Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of Bacterial Endophytes Isolated From Brassica Carinata And Their Potential Use To Decrease Nutrient Requirements In Crops, Alex Soupir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial endophytes have the capability to enhance plant growth by producing plant growth hormones, solubilizing phosphates, suppressing pathogenic fungi, and reducing plant stress hormones. These capabilities make them desirable limiting the amount of nutrients and pesticides that are applied to crops. Through these assays and isolations, it is possible to identify novel bacterial species. In-vitro testing had shown 9 of the 20 isolates possess the ability to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) with Pantoea agglomerans BC09 producing a concentration of 30.2 ng/μl over 4 days. BC09, Bacillus subilis BC10, and Pantoea sp. BC12 were able to solubilize calcium phosphate, 7 endophytes …

Partitioning Variation In Measurements Of Beef Carcass Traits Made Using Ultrasound, Bradie M. Schmidt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ultrasound technology provides cattle breeders a relatively quick, non-invasive, and economical way to gather carcass data on live animals. Ultrasound provides the means to accurately predict body composition and develop estimated breeding values; however, national cattle genetic evaluations assume homogenous additive genetic and residual variances. These assumptions may be violated when estimating genetic merit for carcass traits by ultrasound because of differences in variance due to scanning technician and image interpretation laboratory. The objective of this study was to partition the phenotypic variance of measurements of carcass traits that were made using ultrasound into components attributable to additive genetic effects, …

Molecular Facet Of Host-Pathogen Interactions In Fusarium Head Blight In Wheat ( Triticum Aestivum L.), Bimal Paudel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a severe disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). It not only reduces the quantity of the harvested grains but also decreases the grain quality due to mycotoxins contamination, especially Deoxynivalenol (DON). Qfhb1 (or simply called Fhb1) is the most important quantitative trait locus (QTL) for FHB resistance. Our lab has previously identified wheat gene WFhb1-1 (aka. Wfhb1_c1) as a candidate for FHB resistance gene. Here we report that WFhb1-1 has been cloned. The gene (GenBank # KU304333.1) consists of a single exon, encoding a putative membrane protein of 127 amino acids. WFhb1-1 protein produced in …

Development Of Analytical Methods For Toxic Inhaled Hazards (Tih) And Their Metabolites, Obed Adu Gyamfi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Toxic inhalation hazards (TIHs), such as methyl isocyanate (MIC) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN), are noxious gases and vapors that are harmful, and often deadly, to humans. However, because of their low cost and high reactivity, they are extensively used for industrial productions, creating risk of exposure for both industrial workers (e.g., occupational exposure) and civilians (e.g., accidental release during transport). The illicit use of TIHs, including as terrorist agents, is also concerning. Considering the rapid toxicity of TIHs and the danger they pose to both human and animal lives, there is a critical need to develop of analytical methods for …

Optimization Of Conditions For Heat Pretreatment And Enzymatic Predigestion Of Ddgs For Pigs, Kevin Jerez-Bogota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The high fiber content of corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) can limit its utilization in swine diets. Pretreatment with heat and enzymatic predigestion of whole stillage (WS; slurry material that is dried into DDGS) can alleviate negative effects of dietary fiber and can improve digestive and fermentation characteristics of the feedstuff. However, optimal time and temperature of the heat pretreatment of WS, and best enzymes for predigestion of WS have not been identified. Experiments were conducted to identify optimal conditions for heat pretreatment and multienzyme predigestion of WS for pigs. First experiment was conducted to identify optimal temperature …

Genetic Study Of Alkane Production And Oxic Nitrogen Fixation In Anabaena Sp. Pcc 7120, Jaimie L. Gibbons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is a filamentous, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium that uses spatial separation to perform photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation simultaneously. Under fixed nitrogen limiting conditions, Anabaena 7120 forms specialized cells, called heterocysts, to fix nitrogen. In this research, I sought to add to the knowledge surrounding the process of heterocystous nitrogen fixation in Anabaena 7120. Cyanobacteria universally produce alkanes, which have been suggested to play a role in helping the organism adapt to abiotic stress, such as diazotrophic conditions. In my first study, I sought to identify the genes required for production of the hydrocarbon heptadecane (C17H36). Through using a …

Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials And Their Composites For Electrochemical Detection Of Toxic Mercury Ions In Water, Md Tawabur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The presence of trace amounts of mercury ion (Hg²⁺) in drinking water has a detrimental effect on human health. The development of an electrochemical sensor for Hg²⁺ detection is still challenging to obtain ultra-trace sensitivity, excellent selectivity, wide Linear Detection Ranges (LDRs), and ultra-low detection limit. This work presents an electrochemical sensor based on two-dimensional nanomaterials and their composites for the enhanced sensing of Hg²⁺ in water. Graphene oxide (GO)-silver nanowires (AgNWs) composite and metallic 1T phase tungsten disulfide (WS2) microflowers were utilized for the fabrication of electrochemical sensors using drop-casting. Under the optimized experimental conditions, …

Rethinking The Civil War Era: Directions For Research, Wang Xi

Civil War Book Review

By writing Rethinking the Civil War Era: Directions for Research, Paul Escott, the Reynolds Professor of History at Wake Forest University and a renowned historian of American slavery and Civil War, has done a valuable service to his peers. The book reviews a wide range of recent scholarships in Civil War history, organized by six themes – the roots of the war, wartime societies, African Americans and the Civil War, military history, environmental impact of the war, and the war’s consequences. In addition, the book offers an informative and user-friendly discussion of how new techniques of digital age can …

The Mormon Handcart Migration: “Neither Tongue Nor Pen Can Never Tell The Sorrow", Douglas S. Montagna Professor

Civil War Book Review

Candy Moulton’s The Mormon Handcart Migration: “Tounge nor Pen Can never tell the Sorrow” tells the story of determined and courageous pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (hereafter referred to as the Church or church members) migrating across the Great Plains and the mountains in the late 1850s to reach their destination of Salt Lake City pulling and pushing their supplies on handcarts. Approximately 3,000 people made the journey, with between 250 and 300 losing their lives along the way, one of the greatest losses of lives in the entire settlement of the west. While …

Pollution And Polluter Pays, Aaron Lercher

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Here, Now, Gabrielle Maria Dinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My work explores the transformation of one’s self through the observation, collection, and exploration of nature. I am drawn to the moments that prompt change within each of our lives, and how these moments alter our interpretation of our surroundings. Although I am interested in creating a universal conversation about our interactions in nature, the work I create focuses on my own experiences. Through the exploration, collection, and alteration of objects, I create art for the viewer to investigate and contemplate their own interactions with nature. Through the act of exploration, my curiosity for the natural world and keenness for …

The Acquisition Of Property Rights In Animals: A Brief Comment On Oliar And Stern: Right On Time: First Possession In Property And Intellectual Property, Richard A. Epstein

Faculty Articles

The question is what inferences can be drawn from this brief account. I think that there are two points worth making. The first is that physical assets, by nature, have a greater variation in appropriate property rights because of the great heterogeneity of the circumstances in which these rights are created. The point applies not only to the rules on acquisition for animals but also to the structure of rights for other resources. The structure of water rights is the most important. Water rights are generally thought to be in some sense common rights, with all sorts of correlative duties …

Joint Employment: The Unintended And Unpredictable “Employment” Relationship, Richard A. Epstein

Faculty Articles

The following is a transcript of a 2018 Federalist Society panel entitled Joint Employment: The Unintended and Unpredictable "Employment" Relationship. The panel originally occurred on November 15, 2018, during the National Lawyers Convention in Washington, D.C.

In Defense Of International Comity, Samuel Estreicher, Thomas H. Lee

Faculty Articles

A chorus of critics, led by the late Justice Scalia, have condemned the practice of federal courts’ refraining from hearing cases over which they have subject-matter jurisdiction because of international comity—respect for the governmental interests of other nations. They assail the practice as unprincipled abandonment of judicial duty and unnecessary given statutes and settled judicial doctrines that amply protect foreign governmental interests and guide the lower courts. But existing statutes and doctrines do not give adequate answers to the myriad cases in which such interests are implicated given the scope of present-day globalization and features of the U.S. legal system …

Black Markets And The Exchange Structure, Richard R. W. Brooks

Faculty Articles

Laws do not prevent crime. They create it. Volitional acts causing harm to persons and their interests of course occur with and without law (though presumably more often without) but to see these actions as criminal, to identify them properly as such, is possible only through law. So stated, the point is rather bromidic, and yet it does hint at a more profound question. Why make any conduct criminal? Answers to this question would appear obvious and overdetermined, at least, for some conduct. Victims of assaults, thefts, and other gross invasions of their persons and property needn’t testify as to …

