Digital Commons Network^™

Identification Of Biomarkers Associated With Rous Sarcoma Virus-Induced Tumors In Two Divergently Selected Chicken Lines, Ashley Hayden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poultry has become especially important to genetic research due to breeding feasibility, short generation turnover, and ease of maintaining large populations. The discovery of virus induced cancer has paved the way for further genetic studies. Rous Sarcoma Virus (RSV) is a tumor-causing virus that infects poultry. While not prevalent today, it can serve as a model for virus-induced cancer in humans and create additional insight to marker assisted selection in poultry. Genetically selected Arkansas Progressor (AP) and Arkansas Regressor (AR) chicken lines have been established and maintained at the Arkansas Experimental Station (AES) in Fayetteville, AR. Previous research has investigated …

An Investigation Of Short-Term Plasticity In Human Motor Cortex, Matthew Alan Gannon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) produces a transient magnetic field that activates underlying cortical tissue by eliciting an electrical discharge of the neurons in the targeted area. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) uses patterns of repetitive TMS pulses and has been reliably shown to produce changes in the state of cortical excitability outlasting the time of stimulation. One such protocol that has demonstrated states of increased excitability is intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS). This method applies high-frequency bursts (50Hz) of pulses every 200 ms in trains of ten bursts. The effects of and differences between rTMS protocols have been investigated since gaining popularity …

Genetic Basis Of Biosynthesis And Cytotoxic Activity Of Medicago Truncatula Triterpene Saponins, Brynn Kathleen Lawrence

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Saponins are a large family of specialized metabolites produced in many plants. They can have negative effects on a number of plant pests and are thought to play a role in plant defense. With current and possible future uses in industry and agriculture, saponins have also been shown to be hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycemic, immunostimulatory, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic. In spite of their usefulness, our understanding of the genetic basis for saponin biosynthesis is still incomplete. We generated recombinant populations with parents from genetically distinct accessions of Medicago truncatula, with either high or low accumulation and varying profiles of saponins. Primers for …

Do Limestone Quarries Act As “Engineered Sinkholes”? Analysis Of Exfiltration Of Groundwater From Limestone Quarries In The Boone Formation, Ozark Physiographic Province, Arkansas, Usa, Noel Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Limestone quarries are a source of construction materials that are utilized in our everyday lives. Karst landscapes cover up to 15 percent of the Earth’s surface, and limestone quarries are found in these environmentally sensitive regions where groundwater and surface-water interactions are dynamic and complex. Several studies have provided conceptual models of groundwater flow to and out of quarries. The goal of this research was to describe the geochemistry of water exfiltration from limestone quarries in karst regions via joints, fractures, faulting, or karst features and to determine if limestone quarries are “engineered sinkholes”; that is to say: did quarries, …

The Juvenile Addiction Risk Rating For Use In Vocational Rehabilitation, Paul Tyler Hickerson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of substance use among adolescents warrants considerable concern since it often has detrimental effects on an individual’s physical and mental health, and correlates with worsened Social, physical, and employment outcomes. Research shows that adolescents with disabilities are especially susceptible to the development of substance use disorders. To address this concern and to ensure accurate rehabilitation service planning, effective screening for substance use risk is necessary. Unfortunately, the most common screening instruments for adolescent substance use rely on information obtained solely from self-report. This type of data, although useful, is also susceptible to inaccuracies due to such factors as …

Experiences Of Agricultural Education Preservice Teachers Engaging In Critical Friendships, Sable Sellick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Like educators in other disciplines, agricultural education preservice teachers must find ways to improve as teachers using methods such as reflection or peer observation. Critical friendship combines both, promoting reflection through the use of a critical friend who observes an individual’s teaching and provides constructive criticism to help the individual advance their practice. This qualitative study sought to use the critical friendship concept to assist agricultural education preservice teachers in reflecting on their teaching techniques. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; one group selected a critical friend in agricultural education, and the other group selected a critical …

The Life And Work Of George Dombek, Jeffrey Scott Ramsey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

George Dombek is an accomplished artist who graduated from the University of Arkansas with degrees in Architecture and Painting. His career as both professor and painter has taken him around the world and produced a substantial body of work. This work seeks to examine his art in a larger art historical context and consider the development of the subjects and style of his paintings over the span of his career.

