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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Influence Of Citrate And Phosphate On The Adsorption Of Adenosine-5′-Monophosphate At The Hematite Water Interface, Sudipta Rakshit, Avedananda Ray, Ali Taheri, Michael E. Essington May 2022

Influence Of Citrate And Phosphate On The Adsorption Of Adenosine-5′-Monophosphate At The Hematite Water Interface, Sudipta Rakshit, Avedananda Ray, Ali Taheri, Michael E. Essington

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Nucleic acid derived organic phosphorus (Po) is an important source of plant available P when degraded to inorganic phosphate (P(V)i). It is known that when nucleic acids or components are adsorbed on mineral surfaces, the enzymatic degradation is hindered or delayed. Thus, understanding adsorption/desorption mechanisms of nucleic acids and their derivatives are key to assess the biogeochemical pathways of Po cycling. Here we report adsorption mechanisms of adenosine-5′-monophosphate (AMP) on hematite, a common iron oxide mineral, under various solution properties using macroscopic and in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopic probes. The effects of citrate, mimicking organic …


Effects Of Dibutyltin Exposures On Translation Regulatory Factor S6 In Human Immune Cells, Meaghan Lewis, Amanda Ruff, Margaret Whalen Mar 2022

Effects Of Dibutyltin Exposures On Translation Regulatory Factor S6 In Human Immune Cells, Meaghan Lewis, Amanda Ruff, Margaret Whalen

Student Research

Dibutyltin is an organotin contaminating the environment through its use as a stabilizer in polyvinylchloride, PVC plastics. DBT has been found in drinking water and beverages, such as beer and wine, due to leaching from the PVC plastics used during the distribution of these drinks. Along with PVC plastics, DBT has been used as a deworming agent in poultry, infiltrating additional food products and increasing the exposure of the toxin to humans. Due to its multiple uses, it has entered the food chain and has been detected in human blood at levels as high as 0.3μM. Inflammatory cytokines are important …


Influence Of Soil And Foliar Application Of Fulvic Acid On Yield Parameters Of Organically Grown Bell Peppers (Capsicum Annuum L.) Under Open-Field Conditions In Tennessee, Pinkky Kanabar, Dilip Nandwani Mar 2022

Influence Of Soil And Foliar Application Of Fulvic Acid On Yield Parameters Of Organically Grown Bell Peppers (Capsicum Annuum L.) Under Open-Field Conditions In Tennessee, Pinkky Kanabar, Dilip Nandwani

Student Research

Due to increased demand for healthier fresh produce by consumers, growers are seeking for environmental friendlier techniques to improve sustainability and profitability in organic vegetable production. The use of fulvic acid biostimulant coupled with different mode of application can contribute to enhanced plant growth and high-quality yield. A field experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the organic farm of Tennessee State University in summer 2021. The influence of foliar and soil application of fulvic acid biostimulant on yield of organically grown bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) was investigated. Transplants were raised from organic …


Linking Soil Microbial Community Structure To Potential Carbon Mineralization: A Continental Scale Assessment Of Reduced Tillage, Elizabeth L. Rieke, Shannon B. Cappellazzi, Michael Cope, Daniel Liptzin, Gregory Mac Bean, Kelsey L.H. Greub, Charlotte E. Norris, Paul W. Tracy, Ezra Aberle, Amanda Ashworth, Oscar Bañuelos Tavarez, Andy I. Bary, Roland L. Baumhardt, Alberto Borbón Gracia, Daniel C. Brainard, Jameson R. Brennan, Dolores Briones Reyes, Darren Bruhjell, Cameron N. Carlyle, James J.W. Crawford, Cody F. Creech, Steve W. Culman, Bill Deen, Curtis J. Dell, Justin D. Derner, Thomas F. Ducey, Sjoerd W. Duiker, Miles F. Dyck, Benjamin H. Ellert, Avelino Espinosa Solorio, Steven J. Fonte, Simon Fonteyne, Ann-Marie Fortuna, Jamie L. Foster, Lisa M. Fultz, Audrey V. Gamble, Charles M. Geddes, Deirdre Griffin-Lahue, John H. Grove, Stephen K. Hamilton, Xiying Hao, Zachary D. Hayden, Nora Honsdorf, Julie A. Howe, James A. Ippolito, Gregg A. Johnson, Mark A. Kautz, Newell R. Kitchen, Sandeep Kumar, Kirsten S.M. Kurtz, Francis J. Larney, Katie L. Lewis, Matt Liebman, Antonio Lopez Ramirez, Stephen Machado, Bijesh Maharjan, Miguel Angel Martinez Gamiño, William E. May, Mitchel P. Mcclaran, Marshall D. Mcdaniel, Neville Millar, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Amber D. Moore, Philip A. Moore, Manuel Mora Gutiérrez, Kelly A. Nelson, Emmanuel C. Omondi, Shannon L. Osborne, Leodegario Osorio Alcalá, Philip Owens, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, Hanna J. Poffenbarger, Brenda Ponce Lira, Jennifer R. Reeve, Timothy M. Reinbott, Mark S. Reiter, Edwin L. Ritchey, Kraig L. Roozeboom, Yichao Rui, Amir Sadeghpour, Upendra M. Sainju, Gregg R. Sanford, William F. Schillinger, Robert R. Schindelbeck, Meagan E. Schipanski, Alan J. Schlegel, Kate M. Scow, Lucretia A. Sherrod, Amy L. Shober, Sudeep S. Sidhu, Ernesto Solís Moya, Mervin St Luce, Jeffrey S. Strock, Andrew E. Suyker, Virginia R. Sykes, Haiying Tao, Alberto Trujillo Campos, Laura L. Van Eerd, Nele Verhulst, Tony J. Vyn, Yutao Wang, Dexter B. Watts, Bryan B. William, David L. Wright, Tiequan Zhang, Cristine L.S. Morgan, C. Wayne Honeycutt Mar 2022

