Digital Commons Network^™

Thermal Tolerance And Prediction Of Northern Distribution Of The Crapemyrtle Bark Scale (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae), Zinan Wang, Yan Chen, Rodrigo Diaz

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. Physiological limits of non-native species to environmental factors are critical for their establishment and spread in the adventive range. The crapemyrtle bark scale, Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae (Kuwana), is a major pest of crapemyrtles. Despite concerns on its rapid spread, there is a lack of information on potential distribution range of this scale in the United States. To understand this scale's distribution potential, its thermal tolerance was evaluated using higher and lower thermal limits. Exposure time leading to 50 and 90% mortality (Lt50 …

Introduction To The Special Issue On “Economic Modeling Of Natural Resources For Sustainable Development”, Krishna P. Paudel

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mitofusin 2 Plays A Role In Oocyte And Follicle Development, And Is Required To Maintain Ovarian Follicular Reserve During Reproductive Aging, Man Zhang, Muhammed Burak Bener, Zongliang Jiang, Tianren Wang, Ecem Esencan, Richard Scott, Tamas Horvath, Emre Seli

Faculty Publications

© Zhang et al. Mitochondria change their shape through fusion and fission in order to adapt to their metabolic milieu. Mitofusin-2 (MFN2) is a key regulatory protein in this process, mediating mitochondrial fusion and interaction with endoplasmic reticulum. Targeted deletion of Mfn2 in oocytes resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction and female subfertility associated with impaired oocyte maturation and follicle development. Oocytes lacking MFN2 showed shortened telomeres and increased apoptosis, resulting in compromised oocyte quality and accelerated follicular depletion, consistent with a reproductive aging phenotype.

Dosage Compensation Of The X Chromosomes In Bovine Germline, Early Embryos, And Somatic Tissues, Jingyue Duan, Wei Shi, Nathaniel K. Jue, Zongliang Jiang, Lynn Kuo, Rachel O’Neill, Eckhard Wolf, Hong Dong, Xinbao Zheng, Jingbo Chen, Xiuchun Tian

Faculty Publications

© The Author(s) 2018. Dosage compensation of the mammalian X chromosome (X) was proposed by Susumu Ohno as a mechanism wherein the inactivation of one X in females would lead to doubling the expression of the other. This would resolve the dosage imbalance between eutherian females (XX) versus male (XY) and between a single active X versus autosome pairs (A). Expression ratio of X- and A-linked genes has been relatively well studied in humans and mice, despite controversial results over the existence of upregulation of X-linked genes. Here we report the first comprehensive test of Ohno’s hypothesis in bovine preattachment …

Methylome Dynamics Of Bovine Gametes And In Vivo Early Embryos, Jingyue Ellie Duan, Zongliang Carl Jiang, Fahad Alqahtani, Ion Mandoiu, Hong Dong, Xinbao Zheng, Sadie L. Marjani, Jingbo Chen, Xiuchun Cindy Tian

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2019 Duan, Jiang, Alqahtani, Mandoiu, Dong, Zheng, Marjani, Chen and Tian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. DNA methylation undergoes drastic fluctuation during early mammalian embryogenesis. The dynamics of global DNA methylation in bovine embryos, however, have …

Dosage Compensation And Gene Expression Of The X Chromosome In Sheep, Jingyue Duan, Kaleigh Flock, Nathanial Jue, Mingyuan Zhang, Amanda Jones, Sahar Al Seesi, Ion Mandoiu, Sambhu Pillai, Maria Hoffman, Rachel O'Neill, Steven Zinn, Kristen Govoni, Sarah Reed, Hesheng Jiang, Zongliang Jiang, Xiuchun Tian

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the Genetics Society of America. Ohno's hypothesis predicts that the expression of the single X chromosome in males needs compensatory upregulation to balance its dosage with that of the diploid autosomes. Additionally, X chromosome inactivation ensures that quadruple expression of the two X chromosomes is avoided in females. These mechanisms have been actively studied in mice and humans but lag behind in domestic species. Using RNA sequencing data, we analyzed the X chromosome upregulation in sheep fetal tissues from day 135 of gestation under control, over or restricted maternal diets (100%, 140% and 60% of National Research …

