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2014

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Deliberative Democracy And The American Civil Jury, Valerie P. Hans, John Gastil, Traci Feller Dec 2014

Deliberative Democracy And The American Civil Jury, Valerie P. Hans, John Gastil, Traci Feller

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Civil jury service should be a potent form of deliberative democracy, creating greater civic engagement. However, a 2010 seven-state study of jury service and voting records found no overall boost in civic engagement following service on civil juries, whereas jurors who served on criminal cases did show increased civic engagement following their jury service. This article reports a project that augments the civil jury data set with information about jury decision rule, jury size, defendant identity, and case type and examines whether specific types of civil jury service influence postservice voting. Taking into account preservice voting records, jurors who serve …

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A Tale Of Two (And Possibly Three) Atkins: Intellectual Disability And Capital Punishment Twelve Years After The Supreme Court's Creation Of A Categorical Bar, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Paul Marcus, Emily C. Paavola Dec 2014

A Tale Of Two (And Possibly Three) Atkins: Intellectual Disability And Capital Punishment Twelve Years After The Supreme Court's Creation Of A Categorical Bar, John H. Blume, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Paul Marcus, Emily C. Paavola

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This article examines empirically the capital cases decided by the lower courts since the United States Supreme Court created the categorical ban against the execution of persons with intellectual disability twelve years ago in the Atkins decision.

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Effect Of Enhanced Trackbed Support On Railway/Highway At-Grade Crossing Performance, Jerry G. Rose, Brett R. Malloy Dec 2014

Effect Of Enhanced Trackbed Support On Railway/Highway At-Grade Crossing Performance, Jerry G. Rose, Brett R. Malloy

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents the long-term performance of 89 railway/highway at-grade crossings in Kentucky and adjacent states that contain asphalt underlayment underneath the ballast. Asphalt underlayment increases load carrying capacity for trains and highway vehicles while enhancing the support structure’s waterproofing and confinement. The asphalt underlayment crossings studied were installed at sites that had historically exhibited poor performance and short service lives. Most of the crossing sites evaluated were 10-15 years old; however, their ages ranged up to 30 years. All of the crossings investigated have shown excellent performance since the installation of asphalt underlayments. No crossing failures, such as excessive …

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Biochemical Characterization Of Sbip-470 And Its Role In Sa-Mediated Signaling In Plants, Danda P. Chapagai Dec 2014

Biochemical Characterization Of Sbip-470 And Its Role In Sa-Mediated Signaling In Plants, Danda P. Chapagai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salicylic acid binding protein 2 (SABP2) is known to play a key role in Salicylic acid mediated defense pathway. SBIP-470 is SABP2 interacting protein that might be putatively involved in transfer of lipids. SBIP-470 was cloned without the signal peptide and expressed in E. coli. In vitro lipid binding assay using recombinant SBIP-470 failed to detect lipid binding. In vitro lipid transfer assay showed recombinant SBIP-470 does not transfer phospholipid. Study has shown that SBIP-470 is highly inducible upon infection with viral as well as bacterial pathogens. Induction of SBIP-470 expression upon the TMV infection most likely depends upon …

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Black Reflections: One Girl’S Exploration Of African-American Culture, Zoë Johnson Dec 2014

Black Reflections: One Girl’S Exploration Of African-American Culture, Zoë Johnson

Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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Weeb-Con, Rachel Williams Dec 2014

Weeb-Con, Rachel Williams

Senior Honors Theses

One of the most important parts in the development stage of filmmaking is writing a screenplay. Weeb‐Con is a thirty‐two‐page action comedy screenplay. After an anime convention in Galveston, Texas, is forcefully taken over by armed robbers in creepy, badlymade fursuits, it is up to Dolores “Dolly” Lopez, a Lolita who must lead the convention attendees ‐ including her family and her fat pitbull Butterball ‐ and make them band together. Dolly is something of a perfectionist loner; but, with the help of her new friends Seymour, a cowardly nerd, and Boyd, a stoner who is smarter than he looks, …

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Reference And Presupposition, Jeffrey N. Bagwell Dec 2014