Preferred Leadership Communication Styles Across Cultures, Joy J. Cherfan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of a two-part study investigating preferred leadership communication styles across multiple cultural clusters. Utilizing a survey, part one identified the three most preferred leader communication styles (i.e., dominant, dramatic, contentious, attentive, animated, open, friendly, relaxed, impression leaving) in six cultural clusters. Using focus group data, the second part provides insight into subordinates’ perceptions of how these communication styles are enacted by leaders in each cluster. Guidelines on how to better communicate are offered to expatriates in hopes of helping them more successfully complete overseas tasks. Such guidelines are needed due to the high percentage of …

Associations Of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In The Bovine Prolactin, Melatonin Receptor 1a, And Dopamine Receptor D2 Genes With Hair Coat Shedding Scores And Productivity Traits In Beef Cattle, Laura R. Meyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Calving rate is a qualitative trait regulated by several genes and is strongly affected by the environment. With the development of biotechnology and gene identification, scientists are able to determine which genes affect these productivity traits to improve accurate selection decisions. Prolactin (PRL) has been associated with reproductive traits, melatonin receptor 1a (MTNR1A) has been associated with meat quality traits, and the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) gene has been associated with hair coat score (HCS) in cattle. Our objective was to determine associations between mutations in the PRL, MTNR1A, and DRD2 genes and cow-calf profitability traits. Genomic DNA was extracted …

Effects Of Amino Acid Supplementation Of Reduced Crude Protein (Rcp) Diets On The Performance And Carcass Quality Of Growing-Finishing Swine, Ashley Nicole Young

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Barrows and gilts (215/gender) were used to test the effects of synthetic AA supplementation of reduced CP diets on the growth performance and quality characteristics of the LM and the fatty acid composition of the LM and s.c. jowl fat from growing-finishing swine. Pigs were blocked by BW within gender, and allocated randomly to pens (6 pigs/pen) which were then assigned randomly within each block and gender to either corn-SBM diets 1) that were devoid of synthetic lysine (Ctrl); 2) with reduced CP diets where lysine was added to all diets (RCP1); 3) with reduced CP where lysine, threonine, and …

The Effect Of Face-To-Face Versus Computer-Mediated Communication On Interpersonal Outcomes In Getting-Acquainted Situations, Nicole Rae Brandon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People use technology more today than ever before to self-disclose and form new relationships with others. Successful relationship development is often marked by the presence of positive interpersonal outcomes (i.e., closeness and liking). However, there is contention regarding whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) is as effective at developing positive interpersonal outcomes compared to face-to-face (FtF) communication. CMC is often considered subpar due to the lack of nonverbal cues that can be expressed. Two studies were designed to 1) compare the effect of FtF and CMC platform self-disclosures on closeness and liking in zero-acquaintance situations and 2) explore mediators that might explain …

Reflections: Students' Tribute To Stan Kuczaj (1950-2016), Mark J. Xitco, Heather M. Hill, Marie Trone, Rachel T. Walker, Kymbr Wright, Radhika Macheka, Andrew J. Wright, Erica Hernandez, Deirdre Yeater, Lauren Highfill, Lance Miller, Holli Eskelinen, Courtney E. Smith, Pepper Hanna, Beri Brown, Kelly Winship, Natalia Botero, Erin E. Frick, Lisa Lauderdale, Kelsey Moreno, Kendal Smith, Audra Ames, Ali Taylor, Malin Lilley, Briana Cappiello, Riley Macgregor, Jennifer Vonk, Michael Beran

