Digital Commons Network^™

Response Of Forest Birds To Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila Suzukii Matsumura), A Novel Invasive Fruit Pest, At Allegheny National Forest, Daniel P. Roche

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Non-native invasive insect pests can have dramatic impacts on native ecosystems, feeding on plant foliage, wood, or sap. Little is known, however, about how fruit-targeting NNIIPs may affect native ecosystems. Spotted wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, SWD) is a recently introduced invasive vinegar fly that parasitizes the fruits of many plant species in the United States. While its activity in agricultural systems is well-documented, little is known about its activity in forest ecosystems, despite growing evidence of its presence and parasitism of fruits there. Parasitism could reduce fruit attractiveness for vertebrate fruit consumers, including migratory birds. As such, this …

Exploring The Effects Of Interleaving On Mind-Wandering, Alyssa Lynn Miller

Psychology

Research has shown that interleaving (a study technique where two topics are practiced in an alternating fashion) enhances learning and memory. However, it is unclear whether interleaving impacts the frequency of mind-wandering. The current research explores the extent to which interleaving reduces mind-wandering using a between-subjects design. Participants completed the experiment remotely and learned 40 bird images from 8 distinct families. Bird images were presented in pairs from two different families (e.g., interleaved) or individually from one family (e.g., blocked). After a brief distractor task, participants completed a final classification test. Participants also completed a post-assessment questionnaire regarding the level …

Managing Economically Important Diseases Of Sunflower And Oilseed Rape In North Dakota, California, And Schleswig-Holstein, Brandt Gregory Berghuis

Plant Pathology

Rust, caused by Puccinia helianthi, and blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, are economically important diseases on sunflower and oilseed rape, respectively. In order to recommend the most effective disease management practices to growers, management strategies need to be evaluated as new tools are developed and pathogen populations change. The objectives of these studies were to; 1) evaluate the efficacy of foliar fungicides on rust in confection and oilseed sunflowers in the U.S. Northern Great Plains, 2) determine virulence phenotypes of Puccinia helianthi in the sunflower seed production region of Northern California, and 3) evaluate the seed applied fungicide adepidyn for …

Understanding Programmed Cell Death Pathways By Characterizing Barley Disease Lesion Mimic Mutants, Wail Alsolami

Plant Pathology

Programmed cell death (PCD) in plants refers to rapid and localized cell death that occurs as a result of regular biological processes, or in response to infection or injury. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of PCD will fill key knowledge gaps in regard to plant development or resistance mechanisms. Upon pathogen invasion salicylic acid and reactive oxygen intermediate (ROI) signaling responses are triggered that contribute to the PCD outcome. Substantial research efforts have been conducted to identify genes involved in these PCD pathways including the generation and characterization of disease lesion mimic mutants (DLMMs) that spontaneously express PCD and necrotic lesions …

Patch-Burn Grazing In Southwestern North Dakota: Assessing Above- And Belowground Rangeland Ecosystem Responses, Jonathan Wesley Spiess

Natural Resources Management

Rangelands are heterogeneous working landscapes capable of supporting livestock production and biodiversity conservation, and heterogeneity-based rangeland management balances the potentially opposing production and conservation goals in these working landscapes. Within fire-dependent ecosystems, patch-burn grazing aims to create landscape patterns analogous to pre-European rangelands. Little work has tested the efficacy of patch-burn grazing in northern US Great Plains. We investigated patch contrast in above and belowground ecosystem properties and processes during the summer grazing seasons from 2017 – 2020 on three patch-burn pastures stocked with cow-calf pairs and three patch-burn pastures stocked with sheep. We focused on vegetation structure, plant community …

Potential For Phenotypic Plasticity In The Hyperosmotic Stress Response Of Diverse E. Coli, Madelyn Ashley Schwartz

Microbiological Sciences

Escherichia coli inhabits multiple environments that contain varying physical stresses which emphasize the importance of adaptation. The large pangenome of E. coli can account for some strain-to-strain variances in phenotype, but phenotypic plasticity may be another key factor. The key behind phenotypic plasticity may be transcriptional regulators such as the sigma factor RpoS. The extent of phenotypic plasticity and possible mechanisms in stress conditions has not been heavily studied in bacteria. We looked at the presence of plasticity in the growth rate of E. coli under a hyperosmotic condition. RNAseq was used to explore the connection between RpoS and phenotypic …

Lignin And Cellulose Nanofibers Enhanced Corn-Based Thermoplastic Composites, Yanlin Chen

Materials and Nanotechnology

The goal of this project is to develop biobased thermoplastics and composites using corn as the main raw material. Corn contains mainly starch, zein, and oil. Thermoplastic starch/zein blends were prepared through internal mixing and extrusion. Lignin was used as a compatibilizer to refine the phase structure of the blend and increase the mechanical properties of the product. Scanning electron microscopy study showed that the incorporation of lignin significantly reduced the domain size of the zein phase in the blends. Modulus and tensile strength of the blend were increased greatly. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the thermal stability of the blends …

