Digital Commons Network^™

Why Can’T Rodents Vomit? A Comparative Behavioral, Anatomical, And Physiological Study, Charles C. Horn, Bruce A. Kimball, Hong Wang, James Kaus, Samuel Dienel, Allysa Nagy, Gordon R. Gathright, Bill J. Yates, Paul L. R. Andrews

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The vomiting (emetic) reflex is documented in numerous mammalian species, including primates and carnivores, yet laboratory rats and mice appear to lack this response. It is unclear whether these rodents do not vomit because of anatomical constraints (e.g., a relatively long abdominal esophagus) or lack of key neural circuits. Moreover, it is unknown whether laboratory rodents are representative of Rodentia with regards to this reflex. Here we conducted behavioral testing of members of all three major groups of Rodentia; mouse-related (rat, mouse, vole, beaver), Ctenohystrica (guinea pig, nutria), and squirrel-related (mountain beaver) species. Prototypical emetic agents, apomorphine (sc), veratrine (sc), …

Effects Of Drought, Temperature, Herbivory, And Genotype On Plant–Insect Interactions In Soybean (Glycine Max), Rose Grinnan, Thomas E. Carter Jr., Marc T. J. Johnson

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

Climate change is predicted to cause continued increases in global temperatures, greater variability in precipitation and in some cases, more frequent insect pest outbreaks. Here we seek to understand how abiotic and biotic stresses associated with climate change can affect plant-herbivore interactions in a model crop species (soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.) by answering three questions: (1) Do the combined effects of abiotic and biotic stresses associated with climate change cause synergistic negative effects on plant biomass? (2) Can abiotic stress affect resistance of plants to insect herbivores? (3) Does genetic variation in plant traits modify a plant’s response to …

Anthropogenic And Physiologically Induced Stress Responses In Captive Coyotes, Christopher J. Schell, Julie K. Young, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Rachel M. Santymire

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Repeated stressful events can negatively impact overall health by continuous stimulation of the hypothalamic– pituitary–adrenal axis, which leads to depletion of glucose stores and suppression of immune and reproductive function. The influence of stressors on survivability is particularly salient for coyote (Canis latrans) populations, because understanding how coyotes cope with stressors may provide relevant context on coyote adaptation to urbanized ecosystems. Our objectives were to physiologically validate fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) analysis in coyotes by performing an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge in 12 captive individuals (6 treatment and 6 control) housed at the United States Department of Agriculture …

Den Attendance Patterns In Swift Foxes During Pup Rearing: Varying Degrees Of Parental Investment Within The Breeding Pair, Sharon A. Poessel, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Parental investment varies inmammalian species, with male care of young being more common in social and monogamous species. Monogamy is commonly observed in canid species, with both males and females, and often ‘‘helper’’ individuals, providing some degree of care for the young. Social units of the swift fox (Vulpes velox), a small North American canid species, usually consist of a male– female pair and occasionally helpers. The role of parental investment and behavior in swift fox society is currently poorly understood. We observed swift fox dens during the pup-rearing season in each of 2 years to evaluate attendance …

Dietary Niche Differentiation Among Three Species Of Invasive Rodents (Rattus Rattus, R. Exulans, Mus Musculus), Aaron B. Shiels, Caitlin A. Flores, Arthur Khamsing, Paul D. Krushelnycky, Stephen M. Mosher, Donald R. Drake

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The diets of sympatric rodents partially define their realized niches. Identifying items in stomachs of introduced rodents helps determine rodents’ trophic positions and species most at risk of consumption. In the Hawaiian Islands, which lacked rodents prior to human arrival, three rodents (Rattus rattus or black rat, R. exulans or Pacific rat, Mus musculus or house mouse) commonly coexist in native habitats where they consume a wide range of plants and animals. These three rodent species were trapped in montane forest for 2.5 years; their stomach contents were analyzed to determine short-term diets (n = 12–95 indiv. per species), …

The Effects Of Vitamin K1-Rich Plant Foods On The Efficacy Of The Anticoagulant Rodenticides Chlorophacinone And Diphacinone, Used Against Montane Voles (Microtus Montanus), Gary W. Witmer, Nathan P. Snow, Rachael S. Moulton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Voles can cause significant losses to agriculture and wood fibre production. California growers typically rely on baits containing chlorophacinone and diphacinone to reduce vole population densities, but the efficacy of those rodenticides has been decreasing. One hypothesis suggests that voles are consuming high levels of an antidote (vitamin K1) to the anticoagulants, contained within green leafy plants. We tested that hypothesis by first feeding Montane Voles (Microtus montanus) diets that were high in vitamin K1, and then providing the animals with either: (1) chlorophacinone-containing bait, (2) diphacinone-containing bait, or (3) a control diet. We found that the chlorophacinone-containing …

