Digital Commons Network^™

Urban Agriculture And Other Green Uses: Remaking The Shrinking City, Catherine J. Lacroix

Faculty Publications

For many decades, the primary challenge of land use law has been how to promote and channel growth and development. Nobody wants stagnation; the cure is growth, and lately the cure has been “smart growth.” In the last several years, however, some cities have begun openly to address a previously unacknowledged truth: some cities will and do shrink. They lose population and have no foreseeable prospect of ever regaining it. The land use planning community has begun to grapple with the issue of the shrinking city, asking how we can achieve managed, “smart” shrinkage To some extent, the answer is …

Histone H2a.Z Regulates The Expression Of Several Classes Of Phosphate Starvation Response Genes But Not As A Transcriptional Activator, Aaron P. Smith, Ajay Jain, Roger B. Deal, Vinay K. Nagarajan, Michael D. Poling, Kashchandra G. Raghothama, Richard B. Meagher

Faculty Publications

Phosphate (Pi) availability is a major constraint to plant growth. Consequently, plants have evolved complex adaptations to tolerate low Pi conditions. Numerous genes implicated in these adaptations have been identified, but their chromatin-level regulation has not been investigated. The nuclear actin-related protein ARP6 is conserved among all eukaryotes and is an essential component of the SWR1 chromatin remodeling complex, which regulates transcription via deposition of the H2A.Z histone variant into chromatin. Here, we demonstrate that ARP6 is required for proper H2A.Z deposition at a number of Pi starvation response (PSR) genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The loss of H2A.Z at …

Social Status Regulates Kisspeptin Receptor Mrna In The Brain Of Astatotilapia Burtoni, Brian P. Grone, Karen P. Maruska, Wayne J. Korzan, Russell D. Fernald

Faculty Publications

The brain controls reproduction in response to relevant external and internal cues. Central to this process in vertebrates is gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH1) produced in neurons of the hypothalamic-preoptic area (POA). GnRH1 released from the POA stimulates pituitary release of gonadotropins, which in males causes sperm production and concomitant steroid hormone release from the testes. Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide acting via the kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r), increases GnRH1 release and is linked to development of the reproductive system in mammals and other vertebrates. In both fish and mammals, kiss1r mRNA levels increase in the brain around the time of puberty but the environmental …

A Primer On Child Abuse And Neglect Law, Douglas E. Abrams, Sarah H. Ramsey

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Clinical Outcomes Of Antimicrobial Lock Solutions Used In A Treatment Modality: A Retrospective Case Series Analysis, P Brandon Bookstaver, Katherine R. Gerrald, Robert R. Moran

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial lock therapy (ALT) may be considered as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) when catheter removal is not a favorable option. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes associated with ALT as adjunctive treatment of CRBSI. METHODS: This was a 24-month retrospective case series analysis evaluating patients treated for more than 24 hours with ALT. The primary outcome was blood culture sterilization for 30 days posttherapy. The impact of ALT duration and time to initiation on central venous catheter (CVC) salvage were evaluated. Logistic regression modeled the association between ALT and sterilization rates, with a prespecified …

Silicon Fertilization Affects Growth Of Hybrid Phalaenopsis Orchid Liners, Wagner A. Vendrame, Aaron J. Palmateer, Ania Pinares, Kimberly A. Moore, Lawrence E. Datnoff

Faculty Publications

Experiments were conducted during two different time periods to determine if hybrid phalaenopsis orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.) liners accumulate silicon (Si) and if this element can affect liner growth. A total of 800 liners were evaluated and Si fertilization was performed by applying potassium silicate (KSiO3) as a drench with three treatments (0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.0% v/v) and a control (water, no Si fertilization). The application of KSiO3 affected overall growth of phalaenopsis orchid liners, where Si content of the plant ranged from 0.5% to 1.7%. Overall, Si applied at 0.5% and 1.0% increased fresh weight and dry weight (DW) and …

Development Of A Prototype Bayesian Network Model Representing The Relationship Between Fresh Market Yield And Some Agroclimatic Variables Known To Influence Storage Root Initiation In Sweetpotato, Arthur Villordon, Julio Solis, Don Labonte, Christopher Clark

