Life Sciences Commons^™

How Stressful Is It To Move? Whooping Crane Glucocorticoid Response During Facility Transfer, Megan E. Brown, Christopher Martin, Christopher Crowe, Sprina Lui, Nucharin Songsasen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The ability to transfer animals between different facilities for genetic management is a critical component to the success of any cooperatively managed captive animal population despite the high cost and the need for a high level of coordination in logistical planning. Two issues of concern are the magnitude of potential stress responses incurred during shipment of adult cranes to a new facility and the duration of elevated glucocorticoid production during the acclimation periods. The objectives of this project were to assess adrenal responses of whooping cranes (Grus americana) during transfer from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) to …

Timber Talk, Vol. 60, No. 3, September 2022

Timber Talk: Nebraska Forest Industry Newsletter

Timber Talk, Vol. 60, No. 3, September 2022

Don’T Forget To Wash! Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene Among Zambian Students, Katie Schmitz

NUTR/GLST 498b: Global Research Experiences in Nutrition and Health

Introduction: Water, sanitation, and hygiene practices in sub-Saharan Africa, including Zambia, have not met the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and remain inadequate to improve the overall health and wellbeing of most populations.

Methods: Survey research, interviews, WASH observations, and anthropometric assessment were conducted between May-June 2022 on 6-7th grade students within 6 Zambian schools.

Results: While hygiene knowledge was prominent, and handwashing stations and pit latrines were available, schools rarely supplied soap or toilet paper. Diarrheal and respiratory diseases were common and water shortages remain problematic with some students traveling long distances to reach a water source.

Discussion: As in …

Dental Decay In Zambian School Children In Eastern And Southern Provinces, Elizabeth Graham

NUTR/GLST 498b: Global Research Experiences in Nutrition and Health

Introduction: Dental caries is the most prevalent and infectious disease worldwide. Zambia has a high rate of vitamin A deficiency, and this deficiency is associated with dental caries.

Methods: Visual dental checks, interviewing, and anthropometric assessments were done on 781 Zambian primary school children.

Results: Caries rates are 20% among sample populations, males have more decay than females, first molars are the most decayed, a majority use toothbrushes to clean their teeth, and children who eat vitamin A rich foods are less likely to have dental caries.

Discussion: Caries’ rates in the Southern and Eastern provinces are higher than in …

Wetlandology: A Kid's Book About Wetlands, Grace Gaard, Ted Lagrange

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

What is a Wetland? You might think that any land that is wet would be a wetland, right? But if the occurrence of water was the only thing that made a wetland a wetland, then deeper parts of oceans and rivers would be considered wetlands. And we know that is not true! So, what actually makes a wetland a wetland? Wetlands are defined by three things:

1. Soil

2. Plants

3. Hydrology

Wetlands are spread throughout Nebraska, but it is useful to identify some of the larger wetland complexes in the state. Wetlands can be found everywhere! All rivers and …

Mcnair Scholars Research Journal 2022, Haleigh R. Hicks, Naponi Jada, Justine Phan, Promise Robinson, Rocio E. Vegamartinez, Paula Currie, David Antonio Diaz, Alexia J. Hartzell, Ariana Hernandez, Kayla Meyers, David O.T. Ogidan, Jose David Perez Vela, Riley Wiland

McNair Scholars Research Journal-Archive

No abstract provided.

Expanding Mouse-Adapted Yamagata-Like Influenza B Viruses In Eggs Enhances In Vivo Lethality In Balb/C Mice, Matthew J. Pekarek, Erika M. Petro-Turnquist, Adam Rubrum, Richard J. Webby, Eric A. Weaver

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Despite the yearly global impact of influenza B viruses (IBVs), limited host range has been a hurdle to developing a readily accessible small animal disease model for vaccine studies. Mouseadapting IBV can produce highly pathogenic viruses through serial lung passaging in mice. Previous studies have highlighted amino acid changes throughout the viral genome correlating with increased pathogenicity, but no consensus mutations have been determined. We aimed to show that growth system can play a role in mouse-adapted IBV lethality. Two Yamagata-lineage IBVs were serially passaged 10 times in mouse lungs before expansion in embryonated eggs or Madin–Darby canine kidney cells …

Dissecting The Cellular Landscape And Transcriptome Network In Viral Myocarditis By Single-Cell Rna Sequencing, Ninaad Lasrado, Nicholas Borcherding, Rajkumar Arumugam, Timothy K. Starr, Jay Reddy

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced myocarditis is commonly employed to study viral pathogenesis in mice.Chronically affected micemaydevelop dilated cardiomyopathy, which may involve the mediation of immune and nonimmune cells. To dissect this complexity, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on heart cells from healthy and myocarditic mice, leading us to note significant proportions of myeloid cells, T cells, and fibroblasts. Although the transcriptomes of myeloid cells were mainly of M2 phenotype, the Th17 cells, CTLs, and Treg cells had signatures critical for cytotoxic functions. Fibroblasts were heterogeneous expressing genes important in fibrosis and regulation of inflammation and immune responses. The intercellular communication networks …

