Life Sciences Commons^™

Groundwater Investigations To Support Irrigated Agriculture At La Grange, Western Australia: 2013–18 Results, Robert J. Paul, Gregory Paul Raper, Richard J. George Dr, Nicholas J. Wright, Adam M. Lillicrap, Peter S. Gardiner

Resource management technical reports

The Broome Sandstone aquifer is the main aquifer and groundwater resource in the La Grange area, near Broome in the West Kimberley, Western Australia. Land use is dominated by cattle grazing on pastoral stations, dispersed mining and tourism. Irrigated agriculture has developed at a small scale, with about 470 hectares under cultivation in 2014. Groundwater abstraction is licensed under the La Grange groundwater allocation plan (Department of Water 2010) and managed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The La Grange groundwater allocation area is split into the La Grange North subarea and La Grange South subarea, with groundwater …

Understanding The Fundamental Molecular Mechanism Of Osteogenic Differentiation From Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Imelda Trejo, Hristo V. Kojouharov

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A mathematical model is presented to study the regulatory effects of growth factors in osteoblastogenesis. The model incorporates the interactions among mesenchymal stem cells, osteoblasts, and growth factors. The resulting system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is studied analytically and numerically. Mathematical conditions for successful osteogenic differentiation and optimal osteoblasts population are formulated, which can be used in practice to accelerate bone formation. Numerical simulations are also presented to support the theoretical results and to explore different medical interventions to enhance osteoblastogenesis.

Impacts Of Eutrophication On Benthic Invertebrates & Fish Prey Of Birds In Farmington And Bear River Bays Of Great Salt Lake, Trip Armstrong, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Farmington Bay’s watershed is primarily in the heavily populated metropolitan Salt Lake City, and consequently, it receives approximately 50% of its inflow from nutrient‐ rich wastewater releases. The high nutrient loads make it eutrophic and reducing the loading has been suggested to reduce blooms of toxic cyanobacteria. However, the bay also supports thousands of wading birds and waterfowl, and there is concern that reducing nutrient inflows might reduce the production of bottom‐dwelling insects and other invertebrates that the birds rely upon.

Progression Magazine, 2019 Fall/Winter, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Comparison Study Of Mold Growth Resistance Of Plastic Based Material Flooring (Pbm Flooring) And Ceramic Tile Flooring, Jyothi Rangineni, Jeremy Tzeng

Publications

Clemson University Department of Biological Sciences and Tile Council of North America Product Performance Testing Laboratory evaluated whether ceramic tile and Plastic Based Material (PBM¹) flooring support mold growth when exposed to fungal spores.

Mold grows in moisture-rich environments and requires only minimal sources of nutrition to support growth. It has long been identified to cause damage to buildings and construction materials and its presence in buildings has been connected to many major health concerns with various studies and reviews published on this matter.²

The method used to evaluate mold growth was ASTM G21-96 (2015).³ This …

Humans, But Not Their Dogs, Displace Pumas From Their Kills: An Experimental Approach, Justin P. Suraci, Justine A. Smith, Michael Clinchy, Liana Y. Zanette, Christopher C. Wilmers

Biology Publications

Domestic dogs are the most abundant large carnivore on the planet, and their ubiquity has led to concern regarding the impacts of dogs as predators of and competitors with native wildlife. If native large carnivores perceive dogs as threatening, impacts could extend to the community level by altering interactions between large carnivores and their prey. Dog impacts may be further exacerbated if these human-associated predators are also perceived as indicators of risk from humans. However, observational approaches used to date have led to ambiguity regarding the effects of dog presence on wildlife. We experimentally quantified dog impacts on the behavior …

Parsing The Effects Of Demography, Climate And Management On Recurrent Brucellosis Outbreaks In Elk, Gavin C. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Jerod A. Merkle, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Zoonotic pathogens can harm human health and well‐being directly or by impacting livestock. Pathogens that spillover from wildlife can also impair conservation efforts if humans perceive wildlife as pests. Brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, circulates in elk and bison herds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and poses a risk to cattle and humans. Our goal was to understand the relative effects of climatic drivers, host demography and management control programmes on disease dynamics.
2. Using >20 years of serologic, demographic and environmental data on brucellosis in elk, we built stochastic compartmental models to assess the influences of climate forcing, …

Sagestep News, Fall 2019, No. 35, Sagestep

Newsletters

Seasonal newsletter of SageSTEP.