Reference And Presupposition, Jeffrey N. Bagwell

Senior Honors Theses

The topic of this paper is the logical analysis and translation of definite descriptions (structures of the form ‘the F’), in particular Bertrand Russell’s Theory of Descriptions, as put forth in “On Denoting” (1905). I argue in favor of an opposing theory, a presuppositional analysis of definite descriptions that fits in the tradition of Frege and Strawson, building upon the recent work of Heim and Elbourne. I argue that a definite description has a referential function that is supported by presuppositions of existence and uniqueness located outside of the analyzed sentence. Using a series of example sentences, I show that …

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Orenda, Lauren Reeks Dec 2014

Orenda, Lauren Reeks

Senior Honors Theses

The following work is a feature length screenplay about Anna Morris, an 18-year-old girl who finds herself faced with a moral dilemma when her estranged father, Robert, contacts her on her 18th birthday. When she learns about Robert’s past involvement in an online child pornography ring Anna must decide if she can forgive him, or -- more importantly -- if he is worthy of forgiveness. However, as the story unfolds we find that it is not just Anna who needs to forgive. This story approaches issues of repentance, growth, and the journey into adulthood as Anna takes on each new …

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The National Science Foundation's Coupling, Energetics And Dynamics Of Atmospheric Regions (Cedar) Student Community, Leda Sox, Timothy Duly, Barbara Emery Dec 2014

The National Science Foundation's Coupling, Energetics And Dynamics Of Atmospheric Regions (Cedar) Student Community, Leda Sox, Timothy Duly, Barbara Emery

Physics Student Research

The National Science Foundation sponsors Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Workshops, which have been held every summer, for the past 27 years. CEDAR Workshops are on the order of a week long and at various locations that are close to university campuses where CEDAR type scientific research is done. Although there is no formal student group within the CEDAR community, the workshops are very student-focused. Roughly half the Workshop participants are students. There are two Student Representatives on the CEDAR Science Steering Committee (CSSC), the group of scientists who organize the CEDAR Workshops. Each Student Representative is …

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Predicting Irregular Flight Operations Using A Binary Machine Learning Approach Based On National Meteorological Data, Martin Hellwig Dec 2014

Predicting Irregular Flight Operations Using A Binary Machine Learning Approach Based On National Meteorological Data, Martin Hellwig

Theses and Dissertations

Flight delays are caused by a multitude of external influences as well as revenue driven carrier decisions. Some factors are obvious while others remain inaccessible to the traveling public. Yet knowing of potential flight delays or cancellations in advance can significantly improve passengers’ travel experience and empower them to make informed decisions when flight irregularities occur. We combine a Naïve Bayes - based feature selection method with publicly available meteorological data and flight performance statistics to create a forecasting tool that provides passengers with an improved prediction of potential delays. After promising initial results we optimize our feature selection and …

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Teaching Globally, Learning Locally, Dennis R. Falk, Darrell A. Hamlin Dec 2014

Teaching Globally, Learning Locally, Dennis R. Falk, Darrell A. Hamlin

eJournal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

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Using Literature To Increase Global Engagement In Higher Education: A Review Of Four Novels, Melissa Hendrickx Dec 2014

Using Literature To Increase Global Engagement In Higher Education: A Review Of Four Novels, Melissa Hendrickx

eJournal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

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Book Review: Global Studies Reader, 2nd Ed., Brett L. Whitaker Dec 2014

Book Review: Global Studies Reader, 2nd Ed., Brett L. Whitaker

eJournal of Public Affairs

No abstract provided.

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Performance Of Frp-Retrofitted Concrete Bridge Columns Under Blast Loading, R. Zheng, P. Zohrevand, H. Erdogan, Amir Mirmiran Dec 2014

Performance Of Frp-Retrofitted Concrete Bridge Columns Under Blast Loading, R. Zheng, P. Zohrevand, H. Erdogan, Amir Mirmiran

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Contrary to military or essential government buildings, most bridges are designed without any consideration for blast resistance. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) can provide an effective means for strengthening of critical bridges against such loading. This study has focused on the effectiveness of FRP retrofitting in the dynamic response of reinforced concrete bridge columns under blast loading. Using a simplified equivalent I-section with a virtual material lumped at the two flanges; a lightly meshed uniaxial finite element model was developed and successfully validated against previous studies. The proposed model was then used for a thorough parametric study on the blast resistance of …

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Characterization Of Fluvial Facies Distributions And Cyclicity Using Terrestrial Lidar: Paleocene Nacimiento Formation, Kutz Canyon, New Mexico, Jeffrey Carritt Dec 2014

