Digital Commons Network^™

Virulence Of Oomycete Pathogens From Phragmites Australis-Invaded And Noninvaded Soils To Seedlings Of Wetland Plant Species, Ellen V. Crocker, Mary Ann Karp, Eric B. Nelson

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Soil pathogens affect plant community structure and function through negative plant-soil feedbacks that may contribute to the invasiveness of non-native plant species. Our understanding of these pathogen-induced soil feedbacks has relied largely on observations of the collective impact of the soil biota on plant populations, with few observations of accompanying changes in populations of specific soil pathogens and their impacts on invasive and noninvasive species. As a result, the roles of specific soil pathogens in plant invasions remain unknown. In this study, we examine the diversity and virulence of soil oomycete pathogens in freshwater wetland soils invaded by non-native Phragmites …

Building The Capacity For Community Food Work: The Geographic Distribution Of Usda Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program Grantees, Keiko Tanaka, Erica Indiano, Graham T. Soley, Patrick H. Mooney

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

Projects Competitive Grants Program, or USDA CFPCGP, supports community efforts to address food system issues. Over the last 15 years the program has funded diverse community-based projects across the nation, including youth education programs on healthy eating, farm-to-table initiatives, and community food assessments. In this initial study, we endeavor to understand the contribution of the CFPCGP in building a community's capacity to address its own challenges for food security. To analyze funding patterns of the CFPCGP program between 1996 and 2012, we used the websites of the CFPCGP and the WhyHunger Network to identify 420 competitive grant applications successfully funded …

Angiotensin Ii Is Required To Induce Exaggerated Salt Sensitivity In Dahl Rats Exposed To Maternal Separation, Analia S. Loria, David M. Pollock, Jennifer S. Pollock

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

We previously reported that maternal separation, rat model of early life stress, enhances pressor responses to acute and chronic stressors. The aims of this study were to determine whether Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats subjected to maternal separation (MatSep-DS) as compared to normally reared DS (Ctl-DS) rats show exaggerated blood pressure responses to acute behavioral stressors, such as restraint stress or air jet stress (AJS), or, hypertensive stimuli including chronic high-salt diet (4% NaCl) and angiotensin II (AngII) infusion (200 ng/Kg/min) during 1 week. MatSep was performed in male DS rats for 3 h/day from postnatal days 2-14. At 8 weeks …

Bacterial Symbionts, Buchnera, And Starvation On Wing Dimorphism In English Grain Aphid, Sitobion Avenae (F.) (Homoptera: Aphididae), Fangmei Zhang, Xiangrui Li, Yunhui Zhang, Brad Coates, Xuguo Joe Zhou, Dengfa Cheng

Entomology Faculty Publications

Wing dimorphism in aphids can be affected by multiple cues, including both biotic (nutrition, crowding, interspecific interactions, the presence of natural enemies, maternal and transgenerational effects, and alarm pheromone) and abiotic factors (temperature, humidity, and photoperiod). The majority of the phloem-feeding aphids carry Buchnera, an obligate symbiotic proteobacteria. Buchnera has a highly reduced genome size, but encode key enzymes in the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway and is crucial for nutritional balance, development and reproduction in aphids. In this study, we investigated the impact of two nutritional-based biotic factors, symbionts and starvation, on the wing dimorphism in the English grain aphid, …

A Success Model And Commercial Supply Of Coal Ash To Australian Agriculture, Jane Aiken, Melissa Cuturich

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Australian Marketing Perspective Coal Ash For Agriculture, Jane Aiken, Craig Heidrich

World of Coal Ash Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Next Time The World Is Going Downhill: America And The 1983 Ethiopian Famine, Bethany Sharpe

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

In 1983, a massive famine struck Ethiopia. Bred by a complex array of factors, thousands of men, women, and children experienced the painful effects of this humanitarian disaster as bodies weakened and widespread death took place. Throughout the famine, an unlikely partnership took place between the Communist leader Chairman Mengistu Haile Mariam and the staunchly anti-Communist White House.[1] The partnership allowed each nation to pursue strategic foreign policy goals; the United States sought to undermine the socialist PMGSE through humanitarian aid while Mengistu attempted to salvage his government’s international reputation. Soon, global attention swirled around the issue and unlikely …

Increasing Adipocyte Lipoprotein Lipase Improves Glucose Metabolism In High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity, R. Grace Walton, Beibei Zhu, Resat Unal, Michael Spencer, Manjula Sunkara, Andrew J. Morris, Richard Charnigo, Wendy S. Katz, Alan Daugherty, Deborah A. Howatt, Philip A. Kern, Brian S. Finlin

Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center Faculty Publications

Lipid accumulation in liver and skeletal muscle contributes to co-morbidities associated with diabetes and obesity. We made a transgenic mouse in which the adiponectin (Adipoq) promoter drives expression of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in adipocytes to potentially increase adipose tissue lipid storage. These mice (Adipoq-LPL) have improved glucose and insulin tolerance as well as increased energy expenditure when challenged with a high fat diet (HFD). To identify the mechanism(s) involved, we determined whether the Adipoq-LPL mice diverted dietary lipid to adipose tissue to reduce peripheral lipotoxicity, but we found no evidence for this. Instead, characterization …

Proteomic Analysis Of Media From Lung Cancer Cells Reveals Role Of 14-3-3 Proteins In Cachexia, Julie B. Mclean, Jennifer S. Moylan, Erin M. Wolf Horrell, Francisco H. Andrade

Physiology Faculty Publications

Aims: At the time of diagnosis, 60% of lung cancer patients present with cachexia, a severe wasting syndrome that increases morbidity and mortality. Tumors secrete multiple factors that contribute to cachectic muscle wasting, and not all of these factors have been identified. We used Orbitrap electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to identify novel cachexia-inducing candidates in media conditioned with Lewis lung carcinoma cells (LCM).

Results: One-hundred and 58 proteins were confirmed in three biological replicates. Thirty-three were identified as secreted proteins, including 14-3-3 proteins, which are highly conserved adaptor proteins known to have over 200 binding partners. We confirmed the …

Identifying Cases Of Undiagnosed, Clinically Significant Copd In Primary Care: Qualitative Insight From Patients In The Target Population, Nancy K. Leidy, Katherine Kim, Elizabeth D. Bacci, Barbara P. Yawn, David M. Mannino, Byron M. Thomashow, R. Graham Barr, Stephen I. Rennard, Julia F. Houfek, Meilan K. Han, Catherine A. Meldrum, Barry J. Make, Russ P. Bowler, Anna W. Steenrod, Lindsey T. Murray, John W. Walsh, Fernando Martinez

Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Many cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are diagnosed only after significant loss of lung function or during exacerbations.

AIMS: This study is part of a multi-method approach to develop a new screening instrument for identifying undiagnosed, clinically significant COPD in primary care.

METHODS: Subjects with varied histories of COPD diagnosis, risk factors and history of exacerbations were recruited through five US clinics (four pulmonary, one primary care). Phase I: Eight focus groups and six telephone interviews were conducted to elicit descriptions of risk factors for COPD, recent or historical acute respiratory events, and symptoms to inform the …

Chaperone Hsp47 Drives Malignant Growth And Invasion By Modulating An Ecm Gene Network, Jieqing Zhu, Gaofeng Xiong, Hanjiang Fu, B. Mark Evers, Binhua P. Zhou, Ren Xu

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a determining factor in the tumor microenvironment that restrains or promotes malignant growth. In this report, we show how the molecular chaperone protein Hsp47 functions as a nodal hub in regulating an ECM gene transcription network. A transcription network analysis showed that Hsp47 expression was activated during breast cancer development and progression. Hsp47 silencing reprogrammed human breast cancer cells to form growth-arrested and/or noninvasive structures in 3D cultures, and to limit tumor growth in xenograft assays by reducing deposition of collagen and fibronectin. Coexpression network analysis also showed that levels of microRNA(miR)-29b and -29c were …

Global Kentucky (Spring 2015), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Geographic Variation In The Delivery Of Public Health Services: Understanding Causes And Consequences, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

The implementation and reach of evidence-based prevention and public health programs varies widely across the U.S., as does the availability of cross-cutting infrastructure and foundational capabilities required to support these interventions. This talk profiles ongoing research to uncover the causes and consequences of variation in public health delivery. This research points to policy and administrative strategies that can reduce inequities and inefficiencies in public health protections.

Pyrosequencing Reveals A Shift In Symbiotic Bacteria Populations Across Life Stages Of Bactrocera Dorsalis, Awawing A. Andongma, Lun Wan, Yong-Cheng Dong, Ping Li, Nicolas Desneux, Jennifer A. White, Chang-Ying Niu

Entomology Faculty Publications

Bactrocera dorsalis is one of the most economically important fruit flies around the world. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing was used to identify the bacteria associated with different developmental stages of B. dorsalis. At ≥ 97% nucleotide similarity, total reads could be assigned to 172 Operational Taxonomic Units belonging to six phyla. Proteobacteria dominated in immature stages while Firmicutes dominated in adult stages. The most abundant families were Enterococcaceae and Comamondaceae. The genus Comamonas was most abundant in pupae whereas completely absent in adults. Some identified species had low sequence similarity to reported species indicating the possibility of …