Linking Soil Microbial Community Structure To Potential Carbon Mineralization: A Continental Scale Assessment Of Reduced Tillage, Elizabeth L. Rieke, Shannon B. Cappellazzi, Michael Cope, Daniel Liptzin, Gregory Mac Bean, Kelsey L.H. Greub, Charlotte E. Norris, Paul W. Tracy, Ezra Aberle, Amanda Ashworth, Oscar Bañuelos Tavarez, Andy I. Bary, Roland L. Baumhardt, Alberto Borbón Gracia, Daniel C. Brainard, Jameson R. Brennan, Dolores Briones Reyes, Darren Bruhjell, Cameron N. Carlyle, James J.W. Crawford, Cody F. Creech, Steve W. Culman, Bill Deen, Curtis J. Dell, Justin D. Derner, Thomas F. Ducey, Sjoerd W. Duiker, Miles F. Dyck, Benjamin H. Ellert, Avelino Espinosa Solorio, Steven J. Fonte, Simon Fonteyne, Ann-Marie Fortuna, Jamie L. Foster, Lisa M. Fultz, Audrey V. Gamble, Charles M. Geddes, Deirdre Griffin-Lahue, John H. Grove, Stephen K. Hamilton, Xiying Hao, Zachary D. Hayden, Nora Honsdorf, Julie A. Howe, James A. Ippolito, Gregg A. Johnson, Mark A. Kautz, Newell R. Kitchen, Sandeep Kumar, Kirsten S.M. Kurtz, Francis J. Larney, Katie L. Lewis, Matt Liebman, Antonio Lopez Ramirez, Stephen Machado, Bijesh Maharjan, Miguel Angel Martinez Gamiño, William E. May, Mitchel P. Mcclaran, Marshall D. Mcdaniel, Neville Millar, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Amber D. Moore, Philip A. Moore, Manuel Mora Gutiérrez, Kelly A. Nelson, Emmanuel C. Omondi, Shannon L. Osborne, Leodegario Osorio Alcalá, Philip Owens, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, Hanna J. Poffenbarger, Brenda Ponce Lira, Jennifer R. Reeve, Timothy M. Reinbott, Mark S. Reiter, Edwin L. Ritchey, Kraig L. Roozeboom, Yichao Rui, Amir Sadeghpour, Upendra M. Sainju, Gregg R. Sanford, William F. Schillinger, Robert R. Schindelbeck, Meagan E. Schipanski, Alan J. Schlegel, Kate M. Scow, Lucretia A. Sherrod, Amy L. Shober, Sudeep S. Sidhu, Ernesto Solís Moya, Mervin St Luce, Jeffrey S. Strock, Andrew E. Suyker, Virginia R. Sykes, Haiying Tao, Alberto Trujillo Campos, Laura L. Van Eerd, Nele Verhulst, Tony J. Vyn, Yutao Wang, Dexter B. Watts, Bryan B. William, David L. Wright, Tiequan Zhang, Cristine L.S. Morgan, C. Wayne Honeycutt

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical …


Carbon-Sensitive Pedotransfer Functions For Plant Available Water, Dianna K. Bagnall, Cristine L. S. Morgan, Michael Cope, Gregory M. Bean, Shannon Cappellazzi, Kelsey Greub, Daniel Liptzin, Charlotte L. Norris, Elizabeth Rieke, Paul Tracy, Ezra Aberle, Amanda Ashworth, Oscar Bañuelos Tavarez, Andy Bary, Roland Louis Baumhardt, Alberto Borbón Gracia, Daniel Brainard, Jameson Brennan, Dolores Briones Reyes, Darren Bruhjell, Cameron Carlyle, James Crawford, Cody Creech, Steven Culman, William Deen, Curtis Dell, Justin Derner, Thomas Ducey, Sjoerd Willem Duiker, Miles Dyck, Benjamin Ellert, Martin Entz, Avelino Espinosa Solorio, Steven J. Fonte, Simon Fonteyne, Ann-Marie Fortuna, Jamie Foster, Lisa Fultz, Audrey V. Gamble, Charles Geddes, Deirdre Griffin-Lahue, John Grove, Stephen K. Hamilton, Xiying Hao, ‪Zachary D. Hayden, Julie Howe, James Ippolito, Gregg Johnson, Mark Kautz, Newell Kitchen, Sandeep Kumar, Kirsten Kurtz, Francis Larney, Katie Lewis, Matt Liebman, Antonio Lopez Ramirez, Stephen Machado, Bijesh Maharjan, Miguel Angel Martinez Gamiño, William May, Mitchel Mcclaran, Marshall Mcdaniel, Neville Millar, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Philip A. Moore, Amber Moore, Manuel Mora Gutiérrez, Kelly A. Nelson, Emmanuel Omondi, Shannon Osborne, Leodegario Osorio Alcalá, Philip Owens, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, Hanna Poffenbarger, Brenda Ponce Lira, Jennifer Reeve, Timothy Reinbott, Mark Reiter, Edwin Ritchey, Kraig L. Roozeboom, Ichao Rui, Amir Sadeghpour, Upendra M. Sainju, Gregg Sanford, William Schillinger, Robert R. Schindelbeck, Meagan Schipanski, Alan Schlegel, Kate Scow, Lucretia Sherrod, Sudeep Sidhu, Ernesto Solís Moya, Mervin St. Luce, Jeffrey Strock, Andrew Suyker, Virginia Sykes, Haiying Tao, Alberto Trujillo, Laura L. Van Eerd, Nele Verhulst, Tony John Vyn, Yutao Wang, Dexter Watts, David Wright, Tiequan Zhang, Charles Wayne Honeycutt Feb 2022

