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New Species In The Genus Monoecocesuts (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From Neotropical Rodents (Caviidae And Sigmodontidae), Terry R. Haverkost, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

Anoplocephalid cestodes have a worldwide distribution, but relatively few species are known from South American rodents. By examining the collections of the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology and the United States National Parasite Collection, 6 new species of Monoecocestus Beddard, 1914, are described, along with a redescription of Monoecocestus mackiewiczi Schmidt and Martin, 1978, based on the type specimens. The discussion includes commentary about uterine development, an important taxonomic character of the family, the vaginal dilation in immature segments (a character of potential taxonomic importance), and the implication of host usage to the evolutionary history and biogeography of species …

Towards An Understanding Of The Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency-Reactivation Cycle, Guey-Chuen Perng, Clinton Jones

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Infection by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) can cause clinical symptoms in the peripheral and central nervous system. Recurrent ocular shedding can lead to corneal scarring and vision loss making HSV-1 a leading cause of corneal blindness due to an infectious agent. The primary site of HSV-1 latency is sensory neurons within trigeminal ganglia. Periodically, reactivation from latency occurs resulting in virus transmission and recurrent disease. During latency, the latency-associated transcript (LAT) is abundantly expressed. LAT expression is important for the latency-reactivation cycle in animal models, in part, because it inhibits apoptosis, viral gene expression, and productive infection. A …

Method For Identification Of Virulence Determinants, Raul G. Barletta, Beth Harris

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Disclosed are methods for the determination of virulence determinants in bacteria and in particular bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. Also disclosed are compositions and methods for stimulating an immune response in an animal using bacteria and virulence determinants identified by the methods of the present invention.

Fine-Scale Genetic And Social Structuring In A Central Appalachian White-Tailed Deer Herd, Brad F. Miller, Randy W. Deyoung, Tyler A. Campbell, Benjamin R. Laseter, W. Mark Ford, Karl V. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Spatial genetic structure in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has been examined at regional scales, but genetic markers with the resolution to detect fine-scale patterns have appeared only recently. We used a panel of microsatellite DNA markers, radiotelemetry data, and visual observations of marked deer to study fine-scale social and genetic structure in a high-density population of white-tailed deer (12–20 deer/km²). We collected genetic data on 229 adult females, 102 of which were assigned to 28 social groups. Our results were consistent with the conceptual model of white-tailed deer social structure, where philopatric females form social groups …

Host-Specificity Of Myxoma Virus: Pathogenesis Of South American And North American Strains Of Myxoma Virus In Two North American Lagomorph Species, L. Silvers, D. Barnard, F. Knowlton, B. Inglis, A. Labudovic, M.K. Holland, P.A. Janssens, B.H. Van Leeuwen, P.J. Kerr

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The pathogenesis of South American and North American myxoma viruses was examined in two species of North American lagomorphs, Sylvilagus nuttallii (mountain cottontail) and Sylvilagus audubonii (desert cottontail) both of which have been shown to have the potential to transmit the South American type of myxoma virus. Following infection with the South American strain (Lausanne, Lu), S. nuttallii developed both a local lesion and secondary lesions on the skin. They did not develop the classical myxomatosis seen in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). The infection at the inoculation site did not resolve during the 20-day time course of the …

Polyurea Elastomer Protects Utility Pole Crossarms From Damage By Pileated Woodpeckers, Shelagh Tupper, William Andelt, John Cummings, Charles Weisner, Richard Harness

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Woodpeckers cause severe damage to utility poles and crossarms, resulting in substantial economic losses to utility companies. We evaluated effectiveness of a polyurea elastomer coating material for reducing damage by captive pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) to utility pole crossarms. Because woodpeckers inflicted essentially no damage to the fully coated crossarms, we infer that the coating material holds substantial promise for protecting utility pole crossarms. Additional research should be conducted to evaluate the coating under field conditions.