An Investigation Into The Relationships Between Bullying, Discrimination, Burnout And Patient Safety In Nurses And Midwives: Is Burnout A Mediator?, Judith Johnson, Lorraine Cameron, Lucy Mitchinson, Mayur Parmar, Gail Opio-Te, Gemma Louch, Angela Grange

HPD Articles

BACKGROUND: Bullying and discrimination may be indirectly associated with patient safety via their contribution to burnout, but research has yet to establish this. AIMS: The aims of this study were to investigate the relationships between workplace bullying, perceived discrimination, levels of burnout and patient safety perceptions in nurses and midwives and to assess whether bullying and discrimination were more frequently experienced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic than White nurses and midwives. METHODS: In total, 528 nurses and midwives were recruited from four hospitals in the United Kingdom to complete a cross-sectional survey between February and March 2017. The survey …

The Effects Of Seed-Applied Fluopyram On Root Penetration And Development Of Meloidogyne Incognita On Cotton And Soybean, Tracy Hawk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plant-parasitic nematodes are major pests of cotton and soybean in Arkansas, and across the Southern United States. These nematodes cause more than $3 billion worth of crop losses each year, in part due to lack of available control tactics, such as nematicides. Fluopyram has recently been registered as a seed-treatment nematicide in agronomic crops. The toxicity of fluopyram against Meloidogyne incognita infection has been reported, however, information on root protection provided by fluopyram against Meloidogyne incognita is lacking. The first objective of this research was to evaluate the effect seed-applied fluopyram had on nematode development, root galling, and reproduction on …

Use Of Aerial Imagery And Novel Experimental Design To Determine The Distribution Of Foliar Diseases On Soybean And Improve Efficiency Of Product Testing, Mckayla Patterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soybeans are grown on approximately 1.3 million ha in Arkansas generating an estimated $1.7 billion annually. Foliar diseases on soybean can result in economic losses. Growers spend significant time and money on disease scouting via crop consultants and often (subsequent) fungicide applications. Fungicide trials are often arranged in small plots designs. In these scenarios, spatial variability of foliar disease is minimized. While it is advantageous to minimize variance outside of treatment differences, another limitation with many small plot trials is ample disease pressure or having only lower severity. Within a commercial production field, soil types and disease severities vary. Logically, …

Understanding How The Effectors Hopd1 And Hopg1 From The Bacterial Pathogen Pseudomonas Syringae Pv. Tomato Dc3000 Target The Arabidopsis Thaliana Protein Atnhr2b To Cause Disease In Plants, Catalina Maria Rodriguez Puerto

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The pathogenicity of Pseudomonas syringae is associated with the type III secretion system (T3SS), a complex of proteins assembled in the inner and outer bacterial membranes that traverses the plant cell wall to deliver bacterial proteins into the cytoplasm of plant cells. The effector proteins translocated into the plant cells are called Hops (Hypersensitive response and pathogenicity outer proteins). Bacterial effectors target plant immune proteins to suppress defense responses and enhance bacterial parasitism. The Arabidopsis thaliana nonhost resistance 2B (AtNHR2B), a recently identified immune protein, is degraded after inoculation with the adapted pathogen of Arabidopsis, P. syringae pv tomato DC3000 …