Carbon-Sensitive Pedotransfer Functions For Plant Available Water, Dianna K. Bagnall, Cristine L. S. Morgan, Michael Cope, Gregory M. Bean, Shannon Cappellazzi, Kelsey Greub, Daniel Liptzin, Charlotte L. Norris, Elizabeth Rieke, Paul Tracy, Ezra Aberle, Amanda Ashworth, Oscar Bañuelos Tavarez, Andy Bary, Roland Louis Baumhardt, Alberto Borbón Gracia, Daniel Brainard, Jameson Brennan, Dolores Briones Reyes, Darren Bruhjell, Cameron Carlyle, James Crawford, Cody Creech, Steven Culman, William Deen, Curtis Dell, Justin Derner, Thomas Ducey, Sjoerd Willem Duiker, Miles Dyck, Benjamin Ellert, Martin Entz, Avelino Espinosa Solorio, Steven J. Fonte, Simon Fonteyne, Ann-Marie Fortuna, Jamie Foster, Lisa Fultz, Audrey V. Gamble, Charles Geddes, Deirdre Griffin-Lahue, John Grove, Stephen K. Hamilton, Xiying Hao, ‪Zachary D. Hayden, Julie Howe, James Ippolito, Gregg Johnson, Mark Kautz, Newell Kitchen, Sandeep Kumar, Kirsten Kurtz, Francis Larney, Katie Lewis, Matt Liebman, Antonio Lopez Ramirez, Stephen Machado, Bijesh Maharjan, Miguel Angel Martinez Gamiño, William May, Mitchel Mcclaran, Marshall Mcdaniel, Neville Millar, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Philip A. Moore, Amber Moore, Manuel Mora Gutiérrez, Kelly A. Nelson, Emmanuel Omondi, Shannon Osborne, Leodegario Osorio Alcalá, Philip Owens, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, Hanna Poffenbarger, Brenda Ponce Lira, Jennifer Reeve, Timothy Reinbott, Mark Reiter, Edwin Ritchey, Kraig L. Roozeboom, Ichao Rui, Amir Sadeghpour, Upendra M. Sainju, Gregg Sanford, William Schillinger, Robert R. Schindelbeck, Meagan Schipanski, Alan Schlegel, Kate Scow, Lucretia Sherrod, Sudeep Sidhu, Ernesto Solís Moya, Mervin St. Luce, Jeffrey Strock, Andrew Suyker, Virginia Sykes, Haiying Tao, Alberto Trujillo, Laura L. Van Eerd, Nele Verhulst, Tony John Vyn, Yutao Wang, Dexter Watts, David Wright, Tiequan Zhang, Charles Wayne Honeycutt

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Currently accepted pedotransfer functions show negligible effect of management-induced changes to soil organic carbon (SOC) on plant available water holding capacity (θAWHC), while some studies show the ability to substantially increase θAWHC through management. The Soil Health Institute's North America Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements measured water content at field capacity using intact soil cores across 124 long-term research sites that contained increases in SOC as a result of management treatments such as reduced tillage and cover cropping. Pedotransfer functions were created for volumetric water content at field capacity (θFC) and permanent wilting point (θPWP). New pedotransfer functions had …


Reducing Tillage Affects Long-Term Yields But Not Grain Quality Of Maize, Soybeans, Oats, And Wheat Produced In Three Contrasting Farming Systems, Kirsten Ann Pearsons, Emmanuel Chiwo Omondi, Brad J. Heins, Gladis Zinati, Andrew Smith, Yichao Rui Jan 2022

Reducing Tillage Affects Long-Term Yields But Not Grain Quality Of Maize, Soybeans, Oats, And Wheat Produced In Three Contrasting Farming Systems, Kirsten Ann Pearsons, Emmanuel Chiwo Omondi, Brad J. Heins, Gladis Zinati, Andrew Smith, Yichao Rui

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Reducing tillage has been widely promoted to reduce soil erosion, maintain soil health, and sustain long-term food production. The effects of reducing tillage on crop nutritional quality in organic and conventional systems, however, has not been widely explored. One possible driver of crop nutritional quality might be the changing soil nitrogen (N) availability associated with reduced tillage in various management systems. To test how reducing tillage affects crop nutritional quality under contrasting conventional and organic farming systems with varied N inputs, we measured nutritional quality (protein, fat, starch, ash, net energy, total digestible nutrients, and concentrations of Ca, K, Mg, …


Stimulation Of Ammonia Oxidizer And Denitrifier Abundances By Nitrogen Loading: Poor Predictability For Increased Soil N2o Emission, Yong Zhang, Feng Zhang, Diego Abalos, Yiqi Luo, Dafeng Hui, Bruce A. Hungate, Pablo García-Palacios, Yakov Kuzyakov, Jørgen Eivind Olesen, Uffe Jørgensen, Ji Chen Dec 2021

