Digital Commons Network^™

Thymosin Β4 Dynamics During Chicken Enteroid Development, Mohan Acharya, Rohana Liyanage, Anamika Gupta, Komala Arsi, Ann M. Donoghue, Jackson O. Lay Jr., Narayan Rath

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sheared avian intestinal villus-crypts exhibit high tendency to self-repair and develop enteroids in culture. Presuming that this transition process involves differential biomolecular changes, we employed matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF–MS) to find whether there were differences in the spectral profiles of sheared villi versus the enteroids, assessed in the mass range of 2–18 kDa. The results showed substantial differences in the intensities of the spectral peaks, one particularly corresponding to the mass of 4963 Da, which was significantly low in the sheared villus-crypts compared with the enteroids. Based on our previous results with other avian …

Primordial Goop, Gabrielle Vatthanatham

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

Gabrielle Vatthanatham is a third year University of Arkansas Honors College Fellow majoring in English and French. As a memeber of the UARK English Department’s Diversity and Inlcusion Committee, she celebrates the production and transmission of literature from all people. She is Cancer, an INFP, and an overall goober.

Diamond Line - Spring 2020, Diamond Line Editors

Diamond Line Undergraduate Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Pandemic Forum Syllabus, Lynda Coon

Pandemic Course

This forum tackles the recent global outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. University of Arkansas faculty, doctors from Washington Regional Medical Center and Arkansas state leaders confront the virus from a variety of angles —medical sciences, supply chain, public health, social media, mathematics, economics, history, religion, art, and environmental studies. In so doing, the forum’s instructors situate COVID-19 within a broader narrative of the history of pandemics as well as the multivalent factors contributing to virulent flu eruptions across an international stage.

Effects Of A Noni-Supplemented Diet On Intestinal Tight Junction Proteins And Stress Biomarkers In Heat-Stressed Broiler Chickens, Guillermo Tellez

Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Heat stress hampers gut health by impeding its ability to absorb nutrients which leads to a lower feed efficiency and sicker birds. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify mechanism-based strategies to alleviate these effects. Polynesian poultry farmers have been supplementing broiler feed with Morinda Citrifolia (Noni), a medicinal plant high in anti-oxidants, to address this problem. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Morinda Citrifolia (Noni)-supplementation on the expression of tight junction proteins. Male Broilers (Cobb 500, 3 wks, n=480) were subjected to 2 environmental conditions (TN, 24°C vs. HS, 35°C, 1 …

A Capacitive Sensing Gym Mat For Exercise Classification & Tracking, Adam Goertz

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Effective monitoring of adherence to at-home exercise programs as prescribed by physiotherapy protocols is essential to promoting effective rehabilitation and therapeutic interventions. Currently physical therapists and other health professionals have no reliable means of tracking patients' progress in or adherence to a prescribed regimen. This project aims to develop a low-cost, privacy-conserving means of monitoring at-home exercise activity using a gym mat equipped with an array of capacitive sensors. The ability of the mat to classify different types of exercises was evaluated using several machine learning models trained on an existing dataset of physiotherapy exercises.

Smart Textiles As The Digital Interface Of The Future, Audra Beneux

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The growing field of smart textiles could change everyday life, adding an element of interactivity to commonly used items such as clothing and furniture. Smart textiles measure then respond to external stimuli. For scalability in the future, smart textiles must be produced using conventional textile manufacturing craftsmanship. The resulting textile must be durable and comfortable while retaining electrical capabilities. Smart textiles can be fabricating through embroidery, weaving, and knitting using conductive threads. Electronics can also be printed onto textiles. Researchers are also creating higher-order electronics, such as the transistor, on the fiber-level to make the technology in smart textiles as …

The Biofiltration Ability Of Asparagus Densiflorus To Remove Sulfur Dioxide From The Indoor Atmosphere, Rhiannon De La Rosa

Horticulture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sulfur dioxide is an inorganic compound (IC) and air pollutant that causes health risks in humans at concentrations as small as 6 ppm. The buildup of sulfur dioxide in enclosed indoor spaces is therefore a concern to human health, especially since the average person spends 90% of his/her time indoors. This study focused on decreasing a sulfur dioxide concentration in a cost-effective and simple way—by using botanical biofiltration, or the uptake of pollutants by plants. Research in biofiltration has focused mostly on the remediation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and which plant species are most proficient at VOC uptake. However, …

Development Of Early Social Interactions In Infants Exposed To Artificial Intelligence From Birth, Anna Vest