Cytotoxicity And Mutagenicity Of Disinfection Byproduct Mixtures Formulated Using Free Chlorine And Monochloramine, Yonas Ghebremedhin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bioassays have been used extensively to assess various toxicity endpoints of drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs), but an emphasis on single compounds prevails. In this research, DBP mixtures were assessed using a cytotoxicity test with Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and an Ames fluctuation test with Salmonella typhimurium TA-98 and TA-100 with and without S9 rat liver homogenate. Seven whole mixture DBP concentrates were formulated using reconstituted natural organic matter (NOM) extracts from the Upper Mississippi River using scaled disinfectant dosing protocols with free chlorine and monochloramine in the presence and absence of added bromide. DBPs were identified by gas …

Growth Differentiation Factor 11 Locally Controls Anterior-Posterior Patterning Of The Axial Skeleton., Joonho Suh, Je-Hyun Eom, Na-Kyung Kim, Kyung Mi Woo, Jeong-Hwa Baek, Hyun-Mo Ryoo, Se-Jin Lee, Yun-Sil Lee

Faculty Research 2019

Growth and differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) is a transforming growth factor β family member that has been identified as the central player of anterior-posterior (A-P) axial skeletal patterning. Mice homozygous for Gdf11 deletion exhibit severe anterior homeotic transformations of the vertebrae and craniofacial defects. During early embryogenesis, Gdf11 is expressed predominantly in the primitive streak and tail bud regions, where new mesodermal cells arise. On the basis of this expression pattern of Gdf11 and the phenotype of Gdf11 mutant mice, it has been suggested that GDF11 acts to specify positional identity along the A-P axis either by local changes in …

Comparative Analysis Of Metabolome Of Rice Seeds At Three Developmental Stages Using A Recombinant Inbred Line Population., Kang Li, Dehong Wang, Liang Gong, Yuanyuan Lyu, Hao Guo, Wei Chen, Cheng Jin, Xianqing Liu, Chuanying Fang, Jie Luo

Faculty Research 2019

Plants are considered an important food and nutrition source for humans. Despite advances in plant seed metabolomics, knowledge about the genetic and molecular bases of rice seed metabolomes at different developmental stages is still limited. Here, using Zhenshan 97 (ZS97) and Minghui 63 (MH63), we performed a widely targeted metabolic profiling in seeds during grain filling, mature seeds and germinating seeds. The diversity between MH63 and ZS97 was characterized in terms of the content of metabolites and the metabolic shifting across developmental stages. Taking advantage of the ultra-high-density genetic map of a population of 210 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived …

The Jax Synteny Browser For Mouse-Human Comparative Genomics., Georgi Kolishovski, Anna Lamoureux, Paul Hale, Joel E Richardson, Jill M. Recla, Omoluyi Adesanya, Allen K. Simons, Govindarajan Kunde-Ramamoorthy, Carol J Bult

Faculty Research 2019

Visualizing regions of conserved synteny between two genomes is supported by numerous software applications. However, none of the current applications allow researchers to select genome features to display or highlight in blocks of synteny based on the annotated biological properties of the features (e.g., type, function, and/or phenotype association). To address this usability gap, we developed an interactive web-based conserved synteny browser, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) Synteny Browser. The browser allows researchers to highlight or selectively display genome features in the reference and/or the comparison genome according to the biological attributes of the features. Although the current implementation for the …

Assessment Of Bones Deficient In Fibrillin-1 Microfibrils Reveals Pronounced Sex Differences., Lukas Altinbas, Nicole Bormann, Daniel Lehmann, Sarah Jeuthe, Dag Wulsten, Uwe Kornak, Peter N Robinson, Britt Wildemann, Georgios Kararigas

Faculty Research 2019

Defects in the extracellular matrix protein fibrillin-1 that perturb transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) bioavailability lead to Marfan syndrome (MFS). MFS is an autosomal-dominant disorder, which is associated with connective tissue and skeletal defects, among others. To date, it is unclear how biological sex impacts the structural and functional properties of bone in MFS. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sex on bone microarchitecture and mechanical properties in mice with deficient fibrillin-1, a model of human MFS. Bones of 11-week-old male and female Fbn1^mgR/mgR mice were investigated. Three-dimensional micro-computed tomography of femora and vertebrae …

