Digital Commons Network^™

Who Dung It? The Impact Of Seed Dispersal By Mammals On The Fate Of Miliusa Lineata (Annonaceae) Seeds In A Dry Evergreen Forest, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, Jessica H. Wheeler

Theses & ETDs

This thesis assesses the impact of seed dispersal by mammals on the fate of seeds from a common Annonaceae species in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. I experimentally evaluated three hypotheses: 1) that seeds experimentally placed within mammal dung have higher survivorship than control (bare) seeds; 2) that seeds in higher density clumps (25 as opposed to 5) suffer a higher mortality rate; and 3) that mortality rates decrease with distance from nearest adult conspecific. Seeds dispersed in high density piles (25 seeds) actually had a higher survival rate than seeds dispersed in low density (5 seed) piles. Additionally, …

What's The Catch? An Interrogation Of Regional Fisheries Management Organization's Use Of Catch Documentation Schemes, Chloe Davis

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines catch documentation schemes as a tool for three regional fisheries management organizations to reduce illegal fishing. Global fishing has been increasing at a dramatic rate over the last half century due to increased industrial capabilities and changing institutional structures, resulting in severely unsustainable practices. Catch documentation schemes, which target illegal fishing by requiring that a document accompany each fish imported into contracting nations' markets, could have a significant impact on global fishing pressures. Unfortunately, their adoption was delayed due to political hindrances. One hindrance is that these measures may be incompatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations, …

Guide To The Neurobiology Of Dental Analgesics, Amanda Lebofsky

Theses & ETDs

This thesis serves as a comprehensive analysis of the scientific community's understanding of the neurobiology of pain transmission in the orofacial region thus far into the 21st century. Investigation of nociceptive transmission and brain relay mechanisms of the trigeminal brainstem nuclear complex (VBSNC) are expanded upon to provide insights of how the body processes and modulates sensory information in the mouth. Another main focus is placed on the way in which western medicine conducts the assessment and management of pain. This includes a description of various pain models, holistic treatments, and clinical measures used to mask pain transmission. Orofacial disorders …

Systems Biology: The Search For Microrna Regulation Of Human Ciliary Lung Cells, Naomi Louise Paula Ardjomand-Kermani

Theses & ETDs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (~22nt), endogenous, non-coding RNAs that play an important gene regulatory role in animals and plants by targeting mRNAs for degradation or translational repression. Mucociliary clearance is an essential mechanism of lung defense against inhaled chemical particulate toxins and infectious organisms. Ciliated cells are among several differentiated cell types within the lung epithelium. To maintain normal mucociliary clearance, ciliogenesis is essential. Through computational data mining the expression of miRNAs during ciliogenesis was investigated and found 6 miRNAs (miR-15a, miR-15b, miR-16, miR-195, miR-424, miR-497) with targeting sites on 3 genes (GHR, TUBA1A, CGI-38) of the ciliary axoneme of …

A Review Of Habitat Management For Anthropod Pest Control And Farmscaping At Geraldson Community Farm: A Pilot Project, Chris H. Wilson

Theses & ETDs

This is a two-part thesis. The first part is a literature review and analysis of the field of habitat management for pest control. The second part is a report on a farmscaping field project I conducted at Geraldson Community Farm in Bradenton, Florida. Habitat management refers to the set of techniques and practices designed to make a field habitat less attractive to pests, or more attractive to natural enemies, or both. It is a subset of conservation biological control, which seeks to augment the endogenous natural enemy fauna to achieve pest regulation. My literature review and analysis discusses this field …

Characterization And Phylogenetic Relationships Of Xenorhabdus Bovienii Strains (Enterorbacteriaceae, Y-Proteobacteria) Based On Sequence Data Of Two Protein Coding Genes, Rachel Russell

