Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of Urochloa Breeder’S Toolbox With The Theory Of Change And Stage Gate System Approach, E. Sweitzer, L. Hernandez, D. Florian, A. Notenbaert, S. Burkart, J. Arango, J. Cardoso, M. Peters, V. Castiblanco

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock production in the global south is at crossroads as there is a demand to increase Animal Source Foods to address hunger and pressure to lighten the environmental footprint often associated with livestock production. To satisfy both needs, the use of technologies that improve animal performance, while reducing land use and net Greenhouse Gas emissions produced by animals is essential. One of such technologies are Urochloa forage grasses.

Urochloa forage grasses are well known for their rusticity and their ability to grow in soils of low fertility and high aluminum content. These characteristics allow Urochloa to grow in areas temporally …

Residual Feed Intake (Rfi) And Efficiency Of Feed Utilization (Efu) Of Total Mixed Ration (Tmr) Fed Frisian Cross Bred Cows – A Case Study, S. C. Somasiri, A. M. C. S. Karunarathna

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Residual Feed Intake (RFI) is the difference between an animal’s actual feed and expected feed intakes for a given period of time. Literature shows that highly efficient animals have a negative or lower RFI. Thus understanding about RFI is important to maintain an efficient herd. A feeding trial was undertaken at a commercial farm in Sri Lanka having Frisian cross bred cows. The cows were fed with a grass-based Total Mixed Ration (TMR) having maize (Zea mays), CO3 (Pennisetum perpureum X Pennisetum americarnum), beer pulp (wet brewer’s grain), dhal meal (Lens culinaris), mineral mixture …

Treatment Preferences For Pharmacological Versus Psychological Interventions Among Primary Care Providers In Nepal: Mixed Methods Analysis Of A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial., Anvita Bhardwaj, Dristy Gurung, Sauharda Rai, Bonnie N Kaiser, Cori L Cafaro, Kathleen J Sikkema, Crick Lund, Nagendra P Luitel, Brandon A. Kohrt

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

There is increasing evidence supporting the effectiveness of psychological interventions in low- and middle-income countries. However, primary care providers (PCPs) may prefer treating patients with medication. A secondary exploratory analysis of a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate psychological vs. pharmacological treatment preferences among PCPs. Thirty-four health facilities, including 205 PCPs, participated in the study, with PCPs in 17 facilities assigned to a standard version of the mental health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) training delivered by mental health specialists. PCPs in the other 17 facilities received mhGAP instruction delivered by specialists and people with lived experience of …

02-14-2022 Toby Clampitt Named 21-22 Dr. John Hays Memorial Scholar At Swosu, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

THE BARK ARCHIVE 2022

No abstract provided.

The Low Abundance Of Cpg In The Sars-Cov-2 Genome Is Not An Evolutionarily Signature Of Zap, Ali Afrasiabi, Hamid Alinejad-Rokny, Azad Khosh, Mostafa Rahnama, Nigel Lovell, Zhenming Xu, Diako Ebrahimi

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

The zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is known to restrict viral replication by binding to the CpG rich regions of viral RNA, and subsequently inducing viral RNA degradation. This enzyme has recently been shown to be capable of restricting SARS-CoV-2. These data have led to the hypothesis that the low abundance of CpG in the SARS-CoV-2 genome is due to an evolutionary pressure exerted by the host ZAP. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed a detailed analysis of many coronavirus sequences and ZAP RNA binding preference data. Our analyses showed neither evidence for an evolutionary pressure acting specifically on CpG …

Crow's Nest, February 14, 2022, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The February 14, 2022, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Ms 016 Guide To Russell J. Blattner, Md Papers (1936-1985), Russell J. Blattner (1908-2002)

Manuscript Finding Aids

The Blattner collection contains Dr. Blattner's research work throughout his career in St. Louis and Houston. It contains photographs, research materials, reprints, and publications. It offers a record of Dr. Blattner's professional life and contains no personal or family records. Collection materials date from 1936-1985. See more at MS 016.

