Life Sciences Commons^™

Effect Of Workers Density On Insect Pest Incidence And Colony Development Of Bumblebees, Bombus Terrestris (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Marium Fatima, Asim Gulzar, Munir Ahmed, Farid Asif Shaheen, Muhammad Tariq, Tariq Mukhtar

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Insect pollination improves essential nutrients and qualities of pollinating plants. Approximately 90% of flowering plants and 35% of crops require insect pollination. Bees play a vital role in pollination in natural and agricultural systems. Managed bees have extensively been used for pollination. Unfortunately, the native bee population has been waning globally. Commercial bee-rearing experiences different rearing problems i.e. food, environment, and spatial conditions within colonies. In this research, the impact of different densities of workers within colonies of Bombus terrestris L. was observed on colony development and pest incidence. Different worker densities i.e. 60-70, 80-90,110-120 and 140-150, respectively, were maintained …

Contributions Of Agricultural Subsidies To Increase Producer Income In Cotton And Milk Productions: A Case Study Of Hatay Province-Turkey, Ahmet D. Çelik

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Agricultural production is subsidized at different levels depending on the country's development status. The budget that was allocated for agricultural subsidies in Turkey in 2020 was around 22 billion TL (Turkish Lira) which was equal to 3.14 billion USD. In this study, the contribution of agricultural subsidies to product income and gross profit value was examined specifically on cotton as crop production and dairy cattle as animal production. According to the research results, agricultural subsidies increased production value by 30.70% in cotton and 4% in milk income. Those increased rates also significantly increased the gross profit values of the products. …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Tilapia Lake Virus (Tilv) Isolates From The Philippines Based On Partial Genome Segment 3 Sequences [Research Note], Dan Joseph C. Logronio, Joselito R. Somga, Maria Rowena R. Romana-Eguia, Sonia Somga, Demy Catedral, Gonzalo Jr Coloma

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

This study aimed to expand current knowledge on TiLV genetic diversity by sequence analysis of a portion of genome segment 3 of TiLV detected from the Philippines. This includes a recently deposited sequence in GenBank (Accession No. LC504279) and six new sequences from cases of infection reported from 2017 to 2020. Phylogenetic analysis of 179 bp fragment of segment 3 showed that the seven TiLV isolates from the Philippines can be divided into three phylogenetic groups. When comparing all sequences, unique nucleotide substitutions and amino acids were noted among these groups. Variation in mortality rates in naturally infected samples was …

A Tail Of Plumage Colouration: Disentangling Geographic, Seasonal And Dietary Effects On Plumage Colour In A Migratory Songbird, Sean M. Mahoney, Matthew W. Reudink, Andrea Contina, Kelly A. Roberts, Veronica T. Schabert, Emily G. Gunther, Kristen M. Covino

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Plumage ornamentation in birds serves critical inter- and intra-sexual signaling functions. While carotenoid-based plumage colouration is often viewed as a classic condition-dependent sexually selected trait, plumage colouration can be influenced by a wide array of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Understanding the mechanisms underlying variation in colouration is especially important for species where the signaling function of ornamental traits is complex or when the literature is conflicting. Here, we examined variation in the yellow/orange tail feathers of American redstarts Setophaga ruticilla passing through two migratory stopover sites in eastern North America during both spring and fall migration to assess the …

The Global Virome In One Network (Virion): An Atlas Of Vertebrate-Virus Associations, Colin J. Carlson, Rory J. Gibb, Gregory F. Albery, Liam Brierley, Ryan P. Connor, Tad Dallas, Evan A. Eskew, Anna C. Fagre, Maxwell J. Farrell, Hannah K. Frank, Renata L. Muylaert, Timothée Poisot, Angela L. Rasmussen, Sadie J. Ryan, Stephanie N. Seifert

