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The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is important both ecologically, as a generalist pollinator, and economically by pollinating our crops and producing honey. Honey bees use plants for foraging for pollen and nectar, which together constitute their entire diet. Yet, as flowering times of plants vary during the summer, so do the floral resources available. Honey bees are known to be selective for their food sources. Thus, their specificity in plant choices could vary according to the availability of flower sources, showing a differing usage of plant diversity in different timepoints. Alternatively, the honey bees selectivity to fulfill their nutrient needs could lead to a constant usage of diversity. The taxonomic origin of the plant DNA found in honey can be identified and used to investigate the plant taxa the bees have collected nectar and pollen from. This study asks whether the diversity of plants which honey bees use varies during summer (June, July, and August). I used two diversity indices as response variables: 1) the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and 2) the number of plant genera identified in the DNA in the honey. I used data gathered from 41 hives from 14 Finnish beekeepers. An ANOVA test revealed no significant difference among the three timepoints in either response variable, indicating honey bees select a constant diversity of plants throughout the season. The result suggest that different plants can fulfill honey bees’ requirements at different parts of the summer. Honey bees are generalists, but selective, producing a relatively constant usage of plants throughout the season.

This study aimed to quantify resistant starch (RS) beta-glucans (BG) and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) in Indian and Canadian wheat varieties and in chapaties made from these; and to assess the effects of soy flour on the levels of these components and its effects on the sensory and functional properties of the wheat-soy chapaties. Seven wheat varieties (Indian / Canadian) were milled into flour; supplemented with 0 % (control), 10 %, 20 % or 30 % defatted soy flour and made into chapaties. Flours and chapaties (freeze-dried, pulverized) were assayed for BG, FOS, RS and simple sugars (glucose / sucrose). Sensory evaluation was carried out by (9 point) hedonic rating of chapaties by 20 untrained Indian panelists. Flour water-holding capacity and water absorption indices (WAI) were determined. RS content of flours ranged from 7.1 g/100 g to 12.6 g/100g, but decreased when made into chapaties, (< 1 g/100 g), and decreased further with soy flour addition. BG content in flours ranged from 0.8 g/100 g to 1.4 g/100 g, while FOS content ranged from 1.3 g/100 g to 2.3 g/100 g. Minimal changes were observed in BG and FOS content when made into chapaties. Simple sugars were minimal in flours and chapaties. WAI of wheat flour was increased with addition of soy bean flour. Addition of up to 30 % soybean flour elevated the sensory acceptability of chapaties. While there is a decrease in RS with chapati making, the levels of BG and FOS are largely unchanged with processing. / Master of Science

Impact of precision feeding with feed management software was assessed for whole farm nutrient balance (WFNB) and feeding management from January through December 2006. Nine treatment and six control farms were selected in four regions of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed of Virginia. Herd sizes averaged 271 and 390 lactating cows for treatment and control farms while milk yield averaged 30 and 27 kg/d per lactating cow, respectively. Crop hectares grown averaged 309 and 310 ha for treatment and control farms, respectively. Treatment farms purchased and installed feed management software (TMR Tracker, Digi-Star LLC, Fort Atkinson WI) between May and October 2006 and received more frequent feed analysis and feedback. Data were collected for calendar year 2005 and 2006 to compute WFNB using software from the University of Nebraska. On treatment farms, up to five feed samples were obtained monthly from individual feedstuffs and each total mixed ration (TMR) fed to lactating cows. Control farms submitted TMR samples every 2 mo. Standard wet chemistry analysis of samples was performed. Data stored in the software were collected monthly from each treatment farm concurrent with feed sampling. Producers from each treatment farm participated in a 24-question personal interview in December 2006 addressing installation, operation, and satisfaction with the software. Daily feeding deviation of all ingredients across treatment farms averaged 173 ± 163 kg/d. This corresponded to average daily overfeeding of CP and P of 17.6 ± 17 and 0.4 ± 0.3 kg/d, respectively. Feeding deviation did not differ between feeders. Milk production was negatively associated with kg total deviation and kg CP deviation, but positively related to P deviation. Whole farm nutrient balance did not differ between treatment and control farms. All producers indicated TMR Tracker met expectations. Change made to the feeding program due to TMR Tracker was correlated (r=0.80) with perceived improvement in ration consistency. In conclusion, producers perceived feed management software as beneficial, but WFNB was not reduced after 3 to 6 mo of using feed management software; however, the large variation in daily over or under feeding indicates potential for future reductions in WFNB through reduced feeding variability. / Master of Science

Thesis advisor: Mary E. Walsh / Students with complex needs and marginalized identities attending high-poverty schools are suspended at higher rates than their more advantaged peers (Mcloughin & Noltemeyer, 2010; Noltemeyer & Mcloughlin, 2010; Erb-Downward & Blakeslee, 2021). When students are suspended from school, they miss out on critical opportunities for instruction and connection. This can increase the likelihood that suspended students will experience a myriad of negative short-term and long-term outcomes, such as lower school engagement, poorer academic performance, school dropout, and justice system involvement (McNeely et al., 2002; Chu & Ready, 2018; Arcia, 2007; Amemiya et al., 2020; Noltemeyer et al., 2015). Supporting the needs of students, teachers, and the school community as a whole, while effectively managing student misbehavior, is a complex task without an easy answer. Integrated Student Supports (ISS) are a systemic approach to addressing students’ out-of-school needs to promote thriving. This approach utilizes several tiers of support to promote positive outcomes for all students in the school community (Adelman & Taylor, 2011). City Connects, an ISS model implemented in high-poverty urban elementary and middle schools, provides tailored supports and resources to all students in the school community and equips school staff with whole child information about their students. While City Connects was not developed to directly reduce suspension rates, many of the model’s practices (e.g., connecting students with tailored supports, identifying students’ unique strengths and needs, indicating a tier of risk for each student) may indirectly 1) address the mechanisms that drive high suspension rates in high poverty schools and 2) promote more positive outcomes for students who have been suspended. In the current study, difference-in-differences analyses identified trends in suspension rates in City Connects schools, compared to similar non-City Connects schools. Chi-square analyses examined patterns in how frequently suspended and non-suspended students in City Connects schools were identified as needing intensive supports. Longitudinal regression and moderation analyses investigated the relationship between receiving City Connects and suspended students’ outcomes. Overall, there is some evidence that City Connects may contribute to maintaining lower school-suspension rates in consistently underperforming schools. The study also found that students who were suspended in City Connects schools were more likely to be identified as needing more intensive supports, compared to students in City Connects schools who were not suspended. Within the district of interest, attending a City Connects elementary school for at least two years was associated with better academic outcomes and slightly better attendance and suspension outcomes in fifth grade. Being suspended at least once in elementary school had an overall negative association with fifth grade academic, attendance, and suspension outcomes. For students who were suspended at least once in elementary school, attending a City Connects school for at least two years was associated with higher math standardized test scores in fifth grade. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.