Life Sciences Commons^™

Addressing Meloidogyne Enterolobii Spread In The Sweetpotato Industry: Development Of A High Throughput Survey Detection Method For Root-Knot Nematodes And Quantification Of M. Enterolobii Damage On Storage Roots In Long-Term Assays, Julianna Culbreath

All Theses

Meloidogyne enterolobii is an aggressive root-knot nematode (RKN) species that has emerged as a significant pathogen of sweetpotato in the Southeastern US. Meloidogyne enterolobii is spread through the movement of infected ‘seed’ sweetpotatoes used for propagation, and the RKN resistance in commercial sweetpotato cultivars has proven ineffective against this nematode. This has prompted regulatory agencies to impose quarantines on regions infected with M. enterolobii. Sweetpotato storage roots can be rendered unmarketable due to M. enterolobii infection, resulting in potential overall yield loss. Visual detection of RKN in sweetpotato can be unreliable, and further distinguishing M. enterolobii from other RKN species …

The Effects Of Tubulin Post-Translational Modifications On The Flagellar Motility Of Trypanosoma Brucei, Katherine Wentworth

All Theses

Trypanosoma brucei is a parasitic kinetoplastid that causes African trypanosomiasis and is transmitted to a mammalian host by the tsetse fly (Glossina spp.). T. brucei relies on its flagellar motility to carry out its morphological changes from the procyclic form (predominant in the fly vector) to the bloodstream form (infectious form in mammals) and navigate the bloodstream of its host. The driving structure within the flagellum is the axoneme, which is composed of microtubules and dynein motor proteins. The tubulin code hypothesis suggests that cells regulate microtubule motor protein activity through post-translational modifications (PTMs) of alpha and beta …

An Economic Impact And Investment Analysis Of Armillaria Root Rot In The United States Peach Industry, Gracie Herrin

All Theses

Peach production in the United States has decreased over the last decade due to increased disease prevalence. Armillaria root rot (ARR) is a lethal root fungus that affects many stone fruits, including peaches, often leading to rapid decline/death of trees and abandonment of orchards. This thesis is divided into four chapters which focus on answering four key questions that, to the best of my knowledge, have not been addressed in previous industry research.

The second chapter determines the magnitude of ARR disease prevalence in the United States and producers’ maximum willingness to pay (WTP) for a theoretical ARR-resistant rootstock. Results …

Evaluation Of Novel Management Options For Bacterial Spot Of Peach, Daniela Moreno

All Theses

Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) is an economically important pathogen causing bacterial spot of stone fruits worldwide. In the southeastern US management for this disease relies on copper and oxytetracycline (OTC) sprays, yet disease incidence remains high especially when the environmental conditions are conducive (warm and rainy). To further complicate disease management copper tolerant and OTC resistant (OTC^R) strains of Xap have been reported in the southeastern peach orchards. complicating disease management. Therefore, we aim to evaluate potential chemical and biological alternatives for disease management. The first objective was to evaluate a novel nano nanoformulation Bz (Zinc Borate) …

Using Landsat Satellite Imagery To Estimate Groundcover In The Grainbelt Of Western Australia, Justin Laycock, Nick Middleton, Karen Holmes

Resource management technical reports

Maintaining vegetative groundcover is an important component of sustainable agricultural systems and plays a critical function for soil and land conservation in Western Australia’s (WA) grainbelt (the south-west cropping region). This report describes how satellite imagery can be used to quantitatively and objectively estimate total vegetative groundcover, both in near real time and historically across large areas. We used the Landsat seasonal fractional groundcover products developed by the Joint Remote Sensing Research Program from the extensive archive of Landsat imagery. These products provide an estimate of the percentage of green vegetation, non-green vegetation and bare soil for each 30 m …

Groundwater Modelling Of The Newman Area For Managed Aquifer Recharge Assessment, Wolfgang Schmid, Rodrigo Rojas, Michael J. Donn, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Mathias Raiber, Olga Barron

Natural resources commissioned reports

This report contributes to the Transforming Agriculture in the Pilbara (TAP) initiative that has been developed to undertake the detailed studies in the Pilbara to bring suitable medium to large scale irrigation land to market for private investment. The research objective was to explore opportunities for irrigated agriculture north of Newman (Eastern Pilbara), deploying managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to secure water for irrigation. MAR source water identified was from mine dewatering surplus, generated from the large BHP Iron Ore operation in the Newman region. The objectives of this report were to:

• conceptualise the groundwater system and associated processes in the …

Region Detection & Segmentation Of Nissl-Stained Rat Brain Tissue, Alexandro Arnal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

People who analyze images of biological tissue rely on the segmentation of structures as a preliminary step. In particular, laboratories studying the rat brain delineate brain regions to position scientific findings on a brain atlas to propose hypotheses about the rat brain and, ultimately, the human brain. Our work intersects with the preliminary step of delineating regions in images of brain tissue via computational methods.