Psychology Faculty Publications

On April 14th, 2016, Animal Behavior and Cognition lost its Editor-in-Chief. But the scientific community and the friends and colleagues of Stanley ‘Stan’ Kuczaj III lost so much more. As many know, Stan began his career in Developmental Psychology, making enormous contributions in the area of language development, but became best known for his many innovative contributions in the area of marine mammal behavior. Stan founded Animal Behavior and Cognition because he was deeply passionate about research with a broad range of topics concerning animal behavior, animal cognition, and animal welfare. He was equally passionate about the idea that science …

Livestock Judges Training Provides Hands-On Experience, Scott Nash, Steve Harrison, Joel Packham, Dawn Sanchez

Journal of Extension

The judging of a market animal at a fair is the highlight of a youth-owned livestock project. Livestock judges are hired to evaluate youth projects at fairs. They are critical ambassadors for agriculture and influence countless youths and adults. Judges must be knowledgeable about current animal evaluation methods that support youth development. The circle of knowledgeable individuals qualified to evaluate animal projects is limited in the Intermountain West, making it difficult to find skilled judges. This necessitates hiring unqualified or untrained judges, limiting the educational experiences for participating youths. The Intermountain Livestock Judges Training was developed to train and update …

Implementing Good Practices Programs To Encourage Production Of High-Quality, Safer Produce In Mississippi, Barakat S.M. Mahmoud, Eric T. Stafne, Christine H. Coker, Gary R. Bachman

Journal of Extension

Fifty-four growers/producers attended four 1-day good agricultural practices (GAP) and good handling practices (GHP) workshops at four locations in Mississippi. Pre- and postworkshop survey data indicated that the participants' food safety knowledge increased by 15%. Furthermore, the workshops helped producers develop their own food safety plans. The workshops also trained the producers to be prepared for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) GAP and GHP audits. To assist producers in preparing for these audits, two mock audits were conducted after the workshops. As a result of the program, several producers became ready to be audited, and at least one producer became …

Understanding The Semen Evaluation Portion Of The Breeding Soundness Evaluation, C. Kim Chapman, Kerry A. Rood

All Current Publications

This fact sheet explains the semen examination section of the bull breeding soundness evaluation form. It indicates what each category on the form is, why it is important, and what the requirements are for a bull to be considered a satisfactory breeder.

Interseeding Forage Kochia Into Established Crp Grass Stands, Jeffrey E. Banks, Robert L. Newhall, Blair L. Waldron

All Current Publications

This fact sheet is a summary of a research project that documented that interseeding forage kochia into existing CRP can increase its potential use for fall and winter grazing by livestock.

Chromosome-End Knockoff Strategy To Reshape Alkaloid Profiles Of A Fungal Endophyte, Simona Florea, Timothy D. Phillips, Daniel G. Panaccione, Mark L. Farman, Christopher L. Schardl

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Molecular genetic techniques to precisely eliminate genes in asexual filamentous fungi require the introduction of a marker gene into the target genome. We developed a novel strategy to eliminate genes or gene clusters located in subterminal regions of chromosomes, and then eliminate the marker gene and vector backbone used in the transformation procedure. Because many toxin gene clusters are subterminal, this method is particularly suited to generating nontoxic fungal strains. We tested this technique on Epichloë coenophiala, a seed-transmissible symbiotic fungus (endophyte) of the important forage grass, tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum). The endophyte is necessary for maximal …

Identification Of Diverse Mycoviruses Through Metatranscriptomics Characterization Of The Viromes Of Five Major Fungal Plant Pathogens, Shin-Yi Lee Marzano, Berlin D. Nelson, Olutoyosi Ajayi-Oyetunde, Carl A. Bradley, Teresa J. Hughes, Glen L. Hartman, Darin M. Eastburn, Leslie L. Domier

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

Mycoviruses can have a marked effect on natural fungal communities and influence plant health and productivity. However, a comprehensive picture of mycoviral diversity is still lacking. To characterize the viromes of five widely dispersed plant-pathogenic fungi, Colletotrichum truncatum, Macrophomina phaseolina, Diaporthe longicolla, Rhizoctonia solani, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, a high-throughput sequencing-based metatranscriptomic approach was used to detect viral sequences. Total RNA and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) from mycelia and RNA from samples enriched for virus particles were sequenced. Sequence data were assembled de novo, and contigs with predicted amino acid sequence similarities to viruses in the …

Internationalization A Must In Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

At least some international experience is becoming commonplace for college students, from those that go to other countries just for a short trip in the summer to those who do their entire studies abroad and even stay in those countries after they graduate. Another important way that American college students gain international experience is through the presence on their campuses of students from abroad.