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research suggests that technology density in a home may change interactions parents and infants in the earliest months of life. This study explored how the use of smart baby technology influenced parental perceptions of development and early social interactions. A qualitative, case methodology was used. The participants in this study were one family with newborn twins. Data was collected over a six month period using journals, field notes, and observations. Thematic coding of these materials was used to answer the questions of the study. Results suggest that use of smart technology supported the emerging parenting skills and allowed the parents …

The Discovery Of Metarhizium Anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin Isolates From Arkansas And Their Pathogenicity To Amblyomma Americanum L., Austin Goldsmith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lone star tick Amblyomma americanum L. is the most abundant tick in Arkansas and has been implicated as a vector of many important disease-causing pathogens. Many species of entomopathogenic fungi have been isolated from several species of ticks, with some of these fungi being utilized for tick biocontrol. However, few studies have assessed the pathogenicity of entomopathogenic fungi to A. americanum. The objectives of this study were to: isolate and identify native Arkansas isolates of entomopathogenic fungi from wild A. americanum ticks exposed to soil and to compare the pathogenicity of one isolate (Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin isolate Savoy …

The Response Of Astrocytes To Mechanical Stimuli, Courtney Bahan

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Traumatic brain injuries are a common cause of injury and result from a blow to the head whether it be blunt, penetrating, or inertial. TBIs are typically obtained in a fall, while playing a sport, or in a car crash. TBIs can be diagnosed as mild (commonly referred to as a concussion), moderate, or severe based upon their score from the Glasgow coma scale. TBIs can also lead to other risks such as epilepsy or Alzheimer’s Disease as well as increasing the risk of suffering another TBI. Astrocytes are heterogeneous glial cells in the brain that alter their response based …

Mechanistic Understanding Of Leaky Gut Syndrome In Heat Stressed Broiler Chickens, Jennifer Hoover

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Broilers, meat-type chickens, are bred for high growth rate and meat yield. These chickens have specific challenges due to heat stress. The adverse effects that impact these chickens have lead us to study the mechanisms involved. The objective of this study is to evaluate the expression of genes involved in intestinal permeability of heat- stressed broiler chickens. All analyses are on previously collected tissues. A total of 600 one day old Cobb 500 male chicks were weighed and randomly assigned to 12 environmental chambers. Ambient temperature in the chambers was gradually decreased from 32˚C on d 1 to 24˚C …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Spring 2020, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Charged Lipids On The Ionization Behavior Of Glutamic Acid Containing Transmembrane Helices, Brooke Nunn

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Transmembrane proteins make up critical components of living cells. Protein function can be greatly impacted by the charged state of its respective components, the side chains of amino acid residues. Thus far, in the lipid membrane, little is known about the properties of residues such as glutamic acid. To explore these properties, I have included glutamic acid in a suitable model peptide-lipid system for fundamental biophysical experiments. Within the system, I have placed a glutamic acid residue instead of leucine in the L14 position of the helical hydrophobic peptide GWALP23 (acetyl-GGALWLALALALAL¹⁴ALALWLAGA-amide). Substitutions of glutamine and aspartic acid serve …

The Development And Evaluation Of Alginate Nanofibers As A Neuroprotective Nano-Scaffold For Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Als), Julia Bielanin

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized in pathology by a significant loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to muscle wasting and loss of voluntary movement. There are about 6,000-8,000 new cases of ALS diagnosed per year in the U.S., with a fatal outcome within 2 to 4 years (on average) after diagnosis. There are only two FDA approved drugs for treating ALS. Both are very expensive and only have modest benefits for patients. The population is in dire need of more affordable and effective medicine for the treatment of ALS.

Therefore, the goal …

Association Of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In Bovine Heat Shock Protein 70, Cytochrome P450, Lactate Dehydrogenase, Interleukin 8 Receptor, And Melatonin Receptor 1a With Hoof And Udder Traits In Beef Cows, Maryrose Warren

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hoof and udder conformation are important to the longevity and productivity of beef cattle. Selection for hoof and udder quality reduces the incidence of lameness and udder disease to improve animal welfare. Genetic selection is an effective means of improving traits such as these, especially through the use of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping to identify indicator traits. This study used genotype data and hoof and udder scores from previous research to determine if there is significant effect between polymorphisms of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), cytochrome P450 (CYP450), interleukin-8 receptor (IL8), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A), …

Effect Of Dietary Spirulina Platensis On Stress Levels And Growth Of Female Broiler Chickens, Victoria Tarkington