We investigate pixel-wise classification or segmentation of brain regions using ten histological images of brain tissue sections stained for Nissl substance. We present a deep learning approach that uses the fully convolutional neural network, U-Net, …

Morphine-Induced Tolerance Is Reduced By The Consumption Of A Ketogenic Diet, But Not A High Fat/High Carbohydrate Diet, Nina Beltran

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Opioid drugs like morphine are used medicinally for pain relief, but also have abuse liability that can lead to opioid use disorder (OUD), which contributes to nearly 70% of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Another rising health concern is the global obesity epidemic, and new evidence suggests that obesity and OUD might converge to impact individuals. For example, high body mass index (BMI) is associated with greater reports of pain among women. Further, opioid overdose risk is increased among individuals diagnosed with obesity, suggesting a potential relationship that might convey enhanced vulnerability among some populations. Given the high …

A Comparison Of Spatial-Temporal Gait Variability In Over-Ground And Treadmill Walking In Children With Autism, René Ubaldo Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience an increased sedentary lifestylewhich results in elevated risk for being overweight and obese. A low-cost and viable solution to increase physical activity while accommodating for social-behavioral barriers such as stereotypy, aggressive, or non-verbal characteristics, may be treadmill-related interventions. Gait variability during treadmill ambulation has not been extensively researched in the ASD population, therefore the aim of this study was to quantify the acute effects of treadmill usage on spatial-temporal gait parameter variability when compared to overground walking. Three-dimensional kinematic data were obtained through motion analysis where 5 children with ASD were outfitted with …

Two Novel Piperidone Compounds Display Antiproliferative Effects On Human Prostate And Lymphoma Cancer Cell Lines And In Vitro Investigation Of Thiophenecarboxylate Anti-Cancer Activity, Risa Mia Swain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tumor interactions predominantly dominate cancer progression and its tumor microenvironment. Such interactions include, tumors generating signals that cause dysfunction and death to immune cells [1]. Inflammatory and immune cells present to eliminate cancer cells fail and lose their overall function [1]. These cells lose the overall ability to aid and are co-opted to promote tumor growth. Ultimately, the result is escaping from the hosts' immune system and developing a complex mechanism that evades immune cells and the inability to undergo apoptosis. It is imperative to develop a better understanding of the complex machinery cancer develops. There are current therapies that …

Landscape Genomics Of The Tussock Cottongrass (Eriophorum Vaginatum) And The Dwarf Birch (Betula Nana) In North Central Alaska, Elizabeth Stunz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global climate change has resulted in geographic range shifts of flora and fauna at a global scale. Extreme environments, like the Arctic, are seeing some of the most pronounced changes. This region covers 14% of the Earthâ??s land area, and while many arctic species are widespread, understanding ecotypic variation at the genomic level will be important for elucidating how range shifts will affect ecological processes. Increase in shrub cover is a major effect of ongoing climate change in arctic tundra ecosystems. The relative increases in abundance and cover of shrub species such as birch, willow, and alder (Betula, Salix, and …

Inhibiting C-C Chemokine Receptor 7 Activation Of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia By A Ccl19/Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-3Β Antagonist, Angel Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The binding of C-C Chemokine Ligand 19 (CCL19) to C-C chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) receptor has been linked to T-cell activation, tolerance, and inflammation. CCR7 is a member of the chemotactic cytokine family, essential in the development of T cells and regulatory processes such as immune-cell trafficking. This is accompanied by chemokine ligand concentration and time-dependent internalization, which is efficiently promoted by CCL19. A novel N-terminal truncation of CCL19 has been previously developed as an antagonist observed to impede induced chemotaxis and calcium mobilization in mouse primary immune cells. The current antagonist has suggested a key role of CCL198-83 in …

Impact Of Agricultural Practices On The Consumptive Water Use Of Irrigated Annual And Perennial Crops Of Northern Mexico And The U.S. Southwest., Orlando Ramirez-Valle

