Life Sciences Commons^™

A Practical Approach To Sustainability In The Poultry Industry, Franco Mussini

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

This work highlights poultry industry advances in production, nutrition, and processing with less environmental impact. Specific sections address exogenous enzyme application on mineral nutrition and protein and feed-grade amino acid nutrition.  Finally, conclusions on precision feeding opportunities in the broiler industry and meat production comparison with other animal production industries are discussed.

Current State Of U.S. Soybean Industry, Gordon Denny

Proceedings of the Arkansas Nutrition Conference

This presentation highlights the current state of U.S. soybean production and the subsequent industrial manufacturing of oil and soybean meal.  The former has been quoted as being in “the midst of the most dramatic and significant changes in history.”  Reasons for the former are discussed.

Gas-Flux-Determination-Method Effects On Greenhouse Gas Emissions Andglobal Warming Potential From Soybean In Southeast Arkans, Jonathan B. Brye, Diego Della Lunga, Kristofor R. Brye

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Greenhouse gas (GHG) research and quantification have increased in importance recently due to climate change. Non-flow-through chamber systems collect large quantities of gas concentration data to determine the gas flux, but gas-flux-determination (GFD) methods can vary between regression models, how negative fluxes are considered, and what agroecosystem is evaluated, which makes selecting an analysis method complicated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of GFD method [i.e. linear (L) and exponential (E) regression models, with negative fluxes (WNF) and with reassigned negative fluxes (RNF)] on GHG fluxes, emissions, and global warming potential (GWP) from soybean (Glycine max) …

Investigating The Incorporation Of Milled Rice In Brewing Non-Alcoholic Beer To Enhance Sensory Quality, Christian Schubert, Rahul Sen, Nils Rettberg, Scott Lafontaine

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The influence of substituting barley malt with milled rice on the sensory and chemical characteristics of nonalcoholic beers (NAB) was investigated. Physicochemical and volatile analyses were conducted on the NABs. Original gravities ranged from 6.71% w/w (100% barley malt) to 7.15% w/w (100% rice), with alcohol contents between 0.33% v/v (70% barley/30 %rice) and 0.45 % v/v (100% rice). Color decreased from 10.8 EBC (100% barley malt) to 3.3 EBC (100% rice). Descriptive analysis sensory evaluations by trained panelists in the United States and European Union were used to characterize the sensory profiles of the NABs. Principal component analysis showed …

Relationships Between Larval Fish Drift, Time Of Day And Discharge In An Ozark Stream, Daniel D. Magoulick, Christy L. Graham

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examined the relationship between larval fish numbers and discharge during a high flow event in Bear Creek, Arkansas, a small Ozark stream. Additionally, we examined the relationship between fish numbers and time of day, and the spatial distribution of families and size classes. A total of 3,083 fish from five families were collected. Leuciscidae was the dominant family collected, followed by Percidae, and Catostomidae. Larval fish in Bear Creek were not susceptible to increased discharge from the flood event, as all three families exhibited strong significant negative relationships to discharge at night when discharge began to decline. Larval fish …

Temperature Variability And Its Effect On Seasonal Yield Of Rice In Bangladesh: A Long-Term Trend Assessment, Md. Abdullah Al Mamun, Md. Abdur Rouf Sarkar, Mou Rani Sarker, Andrew M. Mckenzie, Sheikh Arafat Islam Nihad, Akbar Hossain

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bangladesh, an agriculturally reliant and climate-vulnerable country, requires real-time quantification of climatic variables, such as temperature, to sustain food security. However, the effects of spatial and temporal temperature variations on rice productivity across seasons remain underexplored. Our study addresses this gap by analyzing temperature data from 35 meteorological stations (1970-2020) using parametric and nonparametric methods. The Mann-Kendall test revealed a pronounced increase in minimum temperatures compared to maximum temperatures, particularly during the monsoon season. K-means clustering identified four seasonal station clusters, revealing that rising minimum temperatures positively influenced Aus rice yields in seven regions, while temperatures above 35 degrees C …

New Geographic Distributional Records For Fishes From The Black River At Black Rock, Lawrence County, Arkansas, C. T. Mcallister, H. W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

During February and/or March 2020-2025, various fishes were collected with a modified minnow trap and hoop nets from the White River drainage of the Black River at Black Rock, Lawrence County, Arkansas. A total of 35 species within 11 families were collected and the following taxa represent new distributional records: Acipenseridae: Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens); Polydontidae: Paddlefish, Polyodon spathula; Catostomidae: Quillback (Carpiodes cyprinus), Highfin Carpsucker (Carpiodes velifer), Blue Sucker (Cycleptus elongatus), Northern Hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans); Leuciscidae: Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus). The most significant discoveries were the collection …