Theses & ETDs

Xenorhabdus spp. are Gram negative gamma-proteobacteria that have a mutualistic association with entomopathogenic nematodes in the genus Steinernema. These bacteria are symbiotically harbored in the intestine of the only free-living stage of nematodes, the infective juvenile. This pair is pathogenic for a range of insects and has been integrated into biological control programs worldwide. Each Steinernema species has an apparent specific association with only one Xenorhabdus species, though a single Xenorhabdus bacterial species may be associated with multiple nematode species. This is the case of X. bovienii, which is present in nine different Steinernema spp. However, why these nematode species …

Precedented Yet Unparalleled: How New Is The "New Terrorism" Of The Al Qaeda Network?, Harrison Duke Grandwilliams

Theses & ETDs

On September 11, 2001, politicians and academic experts on terrorism decried the attacks in New York and Washington as unprecedented and unparalleled. The truth is that the Al Qaeda network represents a new organizational form, with unprecedented capacity; however, the organization's goals, ideology and strategy have deep roots in the history of terrorism and radical Islam. This thesis looks at the pre-9/11 literature on terrorism, and its failure to provide coherent insight into the nature of terrorism, or even a generally acceptable definition of terrorism. It goes on to trace the known precedents of Al Qaeda in the history of …

Refuge Update – January/February 2009, Volume 6, Number 1

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:
Fresh Thinking About Climate Change, page 3
Meet the New Refuge Chief, page 5
Focus on . . . Research on Refuges, pages 8-13
Drive. Dial. Discover., page 14

Invasions And Extinctions As A Consequence Of Climate Change, Mace Hack, Rick Kearney, Chad Smith, Scott Taylor, Craig R. Allen

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Invasions and extinctions are occurring at a rate that is unprecedented in historical time. These phenomena are a kind of biological extreme at each end of the spectrum, and both are responses related to landscape and environmental conditions, which also link to climate change. Research shows that species change their ranges in response to climate change and to general predictable trends, but individual responses seem to be idiosyncratic, said moderator Craig Allen. Because of this, there is a need to explicitly anticipate and think about ecological surprises and the unanticipated consequences of global change. Ecological systems often exhibit nonlinear threshold …

Sustainability In A Time Of Climate Change: Developing An Intensive Research Framework For The Platte River Basin And The High Plains. Proceedings From The 2008 Climate Change Workshop, May 19-22., University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Office Of Research

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are developing a research partnership to better understand, adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change in the Platte River Basin and the High Plains. The Climate Change 2008 Workshop, “Sustainability in a Time of Climate Change: Developing an Intensive Research Framework for the Platte River Basin and the High Plains” was designed to inventory our mutual research strengths and resources in this area and to bring key stakeholders and decision-makers into the process to build further partnerships.

The native grasslands and farmlands of Nebraska comprise one of …

The Role Of Irrigation In Meeting The Global Water Challenge, Peter Rogers

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

In addressing the role that irrigation might play in the global water challenge, Peter Rogers explained that precipitation falling on the earth’s surface is the ultimate source of water. He described its eventual separation into “green” and “blue” water, a concept first introduced by the Stockholm International Water Institute and further illustrated in Water for Food, Water, For Life: Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture published by the International Water Management Institute in 2007. According to IWMI, blue water is water in rivers, groundwater aquifers, reservoirs and lakes and is the main water source for irrigated agriculture. Green water …

2008 Major Sponsored Programs And Faculty Awards For Research And Creative Activity, Office Of Research, University Of Nebraska–Lincoln

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Awards of $3 million or more
Awards of $1 million to $2,999,999
Awards of $200,000 to $999,999
Early Career Awards
Arts and Humanities Awards of $50,000 or more
Arts and Humanities Awards of $5,000 to $49,999
Patents Issued
Intellectual Property Licences
Creative Works in Fine and Performing Arts
Books
Recognitions and Honors
Glossary of Federal Agency Abbreviations

Head Direction Cell Activity In Mice: Robust Directional Signal Depends On Intact Otolith Organs, Ryan M. Yoder, J.S. Taube