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In drylands, crop water use varies considerably where high temperatures and limited water availability constraints farming activities, and irrigation planning is essential for the efficient water use and long-term sustainability of agriculture. However, despite dwindling water supplies and the looming threat of more frequent and intense droughts, low-efficient irrigation (e.g., furrow and flooding) continues to be the most widely used method for water delivery into agricultural parcels. Transitioning into more sustainable agriculture requires knowledge of the period of productive vs. unproductive crop water use during the agricultural cycle. I developed a method using satellite images for partitioning evapotranspiration (ETa) into …

Acute Effects Of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation On Blood Glucose And Energy Metabolism In Overweight/Obese Population, Ali Mossayebi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: In the perspective of preventing cardiovascular disease and promoting health, weight control and physical activity are the main concerns. Electrical stimulation (ES) is an alternate strategy to induce muscle contraction, using electrical impulses. However, effectiveness of ES induced muscle contraction to improve energy expenditure and glucose metabolism is not well examined.Purpose: To determine the acute effect of ES on whole body energy expenditure and body glucose metabolism in sedentary overweight or obese population Methods: Sedentary overweight/obese participants (n=8; age: 37.25 ± 6.09 years; BMI= 37.57 ± 2.43 kg/m2) were included in this study. All participants received bilateral quadriceps ES …

Status Of The Western Australian Pastoral Rangelands 2022: Total Vegetative Cover And Cover Risk, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

Natural resources published reports

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development monitors and reports on the vegetation condition of pastoral rangelands in Western Australia. This 2022 short report uses remotely sensed total vegetative cover data available to the end of October 2022, rainfall data to November 2022 and Stock Return data reported in 2021 (the most recent available) to determine cover risk. Cover risk at the land conservation district (LCD) level is an indicator of the likelihood of total cover declining to, or remaining at, Low or Very low levels. Total cover and cover risk may not be indicative of vegetation condition and …

Geology, Soils And Climate Of Western Australia's Wine Regions, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

Bulletins 4000 -

This bulletin details what is special and unique about the geology, soil and climate of the south-west of Western Australia (WA), an area that encompasses the state’s 9 wine regions.

We have arranged the information into 2 parts:

• In Part 1, we broadly describe the special geological, soil and climate features of the south-west of WA to provide context for the wine regions.

• In Part 2, we describe the geology, soil and climate of the regions and subregions of the Geographical Indications (GI) scheme (administered by Wine Australia) for WA.

Through this work we have found that the wine regions …

How Will Climate Change Affect The Future, Ashanti K. Belone, Farrukh Zia

Publications and Research

Climate Change has played a massive role in the habitat of us earth dwellers and the animals that co-exists with us. I believe that essentially climate change plays a massive role because this can dictate whether or not the earth is habitable and if a need for evacuation is necessary. Many might believe that climate change only refers to the rising temperature but that’s just the icing on the cake. Earth is a system that is very much connected, this means that changes in one area will set off a chain reaction allowing these changes to happen in many other …

Wildlife Road Mortality Patterns In South Texas And Survey Methodology Improvement, Bradley E. Beer

Theses and Dissertations

Mortalities of wildlife caused by collisions with vehicles along roads are increasing in prevalence, threatening the existence of various species and populations. A better understanding of how mortalities change in response to natural and anthropogenic variables and efficient methods of obtaining mortality data are essential to mitigating such mortalities. This thesis investigates several key elements to improving road mortality surveys in south Texas. First, it was found that road mortality survey counts did not change under a pandemic-related lockdown and that 2 mortality survey observers detect more mortalities than 1. Analysis of brown pelican groundings on Texas State Highway 48 …

'Good Food’ And Food Sovereignty In The South Texas Borderlands: A Qualitative Investigation Of Alternative Retail Food Outlet Managers And Owners, Kanyanat Lertkhonsan

Theses and Dissertations

This case study describes how Alternative Retail Food Outlets (ARFOs) managers and owners in a county in South Texas near the U.S. – Mexico border I am calling Esperanza County, decide what food to eat and to sell. Data from qualitative interviews reveals that the South Texas socioeconomic – cultural context and informants’ economic constraints shaped two different conceptions of good food. At the same time, informants’ socioeconomic backgrounds and sources of good food reveals that the power to define good food – as organic, local, and seasonal – and those that can access it tend to be the educated …

Influence Of Pretreatments On Physiological Status And Post-Planting Survival Of Thornforest Seedlings In A Restoration Context, Douglas E. Mainhart

