Assessing Student Learning in Natural Resources: Recent Efforts at the University of Arkansas at Monticello

In recent years, there has been a trend requiring outcomes‐based assessment of student learning in all academic programs. Most of the major accreditation entities have revised their standards to reflect this trend. The Society of American Foresters (SAF), the accrediting body for the nation’s forestry programs has also moved in this direction. The School of Forest Resources (SFR) in the University of Arkansas at Monticello has taken an active role in revising its model for student learning and program assessment. SFR’s two‐tier model is an effort to link student learning and program assessment in a way that is meaningful and practical. This presentation will discuss the specifics of this model and share some of the lessons learned from several years of discussions, phased implementation, and fine‐tuning

Identifying the Factors Distinguishing Timber Sales on Industrial and Non-Industrial Private Forest Lands in Arkansas

Although forests provide a wide variety of products and services, timber still continues to be the most valued forest product in the marketplace. More than two-third of the nation\u27s forests are under private control, some are owned by industries (about 10%) while a much larger portion (about 59%) is owned by individuals. This study investigates the differences between timber sales offered by industrial and non-industrial ownerships. A test of means revealed that there is a significant difference between per hectare bid for these 2 types of sales. A logistic regression model was then estimated to identify important factors characterizing this difference. Results indicated that industrial forests were more likely to obtain higher bids. They were also more likely to have shorter contract lengths. Industrial ownerships were found to be more likely to have clearcuts. However, they had a higher likelihood of restricting harvesting during wet-weather conditions. Forest industries were also found to be less likely to have pulpwood for sale than non-industrial private owners

Building an IT Taxonomy with Co-occurrence Analysis, Hierarchical Clustering, and Multidimensional Scaling

Different information technologies (ITs) are related in complex ways. How can the relationships among a large number of ITs be described and analyzed in a representative, dynamic, and scalable way? In this study, we employed co-occurrence analysis to explore the relationships among 50 information technologies discussed in six magazines over ten years (1998-2007). Using hierarchical clustering and multidimensional scaling, we have found that the similarities of the technologies can be depicted in hierarchies and two-dimensional plots, and that similar technologies can be classified into meaningful categories. The results imply reasonable validity of our approach for understanding technology relationships and building an IT taxonomy. The methodology that we offer not only helps IT practitioners and researchers make sense of numerous technologies in the iField but also bridges two related but thus far largely separate research streams in iSchools - information management and IT management

Functional properties of enzymatically modified protein from fish waste

Fish flour from dried waste consisting of head, tail, fins and entrails was enzimatically hydrolysed using various proteases and the hydrolysate was spray dried. The functional properties such as water-fat absorption ratio, foaming and solubility index of the hydrolysates and fish flour revealed that some of the products might find significant uses in the food and/or cosmetics industry. Electrophoretic separation of the proteins from the fish flour and of the hydrolysates indicated that almost all the flour proteins are susceptible to proteolytic cleavage with the exception of one or two. The extent of degree of hydrolysis from 43-70.3% with a simultaneous decrease in unpleasant smell suggest an economical tool for minimizing odour pollution due to fish industry waste deterioration

Comparative study of heart rate variability in normotensive young adults with family history of hypertension

Background: Hypertension is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular and cerebro-vascular diseases. Autonomic nervous system plays a crucial role in the development of hypertension. The integrity of autonomic modulation of heart rate is evaluated by analysing heart rate variability (HRV), which refers to oscillations in the intervals between consecutive heartbeats or R-R intervals. The present study was designed to analyse the indices of heart rate variability in the offsprings of hypertensive parents and off springs of normotensive parents to understand if there is any autonomic imbalance between the two groups.  Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Government Medical College, Srinagar. The test group consisted of 30 healthy normotensive subjects studying in 1st year of MBBS with hypertensive parents and the control group consisted of healthy normotensive of 1st year of MBBS with both parents normotensive. In time domain analysis the standard deviation of all normal-to-normal intervals {SDNN(ms)} was taken as index of overall HRV. Frequency domain analysis was done with respect to low frequency (LF) analysis and high frequency (HF) analysis. Low and high frequency power were expressed in normalized units.Results: The SDNN was reduced in cases but was not statistically significant. RMSSD was also reduced in cases though not statistically significant. LFnu was found to be significantly higher in cases. The HFnu was significantly reduced in cases. LF/HF ratio was found to be higher in cases and the difference was statistically significant.  Conclusions: Our study reveals that incidence of prehypertension and the risk of cardiovascular dysfunction in relation to sympathovagal imbalance is more in the off springs of hypertensive parents than in the off springs of normotensive parents. Sympathovagal imbalance in the form of increased sympathetic drive and decreased parasympathetic drive can lead to prehypertension in these genetically predisposed individuals.

Interaction of Ketotifen Fumarate with Anhydrous Theophylline in Simulated Gastric and Intestinal Media and Effect on Protein Binding

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate interaction between ketotifen fumarate and anhydrous theophylline in aqueous media of various pH.Methods: By using Job’s continuous-variation analysis and Ardon’s spectrophotomeric methods, the values of stability constants of theophylline with ketotifen were determined at a fixed temperature (37 0C) at each of the medium pH. In vitro study of protein (bovine albumin, fraction v) binding was carried out by equilibrium dialysis method at pH 7.4 to ascertain the influence of ketotifen on the protein binding of theophylline.Results: Stability constant, ranging between 5.07 and 6.35, were derived from Ardon’s plot, indicating that complexes formed, as a result of interaction between the drugs, were comparatively stable. However, following theophylline interaction with ketotifen, stability constant was < 1 at gastric pH (0.4 and 2.0) and 4.12 at intestinal pH. (6.0)The highest degree of protein binding by ketotifen was 98 % and the lowest 90 %. For theophylline, the highest and lowest degrees of protein binding were 90 and 85 %, respectively.Conclusion: Concurrent administration of ketotifen and theophylline would result in the formation of a stable complex and this is likely to reduce the therapeutic activities of both drugs. With regard to protein binding, the concentration of theophylline increased with decrease in ketotifen concentration.Keywords: Stability constant, Job’s method, Ardon’s method, Ketotifen fumarate, Complex formation, Protein binding, Theophyllin