Decision-Making Involvement, Social Support For Healthy Behaviors, And Nutritional Adherence In Adolescents With Cystic Fibrosis, Jennifer Kelleher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Adolescents with cystic fibrosis (awCF) exhibit suboptimal adherence to dietary and enzyme recommendations despite the fact that eating a high calorie diet with enzymes significantly improves lung functioning. Furthermore, during adolescence teens and their caregivers begin to negotiate treatment responsibility, shifting treatment tasks to the youth. As such, it is important to understand which aspects of the complex decision-making process (e.g., expressing an opinion, asking for information from parents/adults, making joint decisions with parents) relate to better dietary adherence in adolescents with CF and how parents can best support these healthy behaviors. Thus, this study aimed to identify how …

Examining Changes In Learning And Engagement Of Higher Education Students In A Fully Online Flipped Learning Distance Education Classroom, James David Riel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The challenge of implementing effective online distance education courses for academics and institutions is a centuries-old task. We can look across early developments in the 18^th century with the creation and delivery of correspondence courses; into the 20^th century with teaching and learning across analog methods such as audio and video; and now in the current era of digitized mechanisms that enable the online classroom. This includes advances in internet technologies and computing abilities that are the empowering the backbone processes, bridging connectivity between the student and the instructor. As society has trended toward massive increases in online …

Unconventional Gas Pipeline Right-Of-Way Influence On Wildlife, Samuel C. Knopka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The development of horizontal drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in 2004 resulted in rapid exploitation of the play in the Appalachian Basin. This “unconventional” gas well drilling accesses resources deeper beneath the surface and allows for multiple wells to be co-located on a single well pad. This results in fewer, but larger, well pads on the landscape than traditional vertical wells. Pipelines are required to transport the volumes of gas produced by unconventional wells to production facilities and market. The effects of gathering pipelines, which transport gas from well pads to larger transport pipelines, are poorly studied …

Perceptions And Instructional Practices Used By West Virginian Secondary Agricultural Teachers In Meat Science Education, Kindra D. Carr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A focus on classroom integration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts has resulted in secondary teachers broadening the scope and delivery of STEM principles in their classes. Because agriculture classes allow students to convert abstract ideas into concrete ideas, they provide a useful setting to teach STEM concepts. Using secondary agricultural classes to teach science is effective and has contributed to higher standardized science test scores, as opposed to a science class alone. West Virginia is known for meat processing facilities and meat technology learning activities in its public schools. However, little is known about how the content …

Effect Of Diet, Age, And Genetics On Rainbow Trout Growth And Fillet Quality, Bahareh Adami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, analyses were conducted to compare fillet quality attributes of 4 rainbow trout families (40, 102, 159, and 187) fed fish meal (FM) and a fishmeal free diet (FMF), to two age endpoints, 9 and 11 months.

Previous studies with rainbow trout have evaluated the effect of age, diet, and family on growth performance and fillet quality. However, a comprehensive analysis of variables is lacking for rainbow trout, one of the main aquatic foods for domestic and international consumers.

Separable muscle as a percent whole body weight was not affected by diet, family, age, and the interaction of …

Three Essays In Applied Econometrics: Agricultural And Energy Economics, Kuan-Ming Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines three empirical issues in energy and agricultural economics using econometrics models whose titles are: 1) Do Natural Hazards in the Gulf Coast Still Matter for State-Level Natural Gas Prices in the US? Evidence After the Shale Gas Boom; 2) Do Exploitations of Marcellus and Utica Shale Formations Improve Regional Economy in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia? A Synthetic Control Analysis; and 3) How Did Covid-19 Impact US Household Food Spending? An Analysis Six Months In.

The first essay assesses the impact of natural hazards on state-level natural gas prices and evaluates the effects of the shale gas …

Exploring The Perceptions Of Produce Processors Operating In Non-Profit Commercial Kitchens In West Virginia, Megan Christine Govindan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year from foodborne illness. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) shifted the focus of the Food and Drug Administration from response, to prevention of foodborne illness. The FSMA identified seven rules related to food safety prevention measures, including inspection and compliance, response and enhanced partnerships to ensure food safety along the food system, and employee-training compliance measures. Increasing access to healthy, local foods has economic, public health, and environmental benefits. Farm to Institution policies are becoming more popular nationally, …

Thyroid Storm In A Patient With Covid-19, Angela N Rao, Ruaa Y Al-Ward, Ruchi Gaba

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVE: A thyroid storm is a severe exacerbation of thyrotoxicosis that can cause significant morbidity and mortality. The emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that originated in Wuhan, China, has become a worldwide pandemic. We present the first documented case of thyroid storm (as defined by the Burch-Wartofsky criteria) in a patient with COVID-19.

METHODS: Laboratory and diagnostic studies, including thyroid function tests, thyroid antibody testing, SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction testing, and thyroid ultrasound were performed.