Psychology

The head direction (HD) cell signal is a representation of an animal's perceived directional heading with respect to its environment. This signal appears to originate in the vestibular system, which includes the semicircular canals and otolith organs. Preliminary studies indicate the semicircular canals provide a necessary component of the HD signal, but involvement of otolithic information in the HD signal has not been tested. The present study was designed to determine the otolithic contribution to the HD signal, as well as to compare HD cell activity of mice with that of rats. HD cell activity in the anterodorsal thalamus was …

Failure Of E. Coli Bacteria To Induce Preterm Delivery In The Rat, Emmet Hirsch, Yana Filipovich, Roberto Romero

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

We sought to develop a model of bacterially induced preterm delivery in rats to parallel similar models in mice.

Methods

Female Sprague-Dawley rats on day 17 of gestation (normal term = 21–22 days) were inoculated into the uterus with either 2 × 10⁹ – 7 × 10¹⁰ killed E. coli organisms, 1 – 4 × 10⁸ live E. coli or sterile solution. These inoculations were made either via trans-cervical catheter or by direct intrauterine injection at laparotomy. Animals were then observed for delivery for variable periods up to term. Necropsies were performed and fetal viability …

The Fidelity Of The Fruit: A Psychology Of Adam’S Fall In Milton’S Paradise Lost, Bradford Vezina

Undergraduate Review

The passage above provides an apt image, with all its symbolic overtones, of Adam’s reaction to Eve’s mortal transgression—that is, her eating from the Forbidden Tree. The circular nature of the garland signifies perfection and permanence; the roses convey the delicacy, vitality, and bloom of life. The garland not only represents the perfection of a paradisal world, but the union between Adam and Eve. But Eve’s careless and wanton act shatters such a union. This leaves Adam with a choice: to eat the fruit thereby upholding his bond with and love for Eve (an act in defiance of God), or …

Dick Cheney Is A Mermaid!, Jessica Parkhurst

Intertext

No abstract provided.

Establishing Priorities And Sticking To Them, Douglas Olsen

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Douglas Olsen farms and ranches in Banner County, located in the Nebraska Panhandle. Douglas and his father, Arthur, operate Olsen Ranches, Inc., a fourth generation family business with a Hereford/Red Angus commercial beef cattle operation that retains ownership of the cattle through harvest and a predominantly no-till farming operation raising wheat, corn, millet, peas, alfalfa, barley, and oats. Olsen Ranches, Inc. is the primary reference herd for the American Hereford Association National Reference Sire Program, participating in this program since 1999, and also served as one of the test herds for the National Cattlemen’s Tenderness Project.

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 2008-2009, Bruce B. Johnson, Ryan Lukassen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Following strong value advances over the past several years, Nebraska farmland values throttled down and stabilized across most of the state during the 12-month period ending February 1, 2009. According the 2009 UNL Nebraska Farm Real Estate Survey, the average all-land value rose just over 1% for the year. Some modest decreases in value were reported for some classes of land, but relative to recent trends for residential and commercial property across the U.S., stable values for agricultural land speaks to its relative strength in the current recession.

Regional differences in value shifts were rather significant over the time period. …

The Tiger Claw, 2009, Clarksville High School

All Red River County Yearbooks

This is the yearbook from Clarksville High School for the academic year 2008-09. It contains photographs of students and faculty members, student organizations, athletic teams, and school events. Also included are advertisements for local businesses.

Ec179 Managing Livestock Manure To Protect Environmental Quality, Michael A. Reynolds, Brian L. Benham, Richard B. Ferguson, Christopher G. Henry, Charles A. Shapiro, James P. Stack, Charles S. Wortman, Richard K. Koelsch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Proper utilization of livestock manure is a major environmental concern. Livestock manure has typically been considered a ‘waste product’ of livestock production. A more accurate name for this material is a ‘recycled resource’ from the production of livestock. By managing livestock manure, the producer has a second chance to utilize the nutrients that have already been paid for but not fully utilized by the animal. Collecting, containing, and properly spreading livestock manure will incur additional costs for the producer. However, these costs can be offset or justified by the producer in terms of the yield enhancement and nutrient credits that …

