Utah State University Eastern

Worldwide, food waste is one of the prime issues threatening food security and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is not an exception. With 427 kg of food wasted per capita per year, the country ranks among the top food wasters. Ironically, the Kingdom has limited arable lands and scarce water resources to support mass-scale agriculture and to feed its increasing population, KSA relies heavily on imports and subsidized food to meet needs. Yet, food is wasted at restaurants, caterers, cafeterias and, especially, by households such that food waste is the single-largest component of the landfills. The review article is based on the grey and scientific literature published in the English and Arabic languages on the issue of food waste in Saudi Arabia. Information sources like Web of knowledge, online resources and the databases available through the King Saud University, Saudi Arabia were accessed and used to collect information on food waste, its social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts and related topics. Since food items and groceries are abundantly available to all living in KSA and they are highly subsidized, the residents take food for granted. According to a recent survey, about 78% of food purchased in KSA is discarded each week in order to make room for new groceries. The factors responsible for food waste include: lack of awareness; and insufficient and inappropriate planning when shopping. Food waste in restaurants, celebrations, social events and occasions are enormous. Waste is common in festivals and special events where the customs is to provide more food than required. There is a need to change society's food culture, particularly among the women and the youth, as they are largest segment of the society and the prime food wasters. The analysis of the factors responsible for food waste, identified in this article suggests a "Stop Wasting Food" campaign should be launched. It is also recommended to determine and activate the role of extension education to reduce food waste in the KSA through vibrant capacity building programs for youth and women, in particular, and society in general.

Minmi is the only known genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from Australia. Seven specimens are known, all from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland. Only two of these have been described in any detail: the holotype specimen Minmi paravertebra from the Bungil Formation near Roma, and a near complete skeleton from the Allaru Mudstone on Marathon Station near Richmond, preliminarily referred to a possible new species of Minmi. The Marathon specimen represents one of the world's most complete ankylosaurian skeletons and the best-preserved dinosaurian fossil from eastern Gondwana. Moreover, among ankylosaurians, its skull is one of only a few in which the majority of sutures have not been obliterated by dermal ossifications or surface remodelling. Recent preparation of the Marathon specimen has revealed new details of the palate and narial regions, permitting a comprehensive description and thus providing new insights cranial osteology of a basal ankylosaurian. The skull has also undergone computed tomography, digital segmentation and 3D computer visualisation enabling the reconstruction of its nasal cavity and endocranium. The airways of the Marathon specimen are more complicated than non-ankylosaurian dinosaurs but less so than derived ankylosaurians. The cranial (brain) endocast is superficially similar to those of other ankylosaurians but is strongly divergent in many important respects. The inner ear is extremely large and unlike that of any dinosaur yet known. Based on a high number of diagnostic differences between the skull of the Marathon specimen and other ankylosaurians, we consider it prudent to assign this specimen to a new genus and species of ankylosaurian. Kunbarrasaurus ieversi gen. et sp. nov. represents the second genus of ankylosaurian from Australia and is characterised by an unusual melange of both primitive and derived characters, shedding new light on the evolution of the ankylosaurian skull.

In this study, we share the racialized experiences of 29 students of color in higher education and student affairs graduate programs, focusing specifically on their relationships with faculty, their experiences in classrooms, and the strategies they recommend for inclusion. Participants indicated that they are expected to serve as the racial expert in classrooms and that many faculty fail to effectively facilitate discussions related to race and racism and to intervene in instances of racial microaggressions. Participants convey effective strategies to build racially-inclusive classrooms which include authenticity, vulnerability, and validation.

BACKGROUND: Eolambia caroljonesa is known from copious remains from the lower Cenomanian Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in eastern Utah; however, the taxon has been only briefly described. Thus, we present herein a complete osteological description of Eolambia. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The description of Eolambia presented here is based upon the holotype partial skeleton (CEUM 9758), paratype partial skull (CEUM 5212), and abundant disarticulated elements from two bonebeds that contain juvenile individuals. These remains allow the skeletal anatomy of Eolambia to be documented almost fully and a revised diagnosis to be proposed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The description provided here facilitates comparisons between Eolambia and other iguanodontians and allows Eolambia to be coded for additional characters in phylogenetic analyses. The close affinity between Eolambia and Probactrosaurus gobiensis from the Early Cretaceous of China supports previous hypotheses of faunal interchange between Asia and North America in the early Late Cretaceous.

