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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
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Revelations In The Blood: Determination Of Biomarkers And Analytes, Jeremiah Jamrom
Revelations In The Blood: Determination Of Biomarkers And Analytes, Jeremiah Jamrom
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Changes in body chemistry have long been utilized as a tool for medical diagnosis. Whether blood panel, toxin level, antigen testing or any of the myriad other tests performed annually, searching for molecules which confer health status is a long-established practice. These tests give physicians more information and allow them to make a more accurate diagnosis, from which appropriate treatment can stem. Awareness of, and the subsequent search for, biomarkers for disease states have grown substantially in the past years as analytical, biochemical, and instrumental techniques have become more precises and powerful. In an era of increasingly personalized medicine, novel …
Mejorar La Raza: Measuring The Implicit Anti-Black Racial Bias Of Multiracial Individuals., Katalina Traxler
Mejorar La Raza: Measuring The Implicit Anti-Black Racial Bias Of Multiracial Individuals., Katalina Traxler
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation sought to examine if there are implicit anti-Black racial bias differences across multiracial people who identify as Black/White compared to multiracial people who do not identify as Black/White, accounting for age, citizenship, and education level. It was also determined if age, citizenship status, and education level moderate the relationship between multiracial identity and implicit anti-Black racial bias. The theories guiding this dissertation were: Heider’s Balance Theory, Multiracial Identity Development, and White Identity Development. The data were collected from Project Implicit, a non-profit organization and international collaborative of researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition. The data analysis …
3d Computer Modeling Offers New Insights Into Diatom Ecology, Joseph Mohan
3d Computer Modeling Offers New Insights Into Diatom Ecology, Joseph Mohan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Algae supply over half of the Earth’s global primary production and form the base of almost all aquatic food networks. Thus, changes in algal productivity or composition will induce profound shifts in many ecosystems. This research is guided by two questions. Herein I ask if 3D models of algae can be created accurately enough to use for research applications? If they can be accurately created, then how can these models be used to advance our understanding of functional trait evolution and paleoecology? Herein, I develop 3D computer models for estimating the volume of individual algae and their parts. I also …
Investigating The Relationships Between Socioeconomic Status, Kratom Legislation, And The Covid-19 Pandemic On Opioid Overdose Mortality In The United States., Lyndsey Blair
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Background: 585,000 people have died from an opioid overdose in the US between 1999 and 2020. The current opioid epidemic has been described as a quadruple wave of overdoses, due in part to the changes in prescription and illicit opioid supply as well as the underlying social and structural factors that led to a subsequent increase in demand. In order to mitigate the opioid epidemic through prevention and protection strategies, we must first understand the social and structural factors that are driving the increase in opioid misuse and abuse. To better understand the socioeconomic factors, we described socioeconomic profiles of …
Ecological Differences In The Associations Between Air Pollution, Greenness, And Risk Of Stroke: The Regards Study., Daniel W. Riggs
Ecological Differences In The Associations Between Air Pollution, Greenness, And Risk Of Stroke: The Regards Study., Daniel W. Riggs
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The adverse health effects of air pollution have long been recognized, with the majority of morbidity and mortality due to its effects on the cardiovascular system. Alternatively, living in areas with higher greenness has been found to be beneficial to a wide range of health outcomes. However, few studies have considered that these relationships may vary depending on the surrounding ecosystem. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of long-term exposure to air pollution and greenness on incidence of stroke, and how these relationships vary with the major ecological regions of the United States. We utilized the …
Loggerhead Shrike Detectability And Occurrence In Coastal South Carolina Urban Areas, Michelle Krauser
Loggerhead Shrike Detectability And Occurrence In Coastal South Carolina Urban Areas, Michelle Krauser
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Grassland birds, such as the loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), are threatened by extensive land-use change, including urbanization. Loggerhead shrikes have been declining since the early 1900s and are rare or extirpated in portions of their former range. Obtaining reliable population estimates of loggerhead shrikes is important to identify demographic trends and ensure conservation decisions are based on an accurate assessment of their current status. Imperfect detection, or the inability to detect every shrike during a survey, can result in biased population estimates. Estimating detection probability is labor-intensive and requires assumptions that are difficult to satisfy in most field studies. Understanding …
A Review Of Current Methods In Avian Dietary Analysis And Their Integrated Application To Characterize The Trophic Niche Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla)., Brandon Hoenig
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Characterizing a species’ dietary composition presents an avenue to understand many facets of its ecological niche and can provide essential information for the species’ long-term conservation. To date, the vast majority of diet studies have relied on direct identification of prey during foraging observations or from diet samples to characterize the dietary habits of birds. However, advancements in laboratory-based approaches have revolutionized the field of trophic ecology by allowing researchers to indirectly infer dietary habits with higher resolution across greater time scales. Here, I apply two of these laboratory-based techniques, namely DNA metabarcoding and stable isotope analysis, to characterize the …
Detection, Occupancy, Abundance, And Mercury Accumulation Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Texas, David Rosenbaum
Detection, Occupancy, Abundance, And Mercury Accumulation Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Texas, David Rosenbaum