Cities As International Environmental Actors: The Case Of Marine Plastics, Danielle Spiegel-Feld, Katrina M. Wyman

Faculty Articles

As the impacts of marine plastic pollution become ever more apparent, a number of states have begun calling for the development of a new international agreement to address the problem. This Essay considers which jurisdictional entities should be engaged in the drafting of such an agreement if one should materialize. While nation states have traditionally been the main entities recognized as having the legal personality to make treaties, cities have the potential to substantially advance efforts to mitigate certain international environmental problems, including the plague of global marine plastic pollution. We argue, on functional grounds, that this potential should be …

Does Revlon Matter? An Empirical And Theoretical Study, Matthew D. Cain, Sean J. Griffith, Robert J. Jackson Jr., Steven Davidoff Solomon

Faculty Articles

We empirically examine whether and how the doctrine of enhanced judicial scrutiny that emerged from Revlon and its progeny actually affects M&A transactions. Combining hand-coding and machine-learning techniques, we assemble data from the proxy statements of publicly announced mergers between 2003 and 2017 into a dataset of 1,913 unique transactions. Of these, 1,167 transactions were subject to the Revlon standard, and 553 were not. After subjecting this sample to empirical analysis, our results show that Revlon does indeed matter for companies incorporated in Delaware. We find that in Delaware, Revlon deals are more intensely negotiated, involve more bidders, and result …

Beyond Microaggression: Overlapping Identities In Simulated Legal Practice, Peggy C. Davis, Danielle Davenport, Brence Pernell

Faculty Articles

The authors’ in-depth analyses of interactions within a simulated lawyering course expose interactive pitfalls—both in practice and in teaching—and suggest means of improving law students’ and professors’ professional competence.

Assessing A Two-Hit Model Of Schizophrenia: Prenatal Choline Deficiency And Induced Hypofunction Of Nmda Receptors In Male And Female Long Evans Rats, Samuel Gray, Samuel W. Gray

Honors Theses

Choline is an essential dietary nutrient essential to the development and function of the central nervous system. Prenatal choline deficiency alters hippocampal development as well as acetylcholine metabolism, leading to cognitive impairments and attentional and sensory processing deficits into adulthood. MK-801 is an NMDA receptor antagonist frequently used in rodent models of neuropsychiatric conditions, particularly schizophrenia. Acutely and sub- chronically, it causes hyperlocomotion and social withdrawal. One primary goal of the present study were to investigate prenatal choline deficiency induces a biological vulnerability to the motor deficits, anhedonia, and social impairment precipitated by low-dose sub-chronic MK-801 administration in adulthood. Another …

Executive Function Deficit As A Precursor To Memory Impairments In Hapoe4 Transgenic Rats, Kaitlin Mcmanus

Honors Theses

The hApoE4 allele is one of the strongest genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It underlies amyloid-bdeposits and neurofibrillary tangles, the two hallmarks associated with AD pathology, and is subsequently associated with AD symptomology. Despite its importance, no rat animal studies to date use hApoE4 knock-ins. In addition to this deficit in the field of AD literature, the vast majority of AD studies focus on memory, even though executive function deficits may precede memory impairments in AD, and may be a predictor of AD development. Thus, the present study addressed these gaps in AD research by investigating the behavioral …

Food System Resilience In The Face Of Covid-19: A Study Of Maine’S Food Sovereignty Movement, Hania M. Lincoln Lenderking

Honors Theses

As the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities in the United States’ industrialized food system, the need for a more resilient alternative is stronger than ever. In Maine, food sovereignty - the right of people to determine their own food system - has been enacted at the local level through the adoption of the Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance (LFCSGO). Using unstructured interviews with leaders of Maine’s food sovereignty movement conducted prior to the pandemic, this study aims to link food sovereignty in Maine to the concept of food system resilience. Participants defined food sovereignty specifically in relation to …

Synthesis And The Genetic Encoding Of Novel Lysine Post-Translational Modifications, Sahan A. Galbada Liyanage

Theses and Dissertations

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) play a significant role in regulating cell signaling and regulating the inner cellular environment. The study of PTMs and their primary biological functions is critical for the development of new medicines targeting the pathways and biomolecules responsible for the PTMs.