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study measured the effects of dietary Spirulina platensis supplementation on heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, footpad lesions, and growth performance parameters. One hundred and eighty Ross 708 broiler females were randomly divided evenly into fifteen pens with three dietary treatments for a total of five replications per treatment (twelve birds per replicate) for five weeks. The different treatments were a control diet of 20% crude protein, a diet of 17% crude protein, and a diet of 17% crude protein with 10% S. platensis added to the feed. Body weight, feed intake, and mortality rate was not significantly different between treatments …

A Functional Escape, Zachary Spero

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the past two decades, the tree house has outgrown its more recent traditional role as a child’s place to play and has served many new functions. I intend to conduct research that questions how the tree house has evolved over the last twenty years based upon changes in program, technology, and relation to the tree itself. As a result of this research, I will deliver a clear understanding of tree house design best practices in the form of a manual.

Optical Metabolic Imaging As A Predictor Of Patient Tumor Response To Therapy And Apoptosis, Andrew Larey

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Despite a plethora of medical advancements, malignant tumors remain difficult to treat due to complex cancer biology and interpatient heterogeneity. Phenotypically similar tumors may respond differently to a given treatment. In clinical oncology, it is paramount to quantify tumor response to therapy for predicting treatment outcome, monitoring tumor changes, identifying effective therapies, and avoiding unnecessary cost and toxicity to the patient. Current standards of monitoring tumor response to therapy include CT, MRI, PET, and histopathology; these methods either take a merely anatomical approach or are invasive and time consuming, necessitating a functional biomarker approach. MPM represents a metabolic-level method of …

Surveillance Of Anaplasma Marginale In Arkansas Beef Cattle Herds, Gabriel Apple

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Anaplasmosis is an economically devastating disease in cattle that is caused by the rickettsial pathogen Anaplasma marginale. It is estimated that this parasitic bacterium causes over $300 million in expenses for the U.S. cattle industry annually. In Arkansas, the beef cattle industry is the fifth largest agricultural commodity in the state, thus necessitating a better understanding of this disease along with its prevalence. In this study, both polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests were used to determine the prevalence of A. marginale infection in Arkansas beef cattle on pasture in the six commonly known geographical …

Sleep Duration And The Effects On Cholesterol Levels In College Students., Jared Collier

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiovascular disease is a rising issue in the United States causing large death rates along with large medical expenses. College students are potentially at risk of CVD due to a lack of knowledge of their health, including cholesterol level. Sleep is an essential biological function which helps with the body’s repair, recovery, conservation of energy and maintains cardiovascular regulation. The purpose of this study was to see if there is a correlation between sleep duration and cholesterol levels in college students. Twenty-seven student participants were recruited from the Exercise is Medicine cohort . In-person assessments were conducted at the HPER …

The Effect Of Protein And Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation On Regulation Of Sleep And Mood In Postmenopausal Women, Caroline Baughn

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The older population of the United States is in a period of rapid growth [1]. population of those in the United States aged 65 or older will double to about 72 million in the next 25 year [1]. This population is at increased risk for obesity, chronic diseases, decreased quality of life, and premature death. Therefore, guidelines for healthy aging are desperately needed. In 2015 alone, 67.7% of adults in the United States aged 65 or older reported having two or more chronic conditions [2]. Treatment for those in the older population afflicted by multiple chronic conditions alone accounts for …

Dairy Tales: Global Portraits Of Milk And Law, Jessica Eisen, Xiaoqian Hu, Erum Sattar

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Cow’s milk has enjoyed a widespread cultural signification in many parts of the world as “nature’s perfect food.”1 A growing body of scholarship, however, has challenged the image of cow’s milk in human diets and polities as a product of “nature,” and has instead sought to illuminate the political, scientific, colonial and postcolonial, economic, and social forces that have in fact defined the production, consumption, and cultural signification of cow’s milk in human societies. This emerging attention to the social, legal, and political significance of milk sits at the intersection of several fields of academic inquiry: anthropology, history, animal studies, …

Born-Again On Sundays: Exploring Narratives Of Belief And Performances In A Belizean Methodist Church, Katharine Serio

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

If you are only at church services on Sunday and do not actively practice your religious faith every day, are you “born again” every day? Reverend Rebecca Lewis of Wesley Methodist Church in a small town in Belize preaches active participation in the church and encourages her congregation to attend all religious events, pray rigorously, and read the Bible actively, but how does the congregation listen to her and react to her sermons? “Born-Again on Sundays” is an ethnographic account that draws on anthropological theories of belief and vernacular religion, performance and narrative, and poverty and reflexivity to explore the …

