Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The aims of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and permittable option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services …

Human Amplified Changes In Precipitation-Runoff Patterns In Large River Basins Of The Midwestern United States, Sara A. Kelly, Zeinab Takbiri, Patrick Belmont, Efi Foufoula-Georgiou

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Complete transformations of land cover from prairie, wetlands, and hardwood forests to homogenous row crop agriculture scattered with urban centers are thought to have caused profound changes in hydrology in the Upper Midwestern US since the 1800s. Continued intensification of land use and drainage practices combined with increased precipitation have caused many Midwest watersheds to exhibit higher streamflows today than in the historical past. While changes in crop type and farming practices have been well documented over the past few decades, changes in artificial surface (ditch) and subsurface (tile) drainage systems have not. This makes it difficult to quantitatively disentangle …

Infrared Spectroscopy Of The Nitrogenase Mofe Protein Under Electrochemical Control: Potential-Triggered Co Binding, P. Paengnakorn, Philip A. Ash, Sudipta K. Shaw, Karamatullah Danyal, T. Chen, Dennis R. Dean, Lance C. Seefeldt, Kylie A. Vincent

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We demonstrate electrochemical control of the nitrogenase MoFe protein, in the absence of Fe protein or ATP, using europium(III/II) polyaminocarboxylate complexes as electron transfer mediators. This allows the potential dependence of proton reduction and inhibitor (CO) binding to the active site FeMo-cofactor to be established. Reduction of protons to H2 is catalyzed by the wild type MoFe protein and Β-98^Tyr→His and Β-^99Phe→His variants of the MoFe protein at potentials more negative than -800 mV (vs. SHE), with greater electrocatalytic proton reduction rates observed for the variants compared to the wild type protein. Electrocatalytic proton reduction is strongly …

Sensitivity Of Seven Diverse Species To Blue And Green Light: Interactions With Photon Flux, Michael Chase Snowden, Bruce Bugbee, Kevin R. Cope

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Despite decades of research, the effects of spectral quality on plant growth, and development are not well understood. Much of our current understanding comes from studies with daily integrated light levels that are less than 10% of summer sunlight thus making it difficult to characterize interactions between light quality and quantity. Several studies have reported that growth is increased under fluorescent lamps compared to mixtures of wavelengths from LEDs. Conclusions regarding the effect of green light fraction range from detrimental to beneficial. Here we report the effects of eight blue and green light fractions at two photosynthetic photon fluxes (PPF; …

A Novel Qtl Associated With Dwarf Bunt Resistance In Idaho 444 Winter Wheat, Jianli Chen, Mary J. Guttieri, Junli Zhang, David Hole, Edward Souza, Blair Goates

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Dwarf bunt [Tilletia controversa J.G. Kühn [as ‘contraversa’], in Rabenhorst, Hedwigia 13: 188 (1874)] is a destructive disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that reduces grain yield and quality. A number of distinct genes conferring resistance to dwarf bunt have been used by breeding programs for nearly 100 years. However, few markers were identified that can be used in selection of dwarf bunt resistance. A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the bunt-resistant germplasm, Idaho 444 (IDO444), and the susceptible cultivar, Rio Blanco, was evaluated for phenotypic reaction to dwarf bunt inoculation in four trials in …

Interactions Of Nucleic Acid Bases With Temozolomide. Stacked, Perpendicular, And Coplanar Heterodimers, Okuma Emile Kasende, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Temozolomide (TMZ) was paired with each of the five nucleic acid bases, and the potential energy surface searched for all minima, in the context of dispersion-corrected density functional theory and MP2 methods. Three types of arrangements were observed, with competitive stabilities. Coplanar H-bonding structures, reminiscent of Watson–Crick base pairs were typically the lowest in energy, albeit by a small amount. Also very stable were perpendicular arrangements that included one or more H-bonds. The two monomers were stacked approximately parallel to one another in the third category, some of which contained weak and distorted H-bonds. Dispersion was found to be a …

