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Population Density, Habitat Dynamic And Aerial Survival Of Relict Cave Bivalves From Genus Congeria In The Dinaric Karst, Olga Jovanović Glavaš, Branko Jalžić, Helena Bilandžija

International Journal of Speleology

Caves are some of the least-known ecosystems on Earth and long-term ecological studies and population size estimates are very rare. Genus Congeria is a Tertiary relict that comprises three species from Dinaric karst area; C. kusceri, C. jalzici and C. mulaomerovici, each with very limited distribution. They are the only known cave bivalves and in contrast to many other cave species, they form populations with high densities. We estimated that the population of C. kusceri in Jama u Predolcu is between 72,454 and 72,906 individuals. The highest density occurred between one and three meters depth, and reached maximum …

Vertical Movement Of The Endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema Collina) And The Notched Rainbow Mussel (Villosa Constricta) In Response To Floods At Different Temperatures And Substrates: Implications For Conservation And Management, Dorottya Boisen

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Freshwater mussels are keystone species in their ecosystems, improving water and substrate quality for other organisms while they are alive, and buffering stream pH and providing shelter with their shells after they die. Approximately 70% of all freshwater mussel species are endangered globally. The James Spinymussel (Pleurobema collina) is a critically endangered species that lives in disparate tributaries of the James River of Virginia. Like other freshwater mussels, they have a cryptic appearance and behavior, making them difficult to find and therefore, to study and conserve. Previous studies indicate a higher percentage of mussels are surfaced during their …

Degradation Of High Performance Polymeric Fibers: Effects Of Sonication, Humidity And Temperature On Poly (P-Phenylene Terephthalamide) Fibers, Nelyan Lopez-Perez

Open Access Theses

High performance fibers are characterized by properties such as high strength and resistance to chemicals and heat. Due to their outstanding properties, they are used on applications under harsh environments that can degrade and decrease their performance. Fiber degradation due to different chemical and mechanical factors, is a process that begins at a microstructural level. Changes in the polymer’s chemical or physical structure can alter their mechanical properties. Knowledge of the structure-properties relationship and the effects of environmental chemical and physical factors over time, is crucial for the improvement and development of high performance fibers.

In this study ballistic fibers …

Land Use And Land Cover Based Habitat Analyses Of Invasive Species Along The Lower Tonawanda Creek Applying Unmanned Helicopter Remote Sensing, Chenliuli Jiang

Great Lakes Center Masters Theses

Trapa natans (water chestnut) is an exotic annual aquatic plant, which is native to Eurasian and African continents. It is an invasive species in North America and has already caused serious environmental problems because of its strong capability of adaption and propagation. The objectives of this research were to survey and map water chestnut in the lower Tonawanda Creek (Erie Canal) applying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), evaluate the current management of controlling and removing water chestnut, and analyze how land use and land cover (LULC), as well as habitat conditions, influence the growth of water chestnut. The UAV was not …

Examining The Combined Effects Of Dissolved Oxygen, Temperature, And Body Size On The Physiological Responses Of A Model Macrobenthic Polychaete Species, Capitella Teleta, Kelsey Burns Gillam

Dissertations

While the scientific community is in consensus that coastal systems are threatened by climate change, few climate change studies test the effects of more than one variable directly related to climate change. The dissolved oxygen (DO) levels of the ocean are currently subject to both global warming and eutrophication; 94% of all hypoxia zones are expected to experience >2°C increase by 2035. This dissertation aims to examine how a model organism responds to simultaneous thermal and DO stress involving four levels of DO (100%, 70%, 50%, and 20%) saturation and three temperatures (15°C, 20°C, and 25°C).

The polychaete, Capitella teleta …

Experimental Investigation Of The Velocity Field In Buoyant Diffusion Flames Using Piv And Tpiv Algorithm, Lulu Sun, Xiangyang Zhou, Shankar Mahalingam, David R. Weise

Lulu Sun

We investigated a simultaneous temporally and spatially resolved 2-D velocity field above a burning circular pan of alcohol using particle image velocimetry (PIV). The results obtained from PIV were used to assess a thermal particle image velocimetry (TPIV) algorithm previously developed to approximate the velocity field using the temperature field, simultaneously captured by an infrared (IR) thermal camera. By tracing “thermal particles,” which were assumed to be virtual particles that corresponded to pixels of temperature values in successive IR images, the TPIV algorithm estimated a larger scale instantaneous velocity field than either a single-point velocity measurement (e.g., LDV) or the …