Characterization Of Fluvial Facies Distributions And Cyclicity Using Terrestrial Lidar: Paleocene Nacimiento Formation, Kutz Canyon, New Mexico, Jeffrey Carritt

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The fluvial deposits of the early Paleocene Nacimiento Formation are comprised of variegrated mudstones with interbedded paleosols and channel sandstone bodies. This study documents these strata in a ~1 km2 outcrop area at Kutz Canyon, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, by employing fully georeferenced lidar intensity data collected from a terrestrial lidar scanner and an outcrop surface model constructed from the lidar data and calibrated digital field photographs. At this location, the lidar intensity data are responsive to lithology and distinct lidar facies are identified which correspond to facies types described in measured stratigraphic sections. One dimensional lidar intensity logs …

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Developing Thinking In L2 Speaking: Evidence From Spatial-Temporal System In Chinese And English Learners, Pei-Ni Causarano Dec 2014

Developing Thinking In L2 Speaking: Evidence From Spatial-Temporal System In Chinese And English Learners, Pei-Ni Causarano

Linguistics ETDs

Spatial and temporal expressions cross-linguistically are metaphorical can present a difficult challenge during second language acquisition. This dissertation expands on Slobins (1996) study of 'first-language thinking in second-language speaking,' and applies linguistic relativity theory and Vygotsky's theory on thought and language to investigate how L1 thinking influences L2 speaking in Chinese native speakers learning English and English native speakers learning Chinese. It examines (a) habitual language use of spatial and temporal referents cross-linguistically and (b) dynamic changes of spatial and spatial-temporal expressions in L2 learners across proficiency levels. Some 41 CLLs and ELLs at four proficiency levels participated in this …

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Dna Chemical Reaction Network Design Synthesis And Compilation, M. Leigh Fanning Dec 2014

Dna Chemical Reaction Network Design Synthesis And Compilation, M. Leigh Fanning

Computer Science ETDs

The advantages of biomolecular computing include 1) the ability to interface with, monitor, and intelligently protect and maintain the functionality of living systems, 2) the ability to create computational devices with minimal energy needs and hazardous waste production during manufacture and lifecycle, 3) the ability to store large amounts of information for extremely long time periods, and 4) the ability to create computation analogous to human brain function. To realize these advantages over electronics, biomolecular computing is at a watershed moment in its evolution. Computing with entire molecules presents different challenges and requirements than computing just with electric charge. These …

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Student Mindset Compared To Performance On The Nebraska State Accountability Test, Ann E. Dvorak Dec 2014

Student Mindset Compared To Performance On The Nebraska State Accountability Test, Ann E. Dvorak

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Carol Dweck’s research on fixed vs. growth mindset has led to many opportunities for educational research. According to Dweck, a person with a fixed mindset believes that his or her qualities related to a certain task are unchangeable while an individual with a growth mindset believes that his or her qualities related to a certain task can be changed and improved (Dweck, 2006). A correlative study was conducted to identify relationships that exist between student mindset and scores from the Nebraska State Accountability Test (NeSA). For this study, students in the 7th, 8th, and 11th …

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Combating The Motivational Interference Potential Of Technological Distractions During Academic Tasks: The Role Of Academic Delay Of Gratification, Abraham E. Flanigan Dec 2014

Combating The Motivational Interference Potential Of Technological Distractions During Academic Tasks: The Role Of Academic Delay Of Gratification, Abraham E. Flanigan

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The presence of technological distractions during homework and study diminishes students’ ability to self-regulate effectively, a phenomenon known as motivational interference. To date, no studies have explored the relationship between college students’ delay of gratification tendencies and motivational interference. Do students with greater delay of gratification tendencies experience less motivational interference from a potential distraction? The present study explored this question by comparing students’ academic delay of gratification tendencies with their experiences of motivational interference. Participants self-reported their delay of gratification tendencies then completed an academic task while confronted with a computer distractor. Afterward, participants self-reported their motivational interference scores. …

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The Power And Type I Error Rate Of Holm's Procedure When The Assumptions Of Normality And Variance Homogeneity Are Violated, Michael J. Zweifel Dec 2014

The Power And Type I Error Rate Of Holm's Procedure When The Assumptions Of Normality And Variance Homogeneity Are Violated, Michael J. Zweifel

