101 research outputs found
The effects of supplementation of β-carotene during the close-up period on cows, colostrum, and calves
No full textDue to consumer demands, the dairy industry needs to investigate ways to keep dairy cattle healthy, productive, and profitable while minimizing the use of drugs. One way to accomplish this may be by inclusion of antioxidants in the diet. An important antioxidant that should be considered is β-carotene. β-Carotene is found naturally in many plants and is a dual-purpose nutrient, having both provitamin A and antioxidative functions. Ingested β-carotene can be cleaved into two molecules of retinol if the animal is in need of retinoids. If vitamin A stores are sufficient, β-carotene will be used to help dispose of potentially harmful reactive oxygen species. Reducing oxidative stress may help cows restore their positive energy balance following parturition, as well as possibly decrease pneumonia in young calves. Our objective for this study was to determine the effects of β-carotene supplementation on the cow, her colostrum, and her calf. The trial was conducted on a large, commercial dairy farm in northern Indiana. Ninety-four multiparous Holstein cows were assigned to either a treatment or control group. Each cow individually received a concentrate mix topdressed on to her TMR while in a headlock each morning beginning 21 d prior to expected calving and ending at calving. The treatment group was supplemented with 8 g of Rovimix (800 mg of β-carotene) in the topdress. Body condition score was taken on day of enrollment (d -21) and upon trial completion (d 7). Blood samples were obtained from cows on d -21, -7, 0, and 7 relative to calving. All samples were protected from light. Whole blood samples were analyzed for β-carotene using an iCheck (BioAnalyt; Teltow, Germany) immediately following collection. Serum samples were frozen at -20ºC for later analysis. Similarly, blood samples were collected from the calves at d 0, 1, 7, and 60. Samples were immediately analyzed for concentrations of β-carotene and total protein prior to the serum being frozen. Calves were fed 3.78 L of dam-specific colostrum and colostrum was sampled immediately following parturition. Fresh samples were used for immediate BRIX and β-carotene analysis, as well as for component and colorimeter analysis. Feed samples were collected weekly throughout the trial and nutrient composition of forage and TMR samples was determined. Health records for the animals were collected from DairyComp305. The farm staff was responsible for all care of the animals. Colostrum, serum, and feed samples were analyzed for concentrations of vitamin A, vitamin E, and β-carotene. A full metabolite profile was determined in serum from cows and calves. Proc Mixed, Proc Glimmix, and Proc Freq, among others, in SAS 9.4 were used to analyze the collected data. The rations were adequate for vitamin A, with concentrations in the TMR exceeding NRC requirements by 20% and 276% for close-up and fresh diets, respectively. Vitamin E in the TMR was just under requirements at 92.2% and 93.0% of NRC requirements for close-up and fresh diets, respectively. β-Carotene supplementation significantly increased (P = 0.023) serum concentrations of vitamin A in cows, indicating that the high amounts of supplemented vitamin A in the diet were still not enough to release β-carotene from its provitamin A role. Serum vitamin E concentrations were not affected, indicating that there was no interaction between it and β-carotene. Serum β-carotene concentrations were significantly greater (P < 0.01) for the treatment group on all days when compared with the control group. The concentration of TP was higher (P = 0.045) in β-carotene supplemented cows. β-Carotene supplementation also decreased the concentration of albumin (P = 0.029), increased the concentration of globulin (P <0.01), and affected the ratio between the two (P < 0.01), but these results were confounded by a significant or trending interaction of treatment and parity. No significant effects were detected in reproductive, health, or milk yield variables extracted from DairyComp305. Supplementation of β-carotene increased the concentrations of β-carotene (P < 0.01) and fat (P = 0.042) in colostrum. It also increased the colorimetric values for a* (P = 0.014) and b* (P< 0.01), which indicates that the β-carotene-rich colostrum was significantly more red-yellow in color than the colostrum from control cows. The effects of β-carotene supplementation to the dam were negligible in calves. There were no differences in the concentrations of vitamins A and E in calf serum. Significant effects or trends were observed for concentrations of gamma-glutamyl transferase (P < 0.01), blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.044), β-hydroxybutyrate (P = 0.097), and phosphorus (P = 0.088), but, with the exception of phosphorus, these results were confounded by significant or trending treatment by parity interactions. There was also a significant interaction of treatment by time for gamma-glutamyltransferase (P < 0.01). The majority of calf serum