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The Use Of Biological Soil Health Indicators To Quantify The Benefits Of Cover Crops, Alexander Wu Apr 2023

The Use Of Biological Soil Health Indicators To Quantify The Benefits Of Cover Crops, Alexander Wu

Masters Theses

Soils provide many essential functions that support the world. With a decline in soil health, these functions also decrease in efficiency, and can threaten the health of billions of people around the world. Typically, soil health tests do not use biological indicators, however microbes drive and perform vital functions to increase soil health. One way to increase soil health is through the use of cover crops to reduce soil erosion during fallow periods, increasing soil organic matter, as well as collecting nutrients from soil into their biomass. These cover crops are then terminated through various methods such as herbicides, disk …


Soil Metabolite Succession In Vertebrate Decomposition Impacted Soils, Jennifer Kate Baer Dec 2022

Soil Metabolite Succession In Vertebrate Decomposition Impacted Soils, Jennifer Kate Baer

Masters Theses

Vertebrate decomposition results in a pulse of critical nutrients such as nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus into the environment creating a ‘hotspot’ immediately surrounding the carcass. While many decomposition studies have investigated vertebrate decomposition focused on the carcass itself, fewer studies have focused on the impacts of decomposition products on soils. Gaining a greater understanding of soil processes during decomposition could not only aid in better understanding soil biological activities but could also lead to new insights in nutrient cycling in the environment. The assemblage of soil metabolites, also known as the soil metabolome, exposes not only the breakdown products of …


A Study Comparing “Better Body Bags” Versus Standard White Body Bags To Estimate Relative Preservation Of Human Genomic And Morphological Information, Serena A. Thariath Dec 2022

A Study Comparing “Better Body Bags” Versus Standard White Body Bags To Estimate Relative Preservation Of Human Genomic And Morphological Information, Serena A. Thariath

Masters Theses

In disaster scenarios, identification of the dead usually is delayed until after help is given to the living. During delays in recovery and transport of deceased individuals, decomposition of soft tissues will occur at a fast rate if individuals are not refrigerated. The Better Body Bag, or BBB, was designed for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with features such as a vacuum seal, reflective coating, and absorbent pad to help delay the onset of decomposition that could render someone unidentifiable. In this study, the BBB was tested to determine if the individuals placed within a BBB yielded …


Simulating Fluvial Transport Patterns Of Human Remains In The Tennessee River, Karli Palmer Aug 2022

Simulating Fluvial Transport Patterns Of Human Remains In The Tennessee River, Karli Palmer

Masters Theses

Law enforcement and search and recovery personnel often encounter difficulties when trying to determine where to find a decedent within an aquatic environment. Drowning, boating accidents, and other water related deaths are not uncommon. However, expensive equipment such as sonar and remote operated vehicles, or specially trained rescue divers are often required when searching for remains. Due to both public health and ethical concerns, there is a lack of controlled studies on aquatic decomposition and fluvial transport of human remains, which has contributed to the difficulty of predicting where remains in the water may be located. The purpose of this …


Effect Of Unique Cover Cropping Strategies On Soil Nitrogen Dynamics And Their Rates Of Nitrogen Release, Manuel Sabbagh Aug 2019

Effect Of Unique Cover Cropping Strategies On Soil Nitrogen Dynamics And Their Rates Of Nitrogen Release, Manuel Sabbagh

Masters Theses

There is limited knowledge concerning the effects of multi-species cover crops (CC) on soil nitrogen (N) dynamics in the row-crop systems of the southeastern US. This study was conducted with two objectives: (i) to determine the rates of in-situ CC residue decomposition and N release in response to CC species and degree of soil contact, and (ii) to understand the seasonal changes in soil N pools across different CC treatments compared to a CC-free control at different soil depths. Based on a 21-week in situ litterbag experiment, CC residue decomposition rates and N release were determined. Litterbags were either placed …


Estimating Postmortem Intervals Of Human Remains Recovered In Mid-Western Waterways: A Test Of Terrestrial And Aquatic Body Scoring Methods, Amanda Rose Fink Aug 2017

Estimating Postmortem Intervals Of Human Remains Recovered In Mid-Western Waterways: A Test Of Terrestrial And Aquatic Body Scoring Methods, Amanda Rose Fink

Masters Theses

In attempt to determine postmortem intervals (PMI), forensic investigators often rely on observed amounts of postmortem taphonomic alterations of the human body. Research has been conducted in an attempt to understand and predict the sequence and rate of human decomposition using total body scoring methods as well as accumulated degree days (ADD) (Megyesi et al. 2005). While most research focuses on methods of decomposition scoring in terrestrial environments, Heaton et al. (2010) devised a method to aid in the prediction of PMI and postmortem submersion intervals (PMSI) in an aqueous environment. Using 73 forensic cases collected from the Hennepin County, …


The Decomposition Of Hydroxylammonium Nitrate Under Vacuum Conditions, Gregory A. Neff Apr 2016

The Decomposition Of Hydroxylammonium Nitrate Under Vacuum Conditions, Gregory A. Neff

Masters Theses

This research investigates the decomposition of the ionic liquid: hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN), under vacuum conditions. All research was conducted at the Aerospace Laboratory for Plasma Experiments (ALPE) at Western Michigan University. Hydroxylammonium nitrate solution 24% wt. in H2O was used consistently throughout this research. A variety of temperatures and pressures ranging from 23°C to 645°C and 6E-3 Torr to 4 Torr, respectively, were used to decompose HAN. The primary gaseous species resulting from these decomposition conditions are N2O, NO, and trace amounts of NO2. The formation of H2O, and N2 is conditional on the experimental conditions, and the formation of …


The Preservation And Persistence Of Human Dna In Soil During Cadaver Decomposition, Alexandra Leah Emmons May 2015

The Preservation And Persistence Of Human Dna In Soil During Cadaver Decomposition, Alexandra Leah Emmons

Masters Theses

Recent decades have seen a marked increase in the amount of research concerning the impact of human cadaveric decomposition on the grave soil environment; however, despite such advances, the fate of important biological correlates in grave soil, including human DNA, have remained relatively understudied. This study redresses the current lack of knowledge regarding the preservation and persistence of human DNA in the soil during cadaveric decomposition, with the purpose of enhancing forensic identification efforts including the detection of primary burial sites. This study assessed the preservation (i.e., presence or absence) of human nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and evaluated the quantity …


Investigator Disturbance And Buried Remains: An Experimental Study On Buried Nonhuman Decomposition, Lindsay Nicole Sliwa Aug 2013

Investigator Disturbance And Buried Remains: An Experimental Study On Buried Nonhuman Decomposition, Lindsay Nicole Sliwa

Masters Theses

The experimental study of buried remains presents a unique set of problems for the investigator. With uncovered remains, visual and non-invasive/non-destructive methods alone can be utilized with no direct interaction between the investigator and the body, and thus allows for the repeated use of that body throughout the study. Usually presented as a group of categories or stages of decomposition, these methods are used as a basis for comparison among the sample and between studies. Buried remains, however, cannot be assessed, either visually or through other methods, without intentional disruption of the grave environment by the investigator. The removal of …