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

When multiple hypothesis tests are conducted on a single data set, it is necessary to control for the inflation of the Type I error rate. This is done through the use of multiple comparison procedures. Holm’s procedure is a potentially attractive multiple comparison procedure because it makes no assumptions about the data and it is simple to implement. Holm’s procedure is conducted by adjusting the p-values obtained from a prior statistical test. As a result, the power and Type I error rate of Holm’s procedure may be tied to the assumptions of the statistical test from which the p …

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Fostering Metacognition In The Middle School Classroom: An Exploration Of Teachers' Practices, Markeya S. Peteranetz Dec 2014

Fostering Metacognition In The Middle School Classroom: An Exploration Of Teachers' Practices, Markeya S. Peteranetz

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis investigated how middle school teachers foster metacognition through instruction. Metacognition is the knowledge and awareness of one’s thinking as well as monitoring and control of thought processes. Metacognition is related to student achievement and can be increased through both implicit and explicit instruction. Explicit instruction takes place when the teacher points out, explains, or discusses the benefits of metacognition. Implicit instruction occurs when the teacher models or prompts the use of metacognition without expressly acknowledging or discussing it. This thesis used both quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the extent that metacognition is fostered in middle school classrooms …

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Determining Thresholds Of Annoyance To Tones In Noise, Jennifer Marie Francis Dec 2014

Determining Thresholds Of Annoyance To Tones In Noise, Jennifer Marie Francis

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Building services equipment often produce noise with prominent tones that can lead to complaints from occupants in the built environment. Previous studies have investigated human perception to tones in noise but it is still unclear at what threshold of prominence these tones lead to human annoyance. The goal of this research is to apply two different methods towards defining thresholds of annoyance to two tonal frequencies: 125 Hz and 500 Hz. In Method I – Direct Assessment with Task, subjects are exposed to 10 minutes of broadband noise with a tonal frequency set at a certain level of prominence while …

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The Effect Of Agricultural Practices On Sugar Beet Root Aphid (Pemphigus Betae Doane) And Beneficial Epigeal Arthropods, Rudolph J. Pretorius Dec 2014

The Effect Of Agricultural Practices On Sugar Beet Root Aphid (Pemphigus Betae Doane) And Beneficial Epigeal Arthropods, Rudolph J. Pretorius

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study investigated the effect of several agricultural practices on the sugar beet root aphid (Pemphigus betae Doane) and beneficial epigeal natural enemies in western Nebraska sugar beet agroecosystems. Eight glyphosate-tolerant sugar beet varieties were evaluated under field conditions for their resistance to root aphids. High levels of aphid resistance were detected for some varieties. In conjunction to this, pitfall sampling was conducted to determine the beneficial epigeal natural enemy complex in the area, which could contribute to the management of both root aphids and glyphosate-resistant weeds. Ground beetles comprised an important and abundant component of this fauna, with …

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Influences On Student Attitudes About U.S. Involvement In Nation-Building, Tobin C. Beck Dec 2014

Influences On Student Attitudes About U.S. Involvement In Nation-Building, Tobin C. Beck

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

How do college students form opinions about a complex foreign policy issue such as U.S. involvement in nation-building? My study shows that in 2012, students identifying as conservative tended to support nation-building in proportion to their perception of the strength of their own and their parents' conservatism. The association between perception of conservatism and support for nation-building was statistically significant in 2012, although there was no statistically significant overall association between student political ideology and support for U.S. involvement in nation-building. However, a relationship between conservative student perception of ideology and support for nation-building was not detected in 2011 data. …

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From Burma To Berlin: The Development Of U.S. Air Transport 1938–1949, Benjamin J. Johnson Dec 2014

From Burma To Berlin: The Development Of U.S. Air Transport 1938–1949, Benjamin J. Johnson

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This work examines the development of U.S. military airlift from unproven curiosity to a transformative system of technologies, tactics and logistical support which enabled the United States to engage diplomatic and military scenarios around the world. Through an examination of contemporary reports, technological advances and statistical analyses of airlift practices it is shown that the period of 1938-1949 witnessed a great leap in tactical and technological innovation within the U.S. air transport community. The capabilities utilized during air supply missions to China during World War II and the Berlin Airlift foreshadowed a transformative capability providing military and diplomatic solutions when …