Immune Function And Muscle Adaptations To Resistance Exercise In Older Adults: Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Nutritional Supplement, Richard A. Dennis, Usha Ponnappan, Ralph L. Kodell, Kimberly K. Garner, Christopher M. Parkes, Melinda M. Bopp, Kalpana P. Padala, Charlotte A. Peterson, Prasad R. Padala, Dennis H. Sullivan

Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Immune function may influence the ability of older adults to maintain or improve muscle mass, strength, and function during aging. Thus, nutritional supplementation that supports the immune system could complement resistance exercise as an intervention for age-associated muscle loss. The current study will determine the relationship between immune function and exercise training outcomes for older adults who consume a nutritional supplement or placebo during resistance training and post-training follow-up. The supplement was chosen due to evidence suggesting its ingredients [arginine (Arg), glutamine (Gln), and β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB)] can improve immune function, promote muscle growth, and counteract muscle loss. …

Thrombospondin1 Deficiency Attenuates Obesity-Associated Microvascular Complications In Apoe-/- Mice, Hasiyeti Maimaitiyiming, Kate Clemons, Qi Zhou, Heather Norman, Shuxia Wang

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and the increased development of vascular complications. Previously, we have demonstrated that thrombospondin1 (TSP1) regulates macrophage function and contributes to obesity associated inflammation and insulin resistance. However, the role of TSP1 in the development of obesity associated vascular complications is not clear. Therefore, in the current study, we investigated whether TSP1 deficiency protects mice from obesity associated micro as well as macro-vascular complications in ApoE-/- mice. In this study, male ApoE-/- mice and ApoE-/-TSP1-/- mice were fed with a low-fat (LF) or a high-fat (HF) diet for 16 weeks. We found that body weight …

Practice-Based Research Networks For Next-Generation Public Health, Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

U.S. public health agencies face an existential imperative to transform their work from a collection of discrete programs and policies into a coherent enterprise for population-wide health improvement. Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) and the advancing science of public health delivery systems can help to achieve this transformation.

Drug Synergy Drives Conserved Pathways To Increase Fission Yeast Lifespan, Xinhe Huang, Markos Leggas, Robert C. Dickson

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Aging occurs over time with gradual and progressive loss of physiological function. Strategies to reduce the rate of functional loss and mitigate the subsequent onset of deadly age-related diseases are being sought. We demonstrated previously that a combination of rapamycin and myriocin reduces age-related functional loss in the Baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and produces a synergistic increase in lifespan. Here we show that the same drug combination also produces a synergistic increase in the lifespan of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and does so by controlling signal transduction pathways conserved across a wide evolutionary time span ranging from yeasts to …

Cd47 Deficiency Protects Mice From Diet-Induced Obesity And Improves Whole Body Glucose Tolerance And Insulin Sensitivity, Hasiyeti Maimaitiyiming, Heather Norman, Qi Zhou, Shuxia Wang

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

CD47 is a transmembrane protein with several functions including self-recognition, immune cell communication, and cell signaling. Although it has been extensively studied in cancer and ischemia, CD47 function in obesity has never been explored. In this study, we utilized CD47 deficient mice in a high-fat diet induced obesity model to study for the first time whether CD47 plays a role in the development of obesity and metabolic complications. Male CD47 deficient and wild type (WT) control mice were fed with either low fat (LF) or high fat (HF) diets for 16 weeks. Interestingly, we found that CD47 deficient mice were …

Fundamental Principles Of Plant Pathology For Agricultural Producers [2015], Paul C. Vincelli

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

All crop plants produced in Kentucky have the potential to become diseased under certain conditions. Diseases of crops can affect yield and/or quality of the harvested commodity, which can impact profitability and increase the risks of farming.

A Practical Algorithm For Managing Alzheimer's Disease: What, When, And Why?, Jeffrey L. Cummings, Richard S. Isaacson, Frederick A. Schmitt, Drew M. Velting

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and its prevalence is increasing. Recent developments in AD management provide improved ways of supporting patients and their caregivers throughout the disease continuum. Managing cardiovascular risk factors, maintaining an active lifestyle (with regular physical, mental and social activity) and following a Mediterranean diet appear to reduce AD risk and may slow cognitive decline. Pharmacologic therapy for AD should be initiated upon diagnosis. All of the currently available cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs; donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine) are indicated for mild-to-moderate AD. Donepezil (10 and 23 mg/day) and rivastigmine transdermal patch (13.3 mg/24 …

Hay Quality: What Is It?, Garry D. Lacefield, Don Ball

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Profitable livestock production almost always requires a forage program that will supply large quantities of adequate quality, homegrown feed. A major percentage of the feed units for beef (83%) and dairy cattle (61%) come from forages. In addition, forages supply an estimated 91%, 72%, 15% and 99% of the nutrients consumed by sheep and goats, horses, swine, and wildlife, respectively.