Increased Risk Of Chronic Wasting Disease In Rocky Mountain Elk Associated With Decreased Magnesium And Increased Manganese In Brain Tissue, Stephen N. White, Katherine I. O’Rourke, Thomas Gidlewski, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Michelle R. Mousel, Gregory E. Phillips, Terry R. Spraker

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of Rocky Mountain elk in North America. Recent studies suggest that tissue and blood mineral levels may be valuable in assessing TSE infection in sheep and cattle. The objectives of this study were to examine baseline levels of copper, manganese, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and molybdenum in the brains of Rocky Mountain elk with differing prion genotypes and to assess the association of mineral levels with CWD infection. Elk with leucine at prion position 132 had significantly lower magnesium levels than elk with 2 copies of methionine. Chronic wasting disease-positive elk …

Review Of Issues Concerning The Use Of Reproductive Inhibitors, With Particular Emphasis On Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts In North America, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Lowell A. Miller, Gary Killian, Christi A. Yoder

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This manuscript provides an overview of past wildlife contraception efforts and discusses the current state of research. Two fertility control agents, an avian reproductive inhibitor containing the active ingredient nicarbazin and an immunocontraceptive vaccine, have received regulatory approval with the Environmental Protection Agency and are commercially available in the USA. OvoControl G Contraceptive Bait for Canada Geese and Ovo Control for pigeons are delivered as oral baits. An injectable immunocontraceptive vaccine (GonaCon Immunocontraceptive Vaccine) was registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for use in female white-tailed deer in September 2009. An injectable product (GonaCon Immunocontraceptive Vaccine) is registered for use …

Synchronous Monitoring Of Vulture Movements With Satellite Telemetry And Avian Radar, Robert C. Beason, J. S. Humphrey, N. E. Myers, Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Radar and satellite global positioning system-platform transmitter terminal (GPSPTT) transmitters provide complementary information on the movements and behaviors of individual birds. The GPS-PTT tag provides a snapshot of altitude and location of a specific individual of an identified species at predefined intervals. The history of the individual is known because each transmitter has a unique identification code. The radar cannot identify individuals or even species but it provides continuous position reports (altitude and location) of birds within its detection range. By integrating data from the two sources, the behavior and movements of identified individuals (not possible with radar) can be …

Experimental Infection Of Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) With West Nile Virus, J. Jeffrey Root, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole M. Nemeth, Thomas Gidlewski, Terry R. Spraker, Alan B. Franklin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

To characterize the responses of raccoons to West Nile virus (WNV) infection, we subcutaneously exposed them to WNV. Moderately high viremia titers (≤ 10^4.6 plaque forming units [PFU]/mL of serum) were noted in select individuals; however, peak viremia titers were variable and viremia was detectable in some individuals as late as 10 days post-inoculation (DPI). In addition, fecal shedding was prolonged in some animals (e.g., between 6 and 13 DPI in one individual), with up to10^5.0 PFU/fecal swab detected. West Nile virus was not detected in tissues collected on 10 or 16 DPI, and no histologic lesions attributable …

Response Of Captive Skunks To Microencapsulated Tetracycline, Brandon S. Schmit, Thomas M. Primus, Jerome C. Hurley, Dennis J. Kohler, Shawna F. Graves

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A captive striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) study was conducted between February and June 2004 at the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. The main objective was to determine the percentage of adult striped skunks that were marked after consuming placebo oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits containing 100 mg of an experimental microencapsulated (coated microparticle) tetracycline hydrochloride biomarker. Biomarkers were identified in the canine teeth and mandibles of five of five skunks that consumed an ORV bait. A second objective was to determine if …

New Evidence Suggests Southern China As A Common Source Of Multiple Clusters Of Highly Pathogenic H5n1 Avian Influenza Virus, Bin Wu, Chengmin Wang, Guoying Dong, Yunhai Guo, Dale L. Nolte, Thomas Jude Deliberto, Jianguo Xu, Mingxing Duan, Hongxuan He

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza is considered an avian disease, although there is some evidence of limited human-to-human transmission of the virus. A global effort is underway to control or eradicate the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in poultry and prevent human exposure, both of which may also reduce the risk of pandemic emergence. Hemagglutinin gene sequences from 215 human H5N1 influenza viruses were used to trace the source and dispersal pattern of human H5N1 influenza viruses on a global scale. A mutation network and phylogenetic analyses of the hemagglutinin gene show that human H5N1 influenza viruses can be …

Dryland Performance Of Sweet Sorghum And Grain Crops For Biofuel In Nebraska, Charles S. Wortmann, Adam Liska, Richard B. Ferguson, Drew J. Lyon, R. N. Klein, Ismail M. Dweikat

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Sweet sorghum [SS; Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a potential biofuel crop for the Great Plains. Sweet sorghum was compared with corn [Zea mays (L.)] and grain sorghum for potential ethanol yield, energy use effi ciency, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at seven dryland site-years in Nebraska. Seasonal rainfall ranged from approximately 340 to 660 mm. Soils were deep with medium texture at all site-years. Th e eff ects of seeding rate, N rate, and cultivar on SS performance were evaluated. Sweet sorghum sugar yield was not aff ected by seeding rate and N application at six of seven …

