Life Sciences Commons^™

Identification Of Sesquiterpenes In Wild Tomato Accessions With Activities Against The Potato Aphid And Their Tissue-Specific Engineering In Cultivated Tomato, Fumin Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas) poses a serious problem in the commercial production of horticultural crops including tomato, since it causes damage by stylet feeding and the transmission of viruses for which it serves as the vector. Application of conventional pesticides being the fundamental tactic in the control of the aphid is increasingly considered insufficient and problematic due to emerging pest resistances and biosafety issues, highlighting the continuing need to develop new efficient and sustainable approaches. Alternatively, glandular trichomes of plants are well-known epidermal hairy tissues producing various secondary metabolites that involve in plant-insect interactions, while the terpene …

Optimization And Analytics Of Decarbonized Forest And Biomass Supply Chains, Xufeng Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

First, a data-driven holistic analysis framework was developed to aid the industrial development of forest biomass for bioenergy to promote the regional bioeconomy. Leveraging the existing but fragmented multi-source data, four components of industrial bioenergy development were integrated into the framework including spatial statistical analysis of biomass feedstock and bioenergy production, machine learning-based suitability assessment, bioenergy plant sites identification and ranking, and socio-economic impacts assessment. A case study was conducted for forest biomass to pellet fuel in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. Our results indicate that the great potential of forest biomass with high variation at the county level is primarily …

Reduction Of Plasmid Vector Backbone Length Enhances Reporter Gene Expression, Carly Boye, Sezgi Arpag, Michael Francis, Scott Declemente, Aislin West, Richard Heller, Anna Bulysheva

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Gene therapy has a wide range of applications for various types of pathologies. Viral methods of gene delivery provide high levels of gene expression but have various safety concerns. Non-viral methods are largely known to provide lower levels of expression. We aim to address this issue by using plasmid DNA with smaller backbones to increase gene expression levels when delivered using non-viral methods. In this study we compare gene expression levels between two vectors with firefly luciferase encoding gene insert using liposome complexes and gene electrotransfer as delivery methods. A 2-fold reduction in plasmid vector backbone size, disproportionately enhanced gene …

Tooth Agenesis, Thomas Labarias

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

In this literature review, I will discuss tooth agenesis, which is a congenital absence of one tooth or more, and the terminology associated. I will then discuss and compare the studies regarding the etiology and the prevalences of tooth agenesis throughout the world population. The second half of the paper will cover tooth agenesis from a clinical standpoint. I will describe the capital different complications and phenotypes that tooth agenesis creates. In the last section, I will explain how tooth agenesis is medically treated, and the multidisciplinary management needed to improve the patient’s quality of life.

Sickle Cell Anemia & Associated Neurological Complications: A Literature Review, Rodjmar Joseph

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Sickle cell anemia, an inherited disorder, causes red blood cells to contort into a disk or sickled shape becoming hard and sticky and obstructing blood flow. As the most common hemoglobinopathy, over 100,000 Americans in the US are affected by sickle cell disease. Sickle cell anemia is an inheritance of the abnormal sickle cell gene genetically transferred from both parents. Sickle cell anemia can be easily diagnosed in DNA through a blood test or genetic screening. With a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting copies of the sickle cell gene from both parents if both biological parents are carriers, the …

Understanding Morphological Responses Of Typha (Cattail) Species To Nutrient Pollution, Anna Marie Shapiro

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In the Midwestern United States, Typha x glauca is a hybrid of the native Typha latifolia and the non-native Typha angustifolia. Typha x glauca is considered invasive, and it is dominating Typha latifolia when they co-occur. Wetlands in the Midwest face nutrient pollution, due to fertilization used within the agricultural industry. Wetlands are nutrient sinks, which store the increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. These nutrients are known to increase Typha growth. Within this thesis, it was hypothesized that an increase of nitrogen in the wetland may increase the width of Typha leaves, making it difficult to distinguish the …

Population Dynamics, Relative Abundance, And Habitat Suitability Of Adult Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus) In Nearshore Waters Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Crystal Hightower, J. Marcus Drymon, Amanda E. Jefferson, Matthew B. Jargowsky, Emily A. Seubert, Simon Dedman, John Mareska, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

In the Gulf of Mexico, the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) is an immensely popular sportfish, yet the Gulf of Mexico stock is currently managed as data-limited in federal waters. The results of the federal stock assessment conducted in 2016 for Gulf of Mexico red drum were not recommended for providing management advice. Consequently, we sought to address data gaps highlighted in the assessment by producing up-to- date overall and sex-specific growth models, standardized indices of relative abundance, and predictions of habitat suitability and by updating estimates of natural mortality. Using a time series for the period of 2006–2018, we assigned …

Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Purposeful Use Of Poisonous Plants, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Mechanically Injurious Plants, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Poisonous Plants: A Glossary Of Commonly Used Terms, James P. Smith Jr

Botanical Studies

No abstract provided.

