Digital Commons Network^™

Enhanced Detection Of Groundwater Contamination From A Leaking Waste Disposal Site By Microbial Community Profiles, Paula J. Mouser, Donna M. Rizzo, Gregory K. Druschel, Sergio E. Morales, Nancy Hayden, Patrick O'Grady, Lori Stevens

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

Groundwater biogeochemistry is adversely impacted when municipal solid waste leachate, rich in nutrients and anthropogenic compounds, percolates into the subsurface from leaking landfills. Detecting leachate contamination using statistical techniques is challenging because well strategies or analytical techniques may be insufficient for detecting low levels of groundwater contamination. We sampled profiles of the microbial community from monitoring wells surrounding a leaking landfill using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Results show in situ monitoring of bacteria, archaea, and the family Geobacteraceae improves characterization of groundwater quality. Bacterial T-RFLP profiles showed shifts correlated to known gradients of …

Estimating Potential Forest Npp, Biomass And Their Climatic Sensitivity In New England Using A Dynamic Ecosystem Model, Guoping Tang, Brian Beckage, Benjamin Smith, Paul A. Miller

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Accurate estimation of forest net primary productivity (NPP), biomass, and their sensitivity to changes in temperature and precipitation is important for understanding the fluxes and pools of terrestrial carbon resulting from anthropogenically driven climate change. The objectives of this study were to (1) estimate potential forest NPP and biomass for New England using a regional ecosystem model, (2) compare modeled forest NPP and biomass with other reported data for New England, and (3) examine the sensitivity of modeled forest NPP to historical climatic variation. We addressed these objectives using the regional ecosystem model LPJ-GUESS implemented with eight plant functional types …

Conclusions About Niche Expansion In Introduced Impatiens Walleriana Populations Depend On Method Of Analysis, Lisa Mandle, Dan L. Warren, Matthias H. Hoffmann, A. Townsend Peterson, Johanna Schmitt, Eric J. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Determining the degree to which climate niches are conserved across plant species' native and introduced ranges is valuable to developing successful strategies to limit the introduction and spread of invasive plants, and also has important ecological and evolutionary implications. Here, we test whether climate niches differ between native and introduced populations of Impatiens walleriana, globally one of the most popular horticultural species. We use approaches based on both raw climate data associated with occurrence points and ecological niche models (ENMs) developed with Maxent. We include comparisons of climate niche breadth in both geographic and environmental spaces, taking into account differences …

Pupil Transportation: Travel Behavior, Traffic Impacts, And Potentials For Improvement, Qingbin Wang, Erica Campbell, Robert Parsons

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Contaminant Transport In Tidally-Influenced Aquifers: Experiment And Analysis, Hua Chen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Tidally-induced head fluctuation is a natural phenomenon in coastal regions. The discharge of groundwater through sediments will occur anywhere that the aquifer is hydraulically connected to a surface water body and the time averaged tidally-influenced water level in the aquifer is higher than sea level, and almost all coastal regions are subject to such flow. With the development of coastal areas, the discharge of groundwater contaminants into tidally affected coastal water bodies has become a significant problem. Biota that live in the benthic region are known to be sensitive to the concentration of discharging anthropogenic chemical compounds. Thus the contaminant …

The Effect Of Class Size On Student Achievement In A Rural State, Michael Kornfeld

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The thesis addresses the relationship of class size to student performance in a rural state. It presents findings from a longitudinal study of a cohort of students who were tested with state assessments at grade 4 in 2000, again at grade 8 in 2004 and, finally at grade 10 in 2006. Graduation rates for five large-class sized schools and five small-class sized school populations were established in 2008. All scores (n=1137) were matched across time enabling students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds from schools that were considered small (average class size, n=11) to schools that were large (average, n= 20). The …

Rural Vermont: The Food Environment And Cooking Practices As An Implication For Health, Shauna Henley

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The primary aim of this research was to investigate cooking practices and cooking knowledge in a rural environment, as well as learn how the kitchen environment may reflect and/or shape an individual‘s process when creating a meal. Qualitative methods were implemented allowing for the data to be triangulated. The research methods used included a semi-structured interview, participant questionnaire, and videotaping dinner time meal preparations by the primary meal preparer on two separate occasions. Emergent themes about the role of the rural food environment began to develop surrounding how respondents procure food. The rural Vermonter relied on using home gardens, farmers‘ …

Searching For The Sweet Spot: Managing Information As A Good That Improves With Use, Ida Kubiszewski