samples had β-carotene below detectable levels. Because of this, Proc Freq was used to determine if there was a treatment difference in the number of calves above or below the detection threshold of 0.05 g/mL. There were 28 samples above the threshold at 24 h of age, with 89.3% (P < 0.01) of the calves with detectable β-carotene concentrations being from β-carotene-supplemented dams. At d 7, there were only 7 calves with detectable concentrations. Of the 7 calves, 85.7% (P = 0.045) were from β-carotene-supplemented dams. Only one sample at d 0 had detectable β-carotene concentration and none did at d 60. This fleeting response shows that supplementing the dam with β-carotene does not substantially affect the calf and direct β-carotene supplementation to the calf should be considered.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2018-08-01The student, Crystal Prom, accepted the attached license on 2016-07-14 at 13:06.The student, Crystal Prom, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2016-07-14 at 13:11.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2016-07-15 at 09:21.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #9942 on 2016-11-10 at 12:25:27Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-10T18:43:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
PROM-THESIS-2016.pdf: 1865637 bytes, checksum: 954e4b72fb12d32961f0d8bec156bfae (MD5)
LICENSE.txt: 4209 bytes, checksum: 32e7db9a84d524895d798575059284a1 (MD5)
Previous issue date: 2016-07-15Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 95488
Lift date: 2018-11-10T18:43:22Z
Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemU of I Only Restriction Lifted for Item 95488 on 2018-11-11T10:15:24Z
Embodying the aesthetic in everyday life: exploring the metacognitive process of creating functional objects through narrative inquiry
No full textThis thesis is an Alternative Culminating Experience for a Master of Arts in Education: Curriculum and Instruction with an Elective Emphasis on Arts in Education. It follows Pathway I: Artist as Educator. This project focuses on the author's journey as a budding artisan of weaving and ceramics and as a devotee of poetry. Over the course of the year, the author created a journal using her exploration into these crafts as a platform to explore the convergence of ideas from disciplines thought of as divergent: Zen and Buddhist ideas of life and aesthetics, systems theory of interrelationships, cognitive science's ideas of embodied knowledge, and ideas from the philosophers of art and education. All was researched, reflected on, and discussed in the journals along with documentation of the processes of designing and creating the objects. The author reviewed and incorporated many of the ideas touched on during her undergraduate degree in architecture. (Architectural education depends on meta-cognitive and heuristic pedagogy, architectural theory parallels many of the ideas of craft.) As related in Chapter 5 of this thesis, the author found at the crux of the relationships of these varied disciplines, a new direction for our educational institutions through the integration of v embodied narrative inquiry. The objects produced during this thesis were shared with the public through an interactive installation at the culmination of the master's program
Excision, transfer, and integration of the bacteroides integrative and conjugative element CTnDOT
No full textIncreased resistances to antibiotics is a pressing problem in the world today. When new antibiotics are introduced, resistance to that antibiotic within the microbial community soon follows. One of the many contributing factors to increased resistances to antibiotics is the spread of mobile genetic elements that encode antibiotic resistance genes. These elements are able to transfer themselves to new host cells by conjugation, which may result in the widespread dissemination of an element throughout a given microbial population.
The Bacteroides sp. are known for harboring wide array of integrative and conjugative elements. One of the most well studied examples is the 65kb CTnDOT, which encodes both erythromycin and tetracycline resistances. Bacteroides are prevalent within the human gastrointestinal tract, which means that CTnDOT is capable of transferring to other resident microbes within this environment.
The transfer of CTnDOT is repressed under normal conditions, but when tetracycline is present the propagation of the element is stimulated through a complex regulatory cascade. The excision operon is a key component of this regulation, and is involved at many different levels of the regulatory cascade. As the name implies, the expression of the excision operon promotes the excision of CTnDOT from the host chromosome. Once the element is excised it needs somewhere to go, which the excision operon also facilitates by increasing the transcription of both the mobilization (mob) and transfer (tra) operons. These operons encode the proteins needed to assemble the mating apparatus, and the proteins responsible for shuttling the excised element to the mating apparatus for transfer.