Plague Risk In The Western United States Over Seven Decades Of Environmental Change, Colin J. Carlson, Sarah N. Bevins, Boris V. Schmid

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

After several pandemics over the last two millennia, the wildlife reservoirs of plague (Yersinia pestis) now persist around the world, including in the western United States. Routine surveillance in this region has generated comprehensive records of human cases and animal seroprevalence, creating a unique opportunity to test how plague reservoirs are responding to environmental change. Here, we test whether animal and human data suggest that plague reservoirs and spillover risk have shifted since 1950. To do so, we develop a new method for detecting the impact of climate change on infectious disease distributions, capable of disentangling long-term trends (signal) and …

Wild Pig Removal Reduces Pathogenic Bacteria In Low-Order Streams, Sara A. Bolds, B. Graeme Lockaby, Latif Kalin, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Mark D. Smith, Kurt Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive wild pig populations have undergone enormous increases in the United States and particularly across the southern U.S. in recent years. High fecundity rates and abilities to adapt quickly to varied habitats have enabled pig populations to become entrenched and difficult to eliminate. The pigs cause many negative impacts on ecosystems including degradation of water quality through infusion of fecal contamination and other non-point source pollutants. Our goal was to determine the effects of pig removal on water quality in streams that were known to be significantly polluted by pig activity Bolds (J Environ Qual 50: 441–453, 2021). We compared …

A Model For Leveraging Animal Movement To Understand Spatio-Temporal Disease Dynamics, Mark Q. Wilber, Anni Yang, Raoul Boughton, Kezia R. Manlove, Ryan S. Miller, Kim M. Pepin, George Wittemyer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The ongoing explosion of fine-resolution movement data in animal systems provides a unique opportunity to empirically quantify spatial, temporal and individual variation in transmission risk and improve our ability to forecast disease outbreaks. However, we lack a generalizable model that can leverage movement data to quantify transmission risk and how it affects pathogen invasion and persistence on heterogeneous landscapes. We developed a flexible model ‘Movement-driven modelling of spatio-temporal infection risk’ (MoveSTIR) that leverages diverse data on animal movement to derive metrics of direct and indirect contact by decomposing transmission into constituent processes of contact formation and duration and pathogen deposition …

The Evolution Of Quantitative Sensitivity, Margaret A H Bryer, Sarah E. Koopman, Jessica F. Cantlon, Steven T. Piantadosi, Evan L. Maclean, Joseph M. Baker, Michael J. Beran, Sarah M. Jones, Kerry E. Jordan, Salif Mahamane, Andreas Nieder, Bonnie M. Perdue, Friederike Range, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Masaki Tomonaga, Dorottya Ujfalussy, Jennifer Vonk

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

The ability to represent approximate quantities appears to be phylogenetically widespread, but the selective pressures and proximate mechanisms favouring this ability remain unknown. We analysed quantity discrimination data from 672 subjects across 33 bird and mammal species, using a novel Bayesian model that combined phylogenetic regression with a model of number psychophysics and random effect components. This allowed us to combine data from 49 studies and calculate the Weber fraction (a measure of quantity representation precision) for each species. We then examined which cognitive, socioecological and biological factors were related to variance in Weber fraction. We found contributions of phylogeny …

Second Twenty-Five Year Index: Volumes 26–50, 1994–2018, Jane E. Austin

The Prairie Naturalist

The first 50 years of the Prairie Naturalist reside on the shelves of libraries and personal collections. The articles and notes published over those years provide invaluable knowledge about Great Plains biota, communities, conservation, and landscape ecologies. Awareness of the wealth of information in those 50 print volumes has been limited, relying on references from other published papers or the limited number of articles that have been made available online by authors. This index serves as resource for individuals to digitally tap into the information published since 1994. This index, together with the first 25-year index, serves to complement the …

Review Of Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters With The Great Northern Diver, By James D. Paruk, Kristin Bianchini

The Prairie Naturalist

Gavia immer Brunnich (Common Loon) is a bird that has captivated bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts, campers, cottagers, and others interested in the natural world for centuries. The loon also features prominently in Native American mythology. For many, the loon symbolizes the wildness of the north, and it is often used as a sentinel of lake health. Indeed, the Common Loon has inspired a wealth of literature, both scientific and popular, describing this species’ ecology, behavior, and fitness in the face of environmental changes. To this literature, Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver adds a complete and accurate …