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

‘Additive’ goods and services are defined as those that improve with use. They are not naturally rival, or even non-rival, but are “anti-rival.” Information is an example. Information can be made excludable through the use of patents and copyrights, however this does not necessarily lead to socially optimal production and allocation. A more flexible, open access, and decentralized process for the production and allocation of information could improve social welfare. This dissertation describes the challenges and problems with privatizing and restricting access to information and reviews alternative mechanisms for its allocation. Two particular issues at opposite ends of the access …

Role Of Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels In Subarachnoid Hemorrhage-Induced Constriction Of Intracerebral Arterioles, Matthew Nystoriak

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) following cerebral aneurysm rupture is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. The ability of SAH to induce vasospasm in large diameter pial arteries has been extensively studied, although the contribution of this phenomenon to patient outcome is unclear. Conversely, little is known regarding the impact of SAH on intracerebral (parenchymal) arterioles, which are critical for regulation of cerebral blood flow. To assess the function of parenchymal arterioles following SAH, measurements of diameter, intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) and membrane potential were performed in intact arterioles from unoperated (control), sham-operated and SAH model rats. At physiological intravascular pressure, parenchymal arterioles …

Modulation Of Base Excision Repair By Nucleosomes, Ian Odell

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

DNA in eukaryotes is packaged into nucleosomes, which present steric impediments to many of the factors and enzymes that act on DNA, including DNA repair enzymes. Within the nucleosome, DNA remains vulnerable to oxidative damage that can result from normal cellular metabolism, ionizing radiation, and various chemical agents. Oxidatively damaged DNA is repaired in a stepwise fashion via the base excision repair (BER) pathway. Other DNA repair pathways, including Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER), Mismatch Repair (MMR), Homologous Recombination (HR), and Non-homologous End-Joining (NHEJ) are all thought to require nucleosome remodeling or disruption. In contrast, it was reported that the first …

Applications Of Acoustic Techniques To Targeting Drug Delivery And Dust Removal Relevant To Nasa Projects, Di Chen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Sonoporation, enhanced by ultrasound contrast agents has been explored as a promising non-viral technique to achieve gene transfection and targeting drug delivery in recent years. However, the short lifespan of traditional ultrasound contrast agents like Optison® microbubbles under moderate intensity ultrasound exposure limits their application. Liposomes, as drug carriers consisting of curved spherical closed phospholipid bilayer shells, have the following characteristics: 1) The ability to encapsulate and carry hydrophilic or hydrophobic molecules. 2) The biocompatibility with cell membranes. 3) The nanometer size and the relative ease of adding special ligands to their surface to target a specific disease site. 4) …

Characterization Of Porous Building Materials For Agent Transport Predictions Using Artificial Neural Networks, Cabot Savidge

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agent fate in porous building materials is currently a topic of national concern, with possible applications ranging from chemical and biological attacks to more common acid rain events. Paramount to understanding such transport phenomena is knowledge of both micro and macroscopic substrate properties such as pore structure, surface and macroscopic gas permeability, hydraulic conductivity and effective porosity, among others. In order to quickly identify and asses a traumatic situation, especially when historic and significant buildings are affected, one needs to rapidly determine such material properties using only what is available; namely the surface of the material. A study evaluating transport …

A Bound Vortex Surface Impingement Method For Adhered Dust Particle Removal, Nicholas Vachon

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Methods of dust mitigation in Martian and Lunar environments are an increasingly active area of research within the uid dynamic and aerospace community. Martian and Lunar environments produce electrically charged particles, which easily adhere to exposed surfaces. Adhered regolith particles can interfere with human comfort and mechanical functionality. In this work we investigate the potential to enhance particle removal through bound vortex surface impingement. A bound vortex ow condition is created using a specialized nozzle con guration where a combination of positive pressure inlets and a central negative pressure outlet are used to control ow dynamics. Using the techniques of …

The Whale Pump: Marine Mammals Enhance Primary Productivity In A Coastal Basin, Joe Roman, James J. Mccarthy

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

It is well known that microbes, zooplankton, and fish are important sources of recycled nitrogen in coastal waters, yet marine mammals have largely been ignored or dismissed in this cycle. Using field measurements and population data, we find that marine mammals can enhance primary productivity in their feeding areas by concentrating nitrogen near the surface through the release of flocculent fecal plumes. Whales and seals may be responsible for replenishing 2.3x104 metric tons of N per year in the Gulf of Maine's euphotic zone, more than the input of all rivers combined. This upward ''whale pump'' played a much larger …

