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23-035-B
Full text linkThe Annual Wheat Newsletter is edited by W.J. Raupp and published by the Wheat Genetic and Genomic Resources Center at Kansas State University. The scope of the Newsletter includes current project activities, cultivar releases, special reports, and publications of wheat researchers worldwide. The Newsletter annually has over 100 contributors from more than 30 countries
Investigations into dianionic scorpionate ligands and their metal complexes
Full text linkMaster of ScienceDepartment of ChemistryPeter E. SuesLigand design helps to define reactivity in coordination complexes and organometallic chemistry. Ligand characteristics greatly influence the reactivity of transition metal complexes and simple changes in the steric or electronic properties of a ligand can drastically affect the activity and selectivity of a catalyst. Scorpionate ligands are an easily tunable and display flexible binding modes in that they can act as bidentate or tridentate donors. In literature scorpionate ligands with charged donors are underrepresented and this is an area with great potential to explore and discover new organometallic complexes with novel reactivity. Inspired by scorpionate ligands and phenolate ligands throughout the literature, a set of eight neutral ligands were synthesized and utilized in the generation of metal complexes. These novel ligands were diphenolate ligands with a nitrogen or oxygen containing tail. The steric hinderance of these structures was varied using the ortho substituents on the phenol groups. The various tails also allowed the binding strength of the ligands to be varied. Studies on the activity of the complexes bearing these scorpionate ligands were performed. The effect of the steric size of the ligands as well as binding strength of the tail were investigated
A Convoluted Neural Network for Object Detection of Common Flower-Visiting Insects
No full textAn important aspect of pollinator ecology is monitoring and identifying the kinds of animal visitors to flowers. Conventional methods often use video recording or camera traps to collect data and human analysts for manual review. However, because of the large volumes of data collected and partiality in human reviewers, these methods are costly in terms of time and resources, can be prone to human error, and require taxonomic expertise. Computer vision (CV) is a branch of deep learning that has demonstrated promise as a lower-cost and rapid alternative to conventional methods for pollinator monitoring. Object detectors are a kind of deep learning network which use CV to identify and localize multiple different objects within an image. An object detector may be placed on a camera in the field to process in real time video and record different visitors to flowers, thus cutting out time for manual review. For this project, an object detector will be trained on 10,000 images from the iNaturalist research-grade database sourced from GBIF. Images are distributed across eight classes (Bees, Lepidoptera, Flies, Beetles, Wasps, Bugs, Ants, & Spiders) representing different common taxa observed at flowers and weighted according to frequency of visit and importance. Bees and Lepidoptera are weighted heaviest and spiders least. Several different architectures of the YOLO object detector infrastructure will be tested. Preliminary results show that this architecture will be useful for monitoring of pollinators in the field
Examining the effectiveness of the Engineering Launch program for first-year engineering students
Full text linkMotivation and Background: This COMPLETE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE PAPER examines whether participating in the Engineering Launch program at a large Midwestern land- grant university influences the academic readiness of engineering students before they enter Calculus I course. Many students enrolled in Calculus I are not prepared for it. The remedial program Engineering Launch aims to improve students’ math preparation in Trigonometry, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, and bridge the perceived gaps in math preparation to get students ready for Calculus I. Many universities around the country have implemented similar remedial programs. There are two common approaches. One is a workshop-style course which typically requires weekly class time in addition to regular lectures [1]. The other is to offer a bridge course before the semester starts, with duration from one-week long [2] to several weeks [3, 4] These programs have shown positive results by increasing student pass rates in Calculus. The Engineering Launch program takes the second approach by offering a summer bridge course prior to the fall semester. This course is offered as a zero-credit hour course, which consists of a three-week online component and several in-person events the week before classes start. The course combines both synchronous and asynchronous math instruction. All instruction and module content is provided and delivered by a seasoned Calculus I instructor, who has over 15 years of experience teaching courses in calculus sequence. The course also includes one-on-one tutoring from a GTA in the Department of Mathematics. Learning about the usefulness of the Engineering Launch program can inform researchers, instructors, and administrators how to improve the readiness of first year engineering students in Calculus I and make it an effective approach in helping engineering students succeed academically
Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation by gurmarin, a plant-derived cyclic peptide
