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Clonal Propagation Of Dorystoechas Hastata Via Axillary Shoot Proliferation, Bengi̇ Erdağ, Yelda Emek, Serap Aydoğan

Turkish Journal of Botany

A protocol for the in vitro seed germination, seedling development, and axillary shoot propagation of Dorystoechas hastata Boiss. & Heldr. ex Bentham is described. By employing sterilised seeds that were transferred onto in vitro media, the effects of various in vitro media, photoperiods, and temperatures on germination were investigated. At the end of these experiments, a final protocol was determined for the in vitro germination of D. hastata seeds. With this protocol, the highest germination rate was obtained with distilled water supplemented with vitamins and 1 mg L^{-1} of gibberellic acid (GA_{3}), with a 16:8 photoperiod at 24 ± 2 …

Parameterization Of Microwave Assisted Oil Extraction And Its Transesterification To Biodiesel, Akanksha V. Kanitkar

LSU Master's Theses

Currently, a majority of the world’s energy needs are met through use of fossil fuels, petroleum, coal and natural gas. The depletion of petroleum reserves, rising and extremely volatile crude oil prices, and environmental concerns have led to search for renewable and environmentally friendly fuels. The ultimate goal of this research was to develop, test and optimize a batch microwave system using traditional and alternate non-food feedstocks. Microwave assisted extraction (MAE) of oil from conventional feedstocks (soybeans and rice bran) and an alternative feedstock (Chinese tallow tree (CTT) seeds) was carried out. The study concluded that MAE of oil is …

School Gardens: Effects On Low Socioeconomic First Grade Students, Margo Lynn Castro

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine if there are any effects of school gardens on low socio-economic first grade classroom located in the Southern Region of the United States. It is crucial for students to understand food sources and where it originates. Data was gathered through interviews using qualitative research methods. Analysis consisted of examining data from themes and discriminate cases. Personal interviews were done with teachers and students involved in the garden project. Permission was received to interview the students at school. All participants will remain anonymous. The results of the study found that the garden project …

Validation Of The Polar Active Accelerometer For The Measurement Of Physical Activity In Elementary Children, Renee Kidwell

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to determine the validity of the Polar Active for the assessment of physical activity in elementary aged children and to compare its measurements to the activity counts of two Actigraph accelerometers. Participants were 35 boys and girls aged 7 to 10 years. Each child wore the Polar Active, Actigraph 7164, Actigraph GT3X, and Cosmed K4 portable metabolic system. The relationship between the three accelerometers and oxygen consumption (VO2) was assessed during five common activities, increasing in intensity from sedentary to vigorous+. Activities included sitting, video gaming, aerobic warm up, walking, martial arts, and running; …

Childhood Obesity And Adolescent Obesity In Taiwan And United States, Eric Yao-Tieng Huang

Graduate Research Papers

The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has been increasing over the last two decades. Besides sedentary activity and high-calorie diet, there are numerous obesity-related factors that could be generalized to two categories: (a) intrapersonal factors (e.g., age, gender, socioeconomic status) and (b) interpersonal factors (e.g., friends, family, social support, social climate). The purpose of this literature review was to examine these factors behind the issue of childhood obesity and adolescent obesity in Taiwan and United States. Strong evidence shows a similar trend that both American and Taiwanese adolescents are living sedentary lifestyles, habituated to bad eating habits, and …

Middle School Students’ Opinions On Using Physical Activity Monitors, Christopher R. Mekelburg

Graduate Research Papers

Since the mid 1980's, childhood obesity population in the United States has increased consistently each year (Flegal, Carroll, Ogden, 2002). A new initiative has been made by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, to promote physical activity and quality physical education in schools. The CDC recommends that children obtain 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). The current study was conducted to analyze the opinions of middle school students and their master teacher on a new activity monitor created to calculate a child's activity throughout an extended period of time. …

Cardiovascular Fitness And Academic Achievement In 8th Grade Students, Lindsey Kingsbury

Graduate Research Papers

Background: Federal mandates add pressure to school administrators to improve academic performance on standardized tests. Physical education, along with other none academic subjects, are being removed to make more academic instructional time.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to examine how middle school students' cardiovascular fitness affects academic performance standardized test. A secondary focus was to examine the relationship between a 2.5 and 5 day a week physical education regimen* cardiovascular fitness levels.