Variability Of Potential Soil Nitrogen Cycling Rates In Stormwater Bioretention Facilities, Erin N. Rivers, Jennifer L. Morse

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Low-impact development (LID) is a common management practice used to infiltrate and filter stormwater through vegetated soil systems. The pollutant reduction potential of these systems is often characterized by a single pollutant removal rate; however, the biophysical properties of soils that regulate the removal of pollutants can be highly variable depending on environmental conditions. The goal of this study was to characterize the variability of soil properties and nitrogen (N) cycling rates in bioretention facilities (BRFs). Soil properties and potential N cycling processes were measured in nine curbside bioretention facilities (BRFs) in Portland, OR during summer and winter seasons, and …

Development Of A Men’S Health Course For First-Year Undergraduates Using Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies, Ania A. Majewska, Johnasha D. Stuart, Kelsey M. Gray, Pearl V. Ryder, Ethell Vereen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

A novel first-year experience course was developed using culturally responsive teaching strategies at an undergraduate liberal arts college in the southeastern USA to promote health advocacy and to provide students with an overview of male health. The course focuses on the biological, sociocultural, economic and gender influences that shape men's health beliefs and practices. It also emphasizes health disparities in the USA among Black/African American men compared to other racial groups and intervention strategies to improve health outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The lecture and laboratory components of the course were designed as a blended learning environment with a modified flipped class …

Board Of Directors Meeting Minutes (February 14, 2022), Dmacc

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

This file contains the minutes from the Des Moines Area Community College Board meeting held on February 14, 2022.

Does A School Snack Make A Difference? An Evaluation Of The World Food Programme Emergency School Feeding Programme In Lebanon Among Lebanese And Syrian Refugee Children, Zeina Jamaluddine, Chaza Akik, Gloria Safadi, Sara Abou Fakher, Nehmat El-Helou, Soha Moussa, Dominique Anid, Hala Ghattas Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

Objective: To investigate the effects of providing a daily healthy school snack on children's nutritional, social and educational outcomes and explore stakeholders' perceptions of an emergency school feeding programme (SFP). Design: Convergence triangulation mixed-methods study design. Associations were examined between receiving the school feeding intervention and children's outcomes using multivariable regression models. Quantitative data were complemented with interviews and focus group discussions with parents and staff. Setting: In vulnerable communities in Lebanon, the World Food Programme has implemented an emergency SFP targeting Lebanese (attending morning sessions) and Syrian refugee children (attending afternoon sessions) in public schools. Participants: Children from ten …

Hybrid Seed Set In Relation With Male Floral Traits, Estimation Of Heterosis And Combining Abilities For Yield And Its Components In Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.), Samira El Hanafi, Souad Cherkaoui, Zakaria Kehel, Miguel Sanchez-Garcia, Jean-Benoit Sarazin, Stephen Baenziger, Wuletaw Tadesse

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Breeding hybrids with maximum heterosis requires efficient cross-pollination and an improved male sterility system. Renewed efforts have been made to dissect the phenotypic variation and genetic basis of hybrid floral traits, although the potential of tailoring the appropriate flower design on seed setting is less known. To this end, elite wheat genotypes were crossed using a chemical hybridizing agent at different doses. A total of 23 hybrids were developed from a partial diallel design; and planted in an alpha lattice design with their parents at two locations in Morocco, for two years, to evaluate for yield components, heterosis and combining …

The Astounding World Of Glycans From Giant Viruses, Anna Notaro, Chantal Abergel, Rosa Lanzetta, Todd L. Lowary, Antonio Molinaro, Michela Tonetti, James L. Van Etten, Cristina De Castro

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Viruses are a heterogeneous ensemble of entities, all sharing the need for a suitable host to replicate. They are extremely diverse, varying in morphology, size, nature, and complexity of their genomic content. Typically, viruses use host-encoded glycosyltransferases and glycosidases to add and remove sugar residues from their glycoproteins. Thus, the structure of the glycans on the viral proteins have, to date, typically been considered to mimick those of the host. However, the more recently discovered large and giant viruses differ from this paradigm. At least some of these viruses code for an (almost) autonomous glycosylation pathway. These viral genes include …

What Kigali’S Open‑Air Markets Reveal About Achieving Food And Nutrition Security: The Role Of African Indigenous Crops, Eugene Baraka, Mary S. Willis, Brice A. Ishimwe

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Household dietary diversity in Rwanda remains low and significantly contributes to the double burden of malnutrition. Rwanda has one of the highest under five stunting rates globally, and malnutrition remains one of the most pressing public health issues; therefore, factors that shape food and nutrition security are of utmost concern. Globally, the variety of foods available in open-air markets has been shown to affect dietary diversity. Furthermore, the consumption of indigenous foods can contribute to a diverse diet and improve nutrition status. At present, there are limited data on foods available for purchase in open-air markets in Africa. …