The work presented within this dissertation focuses on the different aspects of the excision operon. First the mechanistic properties of the excision proteins at the mob and tra region were investigated. It was shown that the Xis2d protein binds the DNA between the mob and tra promoters, and that the Exc protein can be recruited in the presence of Xis2d to help initiate the transcription of the mob operon.
The contribution of each of the excision genes to the in vivo excision reaction was also analyzed. It was shown that each of the genes within the excision operon play a significant role in the excision reaction. The presence of xis2c, xis2d, and exc was essential for detecting excised product, which confirms that exc is required for in vivo excision. Also, a deletion of orf3 significantly reduced the production of excised products, which is the first time this gene has shown a discernable effect in a CTnDOT assay. This wasn't the only discovery of gene functionality that was uncovered, the previously uncharacterized orf2a and orf2b genes were found to contribute to the excision reaction.
The excision, transfer, and mobilization of CTnDOT ultimately lead to propagation of this element into new recipients. Once within the recipient cell, the element integrates into an attB site located within the recipient chromosome. This dissertation also provides an in vivo analysis of CTnDOT integration, where 18 alternative attB sites were identified. In summation, the work presented within this dissertation has clarified the main aspects of CTnDOT propagation, by revealing important contributions of the excision operon to the regulation of the element.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2018-12-01The student, Crystal Hopp, accepted the attached license on 2016-08-08 at 10:53.The student, Crystal Hopp, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-08-08 at 11:02.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-08-10 at 15:30.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #10104 on 2017-02-28 at 14:40:42Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-01T17:00:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
HOPP-DISSERTATION-2016.pdf: 2180215 bytes, checksum: 0b599fd6278c0cca7e974975ce377f82 (MD5)
LICENSE.txt: 4209 bytes, checksum: ffdd294c39f6e64c52d4362458773e4e (MD5)
Previous issue date: 2016-08-10Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 98652
Lift date: 2019-03-01T17:02:22Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 98652
Lift date: 2019-03-01T17:03:32Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 98652
Lift date: 2019-03-01T17:05:02Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 98652
Lift date: 2019-03-01T17:06:55Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 98652 on 2019-03-02T10:15:24Z
The origin of color in tourmaline from Mt. Marie, Maine
No full textIn September and December 2010, Dennis Durgin sent
this author two fragments of recently mined Mt. Marie
tourmaline for color-origin investigation. The samples
were yellowish green (GRR 2016, 19 x 12 x 9 mm) and
dark blue (GRR 2924, 15 x 15 x 6 mm). The green piece
displayed a prism face and was polished into a 6.06-mm-thick
wafer. The blue fragment was sliced parallel to the c-axis and polished into a 1.25-mm-thick wafer. Absorption
spectra were collected in the 350-1100 nm range using a
silicon diode-array microspectrometer with a calcite polarizer,
and in the 1000-2000 nm region with a Nicolet
Magna 860 FTIR spectrometer with a CaF_2 beam splitter,
a deuterated triglycine sulfate detector, a tungsten-halogen
lamp, and a LiI0_3 crystal polarizer
More Than Flags on a Field: Understanding the Community of Pedagogical and Philosophical Practice of Color Guard Instructors
No full textThe author has granted permission for their work to be available to the general public.The purpose of this longitudinal mixed methods study was to explore what high school color guard instructors in the San Antonio, Texas area currently know about teaching and pedagogy, and how they see themselves as educators. This study was comprised of an initial survey sent to color guard instructors in the area, followed by a case study of three participants. Findings were interpreted through Wenger's (1998) community of practice framework and suggest that color guard instructors act as teachers in classrooms, possess some solid foundational practices, but lack a dynamic understanding of all pedagogical processes. This is likely due to the competitive focus of its governing organizations, as most developmental materials currently available to instructors focus on content knowledge and show design at the expense of pedagogy. The results suggest professional development should be designed and offered to support these non-traditional educators, and that current communities of practice that support color guard should evolve to do so.Interdisciplinary Learning and Teachin
Crystal structure and band gap determination of HfO2 thin films