A Highly Contiguous Reference Genome For Northern Bobwhite (Colinus Virginianus), Jessie F. Salter, Oscar Johnson, Norman J. Stafford, William F. Herrin, Darren Schilling, Cody Cedotal, Robb T. Brumfield, Brant C. Faircloth

Faculty Publications

Copyright © 2019 Salter et al. Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are small quails in the New World Quail family (Odontophoridae) and are one of the most phenotypically diverse avian species. Despite extensive research on bobwhite ecology, genomic studies investigating the evolution of phenotypic diversity in this species are lacking. Here, we present a new, highly contiguous assembly for bobwhites using tissue samples from a vouchered, wild, female bird collected in Louisiana. By performing a de novo assembly and scaffolding the assembly with Dovetail Chicago and HiC libraries and the HiRise pipeline, we produced an 866.8 Mb assembly including 1,512 scaffolds …

Guilty At First Sight: Legislation To Prevent The Misidentification Of Innocent Persons In Illinois, Kaitlyn A. Murphy

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preventing A Cyber-9/11: How Universal Jurisdiction Could Protect International Aviation In The Digital Age, Laura K. Ashdown

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Genetics And Molecular Dynamics Of L,L-Diaminopimelate Aminotransferase (Dapl): An Enzyme Involved In Lysine And Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis, Lily E.J. Adams

Theses

The marked increase of bacteria that are resistant to clinically relevant antibiotics in recent years has sparked a push in the development and discovery of novel antibiotics. Complementary to this, the identification of novel antibiotic targets is also of great interest. The lysine biosynthesis pathway is an ideal candidate for these efforts because its product is an essential amino acid. Lysine cannot be synthesized by humans and thus poses minimal risk of side effects if synthesis is targeted. The penultimate product in the lysine biosynthesis pathway, meso-DAP, is also a key component of the gram-negative bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan layer. …

Staying The Course, Mrk T. Blankenbuehler

Faculty Research at Morehead State University

The student chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) at Morehead State University (MSU) has been recognized with awards from the ACS almost every year since 1995. The focus of the club changes from year to year depending on the areas the officers would like to emphasize. While tradition is essential to the long-term health of the club, variation and creativity are highly valued. The organization has been involved with a myriad of activities in the areas of outreach, service, fundraising, professional development, philanthropy, and fun (i.e., social activities). Activities over the years have included giving the president of the …

Does Teaching An Omnibus Mand Preclude The Development Of Specifying Mands?, Shannon Ward

Doctoral Dissertations - College of Arts and Sciences

"When problem behavior is controlled by a synthesized reinforcement contingency, a simple omnibus mand that yields access to all reinforcers simultaneously has been shown to effectively replace problem behavior. The question arises as to whether teaching an omnibus mand will preclude the acquisition of specifying mands for each of the combined reinforcers. In this study, after three students diagnosed with autism acquired an omnibus mand (“My way, please”) that yielded all identified reinforcers simultaneously, we attempted to teach specifying mands (e.g., “All done,” “Play with me,” and “May I have my toys?”) to yield each individual reinforcer (e.g., escape, attention, …

“I Now Pronounce You Husband And Son”: Confronting The Need To Amend Adult Adoption Codes To Facilitate Same-Sex Marriage, Hope C. Blain

Chapman Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Iron Geochemistry Of Terrestrial Aerosol Sources To The Subarctic Pacific Ocean, Meg Yoder

Honors Theses

Wind-blown dust and volcanic ash deposited in high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions can fertilize phytoplankton by providing iron and other trace nutrients, in turn impacting ecosystems as well as the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. The second largest HNLC region in the world is the northeastern subarctic Pacific. Aeolian transport to this region deposits lithogenic material including desert-derived dust from Asia, glacier-derived dust from Alaska and northwestern Canada, and volcanic ash from Eurasia and North America.