Stain-Free Detection Of Embryo Polarization Using Deep Learning, Cheng Shen, Adiyant Lamba, Meng Zhu, Ray Zhang, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Changhuei Yang

Open Access Publications

Polarization of the mammalian embryo at the right developmental time is critical for its development to term and would be valuable in assessing the potential of human embryos. However, tracking polarization requires invasive fluorescence staining, impermissible in the in vitro fertilization clinic. Here, we report the use of artificial intelligence to detect polarization from unstained time-lapse movies of mouse embryos. We assembled a dataset of bright-field movie frames from 8-cell-stage embryos, side-by-side with corresponding images of fluorescent markers of cell polarization. We then used an ensemble learning model to detect whether any bright-field frame showed an embryo before or after …

Fungal Mycobiome Drives Il-33 Secretion And Type 2 Immunity In Pancreatic Cancer, Aftab Alam, Eric Levanduski, Parker Denz, Helena Solleiro Villavicencio, Maulasri Bhatta, Lamees Alhorebi, Yali Zhang, Eduardo Cortes Gomez, Brian Morreale, Sharon Senchanthisai, Jun Li, Steven G Turowski, Sandra Sexton, Sheila Jani Sait, Prashant K Singh, Jianmin Wang, Anirban Maitra, Pawel Kalinski, Ronald A Depinho, Huamin Wang, Wenting Liao, Scott I Abrams, Brahm H Segal, Prasenjit Dey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

TH2 cells and innate lymphoid cells 2 (ILC2) can stimulate tumor growth by secreting pro-tumorigenic cytokines such as interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-5, and IL-13. However, the mechanisms by which type 2 immune cells traffic to the tumor microenvironment are unknown. Here, we show that oncogenic KrasG12D increases IL-33 expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, which recruits and activates TH2 and ILC2 cells. Correspondingly, cancer-cell-specific deletion of IL-33 reduces TH2 and ILC2 recruitment and promotes tumor regression. Unexpectedly, IL-33 secretion is dependent on the intratumoral fungal mycobiome. Genetic deletion of IL-33 or anti-fungal treatment decreases TH2 and ILC2 infiltration and increases …

Developing Microbial Co-Culture System For Enhanced Polyhydroxyalkanoates (Pha) Production Using Acid Pretreated Lignocellulosic Biomass, Rijuta Ganesh Saratale, Si-Kyung Cho, Avinash Ashok Kadam, Gajanan Sampatrao Ghodake, Manu Kumar, Ram Naresh Bharagava, Sunita Varjani, Supriya Nair, Dong-Su Kim, Han-Seung Shin, Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the growing polymer industry, the interest of researchers is captivated by bioplastics production with biodegradable and biocompatible properties. This study examines the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production performance of individual Lysinibacillus sp. RGS and Ralstonia eutropha ATCC 17699 and their co-culture by utilizing sugarcane bagasse (SCB) hydrolysates. Initially, acidic (H2SO4) and acidified sodium chlorite pretreatment was employed for the hydrolysis of SCB. The effects of chemical pretreatment on the SCB biomass assembly and its chemical constituents were studied by employing numerous analytical methods. Acidic pretreatment under optimal conditions showed effective delignification (60%) of the SCB biomass, leading to a maximum hydrolysis …

Edi Leaders Circle Symposium Program Booklet, 2022, Illinois State University

EDI Leaders Circle Symposium

We are pleased to offer a full-day event that inspires you in your EDI journey and empowers your entire team. Based on fall 2021 survey feedback from the EDI campus leaders, the spring 2022 Symposium includes specialty sessions aligned with Illinois State University’s “10 EDI Pillars of Progress”. These sessions will provide you and your team members with the skills, strategies, and ideas needed to effectively implement your EDI goals in your units, schools, departments, and colleges. Additionally, the day will offer ample opportunities to exchange concrete ideas to move your EDI committees forward with colleagues. On behalf of our …

Communication Fatigue Among Egyptian School Teachers, Nahla El Gendy

Theses and Dissertations

Communication fatigue is a situation when a person is no longer able to engage in communication. This study, which is one of the very first in the field, determines the antecedents and consequences of communication fatigue among Egyptian school teachers to be used as a guide for decision makers in the educational sector. Communication between teachers and students is fundamental in the learning process and understanding the antecedents and consequences of communication fatigue is meant to improve the communication between teachers and students and positively reflect on the learning process.