Functional Morphology And Fluid Interactions During Early Development Of The Scyphomedusa Aurelia Aurita, K. E. Feitl, A. F. Millett, Sean Colin, John O. Dabiri, John H. Costello

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Scyphomedusae undergo a predictable ontogenetic transition from a conserved, universal larval form to a diverse array of adult morphologies. This transition entails a change in bell morphology from a highly discontinuous ephyral form, with deep clefts separating eight discrete lappets, to a continuous solid umbrella-like adult form. We used a combination of kinematic, modeling, and flow visualization techniques to examine the function of the medusan bell throughout the developmental changes of the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita. We found that flow around swimming ephyrae and their lappets was relatively viscous (1 < Re < 10) and, as a result, ephyral lappets were surrounded by thick, overlapping boundary layers that occluded flow through the gaps between lappets. As medusae grew, their fluid environment became increasingly influenced by inertial forces (10 < Re < 10,000) and, simultaneously, clefts between the lappets were replaced by organic tissue. Hence, although the bell undergoes a structural transition from discontinuous (lappets with gaps) to continuous (solid bell) surfaces during development, all developmental stages maintain functionally continuous paddling surfaces. This developmental pattern enables ephyrae to efficiently allocate tissue to bell diameter increase via lappet growth, while minimizing tissue allocation to inter-lappet spaces that …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Some Thiourea Derivatives And Their Nickel And Copper Complexes, Hakan Arslan, Nizami Duran, Gulay Borekci, Cemal Koray Ozer, Cevdet Akbay

College of Health, Science, and Technology

Five thiourea derivative ligands and their Ni2+ and Cu 2+ complexes have been synthesized. The compounds were screened for their in vitro anti-bacterial activity using Gram-positive bacteria (two different standard strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Esherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus vulgaris, Enterobacter aerogenes) and in vitro anti-yeast activity (Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida parapsilosis). The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined for all ligands and their complexes. In vitro anti-yeast activity of both ligands and their metal complexes is greater than their in vitro anti-bacterial …

From Particles To Planets: Exploring The Physical In Art, Susan J. Soriente

Sheldon Museum of Art: Catalogs and Publications

Our physical reality-its span, depth and breadth; from microcosm to macrocosm, from particle to planet-may be experienced through the eye of the artist as we contemplate a work of art.

It is clear that the physical is a primary element of art, but that statement does not encompass the multitude of ways the physical may be expressed. From antiquity, artists have used their art to encapsulate and express the world, or to change, invent and portray the physical to express their view of reality.

Line, form, color, texture and composition produce a visual experience of a subject that delineates and …

Gsbs News, Spring 2009, Graduate School Of Biomedical Sciences, University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston/M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

GSBS News

No abstract provided.

Resistance To Therapies For Infection By Plasmodium Vivax, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

The scope and depth of this review reflect the complexity of therapy for malaria in general and of Plasmodium vivax in particular. Even for malariologists steeped in an understanding of the treatment of acute, uncomplicated malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax challenges. The tendency to fold the two species together into a single conceptual framework, and they indeed share some common ground, leads to errors in both strategic reasoning and practice with therapies. These two species are biologically and clinically distinct in fundamentally important ways. This review attempts to draw a distinction with P. vivax in the broad context …

Acquired Immunity To Malaria, Denise L. Doolan, Carlota Dobaño, J. Kevin Baird

United States Public Health Resources

Each year malaria infects about one-half billion people, killing 1 million to 2 million and severely dampening economic development (44, 123, 133, 289, 321a, 321b). The parasitic Plasmodium species causing malaria persist and even flourish despite the availability of tools for prevention, control, and treatment. Those tools consist of an array of drugs, diagnostics, and insecticides and a detailed understanding of the breeding site preferences of the many anopheline mosquito vectors. Despite the tremendous strides in biotechnology during the past 5 decades and the application to malaria of the many breakthroughs in molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and vaccinology by talented …