Managing Turfgrass To Reduce Wildlife Hazards At Airports, Brian E. Washburn, Thomas W. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Multiple factors-including safety regul at ions, economic considerations, location, and attrae· tiveness to wildlife recognized as hazardous to avia· tion-influence the choice of land cover at airports. The principal land cover at airports within North America has historically been turfgrass. usually cool· season perennial grass species native to Europe. However, recent research has determined that, from a wildlife perspective, not all turfgrasses are alike. Some grasses are more palatable to herbivorous hazardous wildlife (e.g., Canada geese [Branta canadensis]) than others, and thus are more likely to increase the potential for wildlife-aircraft collisions when planted near critical airport operating …

Foraging Ecology Of Four Gull Species At A Coastal–Urban Interface, Brian E. Washburn, Glen E. Bernhardt, Lisa Kutschbach-Brohl, Richard B. Chipman, Laura C. Francoeur

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coastal urban environments provide a potentially diverse source of food for gulls, including items of marine, terrestrial, and anthropogenic origin. Our objective was to examine variation in the diet and use of feeding habitat of four species of gulls, the Laughing (Leucophaeus atricilla), Herring (Larus argentatus), Great Blackbacked (L. marinus), and Ring-billed (L. delawarensis), at a coastal–urban interface. We necropsied, identified the sex and age class, and quantified the stomach contents of 1053 Laughing, 249 Herring, 67 Great Black-backed, and 31 Ring-billed Gulls collected near the New York City metropolitan area in …

Chapter 3 Physical Causes And Consequences For Landslide Ecology, Lawrence R. Walker, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. The propensity for a landslide to occur is largely determined by potential slip planes, or weakness planes in the geological substrate, where the driving forces exceed resisting forces.

2. Landslide occurrence across the landscape is often unpredictable; substrates can be resistant to slippage for centuries and then suddenly experience instability that may result from human or non-human changes that disrupt the balance between driving and resisting forces at a slip plane.

3. Post-landslide erosion is common and can contribute as much as 33% of the total sediment loss from the site of landslide initiation. Such post-landslide erosion can continue …

On The Halophytic Nature Of Mangroves, Ken W. Krauss, Marilyn C. Ball

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Scientists have discussed the halophytic nature of intertidal plants for decades, and have generally suggested that inherent differentiation of an obligate halophyte from a facultative halophyte relates strongly to whether the plant can survive in fresh water, and not much else. In this minireview, we provide additional insight to support the pervasive notion that mangroves as a group are truly facultative halophytes, and thus add discourse to the alternate view that mangroves have an obligate salinity requirement. Indeed, growth and physiological optima are realized at moderate salinity concentrations in mangroves, but we maintain the notion that current evidence suggests that …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 8 Identification And Management Of Wildlife Food Resources At Airports, Travis L. Devault, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife use airport habitats for a variety of reasons, including breeding, raising young, resting, taking refuge from predators, and locating sources of water. But the chief motivation for most individuals to encroach on airports is food. Depending on the specific habitat types present and habitat management strategies employed, airports can harbor large numbers of small mammals, insects, earthworms, and palatable vegetation that attract many species hazardous to aircraft. Often the best way to reduce populations of hazardous wildlife at airports is to determine which sources of food are being used, and then remove or modify those foods to make them …

The Effects Of Anatabine On Non-Invasive Indicators Of Muscle Damage: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study, Nathaniel Dm Jenkins, Terry J. Housh, Glen O. Johnson, Daniel A. Traylor, Haley Bergstrom, Kristen C. Cochrane, Robert W. Lewis Jr, Richard J. Schmidt, Joel T. Cramer

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Anatabine (ANA), a minor tobacco alkaloid found in the Solanaceae family of plants, may exhibit anti-inflammatory activity, which may be useful to aid in recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ANA supplementation on the recovery of isometric strength and selected non-invasive indicators of muscle damage.