Rapid Detection Of Chicken Residues On Poultry Plant Surfaces Using Color And Fluorescence Spectrometry, Clark Griscom, Dongyi Wang, Corliss A. O'Bryan, Rimmo Room, Philip G. Crandall

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Color and fluorescence spectrometry were evaluated as rapid, objective tools for verifying the cleanliness of poultry-processing food-contacting surfaces contaminated with a model chicken solution across six common materials. Both techniques detected chicken residues at dilutions several orders of magnitude below human visual and olfactory thresholds, with stainless steel and blue plastic yielding the largest color differences between clean and contaminated states and fluorescence measurements remaining highly sensitive on all tested surfaces. Representative limits of detection were on the order of 1:50-1:100 dilution of chicken residue for color measurements on most surfaces and approximately 1:50 for fluorescence measurements, compared with human …

Short-Term Tillage Effects On Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Global Warming Potential From Soybean In Southeast Arkansas, Lauren Gwaltney, Kristofor R. Brye, Della Lunga Diego, Jonathan B. Brye, Trenton Roberts, Samuel B. Fernandes, Michael B. Daniels

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reduced tillage (RT) is a common conservation agriculture practice, generally regarded to be a valuable greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation approach through increasing soil carbon (C) stocks. However, direct GHG measurements from RT compared to conventional tillage (CT) treatments can vary greatly depending on site-specific soil properties and management practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of RT on soil-to-atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes and emissions, global warming potential (GWP), yield, and emissions intensity (EI) throughout the 2024 soybean (Glycine max) growing season in a southeast Arkansas production field. Bulk …

Preliminary Investigation Of Cecal Microbiota In Experimental Broilers Reared Under The Aerosol Transmission Lameness Induction Model, Anh Dang Trieu Do, Khawla Alharbi, Ruvindu Perera, Andi Asnayanti, Adnan Alrubaye

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO), and its associated lameness, is one of the most common and devastating issues the poultry industry constantly faces, both globally and domestically. Leveraging the currently accepted "leaky gut" model of pathogenesis, this study aims to evaluate the cecal community of broilers reared under the aerosol transmission BCO induction model. A trial involving 1320 Cobb 500 broilers was conducted using the same induction model for 56 d with the following treatments: (1) positive control (PC)-untreated birds on wire-flooring pens; (2) negative control (NC)-untreated birds on litter-flooring pens; (3) LOW-birds treated with probiotic Enterococcus faecium spray on …

Incidence Of Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis Lameness In Commercial Duck Flocks In Mojokerto, Indonesia, Andi Asnayanti, Siti Azizah, Anif Mukaromah Wati, Ahmad Ridwan, Ahmad Arman Dahlan, Dinda Rosalita, Anh Dang Trieu Do, Adnan Alrubaye

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis (BCO) lameness is an infection of opportunistic bacteria in the structural skeletal bones impacting multiple animal species, particularly poultry species. BCO lameness results in significant financial losses to industrial poultry production and increases the risk of foodborne illnesses, posing a major threat to consumers' food safety. As BCO lameness is an inherent risk of fast body weight gain in poultry species, especially broiler chickens, abundant studies have been conducted in broilers and turkeys. Nevertheless, BCO lameness incidence in ducks remains elusive. Thus, this is the first survey investigating the prevalence of BCO lameness cases in ducks. …

Acid And Sequential Acid–Alkali Extraction To Mitigate Enzyme Activity And Off-Flavors In Chickpea Protein: Implications On Structural, Functional, And Bioactive Properties, Kavitha Lakshmipathy, Sukanya Poddar, Nikitha Modupalli, Scott Lafontaine, Md Mahfuzur Rahman

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Chickpea proteins offer significant nutritional and functional benefits in food products; however, their utilization is often restricted by off-flavors, primarily for lipoxygenase (LOX) and lipase activity. This study aims to develop a novel extraction method by combining acid (pH 2.0) extraction with the conventional alkali (pH 9.0) method to inactivate enzymes and enhance protein quality. Acid-extracted proteins exhibit the highest purity (83.4%), albumin content, and structural flexibility (46.65% random coil). Both acid and sequential acid-alkali-extracted proteins significantly reduced LOX (0.75 and 0.88 U/g) and lipase (0.10 and 0.08 U/g) activity. Acid extraction significantly lowers volatile compounds such as hexanal (0.0409 …

