Digital Commons Network^™

Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise

Georgia Journal of Science

Grassland bird populations are being lost at an alarming rate due to human modifications to grassland ecosystems. Grassland restoration has been shown to mitigate population declines for many species that use these habitats at some point in their annual cycles. We examined capture rates of adult, breeding, and hatch-year birds at a restored grassland site in the piedmont of central Georgia to determine whether colonization, breeding success, hatching success, and recruitment processes were impacting populations of grassland birds. We banded birds approximately twice per month from January 2009 through December 2021 at Panola Mountain State Park. Restoration efforts started in …

Bookbinding In The Middle Ages: Presenting Book History In A University Setting, Louisa Eastley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Original bindings on historical books can provide important and interesting context to the book’s contents, including the class status of the original owner, the aesthetic standards of the time period, and the priorities of the bookbinder. Oftentimes, however, the bindings are ignored or neglected by those interested solely in the book’s content.

This thesis project centered around providing visitors to the Harold B. Lee Library in Provo, Utah, with the opportunity to see books from the Middle Ages on exhibit, alongside educational material created to help them understand the significance and relevant characteristics of the books’ original bindings. The project’s …

A Pilot Study Of The Association Between Maternal Mid-Pregnancy Cholesterol And Oxysterol Concentrations And Labor Duration., Todd C. Rideout, Jaclyn Wallace, Xiaozhong Wen, Vanessa M. Barnabei, Kai Ling Kong, Richard W. Browne

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Previous animal model studies have highlighted a role for cholesterol and its oxidized derivatives (oxysterols) in uterine contractile activity, however, a lipotoxic state associated with hypercholesterolemia may contribute to labor dystocia. Therefore, we investigated if maternal mid-pregnancy cholesterol and oxysterol concentrations were associated with labor duration in a human pregnancy cohort.

METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of serum samples and birth outcome data from healthy pregnant women (N = 25) with mid-pregnancy fasting serum samples collected at 22-28 weeks of gestation. Serum was analyzed for total-C, HDL-C, and LDL-C by direct automated enzymatic assay and oxysterol profile including …

Hypomorphic Brca2 And Rad51c Double Mutant Mice Display Fanconi Anemia, Cancer And Polygenic Replication Stress, Karl-Heinz Tomaszowski, Sunetra Roy, Carolina Guerrero, Poojan Shukla, Caezaan Keshvani, Yue Chen, Martina Ott, Xiaogang Wu, Jianhua Zhang, Courtney D Dinardo, Detlev Schindler, Katharina Schlacher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The prototypic cancer-predisposition disease Fanconi Anemia (FA) is identified by biallelic mutations in any one of twenty-three FANC genes. Puzzlingly, inactivation of one Fanc gene alone in mice fails to faithfully model the pleiotropic human disease without additional external stress. Here we find that FA patients frequently display FANC co-mutations. Combining exemplary homozygous hypomorphic Brca2/Fancd1 and Rad51c/Fanco mutations in mice phenocopies human FA with bone marrow failure, rapid death by cancer, cellular cancer-drug hypersensitivity and severe replication instability. These grave phenotypes contrast the unremarkable phenotypes seen in mice with single gene-function inactivation, revealing an unexpected synergism between Fanc mutations. Beyond …

Smad2/3 Signaling In The Uterine Epithelium Controls Endometrial Cell Homeostasis And Regeneration, Maya L Kriseman, Suni Tang, Zian Liao, Peixin Jiang, Sydney E Parks, Dominique I Cope, Fei Yuan, Fengju Chen, Ramya P Masand, Patricia D Castro, Michael M Ittmann, Chad J Creighton, Zhi Tan, Diana Monsivais

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The regenerative potential of the endometrium is attributed to endometrial stem cells; however, the signaling pathways controlling its regenerative potential remain obscure. In this study, genetic mouse models and endometrial organoids are used to demonstrate that SMAD2/3 signaling controls endometrial regeneration and differentiation. Mice with conditional deletion of SMAD2/3 in the uterine epithelium using Lactoferrin-iCre develop endometrial hyperplasia at 12-weeks and metastatic uterine tumors by 9-months of age. Mechanistic studies in endometrial organoids determine that genetic or pharmacological inhibition of SMAD2/3 signaling disrupts organoid morphology, increases the glandular and secretory cell markers, FOXA2 and MUC1, and alters the genome-wide distribution …