Theses and Dissertations

Semi-arid ecosystems across the globe have faced land conversion posing a threat to the important ecosystem services they provide. Revegetation-centered restoration efforts in arid regions have low success due to limited water availability and higher temperatures. Typically, practitioners utilize methods that modify field conditions around seedlings to mitigate these stressors. I evaluated the efficacy of in-nursery treatments to improve plant water status. Three pretreatments were applied: elevated CO2, drought hardening, and an antitranspirant foliar spray. My goal was to understand how these pretreatments would impact survival and growth in the field and what physiological traits they altered. Elevated CO2 and …

Incorporating Native Plants In Insectary Strips To Promote Insect Diversity And Below-Ground Beneficial Microbes In South Texas, Lindsey N. Richards

Theses and Dissertations

Farm edges are generally the most undisturbed areas in a farm with diverse vegetation and can enhance agrobiodiversity and provide crucial food and shelter for wildlife, insects, and soil biota. Planting native wildflowers with the ability to reseed and withstand local climatic conditions for semi-permanent vegetation around farm edges or in between crops has potential to biologically control pests. To test this, we ran a two-year study and installed three different flowering insectary strips on a certified organic vegetable farm in South Texas during the winter season. The treatments were: 1) a commercially sourced 17-species native wildflower seed mix; 2) …

Distinct Thalamic And Frontal Neuroanatomical Substrates In Children With Familial Vs. Non-Familial Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd), Rahman Baboli, Meng Cao, Jeffrey M. Halperin, Xiaobo Li

Publications and Research

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent, inheritable, and heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. Children with a family history of ADHD are at elevated risk of having ADHD and persisting its symptoms into adulthood. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of having or not having positive family risk factor in the neuroanatomy of the brain in children with ADHD. Cortical thickness-, surface area-, and volume-based measures were extracted and compared in a total of 606 participants, including 132, 165, and 309 in groups of familial ADHD (ADHD-F), non-familial ADHD (ADHD-NF), and typically developed children, respectively. Compared to controls, …

Single-Cell Approach Reveals Intercellular Heterogeneity In Phage-Producing Capacities, Sherin Kannoly, Gabriella Oken, Jonathan Shadan, David Musheyev, Kevin Singh, Abhyudai Singh, John J. Dennehy

Publications and Research

Bacteriophage burst size is the average number of phage virions released from infected bacterial cells, and its magnitude depends on the duration of an intracellular progeny accumulation phase. Burst size is often measured at the population level, not the single-cell level, and consequently, statistical moments are not commonly available. In this study, we estimated the bacteriophage lambda (ƛ) single-cell burst size mean and variance following different intracellular accumulation period durations by employing Escherichia coli lysogens bearing lysis-deficient ƛ prophages. Single lysogens can be isolated and chemically lysed at desired times following prophage induction to quantify progeny intracellular accumulation within individual …

How Do Usda Announcements Affect International Commodity Prices?, Andrew M. Mckenzie, Yangmin Ke

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our event study results show that Chinese soybean futures and to a lesser extent Chinese corn futures react to the release of World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate reports. Second, using a copula based Conditional Value at Risk (CoVaR) approach we find strong evidence that risk spillovers from U.S. to Chinese futures markets are much larger on report release days than on pre and post-release days. In addition, our results indicate that risk spillovers from U.S. to Chinese futures markets, irrespective of trading day, are asymmetric in nature, with upside risk spillovers much higher than downside risk spillovers.

The Role Of The Filifactor Alocis Hypothetical Protein Fa1654 In Oxidative Stress Resistance, Malissa Makaylia Mangar

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The survival/adaptation of Fillifactor alocis, a fastidious gram positive asaccharolytic anaerobe in the inflammatory environment of the periodontal pocket, requires an ability to overcome oxidative stress. Moreover, emerging observations suggest its pathogenic characteristics are highlighted by its capacity to survive in the oxidative-stress microenvironment of the periodontal pocket and its likely ability to modulate the microbial community dynamics. There is still a significant gap in our understanding of F. alocis mechanism of oxidative stress resistance and its impact on the virulence and pathogenicity of the microbial biofilm. The pathogenicity of F. alocis may be impacted by its response to oxidative …

Rice Tolerance To Acetochlor With A Fenclorim Seed Treatment, Tristen H. Avent, Jason K. Norsworthy, Thomas R. Butts, Trenton Roberts, Nicholas R. Bateman