Methods: The FitnessGram PACER was used to measure the cardiovascular endurance levels and the Iowa Basic Skills Test was used to measure academic performance in …

An Examination Of The Role Of The Stay-At-Home Dad, Jason E. Heitland

Graduate Research Papers

The intent of this paper is to 1) explore the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a full-time child caregiver, and 2) discover why this new trend is becoming increasingly popular with fathers, not only in the United States, but around the world as well. By doing this, we hope to gain insight into the growing appeal of becoming a SAHD.

A Survey To Determine Attitudes Of Elementary Students And Teachers Toward The Polar Active Activity Monitoring System, Daniel P. Gawrisch

Graduate Research Papers

The CDC and NASPE currently recommend that children get 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day; however, too many children fall short of this goal. Physical education programs need to take an active role in promoting physical activity for children. Physical educators can benefit from a reliable and valid method to monitor the physical activity patterns of students. Polar Electro developed a new accelerometer called the Polar Active designed to help students and teachers track daily activity time. The purpose of this survey was to determine the attitudes of a teacher and his males and females 2nd, …

Where Are Women Acquiring Their Awareness, Knowledge And Understanding Of Heart Disease And How Does It Impact Their Personal Health Concern?, Michelle Cook

Graduate Research Papers

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women in the United States (CDC, 2005) . The purpose of this study was to analyze past and current heart disease awareness and education methods with actual awareness of the population under study (women ages 18 - 70). Specifically, the objective of the study was to determine if the population under study is aware of their own personal risk factors, their comfort in discussing heart disease with their physician(s), the methods they use to attain information regarding heart disease, and the effectiveness of health educator methods (including physicians, health educators, and awareness …

Adolescents' Expectancy Beliefs And Task Values For Physically Interactive Video Games, Andrew James Mcgregor

LSU Master's Theses

The health benefits associated with appropriate levels of physical activity are well documented, but a large percentage of the population is not sufficiently active to attain those health benefits. Children are also not as active as they should be, and their activity levels decline during adolescence. Given that childhood activity patterns are likely to persist into adulthood, it is important to investigate ways to encourage children and adolescents to be physically active. Since virtually all school students participate in physical education programs, one way to do that is to explore ways that physical education programs can motivate children to be …

The Returns And Volatility Of Agribusiness Stocks: How Do They Measure Up To Non-Agribusiness Stocks?, Benjamin Michael Clark

LSU Master's Theses

Little literature exists that analyzes the historical risk and return associated with investing in the US agricultural sector. However, several observable trends have recently made investing in the US agricultural sector an area of interest among investors. Stock price indexes are a commonly used tool for summarizing the historical performance of a specific sector. A market-capitalization weighted stock price index is created to represent the largest US agribusiness firms since 1970, using the US Census Standard Industrial Classification system and the Economic Research Service’s definition of agribusiness. Geometric returns, standard deviation, Sharpe Ratio, and beta values are calculated for one, …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Biology

No abstract provided.

Aphrodisiac Activity And Curative Effects Of Pedalium Murex (L) Against Ethanol Induced Infertility In Male Rats, Gunasekaran Balamurugan, P. Muralidharan, Satyanarayana Polapala

