Digital Commons Network^™

A 5-Day Method For Determination Of Soluble Silicon Concentrations In Nonliquid Fertilizer Materials Using A Sodium Carbonate-Ammonium Nitrate Extractant Followed By Visible Spectroscopy With Heteropoly Blue Analysis: Single-Laboratory Validation, Dennis Sebastian, Hugh Rodrigues, Charles Kinsey, Gaspar Korndörfer, Hamilton Pereira, Guilherme Buck, Lawrence Datnoff, Stephen Miranda, Mary Provance-Bowley

Faculty Publications

A 5-day method for determining the soluble silicon (Si) concentrations in nonliquid fertilizer products was developed using a sodium carbonate (Na 2CO3)-ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) extractant followed by visible spectroscopy with heteropoly blue analysis at 660 nm. The 5-Day Na2CO3-NH4NO3 Soluble Si Extraction Method can be applied to quantify the plant-available Si in solid fertilizer products at levels ranging from 0.2 to 8.4% Si with an LOD of 0.06%, and LOQ of 0.20%. This Si extraction method for fertilizers correlates well with plant uptake of Si (r2 = 0.96 for a range of solid fertilizers) and is applicable to solid Si …

Overcharging, Kyle Graham

Faculty Publications

The prosecutors in several recent high-profile criminal cases have been accused of “overcharging” their quarry. These complaints have implied — and sometimes expressly asserted — that by “overcharging,” the prosecutors engaged in socially undesirable, illegitimate, and even corrupt behavior. United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia also weighed in on the “overcharging” phenomenon not long ago, describing this practice as a predictable though regrettable aspect of modern plea bargaining.

Unfortunately, many of these commentators either have failed to explain precisely what they meant by “overcharging,” or have used the same word to describe different types of charging practices. The various …

Mapping Long-Term Spatial Trends Of The Taimyr Wild Reindeer Population, Andrey N. Petrov, Anna V. Pestereva, Leonid A. Kolpashchikov, Vladimir V. Mikhailov

Faculty Publications

This report presents preliminary results of mapping and analyzing wild reindeer spatial dynamics in Taimyr, Russia. We collected, spatially referenced, and systematized comprehensive aerial and land survey information spanning from 1969 to 2003, which is the most complete long-term data available about a wild reindeer herd in Eurasia. The report introduces some of the mapping products and presents a summary of our observations on spatiotemporal changes in reindeer distribution and migration. Using these data and new digital products in the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) environment, we were able to observe the long-term shift of the Taimyr Reindeer Herd's summer, winter, …

Three-Dimensional Engineered Matrix To Study Cancer Stem Cells And Tumorsphere Formation: Effect Of Matrix Modulus, Xiaoming Yang, Samaneh Kamali Sarvestani, Seyedsina Moeinzadeh, Xuezhong He, Esmaiel Jabbari

Faculty Publications

Maintenance of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is regulated by the tumor microenvironment. Synthetic hydrogels provide the flexibility to design three-dimensional (3D) matrices to isolate and study individual factors in the tumor microenvironment. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of matrix modulus on tumorsphere formation by breast cancer cells and maintenance of CSCs in an inert microenvironment without the interference of other factors. In that regard, 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells were encapsulated in inert polyethylene glycol diacrylate hydrogels and the effect of matrix modulus on tumorsphere formation and expression of CSC markers was investigated. The gel …

The Supreme Court's Theory Of Private Law, Nathan B. Oman, Jason M. Solomon

Faculty Publications

In this Article, we revisit the clash between private law and the First Amendment in the Supreme Court’s recent case, Snyder v. Phelps, using a private-law lens. We are scholars who write about private law as individual justice, a perspective that has been lost in recent years but is currently enjoying something of a revival.

