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Transitioning To Sustainable Healthy Diets: A Model-Based And Conceptual System Thinking Approach To Optimized Sustainable Diet Concepts In The United States, Prince Agyemang, Ebenezer M. Kwofie, Jamie Baum

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Food production and consumption are essential in human existence, yet they are implicated in the high occurrences of preventable chronic diseases and environmental degradation. Although healthy food may not necessarily be sustainable and vice versa, there is an opportunity to make our food both healthy and sustainable. Attempts have been made to conceptualize how sustainable healthy food may be produced and consumed; however, available data suggest a rise in the prevalence of health-related and negative environmental consequences of our food supply. Thus, the transition from conceptual frameworks to implementing these concepts has not always been effective. This paper explores the …

A Dog's Bark To Act As A Nark, Bailey R. Geller

Arkansas Law Review

This Comment therefore advocates for systemic reconsideration of dog scent lineups at trial. It will not claim that all dog scent lineups are flawless, particularly given the slipshod manner in which many are performed. But dog scent identifications are increasingly more valuable than our legal system currently acknowledges when they are properly conducted. They should be admissible.

Construction Law: Its Historical Origins And Its Twentieth Century Emergence As A Major Field Of Modern American And International Legal Practice, Philip L. Bruner

Arkansas Law Review

“Construction Law” is a rapidly emerging “capstone” legal field that over the past century has subsumed principles from many traditional fields of law and has contextually created new implied rights and obligations unknown to such traditional fields. Construction law’s emergence has been driven by the extraordinary modern growth in global construction activity, which in 2020 accounted for 13% (US$10.7 trillion) of the global gross domestic product and which by 2030 is expected to grow by another 42%. This growth in construction activities engages millions of firms and persons and has increased considerably the technical complexity and rapidity of changes in …

Arkansas Law Review - Volume 75 Number 2, Review Editors

Arkansas Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brain Tract Structure Predicts Relapse To Stimulant Drug Use, Loreen Tisdall, Kelly H. Macniven, Claudia B. Padula, Josiah K. Leong, Brian Knutson

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diffusion tractography allows identification and measurement of structural tracts in the human brain previously associated with motivated behavior in animal models. Recent findings indicate that the structural properties of a tract connecting the midbrain to nucleus accumbens (NAcc) are associated with a diagnosis of stimulant use disorder (SUD), but not relapse. In this preregistered study, we used diffusion tractography in a sample of patients treated for SUD (n = 60) to determine whether qualities of tracts projecting from medial prefrontal, anterior insular, and amygdalar cortices to NAcc might instead foreshadow relapse. As predicted, reduced diffusion metrics of a tract …

Research Note: Virulence Gene Downregulation And Reduced Intestinal Colonization Of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium Phl2020 Isolate In Broilers By A Natural Antimicrobial (Neutrapath™), H. Hue, D. Wang, B. M. Hargis, G. Tellez-Isaias

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The reduction in antibiotic growth promoter use in poultry, due to antibiotic resistance concerns, has created a need for natural solutions that control enteric pathogens like Salmonella. One of these natural feed additives, a select blend of essential oils, fatty acids, and an enterosorbent mineral (NeutraPath), was assessed for its effects on the intestinal colonization of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium PHL2020 isolate (ST-PHL2020) in broiler chickens and ST-PHL2020 virulence gene expression. An in vitro digestion model simulating the pH and enzymatic conditions of 3 gastrointestinal compartments (crop, proventriculus, and intestine) was first used to evaluate the antibacterial effects of …

Interactions Of The Branched-Chain Amino Acids. 1. Influence Of Dietary Isoleucine And Leucine On The Valine Requirement Of Male Cobb Mv X 500 Broilers For A 29-To 42-Day Finisher Period, C. W. Maynard, G. J. Mullenix, C. J. Maynard, J. T. Lee, J. Caldas, J. Z. Hiltz, S. K. Orlowski, M. T. Kidd

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Branched-chain amino acid requirements have traditionally been determined using dose-response titrations without accounting for the influence of branched-chain amino acid antagonism. As recent data has indicated that inherent levels of the non-tested amino acid may influence response curves in diets mimicking industry, these methods may result in over or under estimation of requirement values. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to determine if dietary levels of isoleucine and leucine influence 29 to 42 day valine needs through the implementation of a 5 x 2 x 2 factorial design. Twenty diets were fed to 7 replicate pens of 12 broilers. Body weight …