No full textStaphylococcus aureus (Sa) is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing various infections ranging from superficial skin infections to life-threatening severe diseases including pneumonia and sepsis. Sa produces biofilms readily on biotic and abiotic surfaces. Biofilm cells are embedded in a protective polysaccharide matrix and show an innate resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants, and clearance by host defenses. Additionally, biofilms serve as a source for systemic dissemination. Moreover, infections associated with biofilms may result in longer hospitalizations, a need for surgery, and may even result in death. Agents that inhibit the formation of biofilms and virulence without affecting bacterial growth to avoid the development of drug resistance could be useful for therapeutic purposes. In this regard, we identified and purified a small cyclic peptide, gurmarin, from a plant source that inhibited the formation of Sa biofilm under in vitro growth conditions without affecting the viability of the bacterium. The purified peptide showed a predicted molecular size of ~4.2 kDa on SDS-PAGE. Transcriptomic analysis of Sa biofilm treated with peptide showed 161 differentially affected genes at a 2-fold change, and some of them include upregulation of genes involved in oxidoreductases and downregulation of genes involved in transferases and hydrolases. To determine the inhibitory effect of the peptide against Sa biofilm formation and virulence in vivo, we used a rat-implant biofilm model. Sa infected implants with or without peptide were placed under the neck skin of rats for seven days. Implants treated with peptide showed a reduction of CFU and lack of edema and sepsis when compared to that of control animals without peptide. Taken together, gurmarin peptide blocks Sa biofilm formation in vitro and in vivo and can be further developed for therapeutic use
The Nutritional Adequacy and Diet Quality of Vegetarian Menu Substitutions in Urban Kansas Childcare Centers
Full text linkWhile plant-based eating has become increasingly popular, little is known of how this trend has impacted childcare center meals. The purpose of this study was to measure the nutrient content and diet quality of vegetarian alternative lunches and compare these measures to those of standard childcare lunches and nutrient benchmarks representing one-third of the Dietary Reference Intake for 3-year-olds and 4–5-year-olds. Menu data were obtained from seven urban Kansas childcare centers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and regularly providing a vegetarian alternative lunch. The centers provided detailed menu information for 27 days’ worth of meals. The most common vegetarian substitution was cheese, which was used to fulfill all or part of the meat/meat alternative requirement in over three-quarters of the vegetarian alternative meals (n = 22). Compared to the standard meals, the vegetarian alternative meals were higher in calories, fat, saturated fat, calcium, and sodium and lower in protein, choline, and diet quality (p = 0.05). Both lunch options met the benchmarks for vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, calcium, and protein. Iron content for both (95% CI: standard 1.61–2.17 mg; vegetarian 1.37–2.7 mg) was below the benchmark. Although additional research is needed to better understand how vegetarianism has impacted childcare meals in the U.S., important differences in the nutrient contents were observed between the standard and vegetarian alternative meals. In addition, the results suggest vegetarian alternative meals that rely heavily on cheese may be of lower diet quality
A greenhouse study on ground beetle movement and predation rate based on habitat type
No full textGround beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are important in agro-ecosystems as generalist predators of invertebrate pests and weed seeds. However, less is known about ground beetles’ cross-over and predation rates between crop fields and grass habitats. This project seeks to identify how ground beetles move between agricultural crops and perennial grass habitats and what ground beetle predation rates are like in these habitats. We created greenhouse environments that mimic these habitats using corn, soybean, and a grass-perennial plant mix. We made planted trays of monocultures and pairwise mixtures of each plant type (6 treatments in total). Ground beetles were collected in grass habitats, marked with paint markers for identification purposes, and released at the center of each plant tray. Pitfalls were placed in a grid pattern throughout the cages for ground beetle recapture data. Their locations were determined using a labeled coordinate system for each pitfall. Pitfall locations were recorded twice a day over a 2-week period. To assess predation rates, moth egg cards were placed at eight locations in each tray for a 48-hour period and the number of removed eggs was counted. We hypothesize that ground beetle movement and foraging will be higher in the grass monoculture when compared to the corn and soybean monoculture. For the mixed plant trays, we expect the ground beetles to have higher predation rates and cross over into the grass habitats. Results from this study will give information on ground beetle movement and predation activity between agricultural crops and perennial grass habitats and can be useful for cultural control practices, such as prairie strips and diversified plantings, for pest management in agricultural systems
Development of strategies to improve modern wheat cultivars by adopting genetic diversity from wild relatives
Full text linkBread wheat is a hexaploid plant that contains three subgenomes derived from a hybridization event between tetraploid Triticum dicoccoides and diploid Aegilops taushii. These wild ancestors of wheat offer more genetic diversity, but they lack the domesticated traits critical for cultivating wheat and adapted to modern agricultural practices. In this study, we are optimizing the process of wild relative diversity introgression while reducing the negative impact of non-adaptive alleles on wheat performance. In a population created by crossing a wild relative and bread wheat, we remove a non-domesticated allele of Btr1, affecting traits important for mechanical harvesting, by genetic engineering or by using molecular markers. The resulting population of wheat lines has the domesticated allele at the Btr1 locus as well as novel genetic diversity from a wild relative for further evaluation
MARS/NDRI/KSU Communications Workshop: Part 1. Introductory Material
No full textA. Agenda – Pages 1-2
B. List of attendees – Pages 3-4
C. Group photo of participants – Page
RPT106_2022_01
No full textThis informal report to the Kansas Legislature summarizes the wide-ranging impact of K-State Research and Extension in 2022, highlighting initiatives in agriculture, environmental stewardship, public health, and community development across Kansas