Characterization Of Salt And Drought Tolerance In Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.), Sevgi Saylak

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Consequent to the increasing world population, food sources are needed to be increased to meet the nutritional needs. However, due to natural processes and agricultural activities, the most destructive environmental factors that limit crop production, soil salinity, and drought-exposed areas are growing. As one of the major oilseed crops, sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), is considered to be moderately tolerant to salt and drought. Although it can grow in arid to semi-arid regions, increasing salinity and drought might adversely affect sunflower production. This study aimed to investigate several sunflower germplasms' morphological responses to salt and drought stresses. For this purpose, …

Counting Butterflies In Yosemite: A Guide For Beginners, Christine Melvin

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are the most numerous animal group on the planet and therefore the field of entomology is further divided based upon insect groups. Butterflies and Moths belong to the insect group Lepidoptera. An entomologist who studies butterflies and/or moths is called a Lepidopterist. Butterflies are a special group of insects because they are not only studied by entomologists, but they are also studied by people called citizen scientists. Citizen science is the casual participation in gathering of data about anything relating to science. Anyone who uses the app iNaturalist is a citizen scientist because …

A Survey Of Insects Collected From Wild Flowering Plants At One Site In Michigan, Bryan W. Shields

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The goal of this project was to document the wild flowering plants and the insect diversity present during a one season survey of an unmanaged habitat. Adult insects were collected from June to September 2020. A total of 58 families from 9 orders (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Mantodea, Neuroptera, Odonata, Orthoptera) of insects were collected or observed. The insects collected were from multiple functional groups including: fungivores, herbivores, nectarivores, pollinavores, and predators. The type and number of insect orders as well as the number of functional groups suggests that insect diversity was attained at the time of this survey. …

Evaluation Of Ivermectin Antiviral Activity Against Avian Infectious Bronchitis Virus Using A Chicken Embryo Model, Donald L. Reynolds, E. Barry Simpson

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Ivermectin is widely used in both animals and humans as an FDA-approved parasiticide. Ivermectin has also been reported to have antiviral activity against several viruses including coronaviruses. There are reports that indicate ivermectin may have some role in diminishing the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, but the evidence is inconclusive. The objective of this study was to determine if ivermectin was efficacious in inhibiting avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV, a coronavirus) replication in chicken embryos. Briefly, our approach was to use the Massachusetts vaccine strain of IBV in combination with various doses of ivermectin and then inoculate these preparations into chicken …

Rna Nanovaccine Protects Against White Spot Syndrome Virus In Shrimp, Yashdeep Phanse, Supraja Puttamreddy, Duan Loy, Julia Vela Ramirez, Kathleen A. Ross, Ignacio Alvarez-Castro, Mark Mogler, Scott Broderick, Krishna Rajan, Balaji Narasimhan, Lyric C. Bartholomay

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

In the last 15 years, crustacean fisheries have experienced billions of dollars in economic losses, primarily due to viral diseases caused by such pathogens as white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and Asian tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. To date, no effective measures are available to prevent or control disease outbreaks in these animals, despite their economic importance. Recently, double-stranded RNA-based vaccines have been shown to provide specific and robust protection against WSSV infection in cultured shrimp. However, the limited stability of double-stranded RNA is the most significant hurdle for the field application of these …

The Application Of The Skin Virome For Human Identification, Ema H. Graham, Jennifer Clarke, Samodha Fernando, Joshua Herr, Michael Adamowicz

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

The use of skin virome offers a unique approach for human identification purposes in instances where a viable and statistically relevant human DNA profile is unavailable. The skin virome may act as an alternative DNA profile and/or an additional form of probative genetic material. To date, no study has attempted to investigate the human virome over a time series across various physical locations of the body to identify its diagnostic potential as a tool for human identification. For this study, we set out to evaluate the stability, diversity, and individualization of the human skin virome. An additional goal was to …

Immunogenicity And Protective Efficacy Of A Recombinant Pichinde Viral-Vectored Vaccine Expressing Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Antigen In Pigs, Sushmita Kumari, Jayeshbhai Chaudhari, Qinfeng Huang, Phillip Gauger, Marcelo Nunes De Almeida, Yuying Liang, Hinh Ly, Hiep Vu