ABSTRACT A new large nodosaurid ankylosaur, Peloroplites cedrimontanus, is described from a partial skull and postcranial skeleton found at the PR-2 Quarry located at the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in central Utah. The specimen is about the same size as the contemporary nodosaurid Sauropelta edwardsorum from the Cloverly Formation of Montana, and is of an individual approximately 5–5.5 m long. The skull of Peloroplites differs from that of Sauropelta in the vertical orientation of the suspensorium, non-domed cranium and broad, square premaxillary beak. The quarry is near and roughly at the same level as the CEM Quarry that produced the holotype of the ankylosaurid Cedarpelta bilbeyhallorum. The postcrania of Cedarpelta is described and illustrated based on the paratype and new material. These elements clearly establish that Cedarpelta is closer to Ankylosaurus than to Sauropelta. As a primitive ankylosaurid, there is no a priori reason to assume that the tail club was present. Based on recent finds in China, a hypothesis is presented that the tail club is a derived feature in non-shamosaurine (i.e., ankylosaurine) ankylosaurids.

ABSTRACT The Eulert pliosaurid remains (FHSM VP-321) housed at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History (Kansas, U.S.A.) include one of the world's best examples of a Cretaceous pliosaurid plesiosaur skull. The specimen's original assignment to Brachauchenius lucasi was based solely upon the skull (dorsal surface) and left lower jaw (lateral view) because the specimen was embedded in a plaster mount. The history of B. lucasi is similarly problematic, because the type and a referred skull were formerly visible only in ventral and dorsal views, respectively. Further preparation and comparison of these specimens reveal new data about the arrangement of cranial elements. The Eulert pliosaurid bears several distinct autapomorphies as compared with B. lucasi, including cranial proportions (pretemporal length of palate longer, shorter temporal fenestrae), configuration of skull roof elements (frontals participate in premaxilla-parietal suture, suture occurs further forward), and configuration of the palate (posterior vomers not masked by medial alar extensions of the palatines, caudal vomerian fenestrae positioned further posterior, long slit-like anterior pteryoid vacuity present). Furthermore, FHSM VP-321 possesses double-headed cervical ribs, a feature previously unknown in Cretaceous pliosaurids. This combination of characters merits separation of the Eulert pliosaurid and a referred specimen to a new taxon, Megacephalosaurus eulerti. The type and paratype skulls of M. eulerti are 1.5 m and 1.75 m in length, respectively, and thus 50% and 75% larger than the known 1-m-long skulls of B. lucasi, suggesting that M. eulerti may attain larger size than B. lucasi.

Bipedal ornithischian dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation are rare, forming only about 15% of the dinosaur specimens. Nevertheless, one of them was among the first dinosaurs named from what was then the ‘’Atlantosaurus Beds’’ of Colorado. Collecting and restudy for 140 years has in­creased the diversity from the initial 1877 discovery to the currently valid four genera and six species, viz., Fruitadens haagaroum, Nanosaurus agilis, Camptosaurus dispar, C. aphanoecetes, Dryosaurus altus, and D. elderae, which we briefly review. We demonstrate that the enigmatic Nanosaurus agilis is the senior name for Drinker nisti, Othnielosaurus consors, and Othnielia rex. In addition, a new species, Dryosaurus elderae is proposed for the Dryosaurus specimens from Dinosaur National Monument that are characterized by elongate cervical verebrae and a long, low ilium among other features.

This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data, using questionnaires and interviews, from 792 randomly-selected farmers in two of the governorates in the Nile Delta Region, Egypt. A workshop was organized for 59 extension professionals working in the two governorates, looking at how the adaptive capacity of the agricultural sector towards climate change was being guided by policy-makers. Two focus groups were used: one with senior officials from the regional governorates and the other with central government administrators from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. The study findings suggested that 51.9% of the investigated farmers at the two targeted governorates had no knowledge about the climate change phenomenon. Maximizing the use of manure, changing crop patterns, and crop rotation were the adaptation measures most commonly adopted by aware respondents against climate change. Results of a probit model analysis indicated that farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change was influenced by education level, farm size, diversity of production, and membership of a Water User Association. The study recommended some extension interventions to raise awareness of the anticipated effects of climate change.