Emissions Savings In The Corn-Ethanol Life Cycle From Feeding Coproducts To Livestock, Virgil R. Bremer, Adam Liska, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson, Haishun Yang, Daniel T. Walters, Kenneth G. Cassman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Environmental regulations on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn (Zea mays L.)-ethanol production require accurate assessment methods to determine emissions savings from coproducts that are fed to livestock. We investigated current use of coproducts in livestock diets and estimated the magnitude and variability in the GHG emissions credit for coproducts in the corn-ethanol life cycle. The coproduct GHG emissions credit varied by more than twofold, from 11.5 to 28.3 g CO₂e per MJ of ethanol produced, depending on the fraction of coproducts used without drying, the proportion of coproduct used to feed beef cattle (Bos taurus …

Spring Grazing Impacts On The Vegetation Of Reed Canarygrass–Invaded Wetlands, Heidi Hilhouse, Susan J. Tunnell, James L. Stubbendieck

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The Rainwater Basin region in Nebraska is critically important stopover habitat for spring waterfowl migrations, but the ability of these sites to produce sufficient food for migrating waterfowl is endangered by the invasion of reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). This species produces thick litter layers and abundant aboveground biomass, reducing germination and seedling survival of the annual plant species responsible for much of the seed production in the area. Cattle grazing often is used as a management tool in the Rainwater Basin to slow or reverse reed canarygrass invasion and to improve growing conditions for more desirable plant species. …

Economic Potential Of Substituting Legumes For Synthetic Nitrogen In Warm Season Perennial Grasses Used For Stocker Cattle Grazing, Maru Kering, John Biermacher, Ryan Reuter, Twain Butler, Job D. Springer, James Rogers, John Blanton, Joe Bouton, John A. Guretzky

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Stocker cattle grazing warm season perennial grasses is an important economic activity in the southern Great Plains. Substantial increases in the price of nitrogen fertilizer is negatively affecting forage producers‟ profitability. Two alternative nitrogen management systems that use annual and perennial legumes have been developed for bermudagrass pastures. The goal of the study is to determine if the legumes systems are more profitable than the conventional practice of applying synthetic sources of nitrogen. Results of the two-year grazing study show that the legume systems could not compete economically with the common practice.

Fertilizer Rate Effects On Forage Yield Stability And Nutrient Uptake Of Midland Bermudagrass, John A. Guretzky, Maru K. Kering, Jagadeesh Mosali, Eddie Funderburg, Jon T. Biermacher

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our objectives were to document effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer rates on forage yields and uptake of N, P, and K by Midland bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] on a Minco fine, sandy loam in southern Oklahoma. After six years of this long-term experiment, forage yield responses to fertilization were mixed and depended on year. Stability analysis indicated forage yields responded positively to N fertilization during favorable weather conditions but negatively during poor weather conditions. Application of 112 kg N ha⁻¹ provided the best yield stability and mean annual forage yield among treatments, …

Factors Affecting The Alkaline Cooking Performance Of Selected Corn And Sorghum Hybrids, Weston B. Johnson, Wajira S. Ratnayake, David S. Jackson, Kyung-Min Lee, Timothy J. Herrman, Scott R. Bean, Stephen Mason

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Dent com (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum hieolor L. Moench) sample sets representative of commonly grown hybrids and diverse physical attributes were analyzed for alkaline cooking performance. The influence of kernel characteristics including hardness, density, starch properties (thermal. pasting, and crystallinity). starch content. protein content. and prolamin content on alkaline cooking performance was also determined. Com nixtamal moisture content was lower for hard, dense kernels with high protein contents; sorghum nixtamal moisture content was lower for kernels with low moisture contents and low starch relative crystallinities. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) regression equations showed that com nixtamal moisture content was influenced by TADD (tangential abrasive dehulling device) index. kernel moisture content. starch content. and protein content; sorghum nixtamal moisture content was influenced by starch relative crystallinity. kernel moisture content, and abrasive hardness index. Pericarp removal was not strongly correlated with kernel characterization tests. Location (environmental) and hybrid (genetic) factors influenced most kernel characteristics and nixtamalization processing variables.