RESULTS: A 25-year-old woman presented to the hospital with dry cough, dyspnea, palpitations, weight loss, diarrhea, and anxiety. Physical examination revealed exophthalmos with …

Patient-Perceived Versus Actual Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease And Associated Willingness To Consider And Use Prevention Therapy, Ann Marie Navar, Tracy Y Wang, Shuang Li, Xiaojuan Mi, Zhuokai Li, Jennifer G Robinson, Salim S Virani, Eric D Peterson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular prevention guidelines use estimated 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk based on the pooled cohort equations to guide treatment decisions and engage patients in shared decision-making. We sought to determine patient perceived versus actual risk of atherosclerotic CVD and associations with willingness for preventive therapy.

METHODS: We evaluated calculated and perceived CVD risk among 4187 patients across 124 sites in the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management Registry. Ten-year risk was assessed using the pooled cohort equations; risk relative-to-peers was determined based on age-, sex-, and race-based percentiles; and patient estimates of risk were assessed using patient …

Safety And Efficacy Of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation To Treat And Prevent Recurrent Clostridioides Difficile In Cancer Patients, Hiba Ali, Shruti Khurana, Weijie Ma, Yuanzun Peng, Zhi-Dong Jiang, Herbert Dupont, Hao Chi Zhang, Anusha S Thomas, Pablo Okhuysen, Yinghong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Cancer patients are at increased risk of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (rCDI) due to malignancy itself, cancer therapy, and frequent antibiotic use and have a lower response rate to standard oral antibiotics. There are limited data on the safety and efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for treating rCDI in cancer patients. We aim to describe our experience of using FMT to treat rCDI at a tertiary cancer center.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of cancer patients who underwent FMT for rCDI at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from June 2017 through January 2020. Baseline …

Aging Out Of Place: Quality Of Life And Successful Aging Among Aging Refugee Immigrants In The Us, Jonix Atieno Owino

Human Development and Family Science

As individuals age, they experience physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that may impact their well-being. However, little is known about well-being among aging refugees. Thus, the present study explores factors associated with quality of life and perceptions of successful aging among refugees who are aged 50 years and above. This mixed methods dissertation included a quantitative and qualitative study. For the quantitative study, 108 refugee participants (from Bhutan, Burundi, and Somalia) living in the US were surveyed to assess quality of life. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that females, older individuals, individuals with lower education levels, and African refugees reported lower …

Does Mom Know Best? The Influence Of Baby-Led Weaning On Picky Eating And Sweetener Use, Savanna Elizabeth Jean Westrom Jellison

Human Development and Family Science

Baby-led weaning, the process of an infant feeding themselves at the introduction of solid foods as opposed to being spoon-fed by a caregiver, is an under-researched area of infant development. There is a significant gap in knowledge regarding how baby-led weaning influences aspects of this critical period of development including picky eating and parental use of sweeteners or additives. The purpose of this research was to better understand the influence that feeding method has on optimal infant development. The central hypotheses were (1) that infants who baby-led weaned would have greater food acceptance and be less likely to be labelled …

Medical Cannabis Packaging And Labelling Concerns For Middle Aged And Older Manitobans, Vanessa Tatyana Christiuk

Human Development and Family Science

Middle-aged and older adults make up the largest growing proportion of medical cannabis users in Canada, as well as the largest proportion of the population to vote in the last federal election (Elections Canada, 2020; Statistics Canada, 2019). Middle-aged, and older adults may encounter problems with the way their medical cannabis is packaged and labelled. The present study investigated how a sample of Manitobans aged 45 and older experienced their medical cannabis packaging, including the manipulation of medical cannabis packaging and readability of the labelling. Most participants reported having difficulty opening child-safe lids and the inability to clearly read the …

An Analysis Of Muscle Activity During Load Carriage, Acft Scores, And Back Pain In Army Rotc Cadets, Jennifer Ann Longo

Health Nutrition and Exercise Science

Context: Low back pain (LBP) is a leading musculoskeletal complaint among the military population. Load carriage tasks are a frequently reported mechanism of injury for low back pain (LBP) in the Army. Furthermore, researchers have demonstrated a clear association between physical fitness and injury incidence. Objectives: 1) to analyze changes in muscle activity during load carriage and how LBP relates to changes in muscle activation; and 2) to analyze a possible relationship between performance on the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) and LBP, muscle activity, and kinesiophobia in Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets. Methods: 30 Army ROTC cadets …

Mucins, Gut Microbiota, And Postbiotics Role In Colorectal Cancer, Ramesh Pothuraju, Sanjib Chaudhary, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Sukhwinder Kaur, Hemant K Roy, Michael Bouvet, Surinder K Batra

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

An imbalance in the crosstalk between the host and gut microbiota affects the intestinal barrier function, which results in inflammatory diseases and colorectal cancer. The colon epithelium protects itself from a harsh environment and various pathogenic organisms by forming a double mucus layer, primarily comprising mucins. Recent studies are focusing on how dietary patterns alter the gut microbiota composition, which in turn regulates mucin expression and maintains the intestinal layers. In addition, modulation of gut microbiota by microbiotic therapy (involving fecal microbiota transplantation) has emerged as a significant factor in the pathologies associated with dysbiosis. Therefore, proper communication between host …