Effects Of Heat Stress On Cyto(Chemo)Kine And Inflammasome Gene Expression And Mechanical Properties In Isolated Red And White Blood Cells From 4 Commercial Broiler Lines And Their Ancestor Jungle Fowl, Elizabeth S. Greene, Elizabeth Adeogun, Sara K. Orlowski, Karthik Nayani, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Commercial broilers have been selected for high growth rate and productivity; however, this has negatively impacted their susceptibility to heat stress (HS). Insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying this vulnerability can help design targeted strategies for improvement of HS tolerance. Red blood cells (RBC) and white blood cells (WBC) were isolated from red jungle fowl and 4 lines of commercial modern broilers. Lines A and B are considered standard-yielding lines, whereas Lines C and D are high-yielding. Cells were cultured at either 37 degrees C or 45 degrees C for 2 h to induce …

Vaccines Using Clostridium Perfringens Sporulation Proteins Reduce Necrotic Enteritis In Chickens, Ying Fu, Mohit Bansal, Tahrir Jatli Alenezi, Ayidh Almansour, Hong Wang, Xiaolun Sun

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Clostridium perfringens is the prevalent enteric pathogen in humans and animals including chickens, and it remains largely elusive on the mechanism of C. perfringens-induced enteritis because of limited animal models available. In this study, we investigated the role of C. perfringens sporulation proteins as vaccine candidates in chickens to reduce necrotic enteritis (NE). C. perfringens soluble proteins of vegetative cells (CP-super1 and CP-super2) and spores (CP-spor-super1 and CP-spor-super2) were prepared, and cell and chicken experiments were conducted. We found that deoxycholic acid reduced C. perfringens invasion and sporulation using the Eimeria maxima and C. perfringens co-infection necrotic enteritis (NE) …

Differences In Carcass Composition And Meat Quality Of Conventional And Slow-Growing Broiler Chickens Raised At 2 Stocking Densities, S. L. Weimer, S. Zuelly, M. Davis, D. M. Karcher, M. A. Erasmus

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The fast growth rate of broiler chickens is a welfare concern that has increased consumer interest in chicken from slower growing (SG) broilers. Replacing conventional (CONV) broilers with SG broilers will reduce chicken supply and SG broilers require different management practices than CONV. This study evaluated the effects of 2 stocking densities on the carcass composition and meat quality of CONV broilers that reach market weight at 42 d and SG broilers that reach market weight at 63 d. Male broilers from each strain were exclusively stocked into 16 pens at a density of either 29 …

Development Of An Environmental Contamination Model To Simulate The Microbial Bloom That Occurs In Commercial Hatch Cabinets, B. D. Graham, C. M. Selby, A. J. Forga, M. E. Coles, L. C. Beer, L. E. Graham, K. D. Teague, G. Tellez-Isaias, B. M. Hargis, C. N. Vuong

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microbial blooms that emerge in commercial hatch cabinets consist of apathogenic and pathogenic microorganisms, including Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Objectives of the present study included the development of a multipathogen contamination model to mimic commercial conditions and optimization of sampling methods to quantify bacterial or fungal presence within the hatch cabinet. The pathogen challenge mix (PM) was recreated from select bacterial or fungal isolates recovered from an egg homogenate (EH) derived from the contents of infertile eggs and late embryonic mortalities. Isolates selected for PM included Enterococcus faecalis (~10^{8 …}

The Effects Of Maternal Intake Of Epa And Dha Enriched Diet During Pregnancy And Lactation On Offspring's Muscle Development And Energy Homeostasis, Saeed Ghnaimawi, Shilei Zhang, Jamie I. Baum, Yan Huang

Animal Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

EPA and DHA are n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids with a diversity of health benefits on offspring. The objective of this study was to test the in vivo effect of maternal ingestion of EPA and DHA on fetal and offspring muscle development and energy balance. Two groups of female C57BL/6 mice were fed EPA and DHA enriched diet (FA) and diet devoid of EPA and DHA (CON) respectively throughout the entire period of gestation and lactation. Embryos at E13 and offspring at age of D1 and D21 were selected for sample collection and processing. No change in birth number and …

