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Resistance, stability and flexibility training can improve balance and other functional movements for people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis—and behavior therapy may further improve their quality of life. That’s the premise of a study that builds on previous work suggesting that resistance and flexibility training improved balance and symmetry, which is of particular concern for those experiencing leg weakness.

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Turkish tactics to limit freedom of speech and press have reached new heights, says Ankara native Evren Celik Wiltse. Not only has President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intimidated and jailed journalists in his own country, but his efforts have gone international.

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Health-care facilities being tobacco-free seems like a natural fit, but enforcing a tobacco-free policy that prohibits all people from using tobacco in buildings and on campus grounds it owns and leases can be a tall order. A state-wide survey showed that hospital, clinics and cancer treatment were among the health-care facilities in South Dakota with the more comprehensive policies. Use of an electronic health record system was key to assessing patients’ tobacco use.

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Plants share their carbohydrates with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that colonize their roots and, in exchange, these fungi provide their hosts with nitrogen and phosphorous. By exploiting this relationship, scientists may be able to increase the biomass production of bioenergy crops and the yield of food crops and to reduce the required fertilizer inputs. This could improve the environmental sustainability of agricultural production systems according to professor Heike Bücking of South Dakota State University.

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Researchers have found antibodies to the newly discovered influenza D virus in pigs, cattle, horses, goats and sheep, but not poultry. South Dakota State University doctoral student Chithra Sreenivasan has proven that the guinea pig can be used as an animal model and is developing a way to study the virus in living cells—trachea and lung epithelial cells from swine and cattle.

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An economic analysis of data gathered from survey respondents who bought South Dakota hunting licenses showed that more than $37.5 million was generated through those who hunted on land set aside through Conservation Reserve Program funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency research shows the economic contribution, impacts and benefits from hunting that occurs on CRP lands and calculates the effect of a 50 percent reduction in CRP acres.

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“Breeding is a numbers game—the more combinations we test, the more likely we are to identify a superior plant,” said winter wheat breeder Sunish Sehgal. He develops more than 500 new genetic combinations each year to increase winter hardiness, yield and disease and drought resistance in South Dakota wheat varieties.

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“If you live in flammable countryside, you’ve got to work with fire. You can’t make it go away,” according to professor Mark Cochrane, a wildfire expert and senior scientist at the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence. That means moving from the notion that fires are unnatural and toward a managed approach that involves reintegrating fire as a vital landscape process and building communities that are resilient to fire.

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Changing crop prices was the No. 1 factor that farmers in the Prairie Pothole region of eastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota considered when deciding whether or not to convert grassland to cropland. Of the 1,026 producers who responded to the 2015 Farmland Decision Survey, 40 percent had converted some native or tame grassland to cropland in the last 10 years.

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Making milk powder seems simple, but it’s not. Creamer must dissolve very quickly in hot coffee, but powder density is critical for infant formula. Dairy scientists from South Dakota State University and chemical engineers from Monash University in Australia are using a single-droplet spray dryer and computation fluid dynamics modeling to determine the drying parameters needed to produce powders with those specific properties.

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A newly discovered insect species in prairie cordgrass may explain why increasing seed production has been so difficult, according to South Dakota State University entomologist Paul J. Johnson, a professor in the plant science department. The larvae feed on the developing seed within the plant. This is part of U.S. Department of Agriculture supported research to develop native grasses as a source of biobased transportation fuels.

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Roasted vegetables, fruit salads and spinach smoothies can form the basis for a healthy meal and provide a chance to connect as a family. These are insights that 9- and 10-year-olds and their caregivers in South Dakota gained through iCook, a multi-state U.S. Department of Agricultural project to increase culinary skills, family mealtime and physical activity as a means of preventing childhood obesity.

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Three Lakota elders are discussing advanced care planning and wills with their peers on Pine Ridge and other South Dakota reservations through an outreach project done in collaboration with a South Dakota State University nurse-researcher. The group developed a Lakota-specific advanced directive brochure and received training to be advance directive coaches. What they’ve done could impact Native American nationwide.

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Antibiotics that fight infection can adversely affect the digestive tract and give destructive bacteria a chance to flourish, said assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences Joy Scaria. His research seeks to identify probiotic mixes to treat intestinal infections, such as Clostridium difficile.