Cationic Polypeptides Contribute To The Anti-Hiv-1 Activity Of Human Seminal Plasma, Julie A. Martellini, Amy L. Cole, Nitya Venkataraman, Gerry A. Quinn, Pavel Svoboda, Bhushan K. Gangrade, Jan Pohl, Ole E. Sorensen, Alexander M. Cole

United States Public Health Resources

Mucosal surfaces of the reproductive tract as well as their secretions have important roles in preventing sexual transmission of HIV-1. In the current study, the majority of the intrinsic anti-HIV-1 activity of human seminal plasma (SP) was determined to reside in the cationic polypeptide fraction. Antiviral assays utilizing luciferase reporter cells and lymphocytic cells revealed the ability of whole SP to prevent HIV-1 infection, even when SP was diluted 3200-fold. Subsequent fractionation by continuous flow acid-urea (AU)- PAGE and antiviral testing revealed that cationic polypeptides within SP were responsible for the majority of anti-HIV-1 activity. A proteomic approach was utilized …

Launching A Novel Preclinical Infrastructure: Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium Directed Therapeutic Targeting Of Tnfα To Cancer Vasculature, Melissa C. Paoloni, Anita Tandle, Christina Mazcko, Engy Hanna, Stefan Kachala, Amy Leblanc, Shelley Newman, David Vail, Carolyn Henry, Douglass Thamm, Karin Sorenmo, Amin Hajitou, Renata Pasqualini, Wadih Arap, Chand Khanna, Steven K. Libutti

United States Public Health Resources

Background: Under the direction and sponsorship of the National Cancer Institute, we report on the first pre-clinical trial of the Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC). The COTC is a novel infrastructure to integrate cancers that naturally develop in pet dogs into the development path of new human drugs. Trials are designed to address questions challenging in conventional preclinical models and early phase human trials. Large animal spontaneous cancer models can be a valuable addition to successful studies of cancer biology and novel therapeutic drug, imaging and device development.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Through this established infrastructure, the first trial of …

Children's Behavioral Traits And Risk Of Injury: Analyses From A Case-Control Study Of Agricultural Households, Kathleen F. Carlson, Susan G. Gerberich, Bruce H. Alexander, Ann S. Masten, Timothy R. Church, John M. Shutske, Andrew D. Ryan, Colleen M. Renier

United States Public Health Resources

Problem: Children on family agricultural operations have high risk of injury. The association between children's behavioral traits and their risk of injury is not well understood. Method: Data from the Regional Rural Injury Study-II were used to assess behavioral risk factors for injury to children ages six to <20 years. A total of 379 injury events (cases) and 1,562 randomly selected controls were identified. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), calculated using logistic regression, were used to estimate injury risk in reference to behavioral traits. Results: Injury risks were greater for children with high levels of depressive symptoms (OR=1.9, CI=1.0-3.7) and aggression (OR=1.6, CI=0.9-2.7), and low levels of careful/cautious behavior (OR=1.8, CI=1.1-2.9). Children with low levels of self-regulation had reduced risks (OR=0.4, CI=0.2-0.8). Discussion: Results suggest that children's behaviors affect their risk of agricultural injury. Additional research …

Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Damage In Asialoglycoprotein Receptor-Deficient Mice, Shana R. Dalton, Serene M.L. Lee, Rachel N. King, Amin A. Nanji, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Carol A. Casey, Benita L. Mcvicker

United States Public Health Resources

The asialoglycoprotein (ASGP) receptor is an abundant hepatocyte-specific receptor involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis. This receptor’s abundance and function is decreased by chronic ethanol administration prior to the appearance of pathology such as necrosis or inflammation. Hence, this study aimed to determine if ASGP receptor function is required to protect against liver injury by utilizing a knockout mouse model lacking functional ASGP receptor in the setting of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) hepatotoxicity. Briefly, ASGP receptor-deficient (RD) mice and wild-type (WT) mice were injected with 1 ml/kg body weight of CCl₄. In the subsequent week, mice were monitored for …