Stimulation Of Ammonia Oxidizer And Denitrifier Abundances By Nitrogen Loading: Poor Predictability For Increased Soil N2o Emission, Yong Zhang, Feng Zhang, Diego Abalos, Yiqi Luo, Dafeng Hui, Bruce A. Hungate, Pablo García-Palacios, Yakov Kuzyakov, Jørgen Eivind Olesen, Uffe Jørgensen, Ji Chen

Biology Faculty Research

Unprecedented nitrogen (N) inputs into terrestrial ecosystems have profoundly altered soil N cycling. Ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers are the main producers of nitrous oxide (N2O), but it remains unclear how ammonia oxidizer and denitrifier abundances will respond to N loading and whether their responses can predict N-induced changes in soil N2O emission. By synthesizing 101 field studies worldwide, we showed that N loading significantly increased ammonia oxidizer abundance by 107% and denitrifier abundance by 45%. The increases in both ammonia oxidizer and denitrifier abundances were primarily explained by N loading form, and more specifically, organic N …


Three-Dimensional Graph Matching To Identify Secondary Structure Correspondence Of Medium-Resolution Cryo-Em Density Maps, Bahareh Behkamal, Mahmoud Naghibzadeh, Mohammad Reza Saberi, Zeinab Amiri Tehranizadeh, Andrea Pagnani, Kamal Al Nasr Nov 2021

Three-Dimensional Graph Matching To Identify Secondary Structure Correspondence Of Medium-Resolution Cryo-Em Density Maps, Bahareh Behkamal, Mahmoud Naghibzadeh, Mohammad Reza Saberi, Zeinab Amiri Tehranizadeh, Andrea Pagnani, Kamal Al Nasr

Computer Science Faculty Research

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a structural technique that has played a significant role in protein structure determination in recent years. Compared to the traditional methods of X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, cryo-EM is capable of producing images of much larger protein complexes. However, cryo-EM reconstructions are limited to medium-resolution (~4–10 Å) for some cases. At this resolution range, a cryo-EM density map can hardly be used to directly determine the structure of proteins at atomic level resolutions, or even at their amino acid residue backbones. At such a resolution, only the position and orientation of secondary structure elements (SSEs) such …


Soil Bacteria In Urban Community Gardens Have The Potential To Disseminate Antimicrobial Resistance Through Horizontal Gene Transfer, Abdullah Ibn Mafiz, Yingshu He, Wei Zhang, Yifan Zhang Nov 2021

Soil Bacteria In Urban Community Gardens Have The Potential To Disseminate Antimicrobial Resistance Through Horizontal Gene Transfer, Abdullah Ibn Mafiz, Yingshu He, Wei Zhang, Yifan Zhang

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Fifteen soil and 45 vegetable samples from Detroit community gardens were analyzed for potential antimicrobial resistance contamination. Soil bacteria were isolated and tested by antimicrobial susceptibility profiling, horizontal gene transfer, and whole-genome sequencing. High-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing analysis was conducted on collected soil samples to determine the total bacterial composition. Of 226 bacterial isolates recovered, 54 were from soil and 172 from vegetables. A high minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was defined as the MIC greater than or equal to the resistance breakpoint of Escherichia coli for Gram-negative bacteria or Staphylococcus aureus for Gram-positive bacteria. The high MIC was observed in …


Assessing The Impact Of Organic Versus Conventional Agricultural Management On Soil Hydraulic Properties In A Long-Term Experiment, Abdelrahman Alfahham, Matthew T. Amato, Emmanuel Omondi, Daniel Giménez, Alain F. Plante Jul 2021

Assessing The Impact Of Organic Versus Conventional Agricultural Management On Soil Hydraulic Properties In A Long-Term Experiment, Abdelrahman Alfahham, Matthew T. Amato, Emmanuel Omondi, Daniel Giménez, Alain F. Plante

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Investigating the effects of various agricultural management systems on soil hydraulic properties in long-term field experiments allows farmers to evaluate their efficacy in mitigating the effects of droughts and floods, which are expected to intensify in the coming decades. This study's main objective was to quantify soil structural and hydraulic properties in plots under organic manure, organic leguminous, and conventional agricultural management and related tillage practices at Rodale Institute's Farming Systems Trial. Soil cores were collected at depths of 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm and analyzed for soil water retention, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), soil organic C (SOC), bulk density, …


Can Agricultural Management Induced Changes In Soil Organic Carbon Be Detected Using Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy?, Jonathan Sanderman, Kathleen Savage, Shree R.S. Dangal, Gabriel Duran, Charlotte Rivard, Michel A. Cavigelli, Hero T. Gollany, Virginia L. Jin, Mark A. Liebig, Emmanuel Chiwo Omondi, Yichao Rui, Catherine Stewart Jun 2021

Can Agricultural Management Induced Changes In Soil Organic Carbon Be Detected Using Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy?, Jonathan Sanderman, Kathleen Savage, Shree R.S. Dangal, Gabriel Duran, Charlotte Rivard, Michel A. Cavigelli, Hero T. Gollany, Virginia L. Jin, Mark A. Liebig, Emmanuel Chiwo Omondi, Yichao Rui, Catherine Stewart