Previous studies revealed the direct coupling of the β -hydroxybutyryl lysine (K_BHB) modification with the gene expression. K_BHB in histone proteins links metabolism to epigenetics and gene expression and enables to study in-depth, how cell metabolism controls the gene expression and vice versa. Similar novel histone modification, K_Lac, attracts a special interest …

Summer Research Fellowship Project Descriptions 2020, Clark Science Center's Summer Research Fellows Program

SURF Abstracts (Women in Science)

A summary of research done by Smith College’s 2020 Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) Program participants. Ever since its 1967 start, SURF has been a cornerstone of Smith’s science education. Supervised by faculty mentor-advisors drawn from the Clark Science Center and connected to its eighteen science, mathematics, and engineering departments and programs and associated centers and units. At summer’s end, SURF participants were asked to summarize their research experiences for this publication.

Tick-Borne Infections In New Hampshire: An Evaluation Of The Diagnostic Process In A Local Patient Population, Katherine Anderson

Honors Theses and Capstones

Overall, approximately 95 percent of reported cases of vector-borne disease were associated with ticks, making these the most medically important group of arthropods in the United States.¹ Despite the prevalence of tick-borne infections, the process for the diagnosis of this condition is not well studied. This study aims to analyze data from a pool of 100 patients who underwent testing for tick-borne disease in the same institution in Dover, New Hampshire during the most recent peak tick season of 2019. Information utilized in this study included: patient age, sex, location of testing (inpatient versus outpatient), diagnostic testing methods used …

Buddhist Approaches To Environmentalism And Food Insecurity, Grace N. Stott

Honors Theses and Capstones

Buddhism is a religion deep-rooted in history, most prevalent in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. ³ These countries are “developing countries” and may not have the necessary infrastructure to succeed economically and have increased health risks, one of which is food insecurity.⁴ With climate change an increased threat, these areas of the world are more susceptible to environmental problems. The Buddhism religion strongly values sustainability, in both the environment and food insecurity. It values helping others, both humans and nature. Despite the adversity they face, Buddhists have dealt better than communities in similar situations of poverty and …

Just Post It: A Critical Discourse Analysis On Nike’S Instagram, Jillian Cataldo

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Predicting Gross Revenue Using Online Movie Reviews, Cara J. Small

Honors Theses and Capstones

Today, many people check the ratings and reviews of a movie before they watch it. A review can be easily published online and seen by thousands of people, and this can change a person’s opinion on whether or not they see the film. With the increasing presence of online platforms, it has changed the way people express their thoughts and feelings. There are many different platforms people can go to find varying opinions on a particular movie. This research will consider the problem of predicting a movie’s overall gross revenue. We focus on ratings, reviews and information given on the …

Green Criminology And Wildlife Traff Icking In Thailand(อาชญาวิทยาสิ่งแวดล้อมกับการลักลอบค้าสัตว์ป่า ที่เกิดขึ้นในไทย), Nanrapat Chaiakaraphong

Journal of Social Sciences

Green Criminology is a concept developed by Michael Lynch in 1997. At that time the natural environment and resources in the world were being threatened heavily by humans. Green Criminology sought to assess the harm caused by environmental offences so as to come up with solutions for humans, wild animals, the environment and the ecosystem. Importantly, wildlife trafficking in Thailand has become a crime that damages the country. So, this study aimed to investigate whether Green Criminology could be applied to explain the wildlife trafficking situation in Thailand, and how? Documentary research and in-depth interviews of key informants who were …

Adam And The Early Mesopotamian Creation Mythology, Saad D. Abulhab

Publications and Research

The first monotheist human, Adam, was likely a god, in the Mesopotamian mythology, just as the Hebrew Genesis reluctantly revealed, and the assertive Quran slightly hinted. Specifically, he was the pre-monotheist, Sumerian god, Idim, who was also called GodEa and many other nicknames over the millenniums. The names Idim and Adam are even linguistically related, according to early Arabic root words analysis. As a Mesopotamian god, Idim was the creator of the first human, and the father of his immediate generations, as he was sometimes referred to in the ancient literature. He was the preserver of life on earth, and …

Environmental And Occupational Toxicology, North Carolina Agricultural And Technical State University

Open Educational Resources Syllabus Review

Environmental health is associated with recognizing, assessing, understanding and controlling the impacts of people in their environment and the impacts of the environment on the public health. The science of environmental health spans a wide range of topics, requiring the use of multidisciplinary approaches to study the impact of environmental factors on human health. Toxicology, a major component of environmental health, can be broadly defined as the science that explores how drugs and chemicals adversely affect human health. Student enrolled in this course will learn the basic principles of toxicology as they apply to human health. Topics will include activation …