Nutrient Enrichment Enhances Hidden Differences In Phenotype To Drive A Cryptic Plant Invasion, Christine Holdredge, Mark D. Bertness, Eric Von Wettberg, Brian R. Silliman

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Many mechanisms of invasive species success have been elucidated, but those driving cryptic invasions of non-native genotypes remain least understood. In one of the most successful cryptic plant invasions in North America, we investigate the mechanisms underlying the displacement of native Phragmites australis by its Eurasian counterpart. Since invasive Phragmites' populations have been especially prolific along eutrophic shorelines, we conducted a two-year field experiment involving native and invasive genotypes that manipulated nutrient level and competitor identity (inter- and intra-genotypic competition) to assess their relative importance in driving the loss of native Phragmites. Inter-genotypic competition suppressed aboveground biomass of both native …

Null Model Analysis Of Species Associations Using Abundance Data, Werner Ulrich, Nicholas J. Gotelli

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

The influence of negative species interactions has dominated much of the literature on community assembly rules. Patterns of negative covariation among species are typically documented through null model analyses of binary presence/absence matrices in which rows designate species, columns designate sites, and the matrix entries indicate the presence (1) or absence (0) of a particular species in a particular site. However, the outcome of species interactions ultimately depends on population-level processes. Therefore, patterns of species segregation and aggregation might be more clearly expressed in abundance matrices, in which the matrix entries indicate the abundance or density of a species in …

A Hitchhiker's Guide To The Maritimes: Anthropogenic Transport Facilitates Long-Distance Dispersal Of An Invasive Marine Crab To Newfoundland, A. M.H. Blakeslee, C. H. Mckenzie, J. A. Darling, J. E. Byers, J. M. Pringle, J. Roman

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Aim To determine timing, source and vector for the recent introduction of the European green crab, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758), to Newfoundland using multiple lines of evidence.Location Founding populations in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada and potential source populations in the north-west Atlantic (NWA) and Europe. Methods We analysed mitochondrial and microsatellite genetic data from European and NWA populations sampled during 1999-2002 to determine probable source locations and vectors for the Placentia Bay introduction discovered in 2007. We also analysed Placentia Bay demographic data and shipping records to look for congruent patterns with genetic analyses. Results Demographic data and surveys suggested …

The Amazon Frontier Of Land-Use Change: Croplands And Consequences For Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Gillian L. Galford, Jerry Melillo, John F. Mustard, Carlos E.P. Cerri, Carlos C. Cerri

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

The Brazilian Amazon is one of the most rapidly developing agricultural frontiers in the world. The authors assess changes in cropland area and the intensification of cropping in the Brazilian agricultural frontier state of Mato Grosso using remote sensing and develop a greenhouse gas emissions budget. The most common type of intensification in this region is a shift from single-to double-cropping patterns and associated changes in management, including increased fertilization. Using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, the authors created a green-leaf phenology for 2001-06 that was temporally smoothed with a wavelet filter. …

Calibrating A Long-Term Meteoric 10Be Accumulation Rate In Soil, Lucas Reusser, Joseph Graly, Paul Bierman, Dylan Rood

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Using 13 samples collected from a 4.1 meter profile in a well-dated and stable New Zealand fluvial terrace, we present the first long-term accumulation rate for meteoric 10Be in soil (1.68 to 1.72 × 106 at/(cm2yr)) integrated over the past ∼18 ka. Site-specific accumulation data, such as these, are prerequisite to the application of meteoric 10Be in surface process studies. Our data begin the process of calibrating long-term meteoric 10Be delivery rates across latitude and precipitation gradients. Our integrated rate is lower than contemporary meteoric 10Be fluxes measured in New Zealand rainfall, suggesting that long-term average precipitation, dust flux, or …

Historic Preservation Program Newsletter, University Of Vermont. Historic Preservation Program.

