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Expanding the Dynamic Range of Methanosarcina Acetivorans Through Recombinant Expression of an RNA Polymerase
No full textMethanogens are anaerobic archaea that grow and conserve energy through the production of methane from acetate or C1 carbon substrates such as methanol and carbon dioxide. They play an important role in the global carbon cycle, contributing between 350 and 420 Tg of methane to the atmosphere annually. When used in anaerobic digesters, methanogens ferment organic waste to produce biogas containing methane, which can be used as a renewable fuel source. Due to their use of low-cost feedstocks and their unique metabolism, methanogens can also be a cheap and efficient host organism for the synthesis of organic molecules such as bioplastics and isoprene, a precursor to rubber. One limiting factor for the industrial use of methanogens is a limited understanding of archaeal transcription and translation, and limited genetic tools available for their regulation. This study aims to expand the dynamic range of gene expression of Methanosarcina acetivorans through the recombinant in vivo expression of an RNA Polymerase. Using in vitro transcription, we show that the RNA Polymerase effectively transcribes genes in the presence of M. acetivorans lysate. We then demonstrate that the RNA Polymerase produces high levels of transcription in M. acetivorans in vivo by expressing the reporter gene YFAST under the polymerase’s specific promoter. Additionally, we demonstrate a new tool for understanding transcriptional and translational regulation in methanogens. Going forward, a new inducible expression system will be introduced in M. acetivorans as well to push its dynamic transcriptional capabilities further
CropCents
No full textCropCents is an internal balance sheet reporting tool for Farm Credit Services of America
Automated Project Manager
No full textBuildertrend is the leading construction project management software forhome builders, remodelers, and contractors. Focusing on client connectionsfor this project, the Design Studio team explored how emerging technologiescould enhance communication between homeowners and contractors. Theteam automated the summarization of the most relevant progress updatesthrough AI while maintaining a customer-friendly voice in the reporting
Evaluation of Two Different Sweet Bran Products on Beef Cattle Digestion Characteristics and a Review of RAMP as an Alternative Step-up Program
Get PDFTwo Sweet Bran products were evaluated at 13%, 18%, and 23% inclusion of the diet on total tract digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters. Seven ruminally cannulated, heifers were used in a 6 x 7 row-column design with 21-d periods consisting of 16-d adaptation period followed by a 5-d collection. Dietary treatments were designed in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement with 6 periods. Factors included two Sweet Bran products that differed in particle size (Sweet Bran-SP; GMD = 1.79mm or Sweet Bran-LP; GMD = 2.51 mm) and three dietary inclusion (13%, 18%, or 23% of diet dry matter). The Sweet Bran products replaced steam-flaked corn in finishing diets. Total tract organic matter digestibility increased linearly for Sweet Bran-SP (82.8, 84.7, 85.5% for 13, 18, and 23% Sweet Bran-SP, respectively; P = 0.01) and also increased linearly for neutral detergent fiber digestibility (57.3, 63.7, 68.9% for 13, 18, and 23% Sweet Bran-SP, respectively; P \u3c 0.01).The diet digestible energy concentration (Mcal DE / kg diet DM) increased linearly for Sweet Bran-SP (3.73, 3.85, 3.90 Mcal DE/kg for 13, 18, and 23% Sweet Bran-SP, respectively; P \u3c 0.01). Average rumen pH tended to increase quadratically (P = 0.10) with increasing concentrations of Sweet Bran-SP (pH = 5.53, 5.84, 5.85 for 13, 18, and 23% Sweet Bran-SP, respectively). Reducing the particle size of the bran in Sweet Bran negatively impacted diet digestibility, energy content, and rumen pH at dietary inclusions below 18%. RAMP (Cargill Branded Feeds; Blair, Nebraska), a complete starter ration blending Sweet Bran (Cargill Branded Feeds; Blair, Nebraska), alfalfa, and cotton seed hulls, can be used as an alternative to traditional step-up grain adaptation programs. Results demonstrated that cattle adapted with RAMP had greater ADG, greater feed efficiency, and averaged 7 kg greater hot carcass weight compared to traditional adaptation programs. Microbiome analysis indicated that cattle adapted with RAMP had consistent bacterial diversity opposed to those transitioned using conventional corn-based diets, suggesting RAMP promotes less variability in microbial adaptation to high-concentrate diets. Overall, RAMP indicates efficiency in reducing or eliminate the need for extended adaptation periods, supporting efficient and cost-effective feedlot operations.