No full textValence electron energy loss spectroscopy (VEELS) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) are performed on three different HfO2 thin films grown on Si (001) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD). For each sample the band gap (Eg) is determined by low-loss EELS analysis. The Eg values are then correlated with the crystal structure and the chemical properties of the films obtained by HRTEM images and VEELS line scans, respectively. They are discussed in comparison to both experimental and theoretical results published in literature. The HfO2 ALD film capped with poly-Si exhibits the largest band gap (Eg = 5.9±0.5?eV), as a consequence of its nanocrystallized orthorhombic structure. The large grains with a monoclinic structure formed in the HfO2 ALD film capped with Ge and the carbon contamination induced by the precursors in the HfO2 CVD film capped with Al2O3 are identified to be the main features responsible for lower band gap values (Eg = 5.25±0.5 and 4.3±0.5?eV respectively).Kavli Institute of NanoscienceApplied Science
Investigation of spiropyrans and merocyanines in mixed thin films with long chain alkyl silanes: Towards a command surface for liquid crystal realignment
No full textSpiropyran derivatives containing a variable-length linking chain and either tri- or mono-alkoxy silane end groups were synthesized. Glass slides were deposited with mixed thin films of the spiropyran compounds and either octadecyltrimethoxysilane or octadecyldimethylmethoxysilane. The photochemistry of the spiropyran in the thin films was characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Irradiation of the films causes the formation of the open form of the spiropyran, which can be detected by absorption spectroscopy. The rate of the thermal reaction from the open (merocyanine) to the closed form of the spiropyran was measured, and shows no dependence on the length of the spiropyran molecule, though the rate is much closer to that found for spiropyran molecules doped into polymers than in solution. Sessile drop contact angle measurements show a decrease from 70 3 degrees to 63 2 degrees for films prepared from the trialkoxy silanes upon irradiation with UV light. Evaluation of this system as a surface to control the realignment of the nematic liquid crystal K-15 proved unsuccessful, though the surface energy of the systems can be changed solely by irradiation with light.Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T12:26:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
license.txt: 4922 bytes, checksum: 910b249b4beec47e7ab768910c8f966f (MD5)
9712275.pdf: 4031987 bytes, checksum: e304cb5c88ee8507fb086960fe4ca545 (MD5)
Previous issue date: 1996Item marked as restricted to the 'UIUC Users [automated]' Group (id=2) by Howard Ding ([email protected]) on 2011-05-07T14:41:10Z
Item is restricted indefinitely.Restriction data tranferred 2014-07-01T11:17:46-05:00
Original Data
Group with Access UIUC Users [automated]
Release Date: none
Reason: ETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissionETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissionU of I Onl
Trace Element Constraints on the Differentiation and Crystal Mush Solidification in the Skaergaard Intrusion, Greenland
No full text© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. New major and trace element analyses of plagioclase and clinopyroxene in gabbros from the Skaergaard intrusion are used to understand the mechanisms of crystallization in the main magma body and in the crystal mush. Crystal cores show a continuous chemostratigraphic evolution in the Layered Series, with compatible elements (e.g. Cr and Ni in clinopyroxene) being progressively depleted from the bottom up, whereas incompatible elements (e.g. Sr, Ba, REE in plagioclase and clinopyroxene) become progressively enriched. We performed numerical models and showed that these trends can be explained by a simple process of fractional crystallization, except for the upper 20% of the intrusion where plagioclase and clinopyroxene trace element compositions depart from fractional crystallization trends. At this stage of magma chamber solidification, fractional crystallization becomes less efficient and is replaced by a major proportion of in situ equilibrium crystallization. Trace elements also show significant variations in interstitial overgrowths on plagioclase and clinopyroxene cumulus crystals. They result from crystallization of the interstitial liquid in the liquid+crystal mush. However, incompatible elements, and especially REE, show a degree of enrichment in plagioclase rims (> 20ppm Ce) that strongly exceeds the highest concentrations observed in plagioclase cores (up to 4ppm Ce) at the top of the Layered Series. Such a strong enrichment is difficult to reconcile with a simple process of fractional crystallization of the interstitial liquid in the crystal mush, but may be related to the development of silicate liquid immiscibility in the crystal mush or to delayed nucleation of apatite. After the crystallization of plagioclase and clinopyroxene overgrowths, diffusive re-equilibration during a period of 0.1-0.25 Myr significantly changed