Botanicals As Prospective Agents Against Sars-Cov-2 Virus, Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Anna Dushenkov

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 high morbidity and mortality resulted in a worldwide healthcare emergency that triggered accelerated and amplified efforts in the relevant areas of health sciences research and practice. Purpose: To assess the potential role of botanicals as therapeutic agents against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Methods: This narrative review examined the potential role of botanicals as therapeutic agents against the SARS-CoV-2 virus based on the references limited to the English language and published up to February 2022 and retrieved from common academic search engines using multiple keywords and their combinations. The scientific names of plant species were confirmed using World Flora Online …

Identification And Characterization Of Transcription Factors Regulating Methionine Gamma-Lyase Gene Expressionin Durian Durio Zibethinus M. Pulps, Pinnapat Pinsorn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Durian (Durio zibethinus L.) is an economic fruit crop in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, more than 200 durian varieties are found. Among them, two commercial cultivars which are Chanee and Monthong are mainly cultivated. Durian fruit releases a strong sulfuryl odor containing ethanethiol, methanethiol, and hydrogen sulfide during ripening. Methionine γ-lyase (MGL) is an enzyme responsible for α, γ-elimination of L-methionine into methanethiol, ammonia, and α-ketobutyrate. MGL gene is highly expressed in durian pulps during ripening concurring with methanethiol production during ripening. However, the function of durian MGL (DzMGL) has not been characterized. Thus, the enzymatic activity assay towards L-methionine, …

Electroporation And Cell Killing By Milli- To Nanosecond Pulses And Avoiding Neuromuscular Stimulation In Cancer Ablation, Emily Gudvangen, Vitalii Kim, Vitalij Novickij, Federico Battista, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Ablation therapies aim at eradication of tumors with minimal impact on surrounding healthy tissues. Conventional pulsed electric field (PEF) treatments cause pain and muscle contractions far beyond the ablation area. The ongoing quest is to identify PEF parameters efficient at ablation but not at stimulation. We measured electroporation and cell killing thresholds for 150 ns–1 ms PEF, uni- and bipolar, delivered in 10- to 300-pulse trains at up to 1 MHz rates. Monolayers of murine colon carcinoma cells exposed to PEF were stained with YO-PRO-1 dye to detect electroporation. In 2–4 h, dead cells were labeled with propidium. Electroporation and …

Honor Thyself, Alonzo O. Williams

Dance (MFA) Theses

The black male experience and identity in America are filled with complexity. We struggle to know ourselves. We work to see the way of love and the peace of an unviolated free spirit. We want to engage with ourselves with the highest degree of freedom and comfort, not to continue to question our identity in a life-threatening white patriarchal masculinity ideal. Honoring oneself from the lenses of the Reconstruction era of the United States is essential. Reconceptualizing this history explores the significance of emphasizing Reconstruction in my life as a black male to go through a process of self-discovery and …

Summer Research Fellowship Project Descriptions 2022, Clark Science Center's Summer Research Fellows Program

SURF Abstracts (Women in Science)

A summary of research done by Smith College’s 2022 Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) Program participants. Ever since its 1967 start, SURF has been a cornerstone of Smith’s science education. Supervised by faculty mentor-advisors drawn from the Clark Science Center and connected to its eighteen science, mathematics, and engineering departments and programs and associated centers and units. At summer’s end, SURF participants were asked to summarize their research experiences for this publication.

The Influence Of Menopause And Cardiorespiratory Fitness On Lipoprotein Particles In Midlife Women, Corinna Serviente, Melody Chalvin, Sarah Witkowski

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Lipoprotein particles may provide better information about cardiovascular risk than standard cholesterol measures for women. Whether lipoprotein subclasses change with menopausal stage is unclear. Given the high prevalence of low cardiorespiratory fitness in midlife women and benefit of cardiovascular disease risk, it is also important to understand the effect of fitness on lipoprotein profiles. This study evaluated the influence of menopausal status and fitness on lipoprotein particles in healthy midlife women. Lipoprotein particles were measured in high-(n = 25) and low-(n = 13) fit perimenopausal and late postmenopausal women, and in high-fit premenopausal (n = 10), perimenopausal (n = 12), …

Sew Zambia! Home Economics In Primary And Secondary Schools Of The Eastern And Southern Provinces, Clare Schinzel

UCARE: Research Products

Introduction: Home Economics (HE) is within the main curriculum for primary school students in Zambia, yet it remains unclear what is included.

Methods: Survey research conducted between May-June 2022 on 6-7th-grade students within 9 Zambian schools. Classroom observations were made, and teachers were interviewed in primary and secondary public schools.