Evaluation Of The Intercom Model For Predicting Growth Of Forest Herbs, Zorica S. Popović, J. L. Lindquist

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The ecophysiological model INTERCOM was evaluated for its suitability in predicting the growth of perennial forest herbs. A field experiment was conducted to obtain data on photosynthesis and growth parameters of two spring flowering understorey geophytes. Results were used to parameterize the model and its performance was evaluated using the average normalized difference (AE) between predicted and observed biomass and the leaf area index. The model was assumed to provide accurate simulations if the AE was smaller than 0.4. Adjusting the photosynthetic intensity parameters in the model to reflect observed changes in photosynthesis throughout the growing period resulted in the …

Spring Seed Guide 2010: Nebraska Variety And Hybrid Tests -- Soybeans, Teshome Regassa, Robert N. Klein, Bruce Anderson, Charles A. Shapiro, Jim Krall

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

NEBRASKA SOYBEAN VARIETY TESTS 2009

Crop Production Summary: The November 2009 estimated soybean yield for Nebraska was 52 bushels per acre from 4.800 million harvested acres. The total production of soybeans for the state was forecasted at 247 million bushels. These estimates are from the November National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Fed-Batch Fermentation Of Gm-Csf-Producing Glycoengineered Pichia Pastoris Under Controlled Specific Growth Rate, Pieter P. Jacobs, Mehmet Inan, Nele Festjens, Jurgen Haustraete, Annelies Van Hecke, Roland Contreras, Michael M. Meagher, Nico Callewaert

Papers in Biomolecular Engineering

Background: Yeast expression systems with altered N-glycosylation are now available to produce glycoproteins with homogenous, defined N-glycans. However, data on the behaviour of these strains in high cell density cultivation are scarce.

Results: Here, we report on cultivations under controlled specific growth rate of a GlycoSwitch-Man5 Pichia pastoris strain producing Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) at high levels (hundreds of milligrams per liter). We demonstrate that homogenous Man₅GlcNAc₂ N-glycosylation of the secreted proteins is achieved at all specific growth rates tested.

Conclusions: Together, these data illustrate that the GlycoSwitch-Man5 P. pastoris is a robust production …

Propofol Induces Mapk/Erk Cascade Dependant Expression Of Cfos And Egr-1 In Rat Hippocampal Slices, Srivatsan Kidambi, Joel Yarmush, Yevgeny Berdichevsky, Sangeetha Kamath, Wayne Fong, Joseph Schianodicola

Papers in Biomolecular Engineering

Background: Propofol is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic agent, which produce rapid induction of and recovery from general anesthesia. Numerous clinical studies reported that propofol can potentially cause amnesia and memory loss in human subjects. The underlying mechanism for this memory loss is unclear but may potentially be related to the induction of memory-associated genes such as c-Fos and Egr-1 by propofol. This study explored the effects of propofol on c-Fos and Egr-1 expression in rat hippocampal slices.

Findings: Hippocampal brain slices were exposed to varying concentrations of propofol at multiple time intervals. The transcription of the immediate …

Efficacy Of Singular And Stacked Brown Midrib 6 And 12 In The Modification Of Lignocellulose And Grain Chemistry, Scott E. Sattler, Deanna L. Funnell-Harris, Jeffrey F. Pedersen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In sorghum, brown midrib (bmr) 6 and 12 impair the last two steps of monolignol synthesis. bmr genes were introduced into grain sorghum to improve the digestibility of lignocellulosic tissues for grazing or bioenergy uses following grain harvest. Near-isogenic grain sorghum hybrids (AWheatland X RTx430) were developed containing bmr6, bmr12, and the bmr6 bmr12 double mutant (stacked), and their impacts were assessed in a two-year field study. The bmr genes did not significantly impact grain or lignocellulosic tissue yield. Lignocellulosic tissue from bmr6, bmr12, and stacked hybrids had reduced lignin content and increased in …

Influences Of Wind And Sandblasting On The Endangered Blowout Penstemon, James Stubbendieck, Cheryl D. Dunn, Heidi L. Hillhouse, L. M. Landholt

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Blowout penstemon Penstemon haydenii is a federally endangered species growing only in areas with active wind erosion in sand dunes of the central United States. This early seral species declines as the blowout habitat stabilizes, allowing later seral species to increase. Blowout penstemon populations and plant size declined in the 1990s when precipitation was higher than normal, resulting in reduced sand movement. We conducted a greenhouse experiment to determine whether blowing sand influenced vigor and persistence of blowout penstemon seedlings. Treatments were wind, sandblasting, wind with sandblasting, and a control. The wind treatment was a constant 14 km h^{–1 …}