Faculty Publications

A prototype phenology-driven Bayesian belief network (BBN) model, named BxNET, was developed to represent the relationship between fresh market yield (U.S. #1 grade) and agroclimatic variables known to influence the critical storage root initiation stages in 'Beauregard' sweetpotato. This data-driven model was developed from experimental data collected over 3 years of field trials in which management variables were kept as uniform as possible. The BBN was developed assuming that soil moisture measured at the 15-cm depth was not a limiting variable during the first 20 days after transplanting, during which the onset of storage root initiation determined the majority of …

Association Of Common Dna Sequence Variants At 33 Genetic Loci With Blood Lipids In Individuals Of African Ancestry From Jamaica, R. Gupta, K. Ejebe, J. Butler, G. Lettre, H. Lyon, C. Guiducci, R. Wilks, F. Bennett, T. Forrester, B. Tayo, K. Musunuru, J. Hirschhorn, S. Kathiresan, R. S. Cooper, C. A. Mckenzie

Faculty Publications

The relevance of loci associated with blood lipids recently identified in European populations in individuals of African ancestry is unknown. We tested association between lipid traits and 36 previously described single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1,466 individuals of African ancestry from Spanish Town, Jamaica. For the same allele and effect direction as observed in individuals of European ancestry, SNPs at three loci (1p13, 2p21, and 19p13) showed statistically significant association (p < 0.05) with LDL, two loci (11q12 and 20q13) showed association with HDL cholesterol, and two loci (11q12 and 2p24) showed association with triglycerides. The most significant association was between a SNP at 1p13 and LDL cholesterol (p = 4.6 × 10-8). This SNP is in a linkage disequilibrium region containing four genes (CELSR2, PSRC1, MYBPHL, and SORT1) and was recently shown to relate to risk for myocardial infarction. Overall, the results of this study suggest that much of the genetic variation which influences blood lipids is shared across ethnic groups. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

Coastal Roots: Connecting Students With Sustainability In Mississippi And Louisiana, Christine E.H. Coker, Gary Bachman, Chris Boyd, Pamela B. Blanchard, Ed Bush, Mengmeng Gu

Faculty Publications

The Coastal Roots School Seedling Nursery Program for Habitat Restoration was initiated by Louisiana State University in 2000 in cooperation with Louisiana Sea Grant. The program enhances learning areas such as plant growth, wetland issues, conservation, and hands-on habitat restoration, and includes the installation of a small container nursery for the production of coastal plants in schoolyards. The program was adopted by Mississippi State University's Coastal Research and Extension Center in 2008. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the program as well as Mississippi's plans to adapt the Louisiana model to demonstrate teaching by example …

Development Of A Novel Aluminum Tolerance Phenotyping Platform Used For Comparisons Of Cereal Aluminum Tolerance And Investigations Into Rice Aluminum Tolerance Mechanisms, Adam N. Famoso, Randy T. Clark, Jon E. Shaff, Eric Craft, Susan R. Mccouch, Leon V. Kochian

Faculty Publications

The genetic and physiological mechanisms of aluminum (Al) tolerance have been well studied in certain cereal crops, and Al tolerance genes have been identified in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and wheat (Triticum aestivum). Rice (Oryza sativa) has been reported to be highly Al tolerant; however, a direct comparison of rice and other cereals has not been reported, and the mechanisms of rice Al tolerance are poorly understood. To facilitate Al tolerance phenotyping in rice, a high-throughput imaging system and root quantification computer program was developed, permitting quantification of the entire root system, rather than just the longest root. Additionally, a novel …

The Environmental Role Of Agriculture In An Era Of Carbon Caps, Donald Thomas Hornstein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Resting Energy Expenditure Changes With Weight Loss: Racial Differences, Xuewen Wang, Tongjian You, Leon Lenchik, Barbara J. Nicklas

Faculty Publications

It is controversial whether weight loss reduces resting energy expenditure (REE) to a different magnitude in black and white women. This study was to determine whether changes in REE with weight loss were different between black and white postmenopausal women, and whether changes in body composition (including regional lean and fat mass) were associated with REE changes within each race. Black (n= 26) and white (n= 65) women (age= 58.2±5.4 years, 25< BMI< 40 kg·m⁻²) completed a 20-week weight loss intervention. Body weight, lean and fat mass (total body, limb and trunk) via dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and REE via indirect …