Results: Most know how to cook and sew. Zambian women cook more than men and learn at an older age. Both males and females are trained to sew learning at a much younger age.

Discussion: HE remains critical to learning life skills in Zambia and the curriculum reflects skills related …

Sheep And Goat Industry Funding Scheme Annual Report 2020/2021, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

The Sheep and Goat Industry Funding Scheme (IFS) has been operating since 2010 to address biosecurity threats relevant to the Western Australian (WA) sheep and goat industry. The Scheme was established by regulation under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 to enable sheep and goat producers to identify pest and disease priorities at a whole-of-industry level and raise funds for activities to address these priorities.

There are currently three Industry Funding Schemes in operation. In addition to the Sheep and Goat IFS, there is a Cattle IFS and a Grains, Seeds and Hay IFS. The three IFSs operate in …

A Beginner's Guide To Arthropod Id, Kristen A. Lewis

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Classification > Morphological Identification > Images

Spiders and Scorpions; Sow Bugs; Millipedes, Centipedes & Pauropods; Proturans, Springtails & Diplurans; Bristletails & Silverfish; Mayflies; Dragonflies & Damselflies; Grasshoppers, Crickets & Katydids; Walkingsticks; Rock Crawlers; Gladiators; Earwigs; Stoneflies; Web-Spinners; Zorapterans; Mantids; Cockroaches; Termites; Bugs, Aphids, Scale Insects, Hoppers, Cicadas, Psyllids & Whiteflies; Thrips; Barklice & Booklice; Lice; Beetles; Alderflies, Dobsonflies, Antlions, Lacewings, Mantidflies & Fishflies; Ants, Bees, Wasps & Sawflies; Caddisflies; Butterflies, Skippers & Moths; Fleas; Scorpionflies & Hangingflies; Twisted-Winged Parasites; Flies & Mosquitoes; References

Art Exhibition: The Curious World Of Insects, Paula M. Courtney

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

This exhibition is a gallery of original mixed-media paintings by Paula M. Courtney intended to generate curiosity and appreciation for the field of entomology. It is human nature to fear what we do not know or understand. Art can be an effective catalyst for awareness creation and inspiration towards further education. Subjects depicted within these works of art were carefully selected with a goal of maintaining interest in an audience with emotions ranging from neutral to strong dislike towards insects and arachnids. This exhibition as a whole is designed to bridge the gap between a negative perception of insects and …

Preliminary Survey Of Insect Communities On Carrion In The Keweenaw Peninsula, Mi In Early Summer, With A Focus On Dipterans, Tess A. Peterson

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Community composition and successional information about insect communities on carrion have value in forensic entomology. Local scale data is essential for providing accurate inferences about the timing and conditions of a death based on insect presence. Insects (primarily Diptera) were collected from beef liver in the month of June, 2021, at mixed hardwood and wetland sites in Houghton County, Michigan for the purpose of establishing preliminary information on insect communities present on carrion in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Key dipteran groups were Calliphorids from the genera Calliphora, Lucilia, and Phormia (Diptera: Calliphoridae), which were present at high proportions …

Conserving Urban Insects: A Toolkit For Landscape Professionals In The Intermountain West, Sierra Laverty

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Purpose of this Toolkit This toolkit is a resource for landscapers, landscape archi tect s and designers, urban foresters, growers. staff in public gardens, parks, nurseries and other ornamentaL horticulture professionals. It is intended for those interested in conserving non pest insects in urban and suburban environments.

Why urban and suburban areas? Insects are critical not only to natural and agricultural ecosystems. but also to urban ecosystems. Urban environments are characterized by a patchwork of habitat "islands" including home gardens, university campuses, urban parks and farms, vacant lots, cemeteries, arboreta, and botanicaL gardens [1). These habitat islands are the focus …

An Overview Of Integrated Pest Management In Greenhouse Systems, Kateri Cavanagh

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Greenhouses are technological advancements that have existed since the first century. Human life and the field of agriculture have greatly improved with their invention. However, greenhouses come with their own set of challenges. One of the biggest issues with greenhouse systems is the presence of large pest populations. This is due to the ample food and water supply along with the relative stability of greenhouses. Pests in greenhouses are usually dealt with through the application of chemical pesticides. However, integrated pest management (IPM) is gaining traction for use in greenhouse systems. This overview will cover the history of greenhouses and …

Seek, Picture Insect, Google Lens: An Analysis Of Popular Insect Identification Apps Using Photos Of Realistic Quality, Morgan Manderfield

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Photo-based identification apps for mobile devices have grown in popularity across many fields of organismal biology. While studies have shown that these apps show promise in fields such as botany and ornithology, there is much skepticism surrounding their accuracy and usefulness in entomology. While providing these apps with photos of high quality will undoubtedly lead to the highest accuracy rates, often users submit photos of average quality, e.g., in poor lighting, out of focus, from far away, etc. To quantify realistic accuracy rates of photo-based insect identification apps, this study analyzed three popular apps – Seek, Picture Insect, and Google …