Nowadays, because of demographic stagnation in many states as a consequence of flat and even negative high school graduation rates, more and more institutions of higher education are relying on enrollment of international students to make …

Simultaneous Quantitation Of Oxidized And Reduced Glutathione Via Lc-Ms/Ms: An Insight Into The Redox State Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Dustin W. Carroll, Diana Howard, Haining Zhu, Christian M. Paumi, Mary Vore, Subbarao Bondada, Ying Liang, Chi Wang, Daret K. St. Clair

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Cellular redox balance plays a significant role in the regulation of hematopoietic stem-progenitor cell (HSC/MPP) self-renewal and differentiation. Unregulated changes in cellular redox homeostasis are associated with the onset of most hematological disorders. However, accurate measurement of the redox state in stem cells is difficult because of the scarcity of HSC/MPPs. Glutathione (GSH) constitutes the most abundant pool of cellular antioxidants. Thus, GSH metabolism may play a critical role in hematological disease onset and progression. A major limitation to studying GSH metabolism in HSC/MPPs has been the inability to measure quantitatively GSH concentrations in small numbers of HSC/MPPs. Current methods …

An Investigation Into Factors Influencing Attitude Toward A Wildlife Corridor, Erin Kubicek

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

Habitat fragmentation poses a serious threat to biodiversity in eastern Nebraska. Today, over 98% of Nebraska’s tall-grass prairie has been lost and what remains exists mostly as remnants less than 80 acres in size. The Prairie Corridor on Haines Branch will be one of the first human-made wildlife corridors in eastern Nebraska with expansion of prairie habitat as one of its main goals. Although still in the planning stages, the Prairie Corridor is a rare opportunity to explore public attitude toward a conservation-related program prior to its official launch. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential relationship …

Applications Of Time-Lapse Imagery For Monitoring And Illustrating Ecological Dynamics In A Water-Stressed System, Emma Brinley Buckley

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

Understanding and perceiving the natural world is a key part of management, policy, conservation, and inevitably for our future. Increased demand on natural resources has heightened the importance of documenting ecosystem changes, and knowledge-sharing to foster awareness. The advancement of digital technologies has improved the efficiency of passive monitoring, connectivity among systems, and expanded the potential for innovative and communicative approaches. From technological progression, time-lapse imagery has emerged a valuable tool to capture and depict natural systems. I sought to enhance our understanding of a water-stressed system by analyzing imagery, in addition to integrating images with data visualization to illustrate …

Resilience And Heterogeneity Following Fire In The Nebraska Sandhills, Jack R. Arterburn

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

The Nebraska Sandhills grassland is an expansive, semi-arid ecosystem characterized by vegetation-stabilized rolling sand dunes. The Sandhills grassland is managed for livestock production by seeking to minimizing disturbances, such as fire, that increase bare ground. The increase in bare ground following fire has contributed to the fear of fire leading to the emergence of a mobile sand dune state. We tracked vegetation response following a growing season wildfire that occurred during extreme drought conditions. In wildfire and drought conditions are when one would expect resilience to be overcome leading to a lack of vegetation recovery and a transition to a …

Methods To Account For Breed Composition In A Bayesian Gwas Method Which Utilizes Haplotype Clusters, Danielle F. Wilson-Wells

Department of Statistics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In livestock, prediction of an animal’s genetic merit using genomic information is becoming increasingly common. The models used to make these predictions typically assume that we are sampling from a homogeneous population. However, in both commercial and experimental populations the sire and dam of an individual may be a mixture of different breeds. Haplotype models can capture this population structure.