Historic Preservation Program Newsletter

2010. UVM Historic Preservation Program newsletter.

More Robust Spatial Sampling Strategies For Non-Motorized Traffic, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Chen Zhang, Lance Jennings

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

With the widespread promotion of New Urbanism and Smart Growth there is an assumption that levels of non-motorized traffic will increase. However, planners and analysts for non-motorized transportation modes still rely on very limited data resources and therefore are limited in identifying demand patterns and moving forward with more productive management and planning schemes. In this study, we utilized continuous non-motorized traffic counts collected along four share use paths in Chittenden County, Vermont and analyzed the association between hourly (volume percentages of daily total) distribution patterns at each count station and land uses in the adjacent areas. The findings herein …

The Interplay Of Chaos Between The Terrestrial And Giant Planets, Wayne B. Hayes, Anton V. Malykh, Christopher M. Danforth

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

We report on some simple experiments on the nature of chaos in our planetary system. We make the following interesting observations. First, we look at the system of Sun + four Jovian planets as an isolated five-body system interacting only via Newtonian gravity. We find that if we measure the Lyapunov time of this system across thousands of initial conditions all within observational uncertainty, then the value of the Lyapunov time seems relatively smooth across some regions of initial condition space, while in other regions it fluctuates wildly on scales as small as we can reliably measure using numerical methods. …

Protecting Degraded Rainforests: Enhancement Of Forest Carbon Stocks Under Redd+, David P. Edwards, Brendan Fisher, Emily Boyd

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

The likely Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism includes strategies for the enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Recent concerns have been expressed that such enhancement, or restoration, of forest carbon could be counterproductive to biodiversity conservation, because forests are managed as "carbon farms" with the application of intensive silvicultural management that could homogenize diverse degraded rainforests. Restoration increases regeneration rates in degraded forest compared to naturally regenerating forest, and thus could yield significant financial returns for carbon sequestered. Here, we argue that such forest restoration projects are, in fact, likely to provide a number of benefits to biodiversity …

Integrated Land-Use, Transportation And Environmental Modeling: Validation Case Studies, James Sullivan, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Austin Troy, Dale Azaria, Stephen Lawe

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

No abstract provided.

Temporal And Spatial Monitoring Of Mobile Nanoparticles In A Vineyard Soil: Evidence Of Nanoaggregate Formation, N. Perdrial, J. N. Perdrial, J. E. Delphin, F. Elsass, N. Liewig

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Mechanisms of formation, stabilization, liberation, transport and deposition of nanoparticles and their relationship to contaminant transport remain scarcely investigated in natural porous media. This study investigated nanoparticles mobilized in the pore space of a French vineyard soil by observing mobile soil-derived organic matter (SOM) and minerals in pore fluids over an 8-month monitoring period. Samples were collected in situ and investigated by transmission electron microscopy coupled to electron-dispersive spectroscopy. The main types of nanoparticles transported within the soil were clay, bacteria, SOM and nanoaggregates. Nanometric clay particles were enriched in various metals (Fe, Zn, As and Pb) and organically-derived constituents. …

The Vermont Transportation Energy Report: Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, Justine Sears, Karen Glitman

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

No abstract provided.

Scenario Analyses And Simulations Using Transims And Urbansim For The Chittenden County Of Vermont, Jun Yu, Yi Yang

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Into Porous Concrete Pavements For Northern Communities, Mandar Dewoolkar, George Mccain

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

A study evaluating the mechanical and hydraulic properties of several porous concrete pavement mix designs is presented. The objectives of the study were to: (1) quantify mechanical and hydraulic properties of select porous concrete pavement mix designs; (2) determine the effects of sample size on measured parameters; (3) evaluate the effects of winter surface applications (i.e. salt and sand) on hydraulic conductivity; (4) compare laboratory results with those obtained from the field; (5) measure surface infiltration capacity of porous concrete pavement installations; and, (6) determine the effects of plowing on surface infiltration capacity. Compressive strength results for the various mix …

Implementing The Information Prescription Protocol In A Family Medicine Practice: A Case Study., Marianne Burke, Anna Peggy Carey, Laura L. Haines, Alan P. Lampson, Fred C. Pond

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

QUESTION:

Can an information prescription protocol be successfully integrated into a family medicine practice seeking to enhance patient education and self-management?

SETTING:

Milton Family Practice, an outpatient clinic and resident teaching site of the University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care, is located in a semirural area fifteen miles from main campus.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives were to increase physicians' knowledge and use of information prescriptions, sustain integration of information prescription use, and increase physicians' ability to provide patient education information.

METHODS:

Methods used were promotion of the National Library of Medicine's Information Rx, physician instruction, installation of patient and …

Phase I Report: Integrated Land Use, Transportation And Environmental Modeling, Austin Troy, Brian Voigt, Adel Sadek, Stephen Lawe, Jun Yu, Yi Yang, David Hershey, Brian Grady, John Broussard, John Lobb

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

No abstract provided.