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Nebline, January 2012

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: UNL Food Processing Center Provides Valuable Assistance to Food Manufacturers

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

2011 Annual Report Special Pullout Section

An Annotated Checklist Of The Horse Flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) Of Lebanon With Remarks On Ecology And Zoogeography: Pangoniinae And Chrysopsinae, Günter Müller, Theo Zeegers, Jerome Hogsette, Edita E. Revay, Vasiliy Kravchenko, Andrey Leshvanov, Yosef Schlein

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Knowledge of the horse fly fauna (Diptera: Tabanidae) of Lebanon is fragmentary, while the local fauna of most neighboring countries has been fairly well researched. Within the framework of the 20-year project “The ecology and zoogeography of the Lepidoptera of the Near East,” we regularly collected biting flies in the whole region, including Lebanon. During this time we recorded 14 horse fly species for two subfamilies in Lebanon: four Pangoniinae and ten Chrysopsinae. Only a single species, Chrysops flavipes Meigen, 1804, was known previously in Lebanon, but the following four Pangoniinae: Pangonius haustellatus (Fabricius, 1781), Pangonius obscuratus Loew, 1859, Pangonius …

Spatial Variation In Rna:Dna Ratios Of Diporeia Spp. In The Great Lakes Region, Daniel J. Ryan, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Thomas F. Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Over the past two decades, Diporeia in all of the Laurentian Great Lakes, except Superior, have declined dramatically. These declines have seemingly coincided with expansion of invasive Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis, however the exact mechanisms underlying decreasing Diporeia densities are obscure. We explored the use of RNA:DNA (R/D) ratios as a conditional index for Diporeia by experimentally demonstrating that Diporeia R/D responds to periods of starvation. Moreover, during 2008–2009 we collected Diporeia from throughout the Great Lakes and Cayuga Lake (New York, USA), and used R/D ratios to index condition of these in situ collected animals. We evaluated …

Linking Ciguatera Poisoning To Spatial Ecology Of Fish: A Novel Approach To Examining The Distribution Of Biotoxin Levels In The Great Barracuda By Combining Non-Lethal Blood Sampling And Biotelemetry, Amanda C. O'Toole, Marie-Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein, Andy J. Danylchuk, John S. Ramsdell, Steven J. Cooke

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Ciguatera in humans is typically caused by the consumption of reef fish that have accumulated Ciguatoxins (CTXs) in their flesh. Over a six month period, we captured 38 wild adult great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), a species commonly associated with ciguatera in The Bahamas. We sampled three tissues (i.e.,muscle, liver, and blood) and analysed them for the presence of ciguatoxins using a functional in vitro N2A bioassay. Detectable concentrations of ciguatoxins found in the three tissue types ranged from 2.51 to 211.74 pg C-CTX-1 equivalents/ g. Blood and liver toxin concentrations were positively correlated (ρ=0.86, P=0.003), indicating …

Metabolite Profiles In Starved Diporeia Spp. Using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms) Based Metabolomics, Suman Maity, Amber Jannasch, Jiri Adamec, Michael Gribskov, Thomas F. Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök, Maria S. Sepúlveda

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The holarctic amphipod Diporeia spp. was historically the most abundant benthic macroinvertebrate in the offshore region of the Laurentian Great Lakes basin. However, since the 1990’s, the numbers of Diporeia have declined precipitously throughout the region. Competition for food with introduced dreissenid mussels may be partly to blame for this decline. Thus, a better understanding of how Diporeia responds and adjust to starvation is needed. For this purpose, we used liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) to study the metabolite profiles of Diporeia during starvation. Diporeia were collected from Lake Michigan, brought to the laboratory and starved …

Enzyme-Replacement Therapy In Life-Threatening Hypophosphatasia, Michael P. Whyte, William H. Mcalister, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Sexually Dimorphic Effect Of Aging On Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis, Gordon I. Smith, Dominic N. Reeds, Angela M. Hall, Kari T. Chambers, Brian N. Finck, Bettina Mittendorfer