World Café To Listening Café: Creating A Community Of Listeners And Learners, Mary Keator

Journal of Contemplative Inquiry

In Lectio Divina as Contemplative Pedagogy: Re-appropriating Monastic Practice for the Humanities (2018), I examined the ancient monastic practice of lectio divina as a contemplative method of reading, interpreting, and responding to sacred texts, and demonstrated how this method can be re-appropriated for use within the Humanities. Since the time of its publication, I have adapted this contemplative method in my literature courses as I find that it continues to keep the students the subject of their learning experience while strengthening their acumen to read, listen, interpret, and respond to texts. This article, which is a result of a SOTL …

Yoga For Social Justice: Developing Anti-Oppressive Tools For Change Through Yoga, Valin S. Jordan

Journal of Contemplative Inquiry

This paper presents the practice of yoga as both a method of pedagogy and inquiry to create transformative social justice praxis. The Sanskrit word yoga translates to yoke. The practice of yoga, rather the practice of creating a yoking or connection of body, mind, and spirit, provides an avenue for how transformation begins with the self, and then spreads into our collective engagements and anti-oppressive work. Through self-examination of body, mind, and spirit we are able to unearth the roots of oppression that exist within our being, in other words the embodiment of marginalization, oppression, and silence. I use autobiographical …

Embodied Pedagogies For Transformation: Bringing Yoga Strategies Into College Classrooms, Audrey Lundahl, Analouise Keating

Journal of Contemplative Inquiry

We argue that incorporating a yogic pedagogical approach in college classrooms, specifically classrooms that cover issues of race, gender, sexuality, and violence, allows an instructor and thus their students to focus on embodiment and specifically how our bodies hold physical and psychological wounds of oppression while creating new methods to understand oppression more deeply. We suggest that incorporating body awareness practices like yoga into the classroom can promote both personal healing and a deeper understanding of systemic oppression by demonstrating the connections between the two. Body-based pedagogy allows students to think critically, mindfully, holistically, and creatively about responding to injustice …

Construction Of Microsatellite-Enriched Libraries For Tropical Forage Species And Characterization Of The Repetitive Sequences Found In Brachiaria Brizantha, Letícia Jungmann, C. B. Do Valle, P. R. Laborda, Rosangela M. S. Resende, Liana Jank, A. P. De Souza

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Brazilian cattle herd comprises 185 million animals fed with about 177 million hectares of native and cultivated pastures (IBGE, 2002). Of the grass species used for forage in Brazil, the African genus Brachiaria is the most widely planted, followed by Panicum, which also has an African origin. Legumes of the Stylosanthes genus, native to the South America, have emerged in the last few years as potential forage species for use with the grasses. These forage species have been bred at Embrapa Beef Cattle and the breeding programs have shown the need for more genetic information including the use …

Muscular Strength Predicts Phase Angle In Breast Cancer Survivors, Trevor Short, Cheri Teranishi-Hashimoto, Paulette Yamada

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 4: Issue 1, Article 4, 2023. Phase angle (PhA) has emerged as a prognostic indicator of survival and quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients. Identifying measures of physical fitness that correlate with PhA can provide guidance toward optimizing cancer rehabilitation programs and future research. The purpose was to examine the relationship between PhA and physical fitness in breast cancer survivors. Sixty-three breast cancer survivors (60 ± 9 years, PhA 4.59±0.52, mean±SD) completed assessments for muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, and body composition. PhA and body composition were measured using bioimpedance …

Qtl Analysis Of Mineral Content And Grass Tetany Potential In Leymus Wildryes, S. R. Larson, H. F. Mayland

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grass tetany is a metabolic ailment in ruminants, occurring when animals graze rapidly growing C₃ grasses with a K/(Mg+Ca) ratio (KRAT) greater than 2.2. High KRAT values have been documented in several forage grasses including diploid Russian wildrye (Jefferson et al., 2001). The objective of this experiment was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling KRAT in allotetraploid wildryes.