Faculty Publications

Data that catalogue viral diversity on Earth have been fragmented across sources, disciplines, formats, and various degrees of open sharing, posing challenges for research on macroecology, evolution, and public health. Here, we solve this problem by establishing a dynamically maintained database of vertebrate-virus associations, called The Global Virome in One Network (VIRION). The VIRION database has been assembled through both reconciliation of static data sets and integration of dynamically updated databases. These data sources are all harmonized against one taxonomic backbone, including metadata on host and virus taxonomic validity and higher classification; additional metadata on sampling methodology and evidence strength …

Teen Reactions To A Self-Representational Avatar: A Qualitative Exploration, Emily Baysden, Ninna Mendoza, Chishinga Callender, Zhigang Deng, Debbe Thompson

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Purpose: This research presents findings from a qualitative exploration of the reactions of adolescents (12-14 years old) to navigating an exergame with an avatar created from multiple scans of the player (referred to as a self-representational avatar).

Methods: Post-gameplay interviews were conducted with adolescents following participation in a 20-min laboratory session (21.2 ± 0.8 min, mean ± SD) where the self-representational avatar was navigated through an exergame. Verbatim transcripts (n = 40) were coded and analyzed by 2 independent coders using hybrid thematic analysis for this secondary data analysis. Codes were reviewed to identify themes representing adolescents' reactions.

Results: Four …

Prolonged Glycemic Adaptation Following Transition From A Low- To High-Carbohydrate Diet: A Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial, Lisa T Jansen, Nianlan Yang, Julia M W Wong, Tapan Mehta, David B Allison, David S Ludwig, Cara B Ebbeling

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objective: Consuming ≥150 g/day carbohydrate is recommended for 3 days before an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for diabetes diagnosis. For evaluation of this recommendation, time courses of glycemic changes following transition from a very-low-carbohydrate (VLC) to high-carbohydrate diet were assessed with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

Research design and methods: After achieving a weight loss target of 15% (±3%) on the run-in VLC diet, participants (18-50 years old, BMI ≥27 kg/m2) were randomly assigned for 10 weeks to one of three isoenergetic diets: VLC (5% carbohydrate and 77% fat); high carbohydrate, high starch (HC-Starch) (57% carbohydrate and 25% fat, including …

Endemism, Projected Climate Change, And Identifying Species Of Critical Concern In The Scrub Mint Clade (Lamiaceae), Andre A. Naranjo, Anthony E. Melton, Douglas E. Soltis, Pamela S. Soltis

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent studies have revealed that narrow endemics, particularly those native to the North American Coastal Plain, are experiencing range contractions due to human development and anthropogenic-driven climate warming. We model how the projected distributions of a group of scrub-adapted plant species with similar evolutionary histories change in response to warming climates. The Scrub Mint clade (Lamiaceae) (SMC), which comprises 24 species in Dicerandra, Conradina, Stachydeoma, Piloblephis, and Clinopodium, including federally or state-listed threatened and endangered species, occurs in the scrub and sandhill biomes of the North American Coastal Plain. Georeferenced occurrence points were used to …

Importance Of Local Weather And Environmental Gradients On Demography Of A Broadly Distributed Temperate Frog, Hallie Lingo, James C. Munger

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Amphibian populations are sensitive to environmental temperatures and moisture, which vary with local weather conditions and may reach new norms and extremes as contemporary climate change progresses. Using long-term (11–16 years) mark-recapture data from 10 populations of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) from across its U.S. range, we addressed hypotheses about how demographic relationships to weather depend upon a population’s position along climate gradients. We estimated the effect of seasonal weather on annual survival probability and recruitment rates both within populations and across the species’ range from subalpine forests to semi-arid deserts. We calculated population-specific weather variables …

Monitoring Sars-Cov-2 In Wastewater During New York City's Second Wave Of Covid-19: Sewershed-Level Trends And Relationships To Publicly Available Clinical Testing Data, Catherine Hoar, Francoise Chauvin, Alexander Clare, Hope Mcgibbon, Esmeraldo Castro, Davida S. Smyth, Et Al.