Our argument is that the Supreme Court’s theory of private law has led it down a path that has distorted its doctrine in several areas, including the First Amendment–tort clash in Snyder. In areas that range from punitive damages to preemption, the Supreme Court has …

An Extract Of Artemisia Dracunculus L. Inhibits Ubiquitin-Proteasome Activity And Preserves Skeletal Muscle Mass In A Murine Model Of Diabetes, Heather Kirk-Ballard, Zhong Q. Wang, Priyanka Acharya, Xian H. Zhang, Yongmei Yu, Gail Kilroy, David Ribnicky, William T. Cefalu, Z. Elizabeth Floyd

Faculty Publications

Impaired insulin signaling is a key feature of type 2 diabetes and is associated with increased ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent protein degradation in skeletal muscle. An extract of Artemisia dracunculus L. (termed PMI5011) improves insulin action by increasing insulin signaling in skeletal muscle. We sought to determine if the effect of PMI5011 on insulin signaling extends to regulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. C2C12 myotubes and the KK-Ay murine model of type 2 diabetes were used to evaluate the effect of PMI5011 on steady-state levels of ubiquitylation, proteasome activity and expression of Atrogin-1 and MuRF-1, muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases that are upregulated with impaired insulin …

Variation In Sodium Current Amplitude Between Vasopressin And Oxytocin Hypothalamic Supraoptic Neurons, Reese Scroggs, Lie Wang, Ryoichi Teruyama, William E. Armstrong

Faculty Publications

Biophysical characteristics of tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium (Na+) currents were studied in vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) supraoptic neurons acutely isolated from rat hypothalamus. Na+ current density (pA/pF) was significantly greater in VP neurons than in OT neurons. No significant difference between VP and OT neurons was detected regarding the voltage dependence of activation and steady-state inactivation, or rate of recovery from inactivation of Na+ currents. In both VP and OT neurons, the macroscopic inactivation of the Na+ currents was best fitted with a double-exponential expression suggesting two rates of inactivation. Also in both types, the time course of recovery from inactivation …

Genomic Reconstruction Of Transcriptional Regulatory Networks In Lactic Acid Bacteria, Dmitri A. Ravcheev, Aaron A. Best, Natalia V. Sernova, Marat D. Kazanov, Pavel S. Novichkov, Dmitri A. Rodionov

Faculty Publications

Background

Genome scale annotation of regulatory interactions and reconstruction of regulatory networks are the crucial problems in bacterial genomics. The Lactobacillales order of bacteria collates various microorganisms having a large economic impact, including both human and animal pathogens and strains used in the food industry. Nonetheless, no systematic genome-wide analysis of transcriptional regulation has been previously made for this taxonomic group.

Results

A comparative genomics approach was used for reconstruction of transcriptional regulatory networks in 30 selected genomes of lactic acid bacteria. The inferred networks comprise regulons for 102 orthologous transcription factors (TFs), including 47 novel regulons for previously uncharacterized …

Visual Homing With A Pan-Tilt Based Stereo Camera, Paramesh Nirmal, Damian M. Lyons

Faculty Publications

Visual homing is a navigation method based on comparing a stored image of the goal location and the current image (current view) to determine how to navigate to the goal location. It is theorized that insects, such as ants and bees, employ visual homing methods to return to their nest [1]. Visual homing has been applied to autonomous robot platforms using two main approaches: holistic and feature-based. Both methods aim at determining distance and direction to the goal location. Navigational algorithms using Scale Invariant Feature Transforms (SIFT) have gained great popularity in the recent years due to the robustness of …

Cultures In Contact At Colony Ross, Kent G. Lightfoot, Sara Gonzalez, Darren Modzelewski, Lee M. Panich, Otis Parrish, Tsim Schneider

Faculty Publications

For thousands of years before the coming of Europeans, Kashaya Pomo and Coast Miwok peoples inhabited the coastal lands north of San Francisco Bay. Like many other California Indians, they were hunter-gatherers who harvested wild plants and animals from the sea and land for food, medicine, clothing, housing material, and ceremonial regalia. Villages nestled along protected coastal embayments and ridge tops of the Northern Coast Ranges mountains contained tule-thatched or redwood bark houses, ceremonial structures (round houses), sweat houses, dance enclosures, and extramural cooking and work areas. Large villages served as the political centers for broader communities of dispersed family …

Radical-Containing Ultrafine Particulate Matter Initiates Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transitions In Airway Epithelial Cells, Paul T. Thevenot, Jordy Saravia, Nili Jin, Joseph D. Giaimo, Regina E. Chustz, Sarah Mahne, Matthew A. Kelley, Valeria Y. Hebert, Barry Dellinger, Tammy R. Dugas, Francesco J. Demayo, Stephania A. Cormier