Detecting Fauna Habitat In Semi-Arid Grasslands Using Satellite Imagery, N. A. Bruce, Ian D. Lunt, M. Abuzar, M. Mitchell

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Managing grasslands for biodiversity conservation is a relatively recent phenomenon and there is uncertainty over the most effective strategy. Past research has found that intermediate levels of disturbance (e.g. burning or grazing) may be required to maintain the natural mosaic of small-scale patterning required for a diverse range of flora and fauna species. For sustainable grassland management, appropriate methods of spatial assessment and temporal monitoring are required, to facilitate understanding of how past and present climate, land management and landscape features influence vegetation structure. Due to the expense and time-consuming nature of conventional ground-based monitoring, satellite remote-sensing techniques offer a …

An Evaluation Of Grazing Value Of Maize And Companion Crops For Wintering Lactating Ewes, E. A. Van Zyl, C. S. Dannhauser

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Northwestern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), in South Africa, is well known for its sheep production from natural rangeland in summer (October to May). During winter, however, the nutritional value of the rangeland cannot maintain young growing sheep or pregnant and lactating ewes. With this in mind, Lyle (1991) suggested the use of planted pastures for the winter. Crichton et al. (1998) and Esterhuizen & Niemand (1989) suggested the use of maize crop residues for both cattle and sheep during winter, whereas Moore (1997) evaluated grazing (not harvested) maize for this purpose. He found that the crude protein content of the crop was …

Rainfall And Grazing Impacts On The Population Dynamics Of Bothriochloa Ewartiana In Tropical Australia, D. M. Orr, Peter J. O'Reagain

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Bothriochloa ewartiana (desert bluegrass) is a palatable, native perennial (C4) grass of considerable importance to the northern Australian grazing industry. However, little is known of the interaction between grazing pressure and the highly variable rainfall found in this area, on its population dynamics. This paper reports interim results (1998-2004) from a long-term study, in which its population dynamics were examined under 3 grazing strategies.

Herbage Quality Of Dwarf Napier Grass Under A Rotational Cattle Grazing System Two Years After Establishment, Yasuyuki Ishii, A. A. Sunusi, M. M. Mukhtar, Sachiko Idota, Kiichi Fukuyama

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Dwarf Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) of a late-heading type (dwarf-late, DL), introduced by the Dairy Promotion Organization, Thailand, has a high over-wintering ability and is suitable for grazing. The objective of this study was to examine the digestibility and crude protein (CP) concentration of DL Napier grass both before and after rotational grazing in relation to the daily liveweight gain of cattle 2 years after establishment in the lowland area of Kyushu, Japan.

If The Beautiful See Themselves, They Will Love Themselves: Contemplative Practice And Cultural Healing, Veta Goler

Journal of Contemplative Inquiry

This essay, originally delivered as the 2nd annual Arthur Zajonc Lecture on Contemplative Education during CMind’s 2018 Contemplative Pedagogy Seminar, emphasizes the importance of works by black women artists in, and beyond, the context of the American black liberation struggle. Through discussions of the work of Dianne McIntyre, Alice Coltrane, Alice Walker, and Minnie Evans, the author demonstrates how the contemplative practices of creative expression are a means of growth and learning, helping all people to see their own beauty, connect with the Divine within, and thrive.

Advancing Black Youth Justice And Healing Through Contemplative Practices And African Spiritual Wisdom, Michelle C. Chatman

Journal of Contemplative Inquiry

Enduring constructs of inequity seem to perpetually devalue Black youth, casting them as insignificant and disposable. Critical contemplative pedagogy can help us disrupt the damaging narratives and systems that impede youth thriving, while also awakening us to a deeper knowing of justice. In this reflective essay, I offer a reimagining of Black youth through the use of contemplative practices and West African cultural wisdom.