Methods: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover design was used to study eighteen men (mean ± SD age = 22.2 ± 3.1 yrs; body mass = 80.3 ± 15.7 kg) who participated in two randomly-ordered conditions separated by a washout period. The ANA condition consisted …

Identification And Assessment Of Markers Of Biotin Status In Healthy Adults, Wei Kay Eng, David Giraud, Vicki L. Schlegel, Dong Wang, Bo Hyun Lee, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Human biotin requirements are unknown and the identification of reliable markers of biotin status is necessary to fill this knowledge gap. Here, we used an outpatient feeding protocol to create states of biotin deficiency, sufficiency and supplementation in sixteen healthy men and women. A total of twenty possible markers of biotin status were assessed, including the abundance of biotinylated carboxylases in lymphocytes, the expression of genes from biotin metabolism and the urinary excretion of biotin and organic acids. Only the abundance of biotinylated 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (holo-MCC) and propionyl-CoA carboxylase (holo-PCC) allowed for distinguishing biotin-deficient and biotin-sufficient individuals. The urinary excretion …

Myeloid Cell-Specific Abca1 Deletion Does Not Worsen Insulin Resistance In Hf Dietinduced Or Genetically Obese Mouse Models, Xuewei Zhu, Soonkyu Chung, Xin Bi, Chia-Chi Chuang, Amanda L. Brown, Mingxia Liu, Jeongmin Seo, Helen Cuffe, Abraham K. Gebre, Elena Boudyguina, John S. Parks

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Obesity-associated low-grade chronic inflammation plays an important role in the development of insulin resistance. The membrane lipid transporter ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) promotes formation of nascent HDL particles. ABCA1 also dampens macrophage inflammation by reducing cellular membrane cholesterol and lipid raft content. We tested the hypothesis that myeloid-specific ABCA1 deletion may exacerbate insulin resistance by increasing the obesity-associated chronic low-grade inflammation. Myeloid cell-specific ABCA1 knockout (MSKO) and wild-type (WT) mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, mild hypercholesterolemia, and hepatic steatosis to a similar extent with a 45% high-fat (HF) diet feeding or after crossing into the ob/ob background. Resident peritoneal …

Identification And Assessment Of Markers Of Biotin Status In Healthy Adults, Wei Kay Eng, David Giraud, Vicki L. Schlegel, Dong Wang, Bo Hyun Lee, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Human biotin requirements are unknown and the identification of reliable markers of biotin status is necessary to fill this knowledge gap. Here, we used an outpatient feeding protocol to create states of biotin deficiency, sufficiency and supplementation in sixteen healthy men and women. A total of twenty possible markers of biotin status were assessed, including the abundance of biotinylated carboxylases in lymphocytes, the expression of genes from biotin metabolism and the urinary excretion of biotin and organic acids. Only the abundance of biotinylated 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (holo-MCC) and propionyl-CoA carboxylase (holo-PCC) allowed for distinguishing biotin-deficient and biotin-sufficient individuals. The urinary excretion …

Effects Of Dynamic Stretching On Strength, Muscle Imbalance, And Muscle Activation, Pablo B. Costa, Trent J. Herda, Ashley A. Herda, Joel T. Cramer

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the acute effects of dynamic stretching on concentric leg extensor and flexor peak torque, eccentric leg flexor peak torque, and the conventional and functional hamstring–quadriceps (H:Q) ratios.

Methods: Twenty-one women (mean ± SD age = 20.6 ± 2.0 yr, body mass = 64.5 ± >.3 kg, height = 164.7 ± 6.5 cm) performed maximal voluntary isokinetic leg extension, flexion, and eccentric hamstring muscle actions at the angular velocities of 60°· s^-1 and 180° · s^-1 before and after a bout of dynamic hamstring and quadriceps stretching as well as a …

Polyphenols, Inflammation, And Cardiovascular Disease, Christy Tangney, Heather E. Rasmussen

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Polyphenols are compounds found in foods such as tea, coffee, cocoa, olive oil, and red wine and have been studied to determine if their intake may modify cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Historically, biologic actions of polyphenols have been attributed to antioxidant activities, but recent evidence suggests that immunomodulatory and vasodilatory properties of polyphenols may also contribute to CVD risk reduction. These properties will be discussed, and recent epidemiological evidence and intervention trials will be reviewed. Further identification of polyphenols in foods and accurate assessment of exposures through measurement of biomarkers (i.e., polyphenol metabolites) could provide the needed impetus to examine …