Phytochrome B Integrates Light And Temperature Signals In Arabidopsis, Martina Legris, Cornelia Klose, E Sethe Burgie, Cecilia Costigliolo Rojas Rojas, Maximiliano Neme, Andreas Hiltbrunner, Philip A. Wigge, Eberhard Schäfer, Richard D. Vierstra, Jorge J. Casal

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Ambient temperature regulates many aspects of plant growth and development, but its sensors are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the phytochrome B (phyB) photoreceptor participates in temperature perception through its temperature-dependent reversion from the active Pfr state to the inactive Pr state. Increased rates of thermal reversion upon exposing Arabidopsis seedlings to warm environments reduce both the abundance of the biologically active Pfr-Pfr dimer pool of phyB and the size of the associated nuclear bodies, even in daylight. Mathematical analysis of stem growth for seedlings expressing wild-type phyB or thermally stable variants under various combinations of light and temperature revealed …

Formation Of Trihalomethanes (Thms) As Disinfection By-Products (Dbps) When Treated Municipal Wastewater Is Disinfected With Sodium Hypochlorite, Helene Kassouf

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disinfection is an essential process in the treatment of municipal wastewater before the treated wastewater can be discharged to the environment. Hillsborough County's Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility (NWRWRF) in Tampa, Florida, currently uses ultraviolet (UV) light for disinfection. However, this method has proven expensive to implement and maintain, and may not be effective if the light transmission is poor. For these reasons, Hillsborough County is considering switching from UV light to sodium hypochlorite for disinfection. However, hypochlorite (chlorine) disinfection has disadvantages as well, such as the production of disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THM) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), …

Exposure To Tritiated Water At An Elevated Temperature: Genotoxic And Transcriptomic Effects In Marine Mussels (M. Galloprovincialis)., Lorna J. Dallas, Tim P. Bean, Andrew Turner, Brett P. Lyons, Awadhesh N. Jha

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Temperature is an abiotic factor of particular concern for assessing the potential impacts of radionuclides on marine species. This is particularly true for tritium, which is discharged as tritiated water (HTO) in the process of cooling nuclear institutions. Additionally, with sea surface temperatures forecast to rise 0.5 - 3.5 C in the next 30-100 years, determining the interaction of elevated temperature with radiological exposure has never been more relevant. We assessed the tissue-specific accumulation, transcriptional expression of key genes, and genotoxicity of tritiated water to marine mussels at either 15 or 25 C, over a 7 day time course with …

A Positive Association Between Cryptosporidiosis Notifications And Ambient Temperature, Victoria, Australia, 2001-2009, Lillian Kent, Michelle Mcpherson, Nasra Higgins

Lillian Kent

Increased temperatures provide optimal conditions for pathogen survival, virulence and replication as well as increased opportunities for human-pathogen interaction. This paper examined the relationship between notifications of cryptosporidiosis and temperature in metropolitan and rural areas of Victoria, Australia between 2001-2009. A negative binomial regression model was used to analyse monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and the monthly count of cryptosporidiosis notifications. In the metropolitan area, a 1°C increase in monthly average minimum temperature of the current month was associated with a 22% increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications (IRR 1.22; 95% CI 1.13 – 1.31). In the rural area, a …

The Variation Of Productivity And Its Allocation Along A Tropical Elevation Gradient: A Whole Carbon Budget Perspective, Yadvinder Malhi, Cécile A. J. Girardin, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Christopher E. Doughty, Norma Salinas, Daniel B. Metcalfe, Walter Huaraca Huasco, Javier E. Silva-Espejo, Jhon Del Aguilla-Pasquell, Filio Farfán Amézquita, Luiz E.O.C. Aragão, Rossella Guerrieri, Françoise Yoko Ishida, Nur Bahar, William Farfan-Rios, Oliver L. Phillips, Patrick Meir, Miles Silman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

• Why do forest productivity and biomass decline with elevation? To address this question, research to date generally has focused on correlative approaches describing changes in woody growth and biomass with elevation.
  
  
• We present a novel, mechanistic approach to this question by quantifying the autotrophic carbon budget in 16 forest plots along a 3300 m elevation transect in Peru.
  