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

A major limitation to building credible soil carbon sequestration programs is the cost of measuring soil carbon change. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is considered a viable low-cost alternative to traditional laboratory analysis of soil organic carbon (SOC). While numerous studies have shown that DRS can produce accurate and precise estimates of SOC across landscapes, whether DRS can detect subtle management induced changes in SOC at a given site has not been resolved. Here, we leverage archived soil samples from seven long-term research trials in the U.S. to test this question using mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy coupled with the USDA-NRCS Kellogg …


Elevated Atmospheric Co2 Concentration Triggers Redistribution Of Nitrogen To Promote Tillering In Rice, Juan Zhou, Yingbo Gao, Junpeng Wang, Chang Liu, Zi Wang, Minjia Lv, Xiaoxiang Zhang, Yong Zhou, Guichun Dong, Yulong Wang, Jianye Huang, Dafeng Hui, Zefeng Yang, Youli Yao May 2021

Elevated Atmospheric Co2 Concentration Triggers Redistribution Of Nitrogen To Promote Tillering In Rice, Juan Zhou, Yingbo Gao, Junpeng Wang, Chang Liu, Zi Wang, Minjia Lv, Xiaoxiang Zhang, Yong Zhou, Guichun Dong, Yulong Wang, Jianye Huang, Dafeng Hui, Zefeng Yang, Youli Yao

Biology Faculty Research

Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (eCO2) often reduces nitrogen (N) content in rice plants and stimulates tillering. However, there is a general consensus that reduced N would constrain rice tillering. To resolve this contradiction, we investigated N distribution and transcriptomic changes in different rice plant organs after subjecting them to eCO2 and different N application rates. Our results showed that eCO2 significantly promoted rice tillers (by 0.6, 1.1, 1.7, and 2.1 tillers/plant at 0, 75, 150, and 225 kg N ha−1 N application rates, respectively) and more tillers were produced under higher N application rates, …


Distribution And Conservation Status Of Camellia Longzhouensis (Theaceae), A Critically Endangered Plant Species Endemic To Southern China, Zhanhui Xu, Hai Ren, Xiao Wei, Kangting Ouyang, Dongxing Li, Yili Guo, Shujun Wen, Jifeng Long, Jun Wang, Dafeng Hui Apr 2021

Distribution And Conservation Status Of Camellia Longzhouensis (Theaceae), A Critically Endangered Plant Species Endemic To Southern China, Zhanhui Xu, Hai Ren, Xiao Wei, Kangting Ouyang, Dongxing Li, Yili Guo, Shujun Wen, Jifeng Long, Jun Wang, Dafeng Hui

Biology Faculty Research

Camellia longzhouensis (Theaceae) is an endemic evergreen shrub or small tree with a distribution restricted to South China. It is listed as Grade-II in the National Key Protected Wild Plants List. In this study, we surveyed its distribution, examined its population structure, identified factors affecting its survival, and reassessed its extinction risk. We found that C. longzhouensis was only distributed in the Nonggang National Nature Reserve and the surrounding area. Its individuals only grew under the secondary forest canopy in the karst mountain. A total of 58 individuals of C. longzhouensis in three sub-populations were found. Soil fertility and understory …


Melanogenesis, Its Regulatory Process, And Insights On Biomedical, Biotechnological, And Pharmacological Potentials Of Melanin As Antiviral Biochemical, Toluwase Hezekiah Fatoki, Omodele Ibraheem, Catherine Joke Adeseko, Boluwatife Lawrence Afolabi, Daniel Uwaremhevho Momodu, David Morakinyo Sanni, Jesupemi Mercy Enibukun, Ibukun Oladejo Ogunyemi, Akinwunmi Oluwaseun Adeoye, Harriet U. Ugboko, Amoge Chidinma Ogu, Abiodun Samuel Oyedele, Adejoju Omodolapo Adedara, Abiodun Joseph Jimoh, Oluwakemi Ruth Ogundana, Oritsetimeyin Eworitse Ebosa Dec 2020

Melanogenesis, Its Regulatory Process, And Insights On Biomedical, Biotechnological, And Pharmacological Potentials Of Melanin As Antiviral Biochemical, Toluwase Hezekiah Fatoki, Omodele Ibraheem, Catherine Joke Adeseko, Boluwatife Lawrence Afolabi, Daniel Uwaremhevho Momodu, David Morakinyo Sanni, Jesupemi Mercy Enibukun, Ibukun Oladejo Ogunyemi, Akinwunmi Oluwaseun Adeoye, Harriet U. Ugboko, Amoge Chidinma Ogu, Abiodun Samuel Oyedele, Adejoju Omodolapo Adedara, Abiodun Joseph Jimoh, Oluwakemi Ruth Ogundana, Oritsetimeyin Eworitse Ebosa

Chemistry Student Research

Melanin is s most widely distributed pigment and is found in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. Melanogenesis is under complex regulatory control by multiple agents interacting through pathways activated by hormonal and receptor-dependent and -independent mechanisms. There are about 20 genes that are involved in the biochemical pathway of melanogenesis and its regulation, which include: tyrosinase, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, melanocortin1 receptor, adenylate cyclase, protein kinase A. Human melanogenesis regulatory proteins such as MAPK1, CREB3, and CREBP, have binary interaction with the protein of herpesvirus, hepatitis C virus, Human immunodeficiency virus type 1, Simian virus 40, and Human adenovirus A and …


Multi-Year Incubation Experiments Boost Confidence In Model Projections Of Long-Term Soil Carbon Dynamics, Siyang Jian, Jianwei Li, Gangsheng Wang, Laurel A. Kluber, Christopher W. Schadt, Junyi Liang, Melanie A. Mayes Nov 2020