High-Throughput Snp Discovery And Assay Development In Common Bean, David L. Hyten, Qijian Song, Edward W. Fickus, Charles V. Quigley, Jong-Sung Lim, Ik-Young Choi, Eun-Young Hwang, Marcial Pastor-Corrales, Perry B. Cregan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Next generation sequencing has significantly increased the speed at which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be discovered and subsequently used as molecular markers for research. Unfortunately, for species such as common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) which do not have a whole genome sequence available, the use of next generation sequencing for SNP discovery is much more difficult and costly. To this end we developed a method which couples sequences obtained from the Roche 454-FLX system (454) with the Illumina Genome Analyzer (GA) for high-throughput SNP discovery. Results: Using a multi-tier reduced representation library we discovered a total of …

161. The Potential Role Of Extensor Muscle Fatigue In The Onset Of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: A Novel In Vivo Model, Mary Beth M. Grabowsky, Nicholas A. Pallota, Matthew W. Connelly, Brett Van Etten, Rebecca A. Wachs, Max Alley, Joseph C. Glennon, Andrew H. Dubin, John W. German, Richard L. Uhl, Eric H. Ledet

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Occupation is strongly correlated to low back pain (LBP). Specific occupational activities associated with low back pain include poor posture, whole body vibration, and repetitive lifting. These activities have a common link: they result in fatigue of the primary spinal extensor musculature. This fatigue may lead to increased intervertebral loading - a stimulus for disc degeneration. If true, this association could provide a vital connection between detrimental physical activities and LBP. However, the link between muscle fatigue and increased load across the disc space has never been quantified in vivo.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to …

What Scatter-Hoarding Animals Have Taught Us About Small-Scale Navigation, Kristy L. Gould, Debbie M. Kelly, Alan Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

Many animals use cues for small-scale navigation, including beacons, landmarks, compasses and geometric properties. Scatter-hoarding animals are a unique system to study small-scale navigation. They have to remember and relocate many individual spatial locations, be fairly accurate in their searching and have to remember these locations for long stretches of time. In this article, we review what is known about cue use in both scatter-hoarding birds and rodents. We discuss the importance of local versus global cues, the encoding of bearings and geometric rules, the use of external compasses such as the Sun and the influence of the shape of …

Landmark Use By Clark’S Nutcrackers (Nucifraga Columbiana): Influence Of Disorientation And Cue Rotation On Distance And Direction Estimates, Debbie M. Kelly, Alan Kamil, Ken Cheng

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Many species have been shown to encode multiple sources of information to orient. To examine what kinds of information animals use to locate a goal we manipulated cue rotation, cue availability, and inertial orientation when the food-storing Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) was searching for a hidden goal in a circular arena. Three groups of birds were used, each with a different goal–landmark distance. As the distance between the goal and the landmark increased, nutcrackers were less accurate in finding the correct direction to the goal than they were at estimating the distance (Experiment 1). To further examine what …

Diversity Of Protein And Mrna Forms Of Mammalian Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase B1 Due To Intronization And Protein Processing, Xinwen Liang, Dmitri E. Fomenko, Deame Hua, Alaattin Kaya, Vadim N. Gladyshev

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Background: Methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msrs) are repair enzymes that protect proteins from oxidative stress by catalyzing stereospecific reduction of oxidized methionine residues. MsrB1 is a selenocysteine-containing cytosolic/nuclear Msr with high expression in liver and kidney.

Principal Findings: Here, we identified differences in MsrB1 gene structure among mammals. Human MsrB1 gene consists of four, whereas the corresponding mouse gene of five exons, due to occurrence of an additional intron that flanks the stop signal and covers a large part of the 39-UTR. This intron evolved in a subset of rodents through intronization of exonic sequences, whereas the human gene structure represents …

Regulation Of Sealing Ring Formation By L-Plastin And Cortactin In Osteoclasts, Tao Ma, Kavitha Sadashivalah, Nandakumar Madayiputhiya, Meenakshi A. Chellaia

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The aim of this study is to identify the exact mechanism(s) by which cytoskeletal structures are modulated during bone resorption. In this study, we have shown the possible role of different actin-binding and signaling proteins in the regulation of sealing ring formation. Our analyses have demonstrated a significant increase in cortactin and a corresponding decrease in L-plastin protein levels in osteoclasts subjected to bone resorption for 18 h in the presence of RANKL, M-CSF, and native bone particles. Time-dependent changes in the localization of L-plastin (in actin aggregates) and cortactin (in the sealing ring) suggest that these proteins may be …