Racial Disparities Between The Sex Steroid Milieu And The Metabolic Risk Profile, Arlette C. Perry, Xuewen Wang, Ronald B. Goldberg, Robert Ross, Loreto Jackson

Faculty Publications

Aims and Method. The present study examined the relationship between the metabolic risk profile (MRP) and total testosterone (TT) and free testosterone using the free androgen index (FAI) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in 36 Caucasian American (CA) and 30 African-American (AA) women volunteering for a weight loss study. Results. After controlling for age, significant relationships were found between TT and diastolic blood pressure (P = .004 and P = .015 in CA and AA women, resp.). Additionally, total cholesterol (P = .003), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .004), apolipoprotein B (P = .006), …

Metabolic Actions Of Insulin In Men And Women, Faidon Magkos, Xuewen Wang, Bettina Mittendorfer

Faculty Publications

Insulin is an important regulator of glucose, lipid and protein metabolism. It suppresses hepatic glucose and triglyceride production, inhibits adipose tissue lipolysis and whole-body and muscle proteolysis and stimulates glucose uptake in muscle. In this review we discuss what is currently known about the control of substrate metabolism by insulin in men and women. The data available so far indicate that women are more sensitive to insulin with regards to glucose metabolism (both in the liver and in muscle) whereas there are no differences between men and women in insulin action on lipolysis. Potential differences exist in the regulation of …

Trends In Body Fat, Body Mass Index And Physical Fitness Among Male And Female College Students, Peter Pribis, Carol A. Burtnack, Sonya O. Mckenzie, Jerome Thayer

Faculty Publications

There have been many publications in recent years reporting on the quantity of physical activity among college students using indirect indicators such as steps walked per day or time spent on physical activities. The purpose of this study was to describe the trends of physical fitness related to BMI and body fat among university students between 1996 and 2008. The results showed a significant decline in the average fitness levels measured as an estimation of VO2max for male and female students (p < 0.001 for both sexes). The linear trend for BMI by years was not significant for both sexes (p for males = 0.772, p for females = 0.253). On average, in the last 13 years, % body fat was increasing 0.513%/year for males and 0.654%/year for females. There is a significant indirect correlation between the student's VO2max levels and % body fat, r = -0.489; p < 0.001 for males; and r = -0.416, p < 0.001 for females. Approximately 23.9% of the variance in the VO2max levels in males and 17.3% in females can be explained by the variance in % body fat. The results support recent findings that physical fitness among college students is declining and body fatness is increasing. © 2010 by the authors.

Beliefs And Attitudes Toward Vegetarian Lifestyle Across Generations, Peter Pribis, Rose C. Pencak, Tevni Grajales

Faculty Publications

The objective of the study was to examine whether reasons to adopt vegetarian lifestyle differ significantly among generations. Using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), we identified that 4% of the participants were vegans, 25% lacto-ovo-vegetarians, 4% pesco-vegetarians and 67% non-vegetarian. Younger people significantly agreed more with the moral reason and with the environmental reason. People ages 41-60 significantly agreed more with the health reason. There are significant differences across generations as to why people choose to live a vegetarian lifestyle. © 2010 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Environmental Correlates Of Abundances Of Mosquito Species And Stages In Discarded Vehicle Tires, Donald A. Yee, Jamie M. Kneitel, Steven A. Juliano

Faculty Publications

Discarded vehicle tires are a common habitat for container mosquito larvae, although the environmental factors that may control their presence or abundance within a tire are largely unknown. We sampled discarded vehicle tires in six sites located within four counties of central Illinois during the spring and summer of 2006 to determine associations between a suite of environmental factors and community composition of container mosquitoes. Our goal was to find patterns of association between environmental factors and abundances of early and late instars. We hypothesized that environmental factors correlated with early instars would be indicative of oviposition cues, whereas environmental …