Turkish Journal of Biology

It has been suggested that chronic ethanol exposure may result in testicular damage and infertility in males. Petroleum ether extract of Pedalium murex, family Pedaliaceae (PEPM), is evaluated in this study for its ability to increase aphrodisiac activity and to cure ethanol induced germ cell damage and infertility in male rat models. Doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg of PEPM showed a significant increase (P < 0.01, P < 0.001) in mating and mounting behaviour. The effect on fertility factors such as total body weight, percentage of pregnancy, litter size were also significantly increased (P < 0.01) in comparison with the ethanol-treated group. Significant increases in sperm motility and count were observed in PEPM-treated groups in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.01; P < 0.001) as compared with the ethanol-treated group. Similarly, reductions in the percentage of abnormal sperm were noted in animals treated with PEPM 400 mg/kg. The effects of PEPM on total protein, total cholesterol and testosterone were satisfactory, the levels being increased significantly for protein (P < 0.05), cholesterol (P < 0.01) and testosterone (P < 0.05) by 400 mg/kg PEPM. Microtome sections of the testes of animals treated with 400 mg/kg PEPM exhibited restoration and recovery of germinal cells and the luminal spermatozoa and were comparable with the control group animals. These effects of PEPM make this natural herb ideal as an aphrodisiac and a potent fertility enhancing drug.

Physiological And Antioxidant Response Of Three Cultivars Of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L.) To Salinity, Gökçen Baysal Furtana, Ruki̇ye Tipirdamaz

Turkish Journal of Biology

The effects of salinity on the growth, relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content, inorganic ions, proline accumulation, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APOX), and catalase (CAT) of 3 cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cultivars (Çengelköy, Anadolu F1, and Beith Alpha) were investigated. Cucumber cultivars were grown in perlite culture and irrigated with half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution for a period of 35 days under controlled conditions. After this period, seedlings were treated with 150 mM NaCl solution and the plants were harvested on day 7 and day 14 of salt treatment. The fresh and dry weights, RWC, …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Biology

No abstract provided.

A Functional And Ontogenetic Skull Analysis Of The Extant Rhinoceroses And Teleoceras Major, An Extinct Miocene North American Rhinoceros, Mark Daniel Hagge

LSU Master's Theses

Functional and ontogenetic skull differences among extant rhinoceroses and the extinct North American rhinoceros Teleoceras major were investigated to assess the unknown feeding ecology of Teleoceras. Ontogenetic skull sequences of the extant Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), white rhino (Ceratotherium simum), and black rhino (Diceros bicornis), and the extinct Miocene North American rhino T. major were gathered for both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Eleven functional characters related to specific feeding ecologies in extant perissodactyls were morphologically described, and each species’ skull development was described in detail. Nineteen linear skull measurements were taken across all specimens of all …

Physiological, Biochemical And Molecular Characteristics Associated With Virulence Of Burkholderia Glumae: The Major Causative Agent Of Bacterial Panicle Blight Of Rice, Hari Sharan Karki

LSU Master's Theses

Burkholderia glumae is the bacterial pathogen causing bacterial panicle blight disease of rice (BPB). The pathogen, whose growth and pathogenicity is favored by high temperatures, has become a serious threat to rice production around the world possibly due to the current global climate changes. In this study, previously reported avirulent B. glumae strains were characterized in respect to the production of known virulence factors, toxoflavin, lipase and motility, and potential virulence factors, including polygalacturnase and type III secretion system (hypersensitive response). Considerable phenotypic variation was observed among the strains tested. Virulence of the B. glumae strains was closely related to …

Quantification Of Energy Intake Using Food Image Analysis, Sertan Kaya

LSU Master's Theses

Obtaining real-time and accurate estimates of energy intake while people reside in their natural environment is technically and methodologically challenging. The goal of this project is to estimate energy intake accurately in real-time and free-living conditions. In this study, we propose a computer vision based system to estimate energy intake based on food pictures taken and emailed by subjects participating in the experiment. The system introduces a reference card inclusion procedure, which is used for geometric and photometric corrections. Image classification and segmentation methods are also incorporated into the system to have fully-automated decision making.