BACKGROUND: The theropod dinosaur family Troodontidae is known from the Upper Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous, and Upper Cretaceous of Asia and from the Upper Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous of North America. Before now no undisputed troodontids from North America have been reported from the Early Cretaceous. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Herein we describe a theropod maxilla from the Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah and perform a phylogenetic analysis to determine its phylogenetic position. The specimen is distinctive enough to assign to a new genus and species, Geminiraptor suarezarum. Phylogenetic analysis places G. suarezarum within Troodontidae in an unresolved polytomy with Mei, Byronosaurus, Sinornithoides, Sinusonasus, and Troodon+(Saurornithoides+Zanabazar). Geminiraptor suarezarum uniquely exhibits extreme pneumatic inflation of the maxilla internal to the antorbital fossa such that the anterior maxilla has a triangular cross-section. Unlike troodontids more closely related to Troodon, G. suarezarum exhibits bony septa between the dental alveoli and a promaxillary foramen that is visible in lateral view. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first report of a North American troodontid from the Lower Cretaceous. It therefore contributes to a fuller understanding of troodontid biogeography through time. It also adds to the known dinosaurian fauna of the Cedar Mountain Formation.

In 1878, Oramel Lucas shipped to E.D. Cope of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, a huge 1.5-m-tall neural spine from the dorsal vertebra of a sauropod (from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation) that Cope named and illustrated as Amphicoelis fragillimus.The holotype was lost and all that is known of the specimen is from Cope's original publication. Reanalysis of Cope's publication in light of other sauropods discovered since 1878 indicates that Amphicoelias fragillimus is a basal rebbachisaurid characterized by pneumatic neural spine and arch, and the unambiguous rebbachisaurid character of a festooned spinodiapophyseallamina. Because the specimen can no longer be referred to the basal diplodo­ coid Amphicoelias, the genus name is replaced with Maraapunisaurus n.g. As a rebbachisaurid, revised dimensions indicate a dorsal vertebra 2.4 m tall and a head-to-tail length for the animal of 30.3 to 32m, significantly less than previous estimates.

The plated thyreophoran or stegosaurian dinosaur Stegosaurus armatus was named in 1877 by Marsh for fragmentary remains from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Colorado, USA. Subsequent discoveries from the same formation in Wyoming and Colorado (USA) have been assigned to separate stegosaurian genera and species, but most of these are no longer considered valid. More recently, a partial stegosaurian skeleton from Wyoming was named Hesperosaurus mjosi. However, the validity of this genus has been questioned recently, raising the question: how much osteological difference among stegosaur taxa is needed to separate genera from species? The question is examined vis-à-vis species and genus recognition in other dinosaurs, including iguanodonts, lambeosaurine iguanodontids, chasmosaurine ceratopsians, tyrannosaurid theropods, and diplodocid sauropods. The basis for taxonomic distinction is largely philosophical: if the species are morphologically distinct enough, they should be treated as separate genera. Based on these criteria, Hesperosaurus mjosi is a distinct taxon.

Discovery of a pelvis attributed to the Late Jurassic armor-plated dinosaur Gargoyleosaurus sheds new light on the origin of the peculiar non-vertical, broad, flaring pelvis of ankylosaurs. It further substantiates separation of the two ankylosaurs from the Morrison Formation of the western United States, Gargoyleosaurus and Mymoorapelta. Although horizontally oriented and lacking the medial curve of the preacetabular process seen in Mymoorapelta, the new ilium shows little of the lateral flaring seen in the pelvis of Cretaceous ankylosaurs. Comparison with the basal thyreophoran Scelidosaurus demonstrates that the ilium in ankylosaurs did not develop entirely by lateral rotation as is commonly believed. Rather, the preacetabular process rotated medially and ventrally and the postacetabular process rotated in opposition, i.e., lateral and ventrally. Thus, the dorsal surfaces of the preacetabular and postacetabular processes are not homologous. In contrast, a series of juvenile Stegosaurus ilia show that the postacetabular process rotated dorsally ontogenetically. Thus, the pelvis of the two major types of Thyreophora most likely developed independently. Examination of other ornithischians show that a non-vertical ilium had developed independently in several different lineages, including ceratopsids, pachycephalosaurs, and iguanodonts. Therefore, a separate origin for the non-vertical ilium in stegosaurs and ankylosaurs does have precedent.