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Land use practices and physical alterations of ecosystems result in habitat loss and fragmentation, while chemical alterations, such as pollutant input, reduce habitat quality and health of exposed organisms. Here, I investigated the effects of watershed- and local-scale environmental variables on the occupancy, abundance, and mercury accumulation of a threatened aquatic species (Macrochelys temminckii, i.e., alligator snapping turtle) within the southwestern periphery of its distribution. Hierarchical modeling suggested the distribution of the species is more affected by watershed-scale land-cover than local habitat, and provided a baseline estimate of average species abundance across its range in eastern Texas. Abundance …
Detection And Occurrence Of Nerodia Harteri (Serpentes: Colubridae) In An Upper Portion Of The Brazos River Watershed, Jessica Yates
Detection And Occurrence Of Nerodia Harteri (Serpentes: Colubridae) In An Upper Portion Of The Brazos River Watershed, Jessica Yates
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Semiaquatic snakes are disproportionately impacted by habitat alteration adjacent to wetlands because of their reliance on both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Brazos River Watersnakes, Nerodia harteri, are endemic natricines with one of the most restricted geographic ranges in North America. I quantified detection and site occupancy probabilities of N. harteri and its sympatric congeners (N. erythrogaster and N. rhombifer), as well as microhabitat selection within the Nerodia community. Within occupied transects, search effort was positively correlated with detecting N. harteri, whereas environmental and/or habitat variables were better predictors for detecting the sympatric congeners. Microhabitat selection between …
Using Genetic Approaches To Study Local Adaptation And Reproductive Success In Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax Nivalis), Keta K. Patel
Using Genetic Approaches To Study Local Adaptation And Reproductive Success In Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax Nivalis), Keta K. Patel
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Genetic analyses can facilitate effective and timely conservation and management actions. Arctic-migratory species in particular are in need of conservation genetic insights as they are experiencing substantial population pressures due to the impact of climate change (and other anthropogenic effects) on processes that affect their survival and reproduction. Therefore, identification of genetic mechanisms driving population divergence and variation in reproductive fitness in such species is critical. The goal of this thesis is to examine reproductive isolation among breeding populations of an Arctic-migratory passerine, the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) and determine factors that drive local adaptation and variation in …
Predicting Tree Species Richness In The Continental United States: Highlights From Machine Learning And Open Data, Lian Brugere
Predicting Tree Species Richness In The Continental United States: Highlights From Machine Learning And Open Data, Lian Brugere
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Biodiversity is in decline and predicting species diversity is critically important if current trends are to be reversed. Tree species richness (TSR), the number of distinct tree species in an ecological community, has long been a key measure of biodiversity, however, accurately modeling TSR is critical to better predicting its spatially heterogeneous responses to the changing environment and to forecasting TSR under future climate scenarios. This dissertation takes a holistic approach to improve TSR modeling with 1) advanced and more interpretable machine learning techniques, 2) to extend predictors to anthropogenic factors, and 3) to leverage open-source online tree occurrences for …
States' Public Health Funding And Population Health Outcomes: An Examination Through A Socio-Ecological Lens, Maureen K. Akubu-Odero
States' Public Health Funding And Population Health Outcomes: An Examination Through A Socio-Ecological Lens, Maureen K. Akubu-Odero
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The US public health system has been underfunded for decades, despite its significant mandate of improving overall population health outcomes. This ecological study evaluates the association between state public health funding and population health outcomes and the role of state public health funding in reducing state-level health disparities. The findings show that the relationships between public health investments and improvements in health outcomes and health disparity in states are moderated by socioeconomic contextual factors. The findings suggest a need for continued and increased public health investments, tailored to community needs and context
Applying Conservation Genomic Techniques To Guide Management Of The Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma Bishopi), Miranda Gaupp
Applying Conservation Genomic Techniques To Guide Management Of The Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma Bishopi), Miranda Gaupp
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) is a federally endangered amphibian endemic to the longleaf-pine ecosystem of the southeastern U.S. This study used analyses of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, collected from 2,255 unique individuals across 5 breeding seasons, spread across the known extant range of A. bishopi, to characterize the genetic diversity and demographics of populations, genetic relationships among populations, and patterns and spatial extents of gene flow, and to evaluate potential effects of management on A. bishopi’s resiliency. Population structure was strongly hierarchical, with individual breeding ponds (n = 38) acting as semi-connected subpopulations …
Effects Of Unpaved Roads On Relative Abundance And Epigenetics Of Early Successional Lizards, David Tevs
Effects Of Unpaved Roads On Relative Abundance And Epigenetics Of Early Successional Lizards, David Tevs
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Unpaved roads may provide uniform microhabitat characteristics and impart edge effects in the adjacent landscape that mediate environmental pressures acting on small vertebrates. These features may allow species that are associated with recent disturbance to persist in aging forest patches. Further, epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation may provide these species the phenotypic plasticity necessary to occupy multiple habitats with different environmental conditions. To understand how small vertebrates use unpaved roads, the relative abundance and occurrence of Florida scrub lizards (Sceloporus woodi) and six-lined racerunners (Aspidoscelis sexlineata) were quantified using visual encounter surveys along unpaved roads …