Biology Faculty Publications (Archived)

New York City's wastewater monitoring program tracked trends in sewershed-level SARS-CoV-2 loads starting in the fall of 2020, just before the start of the city's second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. During a five-month study period, from November 8, 2020 to April 11, 2021, viral loads in influent wastewater from each of New York City's 14 wastewater treatment plants were measured and compared to new laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases for the populations in each corresponding sewershed, estimated from publicly available clinical testing data. We found significant positive correlations between viral loads in wastewater and new COVID-19 cases. The strength of the …

The Pseudomonas Syringae Type Iii Effector Hopg1 Triggers Necrotic Cell Death That Is Attenuated By Atnhr2b, Catalina Rodriguez-Puerto, Rupak Chakraborty, Raksha Singh, Perla Rocha-Loyola, Clemencia M. Rojas

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) has become a paradigm to investigate plant-bacteria interactions due to its ability to cause disease in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Pst DC3000 uses the type III secretion system to deliver type III secreted effectors (T3SEs) directly into the plant cytoplasm. Pst DC3000 T3SEs contribute to pathogenicity by suppressing plant defense responses and targeting plant’s physiological processes. Although the complete repertoire of effectors encoded in the Pst DC3000 genome have been identified, the specific function for most of them remains to be elucidated. Among those effectors, the mitochondrial-localized …

Scaling Of Maneuvering Performance In Baleen Whales: Larger Whales Outperform Expectations, Paolo S. Segre, William T. Gough, Edward A. Roualdes, David E. Cade, Max F. Czapanskiy, James Fahlbusch, Shirel R. Kahane-Rapport, William K. Oestreich, Lars Bejder, K. C. Bierlich, Julia A. Burrows, John Calambokidis, Ellen M. Chenoweth, Jacopo Di Clemente, John W. Durban, Holly Fearnbach, Frank E. Fish, Ari S. Friedlaender, Peter Hegelund, David W. Johnston, Douglas P. Nowacek, Machiel G. Oudejans, Gwenith S. Penry, Jean Potvin, Malene Simon, Andrew Stanworth, Janice M. Straley, Andrew Szabo, Simone K. A. Videsen, Fleur Visser, Caroline R. Weir, David N. Wiley, Jeremy A. Goldbogen

Biology Faculty Publications

Despite their enormous size, whales make their living as voracious predators. To catch their much smaller, more maneuverable prey, they have developed several unique locomotor strategies that require high energetic input, high mechanical power output and a surprising degree of agility. To better understand how body size affects maneuverability at the largest scale, we used bio-logging data, aerial photogrammetry and a high-throughput approach to quantify the maneuvering performance of seven species of free-swimming baleen whale. We found that as body size increases, absolute maneuvering performance decreases: larger whales use lower accelerations and perform slower pitch changes, rolls and turns than …

The Effects Of Epistemic Beliefs On Undergraduate Students' Emotions And Attitudes Towards Genetically Modified Foods, David Andrew Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Much research has explored socio-scientific issues (SSIs) in science instruction, including the connections between conceptions and attitude. Studies have also shown that epistemic beliefs affect epistemic emotions, which are a key component of students’ reaction to complex scientific topics. Correcting misconceptions can also result in emotional and attitude change, particularly surrounding the topic of genetically modified foods (GMFs). However, the impact of epistemic beliefs on emotions and attitude towards GMFs has largely gone unexplored. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of epistemic beliefs on epistemic emotions and attitudes towards GMFs. This quantitative correlational study sampled 78 …

Data From Callery Pear Prairie Survey, Michaela J. Woods, Grace Dietsch, Ryan W. Mcewan

Five Rivers MetroParks Collaboration Data Archive

This dataset was curated following the examination of two prairies invaded by Callery pear, and two that were not invaded. We assessed soil nutrients and chemistry, plant cover, and proximity to different land uses to see if they impacted Callery pear abundance, presence/absence or cover.