“One Bug, Two Bug, Good Bug, Bad Bug”, Ivy Grob

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic strategy for the management of pest species. It is a framework that relies on scientifically informed decisions to identify and remediate a pest problem in a way that minimizes harm to the environment, human health, and the economy (Dara, 2019). The term pest is broadly defined not just as a nuisance, but as any organism that has detrimental effects to a resource or public health and that exists at a population level that exceeds a threshold of economic damage. This encompasses invertebrates (such as insects, nematodes, and mites), vertebrates, plant pathogens, diseases, and …

A Review Of The Repellency Properties Of Pyrethrins, Gary Frazier

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Pyrethrum is an insecticide created from the dried flower heads of plants in the genus Chrysanthemum. The six compounds responsible for the insecticidal activity are collectively known as pyrethrins, and are known individually as Pyrethrin-I, Pyrethrin-II, Cinerin-I, Cinerin-II, Jasmolin-I, and Jasmolin-II. Of these compounds, Pyrethrin-I is best known for mortality, and Pyrethrin-II is best known for knockdown activity (Sisay et al. 2001). These compounds are voltage gated sodium-ion channel disruptors acting on nerve cells. The inside of nerve cells is negative relative to the outside at rest. It is due to an imbalance between ions on either side of the …

Instrumental Insemination Of Honey Bees Short Course, Cory Stevens

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

My MS project is a practical and comprehensive training module for the advanced breeding technique of instrumental insemination of honey bee queens. Instrumental insemination allows for control over mating. Honey bee queens typically mate with 15-20 different drones in the air, making specific trait selection quite difficult. II is invaluable for concentrating specific traits in breeding stock, especially host pest resistance. The commercial bee industry has become overly reliant on chemical solutions to control varroa mites in their IPM programs. With recent evidence of mite resistance to popular miticides, breeding for host resistance is critically important to sustain the industry. …

A Guide To Agricultural Insect Pests On The East Coast, Devan Mazza-Mcdonald

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

A Guide to Agricultural Insect Pests on the East Coast is a useful resource comprised of fact sheets of ten invasive pests that have been introduced to the United States. It also includes a fact sheet of three important pollinator species that are of economic and environmental importance. Most of the pests I selected are currently an issue in states on the East coast and in some instances, further west as well. Currently, the khapra beetle is not a problem pest in the United States but does have a possibility of becoming an issue, again. The invasive pests I chose …

Insects Of Decay: An Illustrative Series In Forensic Entomology, Britaney Hight

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

This is an illustrative series of selected insects involved with forensic entomology. All illustrations are original hand-drawn works, completed with colored pencils, pen and ink where needed, and colored pencil paper. Each illustration is paired with a summary that includes basic biology and ecology, and their importance to the field of forensic entomology. Preferred collection and preservation methods were also included with each summary. This project can be used in outreach and teaching applications.

Coleoptera 6 Creophilus maxillosus - Hairy Rove Beetle 7 Dermestes maculatus - Hide Beetle 9 Euspilotus spp - Hister Beetle 11 Necrobia rufipes - Red-legged Ham …

Biological Control Of Pests, Colin Park

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Biological Control of Pests

1: What is it?!?

2. History

3.Closer looks: Insect pests –IPM –Classical/weeds -Biodiversity

Insects As Indicators Of Climate Change: A Literature Review, Amy Catalano

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has consistently predicted rising global temperatures since it began reporting in 1988. Researchers have noted that climate extremes have been identified beginning in the 1990s and are apparent in various climate indicators. The most recent IPCC reports show that the rate of warming has sped up considerably, and that global warming will increase from pre-industrial levels by 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next 30 years, and possibly by 2 degrees C if considerable mitigation efforts are not put in place (IPCC, 2021). By 2017 global temperatures had already increased by about 1 degree …

Mrna-Sequencing Pipeline And Pathway Analysis To Determine The Effects Of Bisphenol A On Fragile X Syndrome In Drosophila Melanogaster, Rashi Raghulan

Master's Projects

Neurological disorders (NDDs), like Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), are becoming more prevalent. One outstanding question in the field is how genetic risk factors for NDDs, like Fmr1, converge with environmental risk factors like bisphenol A (BPA). Our research compares and contrasts the different molecular impacts of BPA exposure in wild-type and FXS flies using mRNA-sequencing analysis. This analysis identifies the mutation in the Fmr1 gene is shown to have a stronger effect on the Drosophila than the presence of BPA, resulting in significant differential gene expression that perturbed several neurological pathways. Moreover, numerous genes responsible for genetic human diseases have …