Differences In Hospital Glycemic Control And Insulin Requirements In Patients Recovering From Critical Illness And Those Without Prior Critical Illness, April D. Miller, Leslie M. Phillips, Richard M. Schulz, P Brandon Bookstaver, Celeste N. Rudisill

Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Hospital patients recovering from critical illness on general floors often receive insulin therapy based on protocols designed for patients admitted directly to general floors. The objective of this study is to compare glycemic control and insulin dosing in patients recovering from critical illness and those without prior critical illness. METHODS: Medical record review of blood glucose measurements and insulin dosing in 25 patients under general ward care while transitioning from the intensive care unit (transition group) and 25 patients admitted directly to the floor (direct floor group). RESULTS: Average blood glucose did not differ significantly between groups (transition group …

Volatile Profiling Reveals Intracellular Metabolic Changes In Aspergillus Parasticus: Vea Regulates Branched Chain Amino Acid And Ethanol Metabolism, Ludmila V. Roze, Anindya Chanda, Maris Laivenieks, Randolph M. Beaudry, Katherine A. Artymovich, Anna V. Koptina, Deena W. Awad, Dina Valeeva, Arthur D. Jones, John E. Linz

Faculty Publications

Background: Filamentous fungi in the genus Aspergillus produce a variety of natural products, including aflatoxin, the most potent naturally occurring carcinogen known. Aflatoxin biosynthesis, one of the most highly characterized secondary metabolic pathways, offers a model system to study secondary metabolism in eukaryotes. To control or customize biosynthesis of natural products we must understand how secondary metabolism integrates into the overall cellular metabolic network. By applying a metabolomics approach we analyzed volatile compounds synthesized by Aspergillus parasiticus in an attempt to define the association of secondary metabolism with other metabolic and cellular processes.

Results: Volatile compounds were examined using solid …

Specialty Care Use In Us Patients With Chronic Diseases, Jessica D. Bellinger, Rahnuma M. Hassan, Patrick A. Rivers, Qiang Cheng, Edith M. Williams, Saundra H. Glover

Faculty Publications

Despite efforts to eliminate health disparities, racial, ethnic, and geographic groups continue lag behind their counterparts in health outcomes in the United States. The purpose of this study is to determine variation in specialty care utilization by chronic disease status. Data were extracted from the Commonwealth Fund 2006 Health Care Quality Survey (n = 2475). A stratified minority sample design was employed to ensure a representative sample. Logistic regression was used in analyses to predict specialty care utilization in the sample. Poor perceived health, minority status, and lack of insurance was associated with reduced specialty care use and chronic disease …

The Impact Of Direct And Indirect Experiences On The Development Of Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behavior, Mat D. Duerden, Peter A. Witt

Faculty Publications

This study employed a mixed-methods design to examine the relationship between nature experience type (e.g., direct and indirect) and learning outcomes (e.g., environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior) associated with an environmental education, international immersion program for adolescents. Longitudinal data from 108 participant and 49 comparison group members were analyzed to test the study’s hypotheses. Additionally, qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology to assess participants’ perceptions of these processes. The findings indicate that environmental knowledge increased more than environmental attitudes during the indirect portion of the program (i.e., preparatory program) whereas the direct portion (i.e., international workshop) produced similar …

Perspectives Of Fitness And Health In College Men And Women, Jennifer J. Waldron, Rodney B. Dieser

Faculty Publications

Because many college students engage in low levels of physical activity, the current study used a qualitative framework to interview 11 college students to examine the meaning physically active college students assign to the practice of fitness and health. Students discussed the importance of healthy eating, but that it was difficult to accomplish at college. Additionally, students intertwined health and fitness with physical appearance and attractiveness. In particular, the media shaped many of their perceptions of health and fitness. Implications of these findings to policy making in higher education, in particular wellness programming, are highlighted.