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Chapter 4 Regulation Of Genetically Engineered Microorganisms Under Fifra, Ffdca And Tsca, Chris A. Wozniak, Gwendolyn Mcclung, Joel Gagliardi, Mark Segal, Keith Matthews

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Since the dawn of civilization, humans have utilized microbial organisms of various sorts for food and agricultural production. More recently, microbes have been used for pesticidal, and environmental management purposes. With the advent of the development of recombinant DNA technology to genetically alter microbes, it became necessary for Federal regulators to assess the appropriate level, format, and application of their regulatory authorities. In 1986, the Of fi ce of Science and Technology Policy issued the Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology. The Coordinated Framework constituted a comprehensive regulatory policy for biotechnology that, in essence, concluded that no new statutory authorities …

Characterization Of Pasteurella Multocida Strains Isolated From Geese, Zsuzsanna Varga, Dmitriy V. Volokhov, Laszlo Stipkovits, Akos Thuma, Boglarka Sellyei, Tibor Magyar

United States Food and Drug Administration: Publications

Phenotypic and genotypic diversity of forty-two Pasteurella multocida isolates from geese were characterized by analysis of their capsular type, Heddleston serotype, biotype, fimbrial gene allele type, comparative outer membrane protein (OMP) electrophoresis patterns, and were analyzed using PCR for the presence of virulence-associated genes (toxA, tbpA, pfhA, hgbA, hgbB, nanH, nanB, fimA, hsf-1, and pmHAS). A sequence comparison of the thdF and rpoB housekeeping genes of twenty representative P. multocida strains from three different OMP groups demonstrated that seventeen strains were closely related phylogenetically to previously published strains of P. multocida subsp. multocida and P. multocida subsp. gallicida, and only …

Status And Harvests Of Sandhill Cranes: Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain, Lower Colorado River Valley And Eastern Populations, Kammie L. Kruse, James A. Dubovsky, Thomas R. Cooper

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Compared to increases recorded in the 1970s, annual indices to abundance of the Mid-Continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes have been relatively stable since the early 1980s. The spring 2012 index for sandhill cranes in the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska, uncorrected for visibility bias, was 259,576 birds, which was significantly lower than the previous 5 years likely due to later timing of the survey period and an early spring migration. The photocorrected, 3-year average for 2009-11 was 579,863, which is above the established population-objective range of 349,000-472,000 cranes. All Central Flyway States, except Nebraska, allowed crane hunting in portions …

Influence Of Carbon And Lipid Sources On Variation Of Mercury And Other Trace Elements In Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus), Heli Routti, Robert J. Letcher, Erik W. Born, Marsha Branigan, Rune Dietz, Thomas J. Evans, Melissa A. Mckinney, Elizabeth Peacock, Christian Sonne

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

In the present study, the authors investigated the influence of carbon and lipid sources on regional differences in liver trace element (As, Cd, Cu, total Hg, Mn, Pb, Rb, Se, and Zn) concentrations measured in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) (n=121) from 10 Alaskan, Canadian Arctic, and East Greenland subpopulations. Carbon and lipid sources were assessed using δ¹³C in muscle tissue and fatty acid (FA) profiles in subcutaneous adipose tissue as chemical tracers. A negative relationship between total Hg and δ¹³C suggested that polar bears feeding in areas with higher riverine inputs of …

From Protozoan Infection In Monarch Butterflies To Colony Collapse Disorder In Bees Are Emerging Infectious Diseases Proliferating In The Insect World?, Rebecca Bartel, Sonia Altizer

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

In the late 1990S, scientists first noticed mysterious declines in several wild bumble bee species (Bombus spp.) in both eastern and western North America, with one species now possibly extinct (Colla and Packer 2008). These bumble bee losses mirrored declines in the abundance of many other native pollinators (National Research Council 2007). Interestingly, the timing of bumble bee declines in the United States coincided with reports of disease outbreaks in commercial- reared bumble bees sold for use in the production of greenhouse tomatoes and peppers (Evans et al. 2008). This observation, together with reports of a higher incidence of …