Targeting Tor And Snrk1 Genes In Rice With Crispr/Cas9, Bhuvan Pathak, Chandan Maurya, Maria C. Faria, Zahra Alizada, Soumen Nandy, Shan Zhao, Muhammed Jamsheer K, Vibha Srivastava

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Genome targeting with CRISPR/Cas9 is a popular method for introducing mutations and creating knock-out effects. However, limited information is currently available on the mutagenesis of essential genes. This study investigated the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 in targeting rice essential genes: the singleton TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (OsTOR) and the three paralogs of the Sucrose non-fermenting-1 (SNF1)-related kinase 1 (OsSnRK1α), OsSnRK1αA, OsSnRK1αB and OsSnRK1αC. Strong activity of constitutively expressed CRISPR/Cas9 was effective in creating mutations in OsTOR and OsSnRK1α genes, but inducible CRISPR/Cas9 failed to generate detectable mutations. The rate of OsTOR mutagenesis was relatively lower and only the …

Functional Analysis Of The Cortical Transcriptome And Proteome Reveal Neurogenesis, Inflammation, And Cell Death After Repeated Traumatic Brain Injury In Vivo, Celeste Dunn, Lais A. Ferreira, Sara M. Venier, Syed F. Ali, Jeffery Wolchok, Kartik Balachandran

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The pathological effects of repeated traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are largely unknown. To gain a detailed understanding of the cortical tissue acute biological response after one or two TBIs, we utilized RNA-sequencing and protein mass spectrometry techniques. Using our previously validated C57Bl/6 weight-drop model, we administered one or two TBIs of a mild or moderate severity. Double injury conditions were spaced 7 days apart, and cortical tissue was isolated 24 h after final injury. Analysis was carried out through functional gene annotation, utilizing Gene Ontology, for both the proteome and transcriptome. Major themes across the four different conditions include: neurogenesis; …

Feed Composition And Isolate Of Histomonas Meleagridis Alter Horizontal Transmission Of Histomonosis In Turkeys. Proof Of Concept, Thaina L. Barros, Christine N. Vuong, Juan D. Latorre, Roberto S. Cuesta, Elizabeth Mcgill, Samuel J. Rochell, Guillermo Tellez-Isaias, Billy Hargis

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Outbreaks of histomonosis in turkeys are typically initiated by the ingestion of contaminated embryonated eggs of Heterakis gallinarum, potentially present in earthworms and mechanical vectors. Once an outbreak is started, infected turkeys can transmit the disease by horizontal transmission. Factors influencing horizontal transmission of histomonosis are poorly understood. Replication of horizontal transmission in experimental conditions has not been consistent, presenting an obstacle in searching for alternatives to prevent or treat the disease. Two pilot experiments and three validation experiments were conducted in the present study. In pilot experiment 1, one isolate of Histomonas meleagridis (named Buford) was used. Turkeys …

Duodenal Metabolic Profile Changes In Heat-Stressed Broilers, Jalila S. Dridi, Elizabeth Greene, Craig W. Maynard, Giorgio Brugaletta, Alison Ramser, Courtney J. Christopher, Shawn R. Campagna, Hector F. Castro, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Heat stress (HS) is devastating to poultry production sustainability worldwide. In addition to its adverse effects on growth, welfare, meat quality, and mortality, HS alters the gut integrity, leading to dysbiosis and leaky gut syndrome; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully defined. Here, we used a high-throughput mass spectrometric metabolomics approach to probe the metabolite profile in the duodenum of modern broilers exposed to acute (AHS, 2 h) or chronic cyclic (CHS, 8 h/day for 2 weeks) HS in comparison with thermoneutral (TN) and pair-fed birds. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC–HRMS) identified …

Failure Of Excess Leucine To Impact Live Performance And Carcass Traits In Male And Female Cobb Mv X 500 Broilers During A 15-To 32-Day Grower Period, C. W. Maynard, G. J. Mullenix, C. J. Maynard, J. T. Lee, S. K. Rao, L. D. Butler, J. Z. Hiltz, S. K. Orlowski, M. T. Kidd

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Modern broiler diets may contain excess levels of leucine due to the increased level of this amino acid in cereal grains. Excessive levels of leucine have previously been shown to negatively influence broiler performance due to branched-chain amino acid antagonism. Therefore, 2 leucine titrations were conducted in male and female Cobb 500 broilers. Low and high leucine diets were formulated to contain leucine to lysine ratios of 115 and 170, respectively. These diets were subsequently blended to produce 6 experimental diets containing leucine to lysine ratios of: 115, 126, 137, 148, 159, and 170. Pelleted diets were fed to 8 …