This research aims to assess the geochemistry of aerosol sources to the northeastern subarctic Pacific in relation to the biological availability of iron. …

Assessing The Invasive Potential Of Najas Minor In Maine, Kaitlin M. Volk

Honors Theses

Najas minor (European naiad), a relatively new invasive aquatic plant to the state of Maine, is thought be spreading more aggressively than previous invasive aquatic plants have. Once established, N. minor grows into dense monocultures that replace all native plant species, leading to a disruption in ecosystem functioning, a loss in food and habitat for invertebrates and fish, and a decrease in the recreational value of a waterbody. Understanding the natural history of N. minor – how it is dispersed and how long seeds can survive – is important for understanding the invasive potential of the species. However, no previous …

Biodiversity And Distribution Of Benthic Foraminifera In Harrington Sound, Bermuda: The Effects Of Physical And Geochemical Factors On Dominant Taxa, Nam Le

Honors Theses

Harrington Sound, Bermuda, is a nearly enclosed lagoon acting as a subtropical/tropical, carbonate-rich basin in which carbonate sediments, reef patches, and carbonate-producing organisms accumulate. Here, one of the most important calcareous groups is the Foraminifera. Analyses of common benthic orders, including miliolids (Quinqueloculina and Triloculina spp.) and rotaliids (Homotrema rubrum, Elphidium spp., and Ammonia beccarii), are essential in understanding past and present environmental conditions affecting the island's coastal environment. These taxa have been studied previously; however, factors explaining their individual patterns of abundance in the Sound are not well detailed. The goal of this study is …

Algorithmic Surveillance: A Hidden Danger In Recognizing Faces, Lydia F. Venditti, Jim Fleming, Kara Kugelmeyer

Honors Theses

The goal of this thesis is to present the current status and awareness of facial recognition technology and their use as part of video surveillance systems. Specifically, I intend to help readers develop a greater understanding of how facial recognition systems contain algorithms that perpetuate bias in their matching and recognition of faces. Current research demonstrates that algorithms differentially recognize faces from different races and genders. As a technology with substantive impacts for use and abuse, more scrutiny of facial recognition technology is necessary. This paper will also help readers understand the dangers of facial recognition as a biometric technology …

Insects And The Evolution Of Developmental Pathways: Functional Analysis Of Genetic Sex Determination Mechanisms In Oncopeltus Fasciatus, Josefine Just

Honors Theses

Natural selection alters genetic pathways over evolutionary time. However, different pathways have been shown to maintain mutations at varying rates, leading to different levels of conservation across developmental pathways. Sex determination pathways, in particular, show vast diversity across animals despite the fundamental conservation of biological sex itself. Here, I investigated the sex determination pathway of the hemimetabolous insect, Oncopeltus fasciatus. The large milkweed bug, O. fasciatus, is part of the order Hemiptera, which provides a relevant outgroup study to other insects in which sex determination has been studied to date. I studied three sex determination genes, intersex, fruitless …

A Reciprocal Reaction: The Ussr Chemical Weapons Program And Its Influence On Soviet Society Through Three Civilian Groups, Yun Zhang

Honors Theses

Since its first mass application in 1915, chemical weapons (CW) have tolled thousands of lives both on and off the battle field. The USSR, despite its weak industrial basis and a late-starter in the field of chemical weaponry, held the largest stockpile of CW by the conclusion of the twentieth century. While the military and political implications of the USSR CW stockpiles have been relatively well-studied, its domestic and internal effect also deserve thorough investigations. Through diaries, letters, and memoirs of the USSR civilians who had suffered from, worked for, and/or supported the CW program, this research looked into the …

Development Of A Chemical Genetic Screen To Identify Compounds That Enhance Laromustine Cytotoxicity, Xiaoou Wang