Multi-Year Incubation Experiments Boost Confidence In Model Projections Of Long-Term Soil Carbon Dynamics, Siyang Jian, Jianwei Li, Gangsheng Wang, Laurel A. Kluber, Christopher W. Schadt, Junyi Liang, Melanie A. Mayes

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Global soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks may decline with a warmer climate. However, model projections of changes in SOC due to climate warming depend on microbially-driven processes that are usually parameterized based on laboratory incubations. To assess how lab-scale incubation datasets inform model projections over decades, we optimized five microbially-relevant parameters in the Microbial-ENzyme Decomposition (MEND) model using 16 short-term glucose (6-day), 16 short-term cellulose (30-day) and 16 long-term cellulose (729-day) incubation datasets with soils from forests and grasslands across contrasting soil types. Our analysis identified consistently higher parameter estimates given the short-term versus long-term datasets. Implementing the short-term and …


Relationships Between Vegetation And Soil Seed Banks Along A Center-To-Edge Gradient On A Tropical Coral Island, Yao Huang, Hai Ren, Jun Wang, Nan Liu, Shuguang Jian, Hongyue Cai, Dafeng Hui, Qinfeng Guo Jul 2020

Relationships Between Vegetation And Soil Seed Banks Along A Center-To-Edge Gradient On A Tropical Coral Island, Yao Huang, Hai Ren, Jun Wang, Nan Liu, Shuguang Jian, Hongyue Cai, Dafeng Hui, Qinfeng Guo

Biology Faculty Research

Few studies have focused on the relationships between vegetation and soil seed banks on small islands. To better understand the pattern and regeneration potential of seed banks on tropical coral islands, we measured environmental factors and the species composition, and species richness of soil seed banks and vegetation along a gradient from the center to the edges on East Island in the South China Sea. The results showed that the similarity between the species composition of vegetation and seed banks increased from the center to the edge. In the center, species richness in both vegetation and seed banks was positively …


Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization And Bioenergy Crop Type On Topsoil Organic Carbon And Total Nitrogen Contents In Middle Tennessee Usa, Jianwei Li, Siyang Jian, Chad S. Lane, Yuehan Lu, Xiaorui He, Gangsheng Wang, Melanie A. Mayes, Kudjo E. Dzantor, Dafeng Hui Mar 2020

Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization And Bioenergy Crop Type On Topsoil Organic Carbon And Total Nitrogen Contents In Middle Tennessee Usa, Jianwei Li, Siyang Jian, Chad S. Lane, Yuehan Lu, Xiaorui He, Gangsheng Wang, Melanie A. Mayes, Kudjo E. Dzantor, Dafeng Hui

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Nitrogen (N) fertilization affects bioenergy crop growth and productivity and consequently carbon (C) and N contents in soil, it however remains unclear whether N fertilization and crop type individually or interactively influence soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N (TN). In a three-year long fertilization experiment in switchgrass (SG: Panicum virgatum L.) and gamagrass (GG: Tripsacum dactyloides L.) croplands in Middle Tennessee USA, soil samples (0–15cm) were collected in plots with no N input (NN), low N input (LN: 84 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in urea) and high N input (HN: 168 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in urea). Besides SOC …


Nitrogen Fertilization Restructured Spatial Patterns Of Soil Organic Carbon And Total Nitrogen In Switchgrass And Gamagrass Croplands In Tennessee Usa, Jianwei Li, Siyang Jian, Chad S. Lane, Chunlan Guo, Yuehan Lu, Qi Deng, Melanie A. Mayes, Kudjo E. Dzantor, Dafeng Hui Jan 2020

Nitrogen Fertilization Restructured Spatial Patterns Of Soil Organic Carbon And Total Nitrogen In Switchgrass And Gamagrass Croplands In Tennessee Usa, Jianwei Li, Siyang Jian, Chad S. Lane, Chunlan Guo, Yuehan Lu, Qi Deng, Melanie A. Mayes, Kudjo E. Dzantor, Dafeng Hui

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Nitrogen (N) fertilizers can potentially alter spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in croplands such as switchgrass (SG: Panicum virgatum L.) and gamagrass (GG: Tripsacum dactyloides L.), but it remains unclear whether these effects are the same between crops and under different rates of fertilization. 13C and 15N are two important proxy measures of soil biogeochemistry, but they were rarely examined as to their spatial distributions in soil. Based on a three-year long fertilization experiment in Middle Tennessee, USA, the top mineral horizon soils (0–15 cm) were collected using a spatially explicit design within …


Safety Of Food And Water Supplies In The Landscape Of Changing Climate, Aliyar Cyrus Fouladkhah, Brian Thompson, Janey Smith Camp Oct 2019

Safety Of Food And Water Supplies In The Landscape Of Changing Climate, Aliyar Cyrus Fouladkhah, Brian Thompson, Janey Smith Camp

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

In response to evolving environmental, production, and processing conditions, microbial communities have tremendous abilities to move toward increased diversity and fitness by various pathways such as vertical and horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, biofilm formation, and quorum sensing


Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi And Exogenous Glutathione Mitigate Coal Fly Ash (Cfa)-Induced Phytotoxicity In Cfa-Contaminated Soil, Olushola M. Awoyemi, Ekundayo O. Adeleke, Kudjo E. Dzantor May 2019

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi And Exogenous Glutathione Mitigate Coal Fly Ash (Cfa)-Induced Phytotoxicity In Cfa-Contaminated Soil, Olushola M. Awoyemi, Ekundayo O. Adeleke, Kudjo E. Dzantor