Development Of A Methodology For The Quantification Of Reaerosolization Of A Biological Contaminant Surrogate Particle From Military Uniform Fabric, George D. Cooksey

Theses and Dissertations

During a mass casualty medical evacuation after a bioaerosol attack, a decontamination method is needed that is effective at both decontamination and preventing the secondary hazard of biological particles reaerosolizing from contaminated clothing. However, neither the efficacy of current decontamination methods nor the risk of biological particle reaerosolization is significantly explored in existing literature. The goals of this thesis were to develop a repeatable methodology to quantify the reaerosolization of a biological contaminate off Airman Battle Uniform (ABU) fabric swatches, and to test the efficacy of one decontamination method (high-volume, low-pressure water) using 1 mpolystyrene latex (PSL) spheres as a …

Reporting Outcomes Of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Patients To Referring Physicians Via An Electronic Health Record-Based Feedback System, Christina L Cifra, Cody R Tigges, Sarah L Miller, Nathaniel Curl, Christopher D Monson, Kimberly C Dukes, Heather S Reisinger, Priyadarshini R Pennathur, Dean F Sittig, Hardeep Singh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Many critically ill children are initially evaluated in front-line settings by clinicians with variable pediatric training before they are transferred to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Because clinicians learn from past performance, communicating outcomes of patients back to front-line clinicians who provide pediatric emergency care could be valuable; however, referring clinicians do not consistently receive this important feedback.

OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to determine the feasibility, usability, and clinical relevance of a semiautomated electronic health record (EHR)-supported system developed at a single institution to deliver timely and relevant PICU patient outcome feedback to referring emergency department (ED) physicians. …

An Interactive Game With Virtual Reality Immersion To Improve Cultural Sensitivity In Health Care, Paul J. Hershberger, Yong Pei, Timothy N. Crawford, Sabrina M. Neeley, Thomas Wischgoll, Dixit B. Patel, Miteshkumar M. Vasoya, Angie Castle, Sankalp Mishra, Lahari Surapaneni, Aman A. Pogaku, Aishwarya Bositty, Todd Pavlack

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Purpose: Biased perceptions of individuals who are not part of one's in-groups tend to be negative and habitual. Because health care professionals are no less susceptible to biases than are others, the adverse impact of biases on marginalized populations in health care warrants continued attention and amelioration.Method: Two characters, a Syrian refugee with limited English proficiency and a black pregnant woman with a history of opioid use disorder, were developed for an online training simulation that includes an interactive life course experience focused on social determinants of health, and a clinical encounter in a community health center utilizing virtual reality …

Immunoanalytic Investigation Of Grain Proteins Antigenic For Celiac Disease Patients In An Einkorn Collection, Zsófia Birinyi, Dalma Réder, Ádám Diós, Ilma R. Korponay-Szabó, Éva Hunyadi-Gulyás, Christakis George Florides, Angéla Juhász, Gyöngyvér Gell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Our study focuses on the complex characterization of a wild and cultivated einkorn collection of the Cereal Gene Bank of Agriculture Research Institute in Hungary, using proteomics, immune analytics and bioinformatics analyses. In a serological ELISA pre-screen of 208 different Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum and Triticum monococcum L. ssp. aegilopoides genotypes with celiac disease samples high diversity was observed in the immune response. Based on the immune analytic results, four genotypes with significantly reduced immune reactivity were selected for detailed proteomics characterization. Our results confirm the benefits of high-throughput/large-scale pre-screening and the use of a complex examination platform to …

Quantitative Analysis Of Methodological And Environmental Influences On Survival Of Planted Mangroves In Restoration And Afforestation, Daniel Gorman, Mathew A. Vanderklift, Anna Lafratta