New Governance, Preemptive Self-Regulation, And The Blurring Of Boundaries In Regulatory Theory And Practice, Jason M. Solomon

Faculty Publications

In the literature on "new governance" forms of regulation, the blurring of traditional boundaries is a pervasive but largely implicit theme. This Article makes this theme explicit, and argues that the capacity to blur boundaries is one of new governance's signature strengths. New governance regulation frequently blurs the roles of regulatory actors, the stages of regulation, the modes of regulation, the functions of a regulatory regime; and the structure of the regulatory regime. The Article applies this lens to a series of case studies, and demonstrates how industry attempts at preemptive self-regulation have created opportunities where new governance forms of …

Shall Thou Reincarnate Or Not? A Quest For Spirituality Among Czech "Irreligious" People, Petr A. Činčala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Obesity And Food Choices Among Faculty And Staff At A Large Urban University, Marjorie Freedman, Rebecca Rubinstein

Faculty Publications

Objective: In order to address increasing health care costs associated with obesity, this study sought to determine prevalence of overweight and obesity and examine eating behaviors, food choices, health beliefs, and attitudes of university employees. Participants and Methods: An online survey was distributed to > 3,800 faculty and staff at a large public metropolitan university in Winter 2008. Results: Almost half (48%) of 806 respondents were classified as overweight or obese. Compared to those with normal weights, overweight and obese respondents consumed fewer fruits and vegetables (p < .05), were less confident in making healthful food choices (p < .001), and were more influenced by food choices available in on-campus dining facilities (p < .05). Conclusions: Obesity among university employees warrants attention. Because these employees have less self-efficacy and consume less healthful diets than their normal weight colleagues, universities need to improve on-campus access to healthful foods.

Development, Evaluation, And Validation Of Environmental Assessment Tools To Evaluate The College Nutrition Environment, Marjorie Freedman

Faculty Publications

Objective: To develop, evaluate, and validate 2 nutrition environment assessment tools (surveys), for specific use in combating overweight on college/university campuses.Participants and Methods: Invitations to complete surveys were e-mailed to food service and health center directors at 47 universities, Winter 2008. Overall response rate was 48%. Responses from the 39 individuals who completed tool evaluations at the end of each survey were analyzed. Follow-up interviews and site visits performed through Summer 2008 validated responses. Results: The majority of respondents (64%) indicated tools were effective at assessing their nutrition environments; 78% believed these types of assessment tools to be important to …

It’S Not A Small World After All: Regulating Obesity Globally, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Faculty Publications

The rate of obesity and overweight among the world population has increased dramatically over the past several years in both adults and children. Childhood obesity is a critical health care concern. There have been well-publicized efforts to regulate children‘s obesity both in the U.S. and abroad through such measures as mandated nutritional school lunch programs.

This article focuses, however, on a less examined area of regulation—the recent worldwide efforts to curb obesity among adults. The regulations discussed in this article include measures proposed or adopted by either administrative agencies or legislative bodies, whether on a local or national level. The …

C.S.I. Bulls#!T: The National Academy Of Sciences, Melendedez-Diaz V. Massachusetts, And Future Challenges To Forensic Science And Forensic Evidence,, Joelle A. Moreno

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Procter & Gamble’S Pur Purifier Of Water: How Global Corporate Philanthropy Builds Shareholder Value, Lisa Jones Christensen, Carol Seagle

Faculty Publications

“When are you going to change this Children’s Safe Drinking Water program and make money for your company? Surely Procter & Gamble wants you to profit on the water purification technology—you can’t sustain your program as a non-profit!”

Greg Allgood sighed internally at this question, as it seemed to surface frequently despite the continued and rapid growth of the Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) program at P&G. Allgood (Director of the CSDW program) was not actually frustrated with the query, as he had an easy answer ready. Rather, he wished that people could more easily see how his team’s non-profit …

Relative Height And Weight Among Children And Adolescents Of Rural Southwestern Nigeria, Omolola Ayoola, Kara Ebersole, Olayemi O. Omotade, Bamidele O. Tayo, William R. Brieger, Kabiru Salami, Lara R. Dugas, Richard S. Cooper, Amy Luke

Faculty Publications

Background: There are few data describing the relative height and weight patterns of children and adolescents in rural Nigeria, despite a prevalence of stunting of over 38% among children younger than 5 years. Aim: The present study documented the height and weight patterns relative to international standards among children and adolescents aged 520 years in rural Nigeria. Subjects and methods: Children 520 years of age were enrolled from two rural villages. Height and weight were measured; body composition was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis. z-scores and centiles for height and body mass index were calculated; prevalences of low relative height …