Identifying Stable Parental Lines For Stripe Rust Resistance In Soft Red Winter Wheat, Ehsan Shakiba, David Moon

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, continues to be a major challenge in soft red winter wheat (SRWW) production, especially in the southern United States. In this area, mild winters and wet springs frequently lead to early and severe disease outbreaks. Although many lines demonstrate resistance in a single season, that resistance often does not last across multiple years. For breeding programs, this variability makes it hard to identify truly reliable lines. In this study, we evaluated 111 SRWW breeding lines over three consecutive growing seasons (2021-2024) under artificial inoculation in field conditions in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Stripe …

Genome-Wide Study Of Salt Tolerance In Usda Tomato Germplasm At Seedling Stage, Ibtisam Alatawi, Haizheng Xiong, Hanan Mohammedsaeed Alkabkabi, Kenani Chiwina, Yuejun Qu, Renjie Du, Qun Luo, Kai-Shu Ling, Ainong Shi

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Salinity is a major constraint on tomato production, increasingly intensified by climate change. This study aimed to develop superior salt-tolerant tomato cultivars by evaluating genetic variation in salt tolerance, identifying associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and applying genomic prediction (GP). A total of 265 tomato accessions from the USDA germplasm collection were evaluated at the seedling stage under controlled greenhouse conditions with saline stress (200 mM NaCl). Nineteen accessions were identified as salt-tolerant, exhibiting a leaf injury score (LIS) < = 3.0 (on a 1-7 scale) and less than 40% chlorophyll reduction compared to non-stressed controls. GWAS was conducted using 27,046 SNPs generated via genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), utilizing five models in GAPIT3 (GLM, MLM, MLMM, FarmCPU, and BLINK), three models in TASSEL 5 (SMR, GLM, and MLM), and three models in rMVP (GLM, MLM, and FarmCPU). Eight SNPs with LOD scores > 5.73 were significantly associated with salt tolerance (RST_C), located on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, …

Displaced Myonuclei Are Attributable To Both Resident Myonuclear Migration And Stem Cell Fusion During Mechanical Loading In Adult Skeletal Muscle, Nathan Serrano, Pieter Jan Koopmans, Kevin A. Murach

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Faculty Publications and Presentations

Non-peripheral (displaced) myonuclei are characteristic of skeletal muscle pathology and severe injury but also appear after exercise and with aging. Displaced myonuclei are typically attributed to the activity of muscle stem cells, or satellite cells. We sought to address whether displaced myonuclei in adult skeletal muscle are exclusively from an exogenous source such as satellite cells or can result from resident myonuclear migration. To address this question, we used a murine recombination-independent muscle fibre-specific doxycycline-inducible fluorescent myonuclear labelling approach, EdU stem cell fate tracking, two durations of plantaris muscle mechanical overload (MOV, 3 days and 7 days), and fluorescent histology. …

Automated Detection Of Kinky Back In Broiler Chickens Using Optimized Deep Learning Techniques, Ramesh Bahadur Bist, Andi Asnayanti, Anh Dang Trieu Do, Yang Tian, Chaitanya Palleria, Dongyi Wang, Adnan Alrubaye

Food Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The global poultry industry faces growing challenges from skeletal disorders, with Kinky Back (KB) significantly impacting broiler welfare and production. KB causes spinal deformities that reduce mobility, feed access, and increase mortality. It often remains undetected in early subclinical stages. Traditional KB diagnosis methods are slow and subjective, and highlighting the need for an automated and objective detection. This study develops a machine learning approach for detecting KB in broilers using image data. Male Cobb 500 broilers were raised under controlled conditions and monitored over 7 weeks using overhead 4K video cameras. Behavioral and posture data related to KB were …

Exploring Retention And Satisfaction Among Arkansas County-Level Cooperative Extension Employees: A Job Embeddedness Perspective, Rebecca M. Simon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This quantitative study investigated the retention of county-level employees within the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (CES) using Job Embeddedness Theory (JET) as the theoretical framework. The research aimed to describe levels of job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and intent to stay, and to examine the relationships among these variables. A census of 328 CES employees was conducted, yielding a 53% response rate. Data were collected through a validated online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression. Results indicated high scores in organizational fit and sacrifice dimensions, while links to organization and community were comparatively lower. Age …

The Price Of Priorities: How Human Choices Fuel Climate And Ecological Decline, Keisha Hickman