Modelling Grazing Animal Distributional Patterns Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Techniques, M. R. George, N. R. Harris, N. K. Mcdougald, M. Louhaichi, M. D. Johnson, D. E. Johnson, K. R. Smith

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Predicting livestock distribution is crucial to reducing livestock impacts on environmentally critical areas. Attempts to model livestock distribution on rangelands have met with varying levels of success. Most of these models described conditions at specific sites and did not work well when they were applied to other sites. In part, the weakness of these models arises from a lack of connection to the spatial arrangement of the study area and the pattern shown by animal distributions. To model the influence of the factors on livestock distribution we developed the Kinetic Resource and Environmental Spatial Systems (KRESS) Modeller. The KRESS Modeler …

Preference Of Goats For Cool-Season Annual Clovers In The Southern United States, Thomas H. Terrill, W. F. Whitehead, G. Durham, Carl S. Hoveland, B. P. Singh, S. Gelaye

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the southern U.S.A., annual clovers provide high-quality winter and spring grazing for beef cattle and sheep. New Zealand data on white clover (Trifolium repens L.) suggests that goats do not prefer this plant as much as sheep (Clark et al., 1982) but little data are available on willingness of goats to consume different clover types in the USA.

Production Per Animal And Use Of Intake Estimatives To Predicted Animal Productivity In Pennisetum Purpureum Cv. Mott And Cynodon Spp Cv. Tifton 85 Pastures, Fernando L. F. De Quadros, A. R. Maixner, Gilberto V. Kozloski, D. P. Montardo, A. Noronha, D. G. Bandinelli, M. Da S. Brum, N. D. Aurélio

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Dairy production is a very important activity in southern Brazil, being an essential source of income to small household farms. Milk production from pastures is an alternative to reduce costs in dairy systems. Some C4 grasses, such as dwarf elephant grass (DEG) and Tifton 85, have presented high animal production per animal and per area. Although studies evaluating milk production from these pastures are rare in south Brazil, in vitro studies have demonstrated that the nutritional value of these forages is higher than production registered in grazing. So, it is possible that, in spite of a high intrinsic nutritional value, …

Ingestive Behaviour Of Steers In Native Pastures In Southern Brazil, C. E. Pinto, Paulo C. De F. Carvalho, A. Frizzo, J. A.S.F. Júnior, T. M. S. Freitas, Carlos Nabinger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Campos biome, particularly its native pastures, is the main resource for livestock production in southern Brazil (Boldrini, 1997). It has a huge floristic diversity in which more than 400 grass and 150 legume species are found. These pastures are very heterogeneous with horizontal as well as vertical structure. Hodgson (1985) stressed the importance of sward structure upon diet selection, emphasizing the difficulties animals could have to access all pasture layers in temperate pastures. This experiment investigates how variation in herbage allowance along the growing season influences the ingestive behaviour of steers.

Translational Genomics For Alfalfa Varietal Improvement, G. D. May

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Key points

1. Medicago truncatula is a model legume with available mapping, genome, and RNA, protein and metabolite profiling databases and genetically diverse populations.
2. Genomics resources developed for M. truncatula have application in the study and improvement of alfalfa making it an excellent model for this forage legume.

Stocking Rate Theory And Profit Drivers In North Australian Rangeland Grazing Enterprises, Neil D. Macleod, A. J. Ash, John G. Mcivor

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Setting correct stock numbers is a key decision for successful pastoralism. In marginal environments, typified by northern Australia, this involves careful cattle herd management across landscapes and seasons characterised by heterogeneous land condition and extreme climatic uncertainty. Stocking rate theory which links animal production to stocking rates concentrates only on liveweight gain of sale animals and ignores complex herd (e.g. reproduction, mortality) and pasture dynamics (e.g. land condition) and costs of maintaining stock numbers (e.g. supplementary feeding). Related economic models are generally naïve and incomplete, being based on liveweight gain, meat prices and variable husbandry costs (e.g. Workman, 1986). Modelling …

An Ecological And Economic Risk Avoidance Drought Management Decision Support System, R. K. Heitschmidt, L. T. Vermeire