  
• Low growth rates at high elevations appear primarily driven by low gross primary productivity (GPP), with little shift in either carbon use efficiency (CUE) or allocation of net primary productivity (NPP) between wood, fine roots and canopy. The lack of trend in …

Aggies In The Arctic: Usu Environmental Engineers Decode Icy Watersheds | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Published in Creating Tomorrow – Oct. 15, 2016 – When it comes right down to it, scientists and environmental engineers will tell you that nearly every ecosystem on Earth is driven by one simple thing: temperature.

Oceans, rivers, forests and deserts are a product of the chemical and biological processes that depend on a predictable mix of hot and cold. Even in the Arctic, where shallow soils are frozen most of the year, tiny variations in temperature can impact entire regions.

High Temperature Condensate Clouds In Super-Hot Jupiter Atmospheres, H. R. Wakeford, Channon Visscher, Nikole K. Lewis, Avi M. Mandell

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Deciphering the role of clouds is central to our understanding of exoplanet atmo- spheres, as they have a direct impact on the temperature and pressure structure, and observational properties of the planet. Super-hot Jupiters occupy a temperature regime similar to low mass M-dwarfs, where minimal cloud condensation is expected. However, observations of exoplanets such as WASP-12b (Teq∼2500 K) result in a transmission spectrum indicative of a cloudy atmosphere. We re-examine the temperature and pressure space occupied by these super-hot Jupiter atmospheres, to explore the role of the initial Al- and Ti-bearing condensates as the main source of cloud material. Due …

Time Trends And Predictors Of Abnormal Postoperative Body Temperature In Infants Transported To The Intensive Care Unit, Hedwig Schroeck, Angela K. Lyden, Wendy L. Benedict, Satya Krishna Ramachandran

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Despite increasing adoption of active warming methods over the recent years, little is known about the effectiveness of these interventions on the occurrence of abnormal postoperative temperatures in sick infants. Methods: Preoperative and postoperative temperature readings, patient characteristics, and procedural factors of critically ill infants at a single institution were retrieved retrospectively from June 2006 until May 2014. The primary endpoints were the incidence and trend of postoperative hypothermia and hyperthermia on arrival at the intensive care units. Univariate and adjusted analyses were performed to identify factors independently associated with abnormal postoperative temperatures. Results: 2,350 cases were included. 82% …

Low Florida Coral Calcification Rates In The Plio-Pleistocene, Thomas C. Brachert, Markus Reuter, Stefan Kruger, James S. Klaus, Kevin P. Helmle, Janice M. Lough

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In geological outcrops and drill cores from reef frameworks, the skeletons of scleractinian corals are usually leached and more or less completely transformed into sparry calcite because the highly porous skeletons formed of metastable aragonite (CaCO3) undergo rapid diagenetic alteration. Upon alteration, ghost structures of the distinct annual growth bands often allow for reconstructions of annual extension ( =  growth) rates, but information on skeletal density needed for reconstructions of calcification rates is invariably lost. This report presents the bulk density, extension rates and calcification rates of fossil reef corals which underwent minor diagenetic alteration only. The corals derive from …

Cotton Growth And Developmental Responses To Multiple Environmental Stresses, David William Brand

Theses and Dissertations

Individual and multiple stress factor effects of temperature on cotton growth and development were studied in four cotton cultivars. In Experiment I, seedling emergence rate and shoot and root morphological growth traits were measured on plants grown at five day/night temperatures from 20/12 to 40/32 °C. In Experiment II, multiple stress factors (CO2, temperature, UV-B radiation) and their interactions were evaluated during the seedling growth stage. Seed emergence and above- and below-ground growth and developmental traits were recorded in both experiments. Linear (TM-1 and PHY496W3R) and quadratic (DP1522B2XF and ST47447) functions best described seed emergence rate with an increase in …

Citizen Science Sensor Development - Smap | Soil Moisture Active Passive, Hagop Hovhannesian

STAR Program Research Presentations

“Detailed monitoring of soil moisture provides a view of how our whole Earth system works.”