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the ways in which human priorities and behaviors contribute to the escalating climate crisis and ecological systems. We will first analyze the role of social media in shaping public discourse on climate change and critically evaluate the priorities of institutions that have the means to assist in wildlife conservation. Both speak to the current behaviors of humankind prioritizing their own entertainment over meaningful efforts to mitigate climate change and preserve biodiversity. We will then shift to exploring the profound impact of human population growth and its associated activities on other species and ecosystems. Finally, the thesis will …

Factors Affecting Diet Selection In Sheep Fed Endophyte-Infected Toxic Fescue, Jordan Thomas

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tall fescue infected with endophyte‑producing fungi can induce fescue toxicosis in grazing ruminants, reducing performance and altering forage intake. Isoflavones—such as biochanin A, a major compound in red clover (Trifolium pratense)—have been proposed to mitigate these effects through improved palatability and vascular relaxation. This study examined whether inclusion of ground red clover (GRC)—either directly or combined with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and polyethylene glycol (PEG)—affected voluntary diet selection in lambs offered toxic fescue.

Thirty‑two lambs were housed individually and assigned randomly to one of four diets: (1) toxic fescue silage (CONT), (2) silage + 5% GRC (RC5), (3) silage + 10% …

Essays On The Economics Of Farmland Valuation And Investment In U.S. Agriculture, Colson Tester

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents three empirical essays that collectively advance the understanding of farmland valuation in key U.S. agricultural regions, emphasizing the critical advantages of comprehensive, transaction-based data over traditional survey methods. Farmland represents a significant portion of agricultural wealth, and its accurate valuation is crucial for farmers, investors, and policymakers, influencing everything from credit access to investment strategies. Historically, research has often relied on subjective survey data, which can suffer from biases, inaccuracies, and insufficient granularity. This dissertation addresses these limitations by leveraging extensive datasets of arm’s-length farmland transactions, offering a more precise and market-driven perspective on land values. The …

Characterization Of Water Intake And Water Conversion Ratio For Male And Female Broilers From Four Commercial Broiler Lines Reared To Eight Weeks Of Age, J.Z. Hiltz, C.W. Maynard, T.W. Tabler, M.A. Maquesda, K.M. Shafer, K.B. Nelson, M.T. Kidd, N.B. Anthony, S.K. Orlowski-Workman

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increased interest and investigation into the sustainability of broiler production has led to a need for reliable and repeatable means to measure water intake and its conversion rate into salable meat. Therefore, a study was conducted to characterize the water intake and water conversion ratio (WCR) of male and female broilers from four modern broiler strains. Two of these lines represented fast growing broiler strains (FGB A and FGB B) targeting a small bird market and two represented high yielding broiler strains (HYB A and HYB B). Three replicates of 25 sexed broilers from each line were placed into 24 …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of An Air Purification System In Reducing Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis Lameness In Broiler Chickens, Abdulaziz Ali Alqahtani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) is the primary cause of lameness in commercial broiler production and has a profound impact on animal welfare and cost-effectiveness. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of an air purification system on mitigating BCO lameness in broiler chickens. One thousand eight hundred broiler chicks were reared in two side-by-side research barns. Eight air filtration units were installed in one building, and none in the other. Treatment groups in both houses included positive control birds on wire flooring to induce BCO, as well as negative control, feed additive, vaccination, and a combination …

Cattlefever: An Automated Cattle Fever Estimation System, Trong Thang Pham, Ethan Coffman, Beth Kegley, Jeremy G. Powell, Jiangchao Zhao, Ngan Le

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Farmers face the critical challenge of monitoring cattle well-being for both ethical and economic success, relying on signals like body temperature and facial expressions to assess their animals' health. However, these indicators have traditionally relied on human observation with manual measurement, which is time-consuming and subjective. Despite this clear need, no automated system currently exists for monitoring cattle body temperature, and available datasets remain limited in scope. To address these challenges, we make two key contributions: (i) We introduce CattleFace-RGBT, a novel RGB-Thermal (RGB-T) Cattle Facial Landmark dataset consisting of 2,300 paired RGB and thermal images (4,600 images in total), …

Advancing The Virus Diagnostic Toolkit: Development Of Accurate And Reliable Artificial Virus-Mimicking Positive Controls And Crispr-Based Detection, Habeeb Yinka Atanda

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate and reliable detection of plant viruses is critical for protecting berries and other economically important crops. Yet diagnostic programs face persistent challenges with positive control availability, biosafety concerns, and specificity limitations. This thesis advances the diagnostic toolkit for berry viruses through three complementary innovations that address fundamental gaps in current detection methodologies. First, this research developed and validated virus-mimicking artificial positive controls (ViMAPCs) for diverse viruses affecting berry crops for endpoint PCR applications. ViMAPCs incorporate size differentiation, which enables immediate visual gel band discrimination between control and natural infection signals. Amplification efficiency analysis demonstrated close correspondence with true-positive controls …