Alfalfa And The Environment, Don Ball

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

We live in a society in which many people don’t understand or appreciate agriculture as much as they really should. After all, only about 2% of the population of the United States is involved in agriculture, so most people don’t know much about it. Furthermore, most don’t spend much time thinking about it. Forage crops, including alfalfa, are especially under-appreciated because forage is not consumed directly by humans (alfalfa sprouts being a minor exception).

Red Meat, Our Health And Alfalfa--Separating Scientific Fact From Opinions, Policy, Politics, And Bureaucracy, Peter Ballerstedt

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The general public is becoming increasingly aware of the failure of the official nutritional policy of United States and other countries. Books like Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health (Taubes, 2008), Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It (Taubes, 2011) and The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet (Teicholz, 2014) have exposed the disconnect between nutrition science and nutrition policy, and have told the story of how we’ve come to this point in history.

Grazing Alfalfa: Real Cost Of "Fear" Of Bloat, S. Ray Smith, Kenneth H. Burdine, Jeff Lehmkuhler

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

In the Southeast, including legumes like alfalfa and clover in pastures provides many advantages. It reduces the impact of fescue toxicosis, provides free nitrogen, and improves pasture quality leading to increased animal performance. Individual animal performance is greater on grass/legume pastures compared to performance on similar monoculture grass stands. Daily gains for steers grazing clover-fescue swards is improved compared to straight tall fescue pastures (Figure 1). Improved performance is partially due to greater forage intakes. This practice is sound management even though legume bloat is a risk to livestock. If one considers the number of cattle grazing pastures containing legumes …

Improving Measures Of Public Health Activity At Local And State Levels: The Multi-Network Practice And Outcome Variation Examination Study (Mprove), Glen P. Mays

Health Management and Policy Presentations

Implementation of high-value public health strategies for chronic disease prevention, communicable disease control, and environmental health protection vary widely across U.S. states and communities. The Multi-Network Practice and Outcome Variation Examination Study (MPROVE) supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation creates the measurement and analytic foundation for investigating the causes and consequences of practice variation in public health.

Activation Of The Nf-Κb Pathway As A Mechanism Of Alcohol Enhanced Progression And Metastasis Of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Fei Wang, Jin-Lian Yang, Ke-Ke Yu, Mei Xu, You-Zhi Xu, Li Chen, Yan-Min Lu, Hao-Shu Fang, Xin-Yi Wang, Zhong-Qian Hu, Fei-Fei Li, Lixin Kan, Jia Luo, Si-Ying Wang

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of primary liver cancer, is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in human. Alcohol is a known risk factor for HCC. However it is still unclear whether and how alcohol enhances the progression and metastasis of existing HCC.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We first retrospectively investigated 52 HCC patients (24 alcohol-drinkers and 28 non-drinkers), and found a positive correlation between alcohol consumption and advanced Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stages, higher vessel invasion and poorer prognosis. In vitro and in vivo experiments further indicated that alcohol promoted the progression and migration/invasion of HCC. Specifically, in …

Pact/Rax Regulates The Migration Of Cerebellar Granule Neurons In The Developing Cerebellum, Yue Yong, Ya Meng, Hanqing Ding, Zhiqin Fan, Yifen Tang, Chenghua Zhou, Jia Luo, Zun-Ji Ke

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

PACT and its murine ortholog RAX were originally identified as a protein activator for the dsRNA-dependent, interferon-inducible protein kinase PKR. Recent studies indicated that RAX played a role in embryogenesis and neuronal development. In this study, we investigated the expression of RAX during the postnatal development of the mouse cerebellum and its role in the migration of cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs). High expression of RAX was observed in the cerebellum from postnatal day (PD) 4 to PD9, a period when the CGNs migrate from the external granule layer (EGL) to the internal granule layer (IGL). The migration of the EGL …

Horticulturae — An International, Multidisciplinary, Open Access Journal, Douglas D. Archbold

Horticulture Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Top Ten Forage Improvements: The Big Picture, Garry D. Lacefield

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

This marks the 20th consecutive year we have done a Forage’s at KCA Program and I find it hard to believe the past 20 years have passed so quickly. The opportunities for forages in Kentucky were indeed great twenty years ago; however, they are much greater now than when we started this Conference.