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Coal fly ash (CFA) makes a bulk of the coal combustion wastes generated from coal-fired power plants. There are several environmental mishaps due to coal ash spills around the world and in the United States. Management of CFA-polluted sites has proven inefficient resulting in soil infiltration, leaching, and phytotoxicity. This study assessed the mitigation strategies for CFA-induced phytotoxicity using biological [arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)] and chemical [exogenous glutathione (GSH)] agents. Indices of phytotoxicity include seed germination, plant morphometrics, lipid peroxidation and genomic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in switchgrass plant (Panicum virgatum). Experiments include laboratory screening (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% …


Responses Of Soil Carbon Sequestration To Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices: A Meta-Analysis, Xiongxiong Bai, Yawen Huang, Wei Ren, Mark Coyne, Pierre-Andre Jacinthe, Bo Tao, Dafeng Hui, Jian Yang, Chris Matocha Apr 2019

Responses Of Soil Carbon Sequestration To Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices: A Meta-Analysis, Xiongxiong Bai, Yawen Huang, Wei Ren, Mark Coyne, Pierre-Andre Jacinthe, Bo Tao, Dafeng Hui, Jian Yang, Chris Matocha

Biology Faculty Research

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) management practices (e.g., conservation tillage, cover crops, and biochar applications) have been widely adopted to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring crop productivity. However, current measurements regarding the influences of CSA management practices on SOC sequestration diverge widely, making it difficult to derive conclusions about individual and combined CSA management effects and bringing large uncertainties in quantifying the potential of the agricultural sector to mitigate climate change. We conducted a meta-analysis of 3,049 paired measurements from 417 peer-reviewed articles to examine the effects of three common CSA management practices …


Research Day Abstracts 2018-2019 Jan 2019

Research Day Abstracts 2018-2019

Student Research

No abstract provided.


Changing Rainfall Frequency Rather Than Drought Rapidly Alters Annual Soil Respiration In A Tropical Forest, Qi Deng, Deqiang Zhang, Xi Han, Guowei Chu, Quanfa Zhang, Dafeng Hui Mar 2018

Changing Rainfall Frequency Rather Than Drought Rapidly Alters Annual Soil Respiration In A Tropical Forest, Qi Deng, Deqiang Zhang, Xi Han, Guowei Chu, Quanfa Zhang, Dafeng Hui

Biology Faculty Research

Tropical forests play an important role in global carbon (C) cycling due to high primary productivity and rapid litter and soil organic C decomposition. However, it is still unclear how changing rainfall will influence soil CO2 losses (i.e. via soil respiration) in tropical forests. Here, using a rainfall and litter manipulation experiment in a tropical forest, we show that enhanced litter-leached dissolved organic carbon (DOC) production with increased rainfall frequency drives substantial CO2 loss via soil respiration. A 50% increase in rainfall frequency (no change in total rainfall amount) enhanced inputs of DOC by 28%, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) by …


Warming Deferentially Altered Multidimensional Soil Legacy Induced By Past Land Use History, Weiling Dong, Alin Song, Xueduan Liu, Bing Yu, Boren Wang, Yuqiu Lu, Yanling Li, Huaqun Yin, Jianwei Li, Fenliang Fan Jan 2018

Warming Deferentially Altered Multidimensional Soil Legacy Induced By Past Land Use History, Weiling Dong, Alin Song, Xueduan Liu, Bing Yu, Boren Wang, Yuqiu Lu, Yanling Li, Huaqun Yin, Jianwei Li, Fenliang Fan

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

The legacy effects of previous land use and climate history may affect current soil function. However, the manner in which these legacy effects of land use are modulated by the subsequent climate remains unclear. For this reason, we investigated how the legacies of soil multiple functions left by conversion of grassland to agricultural management were mediated by climate warming with a reciprocal transplant approach. The overall legacy was further separated into the contributions by changes in the abiotic properties of the soil (abiotic process) and microbial community (biotic process). We here hypothesized that warming may mediate the legacy effects of …


Analytical Approaches To Improve Accuracy In Solving The Protein Topology Problem, Kamal Al Nasr, Feras Yousef, Ruba Jebril, Christopher Jones Jan 2018

Analytical Approaches To Improve Accuracy In Solving The Protein Topology Problem, Kamal Al Nasr, Feras Yousef, Ruba Jebril, Christopher Jones

Computer Science Faculty Research

To take advantage of recent advances in genomics and proteomics it is critical that the three-dimensional physical structure of biological macromolecules be determined. Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) is a promising and improving method for obtaining this data, however resolution is often not sufficient to directly determine the atomic scale structure. Despite this, information for secondary structure locations is detectable. De novo modeling is a computational approach to modeling these macromolecular structures based on cryo-EM derived data. During de novo modeling a mapping between detected secondary structures and the underlying amino acid sequence must be identified. DP-TOSS (Dynamic Programming for determining the …


Identification Of Hydrated And Dehydrated Lipids And Protein Secondary Structures In Seeds Of Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum) Line, Diwas Kumar Silwal, Nsoki Phambu, Bharat Pokharel, Ahmad Naseer Aziz Aug 2017

Identification Of Hydrated And Dehydrated Lipids And Protein Secondary Structures In Seeds Of Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum) Line, Diwas Kumar Silwal, Nsoki Phambu, Bharat Pokharel, Ahmad Naseer Aziz