This study answers three main research questions: What is communication …

Modification Of Superabsorbent Hydrogels For Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Md. Owaleur Rahman, Md. Abdul Halim, Anjan Deb, Shafi Ahmed, Md. Wasikur Rahman, N. C. Dafader, S. M. Nur Alam, Shahjalal Khandaker, Md. Jahangir Alam

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

A breakthrough in superabsorbent hydrogel (SAH) preparation was studied in the current issue by blending potato starch and acrylic acid for wastewater treatment. Gamma irradiation source (60Co irradiation) was used to irradiate SAH from 1 to 10 kGy dose at room temperature (~27°C). The swelling ratio, water absorption, equilibrium water content, and gel fraction properties of the hydrogel were investigated. The as-prepared hydrogel treated with KOH (THG) showed excellent absorption capacity but less mechanical stability compared to untreated hydrogel (UHG). The gel fraction of treated SAH was slightly lower in methanol, but the utmost in water at 5 kGy infers …

Partial Purification And Characterization Of Exo-Polygalacturonase Produced By Penicillium Oxalicum Aumc 4153, Shamsan A. Almowallad, Ghedeir M. Alshammari, Muneer M. Alsayadi, Naofel Aljafer, Ekram A. Al-Sanea, Mohammed Abdo Yahya, Laila Naif Al-Harbi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Pectinase enzymes are important industrial enzymes having considerable applications in several industries, especially in food processing. Pectinases contribute 25% of global food enzyme sales. Therefore, the demand for a commercial enzyme with desirable characteristics and low production costs has become one of the great targets. Hence, this study aims to produce exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG) using local fungal isolate Penicillium oxalicum AUMC 4153 by utilizing sugar beet manufacturing waste (sugar beet pulp) as a sole raw carbon source under shaken submerged fermentation, which is purified and characterized to optimize enzyme biochemical properties for industrial application. The purity of the obtained exo-PG was …

Intranasal Dexamethasone: A New Clinical Trial For The Control Of Inflammation And Neuroinflammation In Covid-19 Patients, Graciela Cárdenas, María Chávez-Canales, Ana María Espinosa, Antonio Jordán-Ríos, Daniel Anica Malagon, Manlio Fabio Márquez Murillo, Laura Victoria Torres Araujo, Ricardo Leopoldo Barajas Campos, Rosa María Wong, Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarenga

School of Medicine Publications

Background: By end December of 2021, COVID-19 has infected around 276 million individuals and caused over 5 million deaths worldwide. Infection results in dysregulated systemic inflammation, multi-organ dysfunction, and critical illness. Cells of the central nervous system are also affected, triggering an uncontrolled neuroinflammatory response. Low doses of glucocorticoids, administered orally or intravenously, reduce mortality among moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. However, low doses administered by these routes do not reach therapeutic levels in the CNS. In contrast, intranasally administered dexamethasone can result in therapeutic doses in the CNS even at low doses.

Methods: This is an approved open-label, multicenter, …

What Are We Trying To Do Here? Epistemic Racism In Human Rights Teaching, Angelina Snodgrass Godoy

International Journal of Human Rights Education

Across the disciplines, universities increasingly incorporate course offerings focusing on human rights in which students examine problems that disproportionately affect communities of color. Instructors often assume our teaching about these issues contributes to the cause of social justice by spotlighting the problems themselves, but this research challenges that assumption. Based on interviews with students of color enrolled in social justice courses at a U.S. public R1 university, this article explores the ways students described their experiences as a form of epistemological racism rooted in the privileging of academic perspectives, themselves laden with legacies of exclusion, over ways of knowing rooted …

Three Boys, Three Murders: Children’S Rights, State Violence And The Open Wound Of The U.S.-Mexico Border, Genevieve M. Negrón-Gonzales

International Journal of Human Rights Education

This article examines the killing of three teenage boys at the U.S.-Mexico border between 2010 and 2013. Through an examination of these murders at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Enforcement agents, the article argues that the murders of Sergio Adrían Hernández Guereca, José Antonio Elena Rodríguez and Cruz Marcelino Velasquez Acevedo at the U.S.-Mexico border exemplify the reality that not all children are afforded the so-called universal protection of childhood as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights law. We can see how the state …