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Mangrove planting has been employed for decades to achieve aims associated with restoration and afforestation. Often, survival of planted mangroves is low. Improving survival might be aided by augmenting the understanding of which planting methods and environmental variables most influence plant survival across a range of contexts. The aim of this study was to provide a global synthesis of the influence of planting methods and background environment on mangrove survival. This was achieved through a global meta-analysis, which compiled published survival rates for the period 1979–2021 and analyzed the influence of decisions about minimum spacing and which life stage to …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Large Wildfires On The Hydrology Of Three Small Catchments In Central Chile Using Tritium-Based Measurements And Hydrological Metrics, Francisco Balocchi, Diego Rivera, José Luis Arumi, Uwe Morgenstern, Donald A. White, Richard P. Silberstein, Pablo Ramírez De Arellano

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Wildfires are an important disturbance affecting catchments’ soil and hydrological processes within. Wildfires are predicted to increase in both frequency and severity under climate change. Here, we present measurements of tritium (3H) in surface water of three streams before and after the ‘las Máquinas’ megafire of January 2017 in central Chile and streamflow metrics. Mean transit times (MTTs) of water were calculated in three coastal catchments with the Mediterranean climate type, covered by native forest, a mixture of native forest and Pinus radiata D. Don, and P. radiata. Lumped parameter models (LPMs) were used to obtain MTTs. Tritium activities from …

Developing A Food And Beverage Corporate Sustainability Performance Structure In Indonesia: Enhancing The Leadership Role And Tenet Value From An Ethical Perspective, Tat Dat Bui, Hania Aminah, Ching Hsin Wang, Ming Lang Tseng, Mohammad Iranmanesh, Ming K. Lim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The food and beverage industry is the second largest contributor to Indonesia’s economy; however, most industry firms significantly, and negatively, impact ecological and economic performance, and corporate sustainability performance is considered an area that can be significantly improved. This study aims to measure the causal interrelationships among the hierarchical attributes, as well as the decisive attributes that force successful corporate sustainability. Further, there are also other factors that have a negative impact, such as poor social justice and firms’ responsibilities and identities. Hence, emphasizing the ethics role to ensure a better sustainable performance in addition to focusing on the traditional …

Evaluation Of Pd-L1 Expression On Circulating Tumour Cells In Small-Cell Lung Cancer, Emmanuel Acheampong, Afaf Abed, Michael Morici, Isaacs Spencer, Aaron B. Beasley, Samantha Bowyer, Du Bois Asante, Chris Lomma, Weitao Lin, Michael Millward, Elin S. Gray

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Antibodies against the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor and its ligand (PD-L1) have been recently approved for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) treatment. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) have emerged as an appealing liquid biopsy candidate that could enhance treatment decision-making in systemic therapy for SCLC patients. Several current technologies enrich CTCs using specific surface epitopes, size, rigidity, or dielectric properties. However, they are hampered by the heterogeneity of the enriched cells from blood samples. Methods: We evaluated two CTC enrichment systems: EpCAM conjugated to magnetic beads and a microfluidic device (Parsortix, Angle plc). PD-L1 expression was evaluated on the isolated CTCs. …

Residual Symptoms And The Quality Of Life In Individuals Recovered From Covid-19 Infection: A Survey From Pakistan, Mohammad Aadil Qamar, Russell Seth Martins, Rubaid Azhar Dhillon, Areeba Tharwani, Omar Irfan, Qosain Fatima Suriya, Wajiha Rizwan, Javaid Ahmed Khan, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi

Medical College Documents

Background: There remains scarcity of literature regarding the patient's health status post-COVID-19 infection. This study analyzes the prevalence of residual symptoms and quality of life (QoL) after COVID-19.
Methods: An anonymous online survey was administrated in Pakistan from November 2020 to April 2021 in COVID-19 survivors. The questionnaire used the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) to assess mental and physical QoL. Multivariate linear regression was used to explore factors associated with mental and physical QoL scores.
Results: A total of 331 COVID-19 survivors participated in our survey. Around 42.0% of the cohort reported within 1-3 months of diagnosis of …