Honors Theses

Laromustine is a chemotherapeutic sulfonylhydrazine prodrug used in clinical trials against acute myeloid leukemia. Though laromustine showed some success in clinical trials, more experiments are needed to understand the hematological toxicity and the molecular mechanisms of patients’ resistance. This project aims to develop a strategy to identify compounds synergistic with laromustine in cultured leukemia cells from a library of 450 FDA-approved compounds through a forward chemical genetic screen. To optimize the screen, the cell seeding density, doubling time, and dose response curves were determined. The optimized concentration of HL60 cells in these experiments was determined to be between 25,000 and …

Tracking The Endangered Northern Black Racer, Coluber Constrictor Constrictor, In Maine To Determine Areas Of Conservation Importance, Josiah Johnson

Honors Theses

The Black Racer (Coluber constrictor) is a large-bodied snake species found across North America. One subspecies, the Northern Black Racer (C. constrictor constrictor) is listed as endangered in Maine because of its restricted range in York County. Racers have generally been found to prefer open habitats and ecotones, but the specific habitat preferences of racers in Maine is unknown, hindering efforts to preserve habitat for racer conservation. To address this knowledge gap, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) has an ongoing project tracking black racer movements in Sanford and Kennebunk, Maine, and I had the opportunity to …

The Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Pipeline: Attitudes, Symbolism, And Geography, Catherine W. Fraser

Honors Theses

Oil pipelines, such as the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, are increasingly controversial and contested in the United States. Since its proposal in 2015, the Enbridge Line 3 Replacement (L3R) pipeline in Minnesota has also generated considerable debate. People who support and oppose oil pipeline projects are influenced by their ideologies, core values, partisan learnings, age, identity, and place attachment, as well as their proximity to new energy projects. However, the ability of any one variable, like spatial proximity or age, to predict attitudes towards new energy projects is debated. I conducted a literature review on attitudes towards energy …

Asian Jumping Worm (Megascolecidae) Impacts On Physical And Biological Characteristics Of Turfgrass Ecosystems, Ella L. Maddi

Honors Theses

Asian Jumping worms (Megascolecid spp) were introduced to North America in the early 1900s and have been altering soils in forest ecosystems as they spread throughout the continent. The worms differ from other introduced earthworms in their ability to consume large densities of organic material and potentially alter nutrient cycling in the ecosystems that they invade (Greiner et al. 2012). This study examined if and how Asian jumping worms alter turfgrass systems by changing the biological or physical properties of soil. To do this we conducted a mesocosm experiment and observational field study. For the mesocosm study we inoculated boxes …

A Rethinking Of Gray Asexuality: What Do We Learn From An Undefinable Identity?, Jason M. Gurevitch

Honors Theses

Gray-Asexuality offers us a paradox in understanding sexuality, since while it is posed as a middle ground between Asexual and Allosexual, it is also solidly a category of Asexuality. This poses the question of when does someone become Asexual and if they are ever interested in sex why are they not just Allosexual? While understandings of Asexuality that have excluded the Gray-Asexuality can ignore this question, including it requires asking this question, which not only requires defining Asexuality, but also more importantly requires a naming of what normative sexuality is. Within these contexts people who are Gray-Asexual engage in a …

African Savannah Elephant Group Size And Behavior In The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana, Katherine S. King

Honors Theses

African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), the largest elephant species, influence the structure of the environment they inhabit. Elephants exhibit complex patterns of social behavior between individuals within a population. Many behavioral studies focus on interactions among individuals within a population rather than broader trends related to group size. My study seeks to understand how male African savannah elephant group size is influenced by seasonality, age, physical condition and distance to permanent water resources. I examined the interaction of these variables in two ways: (1) a literature review of elephant behavior and conservation, and (2) an analysis of male …

Developing A Predictive And Dynamic Moose-Vehicle Collisions Model In Maine, Yue Yu