Evaluation Of The Arkansas Double Up Food Bucks Program, Colton G. Henderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fruit and vegetable consumption is particularly low in Arkansas with only a small percentage of residents meeting daily recommendations. Arkansas also has one of the highest percentages of food insecurity and obesity in the United States. Low-income households, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, are at a higher risk of these issues. Financial assistance programs have been implemented to help in aiding these problems. The Double Up Food Bucks program (DUFB) is one of these programs. DUFB provides matching financial vouchers for SNAP benefits recipients spend on fresh local produce at participating grocery stores and farmers’ markets. The …

A Putative Cystathionine Beta-Synthase Homolog Of Mycolicibacterium Smegmatis Is Involved In De Novo Cysteine Biosynthesis, Saroj Kumar Mahato

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mycobacteria include serious pathogens of humans and animals. Mycolicibacterium smegmatis is a non-pathogenic model that is widely used to study core mycobacterial metabolism. This thesis explores mycobacterial pathways of cysteine biosynthesis by generating and study of genetic mutants of M. smegmatis. Published in vitro biochemical studies had revealed three independent routes to cysteine synthesis in mycobacteria involving separate homologs of cysteine synthase, namely CysK1, CysK2, and CysM. However, in vivo data were lacking. The M. smegmatis genome encodes only a CysM homolog and lacks orthologs for CysK1 or CysK2. The gene that codes for CysM is a part of an …

Cloning, Protein Expression, And Characterization Of Interleukin 1 Alpha, Musaab Habeeb Ali Al Ameer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recombinant DNA technology and the ability to produce recombinant proteins have significantly changed the world of pharmaceutical market. Recombinant DNA technology using E. coli cells has successfully produced many therapeutic proteins. In this study, the designed tag Ark-RUBY-tag facilitates rapid, and reproducible purification of recombinant proteins expressed as inclusion bodies in E. coli cells. Purification of Ark-RUBY-fused recombinant protein(s) can be obtained by using imidazole fractions. Target protein can be easily removed from the Ark-RUBY-tag by enzymatic cleavage. Ark-RUBY-fused recombinant proteins can be quantitatively detected using polyclonal antibodies. Ark-RUBY-tag can be used to purify small peptides. By using Ark-RUBY-tag, purified …

Use Of Diatomaceous Earth And Copper Oxide Wire Particles To Control Gastrointestinal Nematodes In Lambs, Olivia Jones

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Anthelmintic resistance (AR) urges alternatives to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN). Copper oxide wire particles (COWP) are more efficacious when used with other dewormers and little is known on efficacy of diatomaceous earth (DE) to control gastrointestinal parasites. The objective was to examine the effects of DE and COWP on GIN control. Katahdin lambs (n = 32; ~150 d of age; 25.0 ± 1.8 kg) were randomly assigned to receive: 1) DE fed at an estimated 2% dry matter intake (with the assumption of moderate consumption of bermudagrass forage and provided supplement), 2) 1g COWP, 3) both 2% DE and …

Determining Cluster Thinning And Storage Effects On Fruit Quality And Marketability Attributes Of Arkansas Table Grapes Grown Under High Tunnel Systems., Virginia Beasley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Table Grapes (Vitus vinifera) are highly valued horticulture crops world-wide. Often, table grape production in the southern United States is restricted due to climate and pest issues. Viticulture production could be expanded to this region by the use of controlled environment growing systems, such as high tunnels (HT). The objective of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of HT systems for grape cultivation and compare the effects of different cluster thinning treatments on vines. In this two-year study, the cultivars Faith, Gratitude, Hope, and Jupiter were grown in HT systems and assessed for postharvest qualities at harvest and during …

The Release, Transport, And Utilization Of Phosphorus From Bed-Sediments: A Study Of A Eutrophic Littoral Cove On Beaver Lake In Northwest Arkansas, James A. Mccarty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eutrophication of surface waters not only impacts the environment but also water treatment processes, the most significant of which is from the effects of algae. During peak algal growth in many southern U.S. reservoirs, inflows that bring nutrients are at an annual minimum, and phosphorus released from bed-sediments is trapped in the hypolimnion. Littoral areas, described as the most productive zone of the lake, may be a possible source of phosphorus that fuels algal growth in the reservoir. I studied an isolated shallow cove in the War Eagle Creek arm of Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas to measure, quantify, and …