Faculty Publications

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) in combustion generated particulate matter (PM) are capable of inducing pulmonary pathologies and contributing to the development of environmental asthma. In vivo exposure of infant rats to EPFRs demonstrates their ability to induce airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine, a hallmark of asthma. However, the mechanisms by which combustion-derived EPFRs elicit in vivo responses remain elusive. In this study, we used a chemically defined EPFR consisting of approximately 0.2 μm amorphrous silica containing 3% cupric oxide with the organic pollutant 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB-230). DCB-230 possesses similar radical content to urban-collected EPFRs but offers several advantages, including lack of …

Social Opportunity Causes Rapid Transcriptional Changes In The Social Behaviour Network Of The Brain In An African Cichlid Fish, K. P. Maruska, A. Zhang, A. Neboori, R. D. Fernald

Faculty Publications

Animals constantly integrate external stimuli with their own internal physiological state to make appropriate behavioural decisions. Little is known, however, about where in the brain the salience of these signals is evaluated, or which neural and transcriptional mechanisms link this integration to adaptive behaviours. We used an African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni to test the hypothesis that a new social opportunity activates the conserved 'social behaviour network' (SBN), a collection of brain nuclei known to regulate social behaviours across vertebrates. We measured mRNA levels of immediate early genes (IEGs) in microdissected brain regions as a proxy for neuronal activation, and …

Femininity And The Gothic Animal: Spofford And Bierce, Gender And Genre, David Greven

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Intestinal Microbiota In Aged Mice Is Modulated By Dietary Resistant Starch And Correlated With Improvements In Host Responses, Sybille Tachon, June Zhou, Michael Keenan, Roy Martin, Maria L. Marco

Faculty Publications

Dietary interventions might prevent or reverse age-related declines in health through modification of the activity and composition of the intestinal microbiota. As a first step toward more comprehensive evaluations of single dietary components on healthy aging, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was applied to determine the structure of the bacterial communities in the ceca of 20-month-old healthy mice fed energy-controlled diets containing 0, 18, or 36% type 2 resistant starch (RS) from high-amylose maize (HAM-RS2). The cecal microbiota of mice fed a diet depleted in RS and containing the readily digestible carbohydrate amylopectin were dominated by bacteria in the Firmicutes …

Myths, Presumptions, And Facts About Obesity, Krista Casazza, Kevin R. Fontaine, Arne Astrup, Leann L. Birch, Andrew W. Brown, Michelle M. Bohan Brown, Nefertiti Durant, Gareth Dutton, E. Michael Foster, Steven B. Heymsfield, Kerry Mciver, Tapan Mehta, Nir Menachemi, P.K. Newby, Russell R. Pate, Barbara J. Rolls, Bisakha Sen, Daniel L. Smith Jr, Diana M. Thomas, David B. Allison

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND Many beliefs about obesity persist in the absence of supporting scientific evidence (presumptions); some persist despite contradicting evidence (myths). The promulgation of unsupported beliefs may yield poorly informed policy decisions, inaccurate clinical and public health recommendations, and an unproductive allocation of research resources and may divert attention away from useful, evidence-based information.

METHODS Using Internet searches of popular media and scientific literature, we identified, reviewed, and classified obesity-related myths and presumptions. We also examined facts that are well supported by evidence, with an emphasis on those that have practical implications for public health, policy, or clinical recommendations.

RESULTS We …

Food Safety Attitudes In College Students: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis Of A Conceptual Model, Rachelle Booth, Magaly Hernandez, Erica L. Baker, Tevni Grajales, Peter Pribis

Faculty Publications

College students are one of the most at-risk population groups for food poisoning, due to risky food safety behaviors. Using the Likert Scale, undergraduate students were asked to participate in a Food Safety Survey which was completed by 499 students ages 18–25. Data was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS statistical software. Four conceptual definitions regarding food safety were defined as: general food safety, bacterial food safety, produce food safety, and politics associated with food safety. Knowledge seems to be an important factor in shaping students attitudes regarding general and bacterial safety. Ethnicity plays a role in how people view the …

Dealing With Doctrinal Issues In The Church: Proposal For Ground Rules, Paul S. Ratsara, Richard M. Davidson

Faculty Publications

We believe in the unity of the church. The church comprises of people from all walks of life and from various backgrounds. While the membership of the church culturally diverse we must preserve its unity under God’s leadership. Unity should not necessarily mean uniformity in the Seventh-day Adventist church. Rather it means oneness of faith, purpose, and practice in Jesus Christ.