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite mission was launched in January 2015; its main purpose is to acquire global measurements of soil moisture. SMAP partnered with the GLOBE program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment), which is an international program where students collect environmental variables in a scientifically methodical way. SMAP readings and maps have various uses in various fields, which include monitoring drought, predicting floods, assisting in crop productivity, and linking water, energy and carbon cycles. The goal of this project …

Why Was There A Harmful Algal Bloom In 2015: The Relative Growth Of Toxic And Non-Toxic Diatoms As A Function Of Temperature, Ariana M. Jensen, Meagan P. Beley-Finnemore, Christopher E. Ikeda, William P. Cochlan

STAR Program Research Presentations

A coastwide bloom of the toxigenic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia in 2015 resulted in the largest recorded outbreak and unprecedented levels of the neurotoxin, domoic acid (DA), along the North American west coast. The scientific community has suggested that warmer ocean temperatures were the main cause of this harmful algal bloom (HAB), but little scientific evidence to support the relationship between temperature, and the growth and toxicity of Pseudo-nitzschia has been provided for local isolates of these diatoms. To gain insight into bloom dynamics, a laboratory study was conducted to examine the growth of toxic and non-toxic phytoplankton species at a range …

Temperature Control Of Node Appearance And Initiation In Soybean, Fatima Amor M. Tenorio

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soybean demand remains strong and continues to grow as a source of protein and oil for food and feed. Soybean production is expanding into cooler and warmer environments, thus, it becomes critical to expand the current knowledge about the influence of temperature on soybean. Temperature is the main environmental factor effecting node appearance rate (NAR) and node initiation rate (NIR), which are key parameters controlling soybean growth and development. This study aims to assess the response of NAR and NIR to temperature and investigate the coordination between these two processes under controlled and field conditions. Two greenhouse experiments with four …

Agro-Climatic Change, Crop Production And Mitigation Strategies-Case Studies In Arkansas, Usa And Kenya, John Westley Magugu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although climate change impacts vary geographically and temporally, studies at local levels are not readily available for stakeholders to better understand how their local communities would be affected and what remedial measures could be more effective in their local contexts. This dissertation has examined climate change and its impacts in two different local contexts: eastern Arkansas in the USA and Nyando in Kenya. The first part of this dissertation develops agro-meteorological indicators and examines the relationship between agro-meteorological indicators and crop yields in eastern Arkansas between 1960 and 2014. Results reveal that temperature based indicators were more strongly correlated to …

Roles Of Information And Communications Technologies In Improving Fish Farming And Production In Rivers State, Nigeria., Ejiogu-Okereke, Ngozi Eucharia Dr, Chikaire, Jonadab Ubochioma Dr, Ogueri, Emmanuel Ifeanyi Dr, Chikezie, Ngozi Patience Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

The study examined the roles of ICTs for improved fish farming and production in Rivers State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to ­- describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the responding fish farmers in the area; identify ICT devices used by respondents in the area; examine fish farming/production information needs of respondents; ascertain ICT roles in promoting fish farming and production in the study area; and identify problems of ICTs use by fish farmers in the study area. Multi stage sampling technique was adopted in sample selection. Data were collected with use of questionnaire and interview schedule. The sample size …

Heat Management Strategies For Msw Landfills, Nazli Yesiller, James L. Hanson, Kevin B. Kopp, Emma H. Yee

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Heat is a primary byproduct of landfilling of municipal solid waste. Long-term elevated temperatures have been reported for MSW landfills under different operational conditions and climatic regions around the world. A conceptual framework is presented for management of the heat generated in MSW landfills. Three main strategies are outlined: extraction, regulation, and supplementation. Heat extraction allows for beneficial use of the excess landfill heat as an alternative energy source. Two approaches are provided for the extraction strategy: extracting all of the excess heat above baseline equilibrium conditions in a landfill and extracting only a part of the excess heat above …

Combinatory Effect Of Changing Co2, Temperature, And Long-Term Growth Temperature On Isoprene Emissions, Michael Cole

DePaul Discoveries

Isoprene, the most abundant hydrocarbon in the atmosphere, plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry. Its reactions with NO_x lead to the formation of ozone in the lower troposphere, which is harmful to plants and detrimental to human health. As air temperatures and CO₂ concentrations increase with climate change, it is uncertain how isoprene emissions from plants will respond. We hypothesized that isoprene emissions will increase with the combination of increasing temperature and CO­₂ concentrations. We predict that oaks grown at a higher temperature will exhibit an increase in isoprene emissions with combined short-term increases in temperature …

The Correlation Between Basal Isoprene Emissions And Climate Of The Native Range Across Oak Species, Mary J. Babiez