Interactions Of The Branched-Chain Amino Acids. 2. Practical Adjustments In Valine And Isoleucine, C. W. Maynard, G. J. Mullenix, C. J. Maynard, J. T. Lee, S. K. Rao, L. D. Butler, S. K. Orlowski, M. T. Kidd

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reductions in dietary crude protein have potentially allowed for the occurrence of branched chain amino acid antagonism which can negatively influence live performance and carcass traits. Therefore, 2 factorial studies were conducted with the first experiment evaluating valine and leucine interactions during a 32 to 45 d finisher period, while the second experiment evaluated valine and isoleucine interactions during a 39 to 52 d withdrawal period. Valine, leucine, nor their subsequent interaction influenced broiler live performance or carcass traits in Experiment 1. However, a valine x leucine interaction was observed for average woody breast score and occurrence of scores of …

Titration Of Dietary Isoleucine And Evaluation Of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Levels In Female Cobb 500 Broilers During A 22-To 42-Day Finisher Period, C. W. Maynard, G. J. Mullenix, C. J. Maynard, S. C. Wells-Crafton, J. T. Lee, S. K. Rao, L. D. Butler, S. K. Orlowski, M. T. Kidd

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent research into the branched-chain amino acids has indicated that broiler responses to dietary isoleucine may vary from classic data. Current isoleucine data has focused on male broilers leaving a gap in the literature for female data. An experiment was conducted to determine the isoleucine requirements for a 22 to 42 day finisher period in Cobb MV & POUND; 500 female broilers. A basal diet was formulated to contain dietary isoleucine, valine, and leucine to lysine ratios of 56, 78, and 135, respectively, and graded amounts of L-isoleucine were added to achieve isoleucine to lysine ratios of 56, 59, 62, …

Student Perceptions Of Agriculture Messages Delivered Using Creative Media, Faith Mills

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was determine how communicating authentical agricultural information using an infographic affect millennial and generation z students’ perceptions on the agriculture industry and to determine the perceptions of college students regarding the infographic used to convey agricultural messages. This study used a qualitative and quantitative approach in a questionnaire format through Qualtrics. The questionnaire was designed with five sections including a pre-questionnaire, content presentation, post-questionnaire, infographic perception questionnaire, and demographics section. All questions in the pre- and post- questionnaire were focused on the subjects found in the infographic presented in the content presentation. Overall, participants had …

A Communications Audit Of Selected Equine Assisted Activities And Therapies (Eaat) In Northwest Arkansas, Laykyn Rainbolt

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Digital media, including websites and social media platforms, are becoming a staple in the marketing and communication field to reach consumers. Although digital media can offer high dissemination rates to a broad audience, it can also be time consuming without current training or resources to allocate to it. Nonprofits struggle to maximize their reach and effectiveness through social media due to limited staff, time, resources, and training (Bernritter et al., 2016; Bjork et al., 2016; Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012; Tao et al., 2021). Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies organizations in Northwest Arkansas selected for this study showed high use of …

Sustainability In Construction Practices As Emphasis On Environmental Investing In Esg Model Grows, Maddie Heal

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to emphasize the importance of growing investment on environmental initiatives in business ESG models in regard to sustainable practices in construction. The ESG acronym is known as the environmental, social, and governance efforts that businesses strive to incorporate in their models to increase the responsibility of operations.

Investors continue to seek out responsible businesses when choosing which ventures to pursue. The analysis of the current construction crisis, current investments in the right direction of Eco-friendly design regarding construction, and the threats and benefits incentivizing those investments elucidates the need to emphasize socially responsible investment …

An Investigation Into, And The Construction Of, An Operable Windows Notifier, Grey Hixson

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Office of Sustainability at the University of Arkansas identified that building occupants that have control over operable windows may open them at inappropriate times. Windows opened in a building with a temperature and air differential leads to increased HVAC operating costs and building occupant discomfort. This led the Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities at the University of Arkansas to propose the construction of a mobile application that a building occupant can use to make an informed decision before opening their window. I have formulated a series of research objectives in conjunction with the Director of the Office of Sustainability …

