises four putative domains, i.e., the N-terminus, the biotin transfer/ATP binding domain, a putative linker domain, and the C-terminus. Both N- and C-termini are essential for biotinylation of carboxylases by HCS, but the exact functions of these two domains in enzyme catalysis are unknown. Here we tested the hypothesis that N- and C-termini play roles in substrate recognition by HCS. …

Beyond Gdp: The Need For New Measures Of Progress, Robert Costanza, Maureen Hart, John Talberth, Stephen Posner

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

This paper is a call for better indicators of human well-being in nations around the world. We critique the inappropriate use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of national well-being, something for which it was never designed. We also question the idea that economic growth is always synonymous with improved well-being. Useful measures of progress and well-being must be measures of the degree to which society?s goals (i.e., to sustainably provide basic human needs for food, shelter, freedom, participation, etc.) are met, rather than measures of the mere volume of marketed economic activity, which is only one means …

Online Support And Online Assessment For Teaching And Learning Chemistry, Claire M. Mcdonnell, Natasa Brouwer

Books/Book chapters

In this chapter, examples of innovative approaches that use educational technology to support active learning in chemistry lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions are considered. The scope of the chapter is limited to blended learning. The strengths and weaknesses of e-learning are examined and the options available for online assessment using electronic tests and e-portfolios are discussed. In addition to the literature references provided in the chapter, several examples of good practice involving the implementation of information and communication technology for chemistry teaching in higher education are incorporated. A list of online resources for lecturers is also included.

An Hsus Report: The Implications Of Farm Animal-Based Bioenergy Production, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

As the current and potential impacts of climate change become more evident and increasingly urgent, entities such as governments, corporations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seeking out non-fossil fuelbased sources of energy to mitigate those effects. In addition, many governments are investigating ways to promote their own domestic energy sources as a result of rising oil prices. Bioenergy—made from recently living organic matter, such as plants, agricultural waste and crop residue, meat processing wastes, or farmed animals’ fats and manure—has quickly become one of the fastest growing, and controversial, alternative energy sources. Globally, production of biofuels, generally used for transport, …

Addressing Distress And Pain In Animal Research: The Veterinary, Research, Societal, Regulatory And Ethical Contexts For Moving Forward, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan

Experimentation Collection

While most people recognize that biomedical scientists are searching for knowledge that will improve the health of humans and animals, the image of someone deliberately causing harm to an animal in order to produce data that may lead to some future benefit has always prompted an uncomfortable reaction outside the laboratory. However, proponents of animal research have usually justified the practice by reference to greater benefits (new knowledge and medical treatments) over lesser costs (in animal suffering and death). Given that one of the costs of animal research is the suffering experienced by the animals, the goal of eliminating distress …