Gmr40c09, Anuradha Venkatakrishnan Chimata, Oorvashi Roy Puli, Amit Singh

DVE Enhancer Sequences Utilized in GMR Line

dve enhancer

• ID - GMR40C09
• Location - 2R: 18132203, 18134987
• Base pairs - 2784

Gmr42a07, Anuradha Venkatakrishnan Chimata, Oorvashi Roy Puli, Amit Singh

DVE Enhancer Sequences Utilized in GMR Line

dve enhancer 45284

• ID - GMR42A07
• Location - 2R: 18146520, 18150306
• Base pairs - 3786

Responding To Crisis: Farmer Mental Health Programs In The Extension North Central Region, Shoshanah Inwood, Florence Becot, Andrea Bjornestad, Carrie Henning-Smith, Andrew Alberth

Counseling and Human Development Faculty Publications

A number of current events are exacerbating farm stress. Extension and farm organizations have mobilizedresponses to an emerging mental health crisis among farmers. To evaluate these responses, we conducted anonline scan of resources to present a baseline typology of current mental health programs and response effortsin the 12-state Extension North Central Region. We classified responses by type of program, target audience,and delivery format. We identified the need to train mental health counselors and state suicide hotlineresponders on farm issues and farm culture.

Determining Water Requirements In Turfgrass Systems, Tyler Quinn Carr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Turfgrass lawns are commonly utilized for home and commercial applications because of the aesthetic, environmental, and recreational benefits grasses provide, but many people perceive turfgrass as solely an aesthetic benefit that requires significant water inputs. It is important to identify and use turfgrass cultivars that have known drought tolerance, and also fine-tune and throughout development. A series of field experiments were conducted to determine the water requirements of turfgrass lawn systems with the following objectives: 1) investigate differences in chronic drought resistance and irrigation recommendations among cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) 2) …

The Physicochemical Properties Of Soy Protein Hydrolysate And Its Formulation And Stability With Encapsulated Probiotic, John Stricklin Edwards

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soy protein isolate (SPI) and probiotics can serve as a functional ingredient and beneficial supplement, respectively, to food formulations, but few studies focus on the compatibility of these two ingredients. The objective of this study was to prepare soy protein isolate (SPI) from defatted soybean flour and identify an optimal hydrolysis protocol to create soy protein hydrolysates (SPH) with improved solubility and functional properties and achieve an optimum encapsulation technique for probiotics and to determine the in vitro viability of encapsulated probiotic cells with SPH in a gastrointestinal environment. The SPI was prepared using an alkaline extraction procedure for solubility …

Recruitment Of Polycomb-Group Proteins At Giant In Drosophila Embryos, Elnaz Ghotbi Ravandi

Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins are evolutionarily conserved epigenetic transcriptional regulators that maintain the transcriptional repression of silenced genes. PcG mediated silencing is divided into two phases: initiation and maintenance. During the initiation phase, PcG proteins initially recognize and bind to their target genes. Once PcG proteins are recruited to their target genes, they can maintain transcriptional repression through an unlimited number of cell cycles. Most studies on PcG proteins have been focused on the maintenance phase of PcG silencing, and the molecular mechanisms by which PcG proteins are initially recruited to their target genes remained unknown. Two models have been …

Characterization Of The Dimerization Domains On The Mannose-6-Phosphate/Insulin-Like Growth Factor Ii Receptor, Tyler Degener

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The mannose-6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II (M6P/IGF2) receptor is a transmembrane protein known to sequester growth factors from the extracellular matrix. This behavior suggests a mechanism of tumor suppression. Structurally, the receptor’s extracellular region is segmented into 15 homologous repeats, which are divided further into 5 triplet domains, labelled 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15. What is notable about the triplets is their propensity to form dimers with triplets on a second M6P/IGF2 receptor. In fact, previous studies indicate that this protein functions optimally when dimerized. Thus, the purpose of this experiment is to characterize these domain interactions. Using a urea …

Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction With Traditional Docking Compared To Novel Surgical Techniques, Kayley D. Guy, Brendon P. Mcdermott, Kaitlin Gallagher, Tyrone Washington