Advisor: James C. MacDonal
Small Cereal Grain Silage Producer Practices and Key Factors to Consider for Operations
Get PDFThe use of small grain silage to feed livestock has grown in popularity, although the more common source of silage is annual corn. A benefit of producing small cereal grain is double cropping, harvest a forage source in the spring prior to planting the summer annual crop. Although the cereal and corn silage processes are similar there are key differences within management decisions for producers. Objective one was to understand current management decisions from Nebraska producers pre- and post- fermentation surveys along with small cereal silage samples were analyzed. Some best management practices such as the dry matter (DM), DM density, and the rate of face removal in a 24-hour period, known as feedout were analyzed. Many of the producers were not able to achieve the target 30-35% DM for their forage, which is a best management practice. Generally, this was due to lack of time the forage was field dried. Consequently, forage ensiled at a DM% less than 30% resulted in an increased total digestible nutrient loss. For objective two, attendees of the silage conference in fall of 2022 received a survey regarding their management practices. In an analysis of the producers who fed beef cows compared to those who fed growing and finishing animals more centimeters of face removal were fed per 24-hour period by producers who fed growing and finishing animals. Most beef cow producers were not meeting the target feedout rate. Based on the stage of harvest, the research showed producers who harvest at boot are more concerned with the timing of harvest compared to those who harvest at soft dough. These producers showed no difference (P = 0.38, P = 0.77) for the quality or yield of the crop. These data show what educational information could help producers achieve optimal small cereal silage to feed their livestock. Factors such as moisture management, ways to optimize their feedout, and strategies to manage the timing of harvest and planting the next crop will allow producers to make better decisions about small cereal silage management.
Advisor: Mary E. Drewnosk
Artificial Interiors
Get PDFArtificial Interiors is a series of intimately scaled paintings that depict dramatically lit domestic interiors. My limited yet saturated color palette creates a dark atmosphere that feels both strange and familiar, contributing to the unsettling ambiance of the domestic scenes. Their origins in Artificial Intelligence (AI) prompts further reinforce this effect. Each painting begins as a composite collage created with AI-generated images, iterative prompts, and Photoshop, in a process that creates fantasy spaces, detached from real ones, even as their elements - sofas, chairs, corners, stairs - suggest common expectations and experiences for domestic life in the U.S.
These digitally assembled spaces are then physically translated into oil paintings, allowing me to work through emotions of fear, security, and control. The resulting interiors feel at once familiar and unknowable, believable and impossible. Their constrained light sources, limited palette, and strange compositional hierarchies contribute to a sense of temporal displacement - of a moment that can’t quite be placed.
Although the spaces are empty of human figures, they imply inhabitants. Viewers are invited to either observe the rooms at a distance or step into them, projecting their own memories, associations, and emotional landscapes. Growing up in a household where visibility often meant vulnerability, I turned inward, seeking refuge in environments where I had full autonomy. These imagined interiors reflect that need for solitude and safety while also giving form to the contradictions of trauma: the blurring of fear and comfort, of presence and absence.
Artificial Interiors is grounded in painting as a physical and vulnerable act. The process of translating digitally constructed interiors into deeply personal oil paintings allows me to explore memory, imagination, and interiority through the language of light, color, and materiality.
Advisor: Aaron Hol
Tillamook: Ethical Values or Misleading Marketing?
Get PDFTillamook began as a humble cooperative for the local dairy farmers of Tillamook County, Oregon, to ensure that high-quality cheese was the local standard. As time passed, Tillamook evolved to establish an internal Farm Services Team to help support each farmer and pay above market value for members’ milk–in return, receiving a stable supply of dairy to manufacture its dairy-based products. Additionally, the farmers are still the ones who call the important shots for Tillamook rather than other corporate shareholders. Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) has since expanded nationally, but the foundation remains the same: high-quality dairy to create high-quality dairy products.In 2019, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), a national animal rights association, filed a class action lawsuit against Tillamook County Creamery Association (Tillamook), accusing the company of falsely advertising its products as being sourced from small, local dairies from Tillamook County when, in reality, two-thirds of its milk comes from one of the largest factory farms in the United States, Threemile Canyon Farms (Ellis, 2019). The suit continues that this false advertising encourages customers to believe that the company is environmentally conscious and supports small, local dairies, a practice known as “greenwashing,” allowing the company to charge a premium for its goods. In 2024, Tillamook’s CEO stepped down after working for 12 years and leading the company through a decade of growth. The company’s latest marketing campaign, “Extraordinary Dairy”, focuses on promoting the premium quality of its products and encouraging customers not to settle (Figure 2; Burnett’s, 2024). As for the lawsuit, the Oregon Supreme Court heard the appeal on March 6th, 2025; it has yet to issue its decision
New Belgium Brewing: Balancing Growth and Company Values Post-Acquisition