Relationship Between Serum And Brain Carotenoids, 𝛼-Tocopherol, And Retinol Concentrations And Cognitive Performance In The Oldest Old From The Georgia Centenarian Study, Elizabeth J. Johnson, Rohini Vishwanathan, Mary Ann Johnson, Dorothy B. Hausman, Adam Davey, Tammy M. Scott, Robert C. Green, L. Stephen Miller, Marla Gearing, John Woodard, Peter T. Nelson, Hae-Yun Chung, Wolfgang Schalch, Jonas Wittwer, Leonard W. Poon

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Oxidative stress is involved in age-related cognitive decline. The dietary antioxidants, carotenoids, tocopherols, and vitamin A may play a role in the prevention or delay in cognitive decline. In this study, sera were obtained from 78 octogenarians and 220 centenarians from the Georgia Centenarian Study. Brain tissues were obtained from 47 centenarian decedents. Samples were analyzed for carotenoids, 𝛼-tocopherol, and retinol using HPLC. Analyte concentrations were compared with cognitive tests designed to evaluate global cognition, dementia, depression and cognitive domains (memory, processing speed, attention, and executive functioning). Serum lutein, zeaxanthin, and 𝛽-carotene concentrations were most consistently related to better cognition …

Comparison Of Two Perennial Grass Breeding Systems With Switchgrass, Kenneth P. Vogel

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

Two breeding systems, between- and withinfamily selection (BWFS) and multistep family selection (MFS), were compared using three switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) populations to determine which system was the most effective in improving biomass yield and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). With BWFS, half-sib families are produced and evaluated on a family basis and then the best plants within the best families are selected for crossing to produce a new strain. With MFS, parent genotypes of the half-sib families being evaluated in the BWFS selection nursery are maintained and the genotypes whose progeny were the best in the BWFS …

The Emotional And Spiritual Wellbeing Of Hospice Patients In Botswana And Sources Of Distress For Their Caregivers, Psyche Linnea Philips

Yale School of Nursing Digital Theses

Background: Little regional data exists on the distress of people nearing the end of their lives and their caregivers. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the quality of life and the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of people at the end of life and the sources of distress for their primary caregivers in Gaborone, Botswana, in order to inform current and limited hospice resources and services. Design: This study employed a qualitative design. Setting/Subjects: Twenty-eight primary caregivers who cared for an adult who passed away fewer than 14 months prior to the interview date and were in the …

Perception Of Poverty: Promoting Social Responsibility Through Multi-Sensory Integration, Daniel Skrok

Theses

Traditional graphic design and marketing rely heavily on visual forms of communication. With advertisements all around us, the constant visual bombardment has led to an over stimulated consumer, creating a challenge for designers to invent alternative ways to capture the audience's attention. Multi-sensory integration overcomes this challenge in my opinion, by integrating more than the sense of sight and is more effective and memorable, because it conveys the core message through multiple senses rather than one. The integration of additional senses within the field, particularly olfactory in my opinion, helps to enhance the overall communication and facilitate a more potent …

American Marketing Students’ Attitudes Towards Online Classes, Sam Fullerton

AMTP Proceedings 2013

A sample of 304 American marketing students from four regionally diverse universities provided insight regarding their attitudes towards online education. Positives included scheduling flexibility, opportunities to take more classes offered by their own and by other universities, and the elimination of time and cost constraints. Most disconcerting was the absence of studentteacher interaction. Traditional and hybrid offerings were generally deemed to be superior to those courses using the “delivered entirely online (DEO)” format. Students need to be made more aware of the advantages of online education from both an educational and a temporal perspective. A meaningful segment is comprised of …

Effect Of Microwave Heating On The Migration Of Additives From Ps, Pp And Pet Container Into Food Simulants, Ruoyin Cai

Theses

Microwave food packaging has become a tremendous element in the food manufacturing process. The purpose of any food packaging regulations concerned with the safety of the food is to control and limit the migration of substances from the packaging into the food. The main objective of this thesis is to test three different microwaving packaging materials that are the most common material in the market, viz. polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), migrated into four food simulant solutions. Four different simulant solutions were used based on the food type and FDA recommendations and regulations. These food simulants include …

Extrahepatic 25-Hydroxylation Of Vitamin D3 In An Engineered Osteoblast Precursor Cell Line Exploring The Influence On Cellular Proliferation And Matrix Maturation During Bone Development, Shelley S. Mason, Sean S. Kohles, Shelley R. Winn, Randy D. Zelick

