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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Interactions Between Sediment Mechanical Structure And Infaunal Community Structure Following Physical Disturbance, William Cyrus Roger Clemo
Interactions Between Sediment Mechanical Structure And Infaunal Community Structure Following Physical Disturbance, William Cyrus Roger Clemo
<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>
Shallow, river-influenced coastal sediments are important for global carbon storage and nutrient cycling and provide a habitat for diverse communities of invertebrates (infauna). Elevated bed shear stress from extreme storms can resuspend, transport, and deposit sediments, disrupting the cohesive structure of muds, and sorting and depositing sand eroded from beaches. These physical disruptions can also resuspend or smother infauna, decreasing abundances and changing community structure. Infaunal activities such as burrowing, tube construction, and feeding can impact sediment structure and stability. However, little is known about how physical disturbance impacts short and long-term sediment habitat suitability and whether disturbance-tolerant infauna influence …
Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis
Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis
<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>
Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …
Seeing The Big Picture: System Architecture Trends In Endoscopy And Led-Based Hyperspectral Subsystem Intergration, Craig M. Browning
Seeing The Big Picture: System Architecture Trends In Endoscopy And Led-Based Hyperspectral Subsystem Intergration, Craig M. Browning
<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>
Early-stage colorectal lesions remain difficult to detect. Early development of neoplasia tends to be small (less than 10 mm) and flat and difficult to distinguish from surrounding mucosa. Additionally, optical diagnosis of neoplasia as benign or malignant is problematic. Low rates of detection of these lesions allow for continued growth in the colorectum and increased risk of cancer formation. Therefore, it is crucial to detect neoplasia and other non-neoplastic lesions to determine risk and guide future treatment. Technology for detection needs to enhance contrast of subtle tissue differences in the colorectum and track multiple biomarkers simultaneously. This work implements one …