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Decision Support Tools To Address Climate Change: Climate Model–Land Surface Models, Zea Mays L. (Corn) Phenology And Evapotranspiration–Yield Sensitivity Models For Nebraska, Usa, Jane A. Okalebo Dec 2014

Decision Support Tools To Address Climate Change: Climate Model–Land Surface Models, Zea Mays L. (Corn) Phenology And Evapotranspiration–Yield Sensitivity Models For Nebraska, Usa, Jane A. Okalebo

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska's climate is highly variable and is expected to change in the future with anthropogenic global warming (AGW), resulting in warmer spring and summer temperatures coupled with more erratic rainfall events. This has strong implications for agriculture in the region, yet it is not clear that current modeling and decision-support tools are adequate to address these looming changes and provide planning, mitigation and adaptation strategies. To address climate change and its implications to agriculture in Nebraska, a set of robust decision support tools are very crucial. This study herein are divided into three chapters, with each chapter addressing a specific …

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Contextualizing Couples: Three Essays On Inequality, Stress, And Dyadic Functioning As A Longitudinal And Reciprocal Process, Deadric T. Williams Dec 2014

Contextualizing Couples: Three Essays On Inequality, Stress, And Dyadic Functioning As A Longitudinal And Reciprocal Process, Deadric T. Williams

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this dissertation, I use an integrated theoretical and conceptual model that consists of several theoretical frameworks to examine the following questions: (1) is there a longitudinal and reciprocal association between parental stress/distress and dyadic functioning? (2) does the association change over time? (3) does the association vary across social contexts (e.g., marital status, race/ethnicity, and poverty)? In order to explore these questions, I use longitudinal and dyadic data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, which follows a cohort of children and their parents from birth to five years of age. Through three separate analytic studies, the results …

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Cloud Impacts On Pavement Temperature And Shortwave Radiation, Curtis L. Walker Dec 2014

Cloud Impacts On Pavement Temperature And Shortwave Radiation, Curtis L. Walker

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Forecast systems provide decision support for end-users ranging from the solar energy industry to municipalities concerned with road safety. Pavement temperature is an important variable when considering vehicle response to various weather conditions. A complex, yet direct relationship exists between tire and pavement temperatures. Literature has shown that as tire temperature increases, friction decreases which affects vehicle performance. Many forecast systems suffer from inaccurate radiation forecasts resulting in part from the inability to model different types of clouds and their influence on radiation. This research focuses on forecast improvement by determining how cloud type impacts pavement temperature and the amount …

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Identification Of Groundwater Sources For Municipal Wells Using Geochemical Data On The Platte Alluvial Aquifer And Underlying Limestone At The Lincoln Water Well Field Near Ashland Nebraska, Juanita Cruz Torres Dec 2014

Identification Of Groundwater Sources For Municipal Wells Using Geochemical Data On The Platte Alluvial Aquifer And Underlying Limestone At The Lincoln Water Well Field Near Ashland Nebraska, Juanita Cruz Torres

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Alluvial aquifer systems where pumping of municipal wells induces recharge from the adjacent river are the primary source of water for many cities. The city of Lincoln, NE has a primary water source in an alluvial aquifer adjacent to the Platte River. The Lincoln Water System manages the stream/aquifer system by using integrated models for a better understanding during periods of high stress such as a drought. The integrated models set the limestone aquifer as an impermeable boundary to understand the alluvial aquifer system without having a secondary water source. The limestone aquifer is permeable and the purpose of this …

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Carbohydrate Metabolism And The Trehalose Biosynthetic Pathway In Maize Kernels Grown In Vitro Under Sucrose Starvation Stress, Samuel W. Bledsoe Dec 2014

Carbohydrate Metabolism And The Trehalose Biosynthetic Pathway In Maize Kernels Grown In Vitro Under Sucrose Starvation Stress, Samuel W. Bledsoe

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Drought is an increasing issue that many farmers encounter especially in hot arid climates with little rainfall. High temperatures and inadequate rainfall at certain stages in crop development can have disastrous consequences to yield. In maize, drought occurring near or during the flowering stage often causes significant kernel abortion that greatly impacts potential yield. The trehalose biosynthetic pathway has recently been found to be important in plant metabolism in response to stress in higher order plants. Trehalose is currently known throughout the plant and animal kingdoms as an osmoprotectant, high energy fuel source, structural component, and involved in pathogen response. …

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