Honors Theses

Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a major form of human-wildlife conflict. Predictive animal-vehicle collision models have been developed to identify collision hotspots in Maine and guide mitigation strategies. However, most current models are static and unable to produce dynamic forecasts that incorporate changing climate and weather. The goal of my study was to develop a predictive and dynamic model of animal-vehicle collisions in Maine, USA. More than 6,700 moose-vehicle collisions (MVC) occurred from 2003 to 2017 in Maine, raising road safety, socio-economic, and wildlife conservation concerns. I sought to identify factors that contribute to a higher probability of MVCs by comparing two …

Comparative Transcriptome Sequencing To Determine Genes Related To The Nucellar Embryony Mechanism In Citrus, Özhan Şi̇mşek, Di̇cle Dönmez, Si̇nan Eti̇, Turgut Yeşi̇loğlu, Yildiz Kaçar

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Several citrus varieties produce apomictic seeds by the nucellar embryony (NE) mechanism. Nucellar embryos are created from nucellus tissue and have an identical genetic constitution to the mother plant. Nucellar embryony is known to be an unusual feature of seed production in many citrus cultivars. The term "NE" refers to the development of identical embryos from the maternal tissue known as the nucellus surrounding the embryo sac. The authors aimed here to detect differentially expressed genes involved in the NE mechanism. Orlando tangelo (OT), producing apomictic seeds, and a clementine mandarin, Algerian tangerine ranch selection (AT), known as monoembryonic, were …

Environmentally Friendly Fertilizers Can Enhance Yield And Bioactive Compounds Inchinese Cabbage (Brassica Rapa Ssp. Pekinensis), Jeongyeo Lee, Young-Hee Noh, Kun-Hyang Park, Dae-Soo Kim, Han Taek Jeong, Haeng-Soon Lee, Sung Ran Min, Hyeran Kim

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of 3 environmentally friendly fertilizers and their effect on the growth of Chinese cabbage and its contents of bioactive compounds. The following fertilizers were applied: purslane extract, 5% sulfur, and 15% phosphoric acid with 5% calcium. A total of 9, 9, and 11 components were detected for fatty acids, carotenoids, and glucosinolates, respectively. The contents of cis-7 hexadecenoic acid, linoleic acid (C18:2n6c+t), and linolenic acid (C183n3) were generally increased, and also carotenoid amounts of violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, lutein, 13-cis-ß-carotene, α-carotene, ß-carotene, and 9-cis-ß-carotene were significantly increased by fertilizer treatments. All fertilization …

Authentication Of Gemlik Olive Cultivar Using 1h Nmr Spectroscopy Andchemometric Analysis, İbrahi̇m Sani̇ Özdemi̇r, Somer Beki̇roğlu

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In this study, 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to discriminate Gemlik olives cultivated in a protected designation of origin (PDO) region from those cultivated in non-PDO regions. For this purpose, 95 Gemlik olive samples (47 from PDO and 48 from non- PDO regions) were collected. 1H NMR spectral analysis was carried out on the oils extracted from these olive samples. The results of the partial least squares-discriminant analysis showed that olives from the PDO and non-PDO regions could be discriminated on the basis of their NMR profiles. The prediction ability of the model was better when olive samples from the …

Precision Cane Meristem Management Can Influence Productivity And Fruit Quality Offloricane Red Raspberry Cultivars, Aleksandar Zivotic, Nikola Micic, Mirjana Zabic, Borut Bosancic, Miljan Cvetkovic

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the hedgerow system is the main raspberry growing system, which has no clearly-defined standards regarding plant density and fruit-bearing potential per meter of hedgerow. This study evaluates the effect of precision cane meristem management in growing major floricane red raspberry cultivars in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During 2015 and 2016, in Willamette, Meeker, and Tulameen, grown under the hedgerow system, mixed buds were selected on fruiting laterals with the fruitbearing potential of 80, 100, and 120 well-developed and well-positioned mixed buds per meter of hedgerow. High stable yields were recorded under the medium load of 100 buds …