Winter Field Report, December 2021-February 2022, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

After compiling and reviewing the observations reported to NEBIRDS, various Facebook groups, and eBird, I reiterate my leadoff comments from last winter: the increasing numbers of observers taking time to report turned up some fascinating trends. Those cited as well as those not cited, all contributed to the firmness of the database that allows better-supported conclusions to be drawn than from our past reliance all too often on anecdotal supposition. Continuing a trend pointed out last winter were the many records of species north and west of their expected winter ranges. As I suggested last winter, “it is tempting to …

2021-2022 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

With the addition of the new Fort Niobrara circle, 19 counts were run during the 2021-2022 CBC season. Thirteen of them were run from December 14 through December 21 and the other six were done December 27 or later. The weather was mild to start the count period with almost all water open. As the count period progressed, the weather became more seasonable and much of the standing water froze, but conditions remained fairly benign with the exception of the Lake McConaughy count on January 2. Though it was cold but sunny on that day, the previous day’s snow and …

The Nebraska Bird Review Volume 90 Number 1, March 2022

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2021 - Feb. 2022 by W. Ross Silcock

2021-2022 Christmas Bird Counts by Don Paseka

Annual Color Photo Section

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2021 by Jan Johnson

Subscription and Organization Information

Habitat Restoration Restores Underwater Soundscapes And Larval Recruitment, Jack Butler, Emily R. Anderson, Mark J. Butler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Habitat degradation alters many ecosystem processes, and the potential for the reestablishment of ecosystem function through restoration is an area of active research. Among marine systems, coastal habitats are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic degradation and, in response, are the focus of marine ecological restoration. One of the crucial functions of structurally complex coastal habitats (e.g., saltmarshes, seagrass meadows, kelp forests, coral reefs) are as nurseries to coastal and offshore species, many of whose larvae utilize sound to locate suitable nursery habitat. However, the effect of habitat degradation and subsequent restoration on underwater soundscapes and their function as navigational cues for …

Making (Remote) Sense Of Lianas, Geertje M. F. Van Der Heijden, Ashley D. C. Proctor, Kim Calders, Chris J. Chandler, Richard Field, Giles M. Foody, Sruthi M. Krishna Moorthy, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Catherine E. Waite, Doreed S. Boyd

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

1. Lianas (woody vines) are abundant and diverse, particularly in tropical ecosystems. Lianas use trees for structural support to reach the forest canopy, often putting leaves above their host tree. Thus they are major parts of many forest canopies. Yet, relatively little is known about distributions of lianas in tropical forest canopies, because studying those canopies is challenging. This knowledge gap is urgent to address because lianas compete strongly with trees, reduce forest carbon uptake and are thought to be increasing, at least in the Neotropics.
2. Lianas can be difficult to study using traditional field methods. Their pliable stems often twist …

C.T. Trowell Collection Of Roland M. Harper, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of photocopies of articles and book excerpts written by Roland M. Harper for publication in scholarly journals and various other botanical bulletins. Harper's works focus on botany, conservation, and social conditions, primarily in the southeastern United States. Spanning from 1900 - 2008, additional documents, photographs and audio visual materials pertaining to Roland M. Harper's family history is included.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Global Education In Stem And Healthcare: Implications Of Covid-19, Jessica Hallet, Santanu De

Biology Faculty Articles

The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March of 2020. Since then, most schools, colleges, and universities across the globe stopped delivering classes face-to-face and transitioned into virtual modalities of instruction. This reformation of academics has had an impact on every field of study, especially those students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and in the realm of healthcare education. Ranging from middle/high school to undergraduate and graduate programs, STEM degrees require intensive curricula integrating extensive lectures on theoretical topics and laboratory exercises to apply those concepts in a practical setting. Likewise, …