Chemistry Faculty Research

Cottonseeds from two parents (TM-1 and 3-79) and their 17 progeny (chromosomal substitution) lines were analyzed for various secondary structures of proteins and moisture content of lipids, separately in hulls and kernels. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used on mature seeds from Upland cotton (G. hirsutum) progeny lines and parents. Based on secondary structures of proteins and hydration levels of lipids, differences were observed among the cottonseeds. The two progeny lines – CS-B12sh and CS-B22sh retained lipid moisture content and protein secondary structures similar to both parents, while CS-B06, CS-B15sh and CS-B16 remained distinct from either parent. On the …


Modeling Net Energy Balance Of Ethanol Production From Native Warm Season Grasses, Prabodh Illukpitiya, Chandra Reddy, Ankit Bansal Apr 2017

Modeling Net Energy Balance Of Ethanol Production From Native Warm Season Grasses, Prabodh Illukpitiya, Chandra Reddy, Ankit Bansal

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

There has been an increasing interest in the use of perennial grasses as potential feedstock for ethanol production. The characteristics which make perennial grasses attractive for bioenergy feedstock development initiative are their high yield potential and the high contents of lignin and cellulose. The objective of the study is to model energy input and output and simulate Net Energy Value (NEV) of producing ethanol from native warm season grasses. According to simulated results, the mean NEV of ethanol production from native warm season grasses considered in the analysis was positive. Mean NEV for switchgrass and eastern gammagrass was higher compared …


Oleanolic Acid Inhibits High Salt-Induced Exaggeration Of Warburg-Like Metabolism In Breast Cancer Cells, Suneetha Amara, Mu Zheng, Venkataswarup Tiriveedhi May 2016

Oleanolic Acid Inhibits High Salt-Induced Exaggeration Of Warburg-Like Metabolism In Breast Cancer Cells, Suneetha Amara, Mu Zheng, Venkataswarup Tiriveedhi

Chemistry Faculty Research

Cancer cells have a proliferative advantage by utilizing intermediates of aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect) for their macromolecule synthesis. Although the exact causes of this Warburg effect are unclear, high osmotic stress in solid tumor microenvironment is considered one of the important factors. Oleanolic acid (OA) is known to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effect. In our current studies, using breast cancer cell lines, we determined the protective role of OA in high salt-mediated osmotic stress-induced cancer growth. Hypertonic (0.16 M NaCl) culture conditions enhanced the cancer cell growth (26 %, p < 0.05) and aerobic glycolysis as marked by increased glucose consumption (34 %, p < 0.05) and lactate production (25 %, p < 0.05) over untreated cells. This effect was associated with increased expression and activity of key rate-limiting enzymes of aerobic glycolysis, namely hexokinase, pyruvate kinase type M2, and lactate dehydrogenase A. Interestingly, this high salt-mediated enhanced expression of aerobic glycolytic enzymes was efficiently reversed by OA along with the decreased cancer cell proliferation. In cancer cells, enhanced aerobic glycolysis is associated with the decreased mitochondrial activity and mitochondrial-associated caspase activity. As expected, high salt further inhibited the mitochondrial related cytochrome oxidase and caspase-3 activity. However, OA efficiently reversed the high salt-mediated inhibition of cytochrome oxidase, caspase activity, and pro-apoptotic Bax expression, thus suggesting that OA induced mitochondrial activity and enhanced apoptosis. Taken together, our data indicate that OA efficiently reverses the enhanced Warburg-like metabolism induced by high salt-mediated osmotic stress along with potential application of OA in anti-cancer therapy.


Soil Microbial Community Composition And Respiration Along An Experimental Precipitation Gradient In A Semiarid Steppe, Cancan Zhao, Yuan Miao, Chengde Yu, Lili Zhu, Feng Wang, Lin Jiang, Dafeng Hui, Shiqiang Wan Apr 2016

Soil Microbial Community Composition And Respiration Along An Experimental Precipitation Gradient In A Semiarid Steppe, Cancan Zhao, Yuan Miao, Chengde Yu, Lili Zhu, Feng Wang, Lin Jiang, Dafeng Hui, Shiqiang Wan

Biology Faculty Research

As a primary limiting factor in arid and semiarid regions, precipitation strongly influences soil microbial properties. However, the patterns and mechanisms of soil microbial responses to precipitation have not been well documented. In this study, changes in soil microorganisms along an experimental precipitation gradient with seven levels of precipitation manipulation (i.e., ambient precipitation as a control and ±20%, ±40% and ±60% of ambient precipitation) were explored in a semiarid temperate steppe in northern China. Soil microbial biomass carbon and respiration as well as the ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass varied along the experimental precipitation gradient and peaked under the …


Cost Minimization Of Supplying Biomass For Ethanol Biorefineries, Yayuan Jin, Prabodh Illukpitiya Jan 2016

Cost Minimization Of Supplying Biomass For Ethanol Biorefineries, Yayuan Jin, Prabodh Illukpitiya

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

A major hurdle facing commercial biofuel production is the cost of producing the feedstock. Since biofuel feedstock is bulky in nature, a large proportion of cost needed to be allocated for harvesting and transportation of feedstock. Economic viability of ethanol production from cellulosic feedstock depends in part of the cost to produce, harvest and deliver feedstock to the ethanol production facilities. A well-developed harvesting and transportation system does not exist for most feedstock. Hence to determine accurate estimation of the harvest, transportation and storage costs is important in ethanol production. The objectives of the study are to determine the optimal …