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction (UCLR) is a surgical procedure on one of the main ligaments that provides normal stability for the elbow joint against excessive valgus stress. Damage to this ligament is common in athletes performing overhead throwing activities, primarily baseball players, due to excessive valgus stress during the throwing motion. The most common form of treatment for this type of injury is reconstructive surgery of the ligament, especially if athletes wish to return to sport participation. This type of surgery is extremely invasive and requires extensive post-operative rehabilitation in order to facilitate return to play. To date, many …

Enteric Methane And Nitrogen Emissions In Beef Cattle Grazing A Tannin-Containing Legume Relative To Feedlot And Traditional Pasture-Based Production Systems, Raúl David Guevara Ballesteros

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Beef cattle production is highly criticized because of the high use of land and water resources, and by the pollution (e.g., the gas methane in a cow’s breath and nitrogen in urine) produced by cows fed in feedlots. In contrast to feedlots diets and grasses, some plants (e.g., legumes) contain bioactive compounds (condensed tannins) that reduce pollution and enhance animal nutrition. In my research, I observed that cows grazing a tannin-containing legume (birdsfoot trefoil; BFT) had methane emissions similar to cows fed a feedlot ration with comparable weight gains. Cows in the BFT treatment gained more weight than cows grazing …

Effects Of Soil-Borne Pathogens On Seedling Establishment Patterns In Forest Systems, Eric P. Sodja

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Janzen-Connell mechanism is proposed to maintain plant diversity: predators and diseases of seeds reduce the number of seeds that survive near a parent tree, but allow seeds far from the parent tree to grow into adulthood. In the area where seeds don’t survive, seedlings from other tree species which are not affected by the seed consumer can grow. At large scales, this effect is thought to increase overall plant diversity. Soil-borne pathogens can contribute to seed mortality in this way, but we don’t know how important different parts of their lifecycle are in creating Janzen-Connell patterns. To determine the …

Assessing & Protecting Dark Night Skies In El Morro National Monument, Leslie Kobinsky

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Light pollution is causing the disappearance of dark night skies around the world. In the United States alone, 1/3 of people are unable to see the Milky Way where they live (Ramlagan, 2016). National Park Service sites contain some of the darkest skies in the country. Here at El Morro National Monument, these dark skies are a beautiful and healthy benefit to people in the local community and visitors traveling from afar. El Morro’s current park legislation does not include specific measures of protection for the night sky. This capstone project will create a baseline data set of night sky …

Changes In The Diet And Body Size Of A Small Herbivorous Mammal (Hispid Cotton Rat, Sigmodon Hispidus) Following The Late Pleistocene Megafauna Extinction, Catalina P. Tomé, Emma A. Elliott Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, Seth D. Newsome, Felisa A. Smith

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The catastrophic loss of large-bodied mammals during the terminal Pleistocene likely led to cascading effects within communities. While the extinction of the top consumers probably expanded the resources available to survivors of all body sizes, little work has focused on the responses of the smallest mammals. Here, we use a detailed fossil record from the southwestern United States to examine the response of the hispid cotton rat Sigmodon hispidus to biodiversity loss and climatic change over the late Quaternary. In particular, we focus on changes in diet and body size. We characterize diet through carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen …

Evaluation Of A Proprietary Slow-Release Oxytocin Therapy And Return Of The Luteolytic Mechanism In Mares, Brendan Andrew Sarnecky

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Prolonging function of the corpus luteum (CL) is a method of suppressing estrus that maintains secretion of endogenous progesterone to keep mares out of heat naturally. The use of oxytocin to prolong CL function is becoming more popular. In these therapies, upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 is inhibited, which impairs prostaglandin F2α ( PGF2α) production. Intramuscular (IM) administration of 60 IU of oxytocin once daily from 7 to 14 days after ovulation is currently the most common treatment protocol. Although that protocol is efficacious in ≥70% of treated mares, the need for daily administration is a drawback to its use. A proprietary …