Regenerative Tourism Model: Challenges Of Adapting Concepts From Natural Science To Tourism Industry, Asif Hussain, Marie Haley

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The study proposes a regenerative tourism model. The application of the natural science ideas of regeneration needs to be clarified before the tourism industry can adopt a regenerative tourism model. Without such clarification, there is a high risk of ‘green washing’ and inappropriate adaption of a regenerative model. The borrowing of natural science to industry and its application in social sciences confuse the essence of the true concept of regeneration. In a regenerative agriculture context restoring a holistic system that mimics nature and includes social and economic spheres contributes to improving the whole system. When a social system aims to …

International And Domestic Tourist Hunting: A Critical Review On Environmental And Socio-Economic Implications In Sub-Saharan Africa, Abel A. Mamboleo

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

Tourist hunting is a regular consumptive wildlife utilization occurring within and outside core protected areas for trophies and leisure attainments. It is one of the most renowned tourism undertakings which involve the killing of animals for recreational purposes. In essence, hunters acquire trophies for different purposes including production of decorations and traditional medicines. Currently, there is a hot debate on whether to continues or cease tourist hunting as animal activists, some conservation stakeholders believe that hunting is cruel to animals and threat to ecosystems. In this paper, the author reviewed and analyzed various documented evidences which opponents and proponents of …

Release Of A New Forage Bermudagrass Cultivar From The Usda-Npgs Cynodon Collection, Esteban F. Rios, José C. B. Dubeux Jr., João M. B. Vendramini, M. Wallau, C. H. Lopes De Souza, A. J. Grossman, Y. Lopez, P. Munoz, W. Anderson, L. Baxter, M. S. Castillo, M. C. Saha, K. Quesenberry, A. Blount, P. Reith, K. Kenworthy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Warm-season perennial grasses are the backbone of the pasture-based livestock industry in the southeastern USA. In Florida specifically, bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) and bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) support 1 million head of cattle and 15,000 beef cattle operations. Bermudagrass is the most widely planted forage species in the southeastern USA, planted in approximately 15 million ha and used for grazing, hay and silage. The genus Cynodon is native to southern Africa and germplasm collections have revealed a high degree of genetic variability within the genus. The United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) maintains a collection …

Relationship Between Semi-Arid Rangelands Quality Parameters And Vegetation Indexes, P. Toro-Mujica, D. Enriquez-Hidalgo, S. Escobar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A large portion of the sheep production systems in the semi-arid zone of Central Chile base their feeding on the rangelands, adjusting both the production cycle and the use of supplementary feed to the natural supply of fodder. In this way, knowledge of the rangeland quantity and quality at the farm level emerges as an essential input for the decision-making of feed management. The objective of the study was to relate the herbage quality parameters of the semi-arid zone rangeland with Vegetation Indices (VI) and to determine which vegetation index report the best results. Vegetative indexes were obtained from aerial …

Predicting Forage Intake By Sheep Through The Pampa Corte Model Or Nrc, C. A. Pozo, Gilberto V. Kozloski, H. M. N. Ribeiro Filho, J. F. Tourrand, Vicente Celestino Pires Silveira

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the Pampa Corte and National Research Council (2007; NRC) models for predicting forage intake (FI) by sheep. Individual data (n = 213) of observed FI, body weight and chemical composition of consumed diet were taken from fifteen indoor digestibility trials conducted with male sheep housed in metabolic cages and fed only forage ad libitum. The diets were composed of tropical grasses, temperate grasses and legumes. Individual observations of FI were averaged by treatment (n = 32) into each experiment which were then compared to FI …

Performance Of Napier Grass (Cenchrus Purpureus L.) Genotypes Grown Under Limited Soil Moisture, E. Habte, M. S. Muktar, A. T. Negawo, A. M. Sartie, C. S. Jones

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus Schumach L.) is an important perennial forage native to Africa and grown in many tropical and subtropical countries. It is considered as a short-term drought tolerant forage which is a useful trait in areas that are characterized by low precipitation during the dry season. To exploit the potential of this grass and identify water use efficient (WUE) genotypes, a field drought stress trial was conducted at Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Eighty-four Napier grass genotypes were planted in a p-rep design in four replications. The genotypes were evaluated for forage performance during the dry season of 2019 and …