The braincase from the Upper Jurassic (lower Tithonian) Morrison Formation of the Carnegie Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument (Utah), which was assigned to the ankylopollexian iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur Uteodon aphanoecetes (Carpenter and Wilson, 2008) is actually that of the dryosaurid iguanodontian Dryosaurus cf. D. altus (Marsh, 1878). The purported braincase autapomorphy of U. aphanoecetes, occipital condyle projects farther ventrally than basal tubera, is an artifact of damage to the latter structures in this specimen. The newly identified braincase of Dryosaurus Marsh, 1894, reveals features that are not easily observed in other specimens of this taxon, such as well-developed fossae on the anterior surfaces of the paroccipital processes and a spike-shaped parasphenoid that lacks the dorsal process seen in Dysalotosaurus Virchow, 1919. The distinction of this latter dryosaurid genus from Dryosaurus is here regarded as tentative.The removal of the braincase in question from the hypodigm of U. aphanoecetes substantially reduces the morphological difference between this taxon and another ankylopollexian species, Camptosaurus dispar (Marsh, 1879). Furthermore, some of the postcranial characters used to support the proposed sister-taxon relationship of U. aphanoecetes and Cumnoria prestwichii (Hulke, 1880) are based on hypothetical reconstructions of selected skeletal elements of the latter, or are more widespread within Ornithopoda. The ilium of Cumnoria prestwichii cannot currently be distinguished from that of Camptosaurus dispar based on known material. Indeed, the only presently recognized autapomorphy of Cumnoria prestwichii is the small size of the opening into the maxillary sinus on the dorsomedial side of the maxilla (i.e., the intramaxillary fossa); in Camptosaurus dispar, by contrast, this opening is large and occupies most of the dorsomedial surface of the bone. This single feature is not considered sufficient to warrant the continued separation of the genera Camptosaurus Marsh, 1885, and Cumnoria Seeley, 1888. Similarly, the anatomical differences between U. aphanoecetes and Camptosaurus dispar are regarded as meriting distinction at the species rather than the genus level. Consequently, the genera Cumnoria Seeley, 1888, and Uteodon McDonald, 2011, are here regarded as junior subjective synonyms of Camptosaurus Marsh, 1885 (Cumnoria as revised synonymy, and Uteodon as new synonymy). The species Cumnoria prestwichii and Uteodon aphanoecetes are returned to the genus Camptosaurus, as Camptosaurus prestwichii, revised combination, and Camptosaurus aphanoecetes, revised combination, respectively.

By reducing the (4;2)-connected regular three-dimensional nets of ${\mathrm{AlPO}}_{4}$ zeolites to simply four-connected nets of III-V semiconductors such as GaAs, we introduce a variety of expanded structures for compound semiconductors. An ab initio local-orbital quantum molecular-dynamics method is used to determine the optimized geometries, energetics, and electronic properties of the proposed structures. We specifically treat GaAs, and find that even with the 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} bond angles required for these expanded structures, most of these phases remain semiconducting with band gaps ranging from slightly above that of the zinc-blende structure, to about 0.6 eV smaller than it. Two compounds with the same volume as the room pressure phase are predicted to be metallic. The total energies of the expanded phases are in the range of 0.2 eV/atom higher than the zinc-blende structure, less than or comparable to the energies of known or predicted high-pressure phases, and are energetically less favorable than analogous expanded phases of elemental semiconductors such as Si.