Fau Climate Change Initiative Priority Theme: Research, Engineering, And Adaption To A Change Climate., Leonard Berry, Marguerite Koch, Center For Environmental Studies, Brian Benscoter, Xavier Comas, Donna Devlin, Maria Fadiman, E. Gerstein, Denise L. Herzing, Tobin Hindle, Sarah L. Milton, Anton E. Oleinik, C. Edward Proffitt, Jorge I. Restrepo, Tara L. Root, Jeanette Wyneken,, Zhixiao Xie, Xing-Hai Zhang, Ann-Margaret Esnard, Diana Mitsova, J. Murley, J. Vos, Monica Escaleras, M. Mehallis, Eric H. Shaw, Guillermo John Hardman, Julie Lambert, G. Thomas, Madasamy Arockiasamy, Frederick Bloetscher, G. Carvalho,, Manhar R. Dhanak, George V. Frisk, Evangelos I. Kaisar, Hari Kalva, Daniel E. Meeroff, Jarice Rodriguez, Panagiotis (Pete) D. Scarlatos, Ravi Shankar, Ramesh Teegavarapu, Clifford T. Brown, Francis Mcafee, Patricia Widener, Fraser R. Dalgleish, M. Dennis Hanisak, S. Mcmulloch, Gregory O'Corry-Crowe, Shirley A. Pomponi, John K. Reed, John Scarpa, Joshua Voss, Barry N. Heimlich, R. Alvarez, J. Jolley, A. Edwards, Charles E. Schmidt College Of Science, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, College Of Business, Dorothy F. Schmidt College Of Arts And Letters, College Of Education, College Of Engineering And Computer Science

Faculty Scholarship

Globally, sea level rise has the potential to impact two billion people living along coastlines. In South Florida, sea level rise is already a threat to coastal infrastructure and will continue to require new engineering solutions. Research universities, particularly those with strengths in hydrology, engineering, and ocean sciences, will play a major role in human adaptation to a rapidly changing climate; FAU can be one of these institutions with its current interdisciplinary climate change research. FAU’s premier engineering program provides opportunities to develop and apply new technologies to ascertain climate change impacts and develop solutions to assist in adaptation

Patterns And Mechanisms Of The Exploitation Of Mutualisms, Ellen Mcgrail Reid

LSU Master's Theses

Mutualisms are reciprocally exploitative interactions providing net benefits to both partners. These interactions can be exploited, in turn, by individuals that take advantage of benefits offered by one or both partners in a mutualism, while offering no benefits in return. For many mutualist-exploiter interactions the mechanisms allowing exploitation, and the maintenance of mutualisms in the face of exploitation, are still poorly understood. Here I describe manipulative field and laboratory experiments to investigate the mechanisms used by an exploiter to invade an ant-plant mutualism. I tested two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses for how a coreid (Mozena sp., Hemiptera: Coreidae) feeds on mymecophytic …

Copper Oxide Wire Particles In Feed Pellets For Controlling Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection In Ewes And Lambs, Sarah Tammy Nicole Orlik

LSU Master's Theses

Gastrointestinal nematode parasites cause extensive damage to small ruminants, and Haemonchus contortus is a major concern to production. In the past, small ruminants were dewormed at regular intervals and control methods were based primarily on the use of anthelmintics. At present, anthelmintic resistance has been reported worldwide and has developed into a serious problem for small ruminant management programs. In view of this, alternate control methods are needed. One alternative method is the use of copper oxide wire particles (COWP). Three independent trials were conducted during Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2008. Two trials evaluated the effect of COWP in …

Structure Elucidation Of A Glycosylated Benzyl Ester Of Salicylic Acid From The North American Prairie Plant Oligoneuron Rigidum, Sarah Katherine Miesner

Honors Program Theses

The organic extract from Oligoneuron rigidum displayed anti-microbial activity, indicating a potential future use as a natural food preservative. Three novel compounds were isolated from the active extract. The skeletal structure of the three compounds was determined by spectral methods, and the final structural component that remained to be determined was the locations of the acetate groups. Neutral permethylations were performed on the compounds as the first step in determining the locations of the acetate groups; however, the permethylation technique proved to be ineffective, causing cleavage of the native compounds. The structure elucidation will be complete when a non-degradable method …

Show And Tell: A Unique Approach To The Professional Educator's Portfolio, Elizabeth Hubler Cameron

