Mississippi State University

About: Mississippi State University is a education organization based out in Starkville, Mississippi, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catfish. The organization has 14115 authors who have published 28594 publications receiving 700030 citations. The organization is also known as: The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science & Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science.

The changing fates of the world's mammals

Abstract: A recent complete assessment of the conservation status of 5487 mammal species demonstrated that at least one-fifth are at risk of extinction in the wild. We retrospectively identified genuine changes in extinction risk for mammals between 1996 and 2008 to calculate changes in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Index (RLI). Species-level trends in the conservation status of mammalian diversity reveal that extinction risk in large-bodied species is increasing, and that the rate of deterioration has been most accelerated in the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. Expanding agriculture and hunting have been the main drivers of increased extinction risk in mammals. Site-based protection and management, legislation, and captive-breeding and reintroduction programmes have led to improvements in 24 species. We contextualize these changes, and explain why both deteriorations and improvements may be under-reported. Although this study highlights where conservation actions are leading to improvements, it fails to account for instances where conservation has prevented further deteriorations in the status of the world's mammals. The continued utility of the RLI is dependent on sustained investment to ensure repeated assessments of mammals over time and to facilitate future calculations of the RLI and measurement against global targets.

Base-Catalyzed Fast Transesterification of Soybean Oil Using Ultrasonication

Abstract: There is an increasing demand for alternative fuels that are environmentally friendly, especially because of the fact that crude petroleum reserves are dwindling. Also, research on alternative fuels is essential for increased energy security. Biodiesel is a renewable, biodegradable, and nontoxic fuel. At present, biodiesel is primarily produced in batch reactors in which the required energy is provided by heating accompanied by mechanical mixing. Alternatively, ultrasonic processing is an effective way to attain required mixing while providing the necessary activation energy. We found that, using ultrasonication, a biodiesel yield in excess of 99% can be achieved in a remarkably short time duration of 5 min or less in comparison to 1 h or more using conventional batch reactor systems.

Love Thy Neighbor? Moral Communities, Civic Engagement, and Juvenile Homicide in Rural Areas

Abstract: While juvenile homicide garnered a tremendous amount of attention from the general public, the media, and policymakers around 1990, macro-level research examining intercommunity variations in juvenile homicide is generally sparse. In addition, most studies addressing this topic focus on urban areas, neglecting the equally important issue of juvenile homicide in rural communities. This analysis extends prior research by investigating the structural sources of variation in rural juvenile homicide rates and by examining the influence of religion on this phenomenon. Informing our analyses with theoretical insights drawn from the moral communities and civil society literatures, we investigate the protective effects of civically engaged religious denominations on juvenile family, acquaintance, and stranger homicides in rural counties. For comparative purposes, we also perform parallel analyses on a sample of urban areas. The empirical analyses of county-level data using negative binomial regression estimation techniques indicate that the presence of civically engaged religious adherents is inversely associated with juvenile homicide in rural areas (net of the effects of a range of control variables), but that this protective effect is primarily confined to juvenile family homicides. In contrast, the measure of civically engaged denominations has no effect on juvenile homicide in urban areas. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical importance of these findings and directions for future research.

Nonfamily Managers, Family Firms, and the Winner's Curse: The Influence of Noneconomic Goals and Bounded Rationality

Abstract: We explain why family‐centered noneconomic goals and bounded rationality decrease the willingness and ability of small‐ and medium‐sized family firms to hire and provide competitive compensation to nonfamily managers even in a labor market composed of stewards rather than agents. Family‐centered noneconomic goals attenuate the ability to attract high‐quality, nonfamily managers by promoting inferior total compensation packages, fewer opportunities for advancement, idiosyncratic strategies, and higher performance expectations. Furthermore, bounded rationality limits nonfamily managers' ability to meet performance expectations when hired. The result is the “winner's curse,” where neither the economic nor noneconomic goals of family owners are fully achieved.

Evolutionary analysis of the large subunit of carboxylase (rbcL) nucleotide sequence among the grasses (Gramineae).

Abstract: The full nucleotide sequences of the chloroplast encoded large subunit of ribulose- 1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL) are available for nine grass species and partial sequence data for one species. Relative rate tests of the "molecular clock" hypothesis suggest that rbcL evolved more rapidly in the lineage leading to Zea than in those leading to the other species. The estimated overall substitution rate for rbcL among these grasses is about 5 x 10-10 substitutions per site per year, or about one-half the synonymous rate. The nine full sequences were analyzed by the UPGMA, Wagner parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Fitch-Margoliash methods. The latter three methods produced trees with the same topology. This topology largely agrees with current taxonomic evi- dence regarding the relationships among these grasses. UPGMA produced a topology that conflicts more substantially with available taxonomic evidence. Statistical comparison of the three alter- native topologies for the subfamilies Panicoideae, Pooideae and Bambusoideae failed to support one of these topologies over the others, reflecting the taxonomic ambiguities surrounding the relationships among these taxa. Phylogenetic analyses based on the partial sequences of all 10 species gave conflicting results with regard to the relationship between Hordeum and Triticum, both members of the tribe Triticeae. This indicates that rbcL sequences contain too little information to resolve relationships among genera within this tribe. Overall, the results suggest that rbcL sequence data can provide some new information concerning grass phylogeny, but that the amount of available data from this gene is too small to differentiate statistically among alternative topologies for the grasses. Conflicting results from parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Fitch-Margoliash methods proved useful in exploring the validity of assumptions underlying these methods.