Get PDFNew Belgium Brewing was founded in 1991 by Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan in Fort Collins, Colorado, famously inspired by a bicycle tour through Belgium, with environmental stewardship viewed as a core value from day one (New Belgium Brewing, nd). From its earliest years, New Belgium had set out to prove that a brewery could be a successful business while also being a force for good. The company implemented open-book management and a profit-sharing program that allowed employees as early as 1998 to vote and give up bonuses to invest in a wind-powered brewery in the U.S. (New Belgium Brewing, nd). New Belgium also launched a $1 per barrel philanthropy fund in 1995, which embedded charity into its growth. In 2008, it also conducted one of the very first carbon footprint analyses of beer, and by 2013 New Belgium had earned Certified B Corporation status for meeting challenging social and environmental performance standards (Marquis, 2020). New Belgium was becoming a testament to ESG success in their field. The brewery also became the first in the industry to join 1% For The Planet, meaning they commit 1% of annual sales to environmental causes (Marquis, 2020). These initiatives solidified the reputation of New Belgium Brewing as a power for sustainability with the mission: to demonstrate that business can be a force for good (New Belgium Brewing, nd)
Treading Lightly: The Ethics of Instructor Il/legibility and Neutrality in the Classroom
Get PDFInstructors in the classroom often describe their experiences teaching as being a performance, which often combines authenticity with boundaries to keep certain aspects of the instructor’s life out of the classroom. For queer instructors, their performance may be especially complicated; since queer identity is less visible than other types of identities, instructors must also weigh whether or not to come out to their students. In our current political moment, where queerness has yet again become a scrutinized topic (especially when in proximity to youth), teachers have an even more difficult decision to make.
This thesis uses queer theory and queer pedagogical studies alongside historical analysis to discuss the impact of legibility (or being recognized as something without “coming out” as such) in the classroom, and the impact of being il/legible in certain contexts. By putting these texts in conversation with each other and contemporary issues, I discuss the complexity of queerness in the classroom, keeping the embodiment of the instructor and of students in mind, and what this implies for pedagogical practice in the teaching of writing especially. I explore how students respond when exposed to queerness in the classroom, and how the instructor’s embodiment must also serve as a text in and of itself that influences what messages students internalize about queerness.
Advisor: Stacey A. Wait
Modifying the Comb, Rethinking the Install: Integrated Approaches to Honey Bee Colony Establishment and Winter Survival
Get PDFThe European, or Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) plays a vital role in global ecosystems and agriculture, providing essential pollination services and producing valuable hive products. However, honey bee colony losses have escalated worldwide, but particularly across the United States due to various stressors, including biotic and abiotic factors, mismanagement, and environmental challenges. This thesis investigates key challenges in honey bee management and explores solutions aimed at improving colony health and productivity.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the beekeeping industry, detailing its economic importance, services, and products, as well as the many challenges faced by beekeepers. It highlights the knowledge gaps in current management practices, underscoring the need for research-driven solutions.
Chapter 2 examines how the arrangement of combs or frames within a hive setup influences the installation success of bee packages, specifically comparing the commonly used commercial standard foundation frame with foundation frames that include an additional layer of natural beeswax (pre-waxed frames). The study shows that both the arrangement and type of frame can significantly affect how well a new colony settles and utilizes resources during the early stages of colony establishment, offering practical guidance for improving the success of package installations for new beekeepers.
Chapter 3 evaluates how colony population size affects winter clustering and investigates the impact of extreme winter weather on colony survival. In this experiment, I used modified frames—drilled with access or bypass holes—to reduce the distance bees must traverse across frames, aiming to determine whether these modifications facilitate easier movement and access to food stores during winter. This approach begins to explore whether improved resource access and mobility within the hive support clustering and influence winter survival, particularly in smaller, less populated colonies. The results indicate that colony strength, measured by the adult worker population, is the primary factor in winter survival. However, bypass frames can enhance thermoregulation and resource accessibility under harsh conditions by influencing clustering behavior and improving access to adjacent combs. These findings contribute to optimizing hive structure to boost colony performance and resilience.
Overall, my thesis underscores the importance of tailored management strategies to address the multifaceted challenges faced by honey bee colonies. More specially, Chapter 2 offers directly applicable knowledge for improving package installation success through practical adjustments in hive setup, providing immediate benefits for beekeepers. In contrast, Chapter 3 initiates a deeper investigation into the factors contributing to winter losses, laying the groundwork for future research aimed at better understanding and mitigating these critical challenges. By integrating scientific findings into both current practices and long-term inquiry, this research contributes to enhancing colony resilience and supporting sustainable beekeeping. These efforts are essential for reducing colony losses and ensuring the continued availability of the vital ecosystem services that honey bees provide.
Advisor: Judy Wu-Smar