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Osteoblastic precursors experience distinct stages during differentiation and bone development, which include proliferation, extracellular matrix (ECM) maturation, and ECM mineralization. It is well known that vitamin D plays a large role in the regulation of bone mineralization and homeostasis via the endocrine system. The activation of vitamin D requires two sequential hydroxylation steps, first in the kidney and then in the liver, in order to carry out its role in calcium homeostasis. Recent research has demonstrated that human-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and osteoblasts can metabolize the immediate vitamin D precursor 25- dihydroxyvitamin D₃(25OH₂D₃) to the active steroid 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ …

Determining A New Alignment Scoring Matrix For Disordered Proteins, Adam Handen

Theses

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are polypeptide sequences that do not form a rigid three dimensional structure when isolated in the cytosol of the cell. These sequences are very common in most genomes, and usually are involved in many protein-protein interactions. IDPs also play a key role in many diseases, including cancer and Huntington's disease. However, IDPs are difficult to study because of their amorphous shape, high mutation rate, and unique amino acid composition. These obstacles make homology studies especially difficult.

This study focused on generating a new substitution matrix designed to aid in homology studies of IDPs. The matrix was …

Does Ecosystem Disturbance Alter The Capacity Of Dissolved Organic Matter To Mitigate The Impact Of Copper To Hyalella Azteca?, Kelly Livingstone

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The potential for aquatic ecosystem recovery as a result of dissolved organic matter (DOM) protecting against metal toxicity has become a significant area of research in environmental toxicology. It is a well-characterized relationship that DOM binds free metal ions in a concentration-dependant manner, making them unavailable for toxic action and a reduction in toxicity is seen. Less understood is source variability and how the upland terrestrial environment influences the protective quality of DOM. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of land disturbance (logging, fire, smelter emissions) on DOM quality by comparing the protective capacity of different …

Direct And Legacy Effects Of Long-Term Elevated Co2 On Fine Root Growth And Plant-Insect Interactions, Peter Stiling, Daniel Moon, Anthony Rossi, Rebecca Forkner, Bruce A. Hungate, Frank P. Day, Rachel E. Schroeder, Bert Drake

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations alter leaf physiology, with effects that cascade to communities and ecosystems. Yet, responses over cycles of disturbance and recovery are not well known, because most experiments span limited ecological time. We examined the effects of CO₂ on root growth, herbivory and arthropod biodiversity in a woodland from 1996 to 2006, and the legacy of CO₂ enrichment on these processes during the year after the CO₂ treatment ceased. We used minirhizotrons to study root growth, leaf censuses to study herbivory and pitfall traps to determine the effects of elevated CO₂ on arthropod …

Snap-Ed New Mexico Social Marketing Project Phase Ii Report, Sally M. Davis, Glenda Canaca, Jose Canaca, Mary Hanrahan, Julia Meredith Hess, Danielle P. Parker

Reports & Documents

The SNAP-Ed New Mexico Social Marketing Project is a multiphase study that explores how the core nutrition messages developed by FNS and its collaborators are received by people of Hispanic-origin, particularly those of Mexican or Mexican-American descent. The objective of the SNAP-Ed New Mexico Social Marketing Project is to create culturally appropriate nutrition education messages in Spanish and implement a multi-level social marketing intervention to increase fruit, vegetable, whole grain, and low-fat and fat-free dairy consumption.

Taxing The Platypygous, James J. White

Articles

This Article maintains that obesity in the United States is an enormous public health issue that causes the health care costs of the obese Americans greatly to exceed those of citizens of normal weight. Recognizing that that much of that cost will be born by publicly financed programs and that the taxes supporting those programs will constitute an externality that the fat impose on the thin, the Article proposes a tax on high calorie food-but only when that food is purchased by the obese. The Article addresses many of the administrative, moral and other objections to a tax aimed at …

Biomechanical Comparison Of Lower Limb Unloading Between Common Modalities Of Ankle Foot Orthoses, Andrea Blake Wanamaker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tibial stress fractures and other lower extremity injuries can be treated using an ankle foot orthosis (AFO). AFOs are popular because they allow the patient to ambulate somewhat naturally while reducing weight bearing on the injured limb. Despite their popularity, it is currently unclear how well AFOs reduce lower extremity weight bearing.

The first objective of this investigation was to examine the ability of three commonly used ankle foot orthoses to reduce weight bearing within the lower limb by comparing the ground reaction force measured from a force platform to the force measured from an insole pressure measurement device inside …