DePaul Discoveries

Isoprene is a biogenic volatile organic compound that is emitted by various plant species and plays an important role in the chemistry of the atmosphere. When it reacts with pollutants in the air, such as nitrogen oxides, the precursor to ozone (O₃) is formed. In this experiment, we measured leaf emissions from 20 different oak species at the Morton Arboretum (Lisle, Illinois). The aim was to better understand differences in isoprene emissions across oak species. Since emissions have been found to protect leaves against brief periods of heat stress, we hypothesized that oaks native to areas with greater …

Calculating The Sun's Photospheric Temperature, An Undergraduate Physics Laboratory, Austin B. Kerlin, L Ajith Desilva, Shea Rose, Javier E. Hasbun

Georgia Journal of Science

We provide physics students and teachers with a simple technique for measuring the solar spectrum and a method for analyzing that spectrum through popular computer software. We discuss modern physics concepts related to blackbody radiation while modeling the sun's spectrum to determine the temperature of the sun's photosphere. We provide a reliable method to determine the sun's photospheric temperature with a typical error of less than 10%, primarily dependent on atmospheric conditions. The focus of this work is on data analysis, not acquisition.

Weight, Temperature, And Transcutaneous Bilirubin Of The Term Neonate At Discharge: A Comparative Study Between A Traditional Nursery And Rooming-In Model Of Care, Jennifer L. Pass

Master of Science in Nursing Final Projects

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine day of discharge term neonate outcomes of percent weight change, body temperature, and transcutaneous bilirubin from a traditional nursery and a rooming-in model of care.

Design: A retrospective, descriptive, comparative design was used, comparing two groups for differences between outcomes.

Methods: A total of 102 electronic neonate records from one hospital in north Georgia were examined and divided based on when the model of neonate care changed from the traditional nursery care setting to full rooming-in, which was early November 2010: Group 1 (traditional care) consisted of 51 …

Go With The Flow –Thermoelectric Energy, Shawn Bell

Middle School Lesson Plans

In this unit, students will learn how thermal energy be transferred and transformed. They will carry out investigations to gather evidence to support an explanation about direct conversion of heat into electrical energy. They will develop a model that shows the components of the system and changes in the system being investigated, and they will use evidence from the investigation to construct an explanation for how the energy flows.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Effects On Core Temperature, Hydration, Gastrointestinal Distress, And Performance In Exercising Humans, Dawn Marie Emerson

Theses and Dissertations

Naproxen is a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug designed to relieve pain and inflammation. Due to potentially adverse effects on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, cardiovascular and immune system, and renal function, naproxen may negatively affect thermoregulation, fluid and electrolyte balance, and performance during exercise, particularly in the heat. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of naproxen on core temperature (Tc), inflammation, hydration, GI distress, and performance during cycling in a hot environment. We utilized a double-blind, randomized and counterbalanced, cross-over design to determine the effects of naproxen (dose = 3 220 mg naproxen sodium pills) …

Temperature Dependent Transport Properties Of Chemical Vapor Deposition Graphene With Metal And Metal Hydride Surface Functionalization, Bochen Zhong

Theses and Dissertations

Graphene, a two-dimensional semi-conductor material containing carbon atoms tightly bonded together in a hexagonal structure, was first isolated by mechanical exfoliation in 2004. Over the past decade, it has drawn huge research interest due to its outstanding mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. These unique properties of graphene lead to very high carrier mobility. In particular, after an annealing treatment to remove the residual impurities, the suspended graphene mobility exceeds 200,000 cm2/Vs. However, this value is highly reduced to only a few thousand cm2 /Vs in supported graphene on SiO2 or SiC substrates, due to different sources of scattering. For example, …

Temperature-Dependent Pathogenicity Of Grouper Iridovirus Of Taiwan (Tgiv), Hsin-I Liu, Ying-Chu Lin, Pinwen Peter Chiou, Hsin-Yiu Chou

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Grouper iridovirus of Taiwan (TGIV) is one of the most devastating infectious pathogens of grouper fry in Taiwan. As environmental temperature often plays an important role in the outbreak of diseases, we assayed the impact of different temperatures (18, 25 and 32℃) on TGIV infection both in vitro and in vivo. Cytopathic effect (CPE) characterized as cell rounding and lysis were observed in TGIV-infected grouper SB (swim bladder) cells at 25℃ and 32℃, but was absent at 18℃. With temperature rising to 32℃, the presence of pycnotic nuclei and chromatin margination became prominent in the infected cells, indicating an apoptotic …