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Influenza A virus of swine (IAV-S) is an economically important swine pathogen. The IAV-S hemagglutinin (HA) surface protein is the main target for vaccine development. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using the recombinant tri-segmented Pichinde virus (rPICV) as a viral vector to deliver HA antigen to protect pigs against IAV-S challenge. Four groups of weaned pigs (T01–T04) were included in the study. T01 was injected with PBS to serve as a non-vaccinated control. T02 was inoculated with rPICV expressing green fluorescence protein (rPICV-GFP). T03 was vaccinated with rPICV expressing the HA antigen of the IAV-S H3N2 strain …

Association Of Diet Qualitymeasured By Three A Priori-Defined Dietary Patterns With Gut Microbiota And Intestinal Permeability Among Obese Individuals, Sarah Eaton, Heather Rasmussen, Weiwen Chai

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: The human gastrointestinal tract (GI)may play a critical role in the prevention of obesity and metabolic diseases. Considering the importance of a healthy diet for optimal health, this study examined associations of diet quality assessed by three a priori-defined dietary patterns (Healthy Eating Index 2010 [HEI-2010],Mediterranean Eating Pattern for Americans [MEPA], and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension [DASH] with gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and intestinal permeabilitymarkers in adult obese participants.

Conclusions: Blautia abundance and inversely associated with intestinal permeability markers such as urinary 24-h sucralose levels suggesting diet quality may have positive impact on the human GI …

Intracellular Fate Of Bovine Milk Exosomes In Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages, Afsana Khanam, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Milk exosomes (MEs) and their microRNA cargos constitute novel bioactive food compounds, and bovine MEs (BMEs) are being considered for use in drug delivery. The internalization of MEs by macrophages and degradation in lysosomes (in all cells) limit biological activities. Here, we determined whether BMEs internalized by murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) retrofuse with the intralumenal membrane in the multivesicular body (MVB) for subsequent release into the extracellular space or whether BMEs are destined for degradation in lysosomes.

Conclusions: The retrofusion of BME-derived intralumenal MVBs and secretion of BME into the extracellular space is quantitatively minor in BMDMs. The majority …

Barriers To Summer Food Service Program (Sfsp) Implementation Before And After Covid-19: A Qualitative, Collective Case Study, Masoomeh Hajizadeh Oghaz, Falah N. Rashoka, Megan S. Kelley

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: SFSP, as a federal food assistance program, could ensure that children have sufficient nutritious food during summer. According to a 2016 USDA report, only 0.4–0.6% of eligible children participated in this program in Nebraska, which makes for one of the lowest SFSP participation rates in the U.S. This study aims to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted SFSP implementation in urban and rural settings across the state.

Conclusions: Insights from this study may inform the development of policies that expand food access to vulnerable families. On the organizational level, this includes providing participating kids and their parents …

Genetically Altered Bovine Milk Exosomes (Bmes) Evade Elimination Bymurine Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages (Bmdms), Alice Ngu, Janos Zempleni

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: To develop BMEs that evade elimination by BMDMs.

Conclusions: The elimination of BMEs UNL1 and UNL2 is significantly reduced compared unmodified BMEs in BMDM cultures. This is of great importance when using BMEs for delivering therapeutics.

“Many People Have No Idea”: A Qualitative Analysis Of Healthcare Barriers Among Yazidi Refugees In The Midwestern United States, Falah N. Rashoka, Megan S. Kelley, Jeong‑Kyun Choi, Marc A. Garcia, Weiwen Chai, Hazim N. Rashawka

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has shed new light on inequities in healthcare access faced by immigrant and refugee communities. To address ongoing disparities, there is an urgent need for ecological approaches to better understand the barriers that hinder and resources that facilitate access to healthcare. This study investigates barriers to healthcare system access faced by Yazidi refugees in the Midwestern United States.

Methods: Informed by the Interpretative Phenomenological Approach, three focus group meetings with a community advisory board were conducted between September 2019 and January 2020. The nine-member focus group included social workers, healthcare providers, and members of the Yazidi …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Perceived Barriers And Facilitators To The Healthfulness Of Communities With Low-Income, Elder Varela, Jamie Zeldman, Alison Kuch, Yanli Wang, Mohammad Shushari, Elizabeth L. Hall, Jade Mcnamara, Jesse Stabile Morrell, Terezie Tolar-Peterson, Onikia Brown, Melissa D. Olfert, Lisa Franzen-Castle, Tandalayo Kidd, Sarah Colby, Geoffrey Greene, Karla P. Shelnutt

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges affecting the wellbeing of individuals in communities with low income. Understanding where people live and how those environments can facilitate or hinder living a healthy lifestyle is essential for developing interventions that target behavior change and health promotion. Objective: This study compares Extension Nutrition Educators’ (NEs) perceptions of the barriers and facilitators impacting the healthfulness of the environment of communities with low income in eleven states before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.