Indicators Of Family Care For Development For Use In Multicountry Surveys, Patricia Kariger, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Patrice Engle, Pia M. Rebello Britto, Sara M. Sywulka, Purnima Menon

Faculty Publications

Indicators of family care for development are essential for ascertaining whether families are providing their children with an environment that leads to positive developmental outcomes. This project aimed to develop indicators from a set of items, measuring family care practices and resources important for caregiving, for use in epidemiologic surveys in developing countries. A mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) design was used for item selection and evaluation. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to examine the validity of candidate items in several country samples. Qualitative methods included the use of global expert panels to identify and evaluate the performance of …

Dna-Binding Motif And Target Genes Of The Imprinted Transcription Factor Peg3, Michelle M. Thiaville, Jennifer M. Huang, Hana Kim, Muhammad B. Ekram, Tae Young Roh, Joomyeong Kim

Faculty Publications

The Peg3 gene is expressed only from the paternally inherited allele located on proximal mouse chromosome 7. The PEG3 protein encoded by this imprinted gene is predicted to bind DNA based on its multiple zinc finger motifs and nuclear localization. In the current study, we demonstrated PEG3's DNA-binding ability by characterizing its binding motif and target genes. We successfully identified target regions bound by PEG3 from mouse brain extracts using chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis. PEG3 was demonstrated to bind these candidate regions through the consensus DNA-binding motif AGTnnCnnnTGGCT. In vitro promoter assays established that PEG3 controls the expression of a given …

Transcription Factor Yy1 Is Essential For Regulation Of The Th2 Cytokine Locus And For Th2 Cell Differentiation, Soo Seok Hwang, Young Uk Kim, Sumin Lee, Sung Woong Jang, Min Kyung Kim, Byung Hee Koh, Wonyong Lee, Joomyeong Kim, Abdallah Souabni, Meinrad Busslinger, Gap Ryol Lee

Faculty Publications

The Th2 locus control region (LCR) has been shown to be important in efficient and coordinated cytokine gene regulation during Th2 cell differentiation. However, the molecular mechanism for this is poorly understood. To study the molecular mechanism of the Th2 LCR, we searched for proteins binding to it. We discovered that transcription factor YY1 bound to the LCR and the entire Th2 cytokine locus in a Th2-specific manner. Retroviral overexpression of YY1 induced Th2 cytokine expression. CD4-specific knockdown of YY1 in mice caused marked reduction in Th2 cytokine expression, repressed chromatin remodeling, decreased intrachromosomal interactions, and resistance in an animal …

Job As Prototype Of Dying And Rising Israel, Kathryn M. Schifferdecker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Electrostatic Particle Ionization And Biocurtain™ Technologies To Reduce Air Pollutants From Broiler Houses, Sheryll B. Jerez, W Faulkner, K. D. Casey, M S. Borhan, R. A. Smith

Faculty Publications

The continuing growth of poultry production, along with the increasing urbanization of rural areas, is leading to more odor-related complaints from neighboring communities and more scrutiny from policy makers. It is, therefore, in the best interest of poultry producers to look at control methods for abating odors. Previous studies have shown that substantial amounts of volatile and odorous compounds are adsorbed and transported by dust particles. Thus, by reducing the amount of dust emitted from poultry facilities such as broiler houses, odor may be reduced as well. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two commercially …

Stereo Photo Series For Estimating Natural Fuels In The Netherlands Volume 2: Dunes Region, Brian P. Oswald

Faculty Publications

The photo series are collections of photos and associated field data representing a region of The Netherlands. Volume I includes vegetation types in the Veluwe Region, including Heather, Grasslands, Beech/Hardwoods, Scots Pine, and Douglas-fir. Volume 2 includes dune vegetation types on the island of Texel, plus a site on the mainland near Haarlam. For each vegetation type, sites were sampled with varying fuel loads. The description of the sites consists of a wide-angle site photo, supplemented with field data on the various fuel loads and vegetative layers. The photo series is an important ecological tool to assess landscapes by analyzing …

Accounting For Agricultural Products: Us Versus Ifrs Gaap, Treba Marsh, Mary Fischer

Faculty Publications

Currently there is a mix of accounting guidance for agriculture producers in the US that is both GAAP including Accounting Statement Codification 905 and non-GAAP financial guidelines. Should the US adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), this guidance would be replaced with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 41 – Agriculture.