the original zoning profiles. Ce flux from clinopyroxene into the plagioclase lattice of adjacent crystals could also have contributed to the strong Ce enrichment observed in plagioclase rims.sponsorship: O. N. was supported by a Junior Research Fellowship at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge and an Intra-European Individual Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Hannover. M.C.S.H. was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council through a grant number (NE/F020325/I) and access to the Edinburgh Ion Microprobe Facility (IMF-433-0511). J. Day (Cambridge) and I. Horn (Hannover) are thanked for their help with LA-ICP-MS analyses. C. J. de Hoog and the Ion Microprobe Facility Staff at the University of Edinburgh are thanked for their help with SIMS analyses. Kathi Faak is thanked for her help with diffusion modelling. I. Buisman is thanked for her help with EPMA analyses. Troels Nielsen is thanked for providing samples from the Bollinberg profile. Discussions with M Holness, C. Tegner, F. Holtz, B. Charlier and T. Nielsen were highly appreciated. (Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, European Individual Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Hannover, Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Natural Environment Research Council|NE/F020325/I, NERC|NE/J020877/1, NERC|NE/J020877/2, NERC|NE/R01695X/1)status: Publishe
Writing and the rights of reality: usurpation and potentiality in Derrida, Plato, Nietzsche, and Beckett
No full textThe thesis critically evaluates Jacques Derrida's conferral of the rights of reality on writing, focussing on his theory of an arche-text in light of the speculative nature of this theory. The theory is initially considered in the context of Derrida's elucidation of the usurpatory status of writing within the Platonic and Nietzschean texts. This consideration reveals an admission of writing's usurpatory status by both writers while at the same time demonstrating their awareness of the intrinsically speculative nature of this view, the significance of writing lying in its ability to exteriorise the radically indeterminate status of consciousness m relation to reality rather than its ability to displace consciousness or reality The analyses, therefore, not only bring the Derridean hypothesis of a repressive or phonocentric metaphysical episteme into question but also exhibit the historical and philosophical role of potentiality in relation to writing, writing's ultimate significance lying in its capacity to exteriorise our existence as a mode of potentiality. Accordingly, in the second half of the thesis the Derridean theory of writing is countered with a specifically Aristotelian theory of the text as it is exhibited in the prose of Samuel Beckett, an author whose significance lies in his close alignment with Derridean theory within contemporary criticism. It is demonstrated that this identification has obviated an awareness of the significance of potentiality within the Beckettian text, his work consequently being appraised in the previously neglected context of Aristotelian metaphysics
Perceptions of support for students in a university based teacher education program: understanding challenges to facilitate meaningful support
No full textA significant problem in PK-12 education is teacher retention in the first five years. One avenue for looking at this problem is to uncover the challenges in preparing teachers in education programs. Students enrolled in a university based teacher education program (UBTEP) face specific obstacles such as synthesizing knowledge of their subject and pedagogical practices, navigating a costly and intricate certification process, and managing the emotional and physical aspects of finishing their college degree while learning how to work as a professional. If students are not supported both emotionally and academically as they navigate these obstacles, there may be lasting repercussions as the student moves through the program and into the teaching profession after graduation, including leaving the teaching profession within the first five years. There is a paucity of research on student support in teacher education programs and effects of this support on student outcomes and teacher retention. This case study looked at one teacher preparation program to determine if there are gaps in support for the students from entrance into the program to graduation, including their year of clinical experience, and, if there are gaps, to determine their effects. Participants included current and past students of the research site program, and administration, faculty teachers, and staff of the program. The study examined data collected from focus group interviews with students in the program and individual interviews with faculty, administration and staff of the program, to better understand teacher readiness impact on teacher retention. The results of this study contribute to the research on developing support mechanisms for students in UBTEPs.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
- …