While models considering the relationship between emotion and risk differ, many agree that emotions should affect risk in accordance with the adaptive function of the emotion. The function of boredom has been proposed to motivate the pursuit of an alternative experience. Based on this, we predicted that a state of boredom would result in an optimistic perception of risk and increased risk-taking. In Study 1 (n = 164) and Study 2 (n = 200) participants who were made bored (relative to neutral, anger, and fear conditions) reported less worry and concern and estimated fewer deaths for causes of death. Study 3 (n = 149) showed that participants who were made bored (compared to neutral and fear conditions) perceived risk more optimistically, reported being more likely to take risks, and perceived more potential benefits from taking risks. In Study 4 (n = 84) participants who were made bored (relative to neutral) took more risks on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, a behavioural measure of risk. These findings show that state boredom results in an optimistic perception of risk, increased self-reported risk taking, and increased risk taking. Our results support boredom as an emotion that impacts risk in line with its function.

The current study examined the older adults’ self-efficacy in computer use and explored the factors that impacted and mediated their self-efficacy. Older adults (N = 339) were recruited from a western mid-size city in the U.S. and participated in a survey. Results of the path analysis revealed that computer experience and financial health factors were predictors that significantly impacted the outcome, i.e., the older adults’ self-efficacy in computer use. Meanwhile, this predicting-outcome relationship was mediated by the mediators like perception of computer role, overall life satisfaction, and emotional well-being. The study is significant in that it contributes to the research and practicing community the understanding of the relationship between older adults’ self-efficacy in computer use and the factors that predict and mediate older adults’ self-efficacy in computer use.

This study compared the learning of ionic nomenclature by three different methods; one used the traditional method where students worked problems at the end of a chapter, while the other two methods used similar game formats (Rainbow Wheel and Rainbow Matrix) to learn chemical nomenclature. The statistical analysis of student performance revealed that the game format methods were more effective in helping students develop a working knowledge of chemical nomenclature than the traditional method. All students identified the same factors as being important in their instruction: the role of visualization, the role of the instructor, the role of practice, the role of game playing, and the importance of nomenclature.

(1988). Gustatory subversion and the evolution of nutritional dependency in Kiribati. Food and Foodways: Vol. 3, Continuity and Change in Pacific Foodways, pp. 79-98.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most water stressed countries and hence at 'extreme risk'. The analyses presented by various scientists caution that the dual drivers of climate change and population growth will combine to put further stress on scarce water resources and affect the food security. To reduce the pressures on the diminishing and depleting water resources, the kingdom has put restriction on the planting of wheat, barley and fodder crops with high water requirements. Farmers have been encouraged to grow vegetable crops in the greenhouses by employing water-saving technologies. In the situation, the farmers need assistance related to green-house crop production and marketing of their produce. At the same time, the extension agents need trainings in the newly emerged situations. It would be important to bring all the stakeholders on the discussion table to devise strategies to address the emerging situation.

The spirochaetes that cause tick-borne relapsing fever and Lyme disease are closely related human pathogens, yet they differ significantly in their ecology and pathogenicity. Genome sequencing of two species of relapsing fever spirochaetes, Borrelia hermsii and Borrelia turicatae, identified a chromosomal open reading frame, designated bhpA, not present in the Lyme disease spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi. The predicted amino acid sequence of bhpA was homologous with the HtrA serine proteases, which are involved with stress responses and virulence in other bacteria. B. hermsii produced an active serine protease that was recognized by BhpA antibodies and the recombinant BhpA protein-degraded beta-casein. bhpA was transcribed in vitro at all growth temperatures and transcription levels were slightly elevated at higher temperatures. These results correlated with the synthesis of BhpA during B. hermsii infection in mice. With the exception of Borrelia recurrentis, the bhpA gene, protein and enzymatic activity were found in all relapsing fever spirochaetes, but not in Lyme disease or related spirochaetes. Heterologous expression of bhpA in B. burgdorferi increased the spirochaete's resistance to both oxidative stress and killing by human neutrophils. Therefore, we propose that bhpA encodes a unique and functional serine protease in relapsing fever spirochaetes. This periplasmic enzyme may prevent the accumulation of proteins damaged by the innate immune response and contribute to the ability of the relapsing fever spirochaetes to achieve high cell densities in blood.