Two models based on breed specific haplotype clusters where developed to account for differences across multiple breeds. The first model utilizes the breed composition of the individual, while the second utilizes the breed composition from the sire and dam. Haplotype …

Global/Local Processing In Incidental Perception Of Hierarchical Structure, Mark S. Mills

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The goal of the current thesis is to provide a framework for investigating and understanding visual processing of hierarchical structure (i.e., local parts nested in global wholes, such as trees nested in forests) under incidental processing conditions—that is, where processing of information at global and local levels is both uninformative (cannot aid task performance) and task-irrelevant (need not be processed to perform the task). To do so, a novel method combining two widely-used paradigms (spatial cueing and compound stimulus paradigms) is used for implicitly probing observers’ perceptual representations over the course of processing. This compound arrow cueing paradigm was used …

The Influence Of Peer-Led Team Learning On Underrepresented Minority Student Achievement In Introductory Biology And Recruitment And Retention In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Majors, Jeremy David Sloane

Dissertations - ALL

Increasing underrepresented minority (URM) participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is of increasing national importance as the United States continues to fall behind other nations in global economic competitiveness. These students constitute a large pool of potential STEM majors at the college level, but they have been recruited to and retained in STEM programs at significantly lower rates than students from other populations. As such, President Barack Obama’s President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has called on undergraduate science instructors to diversify their teaching methods and employ active learning strategies to improve students’ success in …

Oil Industry In Uganda: The Socio-Economic Effects On The People Of Kabaale Village, Hoima, And Bunyoro Region In Uganda, Miriam Kyomugasho

Dissertations - ALL

ABSTRACT

This thesis examines the socio-economic effects of oil industry on the people of Kabaale Village, Hoima, and Bunyoro region in Uganda. The thesis analyses the current political economy of Uganda and how Uganda is prepared to utilize the proceeds from the oil industry for the development of the country and its people. In addition, the research examines the effects of industry on the people of Uganda by analyzing how the people of Kabaale in Bunyoro region were affected by the plans to construct oil refinery in their region. This field research was done using qualitative methods and the Historical …

New Destinations Of Empire: Imperial Migration From The Marshall Islands To Northwest Arkansas, Emily Mitchell-Eaton

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines Marshall Islander migration to Arkansas as an outcome of an international agreement, the Compact of Free Association, between the U.S. and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), a former U.S. territory. While the Compact marked the formal end of U.S. colonial administration over the islands, it also re-entrenched imperial power relations between the two countries, at once consolidating U.S. military access to the islands and creating a Marshallese diaspora whose largest resettlement site is now Springdale, Arkansas. As a result, Springdale, an “all-white town” for much of the 20th century, has recently been remade by Marshallese …

The Evolution Of Extreme Longevity In Modern And Fossil Bivalves, David Kelton Moss

Dissertations - ALL

The factors involved in promoting long life are extremely intriguing from a human perspective. In part by confronting our own mortality, we have a desire to understand why some organisms live for centuries and others only a matter of days or weeks. What are the factors involved in promoting long life? Not only are questions of lifespan significant from a human perspective, but they are also important from a paleontological one. Most studies of evolution in the fossil record examine changes in the size and the shape of organisms through time. Size and shape are in part a function of …

Plasma Volume Hematocrit (Pvh): “Big Data” Applied To Physiology Enabled By A New Algorithm, Paul Washington Dent

Dissertations - ALL

This work describes the ongoing analysis of blood noninvasively in vivo along with the in vitro validation of the algorithm. The blood is taken as two components, red blood cells and plasma, both of which cause elastic emission (from Mie and Rayleigh scattering) and inelastic emission (from fluorescence and Raman emission). The algorithm describes the linear dependence of the volume fractions of both red blood cells and plasma with both the elastic and inelastic emissions where the two equations are independent. These equations are used to calculate the Hematocrit which is defined as the volume fraction of red blood cells …