Marine Biotoxins: Emergence Of Harmful Algal Blooms As Health Threats To Marine Wildlife, Spencer E. Fire, Frances M. Van Dolah

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) affect aquatic ecosystems around the world, adversely affecting marine animal and human health, coastal ecosystem integrity, and economies that depend on coastal resources. Shellfish poisoning events involving humans who had ingested bivalves contaminated with HAB toxins primarily drove early scientific and social interest in HABs. More recently, research efforts have shown that HABs are often temporally and spatially correlated with the occurrence of acute morbidity or mortality of marine animals (Landsberg et al. 2005), and to date at least four classes of algal toxins have been associated with such events. Although fish, seabirds, and many other …

Copper Pellets Simulating Oral Exposure To Copper Ammunition: Absence Of Toxicity In American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius), J. Christian Franson, Lesanna L. Lahner, Carol U. Meteyer, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

To evaluate the potential toxicity of copper

(Cu) in raptors that may consume Cu bullets, shotgun

pellets containing Cu, or Cu fragments as they feed on

wildlife carcasses, we studied the effects of metallic Cu

exposure in a surrogate, the American kestrel (Falco

sparverius). Sixteen kestrels were orally administered

5 mg Cu/g body mass in the form of Cu pellets

(1.18–2.00 mm in diameter) nine times during 38 days and

10 controls were sham gavaged on the same schedule. With

one exception, all birds retained the pellets for at least 1 h,

but most (69%) regurgitated pellets during …

The Population Structure Of Escherichia Coli Isolated From Subtropical And Temperate Soils, Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Tao Yan, Matthew J. Hamilton, Satoshi Ishii, Roger S. Fujioka, Richard L. Whitman, Michael J. Sadowsky

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

While genotypically-distinct naturalized Escherichia coli strains have been shown to occur in riparian soils of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior watersheds, comparative analyses of E. coli populations in diverse soils across a range of geographic and climatic conditions have not been investigated. The main objectives of this study were to: (a) examine the population structure and genetic relatedness of E. coli isolates collected from different soil types on a tropical island (Hawaii), and (b) determine if E. coli populations from Hawaii and temperate soils (Indiana, Minnesota) shared similar genotypes that may be reflective of biome-related soil conditions. DNA fingerprint and …

Remote Sensing Of Sagebrush Canopy Nitrogen, Jessica J. Mitchell, Nancy F. Glenn, Temuulen T. Sankey, Dewayne R. Derryberry, Matthew J. Germino

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This paper presents a combination of techniques suitable for remotely sensing foliar Nitrogen (N) in semiarid shrublands – a capability that would significantly improve our limited understanding of vegetation functionality in dryland ecosystems. The ability to estimate foliar N distributions across arid and semi-arid environments could help answer process-driven questions related to topics such as controls on canopy photosynthesis, the influence of N on carbon cycling behavior, nutrient pulse dynamics, and post-fire recovery. Our study determined that further exploration into estimating sagebrush canopy N concentrations from an airborne platform is warranted, despite remote sensing challenges inherent to open canopy systems. …

Undergraduate And Graduate Course Descriptions, 2012 Winter, Wright State University

Course Descriptions

Wright State University undergraduate and graduate course descriptions from Winter 2012.

Recent Advances In The Application Of Non Thermal Methods For The Prevention Of Salmonella In Foods, Shilpi Gupta, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

Books/Book Chapters/ Proceedings

Food-borne illness as a result of consumption of foods contaminated with pathogenic bacteria is a world-wide concern. The presence and subsequent growth of micro-organisms in food in addition to improper storage not only results in spoilage but also in a reduction of food quality. The microbiological safety in ready to eat products is a cause of big concern not only for the consumers and food industries but also for the regulatory agencies. The number of documented outbreaks of foodborne diseases has increased in the last decade with Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli being responsible for the largest number …