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“Diversity and inclusion are not just about ethnicity,” said assistant education professor Christine Nganga, citing gender, abilities and disabilities, social and economic class and religion in addition to race. “It’s the interplay of all these markers and how to cater to students’ diverse needs in the classroom.” She has quadrupled the enrollment in the ESL certification program at South Dakota State University and emphasizes social justice, equity and inclusion in her scholarly work.

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Though the Renaissance literature was written more than 400 years ago, English professor Bruce Brandt said, “Modern students can find lots of things that can lead them to be better people.” The Harvard graduate has authored two books, co-edited two books of proceedings, written 36 scholarly articles and delivered 35 conference papers during his 36-year career at South Dakota State University while teaching a full class load. “Doing scholarly research flows right into teaching.”

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When associate professor of pharmacy practice Tadd Hellwig of South Dakota State University and three pharmacy colleagues at the Sanford USD Medical Center noticed that some hospital patients given two common antibiotics developed kidney failure, they decided to take a closer look. Their study led to closer monitoring of patients receiving vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam due to an increased risk of kidney damage.

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Eagles feasting on winterkill fish aren’t an inspiring sight to most young women, but they were to Anne Schaefer. The outing was fieldwork for an ornithology class at South Dakota State University that set Schaefer on the path to becoming an avian research assistant at the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova, Alaska.

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A novel magnetic semiconductor material that is an alloy of cobalt, iron, chromium and aluminum in which part of the aluminum was replaced with silicon may help reduce the power needed to store data in the computer memory. Researchers from the South Dakota State University Physics Materials and Nano-Science Lab are collaborating with the nano-magnetic group at the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Sparking interest in engineering among Native American youngsters—that’s the goal of a the National Science Foundations’ Pre-Engineering Education Collaborative, but as those involved will tell you, it’s a tough task. Two South Dakota State University researchers decided to find out why college-age Native American students opted for careers in social sciences and nursing rather than engineering.

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Rehabilitation counselors can help clients with physical or mental disabilities—or both, as is often the case—find employment and live independently, according to South Dakota State University professor Alan Davis. October is National Disability Employment Awareness month.

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Students at South Dakota State University are carving the pathway toward a healthier college experience with the Get FRUVED—Get your FRUits and VEgetables—social marketing campaign.

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“Gender equity affects everyone,” pointed out sociology professor Meredith Redlin of South Dakota State University. She will lead a multi-institutional team of researchers who will examine employee policies and evaluations to identify gender inequities within the South Dakota Board of Regents system through a Partnerships for Learning and Adaptation Networks grant from the National Science Foundation. “We are one of the first groups of researchers to examine a higher education public employee system,” Redlin said.

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Regrowth of trees explains why grasslands in western Africa known as the Sahel have recovered after devastating droughts in the 1970s and 1980s, according to South Dakota State University professor Niall Hanan. “Studies in the past have suggested that the Sahara Desert was marching southward,” noted Niall, but the study refutes this notion. “Our results show the resilience of the Sahel, with much of the area getting greener and responding better to rainfall.”

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A low-cost method of removing phosphates from tile drainage water developed at South Dakota State University may help protect lakes and streams. Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Guanghui Hua is using steel byproducts to trap phosphates in simulated tile drainage water. He collaborates with assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and SDSU Extension water management engineer Chris Hay, who has been testing woodchip bioreactors since 2011. Hay envisions installing a steel-containing cartridge as an add-on to nitrate-capturing bioreactors.

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Wheat farmers in Kazakhstan lose anywhere from from 10 percent to as much as 50 percent of their wheat crop due to tan spot and Septoria leaf blotch. Research scientist Zagipa Sapakhova of the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology will screen new wheat varieties to improve resistance to these common fungal diseases, thanks to techniques she learned at South Dakota State University.

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Cornfields with a more diverse insect population have fewer problems with pests, according to a study done by U.S. Department of Agriculture agroecologist Jonathan Lundgren and South Dakota State University economics professor Scott Fausti. The two-year USDA project is the first to use social network analysis to study insect communities in the corn production system to understand how large groups of organisms interact from an applied angle.