Honors Program Theses

Today's educators need to be increasingly innovative in their self-marketing to ensure the best outcome of any job search or promotion opportunity. Skills and credentials are important, but increasing importance is being placed on tangible materials and substantiated data that one has to support their teaching style and educational philosophy. New job applicants need to find ways present themselves as distinct from other applicants. The following proposal outlines a creative thesis project that seeks to utilize traditional portfolio and resume components, combined with unique and technologically advanced selections, re-designed to demonstrate the fullest creative and innovative potential. The complete title …

Impact Of Time Reduction In Physical Education Class, Ada Potratz

Graduate Research Papers

Time is a precious commodity for school personnel, especially teachers. Teachers are talking about needing more time to teach and less time to consume administering standardized tests. The No Child Left Behind legislation has put pressure on teachers, schools, and districts to perform in Math and Reading. As a result, students are tested daily, weekly and monthly so data can be collected. This data is not used to put school and/or districts on the No Child Left Behind list of making progress or in need of assistance. Instead, it is used in districts to plot progress. To comply with the …

Assessing Cumulative Human Impacts On Northern Woodland Caribou With Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Resource Selection Functions, Jean Lieppert Polfus

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are federally listed and declining across Canada because of the cumulative impacts of human infrastructure development. The Atlin northern mountain herd, in the territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN), British Columbia, is less affected by development than southern herds. However, recent low productivity in this herd suggests that the impacts of development (i.e., roads, mines, cabins and towns) may be accumulating. To predict the cumulative impact of human development on the Atlin herd, we developed seasonal resource selection functions (RSF) at 2 spatial scales with data from 10 global positioning system collared …

Elemental Stoichiometry Of Freshwater Hyporheic Microorganisms, Alejandra Valenzuela

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The work presented herein is part of the Microbial Observatory Project in the Nyack Floodplain. The Nyack Valley Floodplain is a glacier-carved floodplain in the Middle Fork of the Flathead River on the south west border of Glacier National Park and north of the Great Bear Wilderness in northwest Montana. The study focuses on the bacterial diversity including elemental stoichiometry along a hyporheic flowpath underlying the Nyack floodplain. We isolated and characterized 44 bacterial strains, sampled microbial biofilm communities across the floodplain, characterized the bacterial isolates and determined elemental ratios (C:N:P). We tested the hypothesis that while the elemental stoichiometry …

The Unconscionable Health Gap: A Global Plan For Justice, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

International norms recognize the special value of health. The WHO Constitution states that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health” is a fundamental human right. The right to health, moreover, is a treaty obligation with clear obligations. Despite robust international norms, unconscionable health disparities exist between the world’s rich and poor, causing enormous suffering. The WHO urges “closing the health gap in a generation” through action on the social determinants of health. As the Marmot Commission observed: “the social conditions in which people are born, live, and work are the single most important determinant of good or ill …

Evolution And Function Of The Plant Cell Wall Synthesis-Related Glycosyltransferase Family 8, Yanbin Yin, Huiling Chen, Michael G. Hahn, Debra Mohnen, Ying Xu

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Carbohydrate-active enzyme glycosyltransferase family 8 (GT8) includes the plant galacturonosyltransferase1-related gene family of proven and putative a-galacturonosyltransferase (GAUT) and GAUT-like (GATL) genes. We computationally identified and investigated this family in 15 fully sequenced plant and green algal genomes and in the National Center for Biotechnology Information nonredundant protein database to determine the phylogenetic relatedness of the GAUTs and GATLs to other GT8 family members. The GT8 proteins fall into three well-delineated major classes. In addition to GAUTs and GATLs, known or predicted to be involved in plant cell wall biosynthesis, class I also includes a lower plantspecific GAUT and GATL-related …

A History Of Moose Management In Utah, Michael L. Wolfe, Kent R. Hersey, David C. Stoner

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

During the first half of the 20th century a moose (Alces alces) population gradually established itself on the North Slope of Utah’s Uinta Mountains from founders in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Formal management of the species commenced with an aerial survey conducted in 1957, and the first legal hunt in 1958. From this small initial population moose have expanded into other areas of northern Utah and, augmented by transplants, the statewide population has increased to an estimated 3,200 animals as of 2009. In the northern portion of the state moose appear to prosper in riparian willow (Salix sp.) habitats as …