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rice producers in the United States need effective herbicides to control problematic weeds. Previous research has demonstrated that acetochlor can provide in-season weed control in rice; however, undesirable injury is common. Thus, trials were initiated in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate 1) rice cultivar tolerance to microencapsulated (ME) acetochlor with the use of a fenclorim seed treatment at 2.5 g ai kg⁻¹ of seed; 2) a dose-response of a fenclorim seed treatment with ME acetochlor; and 3) rice tolerance to fenclorim and ME acetochlor under cool, wet conditions. For all trials, acetochlor was applied delayed-preemergence (4 to 7 d …

Quizalofop-Resistant Rice Response To Quizalofop When Exposed To Low Rates Of Glyphosate And Imazethapyr, Navdeep Godara, Jason K. Norsworthy, Thomas R. Butts, Trenton L. Roberts, Edward E. Gbur

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Injury to quizalofop-resistant rice was reported in some fields following postemergence applications of quizalofop. Glyphosate-resistant (GR) corn, cotton, and soybean, and imidazolinone-resistant rice are grown near quizalofop-resistant rice. Herbicide drift from glyphosate and imazethapyr and the resulting crop injury and potential yield loss is a cause of concern for producers. Field experiments conducted near Colt, and Keiser, AR, in 2021 evaluated whether low rates of glyphosate or imazethapyr interact with sequential quizalofop applications to exacerbate injury to quizalofop-resistant rice compared to quizalofop applications alone. Herbicide treatments consisted of a low rate of glyphosate (90 g ae ha(-1)) or imazethapyr (10.7 …

Analysis Of Ecological Tradeoffs Between Congeneric Shrimp In Coastal Mississippi Waters, Baylor K. Lynch

Honors Theses

Palaemonidae is an ecologically important and abundant family of shrimp that link the benthos to many estuarine food webs. Palaemon pugio and Palaemon vulgaris regularly co-occur along estuarine edge habitats despite previous studies suggesting different preferred sediment types and salinity regimes. The objective was to determine if competition is occurring between the congeners by comparing their relative abundance and assessing isotope niche space along an estuarine gradient. I seasonally sampled various edge habitats at four sites throughout Biloxi Bay, MS, using fyke nets fished over a tidal cycle from November 2020 to November 2021. Collected organisms were identified to the …

Tceal1 Loss-Of-Function Results In An X-Linked Dominant Neurodevelopmental Syndrome And Drives The Neurological Disease Trait In Xq222 Deletions, Hadia Hijazi, Linda M Reis, Davut Pehlivan, Jonathan A Bernstein, Michael Muriello, Devon Bonner, Ziv Gan-Or, Guy A Rouleau, Ekaterina Lyulcheva, Lynn Greenhalgh, Marine Tessarech, Estelle Colin, Agnès Guichet, Dominique Bonneau, R H Van Jaarsveld, A M A Lachmeijer, Lyse Ruaud, Jonathan Levy, Anne-Claude Tabet, Rafal Ploski, Małgorzata Rydzanicz, Łukasz Kępczyński, Katarzyna Połatyńska, Yidan Li, Jawid M Fatih, Dana Marafi, Jill A Rosenfeld, Zeynep Coban-Akdemir, Weimin Bi, Richard A Gibbs, Grace M Hobson, Jill V Hunter, Claudia M B Carvalho, Jennifer E Posey, Elena V Semina, James R Lupski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

An Xq22.2 region upstream of PLP1 has been proposed to underly a neurological disease trait when deleted in 46,XX females. Deletion mapping revealed that heterozygous deletions encompassing the smallest region of overlap (SRO) spanning six Xq22.2 genes (BEX3, RAB40A, TCEAL4, TCEAL3, TCEAL1, and MORF4L2) associate with an early-onset neurological disease trait (EONDT) consisting of hypotonia, intellectual disability, neurobehavioral abnormalities, and dysmorphic facial features. None of the genes within the SRO have been associated with monogenic disease in OMIM. Through local and international collaborations facilitated by GeneMatcher and Matchmaker Exchange, we have identified and herein report seven de novo variants involving …

Small Molecule Targeting Nav17 Via Inhibition Of The Crmp2-Ubc9 Interaction Reduces Pain In Chronic Constriction Injury (Cci) Rats, Jiahe Li, Harrison J Stratton, Sabina A Lorca, Peter M Grace, Rajesh Khanna

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The voltage-gated sodium channel isoform NaV1.7 is a critical player in the transmission of nociceptive information. This channel has been heavily implicated in human genetic pain disorders and is a validated pain target. However, targeting this channel directly has failed, and an indirect approach - disruption of interactions with accessory protein partners - has emerged as a viable alternative strategy. We recently reported that a small-molecule inhibitor of CRMP2 SUMOylation, compound