Effects Of Sunrise/Sunset Lighting On Corticosterone Levels In Coturnix Quail (Coturnix Coturnix), Hannah Feuerborn

Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Both genetics and environment play an important role in the growth, performance and overall welfare of poultry species. Current commercial production practices typically do not mimic the natural environmental conditions of ancestral poultry species, specifically lighting requirements. In nature, poultry species are subjected to natural day length and the slow rising and setting of the sun. This is compared to commercial conditions in which lights are sudden on/off, not mimicking the natural trajectory of the sun in terms of light intensity and exposure. The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of genetics and the effect of sunrise/sunset lighting on …

Ongoing Calculus In The Cerebral Cortex, Luke Long

Physics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Various modes of neuronal computations have long been theorized to be possible based on the structure and geometry of the brain. These computations also seem necessary for many of the integral functions of the brain, like information processing and regulatory processes in the body. However, experimental data directly supporting these claims have been rare.

In this study, data collected in mice from a large number of neurons over a long period of time provided the opportunity to search for some of these computations, specifically change detection and squaring calculations. Using Matlab, the goal of this analysis was to find statistically …

Scale-Free Behavioral Dynamics Directly Linked With Scale-Free Cortical Dynamics, Sabrina Jones

Physics Undergraduate Honors Theses

In organisms, an interesting phenomenon occurs in both behavior and neuronal activity: organization with fractal, scale-free fluctuations over multiple spatiotemporal orders of magnitude (1,2). In regard to behavior, this sort of complex structure-- which manifests itself from small scale fidgeting to purposeful, full body movements-- may support goals such as foraging (3-6), visual search (4), and decision making (7,8). Likewise, the presence of this sort of structure in the cerebral cortex in the form of spatiotemporal cascades, coined “neuronal avalanches,” may offer optimal information transfer (9). Thus, when considering the functional relationship between the cerebral cortex and movements of the …

Camp: Children’S Acceptance Of Muffins With Different Proteins, Amber Knoernschild

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2019, around 40% of school-aged children in Arkansas were classified as overweight (~17%) and obese (~23%), according to BMI data collected. Children with obesity have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Unhealthy eating habits, such as skipping breakfast, have been strongly associated with overeating, weight gain and obesity. Breakfast is a key component of a healthy diet and can positively impact children’s health and well-being. However, there has been a steady decline in breakfast consumption in US children over the past 40 years. Specifically, breakfast consumption declined among 8–10-yearold children by 9% and adolescents …

A Descriptive Study Of College Students’ Preferences Toward Rhetorical Devices In Advertisements, Rachel Beyer

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Advertisements are specifically created to convince people of the importance to either buy a product or subscribe to an ideal. Companies are the primary users of advertisements, where advertisements are designed to increase profitability (Roberts, 2020). The advertising industry in America is quite large. Food is a diversified and competitive industry, this competition in the food industry causes companies to be dependent on consumer preference and knowledge (UC Davis Nutrition Department, 2020). With Generation Z on the rise, there should be an increased focus on their preferences and needs in all industries, including the food industry (Southgate, 2017). The purpose …

Impact Of A Cattle Crossing On Water Quality Along A Tributary Of The Muddy Fork Of The Illinois River, Northwest Arkansas, Nicholas Valentini

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cattle are known to have an effect on water quality in various bodies of water. Studying how cattle impact water quality along various streams and tributaries is important to understanding how certain water parameters may be affected at the individual farm level. It is known that unrestricted access to a cattle crossing has been shown to increase the occurrence of downstream pollutants such as E. coli, ammonium, total kjeldahl nitrogen, total suspended solids, total phosphorus, and turbidity. However, many studies focus on large-scale operations and neglect the individual farm level. In this study, samples were collected twice for each …

Pandemics And Animal Welfare: How The Covid-19 Pandemic Has Affected The Companion Animal Industry In Northwest Arkansas, Sabrina Cox

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The first cases of coronavirus reported in the United States came in January 2020 (World Health Organization, 2020). In the two years since then, countries around the world have been affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent social, economic, and mental health issues. Previous research shows that the animal healthcare field is already overrun with burnout, substance abuse, depression, and increased levels of stress (Gardner & Hini, 2006), and the pandemic has only compounded these issues (Mair et al., 2020). Observing a lack of meaningful reporting on the issues affecting veterinary staff led the researchers to investigate staff members’ practices, day- …