Monitoring The Charge Distribution During Proton And Sodium Ion Conduction Along Chains Of Water Molecules And Protein Residues, Steve Scheiner

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Quantum calculations are used to determine the level of delocalization of the charge of a cation as it translates along a chain of water molecules or glycine residues. Charge dispersal is monitored via the molecular electrostatic potential and the dipole moment of the entire system. The positive charge is largely localized on the water molecule on which the proton is situated, but becomes more intense and extended as the proton moves along the chain. The positive charge is more delocalized in protonated polyglycine, where it extends over at least an entire residue. Displacement of the proton along the chain intensifies …

Hydra Effects In Stable Communities And Their Implications For System Dynamics, Michael H. Cortez, Peter A. Abrams

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

A hydra effect occurs when the mean density of a species increases in response to greater mortality. We show that, in a stable multispecies system, a species exhibits a hydra effect only if maintaining that species at its equilibrium density destabilizes the system. The stability of the original system is due to the responses of the hydra-effect species to changes in the other species’ densities. If that dynamical feedback is removed by fixing the density of the hydra-effect species, large changes in the community make-up (including the possibility of species extinction) can occur. This general result has several implications: (1) …

Approximating Optimal Release In A Deterministic Model For The Sterile Insect Technique, Sergio Ramirez, Luis F. Gordillo

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Cost/benefit analyses are essential to support management planning and decisions before launching any pest control program. In particular, applications of the sterile insect technique (SIT) are often prevented by the projected economic burden associated with rearing processes. This has had a deep impact on the technique development and its use on insects with long larval periods, as often seen in beetles. Under the assumptions of long adult timespan and multiple mating, we show how to find approximate optimal sterile release policies that minimize costs. The theoretical framework proposed considers the release of insects by pulses and finds approximate optimal release …

Potential Regulation Of Deadly Water-Borne Shigella Bacteria Pathogenesis Through The Shigella Infection Protein Spa47, Jamie Kingsford

Research on Capitol Hill

• Shigella is a gram-negative, bacterial pathogen typically found in contaminated water sources.
• Each year, Shigella is responsible for over 90 million infections and 100,000 deaths stemming from symptoms of severe dysentery, fever, nausea and vomiting.
• A needle-like apparatus found on the surface of Shigella allows the bacterium to infect host cells.
• Each needle-apparatus has an associated ATPase, a protein that can hydrolyze ATP into ADP and P_i.
• The Shigella needle-apparatus ATPase Spa47 is predicted to provide the energy for infection.
• Spa47 has been shown to be essential for infection – without Spa47, no infection will occur.
• We were …

Water Use Of Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties, Shawn Foster

Research on Capitol Hill

• With drought so prevalent in the West, water use on urban landscapes is being closely scrutinized with up to 60% of urban water use directed to landscape irrigation-primarily our lawns.
• Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is widely used because of its soft texture, attractive color, and ability to recover from intensive use.
• More water-efficient varieties of Kentucky bluegrass may result in less irrigation yet maintain quality and function of the turf.

Experimental Evidence For Drought Induced Alternative Stable States Of Soil Moisture, David A. Robinson, Scott B. Jones, Inma Lebron, Sabine Reinsch, Maria T. Dominguez, Andrew R. Smith, Davey L. Jones, Miles R. Marshall, Bridget A. Emmett

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Ecosystems may exhibit alternative stable states (ASS) in response to environmental change. Modelling and observational data broadly support the theory of ASS, however evidence from manipulation experiments supporting this theory is limited. Here, we provide long-term manipulation and observation data supporting the existence of drought induced alternative stable soil moisture states (irreversible soil wetting) in upland Atlantic heath, dominated by Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. Manipulated repeated moderate summer drought, and intense natural summer drought both lowered resilience resulting in shifts in soil moisture dynamics. The repeated moderate summer drought decreased winter soil moisture retention by ∼10%. However, intense summer drought, …