Diabetes, Grand Rapids Restaurants And Hospitality And Tourism Research?, Michael M. G. Scantlebury

Great Lakes Hospitality & Tourism Educators Conference

This work-in-progress paper outlines the instructional approach that is being used with a new Hospitality and Tourism Research course introduced into the Grand Valley State University hospitality and tourism management curriculum (Winter 2012). The course, which is at the Junior-Senior level, is intended to provide students with; an understanding of the relationship between general theory and applied research; the purposes and applications, procedures, constraints and management of applied research; and to help students compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research. Twenty-two students have registered for the course. In the sections of this paper that follow a conceptual framework for instruction; …

Mais Bonito Da Região: The Cacao-Producing Region Of Cachoeira Alta, Bahia, And The Transition From Wage Labor To Small Farming, Rodney D. Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The support needed for upward social mobility within the field of agriculture, from a laborer to a self-sufficient, small farmer, requires an agricultural and market-based knowledge to which few wage laborers are privy. Small-scale farmers suffer shortcomings within regional and global markets because of their inability to respond to increased demand due to a lack of access to assets and capital. Despite such difficulties, in some agricultural sectors wage laborers have successfully made the transition to small landholders. In this thesis I seek to answer what factors led to the emergence of a smallholding cacao-producing population from a wage-laboring class …

Comparison Of Exercise And Eating In Collegiate Athletes Vs. Non-Athletes Active In High School Sports, Laura Leighton Blair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have been conducted on eating disorders (ED) in collegiate athletes. Many studies conclude that collegiate athletes are more at risk of developing an ED compared to non-athletes, while some report the opposite. Purpose. To determine if collegiate athletes are more likely to exhibit ED characteristics compared to those who only participated in high school sports. Method. Each participant completed The Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT), The Eating Disorder Inventory subscales Body Dissatisfaction (EDIBD), Drive for Thinness (EDIDFT), and Bulimia (EDIBUL) and The Body Shape Questionnaire-34 (BSQ). Group differences were examined for males (N=101), females (N=189), collegiate athletes (N=107), non-athletes …

The Effects Of A Multi-Component Wellness Program On Employee Biometrics, Jennifer Erin Patrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Corporate wellness initiatives are gaining momentum as a critical indicator of business performance. Metabolic Syndrome is commonly used within corporations to assess the health of their employees and estimate potential healthcare costs. Using five risk factors (blood pressure, high density lipoprotein (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), fasting blood glucose, and waist circumference) individuals with three or more risk factors are classified as having Metabolic Syndrome. Voluntary pre and post health screenings were conducted at a rural manufacturing plant. A multi-component wellness program was conducted over six months to determine if the program would have significant beneficial effects on employee biometrics and Metabolic …

The Underrepresentation Of English Learners In Mississippi's Intellectually Gifted Education Program: A Framework For Change, Vicki Patterson-Davidson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School districts have been struggling with the challenges of educating English learners for decades, long before the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Yet, considering the abundance of research on English learners, relatively few studies have examined specific methods or efforts of districts and schools to identify English learners for participation in an intellectually gifted education program. The purpose of this study was to determine if particular gifted education programming, or programming criteria, impacts this student population's identification for participation in Mississippi's intellectually gifted education program. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate the district- and school-level …

An Evaluation Of Medicaid Programs Using Medication Use-Related Quality Measures, Vennela Thumula

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To assess quality of care provided to Medicaid beneficiaries using medication use-related quality indicators. Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of 2006 & 2007 Medicaid administrative claims data from 45 states and DC. Eleven medication use-related measures (adherence/persistence and standard of care) from the AHRQ initial core set were included. A composite measure of medication use-related quality was also created. Patient case-mix adjusted measure scores were computed using hierarchical logistic regression models. States were ranked on both case-mix adjusted and unadjusted scores and categorized into top (?20%), medium (60%) and bottom (?20%) performers. Agreement in rankings and groups …