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Ecologists have long recognized the fundamental impacts of drought on rangeland structure and function. Simulation models have been developed to increase our understanding of these impacts as they relate to forage production, particularly for predictive purposes. Although the capacity of these models to accurately predict quantity and quality of forage produced under varying climatic conditions is often quite good, their ability to serve as an effective and proactive drought management decision support system is often limited. This is in large part because their complexity impedes their use by on-the-ground managers. The objective of this research was to develop a very …

Managing Resources By Grazing In Grasslands Dominated By Dominant Shrub Species, D. Magda, Cyril Agreil, Michel Meuret, E. Chambon-Dubreuil, P. -L. Osty

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The European natural grasslands are attracting new attention because of their environmental value as habitats for threatened fauna and flora species and their contribution to the diversity of landscapes. Those responsible for the implementation of the European agri-environmental policy are hence encouraging livestock farmers to adopt grazing practices that contribute to the conservation of grassland biodiversity especially by limiting encroachment by dominant shrubs. However, current scientific knowledge and technical information are often insufficient to connect flock feeding and the impact of grazing on shrub dynamics and livestock farmers are not very enthusiastic about restoring or conserving “plant mosaics” including shrubs …

Challenges In Modelling Live-Weight Change In Grazed Pastures In The Australian Subtropics, C. K. Mcdonald, A. J. Ash

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In sub-tropical regions there is enormous seasonal, annual and spatial variation in pasture quality and considerable variation in quality between pasture species. The heterogeneous structure of sub-tropical pasture swards means that process based modelling of liveweight change (LWC) is particularly difficult. In response to this complexity LWC has been expressed as a function of the length of the growing season and/or pasture utilization (McKeon et al. 2000), green leaf availability, or pasture availability and climate (Hirata et al. 1993). However, these relationships vary from year to year, often fail when species composition changes, and generally explain

Accumulation Of Polyphenols And Major Bioactive Compounds In Plantago Lanceolata L. As A Medicinal Plant For Animal Health And Production, Y. Tamura, K. Yamaki

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Producing animals without the use of feed-grade antibiotic growth promoters and chemical medicines is sought. Scientific studies with this aim have focused on medicinal plants to identify and quantify any beneficial effects that they might have on animal production. Plantago lanceolata L. has been used in herbal medicines and is currently being evaluated as a potential pasture species because of its beneficial effects on animal health. In the present study, the accumulation of polyphenols in P. Lanceolata is compared to that in principal pasture species, and genetic variation and environmental changes in the major bioactive compounds in P. Lanceplata are …

Effect Of Urea-Treated Pennisetum Pedicellatum And Supplementation Of Concentrates With Urea On Milk Production Of “Mossi” Ewes, V. M. C. Bougouma-Yameogo, A. J. Nianogo

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The “Mossi” sheep is a near parent of “Djallonke” sheep that live in sudano-sahelian area of Burkina Faso. However, there are few available results on dairy production from this breed. The treatment of straw with urea is a technique used in several developing countries to improve the nutritional value of gramineous forages (Sourabié et al., 1995). The aim of this study was to test the influence on the performance of “Mossi” ewes and on milk composition of treatment of Pennisetum pedicellatum (Pp) with urea in comparison with addition of urea to the concentrate feed.

Using The N-Alkane Technique To Estimate The Herbage Intake And Diet Composition Of Cattle Grazing A Miscanthus Sinensis Grassland, Y. Zhang, Y. Togamura, K. Otsuki

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Plant wax alkanes are now widely used as marker substances (Dove & Mayes 1991) for the estimation of forage intake and diet composition of grazing herbivores. The objective of this study was to evaluate this method with cattle grazing a M. sinensis grassland in Japan.

Reasons For The Premature Decline In Astragalus Adsurgens Stands In Kerqin Sandy Land, Qizhong Sun, Z. L. Wang, J. G. Han, Y. W. Wang, G. R. Liu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Diseases partly account for reductions in Astragalus adsurgens stand longevity. The effect of some cultural practices on the control of pests and diseases have been reported (Hou, 1986; Nan, 1996), but few reports have detailed the relationship among soil fertiliser status, diseases and premature stand decline. This study was conducted to investigate these relationships in order to extend the longevity of Astragalus adsurgens stands.