Investigating Nutrient Management & The Impacts Of Nitrogen On Blackberries Across Arkansas And The Southeast, Amanda Michelle Lay-Walters

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current blackberry (Rubus subgenus Rubus) research on nutrient needs, monitoring practices, and dynamics in the United States has primarily been conducted on cultivars popularly grown in the Pacific Northwest. Thus, regional research is required to understand the needs of blackberry cultivars grown in the southeastern U.S., with southeastern U.S. production practices. In 2022 and 2023, 12 cultivars of blackberry, across seven states, were leaf tissue sampled across multiple phenological stages for nutrient analysis. In Clarksville, AR from 2022 to 2024, six rates of N were applied to established ‘Ouachita’ blackberry plants. During the trial, plant yield, post-harvest fruit quality, fruit …

Anti-Inflammatory Effects In Apio Tuber, Jeehye Seo, Oluwatobi Amusat, Yu-Yun Wang, Annegret Jannasch, Sun-Ok Lee

Food Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Inflammation is a crucial component of the body’s defense system but can lead to chronic diseases when uncontrolled. Diets rich in anti-inflammatory compounds are recognized as an effective strategy for mitigating chronic inflammation. This study investigated the anti-inflammatory potential of Apio (Arracacia xanthorrhiza), an underutilized Andean tuber. The goal of this study was to explore the health-promoting properties of Apio tuber, which could expand its commercial value to support local farmers and contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices.

Phenolic compounds were extracted from white (WAT) and yellow Apio tuber (YAT), and Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity …

The Genetic And Environmental Determinants Of Stress Resilience Across Model Systems, Carson Len Stacy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Survival in fluctuating environments demands that organisms effectively anticipate and respond to future challenges. This capacity is shaped by both genetic background and environmental context. In this dissertation, I apply a population aware lens to explore how genetic diversity and environmental conditions intersect to shape stress survival. Integrating functional genomics and transcriptomics in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s yeast) and a vertebrate (common canary) system, I dissect gene-by-environment (GE) interactions that underpin resilience. First, I move beyond a single reference genome by using a pan-genomic CRISPR knockout screen to assess osmotic stress survival across diverse S. cerevisiae isolates. This analysis reveals a …

Effects Of Injectable Trace Mineral Timing On Calf Performance And Health Indicators, Marie E. Goulais

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One hundred and fourteen calves (average BW= 224kg ± 89kg) were utilized to evaluate the effects of injectable trace mineral (ITM) administration on calf performance and health when administered pre-weaning and at weaning. Calves were blocked by sex, stratified by age, and randomly assigned to one of the following treatment groups: 1) no ITM injection (CON), 2) ITM administered 28 d before weaning (PW), or 3) ITM administration at weaning (WEAN). Calves were vaccinated against respiratory pathogens on D-28 and D0. At weaning, cattle were transported to a local auction market, held overnight and returned the following morning. Body weight …

Hormonal Control Of Seawater Acclimation In The Intestine Of The Atlantic Killifish (Fundulus Heteroclitus), Karma Je Hine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Atlantic killifish (Fundulus Heteroclitus) is a teleost found in brackish water estuaries, which are subject to large fluctuations in salinity, that handles osmotic stress by triggering compensatory actions across their osmoregulatory organs. As the external salinity increases, the killifish intestine exhibits a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, as the protein composition of the gut epithelium can be modified to absorb desalinated water (H2O) from ingested seawater (SW). Three osmoregulatory hormones, prolactin (P), growth hormone (GH), and cortisol (F), have been observed to be crucial for these transitions to occur in many species of teleosts, including killifish. This research sought …

Validation Of Diagnostic Markers And Linkage Mapping In Vitis × Muscadinia Hybrids, Isabella Vaughn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Vitis genus comprises two subgenera, Vitis (2n = 38) and Muscadinia (2n = 40), both cultivated for wine, juice, and fresh-market fruit. Vitis vinifera cultivars produce high-quality fruit but are highly susceptible to diseases endemic to the southeastern United States, while muscadines (Muscadinia rotundifolia) provide exceptional disease resistance, heat tolerance, and environmental adaptability. Hybridizing these subgenera offers a path to combine fruit quality with disease resistance; however, wide Vitis × Muscadinia (V × M) crosses remain difficult due to differences in chromosome number, genetic divergence, and reproductive barriers that reduce fertility and recombination. Recent breeding efforts have introgressed stenospermocarpic …