Fret Studies Of Dna Binding By Lambda Cro Variants, Lei Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proteins bind to DNA to form switches and circuits that control the flow of genetic information from DNA sequence to the physical components of cells and organisms. The dynamic performance of genetic switches depends on the coupling of the comprocesses of transcription and translation to protein-specific folding, assembly and binding reactions. For many model circuits protein dimerization and DNA binding are fast relative to the time scale of transcription and translation and thus amenable to modeling by statistical thermodynamics. In these cases, the distribution of proteins between monomers and dimers and between nonspecific and specific DNA complexes can be simply …

Isolation, Structure Elucidation And Biological Evaluation Of Natural Products From Plants And Fungi, Xiaoning Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural products have provided considerable value for drug discovery over the past half-century. Nearly four fifth of drugs were natural products or inspired by natural compounds. Bioactive secondary metabolites isolated from natural source, either fungal or terrestrial, are relatively safer for human health and the environment and can serve as drug or as drug leads for the development of synthetic or semi-synthetic analogs. Natural products have also been successfully used in agriculture as plant growth regulators, signal transductions, fungicides, herbicides and tranquilizers. In our continued efforts to identify bioactive compounds, seventy-seven plant and fungal extracts were evaluated using a direct-bioautography …

Obesity Prevention Among Latino Youth: School Counselors’ Role In Promoting Healthy Lifestyles, Amy Cook, Laura Hayden

Counseling, School Psychology & Sport Faculty Publication Series

Given the burgeoning obesity problem among Latino youth and concomitant health problems (Spiotta & Luma, 2008), school counselors have begun to recognize the need for culturally sensitive programming to promote healthy lifestyles. More theoretical, evidence-based programs are needed, however, to ensure Latino youth receive appropriate interventions and services. This study provides a review of three theoretical perspectives and obesity prevention programs with recommendations to school counselors for implementing a comprehensive obesity prevention program for Latino youth.

From Pond To Pump: Microalgae As A Feedstock For Biodiesel, Anna H. Leavitt

Honors Theses

The global reliance on fossil fuels is an unsustainable practice that has led to the depletion of finite resources and the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to global climate change (Demirbas 2010). Transportation accounts for about a third of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States. Demand for oil continues to increase and resources are becoming more uncertain. Increased production of renewable fuels such as biofuels can help ease the dependence on fossil fuels. Although interest and production in biofuels has been increasing in the past decade, current feedstocks do not meet efficiency needs and some …

The Alternative Staffing Work Experience: Populations, Barriers And Employment Outcomes, Helen Levine, Brandynn Holgate, Risa Takenaka, Françoise Carré

Center for Social Policy Publications

This paper presents results of a three-year study of workers and former workers at four Alternative Staffing Organizations (ASOs). ASOs are fee-for-service job brokering businesses created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits whose objective is to gain access to temporary and “temp to permanent” opportunities for workers facing barriers to employment. The paper looks specifically at the relationship between the personal characteristics of workers, their temporary work experiences through the ASO, and the subsequent employment status of former ASO workers, determined through a follow-up survey conducted by telephone six to eight months after workers had left the ASO. We found …

The Effect Of Two Elementary School-Based Prevention Interventions On Being Offered Tobacco And The Transition To Smoking, Yan Wang, Carla L. Storr, Kerry M. Green, Shijun Zhu, Elizabeth A. Stuart, Sarah D. Lynne-Landsman, Katherine H. Clemans, Hanno Petras, Sheppard G. Kellam, Nicholas S. Ialongo

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Aims: This study sought to more precisely delineate the mechanisms by which two early elementary school-based, universal (i.e., applied to the entire population regardless of risk status) preventive interventions increased survival to first tobacco cigarette smoked. Specifically, we examined whether the interventions' effect on survival to first use was via the reduction of offers to smoke and/or through preventing the transition from first offer to smoking. Methods: A total of 678 urban first-graders were assigned randomly to the classroom-centered (CC), or the family-school partnership (FSP), or a control classroom condition. Youth were followed annually until 1 year beyond their anticipated …