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Patients suffering from aneurysms that extend from their chest into their groin may be helped by a new stent graft, thanks to collaboration between Sanford Health and South Dakota State University. Mechanical engineering associate professor Stephen Gent’s fluid flow modeling “helped validate that the configuration is delivering more well developed blood flow with the design,” according to Sanford Health vascular surgeon Pat Kelly.

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Doctoral students from Kenya and Botswana are using satellite data to map grasslands in eastern Africa and surface and ground water in southern Africa through fellowships from the Schlumberger Foundation. The two women are studying at South Dakota State University. The Faculty for the Future Fellowships are given to female scientists and engineers from developing countries doing doctoral or postdoctoral work at leading universities worldwide.

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The French have spent centuries developing grapes with the unique flavor and character of Burgundy region wines. Cold-climate grape producers are counting on science to help shorten that process. Plant scientists Anne Fennell and Rhoda Burrows from South Dakota State University are part of the research team helping cold-climate grape growers carve a niche in the American wine industry through two U.S Department of Agriculture projects.

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A survey of 324 multiunit owners/operators in South Dakota showed that adopting those policies reduced maintenance costs while improving safety. The research was a collaborative project involving nursing researchers at South Dakota State University and the South Dakota Department of Health. State tobacco control officials have developed materials to help more apartment owners institute voluntary smoke-free policies.

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Over a 35-year period, the length of forest fire seasons worldwide increased by 18.7 percent due to more rain-free days and hotter temperatures, according to South Dakota State University professor Mark Cochrane, a senior scientist at the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence. The wildfire expert is part of a team of researchers led by W. Matt Jolly of the U.S. Forest Service Fire Science Laboratory that examined weather data from 1979 through 2013 to determine how a changing climate impacts forest ecosystems.

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A mosquito in western South Dakota has tested positive for West Nile virus—the next step is transmission to humans. Two South Dakota State University researchers will help mosquito control officials use mosquito surveillance and environmental data to target West Nile virus through a three-year NASA grant.

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Through a 2015 Google Earth Engine Research award, South Dakota State University imaging engineer Larry Leigh will search for remote places where the surface properties and therefore the energy readings do not change over time. The SDSU image processing laboratory uses these stable sites to calibrate orbiting earth-imaging satellites, such as Landsat. Leigh is one of nine researchers worldwide whose geospatial analysis projects received funding from the Google Earth Engine team this year.

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Guidelines developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement recommend that a patient suffering from blood poisoning receive a series of care processes known as the sepsis resuscitation bundle within six yours of diagnosis. About half the time that doesn’t happen. Collaborating with researchers at Mayo Clinic, professor Huitian Lu of the South Dakota State University Department of Construction and Operations Management used a systems engineering approach to identify bottlenecks. Simulations suggest that improvements in six areas may improve the sepsis resuscitation bundle compliance rate by 21 percent.

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Strategic use of locally produced, renewable energy through smart microgrids can reduce power costs and help prevent outages. Assistant professors Wei Sun and Reinaldo Tonkoski of the South Dakota State University Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department are developing the smart power management technologies that will make it possible for communities and businesses to use locally produced wind and solar energy yet maintain a consistent, reliable power system. The automated system will also facilitate development of a self-healing smart grid that can help prevent power outages.

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The same spring rains that lessen producers’ concerns about drought can also lead to soil erosion and nutrient runoff. Keeping soil and fertilizers where they belong—in the field—benefits producers and the environment, according to South Dakota State University plant scientist Sandeep Kumar. He and graduate student Sagar Gautam used computer modeling to determine which farm management methods will produce the best reduction in surface runoff.

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Scientists at South Dakota State University analyzed a half-mile slice of Western Antarctica ice core to help determine that climate change begins in the Arctic and moves southward, according to chemistry professor Jihong Cole-Dai of the SDSU Ice Core and Environmental Chemistry Lab. Since 2006, the SDSU research team have been part of a National Science Foundation project to uncover the secrets within the 2-mile long Western Antarctica Ice Sheet Divide ice core.

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A compound and an enzyme that occur naturally in cruciferous vegetables—cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts—may help prevent recurrence and spread of some cancers, according to associate professor Moul Dey of the South Dakota State University Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences. When Dey and her team treated human cervical cancer stem cells with phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) in a Petri dish, about 75 percent died within 24 hours using a 20-micromolar concentration of the compound.

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