This study identifies systematic differences between the US and International accounting and reporting for agricultural assets and products. The study also finds that international and US agricultural accounting recognition and reporting guidance result in dissimilar reporting due to guidance interpretation. Valuation variances and definition differences including the requirement to change the …

Hunger And Reduced Self-Control In The Laboratory And Across The World: Reducing Hunger As A Self-Control Panacea, Matthew T. Gailliot

Faculty Publications

Ten studies link hunger to reduced self-control. Higher levels of hunger-as assessed by self-report, time since last eating, or physiology-predicted reduced self-control, as indicated by increased racial prejudice, (hypothetical) sexual infidelity, passivity, accessibility of death thoughts and perceptions of task difficulty, as well as impaired Stroop performance and decreased self-monitoring. Increased rates of hunger across 200 countries predicted increased war killings, suggestive of reduced aggressive restraint. In a final experiment, self-reported hunger mediated the effect of hungry (v fed) participants performing worse on the Stroop task, suggesting a causal relationship of hunger reducing self-control.

Contact Hypersensitivity To Oxazolone Provokes Vulvar Mechanical Hyperalgesia In Mice, Tijana Martinov, Rose Glenn-Finer, Sarah Burley, Elena Tonc, Evelyn Balsells, Alyssa Ashbaugh, Linnea Swanson, Randy S. Daughters, Devavani Chatterjea

Faculty Publications

The interplay among pain, allergy and dysregulated inflammation promises to yield significant conceptual advances in immunology and chronic pain. Hapten-mediated contact hypersensitivity reactions are used to model skin allergies in rodents but have not been utilized to study associated changes in pain perception in the affected skin. Here we characterized changes in mechanical hyperalgesia in oxazolone-sensitized female mice challenged with single and repeated labiar skin exposure to oxazolone. Female mice were sensitized with topical oxazolone on their flanks and challenged 1-3 times on the labia. We then measured mechanical sensitivity of the vulvar region with an electronic pressure meter and …

Self-Reflection As Scholarly Praxis: Researcher Identity In Disability Studies--Guest Editors' Introduction, Joan Ostrove, Jennifer Rinaldi

Faculty Publications

The guest editors of this special issue on researcher identity offer reflections and an overview of the issue.

Resistance To Constitutional Theory: The Supreme Court, Constitutional Change, And The "Pragmatic Moment", B. Jessie Hill

Faculty Publications

This Article approaches the law-politics divide from a new angle. Drawing on the insights of literary theory, this Article argues that every act of interpretation, including constitutional interpretation, inevitably draws not only on text but also on context, and that the relevant context extends beyond both the written document and the historical context of its origination. This understanding derives from speech-act theory and from postmodern literary theory. As Paul de Man argues in his seminal essay, The Resistance to Theory, moreover, the act of interpretation always encompasses a “pragmatic moment” that undermines the effort to attain perfect theoretical coherence. Applying …

Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, And Pharmacological Activities Of Taxodium Rich, Zushang Su

Faculty Publications

Taxodium Rich. is a genus of the family Cupressaceae. The trees are especially prized for their rot and termite resistant wood. Taxodium leaves and cones, which are particularly rich in essential oils were used as folk medicine to treat skin, gastro-intestinal, respiratory, inflammation, and infections. Preliminary bio-activity assays reported antimicrobial, antitumor, antitermitic, antispasmodic and bronchodilator activities of the extracts or isolates from Taxodium but further pharmacological investigations of bio-active compounds are not available. To data, at least 130 compounds have been identified from extant or fossil Taxodium. Fifty-seven compounds have been isolated primarily from the cones, leaves,and branches of extant …

The Use Of Pyrosequencing To Analyze Microbial Populations In Poultry Management To Minimize Downstream Food Contamination [Abstract], Vamsy Priya Guttala, Joey Lynn Bray, Enrique Gino Medrano, Beatrice Clack

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.